Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 457 Chaos and Turmoil (A Long Chapter of 10,000 Words)
"Woooooooo..."

In August, the brisk south wind blows northward, and tens of thousands of banners cross the river.

When Gao Pian led 30,000 troops across the Yangtze River to the north, Xiao Ye of Jiangling Prefecture also took the opportunity to lead 7,000 troops to launch an attack on Sui and Ying prefectures.

Huo Cunzhi, who was stationed here, had 20,000 troops. Upon learning the news, Shang Rang hurriedly led his army to aid Qi and Huang prefectures.

However, Gao Pian's offensive was fierce. He imitated Liu Jilong and used shield carts and gunpowder to attack the city, causing the counties and prefectures, which were built entirely of rammed earth, to fall quickly.

When Shang Rang led his army to the front line, Huo Cun had already been defeated by Gao Pian and his army was in complete disarray, with less than 7,000 of his 20,000 troops remaining.

Seeing this, Shang Rang dared not confront Gao Pian and directly led his army to retreat to Shuzhou, intending to use the terrain of Shuzhou, with mountains to the north and south and a network of waterways in the middle, to defend Shuzhou to the death.

The fall of the five prefectures was so swift that Huang Chao had no time to react.

By the time he realized what was happening, the Tang army had already opened up the northward route on the western front. They only needed to pass through Tangzhou, which was under Qin Zongquan's command, to go directly to Luoyang, not to mention the Huai River.

Upon learning of Gao Pian's military campaign, Kang Chengxun and Wang Duo on the Huai River decided to concentrate their forces to attack Shouzhou, and then attack Luzhou, which was located behind Shouzhou.

The two commanders, with Li Keyong's 3,000 elite cavalry as the vanguard and Zeng Yuanyu and Zhu Wen as the right flank, attempted to launch a pincer attack from the east and north, forcing Huang Chao to extend his battle lines and fight on two fronts, thus avoiding too much resistance and damage to his main offensive.

Faced with Kang Chengxun's tactics, Huang Chao personally led a large army to the front line, and the two sides began a protracted war in Shouchun and Jiangdu.

"kill!!"

"Uuuuuu——"

In mid-August, amidst deafening battle cries, Shouchun City, surrounded on three sides by rivers, was besieged by 50,000 Tang troops. The Tang army was actively bombarding Shouchun City from the west with 200 catapults.

"put!"

"Boom bang bang..."

When two hundred slingshots streaked across the sky and crashed heavily onto the walls of Shouchun, sand and dust flew everywhere, and dozens of unfortunate Qi soldiers were killed on the spot.

"Do not panic! Use the winch crossbows to defend against the enemy. If they want to throw boulders, they will have to get close to the city wall!"

On the city wall of Shouchun, Ge Congzhou, who had been entrusted with an important task by Zhu Wen, remained very calm and showed no panic despite the fact that his own forces were only one-fifth the size of the enemy's.

As the bugle sounded, tens of thousands of laborers pushed the Lu Gong chariots, Chao chariots, and Yun chariots to launch an attack, followed closely by nearly ten thousand Tang soldiers.

Seeing them getting closer, Ge Congzhou decisively drew his sword: "Release!"

In an instant, hundreds of winch crossbows were deactivated, and towering chisel-shaped arrows shot out, piercing through many siege weapons and killing many laborers.

The Tang army officer who was shouting and attacking from horseback a moment ago was shot through the body by a chisel arrow the next second, and his body flew out and was nailed to the ground.

Before the two sides even clashed, the brutality of the battlefield had already caused countless laborers to suffer from vomiting and diarrhea.

As countless siege engines crossed the trench bridge and arrived at the foot of the city, finally crashing against the city wall, a young colonel led his troops to climb onto Lü Gong's chariot.

As the trench boards were lowered, the Qi soldiers, armed with bows and crossbows, unleashed a barrage of arrows, and countless Tang soldiers fell to the ground, struck by the arrows.

The young colonel leaped down with an axe, hacking and slashing, instantly disrupting the Qi army's formation.

Seeing that the Qi army was powerless to stop them, countless Tang soldiers followed one after another, and soon groups of Tang soldiers appeared on the walls of Shouchun.

Faced with this situation, Ge Congzhou began to act as the firefighter, leading more than a thousand Tianping Zhongxiao soldiers to continuously clear the Tang army from the city walls.

The battle raged from dawn until noon, and then from noon until dusk.

Until the retreat was ordered, the Tang army was unable to gain a foothold on the Shouchun horse road and was instead defeated by Ge Congzhou's army.

"boom!"

"A mere ten thousand bandits have managed to hold off my fifty thousand elite troops."

"The traitor Huang is still leading 30,000 troops in Anfeng, eyeing us covetously. If our attack fails, Huang will surely resort to underhanded tactics!"

Outside Shouchun City, Kang Chengxun was venting his anger in his tent.

Inside the tent sat Wang Duo and several generals, including Li Keyong, who had been temporarily transferred to the south by Wang Duo.

