Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 406 The Nation Shakes (A Long Chapter of 10,000 Words)
"Drive! Drive! Drive..."

As the Wei River flows eastward, countless laborers squatted on the ground along the official road on its south bank, while several cavalry and infantrymen dressed in Longyou armor stood not far from them.

Beside them was a cart with its reins cut off, loaded with hundreds of kilograms of grain.

The damaged carts were not just a few, but hundreds or even thousands.

Half an hour ago, the soldiers who broke through the encirclement lost their armor and weapons along the way. After finally catching up with the group of laborers, they didn't care about anything else, cut the reins, seized the horses, and fled eastward.

More than a thousand draft horses were seized and used as mounts. The fleeing government troops rode them eastward along the Wei River, heading directly towards Qinling County, which was thirty or forty miles away.

The reason they didn't choose Qingshui County was because it was too far away, and the horses wouldn't be fast enough to be caught up by the rebels chasing from behind.

As it turned out, they were right. Less than a quarter of an hour after they had stolen the draft horses, Anpohu personally led his elite cavalry in pursuit, capturing grain and laborers along the way.

"Xu..."

Between Qingshui County and Qinling County, Anpohu, who was leading more than two thousand elite cavalry and several thousand infantrymen in pursuit of Wang Shi, stopped and wiped the blood off his face.

"Damn it, these guys still have plenty of energy..."

He cursed and then divided his troops, saying, "The commander's order is to intercept the grain."

"In that case, I will personally lead elite cavalry and three thousand infantry to Qingshui to intercept the grain. Zhang Hong, you two brothers will personally lead your own infantry and cavalry to Qinling. If Wang Shi has not yet fled Shannan West Road, you will immediately surround Qinling County!"

"This subordinate obeys the order!!" Zhang Hong was Zhang Wu's elder brother, and he and his second brother Zhang Fan were both generals, each leading an army.

After giving his instructions, An Pohu immediately split his troops into two groups, heading towards Qingshui County and Qinling County respectively.

At the same time, the battle at Jishui in Shanggui County came to a complete end, with a large number of officers and soldiers captured and countless armors and weapons seized.

The magistrate and assistant magistrate of Shanggui County surrendered, and the most important city in Qin Prefecture was thus captured.

Liu Jilong did not immediately enter the city, but rested in the camp left by the government troops, and summoned Gao Jinda to bring men to Shanggui to take charge of the situation.

"All of you better behave yourselves and don't anger Father!"

"Weren't you hurling insults at each other fiercely on the battlefield? Why aren't you hurling them anymore?!"

"Damn it..."

Outside the military camp, many bloodthirsty soldiers from Longyou were mocking the captured officers and soldiers, and the squad leaders, brigade commanders, and captains turned a blind eye to it.

Although the Longyou army is known for its strict discipline, the two sides were still fighting fiercely just now. Now that the other side has surrendered, there are quite a few people on the Longyou side who are angry because their comrades have been killed or wounded. As long as no one takes action, a few words of cursing are not a big deal.

"That bastard king burned the battle formations and correspondence before the war even started! You dog bastard!!"

Inside the tent, Zhang Wu kicked away the brazier, turned around, and bowed to Liu Jilong, saying:
"General, of the 80,000 government troops in Longyou, only one-tenth remain. Qingshui and Qinling cities are small and sparsely populated, so they will not be difficult to capture."

"Should we rest and regroup before entering the two counties, or should we directly cross the Longshan Mountains and march to Anrong Pass?"

"What do you think?" Liu Jilong was flipping through the books that Wang Shi had not burned, and it proved that these scions of noble families did indeed have a large collection of books.

Among the books brought by Wang Shi, Liu Jilong also saw basic annotations by Zheng Xuan, a great Confucian scholar of the Eastern Han Dynasty, as well as Jin Dynasty versions of "The Three Strategies" and "The Six Secret Teachings".

Although Zhang Wu had received five years of primary school education under the rule of Longyou, he did not care about these books; he was only interested in Liu Jilong's inquiry.

So, after a moment's thought, he replied to Liu Jilong's question:

"Qin and Long are united, but the government still has nearly 30,000 troops in Jingyuan and Longzhou. In addition, the court has ordered the various towns to train new troops, as well as the troops that Wang Shi and others have withdrawn. The court can gather at least 60,000 troops to garrison Anrong Pass."

"Although our army has gunpowder, Anrong Pass and Zhisheng Pass are major passes, and they have been reinforced several times by Gao Pian, Li Chengxun and Wang Shi, making them difficult to capture."

"In my humble opinion, we should take over Qingshui and Qinling counties now, govern Qinzhou properly, and plant wheat before winter so that we can harvest it next May."

"In addition, new recruits, officers, clerks, and doctors should be transferred to fill the vacancies in Qin Prefecture and the three armies. At that time, the main army will march south from Qishan, divide its forces to attack Xingfeng and two prefectures, and then march south to seize Dongchuan and Lizhou, sweeping across Bashu!"

Zhang Wu shared his thoughts, which were largely the same as Liu Jilong's, but differed in some details.

Previously, Liu Jilong did not want to attack Xingfeng and Qinzhou because he felt that if he really fought against the imperial court, he would probably not be able to easily take Shuofang and Qinzhou, and would be powerless to go south and occupy Bashu.

