Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 437 The Three Kings Compete for Supremacy (A Long Chapter of 10,000 Words)
"Drop the net! Quickly!"

"You son of a bitch, save me!!"

"The doors and windows are tightly shut! The woman and child are hiding inside..."

On the second day of the sixth lunar month, when a locust plague broke out in the eastern capital and swept through Henan, Chang'an was also not at peace.

The locust plague appears to have originated in the Shaanxi-Luoyang region east of Tongguan. Therefore, even though Liu Jilong sent people to clear away most of the locust eggs in the mudflats of Guanzhong, the locust plague in Shanzhou still inevitably affected Guanzhong.

A locust plague that blotted out the sky swept in, but fortunately, the Han Prince's Palace had ordered all prefectures and counties to prepare locust prevention tools in advance, and instructed the people to raise the window sills and nail wooden boards to the windows to make it easier to close the doors and windows.

When locusts swarmed in, women and children kept their doors and windows tightly shut at home, while men carried locust-catching tools and went out into the streets and alleys to catch the locusts.

Once the fine net is cast, dozens or even hundreds of locusts the size of a thumb can be easily caught.

Some people hang bamboo baskets on wooden sticks and wave them in the air, which can catch a dozen or so locusts.

The locust plague broke out east of Tongguan and then swept towards Tongzhou and Chang'an.

Initially, they were indeed numerous, but as people in various states, counties, and villages continued to capture them, their numbers dwindled.

After they arrived in Chang'an, they were only slightly more concentrated, no longer able to form a scene that blotted out the sky.

By the tenth day of the sixth lunar month, the locust plague that had swept into Guanzhong had finally ended, but the losses in Guanzhong were still considerable...

"Twenty-two counties, including Huayin, Hexi, Weinan, Fengxian, Chang'an, Xianyang, and Wannian, have been affected by the disaster, with 70% of their crops lost. The counties beg Your Highness to grant them relief."

Inside the Han Prince's residence, Gao Jinda reported on the consequences of the locust plague in Guanzhong. The officials in the hall all frowned, showing how much trouble the locust plague had brought to Guanzhong.

After Gao Jinda finished reading, Liu Jilong, who was sitting in the main seat, slowly spoke up: "Have the registration and record-keeping for these twenty-two counties been completed? Approximately how many people have been affected by the disaster?"

"Including Chang'an and Wannian, it's about 940,000..."

Gao Jinda bowed in response, a statement that caused everyone to gasp, but fortunately, Gao Jinda continued to add:

"Although many people were affected by the disaster, many of them survived the summer harvest. Based on this year's summer harvest tax, the 940,000 people in these 22 counties have at least 3 million shi of summer wheat."

"In my opinion, for the disaster-stricken people, it is only necessary to exempt them from this year's autumn tax and transfer grain from other places to stabilize local grain prices."

"The Ministry of Water Resources repaired the canals in Guanzhong and distributed three catties of grain to the laborers every day. Three catties of grain was enough for a family of five to eat one meal."

"As long as the Ministry of Water Resources begins to repair the water conservancy in these twenty-two affected counties, these affected people will have a way to survive and will not need the court's relief."

Gao Jinda's suggestion was essentially a work-for-relief program.

As long as the government has money and grain, the work-for-relief program usually works quite well.

After listening, Liu Jilong nodded and then said to Gao Jinda, "Reimburse the autumn tax for the people of twenty-two counties, and at the same time distribute grain from the community granaries to the poor."

“These community granaries were originally intended for emergency disaster relief. Now that the people have suffered a disaster, I cannot ignore it. Otherwise, how would I be any different from Emperor Gaozu of Sui?”

Although the names "community granary" and "charitable granary" are different, their nature is roughly the same. They both collect grain from the people, store it in local granaries, and use it for disaster relief when the people suffer from disasters.

The difference is that some emperors actually used the grain from the granaries for disaster relief, while others made grand pronouncements when collecting grain, but dragged their feet when it came to actually distributing it.

Emperor Gaozu of Sui, Yang Jian, belonged to the latter category. He ignored the situation at the beginning of the famine, and by the time he distributed grain, most of the people had already starved to death.

Although Yang Jian inherited the Northern Zhou dynasty and improved many systems, the Yang family still maintained a strict and harsh approach towards the common people.

Liu Jilong used Yang Jian as a role model to give the people confidence.

After all, the system in the late Tang Dynasty was corrupt, and officials were greedy and corrupt. Many grains in the community granaries were resold by officials, leading to food shortages in years of famine. Therefore, the people of the Tang Dynasty did not have a good opinion of the community granary system.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Prince of Han's palace can also open its granaries and distribute grain, so that the people can see that the "disaster relief grain" they handed over can really come in handy when disaster strikes.

