Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 410 The Army Advances into Sichuan (A Long Chapter of 10,000 Words)
"Bam—"

"kill!!"

At the foot of Jiuhuang Mountain, beside the Fu River, soldiers from Dongchuan and Longyou fought fiercely on the horse trail of Jiangyou Pass. Often, dozens of Dongchuan soldiers would surround and attack more than ten Longyou soldiers who had taken the lead.

The soldiers of Longyou formed a battle formation, and the Dongchuan army attacked them with blunt weapons, while others continuously attacked them with bows and arrows from behind.

Arrows rained down, turning the soldiers of Longyou into pincushions. They were then surrounded by several Dongchuan soldiers and could only barely hold off the enemy under the cover of their comrades.

If someone is unfortunately seriously injured in the arm or leg by an axe or hammer, their comrades behind them will immediately pull them away, drag them onto Lu Gong's cart, and divide the troops to escort them down.

"leave!"

"Bam—"

A dozen or so pottery jars were thrown from the Dongchuan soldiers and hit the Longyou soldiers.

They instinctively tried to defend themselves, but the pottery jar was smashed, and pungent grease splattered all over them.

"It's plaster, get out of the way!!"

Upon seeing this, Li Yangchun, who was directing his troops in a fierce attack, gave a stern order, and at that moment, some of the Dongchuan soldiers threw torches over.

Seeing this, Li Yangchun instinctively pushed aside the brothers in front and waved his hand to knock the torch away.

His palms were burned, but he had no time to cry out in pain as more torches were thrown at Lü Gongche.

"Om!!"

"Uh-huh!!"

The fire ignited the petroleum, and the flames spread to the soldiers around them who had been splashed with petroleum.

Li Yangchun watched helplessly as his brothers, who had once laughed with him, were burned alive, his mind going completely blank.

"Make way! Everyone get out!!"

After realizing what was happening, Li Yangchun immediately pushed the man back to the climbing entrance, drove away the soldiers who had climbed ahead, and, despite the pain, began to urge the soldiers to jump off Lü Gongche.

The soldiers who were on fire jumped off Lü Gong's chariot and rolled around in pain.

Upon seeing this, the remaining comrades who were trying to climb first immediately kicked them into the moat.

The fire was extinguished, but the person suffered severe burns.

"Dr. Zhao!!"

"Dr. Zhao, save me!"

"Withdraw! Withdraw back!"

Cries for help, wails, commands, and battle cries filled the air at that moment.

Countless Dongchuan soldiers threw stone powder down the city gate, setting it ablaze and creating a wall of fire in an attempt to isolate all the soldiers attacking the city walls.

"The entire army shall retreat fifty paces!"

"Dang-dang-dang-dang..."

On the drum cart, Zhang Wu saw that the Dongchuan army had exhausted all means, so he immediately ordered the three armies to retreat.

Thousands of infantrymen retreated like a receding tide, Lu Gong's chariot was set on fire, and the nest chariot was destroyed...

At the same time, the soldiers listening in the tank inside the pass couldn't help but say, "The sound of the attack on the cave has stopped."

"Stopped?"

The Dongchuan soldiers, who had prepared poisonous smoke and were ready to ignite it at any moment, immediately showed their disappointment.

"No, it didn't stop. There's still a sound, but it doesn't sound like digging. It sounds more like... more like..."

The soldier, who was lying on the wall of the jar, hesitated for a long time but didn't know how to describe it. After a few breaths, he finally said, "It sounds more like something burning."

"Burning?" The soldiers responsible for dealing with the acupoint attack looked at each other in bewilderment. Amidst their comrades' confusion, they suddenly felt their minds go blank.

"boom!!"

Dust billowed into the sky, and people inside and outside the city felt a strong sense of weightlessness, but it quickly subsided.

Zhang Wu did not give the order to launch an immediate attack, and Zhang Chang, seeing this, did not urge him but instead carefully observed the situation at the city gate.

"It didn't collapse?!"

"Damn, that's really thick!"

Sure enough, as the dust settled, the section of the city wall that had been attacked by shield carts and gunpowder bombs only had most of its bricks and stones blown down, but no openings were created.

"What kind of pig-dog thing is this? Even 1,200 pounds couldn't blow it apart. Just how thick was the government army's construction?"

Zhang Chang couldn't help but complain, while Zhang Wu continued waving the command flag.

Soon, the remaining ten shield carts continued their attack, and the Dongchuan army, having recovered from the attack, immediately began repairing this section of the city wall.

"Quickly, push the damaged winch down!"

"Throw down the rocks and logs!"

In an instant, the Dongchuan soldiers along the entire section of the city wall began to fill in this area, and the Longyou army stopped using feints and instead launched a direct assault by pushing the shield carts.