In more than ten battles in a row, except for the early attack on Shuofang, which resulted in few soldiers due to Li Ji's recklessness and Cao Mao's inexperience, the other battles that he personally commanded did not result in too many casualties.

Liu Jilong carefully calculated that the number of soldiers killed in battle should not exceed five thousand, and the number of wounded soldiers who could not participate in the battle in the short term should be less than five thousand.

At present, there are still 40,000 veterans in Longyou who can participate in the war. In addition, there are more than 30,000 garrison troops and 20,000 new soldiers who have been incorporated into the fighting force, with a total strength of no less than 94,000.

In addition, the 5,000 wounded soldiers were allowed to stay in Qin Prefecture to recuperate and rejoin the army after a few months.

In contrast, the imperial court mobilized 180,000 troops to besiege our forces. First, 15,000 troops were lost in Shuofang, then 3,000 troops were lost in Jingyuan, and subsequently nearly 70,000 troops were lost in Qinzhou.

If we include the casualties inflicted on the government troops by defending the city in the south, the government troops numbered less than 30,000, with more than 40,000 captured.

Of the 180,000 troops from various garrisons, only 30,000 remained in Jingyuan and Longzhou, 16,000 to 17,000 in Shannan West Circuit, 10,000 in Dongchuan, and over 20,000 in Xichuan, totaling no more than 80,000.

However, there are still troops stationed in Dongchuan and Xichuan. If Liu Jilong were to march south, he would need to deal with approximately 80,000 government troops.

"Bring me the map."

Liu Jilong gave instructions to Zhang Wu, who, upon seeing this, immediately ordered someone to fetch a map.

Before long, the map was brought in by two captains, who then went into the tent to examine it with Liu Jilong and Zhang Wu.

Liu Jilong pointed to the map, showing the route from north to south, passing through Shuofang and Longyou, and finally entering Jiannan Road.

"Our troops in Liangzhou and Shuofang are mostly new recruits, and the rear is also mostly made up of new recruits. The only veterans available for combat are the more than 17,000 brothers who have entered Qinzhou."

"The number of veteran soldiers available in the south is no more than 23,000, or even less."

"If we head south now, we can immediately assemble more than 8,000 soldiers from the Longnan Governor's Office, and take advantage of the situation to retake Fuxing Prefecture and Fengzhou, and even advance into Xingyuan Prefecture."

"However, after taking this place, we cannot directly march south to attack Lizhou. Lizhou is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It has always been known as the "gateway to northern Sichuan and the throat of the Shu Road". The northern part is protected by the Motianling and Micang Mountains.

"In addition, there are also dangerous places such as Jianmen Mountain, Jianmen Pass and Jiameng Pass within its territory. There is no need for us to choose the most difficult route to attack Lizhou."

"Our army controls the gateway to Xichuan, and can easily pass through Wuzhou, Fuzhou, and enter Longzhou."

"Although the troops under Li Fu in Longzhou were left behind by Gao Pian, I know Li Fu very well."

"This man is good at dealing with bandits, but if he encounters an opponent of equal strength, he will show his true colors."

"I guess that once the news of our army's great defeat of Wang Shi and the capture of Xichuan spreads, Li Fu will surely be frightened and retreat to Dongchuan. At that time, our army can draw troops from the Dongchuan Governor's Office, gather 30,000 troops to launch a fierce attack and capture Jiangyou Pass, and then advance into the heart of Xichuan, forcing Gao Pian to retreat to Xichuan."

"As long as Gao Pian retreats to Xichuan, our army can rely on its horsepower to fight him in a decisive battle on the plains of Xichuan, and decide the fate of the world in one battle!"

Liu Jilong spoke most of the story, and Zhang Wu and the two captains nodded in agreement, bowing to Liu Jilong in response.

"General, whatever you say, we'll fight."

"General, how long should we stay in Qin Prefecture?"

"General, why don't we head south now and launch a surprise attack on Xingfeng and the other two prefectures? We might be able to catch Wang Duo off guard!"

"That's right..."

The three men each expressed their opinions, and after listening, Liu Jilong raised his hand to comfort them, saying:
"Qinzhou is a large prefecture after all, and we haven't taken Qingshui and Qinling counties yet. In addition, we need to arrange for people to be stationed there, so we can't go south for the time being."

"After today's battle, you must all be hungry and exhausted."

“Send someone to Shanggui to buy some meat so that the brothers can have a good meal and get a good rest tonight.”

"Yes..." The three nodded, bowed, and then left the tent.

After they left, Liu Jilong was finally able to get some rest.

Although he had more energy than the average person, he couldn't withstand the excessive energy expenditure of commanding the three armies.

Not long after lying down, he fell into a deep sleep without even eating dinner.

While he was fast asleep, Wang Shi, whom he had defeated and fled from, slowly regained some of his strength. When he opened his eyes, he was already in a moving carriage.

He frowned and opened the window, only to see that the carriage was flanked by official roads and mountains, with no rivers, unlike the Qin Prefecture.

"Young Master, you're awake?!"

Wang Chongrong rode forward, followed by Wang Chongyi and several other generals.