Only in this way can the people gain greater trust and support for the Han army.

Gao Jinda and others naturally supported his remarks.

Seeing that the matter was settled, Gao Jinda added, "This summer harvest, the various provinces collected a total of over 376,000 strings of cash, over 376,000 bolts of silk, and over 3,260,000 shi of grain."

"This batch of money and grain can be used to repair official roads, irrigation canals and embankments in the 22 disaster-stricken counties, so that the people can survive until the autumn harvest."

"In addition, we can distribute grain seeds now so that people can rush to plant grain. Even if the harvest is not good, it is better than nothing."

As Gao Jinda finished speaking, everyone in the hall nodded and patted their hands lightly on the table.

Seeing that everyone had approved the proposal, Gao Jinda returned to his seat. After Gao Jinda sat down, Chen Ying, who had been transferred to Chang'an to serve as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, mainly responsible for land and population registration, also stood up.

"Your Highness, the land and population of Guannei Province and Gyeonggi Province have been surveyed and the documents have been sent to the Grand Chamberlain."

"Among the two copies of the old Huichang map, Guannei Road has 224,630 households, 1,123,457 people, and 5,785,000 mu of land. The Dangxiang tribes are not included."

“The capital region has 477,452 households, 2,387,260 people, and more than 12,776,000 mu of farmland.”

Chen Ying first reported the population and cultivated land figures recorded in the maps and registers during the Huichang era, and then continued:

"After measurement and investigation by officials of various circuits, it was found that there were 192,957 households and 964,785 people in Guannei Circuit, with 3,943,032 mu of farmland. More than one million mu of land had been abandoned due to the disuse of irrigation canals and dikes."

“The capital region has 405,370 households, 2,026,850 people, and 8,525,562 mu of farmland. More than 4 million mu of land has been abandoned due to the disuse of irrigation canals and dikes.”

The results of the survey are in. Compared with the situation during the reigns of Emperor Wuzong of Tang and Li Deyu, more than 20 years later, Guannei Circuit and Jingji Circuit have lost more than 500,000 people and more than 6 million mu of arable land.

Unlike the situation in Sanchuan, the increase or decrease in the population of Sanchuan compared to the Huichang era was mainly due to the absorption of Sanchuan's population by Longyou.

Over the past decade or so, Longyou has not been able to acquire much population from Guanzhong and Guannei. All in all, it has only reached a few hundred thousand people. The remaining three hundred thousand people are most likely either refugees or starving to death.

In reality, according to the data, the number of people who disappeared should be more than 300,000. After all, people also have children, and the number of people who died in the Guannei and Jingji areas due to war was not that many. Therefore, most of the deaths of the people were due to famine.

As for the problem of abandoned land, it cannot all be blamed on Li Chen and Li Cui. At least according to the previous report from the Ministry of Water Resources, the irrigation canals and embankments in Guannei and Guanzhong have been abandoned for nearly a hundred years.

This can be said to be a problem left over from the An Lushan Rebellion by many emperors.

"In the past, during the Kaiyuan era, there were over 4.6 million people in the Guanzhong Plain and the capital region, but now there are less than 3 million. Alas..."

Since Gao Jinda was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, he naturally also read through the documents that the Tang court had failed to take with it.

During the Kaiyuan era, the population of Guanzhong and Guannei recorded on paper alone was more than 4.6 million. If hidden households are included, the number would be even higher, possibly reaching 5 or 6 million.

The Han army used officials from Longyou to assist the troops in measuring the fields. In addition, the poll tax was abolished, and the people did not resist being registered. Wealthy households did not dare to conceal their population.

With all these conditions in place, the measurement and survey of land area and population should be very accurate.

This shows how much damage the An Lushan Rebellion caused to the Tang Dynasty. Even a century later, the population of Guanzhong and Guannei had not recovered to its pre-An Lushan Rebellion level.

"How many people and how much farmland are currently under the jurisdiction of our army?"

Liu Jilong was not as saddened as Gao Jinda. He directly asked Chen Ying about the actual situation, and Chen Ying replied without hesitation: "About 1.67 million households, 8.34 million people, and 62 million mu."

"Nearly two million mu of these are orchards and mulberry fields, with varying yields per mu across different regions."

Today, the Han army occupies nearly 30% of the Tang Dynasty's territory, with a population of only 8.34 million.

If Liu Jilong remembers correctly, the population of the Northern Song Dynasty was over 20 million at the beginning of its founding, but that was more than 80 years after the wars of the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

Even though Huang Chao and his ilk wreaked havoc across the land, the Three Rivers region still shows that those areas that did not directly face the An Lushan Rebellion were still densely populated.