At the age of fifteen, Li Keyong was coming of age and was mainly responsible for leading elite cavalry to protect the flank of the main army and prevent Huang Chao from launching a surprise attack.

With his three thousand elite Shatuo cavalry, tens of thousands of Tang soldiers could rest easy.

For this reason, he was positioned second to the left, only after Wang Duo.

Compared to Li Keyong, who had previously shone brightly, other generals from the Zhongwu and Huainan factions, such as Wang Yanquan, Dai Keshi, and Guo Houben, were not particularly outstanding.

Today, Dai Keshi of the Huainan clique led 10,000 troops to launch a strong attack on Shouchun, but was defeated and forced to retreat after losing 3,000 men to Ge Congzhou. This severely dampened the morale of the entire army.

That's why Kang Chengxun looked at them and was furious.

There were 10,000 troops under Ge Congzhou in Shouchun City, and 30,000 troops under Huang Chao in Anfeng to the south.

In addition, the Huainan defense line also had 20,000 troops under Huang Kui and Li Hanzhi, as well as Huang Ye to the east and Shang Rang to the south.

At present, apart from Gao Pian who was able to conquer five states with lightning speed, the only other one who has some merit is Xiao Ye, who followed Huang Chao to reap credit.

Their 70,000-strong army in the north had not achieved any merit, which made Kang Chengxun anxious.

"Issue the order to continue the assault tomorrow. I refuse to believe that some nobody can stop my 50,000-strong army!"

Kang Chengxun, enraged, gave the order, and the generals responded in unison. Seeing this, the young Li Keyong also left the tent as the meeting was adjourned.

Shortly after leaving the tent, he arrived at the camp of the Datong Army.

He dispatched over two thousand elite cavalrymen towards Anfeng, leaving only five hundred Crow Army soldiers in the camp.

The Crow Army was composed of strong men selected by Li Keyong from the 8,000 troops of Datong. Li Guochang entrusted 500 of these men to him as commanders to assist him in marching south to help Wang Duo quell the rebellion.

Thanks to Wang Duo's support in Hedong, the strength of Li Guochang and his son was enhanced.

Of the eight thousand soldiers in the Datong army, most were Shatuo people, all clad in armor and mounted on cavalry.

Li Guochang and his son didn't care about the rules of ruler and subject, father and son; they had their own rules in their hearts, which were loyalty and righteousness.

Since Wang Duo treated them so well, they naturally wanted to reciprocate. That's why Li Keyong led 3,000 elite cavalry south to help Wang Duo quell the rebellion.

However, Li Keyong also witnessed many things along the way south.

Judging from this southward campaign, the rebel army is no longer a force to be reckoned with; on the contrary, it has become quite stubborn.

The towns in the Central Plains remained unchanged, going through the motions but not putting in any effort, and completely disregarding the imperial decrees.

The attitudes of the various garrisons gave Li Keyong a new idea, so after he entered the command tent, he decisively summoned his confidants.

"My lord!"

When the tent flap was lifted, two young men entered the tent. They were not exactly burly, but at least not thin.

"Gai Lang, Kang Lang, you've both seen the situation of the troops in the various towns within the camp, haven't you?"

Seeing the two men enter the tent, Li Keyong addressed them as "Young Masters" and asked them questions.

Without hesitation, the two bowed, and the young man, who was called Gai Langjun, said, "The various towns are only putting in a half-hearted effort. It will probably not be easy for them to take Shouchun."

Seeing this, Kang Langjun, who was standing to the side, also spoke up: "I never imagined that in just a few years, the troops of the various towns in the Central Plains would be so weak."

Both men were heroes of Daibei. Gai Langjun's real name was Gai Yu. He had followed Li Keyong since childhood and often offered him advice.

Kang Junli was a graduate of the Yunzhou Dental School. He had only known Li Keyong for two years, but they got along very well.

Seeing the two men's assessment of the various towns in the Central Plains, Li Keyong also agreed: "The towns are weak and far inferior to me, let alone compared to Guanzhong."

Despite having his army almost completely wiped out by Liu Jilong, Li Keyong still admired Liu Jilong from the bottom of his heart.

Since he followed his father in his campaigns, he had never encountered an army that was seven times stronger than Liu Jilong's.

That's why, even though he was quite arrogant, he always maintained a degree of humility deep down.

It wasn't because he was polite, but because he knew that Liu Jilong of Guanzhong was the most powerful warlord in the world.

If they cause trouble in Daibei, Liu Jilong will definitely not let this opportunity pass and will certainly send troops to Daibei, so they can only behave themselves.

Although the father and son had eight thousand elite troops, they were not arrogant enough to be able to contend with Liu Jilong.

However, precisely because of this, he always thought about how to become stronger; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone south to accumulate military merits.

If one cannot provoke conflict, then the only option is to achieve military merits to become the military governor of another region, thereby expanding one's own power.

"We only have three thousand soldiers, but we must fight bravely and let the court know how powerful our army is."