"Where is this place?" Wang Shi asked the group. Wang Chongrong promptly bowed and replied:

"We are currently still in Qinzhou territory, but only thirty li away from Fengzhou territory. We should be able to reach Liangdang County in Fengzhou in three days at the latest."

"At present, our army still has 672 elite cavalry and 2,456 infantrymen, all riding draft horses."

When Wang Chongrong explained the current situation, Wang Shi immediately realized: "You abandoned the city and left with the Qinling troops?"

"Please forgive me, Junior Guardian, I had no choice..." Wang Chongrong quickly explained.

Seeing this, Wang Shi didn't say anything, but sighed and asked, "Have you submitted a memorial to the court?"

"The memorial is here, but it has not yet been sent out..."

Wang Chongrong handed over a memorial to the emperor. Wang Shi took it and examined it, finding that the content was correct and consistent with the facts.

The reason he didn't send it was probably because Wang Chongrong was worried that he would be dissatisfied with the memorial and wanted to embellish the process to make his defeat less embarrassing.

"Ha ha……"

Wang Shi gave a few bitter laughs, thinking to himself that there was nothing more to be ashamed of. He then handed over the memorial, saying, "It's well written. Send someone to Chang'an as quickly as possible."

"Yes!" Wang Chongrong breathed a sigh of relief, and then dispatched a fast horse to deliver the memorial to Chang'an.

Meanwhile, Qinling was recaptured by the Zhang brothers, Zhang Hong and Zhang Fan, while An Pohu led his troops in pursuit towards Qingshui County.

However, since Yang Xuanji and Yang Gongqing's Shence Army had set off five days earlier, he was unable to catch up with them and only arrived at Qingshui County at dusk the following day.

Seeing the rebel army approaching the city, and with An Pohu claiming that Wang Shi had suffered a crushing defeat, the government troops in Qingshui County did not hesitate for long, and the thousand government troops in the city chose to surrender.

From then on, the land of Qinzhou was entirely under the control of Longyou. By the time the news reached Shanggui, it was already the fifth day after the Battle of Jishui.

The documents from all the counties were compiled in Shanggui. Gao Jinda also led the three thousand veterans and six hundred candidates for official positions that Liu Jilong had left in Wushan and Fuqiang counties to Shanggui.

Although the maps and records of various prefectures and counties in the Tang Dynasty were severely distorted, Qin Prefecture was only a prefecture and county that the Tang Dynasty had recovered more than 20 years ago. With the continuous migration, the maps and records of Qin Prefecture were not so severely distorted that they could still be used as a reference.

So after summarizing everything, Gao Jinda found Liu Jilong and told him about the general situation in Qinzhou.

"Within the territory of the General and Qin Prefecture, there are 24,957 households, 124,785 people, and 566,254 mu of farmland."

"Of this, only 260,000 mu of arable land belonged to the common people, while the remaining 300,000 mu were basically occupied by military officers."

Inside the Shanggui County government office, Gao Jinda respectfully reported on the population and arable land issues in Shanggui. After listening, Liu Jilong remarked, "These military officers are truly insatiable."

"But it's good now, these fields all belong to us, so we can make good use of them."

"These 120,000 people, plus the more than 50,000 laborers we captured, make a total of 170,000 people."

"Given the output of Qin Prefecture's land, each person needs at least ten mu of land to support themselves after paying taxes."

"Here's what we'll do: you issue the order for me to distribute the farmland of Qin Prefecture equally among the more than 170,000 people, and temporarily exempt Qin Prefecture from taxes for three years."

"In addition, if any people want to cultivate wasteland, the county government will lend them grain free of charge, with three shi of grain for every mu of land cultivated."

"The officials transferred to Qin Prefecture will not be issued official land for the time being. Didn't our army capture nearly 40,000 government troops?"

"Let these officers and soldiers reclaim wasteland, and the reclaimed wasteland will be used as official land for distribution."

In just a few words, Liu Jilong set the tone.

Upon hearing this, Gao Jinda immediately pondered, "If that's the case, with 40,000 government troops, they should be able to cultivate tens of thousands of acres of official land before the summer of next year, enough to distribute to the officials of Qin Prefecture."

"But after these 40,000-plus government troops have reclaimed the official land, are they all to be sent to Hexi?"

Zhang Huaishen could immediately equip the more than 40,000 captured government and military troops, provided they had enough armor.

These government troops are not good at fighting in Longyou, but if they were used to deal with the Uyghurs, Karluks and other tribes in the Western Regions, they would be a real weapon.

Liu Jilong wasn't reluctant to part with them, since Zhang Huaishen had already decided to send troops under his command, and he couldn't be stingy.

"If any of these officers and soldiers behave well while they are cultivating the assigned land, they can stay; the rest should be sent to Hexi."

"However, to avoid them rioting on the way, we set a deadline for them, allowing them to return home in ten years. We also explained this to Zhang Jieshuai, believing that he had the means to deal with these officers and soldiers."

Most of the captured officers and soldiers were young men in their twenties and thirties. Ten years later, although they were no longer young, they were still considered to be in their prime.

The ten-year deadline was meant to give them hope, but Liu Jilong didn't believe they could endure the loneliness of being away from home for ten years.