Liu Jilong thought that if the population of eastern and western Zhejiang, as well as Huainan and other places, were not large, there would not have been so many peasant uprisings.

The population directly under the control of the Tang court should still be around ten to twenty million.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong felt that if the situation did not change, he might be able to take Sanchuan first, drive Gao Pian to Qianzhong Road and Lingnan, and then take Hedong to the east.

As long as the entire Sanchuan region and Hedong are in hand, one can take advantage of the situation to invade Shannan East Road, capture Dongdu and Hehuai, and finally stabilize Jiangnan and pacify Lingnan.

The three towns in Hebei should be captured based on the situation.

Although the Khitan have begun to rise, their strength is still not strong enough, so there is no need to worry about them invading Youzhou.

After gathering his thoughts, Liu Jilong looked at his ministers and said, "This year's drought has continued until now, and now we've encountered locusts; it's clearly a year of disaster."

"Currently, we have sufficient funds and provisions. Although the troops have been successfully trained, the climate in the Three Rivers region is hot and humid. We will wait until after the autumn harvest to assess the situation before launching any further action."

"Yes..." The ministers all nodded and bowed. Liu Jilong was satisfied and got up to walk towards the central hall.

The locust plague naturally had a great impact on Guanzhong, but the Han army controlled three major granaries: Chengdu, Longyou, and Guanzhong.

As the base of the region, Longyou can transport more than two million shi of grain into Guanzhong every year. Therefore, even with the impact of locust plagues, the grain price in Guanzhong remained stable under the manipulation of Gao Jinda and others.

With stable grain prices and the policy of providing work relief, the people in the 22 disaster-stricken counties of Guanzhong quickly found a way to make a living.

In addition, hundreds of community granaries under the jurisdiction of the twenty-two counties were opened together, and 300,000 shi of grain were distributed free of charge, with each household receiving one to two shi of grain.

After the community granaries were opened and grain was distributed, the people of the twenty-two counties quickly gained confidence and fundamentally felt the difference between the Han army and the Tang Dynasty.

While granaries were opened to provide disaster relief, the land redistribution movement was temporarily suspended after the land survey was completed.

Of the more than 12 million mu of arable land in Guanzhong, apart from the more than 2 million mu controlled by officials and some powerful families, the remaining 10 million mu were distributed equally.

Moreover, the government offices of various prefectures and counties also issued standards for land reclamation and development, indicating that the government offices were repairing canals such as the Longshou Canal and the Zheng Guo Canal.

After the river channels are repaired and cleaned, millions of acres of wasteland will be transformed into fertile farmland once again.

The local government offices in various prefectures and counties were relocating people to reclaim land, promising that during the reclamation period, the government would be responsible for their food rations, and after the reclamation was completed, each person would receive ten mu of fertile land, regardless of age.

With their previous reputation intact, people from all over the country migrated with their families every day, and the shadow of the locust plague quickly disappeared from everyone's minds.

Even in the face of severe drought, the entire Guanzhong Plain presents a thriving scene.

Compared to Guanzhong, the situation in the Hehuai region at this time was extremely dire.

After the locust plague passed through, food shortages broke out in the eastern capital and the Hehuai region. Powerful families and merchants inflated grain prices and spread rumors.

The people, swayed by rumors, rushed to hoard grain, causing grain prices in the Eastern Capital to rise continuously.

By mid-June, the price of grain in Luoyang was one guan per dou (a unit of dry measure), and the price of grain in various prefectures of Henan rose from one hundred to several hundred guan per dou, which also raised the price of grain in Hedong and Hebei.

Many people who could not afford food were driven out of their homes and had their fields seized by local officials and bullies before the imperial court even announced the exemption of taxes and levies in the Hehuai region.

After the locust plague, the number of bandits and refugees in the Hehuai region increased, and the Shannan East region was also greatly affected.

The changes in the north quickly reached Huang Chao's ears, who was training his troops in Baling (Yueyang).

As the seat of Yuezhou, Baling is most famous for Yueyang Tower, which offers a panoramic view of the 800-li Dongting Lake.

After Huang Chao subdued Cao Shixiong and Liu Yanzhang, he did not attack the relatively barren Langzhou and Lizhou. Instead, he allowed Lei Man and Xiang Gui to occupy the two prefectures, only requiring them to nominally submit.

After appeasing Lei Man and Xiang Gui, Huang Chao devoted himself wholeheartedly to his grand plan of training 100,000 troops.

He started with more than 20,000 armored soldiers, and then recruited or forcibly conscripted men from Hunan, which formed an army of 100,000.

However, he was forcibly conscripting men, and the population of Hunan was only about a million. Even including the Lingdong region and parts of Jiangxi that he occupied, the population was only about 1.5 million.