Ten shield vehicles rushed across the trench bridge and were pushed into the ruins filled with debris.

More than twenty firearms soldiers quickly carried gunpowder packs on their backs and, under the protection of their own shield bearers, rushed into the shield vehicle to begin digging through the rubble and burying the gunpowder packs inside.

"Beep--"

"The Flying Bird Army will dismount along the ramp, while the remaining units will garrison the city walls, staying away from the breach!!"

Li Xun commanded the troops stationed at the city gate, and then led more than a thousand soldiers down the horse path.

Before long, the Longyou army inside the shield carts quickly withdrew and fled the battlefield.

Upon seeing this, the Dongchuan army on the city wall also fled in panic from this section of the city wall, while the troops inside the city were already in full battle array.

"boom!!"

The billowing dust that rose into the sky still shocked everyone, no matter how many times they watched it.

A cloud of dust rose more than ten feet high, bringing with it countless stones and dirt. Li Xun led his troops down the city wall and approached the breach.

As the dust settled, the original stone wall had been blasted open, but it had not yet completely collapsed.

"You motherfucker!"

Seeing that even after two attempts, using more than two thousand kilograms of gunpowder, the section of the city wall had not been completely destroyed, even the firearms soldiers in charge of the demolition couldn't help but curse loudly.

"continue!"

Zhang Wu remained calm and composed. He naturally knew that the stone walls were very sturdy, so he didn't expect to be able to blow them open from the inside in one or two tries.

During the recent attacks, the laborers built more than ten shield carts.

Seeing this, more than a hundred soldiers from Longyou continued to push the shield carts to launch an attack, while the Dongchuan army on the city gate also threw all the usable debris on the horse path into the gap that had been blasted out of the steep slope.

Countless stones, logs, and even corpses were thrown into it, and when the shield carts crossed the trench bridge, countless crossbow bolts came flying at them.

As the shield truck crashed into the ruins, countless clay pots filled with grease smashed against it, splattering grease everywhere.

As the torches were thrown, the fire quickly ignited one shield vehicle after another.

The wet cowhide covering the shield sizzled as it burned, and the soldiers inside the shield cart could feel the suffocating heat.

As the amount of rubble and debris increased, the excavation speed gradually slowed down.

Many soldiers, unable to hold their breath any longer, rushed out of the shield carts, gasping for air as they fled north.

"put!"

Countless arrows were shot at them, but even though they were riddled with arrows, they still couldn't save their lives. They only wounded their hands and legs, making them move slightly slower.

"Beep--"

Suddenly, a whistle blew, and hundreds of soldiers from Longyou rushed out of their shield carts and fled north.

"withdraw!"

Having become familiar with the Longyou army's tactics, the Dongchuan army hastily retreated. Sure enough, less than thirty paces after they withdrew, dust rose up again from the ruins.

"boom--"

The three explosions drew everyone's attention to the breach.

As the dust gradually settled, a gaping hole, less than ten feet wide, was revealed, completely destroyed by the explosion.

"Enter!"

"Dong dong dong..."

Zhang Wu waved his command flag, and the drum cart immediately sounded, along with the sudden blast of the horn.

"kill!!"

The 5,000 infantrymen in the vanguard reacted quickly and immediately began to charge toward the breach.

"The three armies, advance and form a straight line, guard the breach!"

After several explosions, Li Fu finally arrived at the front line to take over command.

He ordered Li Xun to use crossbows on the city wall to attack the rebels, while he led more than 8,000 infantrymen to hold the breach and its sides, using battle formations to block the breach.

Spears in front, crossbows in the middle, and leaping soldiers at the rear...

Eight thousand Dongchuan soldiers were stationed here, while the Longyou army that had crossed the trench bridge immediately formed a fierce battle formation, with infantry spears and long spears in front, bows and crossbows in the middle, and leaping soldiers in the rear, with other surprise troops providing support.

The high rate of infantry archers finally came into play, and even when firing upwards, they could suppress the government troops on the city walls.

Archers fired upwards, while leaping crossbowmen aimed precisely at the gaps in the parapet with their drawn crossbows, and surprise troops from the rear fired longbows and crossbows with greater power and longer range.

More than 4,000 soldiers from Longyou were transformed into archers, constantly suppressing the Dongchuan army on the city walls, while the 1,000 men at the breach were organized into the vanguard.

Those who could engage in combat formed ranks and fought each other, while the rest used bows and crossbows to attack the Dongchuan infantry inside the breach.

As the Dongchuan army thrust out their spears, the Longyou army's spears immediately clashed and intertwined with them, while the Longyou army, wielding infantry spears or long-handled swords, took the opportunity to slash at the Dongchuan army's spears.

Once the opponent's spear was cut in half, he immediately lunged forward, not giving the opponent time to replace it, closing in on the opponent and forcing them to retreat.