If Zhang Huaishen uses some tricks, at least half of these 40,000 young men will settle down in the Western Regions, get married, and have children.

Even if some people eventually leave, the Western Regions will have gained at least tens of thousands more descendants of Han people, and that is enough.

"Yes!" Gao Jinda nodded in agreement, and then said:

"At present, our army has captured more than 246,000 shi of grain and fodder from Qin Prefecture, as well as 260,000 guan of cash, and seized more than 425,000 guan of cash and more than 70,000 sets of armor and weapons."

"In addition, there were also goods such as silk, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea, which were valued at no less than 300,000 strings of cash, and the profits were substantial."

"In the past few days, although 82 brothers in the wounded soldiers' camp have succumbed to their injuries, the other brothers have all pulled through."

"In the five battles fought by the commander, 3,267 brothers were killed, 722 were disabled, and 3,517 wounded soldiers remained."

"The military doctors have all examined them. The fastest of these wounded soldiers will recover in a month, and the slowest will take at most three months."

"If the compensation is distributed according to the previously agreed-upon amount, the spoils from this battle..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong interrupted, saying, "The spoils are the spoils, and the compensation is the compensation."

"The money and grain obtained in this battle amount to nearly one million strings of cash. They shall be distributed according to the post-battle distribution plan: forty percent shall go to the Protectorate General, one-tenth to the brigade commanders and above, and the remaining fifty percent shall be distributed equally among the brothers who participated in this battle."

"Yes." Gao Jinda nodded in agreement, and Liu Jilong followed suit.
"Nearly four thousand people were killed or disabled in this battle, but we can recruit soldiers from the three prefectures of Hebei, Linyi and Wei to make up for the losses."

"In addition, troops from the three prefectures and garrisoned troops were transferred to serve as combat troops and stationed in Qin Prefecture."

"After this, Qinzhou should have 40,000 soldiers. I will personally lead 20,000 veterans south, leaving 20,000 for you to garrison Qinzhou. Can you hold it?"

Although Longyou had 100,000 soldiers, only 40,000 were veterans, and the remaining 60,000 were new recruits.

Taking the Three Rivers southward was naturally more difficult than defending Qinzhou, since the main force of the government army in the northwest had been killed by Liu Jilong, with only less than 30,000 old soldiers left under Wang Shi and Li Chengxun.

Even if the last remaining veterans could be drawn from various towns, the maximum number that could be gathered would be 60,000.

With 20,000 troops stationed in Qinzhou, to defend against at most 60,000 government troops, Liu Jilong believed that Gao Jinda could hold the line.

"Rest assured, General, I will definitely defend Qin Prefecture!"

Gao Jinda bowed decisively, and Liu Jilong nodded after hearing this: "In that case, you shall mobilize troops and replace Husiguang and the old soldiers of Qinzhou with the garrison troops and new soldiers from the state, and gather the old soldiers in Shanggui."

"Yes!" Gao Jinda replied and then walked out of the county government office.

Before long, fast horses kept leaving the city, and after several days of withdrawal, Wang Shi successfully retreated back to Fengzhou and headed towards Fengxiang Town.

Even faster than him was the memorial he had Wang Chongrong deliver.

On September 28th, when the memorial arrived in Chang'an, the entire city was plunged into panic and shock.

Hurried footsteps echoed in the Zichen Palace. Li Cui, his face dark, walked up to the golden platform, ignoring the officials' chants, and stood directly on the platform, acknowledging the fact that the imperial court had been defeated in Qinzhou.

"Of the 80,000 imperial troops, apart from the nearly 10,000 soldiers from Shence and Hezhong, the rest were all captured by the rebels."

"Now that Liu Jilong's power is too great to control, I would like to ask you all: will Liu Jilong advance into Guanzhong?"

Li Cui stood on the golden platform. Although his figure appeared tall, he could not hide his lack of confidence.

"Your Majesty, I believe that all the troops from the northwestern garrisons should be gathered at Zhisheng Pass and Anrong Pass."

"The defeat in this battle was entirely due to Wang Shi's deception of his superiors and his unauthorized departure from the city to fight Liu Jilong, which led to the court's five defeats in five battles and the loss of Qin Prefecture."

"Your Majesty, I believe we should take refuge in Luoyang, then gather troops from Hedong and other garrisons to attack the rebels west of Anrong Pass."

"His Majesty……"

The ministers each expressed their opinions, but without exception, they all suggested defending Anrong Pass and Zhisheng Pass, and there were even many voices advising Li Cui to seek refuge in Luoyang. However, Luoyang was no longer as prosperous as it was during the Kaiyuan era, and with the bandits in the He and Huai rivers still not quelled, how could he possibly go to Luoyang?

"Your Majesty, I believe that Liu Jilong will not easily attack Chang'an. The court should seize this opportunity to train the troops and wait for the spring to launch a counterattack on Qinzhou!"

Among the many officials, Zheng Tian stepped forward with a different suggestion.

All the ministers advised defense, but only Zheng Tian suggested a counterattack, and was certain that Liu Jilong would not launch a full-scale attack on Guanzhong.

"What insightful opinion does Vice Minister Zheng have?"