With 1.5 million people supporting an army of 100,000, and without any external support, plus the need to win over many commoners to govern his prefectures and counties, Huang Chao naturally did not have enough financial resources to support his grand plan.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!!"

Not far from Yueyang Tower, shouts of battle shook the heavens as tens of thousands of soldiers drilled on the parched land west of the city.

Huang Chao stood atop Yueyang Tower, gazing at the troops undergoing drills. He wore a bright yellow round-necked robe, his thoughts crystal clear.

Just as he was feeling triumphant, footsteps approached from behind him. Shang Rang, dressed in a purple robe, walked up Yueyang Tower, his brow furrowed, and found Huang Chao. He bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, the money and grain in the treasury are insufficient for the army's needs for three months."

"In addition, news came from the south that Gao Pian had sent troops into Lingxi, and Cai Jing, the military governor of Lingxi, had died in the war. The Tang court placed Lingnan Circuit under Gao Pian's control and ordered him to attack our army."

"The two military governors suffered setbacks in their attacks on Guiguan and Rongguan, and with the arrival of the sweltering heat, they had no choice but to retreat to Lingdong."

As soon as Shang Rang finished speaking, Huang Chao turned to look at him, stroked his beard thoughtfully, and then asked, "How many warships has our army built?"

"Thirty tower ships, fifty warships and fifty small boats are sufficient to support our army to cross the river and head north."

Shang Rang explained, while also offering advice: "Most of our soldiers were conscripted, and there are no fewer than a thousand deserters every day. Even if they are caught, they will escape again in a few days."

"Of the 100,000 troops, 20,000 were sent south, leaving 80,000. Now, there are only a little over 50,000 left."

In just a few months, nearly 30,000 of Huang Chao's troops deserted, demonstrating how many men he forcibly conscripted.

Upon hearing this, Huang Chao's expression darkened, and he could only curse, "Incompetent fool, not worth discussing matters with!"

"How are the Taiping Loyal and Filial Army and the Loyal and Righteous Army? Are there any deserters?"

"No." Shang Rang shook his head upon hearing this, which lessened Huang Chao's anger by three points.

The Tianping Loyal and Filial Army and the Tianping Loyal and Righteous Army were troops formed by Huang Chao from his old camp. Each army had 10,000 men, all of whom wore armor and were fully equipped with bows and crossbows. They received a monthly salary of three strings of cash, a daily meal of meat, and plenty of food.

Each army is divided into three armies: the front, the middle, and the rear. Each army has three military commanders. Under the three armies, there are nine districts, each with more than 1,300 men and a commander. Hence, the army is known as the Six Commanders and Eighteen Generals.

The two armies were respectively commanded by Huang Cun and Lin Yan, and the six military commanders were Zhu Wen, Zhu Cun, Zhao Zhang, Zhang Guiba, Ge Congzhou, Meng Kai and others.

These two armies were formed from Huang Chao's original core, so they were all generals who had followed him from the Central Plains to the present day and had made great contributions.

The troops currently training outside Baling City are the Tianping Loyal and Righteous Army and the Loyal and Filial Army.

Of the more than 70,000 troops still in force, the most important were these 20,000, and Huang Chao naturally treated them to good food and drink.

However, the area he currently occupies is still too barren. He now has two options: one is to attack eastward and take over Jiangnan.

However, Kang Chengxun has already gathered more than 40,000 troops from various regions in Hongzhou (Nanchang). Just because I caught Kang Chengxun off guard last time does not mean that I can easily defeat him.

At present, there are only 50,000 armored soldiers in the army, of which 10,000 followed Huang Kui and others south to be stationed in Lingdong, and he himself only has 40,000 armored soldiers.

If they were to lose to Kang Chengxun, they would have to seek another opportunity to make a comeback.

Moreover, the Tang court has now organized three armies to surround him. Gao Pian in the west is renowned for his power, and Kang Chengxun in the east is not to be trifled with either.

Liu Zhan in the north is also an old rival, not easy to attack, and there is also the natural barrier of the Yangtze River.

Thinking about all this, Huang Chao felt a headache coming on and couldn't help but ask Shang Rang, "Where do you think our army should attack now?"

With insufficient funds and supplies, Huang Chao, who was already accustomed to plundering, naturally could not reduce his army size or downsize, so he could only sustain the war by fighting.

In response to his question, Shang Rang replied without hesitation, "Naturally, it's Liu Zhan from the north."

"Why?" Huang Chao asked, puzzled. Shang Rang then explained:
"Gao Pian in the west has a long-standing reputation, and the Lingnan region has a hot and humid climate, and is sparsely populated. Even if we occupy it, we still need to guard against the invasion of the southern barbarians and Gao Pian's counterattack."

