Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 398 Expanding the Army and Launching Battles
"On the 28th, Quan Hao led 8,000 troops into Bianzhou and fought the rebels in Chenliu, killing 20,000 rebels. The rebel leader Huang Chao fled to Yongqiu, and our army advanced and recaptured Chenliu..."

On July 30th, a messenger on horseback delivered the news of victory to Li Cui, who, overjoyed, immediately convened a regular court session.

In the Zichen Palace, the good news delivered by He Quanhao, the military governor of Weibo, brought a great relief to many officials who had been worried about the war in the northwest.

In the past few days, the imperial court's war in Longyou has caused considerable anxiety.

First, they lost Shuofang, then Xiaoguan, and then Chengji, Longcheng, and the four passes of Longshan, Liupan, Mupan, and Shimen.

The Qin and Long regions and the Longshan defense line, which the imperial court had worked on for many years, have now been completely riddled with holes.

More importantly, Liu Jilong stationed his troops at Sanyangchuan, cutting off the northern route between Wushan, Fuqiang, and Shanggui, leaving the government troops with no choice but to rely on the Luoshui River to maintain communication.

Although the officials did not know what Wang Shi would do next, given the current situation, many felt that the loss of Qin Prefecture was probably only a matter of time.

Under these circumstances, He Quanhao, the military governor of Weibo, submitted a memorial to the emperor to send troops and defeated Huang Chao's forces that had invaded Bianzhou, which undoubtedly boosted the morale of the three armies.

However, what lay before them was how to reward He Quanhao and the officers and soldiers of Weibo, and how to deal with the enemies from the Central Plains, the Southwest, and the Northwest.

"By imperial decree, He Quanhao, the military governor of Weibo, is reinstated, appointed as the acting minister of state and co-prime minister, and 100,000 taels of silver and silk are allocated to reward the troops in Weibo!"

No one asked how much 100,000 coins and silk actually amounted to, but whether it was money or silk, it was a considerable expense.

The Weibo garrison only mobilized 8,000 troops for this southward campaign. No matter how you look at it, this reward should satisfy the officers and soldiers of Weibo garrison.

With this in mind, the ministers calmed themselves down and respectfully chanted the rites.

"Your Majesty is wise..."

Amidst the resounding chants of praise for his wisdom, Li Cui straightened his back slightly and spoke:
"Wang Shaobao has already reported to me, hoping that the court will switch from offense to defense and use strong cities and powerful troops to restrict the rebels' rebellion."

"After careful consideration, I believe this plan is sound. I have also ordered the garrisons of Fengxiang, Jingyuan, Binning, Shuofang, and Xiasui to train new armies in preparation for their deployment."

Although Li Cui was furious at Wang Shi's repeated defeats, he also knew that Longyou was powerful, so he did not make up his mind to replace Wang Shi, but instead prepared to give him one last trust.

If Wang Shi can indeed rely on strong cities and powerful troops to inflict heavy losses on Longyou, weakening it before launching a counterattack, then Li Cui would not mind continuing to praise Wang Shi's achievements.

Thinking this, Li Cui looked at Lu Yan, Xu Shang, Yu Cong and the others. Seeing that the three had no objections, he nodded in satisfaction and then began to talk about the Central Plains.

"The bandits in the He and Huai regions must be completely eradicated. I hereby order Liu Zhan, He Quanhao, and Kang Chengxun to immediately suppress the bandits without delay!"

"Your subject obeys..."

The court officials bowed and saluted, and then Li Cui announced the end of the court session.

While he was dismissing the court, Wang Shi in Qin Prefecture was troubled by An Pohu's constant raids on Pingchuan, Shanggui and other places with his elite cavalry.

Liu Jilong has been stationed at Sanyangchuan for several days, but he has not launched a major offensive, which does not match Wang Shi's speculation about his image.

In Wang Shi’s view, Liu Jilong’s military tactics were so adaptable and skillful that it was unlikely he would stay in one place for an extended period without taking any action.

For this reason, he couldn't help but become suspicious of the direction of Sanyangchuan.

Before Li Cui convened the regular court session, Wang Shi ordered Zhao Qian to attack Sanyangchuan to test Liu Jilong's reaction.

Now that he had waited for half a day without receiving any military orders, he couldn't help but feel worried and could only try to calm his mind by practicing calligraphy.

Time passed slowly until footsteps sounded outside the study. Only then did Wang Shi breathe a sigh of relief and look towards the study door.

"Young Master Wang..."

Yang Xuanji, the military supervisor, appeared at the door of the study and then bowed, saying, "Zhao Qian, the commander of the Right Army, has sent word that our army suffered a setback at Sanyangchuan and returned with more than two hundred soldiers lost. This is the military report."

Yang Xuanji handed over the military document, which Wang Shi hurriedly took and examined, his brows furrowed.