As prime minister, Lu Yan couldn't help but ask Zheng Tian a question. Zheng Tian calmly bowed to Li Cui, then looked at the tablet and said:

"The rebels have just seized Qin Prefecture, and their foothold is unstable. Moreover, winter is approaching. If they rashly send troops to Guanzhong and fail to quickly capture Anrong Pass, the rebels will have no place to stand and may even be imprisoned."

"Liu Jilong is a master strategist, so cunning and shrewd that he would never do something so unwise."

"Furthermore, the troops from Shannan West Road, Dongchuan, and Xichuan have been attacking the rebels for more than four months, and the casualties are probably considerable. Liu Jilong cannot simply pretend to ignore it."

"I believe that Liu Jilong is currently planning to march south, either to attack the Dongchuan Army or the Shanxi Army."

"Your Majesty, I request that you issue an edict ordering Governor Wang and Governor Li to lead their troops to withdraw to Xingfeng and Jiangyou Pass, and to defend the city and passes to the death. You should also order Governor Gao to quickly attack and capture Gutao Pass."

"As long as Xingfeng is in hand, the court can maintain its connection with Sanchuan, and with the three passes in hand, it won't be so easy for Liu Jilong to conquer them."

"Furthermore, the court should train troops this winter when Liu Jilong turns his forces south, and assemble them at Anrong Pass before February of next year to launch a counterattack, recover Qin Prefecture, and force Liu Jilong to move north."

Zheng Tian spoke eloquently, and some of his points were quite correct, while others, though flawed, were not serious.

Seeing that he was a rare minister among the officials who could come up with a complete strategy, Li Cui couldn't help but ask, "Besides the more than 30,000 troops in Jingyuan, Longzhou and other places in Guanzhong, there are only troops stationed in various towns, which add up to no more than 30,000."

"To think that 60,000 troops can recapture Qin Prefecture is a bit too presumptuous..."

Faced with Li Cui's questioning, Zheng Tian couldn't help but nod and say, "Indeed, we are being overconfident, and it is very likely that we will not be able to recover Qinzhou. However, as long as the court sends troops, Liu Jilong will have no choice but to abandon Sanchuan and head north, and the court's goal will be achieved."

"In addition, the court can take this opportunity to quell the large and small bandits in the He and Huai River regions, and then transfer troops to support Guanzhong."

"In my opinion, we may not win if we fight, but if we don't fight, how can we talk about victory..."

Zheng Tian also honestly admitted that he could not guarantee that the government army would win, but if he did nothing, he would definitely not win.

Li Cui was very satisfied with his attitude. He was afraid that Zheng Tian, ​​like the generals at the front, would report victories every day, and as a result, the rebel army would almost reach Guanzhong.

The general who reported the victory that Li Cui mentioned was naturally Li Chengxun, who was stationed in Jingyuan.

Since July, Li Chenghun has been reporting victories one after another, with some beheading hundreds and others dozens, totaling seventy-two reports.

If we accept his report of victory, at least 30% of the 60,000 rebel troops in Longyou were killed by Li Chengxun.

Judging from Wang Shi's report of victory, the 80,000 government troops in Qin Prefecture killed at most 10,000 rebels, or even fewer.

Based on his familiarity with the two, Li Cui quickly figured out who was lying.

Wang Shi's memorial was worse than a lie, because Li Cui simply could not accept that 80,000 government troops had been defeated by Liu Jilong one after another, with less than 10,000 escaping, while the rebel army suffered no more than 10,000 casualties.

The ratio of one to eight, or even less, left Li Cui feeling suffocated and also filled with panic.

If the fighting continues like this, and Liu Jilong's remaining 50,000 troops are wiped out, wouldn't that require the expenditure of 400,000 to 500,000 troops?
The current imperial court already has a hard time assembling 180,000 troops, and who would have thought that 100,000 would be wiped out in just four months.

Li Cui had lost the high spirits he had at the start of the war; all that remained was confusion and anxiety.

Seeing that Zheng Tian's explanation was very logical, he naturally chose to believe him.

However, after being convinced, he still asked, "Wang Shi lost 100,000 troops. I think he is too old and may not be able to withstand the tediousness and exhaustion of the war. I wonder if there are any good generals in the court who are willing to go to Longzhou?"

If Li Cui had said this before the war, the court officials would have fought tooth and nail for the position. Even when he selected Wang Shi to be the commander of the expedition, there was constant criticism in the court.

After all, in the eyes of the ministers at the time, it would be a piece of cake to send an army of 160,000 to attack the mere Longyou.
However, the situation has changed. Liu Jilong's military prowess is even stronger than that of Shi Siming and An Shouzhong in the past, but the court cannot find famous generals like Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi, and Pugu Huaien.

For a time, the courtiers became hesitant and unable to recommend any suitable generals.

Lu Yan's expression shifted, and after thinking for a moment, he stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I recommend Minister Xu as the punitive expedition commander, but Sanchuan is too far from Guanzhong, and I'm afraid Minister Xu will not be able to take care of both."

"It would be better to appoint Gao Pian, the military governor of Xichuan, as the punitive expedition commander to control Dongchuan and Xichuan, and seize the opportunity to recover the six prefectures of Jiannan."