If they do not retreat, they will be stabbed with spears, taking the opportunity to kill a group of leaders.

The fighting between the two sides continued, with the Longyou army constantly pushing its way into the pass, while the Dongchuan soldiers on the horse trail tried to throw down grease to burn the gap and prevent the Longyou army from entering.

However, they are often targeted by the longbowmen of the vanguard team as soon as they show their faces.

The four-foot-long crossbow could be equipped with small chisel arrows, capable of piercing a layer of lamellar armor within twenty paces, or killing an enemy from two hundred paces away, making it a consumable winch crossbow.

Such power naturally requires a lot of manpower, so it takes two people working together to cock the longbow.

But precisely because of this, longbows equipped with small chisel-shaped arrows could easily kill armored soldiers within twenty paces.

Countless Dongchuan soldiers were shot to death, and the remaining Dongchuan soldiers dared not advance at all.

Although the Dongchuan army stationed here numbered 12,000, only 80% of them were fully armored.

During the previous siege, the Dongchuan army suffered heavy casualties, and now another 8,000 troops are arrayed inside the pass. There are less than 500 armored soldiers on the pass, and the rest are light soldiers with only breastplates.

Seeing that the soldiers would die if they went forward, no one dared to step forward for a moment.

Upon seeing this situation from the rear, Li Fu immediately dispatched a thousand soldiers to rush up the city wall, load all the grease onto carts and push them, preparing to directly block the only gap that led into the pass.

Li Fu reacted quickly, but Zhang Wu reacted even faster.

"Enemy attack!!"

"kill!"

When the shouts of battle suddenly rang out, the Dongchuan soldiers on the horse path realized that the Longyou army had actually attacked the city wall along the Lügong cart that had not been burned down before, and that at least one troop of soldiers had already stationed themselves at the Lügong cart that had not been completely burned.

"Charge them!"

Li Xun commanded over a thousand armored soldiers to advance from the city wall, while he himself led the light infantry wearing breastplates to counterattack with crossbow bolts.

Even so, it still couldn't stop the Longyou army from seizing the pass.

Gradually, more and more Longyou soldiers surged onto the horse path, growing from dozens to hundreds, and pressed towards them.

"Maintain your formation, stay in place!!"

Li Xun spoke lightly, but the Dongchuan soldiers who served as the vanguard were under immense pressure.

For the Dongchuan army, whose average height was 164cm, the Longyou army, whose average height was over 5.6cm, was almost completely dominating them.

Moreover, when the deputy captains of the various detachments of the Longyou Army formed their own teams, the Dongchuan Army felt even more desperate.

As the person in charge of supervising the entire team, the deputy team leader must be a "man of immense strength" or a "man of fierce determination" selected from across Gansu.

Those with immense strength are divided into two categories.

Those who can carry 630 jin and walk 50 steps are classified as first-class; those who can carry 240 jin and walk 50 steps are classified as second-class.

In addition, those who wield bows and arrows made of five stones, pierce heavy armor, and are skilled in using spears, halberds, swords, and daggers, who can fight rhinoceroses and bulls on land, seize turtles and alligators in water, capture captives with their bare hands, and seize flags and drums, are called "fierce and resolute warriors."

Of course, these are all exaggerated descriptions. In reality, someone who can carry 400 pounds and walk 50 steps is already among the strongest.

If one can draw a two-stone bow, or even hit a target seventy paces away with a one-stone bow, and is also proficient in both long and short weapons, then one has reached the level of a fierce and resolute warrior.

These men were far physically superior to ordinary soldiers, so when Zhang Wu gathered all his troops, he obtained a group of incredibly strong men, each six feet tall and with broad backs and thick waists.

Zhang Wu led his elite warriors, heavily armored and wielding spears, as his vanguard. This was a desperate situation for the Dongchuan army, their enemy.

They basically had to look up at these giants, as they were at a disadvantage in terms of height, reach, and strength.

When the fighting started, they were often knocked down or swept off the horse track before they even touched each other.

"kill!!"

Hundreds of incredibly strong men, each six feet tall, charged like chariots, constantly repelling the Dongchuan army on the horse path, resulting in heavy casualties.

"These people were selected with great difficulty. Isn't it a waste to do this?"

Standing before the drum cart, Zhang Chang watched as all the strongest men of the vanguard were organized into a brigade for combat, and couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.

Even in a peaceful and prosperous place like Longyou during this era, the army had no more than three thousand men of exceptional strength.

This is why strong men were used as deputy captains, wielding a ten-foot-long, fifteen-pound longsword to supervise the battle.

This is the first time since the formation of the Longyou army that it has used soldiers of immense strength as the vanguard in battle.

"They should be used in times like this!"