“The Liangzhe region in the east is indeed prosperous, but it is precisely because of its prosperity that the imperial court will not give it to us.”

"Kang Chengxun has now gathered 40,000 troops in Hongzhou. If our army continues to attack eastward, the court will surely send more troops. By then, before we even enter Jiangnan, our army's food supplies will be exhausted."

"In comparison, although Liu Zhan in the north is also not easy to deal with, Liu Zhan was able to defeat our army and Wang Shijun in the past entirely thanks to his elite Shatuo cavalry."

"Now the Shatuo elite cavalry has been transferred to Daibei, and Liu Zhan has only 20,000 troops under his command."

"As long as our army quickly defeats Liu Zhan, we will take over the entire Shannan East Road. We can then take advantage of the situation to threaten the emperor in the Eastern Capital, cut off the Yangtze River with our navy, isolate Kang Chengxun, and then send troops to attack and destroy him."

"When the world is divided, you will control most of it. Why worry about not achieving great things?"

Shang Rang's words greatly appealed to Huang Chao, but he still hesitated and said, "That's true, but what should I do if Liu Jilong leaves Lantian Pass?"

"Liu Jilong's army numbered over 100,000, but he had not yet broken ties with the imperial court, nor had he yet vied for control of the Central Plains."

"Although I have 70,000 troops under my command, if we march north to fight against the imperial court, we will surely suffer many casualties. How can we then fight against Liu Jilong?"

In Shang Rang's presence, Huang Chao had nothing to hide, after all, Shang Rang wasn't someone he'd recruited under the banner of Liu Jilong. Shang Rang himself was well aware of this, and to give Huang Chao confidence, he couldn't help but say:

"Although the various garrisons were defeated by the Han army, this was all due to the obstruction of the Northern Command."

"Our army is unhindered and its generals are all brave and talented. If you are not at ease, you can wait until Liu Jilong takes the initiative to send troops before leading your troops north."

"But by then, you'll probably be one step behind everyone else."

"In my opinion, Liu Jilong is strong in strategy but weak in decisiveness. If he takes over Chang'an and sweeps across the country, why should the country be unstable?"

"If you had an army of over 100,000, would you have hesitated like him?"

Shang Rang's words were both stimulating and encouraging, which boosted Huang Chao's confidence.

“I certainly cannot hesitate, but Liu Jilong is indeed not easy to deal with. If we can send troops while he is fighting elsewhere, then the Central Plains can be pacified.”

In Huang Chao and Shang Rang's view, as long as they occupied the Central Plains, the weak forces in all directions would naturally bow down and submit, and they could take the opportunity to use the strength of these small forces to concentrate on dealing with Liu Jilong.

Their thinking is sound; at least those who quickly pacify the world generally use this tactic.

However, this tactic had significant drawbacks: it failed to resolve many problems during the war, instead delaying them until after the founding of the nation.

Some problems are easier to solve in war, but not so easy to solve in peacetime.

Huang Chao and his men clearly hadn't considered this point. Therefore, in their view, conquering the world was enough, and everything else could be dealt with later.

"In that case, should we temporarily halt the offensive in the south, transfer troops north first, and concentrate our efforts to take over the Hehuai and Shannan East Circuits?"

Shang Rang cautiously inquired, and Huang Chao nodded after hearing it: "Leave Huang Kui, Cao Shixiong, Liu Yanzhang and 10,000 troops to garrison in Lingdong, and recruit another 20,000 troops. We must not let Gao Pian succeed in Lingnan."

"Yes!" Shang Rang respectfully withdrew upon hearing this, while Huang Chao turned back to look outside the city, gazing at the training of the Tianping Loyal Army and the Loyal and Filial Army, full of confidence and determination.

Compared to him, Gao Pian, who was in Shu Prefecture at the time, was not so relaxed.

As the weather grew hot, Gao Pian did not miss this opportunity, because he knew that the northerners could not adapt to the climate of the Three Rivers region. Therefore, on June 14, he led an army of 40,000 across the Yangtze River to launch a strong attack on Western Sichuan.

However, things are different now. Although the Tang army from Sanchuan landed on the north bank, the patrolling soldiers from Xichuan quickly discovered them.

Upon learning that Gao Pian had launched another surprise attack on Xichuan, Zhang Wu immediately assembled 30,000 Xichuan troops and marched south to deploy defenses.

He stationed troops and set up camps between Wenjiang and Shuangliu counties, digging three layers of trenches.

Upon learning the news, Gao Pian immediately led his troops to this location, attempting to capture Zhang Wu's 30,000 men.