Lu Yan had not forgotten the gift Gao Pian had given him. If this matter could be settled, Gao Pian would definitely give him another gift.

What does Minister Xu think?

Li Cui nodded after hearing this and looked at Xu Shang, but Xu Shang was inwardly groaning and his expression was not good either.

"Your Majesty, although I previously commanded troops in the eastern part of Shannan to suppress the rebels, my forces numbered only about 10,000. Now that the western front has been assembled, the forces number no less than 70,000."

"I am not afraid, but I am worried that I will be unable to control the three armies, leading to their defeat and bringing shame upon the court..."

Xu Shang's excuses were obvious, and Li Cui's face darkened upon seeing this. His gaze searched the hall, lingering on Zhang Yichao more than once.

In fact, he really wanted to use Zhang Yichao. After all, there were only a few officials in the court who knew how to use troops, and Zhang Yichao's ability to recover Hexi was among the best in the entire court. If he wasn't worried about Zhang Yichao joining forces with Liu Jilong, Li Cui would have used him long ago.

With these thoughts in mind, Li Cui turned his gaze to Zheng Tian and couldn't help but ask, "Does Vice Minister Zheng have the confidence to command the three armies and fight against the rebels?"

"Your subject obeys the decree!" Zheng Tian did not refuse without hesitation. Even knowing that what lay ahead was a pit of fire, he resolutely jumped in.

Seeing Zheng Tian's actions, Li Cui was slightly moved. He then said, "By imperial decree, Zheng Tian, ​​the Vice Minister of War, is hereby appointed as Chancellor and concurrently Minister of War, serving as Commander-in-Chief of the Western Capital Circuit, Commander of the Longyou Expeditionary Force, and Commander of the Northern and Southern Military Supplies. He is also promoted to Grand Master of the Palace, granted the title of Silver Seal Grand Master, and appointed as Viscount of Shian County..."

Li Cui generously bestowed upon Zheng Tian official positions, honorary ranks, and titles, which aroused envy in many, yet none dared to accept the appointment.

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness..."

Zheng Tian quickly bowed and greeted him, but the first thing he did after getting up was to say to Li Cui: "Your Majesty, although Wang Shaobao has been defeated, he is already familiar with Longyou and Liu Jilong. I request Your Majesty to allow Wang Shaobao to remain in the camp for three months, and then summon him to the capital to be questioned before the spring."

"Sure!" Li Cui was delighted with Zheng Tian's appearance, so naturally he wouldn't refuse him.

Seeing this, Zheng Tian returned to his seat, while Li Cui questioned Xu Shang:
"I have heard that bandits such as Huang Chao and Wang Xianzhi have gathered in the southwest of the Huai River, occupied prefectures and counties, and harmed the people."

"Since Wei Bo has accepted the reward, why doesn't he head south to quell the rebels, but instead remains inactive?"

When the topic of the Central Plains came up, Li Cui also got angry.

He rewarded them twice, hoping that Weibo would win a battle, but Weibo remained inactive in Songzhou.

They didn't kill many thieves, but they received plenty of rewards.

"Your Majesty, the soldiers of Weibo have always been arrogant and domineering. Although He Quanhao is willing to kill the rebels, the soldiers are making a fuss and are unwilling to go south."

Xu Shang explained to He Quanhao, but Li Cui scolded him, "He takes the court's money and grain but refuses to go south. Since that's the case, then order He Quanhao to lead his army back to Weibo, summon troops from Zhaoyi, Hedong, Hezhong and other places to go south, and appoint Liu Zhan, the military governor of Xuanwu, as co-prime minister. Quickly suppress the rebels."

"Your subject obeys the decree..." Xu Shang reluctantly agreed. Seeing this, Li Cui continued to ask:

Where have the Shatuo troops led by Li Guochang and his son Li Keyong arrived?

"Your Majesty..." Xu Shang gathered his thoughts before continuing:

"This father and son returned to Daibei first, and now they have gathered 4,000 troops and marched south, just entering Henan Province."

"As expected, we should be able to reach Songzhou in about three to five days, and then we will be under the command of Liu Shixiang to suppress the rebels."

As soon as Xu Shang finished speaking, Zheng Tian, ​​who had retreated to his seat, stepped forward again and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that we should first send troops to surround the two traitors, Wang and Huang, in Huainan Road, and then dispatch the Shatuo elite cavalry to quell the Taishan bandits led by Pang Xun."

"Once Pang Xun is defeated, Pang's 30,000 troops can march south, and it will be easier to join forces to attack the two traitors, Wang and Huang."

Zheng Tian had no idea what Huang Chao was planning. However, judging from the current situation, Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao were more inclined to the bandit tactics, while Pang Xun had been entrenched in places like Mount Tai and Mount Lu, launching attacks in all directions, especially focusing on the Xuzhou area south of the mountains.

Clearly, Pang Xun also harbored ambitions to seize Xuzhou and disrupt the imperial canal transport.

"Your Majesty, I believe that Pang Xun and Wang Xianzhi are, after all, military generals. If the court is willing to offer them amnesty, these two will surely submit to the court."