In the military dispatch, Zhao Qian described in detail how, after attacking Sanyangchuan, he encountered an ambush by no fewer than three thousand elite cavalry who were luring him deep into their territory.

Fortunately, having learned from his previous experience, Zhao Qian did not act rashly this time. So, after Tang Bing reported that the elite cavalry had launched a surprise attack, he immediately ordered a retreat. At the same time, he ordered his men to abandon the supply wagons and block the official road to ensure the army could retreat smoothly.

Although we lost more than two hundred soldiers, it was still a good deal to get this intelligence in return.

"Three thousand elite cavalry..."

Wang Shi murmured, "There are also over a thousand elite cavalry in the direction of Shanggui. So most of the elite cavalry in Longyou are in Sanyangchuan. Liu Jilong is probably still stationed in Sanyangchuan."

"But now that he has captured the two counties and four passes in the north, what is he doing staying in Sanyangchuan for so many days?"

His brows furrowed, feeling that he was always one step behind Liu Jilong in making plans, which led to setbacks at every step.

The move of stationing troops at Sanyangchuan doesn't seem like an attack on Jingyuan; it's more like an attack on Qinzhou.

However, after seven or eight days, even if Liu Jilong transferred troops from Linzhou to Sanyangchuan by detour, there would be enough time. So why didn't Liu Jilong attack Shanggui or Fuqiang?
Wang Shi felt a bit of a headache, but ultimately decided to remain unchanged in the face of all changes.

"Order the three armies not to take any further action. For now, we only need to wait for the rebel army to gather its forces and launch a strong attack on the counties of Qin Prefecture!"

"Yes!" Yang Xuanji replied, then added:
"The imperial court has transferred 20,000 troops from various garrisons in Guandong, and they are now stationed at Anrong Pass and Zhisheng Pass."

"Even if Liu Jilong launches a strong attack with tens of thousands of troops, he shouldn't expect to take these two passes in a short time."

Wang Shi was very satisfied with Yang Xuanji's words and nodded, saying:
"Since the start of the war against the rebels, our army has killed no fewer than 10,000 enemy soldiers. Although Longyou is said to have 100,000 troops, in reality, the number of soldiers is only 60,000 to 70,000."

"Even if Longyou has a million people, how long can it sustain an army of 60,000 with a population of one million?"

"Our army still has 120,000 troops, with 80,000 of them gathered in the two prefectures of Qin and Long alone."

"If Liu Jilong doesn't want to be dragged down by the imperial court, his only option is to launch a full-scale attack!"

"Our army is well-rested and ready to fight; we can bear the loss of 50,000 men. But if we lose 50,000 men in Longyou, we will be annihilated!"

Wang Shi seemed to be talking to Yang Xuanji, or perhaps encouraging himself.

However, Yang Xuanji and Li Cui, who was far away in Chang'an, undoubtedly agreed with his views.

Longyou mainly relied on spices along the Silk Road to sustain its army. Now that Chang'an has cut off trade with Longyou, the spices in Longyou are piling up and cannot be spent.

If this continues, Longyou will never last as long as the anti-Longyou army, which has the imperial court as its backer.

During their conversation, the two were completely unaware that Liu Jilong had already detoured to Xiangwu County in Weizhou.

Weizhou has a complex terrain, but the Wei River has created a long and narrow alluvial plain.

Today's Weizhou is no longer the Weizhou under the rule of the Tubo Kingdom.

At this time, Weizhou had 30,000 households, more than 120,000 people, and nearly 300,000 mu of cultivated land. Although it seemed small, not many people relied on agriculture.

The mines and armories in Weizhou required thousands of men to maintain, each man representing a household.

Besides these, there are countless young people who have joined the army.

Of the 60,000 soldiers and 40,000 soldiers and garrison troops in Longyou, more than 20,000 were from Weizhou.

Throughout Weizhou, it can be said that every household had someone working for the government, and their military pay and wages were never delayed.

The reason Liu Jilong moved so many people to Weizhou was to facilitate future wars and conscription for the eastward advance of troops.

Now that war has broken out, the casualties of the Longyou army are indeed considerable.

There are more than 4,000 wounded soldiers in various states, nearly 10,000 soldiers killed in battle, and three garrisons are almost out of troops.

Therefore, after the Battle of Shuofang ended, Liu Jilong sent a fast horse to inform Gao Jinda to recruit and train soldiers in Weizhou.

At this point, more than half a month had passed since Gao Jinda began recruiting and training soldiers.

Outside Xiangwu County, the seat of Weizhou, the military camp undoubtedly became the most bustling place.

"Kill! Kill! Kill..."

On the drill ground of the military camp in Weizhou Town, nearly ten thousand shirtless young men in their early twenties were practicing formations with wooden spears, blunt weapons, and crossbows.