On the 15th, the two armies clashed in the wasteland north of Longchi Temple. The two armies were facing off during the midday heat in Xichuan.

Even though these soldiers were recruited from the people of Sanchuan, they couldn't help but sweat profusely under their iron armor in the face of such intense heat.

More than half a year has passed, and the changes in the Western Sichuan Han Army have caused Gao Pian to frown deeply.

After a year and a half of training, the Xichuan army was now much more at ease. Whenever they raised a flag and waved a command flag, the Han soldiers would naturally change their formation according to the flag and drum commands.

In terms of tactical change speed alone, the Han army was faster than the Tang army, and had even reached the level of the veteran soldiers of Longyou.

The humid heat in the air made many soldiers' mouths dry and their noses smell of stuffy grass and trees.

"Enter!!"

When the command flag was waved down, the Tang army launched the first attack, while the Han army remained stationary.

As always, the two armies engaged each other with crossbows when they were within a hundred paces of each other, and fired arrows when they were forty paces closer.

Arrows rained down like locusts, but the Tang army was clearly inferior to the Han army in skill, and their bows were only seven dou in length, which was not enough to pierce the armor.

In comparison, the bows used by the Han army were eight dou in length, and when paired with chisel-shaped arrows, they were even more powerful.

However, the Han army, whether cavalry or infantry, was accustomed to close-range face-to-face attacks. Therefore, it was only after the Tang army had fired six rounds of arrows that the Han army saw the flag bearer waving his banner.

"Beep--"

"put!"

The leader of the column raised his arm and shouted, blowing a wooden whistle. In an instant, the Han soldiers of the vanguard opened fire with arrows when the Tang army came within forty paces.

The archers in the front row aimed their arrows at the faces of the Tang soldiers, while the archers in the middle and rear rows launched projectiles to disrupt the Tang army's advance.

In an instant, countless Tang soldiers fell, but Gao Pian, who was in command, quickly reacted.

With the command flags waved, the Tang army immediately changed formation, and the spearmen carrying long weapons bypassed the archers and launched a charge.

The archers put away their crossbows, replaced them with longswords and clubs, and followed closely behind the long-armored warriors as they charged forward.

"Beep--"

Zhang Wu waved his command flag, and the leaders of each Han army unit blew their whistles again. The archers and crossbowmen retreated, and the long-armored soldiers took their place.

During the change of formation, the two sides clashed, and many spears were broken. There were also faint sounds of bones breaking, which made people's hair stand on end and goosebumps rise all over their bodies.

"Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo! Woo-hoo..."

Tang Jun remained silent, only letting out low growls as he performed his daily training.

The Han army remained even more silent; apart from whistles, there were almost no shouts of battle on the entire battlefield.

This was Zhang Wuzhi's requirement for governing the army. He felt that compared to battle cries and shouts of killing, a silent atmosphere was more oppressive to the enemy.

The two sides clashed head-on; when a spear broke, they switched to a military lance, and when a military lance broke, they switched to a long-handled broadsword.

The Han army had five vanguard units and twenty wing units, totaling five thousand men.

After each of the twenty squads fought for half an incense stick's time, the captain of the vanguard would be replaced by the squad behind him. The five squads would alternate continuously, and the Tang army did the same.

As a result, the vanguard of both armies fought for more than an hour and were still full of energy, but the number of casualties began to increase visibly.

The Tang army suffered far more casualties than the Han army. Within an hour, over a thousand men were sent to the central army for treatment, while the Han army's vanguard did not appear to have lost many men.

Such fierce fighting made Gao Pian's face turn gloomy. He knew he couldn't defeat Zhang Wu here, especially since Zhang Wu was prepared.

However, withdrawing now would make it easy for the well-rested Han army to launch a counterattack. Therefore, he could only remain calm and continue to command his troops to fight against the Han army.

"kill--"

Amidst the sounds of battle, blood almost soaked the soil. The two armies fought from noon until dusk, a full three hours, during which the Tang army's vanguard suffered nearly 30% casualties.

Seeing this, and knowing that it was almost time, Gao Pian immediately looked at Zhang Lin and said, "Order the three armies to retreat to the riverbank, and all units to proceed steadily!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Lin looked at the wounded soldiers being treated in the distance and gritted his teeth, saying, "King Gao, let this humble general personally lead the troops in a charge!"

"Execute the military order!" Gao Pian frowned, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

"Yes..." Zhang Lin had no choice but to carry out the military order, withdrawing his troops and taking with him the bodies and armor of the fallen soldiers.

Faced with the Tang army's retreat, the Han soldiers were eager to fight, but they were slow to receive orders to pursue.

Zhang Wu calmly sat in the central army, ignoring the eager eyes of the surrounding generals, and did not order the army to pursue for the sake of merit.