At this crucial moment, Lu Yan stepped forward, bowed, and offered a suggestion. Li Cui frowned slightly upon hearing this: "What about Huang Chao?"

When facing Huang Chao, Lu Yan adopted a different attitude: "Your Majesty, Huang Chao is different from Pang Xun and Wang Xianzhi."

"The latter two were both military officers of the imperial court, who had no choice but to rebel. If they were pacified, they could be subdued. Huang Chao, on the other hand, was just a bandit. His ancestors were all commoners who made a living by smuggling salt. He was truly despicable. Even if he were pacified, he would have no intention of submitting to the imperial court. He should be pacified!"

As soon as Lu Yan finished speaking, Zheng Tian quickly said, "How can you judge a person's character based on their background?"

"Moreover, Huang Chao was a merchant in Longyou. If it weren't for the county government's suppression, he wouldn't have gathered people to rebel. If the imperial court were willing to offer him amnesty, they might be able to gain a talented individual."

“A talented man?” Lu Yan scoffed, his face showing disdain. “Minister Zheng probably doesn’t know that Huang Chao has failed the imperial examinations repeatedly because his writings are incoherent and his words are taboo.”

"Judging from his writings, this man probably harbored rebellious intentions all along, and since the court is locked in a life-or-death struggle with the rebels, how could he possibly submit willingly?"

Lu Yan's words did persuade Li Cui, since in his opinion, those who had become involved with Longyou at this moment were not good people.

Thinking of this, Li Cui took the initiative to speak up: "Issue Liu Zhan, the co-prime minister, to serve as the Left Shence Army commander and supervising censor to pacify Wang Xianzhi."

"Another order is made to appoint Kang Chengxun as the military commissioner of Sizhou and concurrently as the supervising censor to pacify Pang Xun. If the two are willing to pacify him, then Liu Zhan and Kang Chengxun will be ordered to lead the two forces to besiege and suppress Huang Chao."

"Your Majesty is wise!" Lu Yan praised Li Cui without hesitation, and Zheng Tian could only shake his head and retreat upon seeing this.

Seeing that the officials were all settled, Li Cui immediately stepped down from the Golden Terrace, and the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies also hurriedly announced the end of the court session.

As the officials left the Zichen Hall, Zhang Yichao was accompanied by Zhang Huaiquan and Zhang Huaiding, each with their own thoughts.

Seeing the imperial court continuously losing to Liu Jilong, Zhang Huaiding couldn't help but think of Liu Jilong's promise to cooperate with him from within and without.

"If given the opportunity, we could work together with Liu Jilong from within and without. Why would I, Zhang Huaiding, have to worry about not being able to establish an emperor?"

Zhang Huaiding was secretly excited, while Zhang Huaiquan was worried about Zhang Huaishen's reaction upon learning of Zhang Yitan's death.

Zhang Yichao's thoughts differed from the other two. He was in a dilemma because he had figured out what Liu Jilong was up to.

If he tells the emperor his speculations, the court will surely make reasonable adjustments.

However, when he thought about the imperial court's attitude towards Hexi and Longxi, he suppressed this idea.

He wanted to be loyal, but he couldn't bear to see the Hexi and Longyou rebels die or be wounded. So he kept wavering between loyalty and righteousness, unable to make a decision.

Only after boarding the carriage did Zhang Yichao sigh, choosing the soldiers and people of Hexi and Longxi over the harsh court that had treated them…

After the court session ended, countless fast horses rushed out of Chang'an to deliver imperial edicts to various regions. Zheng Tian did not linger in Chang'an and went to Longzhou the next day.

Five days later, Liu Zhanxian of Songzhou received the imperial decree to send away the Weibo army and to pacify Wang Xianzhi.

However, he did not act rashly. Instead, he waited for several days until Li Guochang and Li Keyong, father and son of the Shatuo, arrived in Songcheng County with four thousand elite cavalry. Only then did he notify the generals of Weibo to go and welcome them.

Li Guochang and Li Keyong practically emptied the last reserves of Daibei. During this time, they also equipped the towns of Hedong and Hezhong with armor. Although they did not have fully armored cavalry, they were still a fully armored elite cavalry force.

They swept away the slump they had encountered in Longyou and instead became high-spirited.

However, the discipline of the Shatuo army was indeed poor. As soon as the four thousand elite cavalry arrived in Songcheng County, their eyes began to scan the surrounding people.

He Quanhao and Han Junxiong stood behind Liu Zhan, the Chancellor, with six bodyguards, and hundreds of bodyguards followed behind them.

Not far from the West Gate was the military camp of the Weibo army, where six thousand Weibo soldiers were resting.

Facing Li Guochang and his son Li Keyong, the guards of Weibo Town made no attempt to hide their contempt.

Li Guochang and Li Keyong dismounted one after the other and bowed respectfully to Liu Zhan, who was nearly fifty years old and had a long beard.

"Li Guochang, military commissioner of the Shatuo army, pays his respects to Chancellor Liu!"

Li Guochang was not stupid. Now that Liu Zhan was already the Chancellor, he would surely be transferred to Chang'an as Chancellor after the rebellion was quelled.

If Liu Zhan speaks well of him at that time, he might be able to obtain the position of Defense Commissioner of Datong.