"If possible, I would like to leave Zhenyiwu..."

Li Keyong revealed his thoughts: Yiwu Town has at least 400,000 to 500,000 people and is adjacent to Datong.

If he could leave his post in Yiwu, he could lead his troops to subdue the arrogant guards in Yiwu, and then combine the strength of Datong and Yiwu to train 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers.

If he and his son had 30,000 or 40,000 troops, the situation wouldn't be so passive.

"Leaving the town to fight..."

Gai Yu murmured, his brows furrowing unconsciously, clearly finding the idea very difficult.

Yiwu Town was a bridgehead for the imperial court to contain the three towns in Hebei, and generally speaking, it was impossible for them to make promises to others easily.

Although Li Keyong was included in the Zheng Prince's genealogy, there was no guarantee that the court would allow him to be stationed in Yiwu because of his good military achievements.

Of course, the most important problem is that he is too young, and the court, which seeks stability, would not do such a risky thing.

"How will you know if you don't try?"

Li Keyong was full of confidence, or rather, he was already certain that he had to obtain Yiwu.

Faced with his confidence, Gai Yu could only say, "If Your Excellency really wants to take command of Yiwu, then you must keep raising the price of our army. And to raise the price of our army, you must increase its value."

"The longer Kang Chengxun lingers in Shouchun, the higher the value of our army."

"In the Huainan region, we are the only elite cavalry force; that is our value."

"Furthermore, if any spoils are found, we can send someone to the Eastern Capital to bribe Prime Minister Lu Yan with a large sum of money."

Gai Yu offered a good suggestion, but Li Keyong frowned after hearing it: "I fight and kill on the battlefield, and in the end I have to bribe those useless people?"

Gai Yu had already guessed that Li Keyong would say this, but he had no choice but to sigh and say, "That's just how the court rules are."

"Hmph! Such dog-like behavior!" Li Keyong sneered, then looked at Kang Junli.
"Dispatch troops and keep an eye on the movements of the Yellow bandits. There is no greater achievement than directly crippling the Yellow bandits."

"Yes!" Kang Junli agreed without hesitation. Gai Yu knew that Li Keyong had rejected his proposal.

Ultimately, Li Keyong was too young, too ambitious, didn't respect the rules, and thought he could change them.

This kind of personality can only be truly awakened by suffering setbacks and painful experiences.

Gai Yu said no more, while Li Keyong prepared to use Huang Chao to build his own reputation.

Compared to his confidence, Huang Chao, who had gathered 30,000 troops in Anfeng, seemed somewhat hesitant.

Anfeng is located southwest of Shouchun, only about 30 li away.

Huang Chao gathered 30,000 troops here for the purpose of launching a defensive counterattack.

When he led his troops to the front line, he found that the road to Anfeng had been cut off by thousands of elite cavalry, and he immediately became hesitant and timid.

"Damn it, this elite cavalry must be the Shatuo cavalry that previously besieged Wang Xianzhi!"

Inside Anfeng City, Huang Chao stood in front of the sand table, his brows furrowed so deeply that they could not be relaxed.

Several thousand elite cavalry may not seem like many, but the flat terrain of Anfeng and Shouchun, coupled with the limited waterways, made it impossible to contain this elite force.

It may seem like a tenfold difference, but if Kang Chengxun directly engages them, and this elite cavalry employs tactics such as flanking and rear attacks, the Qi army will not be able to react in time.

A cavalry unit immediately restricted Huang Chao's movements, forcing him to turn his gaze to Lin Yan beside him.

"Has there been any news from Shouchun about Ge Congzhou?"

When asked, Lin Yan replied without hesitation, "He said everything is fine in the city, and there is enough firewood and food for three months. Holding out for three months is not a problem."

"Good!" Upon hearing Ge Congzhou's bold words, Huang Chao was invigorated and even forgot about the threat posed by the Shatuo elite cavalry.

He knew how quickly the Tang army consumed money and supplies; three months would be enough to hold them off.

However, before he could bring down Kang Chengxun, he still needed to guard against Gao Pian in the south.

"Damn Gao Qianli..."

Thinking that Gao Pian had somehow managed to conquer five of his states in just over half a month, Huang Chao couldn't help but feel a pang of pain.

Although the five prefectures of Sui and Ying were severely ravaged by war, they have now resumed farming and now account for 30% of the population under his control.

Now, 30% of the population and millions of acres of arable land belong to Gao Pian. Perhaps the grain and fodder that Gao Pian needs in the future will be provided by these five states.

Thinking of this, Huang Chao wished he could abandon everything and head south to Shuzhou to fight Gao Pian.

However, this is just a thought; right now, he simply cannot abandon everything.

"Send an imperial edict to Prime Minister Shang, telling him to hold out for four months. After four months, I will personally lead a large army south!"

"Yes……"

Huang Chao gave Lin Yan instructions, and Lin Yan quickly arranged for a fast horse to head south.