Their physical condition is good, but they are not yet at the level for armored training.

On the training platform, a captain was waving a command flag, while the flag bearers behind him were waving their flags according to the flag signals.

On the training ground, nearly ten thousand young men followed the flag signals, constantly changing the weapons in their hands. Based on the Six Flower Formation, they organized themselves into five formations: square, circle, curved, straight, and sharp, resulting in twenty-five different formation variations.

Seeing that they could skillfully change various formations, Liu Jilong, standing behind the captain, showed a satisfied expression.

At the same time, Gao Jinda, upon learning that Liu Jilong had arrived in Xiangwu County, also hurriedly returned to Xiangwu from Longxi, the front line.

Without taking a break, he went to the military camp and met Liu Jilong on the drill platform.

"General!" Gao Jinda hurried along, bowing to Liu Jilong from a distance of three or five steps away.

Liu Jilong stepped forward to help him up, then looked at the young men on the training ground with satisfaction: "The soldiers are well trained."

"The nine thousand troops in these two towns can completely replace the second-line troops in the rear, allowing them to continuously train while stationed."

Liu Jilong certainly couldn't actually lead the new soldiers into battle. What he needed to do now was to replace the old soldiers with these new ones, freeing up more old soldiers for the front lines.

"General, half a month ago, I ordered Linzhou, Hezhou, and Liangzhou to recruit new soldiers. Now, there are five garrisons of new soldiers training in Longyou."

"There are two towns with nine thousand veteran soldiers in the rear that can be mobilized immediately to follow the command of the military commander."

After Gao Jinda explained the current situation, Liu Jilong nodded and turned to walk towards the inner gate of the military camp.

Gao Jinda hurriedly followed, and only after they entered the gate and sat down did Liu Jilong ask:

"What is the situation in each governor's office? How many soldiers have been killed or wounded? How many government troops are still besieging and holding out?"

Faced with Liu Jilong's question, Gao Jinda was prepared beforehand, and he answered without hesitation:

"At present, the Protectorate General governs six prefectures: Liangzhou, Longxi, Longnan, Dongchuan, Xichuan, and the newly established Shuofang."

"The Liangzhou Governor's Office has 9,000 veteran soldiers and 4,500 new soldiers, and its organization is complete."

"Before the battle, the Longxi Governor's Office had 8,000 elite cavalry, 20,000 cavalry and infantry, and 6,000 infantrymen. Now, only 4,200 elite cavalry, 3,800 infantrymen, and 9,000 new recruits remain."

"Two thousand elite cavalry and sixteen thousand infantrymen were assigned to Shuofang Town."

"The Longxi Governor's Office lost 1,800 elite cavalry, 2,200 infantry, and more than 3,200 cavalry and infantry in this battle, totaling 7,200 men."

"The Longnan Governor's Office has 9,000 infantrymen, who are currently being attacked by Wang Duo of Shannan West Circuit, but the casualties are not many, only more than 300."

"The Dongchuan Governor's Office was besieged by troops led by Li Fu, the military governor of Dongchuan, and more than 700 soldiers were killed in battle."

"The Xichuan Governor's Office was besieged by Gao Pian, the military governor of Xichuan, with catapults. After several fierce attacks, more than 1,700 soldiers were killed in battle."

"Of the six governorates, nearly 10,000 soldiers were killed in action in the past two months. Of those who were wounded and recovered, more than 5,400 were still able to fight, and more than 1,200 were disabled."

"At present, our army has less than 48,000 combat soldiers, only 35,000 state soldiers and garrison soldiers, and another 22,500 new recruits."

"The number of government troops killed or wounded should be about three times that of our troops, most of whom were killed by the military governor when he attacked Shuofang and Qinzhou."

After Gao Jinda gave a brief report, Liu Jilong learned the general situation of his side.

Many people died, and on Phoenix Mountain in Didao City, Liu Jilong owed another ten thousand graves.

More than 16,000 people were unable to participate in the war in the short term, while 22,500 new soldiers were being trained.

Although the number of people has increased, their combat quality has declined.

It would be best to keep these new recruits stationed in local areas to protect the rear.

The battle at the front still requires sending veteran soldiers forward.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong said, "Transfer veteran soldiers from the two garrisons in Liangzhou to Longyou, and transfer new soldiers from Hezhou to Liangzhou."

"I need to meet with the troops of the two towns in Liangzhou in half a month."

"This subordinate obeys!" Gao Jinda agreed without hesitation. Even though Longxi was 800 li away from Liangzhou, he should be able to get there in half a month.

How many warhorses are left for training elite cavalry?

When Liu Jilong inquired about the number of horses, Gao Jinda immediately replied, "At least seven thousand."