Thinking of this, Li Guochang became even more humble, but He Quanhao spoke up at this moment:

"Prime Minister Liu, you said that Military Envoy Li brought the imperial decree, why don't you present it first?"

He Quanhao's words caused Li Guochang's expression to change slightly, as he did not recall issuing any imperial edict to Weibo Town.

However, when he looked at Liu Zhan, he immediately understood that Liu Zhan intended to use him to intimidate the Weibo troops, so he immediately changed his tune and looked directly at He Quanhao, saying:
"I had long heard that some soldiers were good at making noise, and I thought they had some martial prowess, but I didn't expect to be beaten to death by some bandits!"

"You bastard, are you courting death?!"

"I've heard that you've lost thousands of heads in that impoverished place of Longyou. Do you intend to lose thousands more heads in this prosperous land?!"

"You little brat, you're no better than your mother's servant!"

Almost as soon as Li Guochang finished speaking, Wei Bo's generals started cursing, and the soldiers behind them joined in, some even drawing their swords.

After being granted the imperial surname, Li Guochang and Li Keyong were already proud of it. Now, hearing someone call them bastards, they were immediately enraged and drew their knives one after the other: "You bastards, cut off your tongues and see what you have left to say!"

Seeing Li Guochang and Li Keyong make their move, thousands of Shatuo elite cavalry behind them drew their spears and rode forward.

The civilians who couldn't escape were trampled by the horses' hooves, and their cries for help echoed throughout the area.

Liu Zhan himself was also in a very sorry state, never expecting that the troops from these two towns would start fighting as soon as they met.

Hundreds of civilians were trampled and injured by horses' hooves, while the elite cavalry of the Shatuo also surrounded the hundreds of soldiers of Weibo.

"You bastard, who just called me a 'bastard'?!"

Li Guochang glared fiercely at the hundreds of soldiers. He Quanhao's face turned ashen at the sight, while Han Junxiong simply pulled out a wooden whistle and blew it.

"Beep--"

A piercing whistle rang out, and a large number of armored infantrymen immediately poured out from the distant Weibo army camp.

Since He Quanhao had already sensed something was wrong, how could he not have made preparations?

He just didn't expect that Li Guochang was even more hot-tempered than his own generals, and directly mobilized troops to surround them.

The officers and soldiers of Weibo formed ranks outside the camp and continued to approach the city gate.

However, for Li Guochang and Li Keyong, who had experienced the war with Longyou, the rumored brave and skilled troops of Weibo Town seemed to be nothing special.

"You scoundrel! With such a small force, you wouldn't even survive three days in the Western Regions, yet you dare to boast!"

Li Guochang already knew that the government troops had been decisively defeated by Liu Jilong. For him, being able to escape from the western battlefield by sheer luck was something to be proud of.

He Quanhao and Han Junxiong had naturally heard about the loss of 100,000 troops in the western border region. Since they were not as arrogant as their generals, they knew what level of strength it took to defeat 100,000 government troops in Longyou.

I originally thought the Shatuo elite cavalry was just for show, but now it seems they are not to be trifled with.

Given the current situation, if He Quanhao were to back down, he would inevitably lose all prestige, so he had no choice but to stubbornly maintain his standoff with Li Guochang.

"Both of you are His Majesty's most trusted advisors, why make things so tense?"

Liu Zhan reappeared, but he looked rather disheveled, covered in dust.

Even so, he did not blame Li Guochang, but instead tried his best to mediate between the two parties.

Seeing this, Li Guochang didn't want to become Liu Zhan's tool for no reason, so he coldly snorted and sheathed his sword: "Consider yourselves lucky!"

"Hmph!" He Quanhao turned around and looked at the guards and soldiers behind him. Seeing that they had also put away their weapons and that the Shatuo cavalry had made way for him, he led his men out.

After he left, Liu Zhan bowed to Li Guochang and said, "I originally wanted to use the military envoy's prestige to send them out of the country, but now it seems that it will not be easy."

"No problem, as long as the Prime Minister speaks, I can make them pay immediately!" Li Guochang expressed his attitude, which greatly impressed Liu Zhan.

He smiled and looked at Li Keyong, nodding and saying, "He truly is a tiger cub from a military family."

"You flatter me, Your Excellency," Li Keyong said modestly, though he was quite pleased.

Seeing this, Liu Zhan gestured and said, "The military commander's troops have also set up camp in the south of the city, and wine and meat will be sent over later."

"If the military commander doesn't mind the simple food at the county government office, why don't you come with me to the county government office for a meal?"

"Since the envoy has invited me, I dare not refuse." Upon seeing this, Li Guochang led Li Keyong and others to follow Liu Zhan into the city.

Before entering the city, Liu Zhan looked at the people trampled by the Shatuo cavalry and said to his chief secretary, "Please have a physician treat the people. This was a mistake on my part. I will allocate money and grain from my residence to compensate the people."

"The Prime Minister is benevolent and virtuous..." the Chief Clerk praised, and the surrounding people were also grateful to Liu Zhan.

Seeing how grateful they were to him despite their injuries, Liu Zhan couldn't help but sigh. He then put on a smile and continued to greet Li Guochang and the others as they headed to the county government office.

(End of this chapter)