While rushing south on horseback, Kang Chengxun continued his fierce attack on Shouchun, while Huang Chao remained in Anfeng observing the situation. Compared to the northern front, the eastern front was progressing slowly.

Zeng Yuanyu led his army south to launch a fierce attack on Haozhou and Sizhou. Huang Kui, Zhang Guiba, Zhao Zhang and others led their troops to resist, and the two sides began a stalemate.

Seeing that a breakthrough was not being made, Zeng Yuanyu began to urge Zhu Wen on the eastern front to attack Jiangdu. However, when the news reached Zhu Wen's camp, Zhu Wen casually tossed the military document onto the table.

"If we attack Jiangdu, Huang Ye and Zhang Guihou are stationed there, with at least ten thousand troops. I only have eight thousand men. Even if we capture Jiangdu, we will suffer heavy casualties. How can I guarantee that the court will not underestimate me after my strength has weakened?"

Inside Gaoyou City, Zhu Wen was calculating how to maximize his own interests, and Zhu Cun and Xie Tong, who were sitting at the head of the table to his left and right, nodded in agreement.

Seeing that Zhu Wen was still pondering, Xie Tong spoke up directly: "The court now needs our help. Why don't we ask the court to withhold some of the money and grain, train some troops to defend the city, in case our attack on Jiangdu goes poorly and the rebel army counterattacks and enters Hailing and Gaoyou?"

"Besides money and food, what our army needs most right now is armor."

"The imperial court has a considerable amount of armor in the armories of Zhejiang and Jiangsu. Now that Dong Chang has occupied eastern Zhejiang, it is estimated that the armor in the eastern Zhejiang armories has been used by Dong Chang. However, there are still quite a few armors in western Zhejiang."

"Although Song Wei trained 20,000 soldiers, his troops were mainly naval soldiers, with very few wearing lamellar armor."

"As long as our army speaks up and claims that its soldiers and armor are insufficient, the imperial court has no choice but to reluctantly transfer armor from western Zhejiang to our army."

"At that time, our army will not need to launch a strong attack on Jiangdu. As long as we surround Jiangdu and ensure the smooth flow of the Grand Canal, we can use the Grand Canal to hold the court hostage."

Xie Tong's words gave Zhu Wen a bright idea. He had thought of doing this, but didn't know how to put it. Xie Tong, on the other hand, put his idea directly into words and made it even more perfect.

“That’s right. Now I control the route to Jiangnan. If I can surround Jiangdu and then control the canal transport, the court will definitely rely on me even more.”

"With the help of the Grand Canal, I can also make more demands on the imperial court..."

Zhu Wen's words resonated with Zhu Cun, but Xie Tong offered a reminder:
"That being said, if the conditions exceed the court's bottom line, the court will inevitably become hostile towards us."

Zhu Wen nodded in agreement, then said to Xie Tong, "I'll leave this matter to you, sir. As long as the court can replenish our army's armor and allocate funds and provisions, I will immediately send troops to besiege Jiangdu!"

"Rest assured, my lord, I will take care of it right away."

Xie Tong bowed in response, then got up and left the yamen.

After Xie Tong left, Zhu Wen waited patiently.

While he was waiting, Gao Pian, who was originally stationed in Yuezhou, was moved to Wuchang (Ezhou) with the army heading north, influencing Huangzhou and Qizhou across the river.

Wuchang County is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River. It is surrounded by mountains to the west, lakes to the east and south, and the Yangtze River to the north, making it a strategically important and easily defensible location.

Gao Pian led his navy in training on the Yangtze River, entrusting all the defenses north of the river to Wang Zhongren, and also dispatched Gao Qin to the area.

More than half a month later, Gao Qin rushed to Wuchang. Upon seeing Gao Pian, he immediately bowed and said, "Father!"

"How is the situation in Qianzhong? Has Liu Jilong made any moves?"

On the south bank of the Yangtze River, Gao Pian stood on the river embankment, gazing at the rolling waters of the Yangtze River and looking out over the three-mile-wide river surface. Without turning his head, he asked Gao Qin a question.

Upon hearing this, Gao Qin immediately took out a memorial from the horse's bag beside him, presented it to Gao Pian with both hands, and explained as Gao Pian read it:
"The larger bandit groups in central Guizhou have been largely wiped out. Only a small number of bandits who fled to the mountains and forests and thirty-six bandit groups that have already surrendered to our army are still in central Guizhou."

"Currently, there are 96,000 households of Han and Man people in the Qianzhong region, totaling more than 480,000 people, and more than 2.3 million mu of cultivated land."

"This year, the summer harvest in Qianzhong Prefecture was 73,000 shi. Liu Jilong has not made any moves and is still carrying out major repairs on the cities and towns south of the Yangtze River."

There were numerous bandits in central Guizhou, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, but the larger tribes would choose to live in the river valleys and plains. As long as they honestly paid their tribute, Gao Pian would not punish them, but if they resisted paying tribute, Gao Pian would draw his sword.