As Gao Pian led the Tang army further and further into retreat, the generals of the central and rear armies grew anxious.

"Commander, why don't you give chase?"

Gao Shu and Ma Yi rode up on horseback. The two were the commanders of the central and rear armies, respectively. They had no chance to fight the Tang army today, so they were naturally anxious.

In the Han army, if you cannot lead your troops to achieve meritorious service, you will easily be gossiped about by your soldiers.

In response, Zhang Wu rebuked the two men, saying, "Our army's duty is to defend Xichuan, not to attack and punish the rebels."

"Apart from the King of Han's military order, no army is allowed to launch an attack without authorization. Moreover, you all know how formidable Gao is. What will you do if you fall into an ambush?"

Zhang Wu brought up the King of Han, which instantly calmed down the previously agitated generals.

At the same time, Li Yangchun rode his horse back from the vanguard to the central army and happened to see Zhang Wu reprimanding the crowd. He quickly dismounted and bowed.

Upon seeing Li Yangchun, Zhang Wu couldn't help but nod: "You commanded well in this battle; you deserve credit."

“Yes…” Li Yangchun did not refuse, after all, there was no such thing as refusing military merit in the Han army.

Zhang Wu nodded, then looked at Gao Shu and Ma Yi: "Gao Shu, Ma Yi..."

"Your subordinate is here!" The two men quickly bowed, and Zhang Wu then ordered, "Send out the pond soldiers to see if the bandit Gao has retreated back to Jiangnan."

"Yes!!" The two raised their voices, after all, scouting by the garrison soldiers was a merit, although it was less significant than direct combat.

Small achievements are still achievements; when accumulated, they become great achievements, and one can still be promoted.

The two quickly made arrangements and sent out their troops to pursue the Tang army.

Before nightfall, Gao Pian led his troops back to the riverbank and then sailed back to the south of the Yangtze River.

Upon learning of this, Zhang Wu sent someone to count his own casualties, then wrote a memorial and dispatched it by fast horse to Chang'an.

The memorial arrived in Chang'an on June 20th.

Because Gao Pian sent men to take away the soldiers' remains, Zhang Wu was unable to calculate the number of Tang soldiers killed or wounded; he only wrote that "the enemy's dead number is no less than three times that of our army."

"In this battle, our army lost 795 men, 216 were wounded, and 1,240 were seriously injured."

"The wounded soldiers can return to their units after three months of recuperation..."

After reading the memorial aloud, Zhao Ying closed it, and Liu Jilong nodded, saying, "It seems that the military training in Sanchuan has been effective."

"However, the main reason why we were able to defeat Gao Pian so easily in this battle was that Geng Ming launched a swift attack and made proper arrangements."

"It's not certain that someone else could be as quick and appropriate as him."

Zhao Ying nodded upon hearing this and bowed, saying, "After this battle, Gao Pian should not dare to invade Xichuan again. What he should be worried about now is how to resist our army's southward advance after winter this year."

Faced with Zhao Ying's speculation, Liu Jilong did not answer directly, but his answer was roughly the same.

The main reason he waited until winter was because it was more convenient for northerners to travel south.

Although Geng Ming and Zhang Wu trained 90,000 troops, these were only infantry. If the Han army wanted to seize the prefectures and counties south of the Yangtze River, especially to protect Lizhou and Rongzhou, it would inevitably need cavalry and mounted infantry.

The cavalry and infantry in the Han army were mainly composed of northerners, who were completely unaccustomed to the summer and autumn seasons in the Three Rivers region.

The climate of the Three Rivers region in this era was even more humid and hot than in later times, almost the same as the climate of the three southern provinces of China.

For the cavalry of the Hexi Corridor living in arid regions, the worst consequences were vomiting and diarrhea due to acclimatization issues, and the worst was death from heatstroke caused by the dry heat.

Not to mention the northerners, many soldiers from the three rivers region died suddenly from heatstroke due to the humid and hot battlefield.

If soldiers from the Three Rivers region are like this, what about soldiers from the Hexi Corridor and Longxi regions?

Choosing the right season and region for expeditions, as well as observing climate and seasonal changes, are all fundamental skills that generals should possess.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong took the initiative to ask, "Have those people in Xiaogou made any moves?"

“Not for now.” Zhao Ying shook her head and then explained, “After all, our army has been measuring fields and registering them for the past few months, and there has been little troop movement. They are also quite vigilant, so they will not take the initiative to pass on information unless there is important intelligence.”

After Zhao Ying finished speaking, before Liu Jilong could speak, someone walked into the yamen.

The wine shop owner, who was supposed to be stationed in Tongzhou, appeared and respectfully bowed to Liu Jilong, saying, "Your Highness, this is a letter from the military commander."