Zhang Wu spoke calmly and continued waving his command flag. By this time, most of the Longyou army had already entered the pass.

More than four thousand men bravely fought against an enemy force of more than eight thousand and forced their way into the city gate.

Once the entire army enters the city gate and captures the gate tower, the matter will be settled!
"kill!!"

The sounds of fighting echoed through Jiangyou Pass. Seeing more and more soldiers pouring into the city, Zhang Wu immediately looked at Zhang Chang and said, "General, we can ask the commander to send out troops now."

"Good!" Zhang Chang nodded upon seeing this and immediately ordered someone to inform the three armies to break camp and enter the pass.

After giving his orders, he and Zhang Wu watched as the Longyou army captured the city tower and opened the city gates.

"That damned murderer! How could he have even lost the city gate?!"

Seeing the city gate in the distance disappear, Li Fu, who was already anxious, widened his eyes even more.

"Aye!"

A disheveled Li Xun appeared beside Li Fu. Upon seeing him, Li Fu looked as if he had seen a ghost and demanded, "What are you doing here? Where is the city gate?!"

"The city gate has fallen!" Li Xun replied, then hurriedly urged, "Father, we can't hold this place anymore, let's retreat!"

"Let's retreat before the cavalry from Longyou arrives!"

"As long as we retreat to the east of Longmen Mountain, we can easily withdraw back to Brazil. Then we can head south to Zizhou and let Gao Pian and Liu Jilong fight it out!"

Li Xun had quite a few schemes up his sleeve, but Li Fu hesitated: "After all, I promised Gao Qianli I would stay here for a month. If I withdraw now, this..."

"Father!!" Li Xun raised his voice upon hearing this:

“Our army has held out for ten days. That's more than enough time for Gao Pian to lead his troops here. He just wants to watch us fight Liu Jilong to the death so he can seize control of Sichuan.”

"In my opinion, he's no different from Liu Jilong!"

Li Xun's words were a bit too harsh, but Li Fu couldn't help but waver after hearing them.

After much deliberation, he gritted his teeth and waved the command flag: "The three armies shall retreat and return to Changming!"

"Dang Dang Dang..."

"Withdraw!"

"Get out!"

"Damn it! Form ranks and retreat! Anyone who dares to run around and disrupt the formation will be executed!"

Although the Dongchuan army consisted of only newly trained soldiers, they were supervised by hundreds of members of the Li family, which made their retreat relatively stable.

As soon as they left, a messenger arrived with news.

"Commander, Commandant, Li Fu has led his troops away!"

"Should we chase them or not?" Zhang Chang looked at Zhang Wu beside him, and Zhang Wu replied without hesitation: "Chase them!"

"Order the three armies to pursue and kill the government troops. Whoever enters Changming first will be credited with merit and promoted three ranks!"

"Yes!" the fast horseman replied hastily, then turned his horse around and charged towards Jiangyou Pass.

Zhang Chang's heart tightened upon hearing this. After all, it was only thirty li from this place to Changming, and the vanguard had already been fighting the government troops for nearly an hour. An hour of fierce fighting, followed by a thirty-li pursuit of the enemy, and possibly another battle in Changming County, meant that Zhang Chang was simply disregarding the lives of his soldiers.

Zhang Wu did not explain to him, simply because in Zhang Wu's view, he would rather fight fiercely and then pursue the enemy for thirty miles, or even fight another fierce battle, than let Li Fu calmly retreat to Changming, make full preparations, and then launch another siege.

"Enter!"

Under the command flag, more than 4,000 men in the vanguard, led by Zhang Wu and Zhang Chang, launched a pursuit, leaving the wounded soldiers to guard Jiangyou Pass.

At the same time, Liu Jilong also learned that the vanguard had broken through Jiangyou Pass, and he nodded with satisfaction after learning that Zhang Wu continued to pursue Li Fu.

While there is some truth to the saying "Don't pursue a defeated enemy too far," in crucial moments, it is still necessary to relentlessly pursue and attack to expand the gains.

"Let's go, it seems we can rest in Changming tonight."

Liu Jilong gave instructions to Husiguang, and then mobilized the three armies to pass through the devastating Jiangyou Pass. After leaving two thousand soldiers to guard the pass with the wounded, they headed straight for Changming County.

Along the way, Liu Jilong could see discarded armor everywhere, indicating that the Dongchuan army had been utterly defeated and disarmed.

He ordered laborers to collect the armor while he traveled at a leisurely pace.

As expected, when he led his army to Changming County before dusk, the county had already been marked with the banner of the "Longyou Protectorate".

Zhang Chang remained in Changming County and bowed to Liu Jilong, saying, "General, Zhang Wu has led a thousand brothers and mobilized a thousand draft horses from within the city to pursue Li Fu."