What Lu Ruyue is doing in Qianzhong Road now is to use 20,000 Tang soldiers from Qianzhong to recruit the barbarian tribes who are willing to submit to attack those who are not.

After the barbarian bandits were defeated, the gold, silver, and money belonged to the barbarians, while the land belonged to the Tang army.

These lands were distributed by Lu Ruyue to the Han people from eastern Sichuan who had migrated to the Qianzhong Road. Therefore, Lu Ruyue did not need to deliberately search for the barbarian bandits. These subjugated barbarians would search for them for him, and then the two sides would join forces to quell the barbarian bandits who did not submit.

Through this strategy of dividing and conquering, the number of barbarians in the Qianzhong region decreased sharply, and the Han Chinese who migrated to Qianzhong also settled down.

With hundreds of thousands of Han people settling in central Guizhou, the Guizhou Road, which was originally invested in all year round, was able to provide the government with more than 70,000 shi of grain this summer.

It is important to know that the summer harvest in central Guizhou is short, while the autumn harvest is long.

Therefore, it is evident that even if the autumn harvest in Qianzhong Road this year is not abundant, it will not be too little either.

One shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain harvested in Qianzhong is equivalent to two shi in Hunan, since the losses during transporting grain from Hunan to Qianzhong are far too great.

So when he learned that Guizhou had begun producing grain to support the government, Gao Pian, unusually relaxed, asked, "What about Lingnan Circuit?"

Gao Qin had clearly done his homework, so after Gao Pian inquired about the situation in Lingnan Circuit, even without a memorial or official document in hand, he was able to give a general account:
"Lingnan Road has more than 177,000 households of Han and Man people, more than 884,000 people, more than 4.7 million mu of cultivated land, and 270,000 shi of grain collected in summer."

"Currently, there are 30,000 troops stationed in Lingnan Province, mainly in the Guiguan and Rongguan areas, ready to be dispatched at any time to assist in the defense of Lingxi and Annam."

"Including the summer harvest of the seven prefectures in Jiangnan West Circuit, our army has no fewer than 600,000 households and 3 million people under its command. This year's summer harvest yielded 840,000 shi of grain."

After Gao Qin finished speaking, Gao Pian said unhurriedly, "The scoundrel Huang has caused great harm to Jiangxi and Lingnan."

“I remember that there were more than three million people in Jiangnan West Circuit. Although our army only occupies half of Jiangnan West Circuit, there are Lingnan and Qianzhong outside, and the population is only three million.”

"With this population, how can they possibly compete with Liu Jilong?"

Gao Pian's words put Gao Qin under considerable pressure, but not wanting to boost the enemy's morale, he said to Gao Pian, "Father, as long as our army wipes out the Yellow bandits, then we will be able to..."

"Exterminate the Yellow Bandits?" Gao Pian interrupted him, coldly scoffing:
"If the Yellow Turban rebels are truly wiped out quickly, who do you think the imperial court will deal with next?"

“This…” Gao Qin was taken aback and didn’t know how to answer.

"We must fight the traitors, but not quickly. We should fight them slowly and deliberately..."

Gao Pian walked down the river embankment, mounted his horse, and gestured for Gao Qin to follow.

Gao Qin followed in Gao Qin's footsteps, and the father and son talked. "News has come from the north that the Emperor is unwell and his safety may be in danger."

"If the emperor makes a mistake, my backup plan in Luoyang can be put into action, and then I won't have to be so timid."

Upon hearing this, Gao Qin's eyes trembled uncontrollably. He looked at Gao Pian in disbelief, clearly unaware that his father had made arrangements in Luoyang.

Faced with his incredulous gaze, Gao Pian's expression gradually darkened.

"If it weren't for the struggle between the Northern and Southern Offices, how could I have fallen to a disadvantage, and how could I have lost Zhang Lang?"

"How can the Tang Dynasty be revitalized while living among these insects?"

Hearing him say this, Gao Qin had already guessed what he was planning: "Are you planning to install a new emperor?"

"If possible, that would be best." Gao Pian didn't try to hide it and readily admitted it, after all, they were the only ones around.

Faced with his admission, Gao Qin didn't know what to say. At least he had never thought about these things; he was just doing his job.

"I will take care of this matter. You only need to manage the supplies."

Gao Pian looked at the bewildered Gao Qin, a hint of disappointment in his eyes, and began to comfort him.

“Yes…” Gao Qin responded subconsciously. After realizing what was happening, he immediately looked at Gao Pian, but Gao Pian had already hidden the disappointment in his eyes.

The father and son fell silent, their figures gradually disappearing onto the official road.

As they disappeared, Zhu Wen's conditions were mentioned to Zeng Yuanyu, who dared not delay and immediately dispatched a fast horse north to Luoyang to inform the court of the matter.

When the message arrived, it was already the end of August. Kang Chengxun had been working tirelessly in Shouchun for more than half a month without making any progress.

"Cough cough..."