Seeing this, Liu Jilong gestured to Zhao Ying, who then fell silent, took the letter, and handed it to Liu Jilong.

Liu Jilong opened the book and looked through it, a smile appearing on his face. He then said, "I never imagined he was such a doting father."

After the teasing, he looked at Jiuju Yan and said, "Later I will write two letters, one for Commander Zhang and the other for Director Zheng."

"This year, Liangzhou has had a bumper harvest, so we can allocate 100,000 shi of grain to trade with Hexi for military horses and riding horses. If we can't make up the required amount, we'll just give it to them."

"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Highness!" Jiu Juyan bowed without hesitation. Liu Jilong then gestured for him to sit down and asked, "Have you encountered any obstacles during the training these past few days?"

"No." Jiuju Yan shook his head. After all, Liu Jilong had transferred a group of soldiers who had received primary school education to him. These soldiers were basically capable of serving as squad leaders or platoon leaders.

With their help, and with the continuous literacy campaign in the army, the soldiers' quality has improved, and their ability to understand military orders has also increased, so there are naturally no problems in training.

Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong looked at Zhao Ying with satisfaction and then said to Jiu Juyan, "Why don't we bring your children to live in Chang'an? It would be more convenient for you to be close to them."

"Don't worry about Zhang Jieshuai. I will make it clear in my letter. I don't think he will care about such trivial matters."

The main reason Liu Jilong chose to say this now is that Zhang Huaishen promised to send Zhang Yanhui to Chang'an next year and also agreed to the marriage between their children.

Although Zhang Huaishen still arrogantly refused to address Liu Jilong as "Your Highness" and instead addressed him as "you" or "me" in a domineering manner, Liu Jilong was already satisfied.

Zhang Huaishen was a strong-willed person, so asking him to treat me with the etiquette due to a ruler and his subject was really asking too much of him.

Anyway, I don't care about these formalities, so let it be. As long as the stability of Hexi, Anxi, and Beiting is maintained, that's enough.

When the time is right, officials can be directly dispatched to govern Hexi, Anxi, and Beiting.

After all, they had relocated a lot of Han people there, and at least now the Han people's settlements in the Western Regions have basically recovered to the state before the An Lushan Rebellion.

Next, we await Zhang Huaishen's recapture of Kucha, Yanqi, Shule, and other places, further expanding the influence of the Han people to these three areas.

If peace can be maintained in the region for a few more decades, the Western Regions will gradually become the Han dynasty's base of operations, and there will be no fear of losing them.

Stabilize the Northwest, then expand to the Southwest, and finally deal with the problematic Northeast region.

Having settled his thoughts, Liu Jilong said to Zhao Ying, "After the first batch of official schools opens at the end of the year, bring Xijun over."

"Keep a close eye on the eldest son. Don't let him pick up any bad habits. He can still play and joke around with his classmates on weekdays. As long as he doesn't fall behind in his studies, that's enough."

Liu Bilie is eleven years old now, and he will graduate from primary school in a year. He will definitely go to Linzhou University then.

Linzhou University is involved in ideological education, and this is one of its most important courses.

Liu Jilong is currently too busy with official duties to personally escort Liu Bilie, so he has no choice but to leave him in Linzhou.

He's at the right age for his rebellious phase. Liu Jilong, having been through it himself, knows that rebellious teenagers are hard to control, but as long as they don't do anything illegal or disorderly, Liu Jilong can accept it.

"If the eldest son breaks the law and violates the law, and the officials of the neighboring prefecture and county cover it up, they shall all be punished."

"Yes!"

Liu Jilong reminded Zhao Ying that, after all, he had seen many people in his previous life who were not inherently bad, but were corrupted by the power of their families and the protection of those around them.

Having Zhao Ying secretly send someone to keep an eye on things, though it's a bit underhanded, is better than Liu Bilie going astray.

Thinking this, Liu Jilong looked at Jiuju Yan and then remembered the handwritten letter.

He lowered his head and began to write, and soon finished writing two letters and stamped them with his three-inch jade seal.

Having received the letter, the tavern owner immediately bowed and left the yamen. Liu Jilong also looked at Zhao Ying and reminded her:

“We need to keep a close eye on things in Guandong and Jiangnan. In addition, we have lost contact with the people we sent to Yazhou and Qiongzhou several times. We need to find out the truth about this.”

"Yes!" Zhao Ying didn't dare to delay. After bowing in agreement, she hurriedly left the yamen.

Watching his figure disappear, Liu Jilong frowned slightly, wondering why all the people he had sent to Yazhou and Qiongzhou had vanished without a trace...

(End of this chapter)