"Li Fu led his troops and the garrison in Changming County to flee to Brazil, capturing tens of thousands of shi of grain and countless supplies in Changming County!"

Zhang Chang bowed respectfully, inwardly admiring both Liu Jilong and Zhang Wu.

Liu Jilong nodded in response, his gaze sweeping over Changming County.

The city wall of Changming County was built of rammed earth, and it was no more than one zhang high and one zhang and five zhang thick at most. There was no trace of any reinforcement.

It is likely that Li Fu felt that Jiangyou Pass was strong enough, which is why he did not build Changming County.

That's why, when he suffered a crushing defeat and was being pursued by Zhang Wu, he never even considered going to Changming County to hide.

After all, Changming County is only about 30 li away from Jiangyou Pass. If he hides in Changming County, Liu Jilong can immediately lead a large army to surround him.

Li Fu wasn't stupid. He was currently fleeing to Brazil, and although Brazil wasn't as secure as Jiangyou, it was much better than Changming.

In addition, Brazil has the Fu River waterway, so it doesn't have to worry about its supplies being cut off.

Unfortunately, no matter how thick Brazil's walls were, they were still just rammed earth walls. As long as Liu Jilong launched an attack, Brazil would suffer the same fate as Jiangyou Pass.

If Li Fu can come to his senses, the best thing he should do now is to flee to Zizhou.

"The cavalry, infantry, and laborers set up camp outside the city, while the cavalry entered the city to rest."

"Yes!"

Liu Jilong shook the reins and immediately led the cavalry into the city, while the military officers in charge of discipline in the three armies were repeating the same orders.

The discipline of the Longyou army needs no further explanation. Although everyone looked around curiously, no one dared to stop and do anything.

Surrounded by cavalry, Liu Jilong entered Changming. The first thing he saw was the three-zhang-wide official road and the crowd of people watching them from the walls of the neighborhood.

The streets of Changming are full of potholes, and the walls of the neighborhoods are low and dilapidated.

Most of the children clinging to the wall were dressed in tattered clothes and were emaciated.

Liu Jilong exhaled a breath, and white mist flew out of his mouth, indicating that the temperature was cold.

"Zhang Chang, take inventory of the silk and coarse cloth in the warehouse."

"Yes!"

As soon as Liu Jilong spoke, Zhang Chang knew that his military commander was about to distribute things to the people.

However, he didn't say anything, simply because even he couldn't stand it.

Sanchuan was indeed wealthy, but the wealthy were not the common people, but the government offices and powerful families.

The people inside the city were dressed in thin, tattered clothes, while those outside the city would likely freeze to death in the cold wind.

Thinking of this, Zhang Chang couldn't help but think of himself under the rule of the Tibetan Empire.

Soon, the three thousand cavalrymen split into two groups: one group went into the military camp to rest, while the other group took over the guards of the county government.

Liu Jilong entered the county government office. Due to the hasty withdrawal of the county government troops, all kinds of documents in the office were still there.

After he had the items counted and placed in the main seat, he began to peruse them to check on the situation in Changming County.

Meanwhile, Zhang Chang, Geng Ming, and Hu Siguang left the yamen to keep a close watch on discipline.

Fifteen minutes later, the army cooks prepared a hot meal, and Liu Jilong ate while flipping through the documents of Changming County.

After finishing his meal, he gained a general understanding of the situation in Changming County.

The county's maps and records are all from the Huichang era, most likely dating back to when Li Deyu governed Sichuan and ordered the land to be measured and the population to be counted.

However, there are two sets of documents in the county: one is a copy of the old Yuanhe era books, and the other is a list of books compiled during the Huichang era.

The former was probably used to fool the prefectural and circuit government offices, while the latter was used to govern Changming County.

There seemed to be no problem, but during the Yuanhe era, Sichuan experienced the "Liu Pi Rebellion," and the population of the prefectures and counties bordering Dongchuan and Xichuan was depleted and the land was abandoned.

After decades of subsequent efforts to restore the population and arable land in these prefectures and counties, they gradually recovered.

For example, in the two sets of documents in Liu Jilong's possession, the copy of the old documents shown to the imperial court stated that Changming County had only more than 4,000 households, more than 23,000 people, and more than 124,000 mu of cultivated land.

The latter document used to govern Changming County states that Changming County has more than 6,800 households, more than 34,000 people, and more than 187,000 mu of cultivated land.

The data discrepancy between the two books was enough to conceal thousands of strings of cash in taxes.

Changming County is considered a relatively wealthy county. If even Changming does this, then other poor counties must be even worse off.

However, the latter's illustrations were probably distorted long ago.

Putting aside other issues, just the fact that Longyou has been continuously recruiting people from Jiannan Road and Shannan West Road in recent years is enough to show how serious the population loss in these areas is.