Inside the Zhenguan Hall, incense burned continuously, emitting an unusual fragrance.

Li Cui coughed incessantly, and instead of losing weight, her body became swollen.

"Why has the 70,000-strong army made no progress so far?"

"Furthermore, why did Gao Qianli remain inactive and not press his advantage?"

Although Li Cui's words were weak, they did not deter Liu Zhan and the others in the hall, and the three of them answered in succession.

"Your Majesty, General Huang has deployed all his elite troops to defend the area below the Huai River, and Shouchun has been reinforced, making it difficult to attack."

"Although Zeng Yuanyu and Zhu Quanzhong are attacking on the eastern front, Zhu Quanzhong is using the excuse that his troops are not fully equipped and cannot directly attack Jiangdu, which seems to be an excuse to demand armor."

"Gao Qianli led his troops to attack and cooperated with Xiao Shi to recover five prefectures. However, the five prefectures were in ruins and it was difficult to provide them with food. Gao Qianli had no choice but to recruit laborers and transfer grain from Hunan to the north."

"Gao Qianli has already mentioned this matter in his memorial to the throne. The first batch of grain will not arrive until the fifth day of the ninth month at the earliest, and then we can attack Shuzhou."

Li Cui was not satisfied with the three men's answers.

He couldn't find fault with Gao Pian's arrangements, but Kang Chengxun had 70,000 troops but hadn't even captured a single prefecture or county, wasting money and supplies, which made him worry.

"How much money and grain does the imperial court have left?"

Li Cui inquired of Xiao Gou, who bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, the money and grain in Jiangnan are currently being transported by land, which takes a long time. The money and grain from the summer harvest have not yet been fully deposited in the treasury. There are only over 700,000 coins and 2 million shi of grain in the treasury."

With the loss of the five routes in Guanzhong, the devastation of the Hehuai region, and the blockade of Jiangnan, the imperial court naturally had little money and grain to collect.

Li Cui was so eager to quell Huang Chao's rebellion in order to obtain money and provisions from Jiangnan.

Only by controlling the money and grain supplies of Jiangnan could he appease the three towns of Zhaoyi, Yiwu, and Yichang in Hebei, while simultaneously strengthening the imperial court's control over Tianping, Hedong, Heyang, and Hezhong.

As for the damaged He and Huai rivers, they can only recover slowly over time.

Thinking of this, Li Cui couldn't stop coughing and said, "Seventy thousand troops, with a monthly expenditure of three hundred thousand in money and grain, send an order to Kang Chengxun to capture Shouzhou as soon as possible."

"Your subject obeys the decree..."

Liu Zhan and the other two bowed and accepted the decree. At this moment, Lu Yan also stood up while bowing and said, "Your Majesty, Qin Zongquan said that there is no grain in the town and requests the court to issue 200,000 coins in cash and grain."

"Two hundred thousand...cough cough!!"

Li Cui coughed violently. After all, Qin Zongquan had no more than 10,000 soldiers at most, yet he dared to demand 200,000 coins and grain from him.

Clearly, he saw the fierce struggle between the imperial court and Huang Chao and took this opportunity to demand a price from the court.

If the imperial court doesn't give it to him, he will definitely try to sabotage the government troops.

"You villain..."

Li Cui cursed inwardly, but outwardly he had to appease Qin Zongquan by saying, "Issue an imperial edict to Qin Zongquan, saying that the court is short of money and grain, but his loyalty is commendable. Therefore, 50,000 shi of money and grain will be transferred to Tang and Cai. He is to guard them strictly and not let the Huang bandits go north through Tang and Cai."

Even if it's just the initial shipment of 50,000 shi of grain, there will definitely be 40,000 shi of grain upon arrival.

Forty thousand shi of grain is more than enough to feed nearly ten thousand soldiers for half a year.

As long as Qin Zongquan stays put for half a year, and the imperial court quells Huang Chao's rebellion in Huainan, then I can send troops to deal with him properly.

"Cough cough..."

Li Cui coughed as he thought, but Lu Yan continued after hearing this:

"Your Majesty, regarding Zhu Quanzhong's demand for armor, it would be better to dispatch 5,000 sets of iron armor from western Zhejiang to the north and deliver them, urging him to attack Jiangdu as soon as possible."

"As long as Jiangdu is surrounded, the canal transport can be guaranteed to be smooth, and at least 100,000 shi of grain can be transported north to Luoyang every month."

Lu Yan's words forced Li Cui to agree to Zhu Wen's conditions, so he could only wave his hand and say, "Issue an imperial decree to appoint Zhu Quanzhong, the defense commissioner of Chuzhou, as the envoy to suppress the bandits in the eastern part of Huainan, and to transfer 5,000 sets of iron armor from western Zhejiang and 10,000 shi of grain to him."

"Your Majesty is wise..."

Lu Yan began to praise him, and Liu Zhan and Xiao Gou could only bow helplessly and sing his praises.