"In addition, there are plenty of military horses in Hexi, and selling three or four thousand of them is not a problem."

"Our army has enough riding horses and draft horses, and there are also many skilled horsemen among the veterans of the two towns in Liangzhou, enough to form three thousand elite cavalry."

In the official education system of Longyou, equestrianism was also one of the courses.

Those with equestrian talent are given attention from a young age and recommended to join the army after graduation.

Even if he joined the army as an infantryman, he could still practice riding and archery on horseback and was later assigned to the elite cavalry reserve.

Now that the elite cavalry has suffered some casualties and has been constantly depleted in the war, it is not a problem to directly select three thousand men to form an elite cavalry.

"How much money and grain is left in the treasury?"

Liu Jilong did not agree immediately, but instead inquired about the money and grain.

Faced with this question, Gao Jinda raised his hand and bowed: "General, this humble general was just about to bring up this matter."

"I have read your decree on relief and compensation, but the treasury currently only has a little over 1.2 million strings of copper coins."

"If the pensions are issued according to this example, the treasury will be completely emptied of copper coins."

"That is why I would like to exchange an equivalent amount of grain for some copper coins."

Over the past ten years, Longyou has indeed stockpiled a considerable amount of grain, totaling 4.2 million shi (a unit of dry measure), enough to feed all the people of Longyou for ten months.

If used to support the army, it would be enough to pay for two years' military pay, and could even sustain the army for three years with the annual tax revenue.

In addition, since Longyou has not suffered from disasters and has had bumper harvests every year, the policy of exchanging grain for copper coins to distribute pensions is feasible.

"I trust you to do things your way."

Liu Jilong trusted Gao Jinda completely and agreed to his request without even listening to his plans.

Upon seeing this, Gao Jinda quickly bowed and said, "I would also like to congratulate the General on the birth of his fourth son."

Before Liu Jilong went to war, his concubine, Hu, was already more than six months pregnant. Now, two months later, she was indeed close to giving birth.

"Has the young lady been named yet?"

Liu Jilong asked Gao Jinda, who shook his head and said, "Madam asked you to name me, but the recent battles were too frequent, so I did not bother the commander."

"Well done." Liu Jilong couldn't help but praise Gao Jinda, after all, Liu Jilong had indeed lost his temper quite a bit because of Li Ji and the others.

If Gao Jinda had bothered him with something like this, given his temper at the time, he might have indeed given Gao Jinda a good scolding.

Now that the war situation had improved, Liu Jilong's temper had calmed down, so after a moment's thought, he said, "How about calling him Liu Bicheng?"

"Success? Is this battle guaranteed to succeed?" Gao Jinda also realized that the name was very straightforward, and couldn't help but chuckle and ask in return.

Liu Jilong nodded upon hearing this: "This battle will surely be won, and this undertaking will surely be successful."

He has already made arrangements and is just waiting for the Liangzhou garrison to arrive in Weizhou. With 12,800 new and old soldiers still in Weizhou, the combined forces will number over 20,000.

With this force, we can recapture the first line of defense, take Wushan County, and advance into Fuqiang.

The government troops have shifted from offense to defense in the past few days, presumably hoping to inflict casualties on the city while their own forces are weakened, and then launch a major attack when their strength is depleted.

The counties of Qin and Long, which are built with rammed earth and bricks, are indeed difficult to attack, but given enough time, taking Qin Prefecture is not difficult.

When winter arrives and the Longshan Mountains are blocked off, I will be able to head south to resolve the war in the south.

If we can break the morale of the northern and southern government troops in the first year, the rest will be much easier.

However, given the current situation, the Tang Dynasty's reign is unlikely to last long.

Now, the Tang Dynasty has been established for 249 years, but the situation has deteriorated to the point of no return.

On his way back to Xiangwu from Sanyangchuan, Liu Jilong pondered how he should deal with Tang Ting.

The best-case scenario is to seize Qinzhou and the Longshan defense line in turn, then move south to seize Xichuan, Dongchuan and Shannan West Road, thus taking control of the three rivers and building a navy in Yuzhou.

They then advanced into Guanzhong, forcing the Tang court to abandon Guanzhong and flee to the eastern capital Luoyang or the northern capital Taiyuan.

At that time, the Tang court's prestige will be ruined, and the various garrisons will have already fought against him and know that he is not easy to deal with. Then he can occupy Guannei Road and Guanzhong Jingji Road, and rely on the Yellow River, Tongguan and Kuimen as the three defense lines to develop.

Once the lands within the pass, Longyou, Jiannan, Shannan, and Jingji are clearly allocated, the subsequent crossing of the pass will be a sweeping victory.

That's why he said, "This undertaking will surely succeed."

But before that, he still had to bring Sanchuan and Guannei under his control as planned...

(End of this chapter)