Just now, when Liu Jilong led his army south from Jiangyou Pass, he saw many deserted villages and abandoned fields along the way. Those fields were fertile, and if the people could live and work in peace, how could they bear to abandon them?

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong closed the document and then summoned Zhang Chang.

"General!"

As Zhang Chang entered the county government office, Liu Jilong immediately said, "Send a message to Chief Clerk Gao, ordering him to first send two hundred officials and three thousand men directly south to Mianzhou."

"After the spring, we will send the wounded generals and college students who have experienced rural service to Mianzhou, so that we can select officials of rank and those without rank from among them."

Through years of dedicated development and talent accumulation, the Longyou Protectorate now has over 1,700 officials of various ranks and over 8,500 outside the capital.

Originally, Longyou had fifty counties, but after several battles, the number has increased to eighty-two.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, more prefectures and counties will be added in the next month or so.

According to the regulations of Longyou, each county should have twelve officials of official rank, and fifty to seventy officials outside the county.

The current officials and straightforward reserves are sufficient for Longyou to govern the entire Sanchuan region.

Years of accumulated experience have finally come in handy, but some things need to be changed.

"By the way, the construction and expansion of official schools in Sanchuan, Qinzhou, Shuofang and other places have been temporarily suspended."

"Yes!"

Zhang Chang did not ask why, but directly accepted the military order.

Liu Jilong has his own considerations regarding this.

The reason why Longyou was able to promote official schools and education, allowing children to read books, was because Longyou had a small population base in the early and middle periods, but had a lot of money that it could earn from the Silk Road, enough to support the education of 20,000 to 30,000 students in Longyou.

However, as the population of Longyou continues to increase and more and more students enroll, the drawbacks have become apparent, but the current situation can still be maintained with difficulty.

However, what Liu Jilong is now facing is a huge population of perhaps no less than three million people from Sanchuan, Qinzhou, and Shuofang combined.

Even if the imperial court had cut off Silk Road trade, Liu Jilong would not have been able to support so many school-age children given the large population base.

To put it bluntly, the system in Longyou can only be implemented in Longyou. Once Longyou changes, the current productivity is insufficient to promote the system in other regions.

In Longyou, it costs about three strings of cash per year to train a student, including the teacher's salary and the cost of books.

Three strings of cash, which is basically the output of six or seven acres of land during peaceful times.

Leaving aside the Three Rivers region, the sudden increase of over 500,000 people in Qin Prefecture, Shuofang, and Xingyuan Prefecture alone is enough to bankrupt this system.

Productivity dictates that it's impossible for everyone to have access to books in this era, so Liu Jilong had no choice but to make trade-offs.

The official school system of Longyou Circuit will be maintained for the time being, and it will not be opened to other newly occupied areas.

Once production resumes in various regions and there is surplus money and grain, Liu Jilong will appropriately relax restrictions on some official schools.

"productive forces……"

Liu Jilong took a deep breath, thinking of the group of children who had been peering at them curiously from the wall, and felt a slight sense of loss.

"General!"

Suddenly, Zhang Wu's voice came from outside the main hall, and then he walked into the yamen, looking travel-worn, and bowed to Liu Jilong and Zhang Chang.

"How is it?" Liu Jilong put aside other thoughts and focused on asking Zhang Wu.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wu lowered his hand and said, "This humble general led his troops in pursuit of the government army for twenty-two li, but in the end, due to insufficient horsepower and a lack of enough bean feed, we had to return to Changming County."

"More than 700 sets of armor were seized along the way, and more than 300 government and military officers were captured."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Chang continued, "The spoils from Jiangyou Pass and along the way have not yet been tallied. We probably won't know until tomorrow."

"Mm." Liu Jilong nodded in response, then reassured the two of them:

"Rest well tonight. Tomorrow we will divide our forces to attack and capture the other counties. After taking the other five counties in Mianzhou, our army will rest for three days and wait for Lu Danzeng to lead his army to Mianzhou."

"During this period, do not be stingy with horses, and send out more cavalry to scout out the situation in Xichuan and Dongchuan."

"By the way," Liu Jilong said, looking at Zhang Chang, and then instructed, "Send the order to Wuzhou to relocate the shipyard and shipwrights south to Mianzhou."

"Given their speed, they should be able to reach Brazil before spring. At that time, we can build ships in Brazil so that our army can conquer the entire Sanchuan region next year."

With less than two months left until the eighth year of Xiantong, it was impossible for Longyou to take over the entire Sanchuan region in just two months.

Liu Jilong plans to concentrate his efforts on dealing with Gao Pian in Xichuan first, and then take over the entire Xichuan region in the spring. After that, he will deploy troops to guard the south to prevent You Shilong from launching a surprise attack, while also seizing the remaining prefectures of Dongchuan and Shannan West Circuit. This is what Liu Jilong plans to do next year.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chang and Zhang Wu bowed and then left the Changming County government office at Liu Jilong's signal.