Seeing that all three were in the same boat, Li Cui began to worry about his own empire and couldn't help but think of Yu Cong.

Where is Lord Yu now?

Li Cui asked the three men, but Lu Yan did not answer. Xiao Gou and Liu Zhan replied without hesitation, "Since the defeat in defending the city, Prime Minister Yu has been bedridden and has not yet recovered."

"Sigh..." Li Cui felt a pang of regret upon hearing that Yu Cong had fallen ill.

"Go back."

He did not want to continue the discussion, and Lu Yan and the other two bowed and then left Zhenguan Hall.

Shortly after their withdrawal, the fast horses began their southward journey, and in less than seven days, Zhu Wen received an imperial decree.

Having gained the benefits, he immediately began to send troops to besiege Jiangdu. Huang Ye and Zhang Guihou were stationed in Jiangdu and Yangzi respectively, while requesting reinforcements from Huang Chao.

Upon learning of Zhu Wen's surprise attack on Jiangdu, Huang Chao was furious and could only send a message by carrier pigeon to Ge Congzhou, requesting him to continue holding out for two more months.

Huang Chao left 5,000 troops to garrison Anfeng, and led 25,000 troops to reinforce Jiangdu...

When these messages arrived in Chang'an, Liu Jilong only felt that Guandong was bustling with activity, but he had no intention of getting involved.

"Does Your Highness have no intention of advancing eastward?"

Inside the Han Prince's Mansion in Chang'an, Zhang Yanhui, who had returned to Chang'an, curiously inquired about Liu Jilong's situation.

Liu Jilong held the Kwantung Army's document and looked at it with great interest. Upon hearing this, he shook his head and said, "It's just a small-scale skirmish."

"At present, our army's most urgent task is to quickly sort out the water conservancy in Guanzhong, restore production in Guanzhong, use Guanzhong as a granary and Dengzhou as a springboard, and wait for the opportunity to advance eastward."

"However, if Qin Zongquan does something foolish, I wouldn't mind sending troops to take Tangzhou and completely control the Nanyang Basin."

Liu Jilong coveted Tangzhou, because only by taking Tangzhou could he truly control the Nanyang Basin.

As long as he controls the Nanyang Basin and restores its production, he can then use the Huai River to conquer both sides of the Huai River, completely severing the connection between Hebei and Jiangnan.

"Gao Qianli is quite the schemer, but I wonder if the imperial court is aware of his plans."

Liu Jilong saw Gao Pian conquer five prefectures and then halt his advance, and immediately guessed his intentions.

Gao Pian is not easy to deal with, especially since he is good at learning from the strengths of the enemy, which makes him even more difficult to deal with.

Although Liu Jilong was not afraid of him, he did not want to watch him develop, so after realizing Gao Pian's intentions, he immediately looked up at Zhang Yanhui and said, "Go and summon Zhao Ying."

"Yes!" Zhang Yanhui didn't dare to delay. He got up and walked out of the main hall. While Zhao Ying was being summoned, he stood in the courtyard and did not go into the hall.

Seeing this, Liu Jilong couldn't help but nod in satisfaction, thinking that after more than three months back in the Central Plains, he had finally become more shrewd, which was quite good.

"Your Highness..."

Zhao Ying entered the hall and bowed. Upon seeing this, Liu Jilong gestured for him to take the military document from his hand.

Zhao Ying took the military document, and while he was looking through it, Liu Jilong said, "Gao Pian is preparing to take control of five prefectures; we can't let him succeed."

"It's time to put those officials we've placed in Luoyang to good use."

"Gather evidence that Gao Pian has ample provisions in Hunan, send the evidence to Luoyang, and let them impeach Gao Pian."

"Since he wants to stay in Jiangnan, he shouldn't interfere in things in Jiangbei."

The first few sentences were addressed to Zhao Ying, but the last sentence was clearly directed at Gao Pian.

Liu Jilong knew exactly what Gao Pian was up to.

They were simply thinking of relying on the Yangtze River to establish a separatist regime and resist it.

If it were still the old days, his idea might have actually worked. But the problem is that Liu Jilong had already been building ships on a large scale in places like Yuzhou. Gao Pian's small navy was no match for him.

Moreover, Gao Pian is nearly fifty years old now, and it's unknown how many more years he has left to hone his spirit.

"The last general takes command!"

Zhao Ying agreed without hesitation, then put down the military document, turned around and hurriedly walked out of the main hall.

Seeing him leave, Zhang Yanhui, who was outside the hall, also came in.

Before he could sit down, Liu Jilong saw Gao Jinda and others walking briskly toward the main hall, brushing past Zhao Ying.

More than ten officials, including Gao Jinda, Cui Shu, Han Zhengke, Chen Ying, and Luo Yin, entered the hall and bowed to Liu Jilong.

Seeing that so many people had arrived, Liu Jilong gestured for them to sit down, then asked, "What happened? Why are there so many people here?"

"Go back to Your Highness..."