At dawn the following day, Liu Jilong divided his troops into five routes, with himself, Husiguang, Zhang Wu, Zhang Chang, and Geng Ming attacking the remaining five counties of Mianzhou.

Upon learning of Liu Jilong's attack, Li Fu indeed burned down Brazil's shipyard and led hundreds of ships of varying sizes south along the Fu River to Fucheng in southern Mianzhou.

Within three days, of the eight counties in Mianzhou, except for Yanquan and Fucheng, the remaining six counties fell into Liu Jilong's hands.

At this point, Liu Jilong did not continue to conquer cities and seize territory, but instead sent Zhang Wu and Husi Guang with three thousand elite cavalry to the direction of Hanzhou in Xichuan to investigate Gao Pian's strength and weakness.

When news of the loss of six counties and one pass in Mianzhou arrived, Gao Pian had already gathered five thousand elite cavalry and five thousand infantrymen, as well as twenty thousand Xichuan infantrymen in Shifang County.

Martial law was declared in and around Shifang. Zhang Lin and Lin Ruzhen led 5,000 elite Han and non-Han cavalrymen in a tug-of-war with 3,000 elite Longyou cavalrymen led by Zhang Wu and Husi Guang within the territory of Hanzhou, preventing the other side from gathering more intelligence.

"Screw rustle..."

The sound of armor plates clashing echoed inside the Shifang County government office. Wang Zhongren and Liang Zuan entered the main hall of the county government office, clearly having learned of the news from Mianzhou and rushed over.

"General, I heard that Mianzhou has lost Jiangyou Pass and six counties including Baxi, and Zhang Dalang has even clashed with the rebels."

"General, when shall we head north?"

The two spoke one after the other, while Gao Pian, sitting in the main seat, was carefully reading through the intelligence report on Mianzhou.

After a short while, he put down the intelligence report and said calmly, "No need to rush. I have already given Zhang Lin the order to retreat."

"Retreat?" Liang Zuan asked, puzzled. He immediately bowed and said, "General, the rebels are now halting their advance. It seems they do not have enough troops to penetrate deep into Western Sichuan."

"In that case, why don't we take this opportunity to defeat them one by one?"

Before Gao Pian could answer his question, Wang Zhongren shook his head and said, "Don't forget, the rebels still have a lot of troops in Maozhou. Liu Jilong is probably waiting for the troops in Maozhou to gather."

"Hmm!" Gao Pian nodded in response to Wang Zhongren, praising, "The only troops Liu Jilong can use are the 60,000 troops he had before the war."

"Even if he has trained new soldiers, it has only been five months since the start of the war, what elite troops could he possibly train?"

"Moreover, with his series of victories, he has probably suffered considerable casualties. Even if it's only ten or twenty thousand, it would be enough for him to hide away and lick his wounds."

"Liu Jilong's halting advance is probably an attempt to lure us into attacking them in Mianzhou, so that we can have a decisive battle with them north of the Mian River and south of the Neijiang River."

"I estimate that their army's provisions will last no more than five or six months, so it's not us who should be worried, but them."

"I ordered Zhang Lin to withdraw his troops, firstly to test whether Liu Jilong dared to advance further, and secondly to seek to move the battlefield to the plains south of the Mian River and north of the Luo River."

"If the cavalry suffers setbacks in battle, they will retreat to the south of the Meng River (Jian River) and use the water network to restrict the enemy's cavalry."

Gao Pian wanted to use geography to his advantage, and then take advantage of the people and the cold weather to fight Liu Jilong.

However, Liang Zuan felt that his words sounded rather aggrieved.

"General, if that's the case, then the three counties of Mianzhu, Deyang, and Shifang north of Mengshui, as well as Baima Pass, will be handed over to Liu Jilong?"

"If the imperial court finds out, treacherous officials will surely impeach you..."

As soon as Liang Zuan finished speaking, Wang Zhongren frowned and said, "Liu Jilong already has six counties in Mianzhou. If he can get these three counties in northern Hanzhou, he might be able to confront and fight us with these hundreds of thousands of people and farmland."

Faced with the two men's concerns, Gao Pian got up and walked to the sand table, using a wooden stick to circle the three northern counties of Hanzhou and the six counties of Mianzhou.

"Although these cities have a considerable amount of grain, it is far from enough to feed the people until the summer harvest next year."

"I want him to get these cities. The more cities he gets, the more troops he will have to divide his forces, and the heavier his burden will become."

"If we get caught up in the gains and losses of a single city or place, how can we possibly fight against the rebels?"

"The rebels are strong, but their population is relatively small."

"If we can inflict heavy damage on the rebels here, even if it's just tens of thousands of casualties, it will be enough for Liu Jilong to retreat north."

"If we can annihilate their army here, then we can not only recover the three counties of Hanzhou that are about to be lost, but also take over the six prefectures of Jiannan."

"Talent is fundamental; without people, no matter how much land you conquer, you cannot govern it."

Gao Pian spoke calmly, but Wang Zhongren and Liang Zuan were immediately invigorated.

If we can lure Liu Jilong deep into our territory with the land of three counties, and then severely damage him, it will indeed be an unprecedented victory.

"General, it would be best if we could annihilate the rebels, but the rebels are strong. They have been conquering all the towns along the way and have been invincible. Even if our army can defeat them, we will probably suffer heavy casualties."

"If the chieftains of the south were to take the opportunity to invade, wouldn't the states of Li and Rong be in grave danger once again?"

Wang Chongren had not forgotten You Shilong, who was eyeing him covetously from the south, but Gao Pian gestured for him to go and see the main seat.

Wang Chongren walked to the head seat with doubt in his eyes. At Gao Pian's prompting, he picked up a letter and then walked to Gao Pian's side to open it.

He intended to read it aloud, but after only glancing at it twice, he abruptly abandoned the idea.

He looked at Gao Pian in shock, but Gao Pian calmly said to Liang Zuan, who had not yet seen the letter:
"The imperial envoy has arrived in Yangjumei City, but Chief Long did not meet with him. Instead, he had Dong Cheng, the prime minister of the Southern Barbarians, receive him."

"At the banquet, Dong Cheng proposed that peace talks between the two countries were feasible, but the imperial court would need to send a princess to marry the southern barbarians, and the princess must be the daughter of the supreme ruler."

Gao Pian calmly recounted all of this, but Liang Zuan's pupils constricted.

The Tang Dynasty had many instances of marriage alliances, but usually, a woman from the imperial family would be given a title and then married off as a princess.

After the An Lushan Rebellion, due to the decline of the imperial court, he was forced to marry three real princesses to the Uyghurs.

The three were Princess Ningguo, daughter of Emperor Suzong of Tang (Li Heng); Princess Xian'an, daughter of Emperor Dezong of Tang (Li Shi); and Princess Taihe, daughter of Emperor Xianzong of Tang.

The three women met different fates. Princess Ningguo was able to return to the Tang Dynasty after the Khan she married passed away because the Tang Dynasty was still powerful.

Princess Taihe was escorted back to the Tang Dynasty by the Kyrgyz after the Kyrgyz destroyed the Uyghur Khaganate.

Compared to those two, Princess Xian'an, who was in the middle, was in a less favorable position.

Shortly after her marriage, Tianqin Khan died, and his son succeeded to the throne, becoming known as the Loyal Khan.

The loyal Khan not only did not send Princess Xian'an back to the Tang Dynasty, but also married her according to Uyghur tradition.

Being married to both a father and his son was humiliating enough, but then the loyal Khan died, and she was subsequently married to the Fengcheng Khan and the Huaixin Khan, before finally dying in the Uyghur Khaganate.

Since the fall of the Uyghurs, the Tang Dynasty had tried its best to avoid sending princesses to marry foreign rulers. Now, You Shilong not only proposed a marriage alliance, but also suggested marrying the daughter of the current emperor, Li Cui.

Li Cui's daughters either died young or were too young, so the only one who could be married off was Princess Tongchang.

The whole world knew how much Li Cui loved this daughter.

You Shilong dared to speak up, undoubtedly to retaliate against Li Cui for making him change his name to avoid using the taboo name of Emperor Taizong years ago.

"The Supreme One would never agree to this."

Liang Zuan spoke with difficulty, and Wang Zhongren nodded with a dark expression.

Faced with their attitude, Gao Pian said, "If Your Majesty does not agree, we will be attacked from both sides."

After he said that, the two of them were speechless.

The current situation is the result of the Supreme One's willful actions.

There were already two battlefields, but then there was the campaign against Longyou, making it a third battlefield.

To deal with Liu Jilong now, the only way is to first negotiate peace with the Southern Barbarians and then borrow troops from the Kyrgyz to increase the chances of victory.

"General, if we can defeat the rebels, the Supreme One won't have to agree to the chieftain's unreasonable demands, right?"

Liang Zuan turned his gaze to Gao Pian, for for the Tang emperor and his ministers, being forced to marry a real princess was indeed a humiliating thing.

Faced with his question, Gao Pian did not answer. He just looked at Mianzhou on the sand table in front of him and remained silent, staring at the banner with the character "Liu" representing Liu Jilong.

"If he can defeat him, then of course there's no need; but that depends on how he plans to fight him..."

(End of this chapter)