Gao Jinda bowed respectfully and said, "The countries and tribes of Khotan, Zhongyun, Uyghur, Kyrgyz and other countries have all sent envoys to pay homage to Your Highness."

"I believe that Khotan and Zhongyun came to test Your Highness's attitude, while the Uyghurs and Kyrgyz came to seek reconciliation."

"In addition, news came from Dokang that Shangmoyan died of illness in Jincheng in February this year, and his son, Meru Danzeng, ascended the throne and received the support of the Meru clan."

"No envoy from Lu Danzeng has been sent, hoping to obtain your permission to attack Suci and other places."

Several messages came from Gao Jinda's mouth. For these countries and tribes in the northern, western, and western deserts, they knew very well which country in the Central Plains was more powerful.

Now that Liu Jilong occupies the five routes of Guanzhong, and Chang'an can no longer control the three towns of Hebei, he can only influence the northern deserts through Hedong, and his influence is not as great as before.

In this situation, obtaining Liu Jilong's support would be far more useful than obtaining the support of the Tang Dynasty.

"I already know about the matters concerning Khotan and Zhongyun, but I don't know the current situation of the Uyghurs and Kyrgyz?"

Liu Jilong humbly inquired, and at this moment, He Yinanzhi, one of the officials, stepped forward.

He currently holds the official position of Vice Minister of Rites, and is mainly responsible for gathering intelligence on the northern and western desert regions.

With his past connections, it wouldn't be difficult for him to find out about the affairs of Mobei and Moxi, so he decisively stepped forward after Liu Jilong asked him.

"Your Highness, after the Kyrgyz suffered a defeat in battle against you, the Khan died on his way home not long after, and his sons began to fight amongst themselves, turning the northern desert into chaos."

"The so-called Kyrgyz envoys are mostly sent by a prince in the name of the Khan, hoping to make peace with you and gain your support."

"As for the Uyghurs, as far as I know, after they were defeated by Governor Zhang in Anxi, apart from a small number of Uyghur remnants who fled west and occupied Shule Town, most of the other Uyghurs were fighting with the Karluks for pastures in places like Suyab and Huangcaobo."

"They probably want to reconcile with you, gain your support, and then conquer the Karluk tribe to the west."

Heinanzhi gave Liu Jilong a general account of the situation in northern and western Mongolia, and Liu Jilong understood the intentions of the Kyrgyz and the remnants of the Uyghur tribes after listening.

If nothing unexpected happens, it seems that the Kyrgyz also began to fight amongst themselves after Li Peiluo's death, which led to a power vacuum in the southern and northern deserts for several decades.

After the Kyrgyz ended their internal strife, the Khitan had already begun to rise. The Kyrgyz, like the Tatars, simply surrendered to the Khitan and became their vassal tribe.

As for the Uyghurs, Liu Jilong recalled that after they migrated westward, they seemed to have started fighting with the Karluks. Eventually, the two sides could no longer fight each other, so they simply merged into one and formed the Karakhanid Khanate, commonly known as the Black Khanate.

Of course, Liu Jilong may have misremembered some details, but the final result was pretty much the same.

Liu Jilong had no good impression of the Kyrgyz and Uyghurs, and he was confident that he could resolve the issues of the Western Regions and the Khitans in his lifetime.

Since that's the case, there's no need for him to support the Uyghurs and Kyrgyz. Letting the Central Plains and the northern deserts remain in chaos is in line with his current interests.

However, I can meet with the envoys from Khotan and Zhongyun. These two countries have small populations and weak strength, and I can completely assimilate them by using cultural identity and population migration.

In any case, with the foundation laid by the Tang Dynasty, even if the Western Regions were ravaged by the Tibetan Empire for a hundred years, the foundation laid by the Tang Dynasty could still be used, and there was no need to send troops.

“Tell the Kyrgyz and Uyghur envoys that I do not wish to meet them.”

Liu Jilong stated his meaning, and then added:
“Send someone to tell Lu Danzeng that there is no such thing as unearned support, but the door to the trade will always be open to him.”

Liu Jilong didn't believe that Shang Moyan's sudden death, and the fact that it took so long for him to be informed, was entirely suspicious.

However, he didn't care about Shangmoyan's cause of death, since the golden age of the Tibetan Plateau had already passed.

Even without Lu Danzeng reunifying the plateau, with the climate change, he could at most become a plateau power dependent on him, and it would be impossible for him to return to the heyday of Tubo.

"Your Highness, perhaps we should meet him."

Gao Jinda felt that directly refusing the envoys from the Kyrgyz and Uyghurs seemed a bit too arrogant.

However, for Liu Jilong, these two spineless dogs fighting amongst themselves were not worth his support at all.

“My mind is made up. It is better to strengthen ourselves than to support other tribes. We must speed up the repair of the many water conservancy projects in Guanzhong and Guannei, and we must also restore the abandoned land to cultivation as soon as possible.”

"I have a premonition that something big will happen in Kanto soon, and that will be the time for us to move eastward!"

(End of this chapter)