On the occasion of rebirth Zhou Sui

Chapter 385 Crossing the river and heading north

After Lai Huer took office as the general manager of Qingzhou, he moved the Qingzhou general manager's office from Yidu County, Qingzhou (now Qingzhou, Shandong) to Licheng County, Qizhou (now Jinan, Shandong).

This move is also to better respond to possible changes in Hebei.

After learning that Cui Che had divided his troops and that Xiangzhou was empty, Lai Huer was faced with a difficult decision, whether to lead his troops north or not, which left him wavering.

He had no choice but to summon Shi Cui Junsu, the head of the Qingzhou General Administration Office, to seek his opinions.

Cui Junsu came from the Cui family of Qinghe. In the third year of Datong (537 AD), his father Cui Yanmu submitted to Chenggao and joined the Western Wei Dynasty.

Therefore, although they are from the Guandong noble family, Cui Junsu's family, like Cui Hongdu, Cui Zhongfang and others of the Boling Cui family, also belong to the ranks of Guan Long nobles.

Entrusted with important responsibilities.

After hearing that he was hesitant to come to protect the child, Cui Junsu persuaded him:

"Lai Gong, the King of Han has rebelled, and Pu Ban has led troops into the Pass. The imperial court has no time to take care of Guandong.

"After the defeat of Ping Kou Gong (Li Jing), Cui Ni had no rival in Hebei.

"If we let them take all of Hebei and Cui Ni leads his troops southward, how will Lai Gong resist the bandits?

"According to my official opinion, why not take advantage of the great opportunity when Xiangzhou is empty and attack Yecheng? If Cui Ni is defeated, Hebei will be determined by itself.

"When Hebei is established, we can send our troops to the west to threaten Hedong. If the king of Han cannot care about each other, the rebellion can be put down."

After Cui Junsu's words, Lai Huer finally made up his mind. After all, if he really took advantage of this opportunity to capture Cui Che, he could put down the rebellion at the minimum cost.

But if Cui Che is allowed to be in power and suppress rebellions in the future, I don't know how much food will be wasted.

Moreover, as Cui Junsu said, if he really wanted to sit back and watch Cui Che occupy all of Hebei, and then lead his troops southward, he would not be sure that he would be able to defend Qi.

Although Qin Qiong and others had already abandoned their official positions and fled to Hebei, who knows whether Cui Che's internal agents still exist in the states and counties of Qi.

However, Li Jing was defeated quickly and there was no time left for Lai Huer to track down the culprit.

On October 16th, the fourth year of Renshou (AD 604), even though it was winter, the water surface of the Yellow River had not yet frozen due to climate warming.

It's just that the Yellow River, which has entered the dry season, is not as deep as a horse's belly at its deepest point. This is why the Yellow River cannot be called a natural danger like the Yangtze River.

Once there is an ice period or a dry season, no boat, pontoon, or troops can wade through the water.

On the same day, the general manager of Qingzhou came to protect the children. The governors of Qing, Qi, Ji, Mi (originally Jiaozhou, renamed Mizhou in the fifth year of Kaihuang), Lai (originally Guangzhou, renamed Laizhou in the fifth year of Kaihuang), Ju, Yi and Zi

(Place in the 16th year of Kaihuang's reign), Cao Jiuzhou's troops, totaling 140,000 troops, crossed the Yellow River north and arrived at Zizhou.

Zizhou (governing Beiqiu County, present-day Linqing, Shandong) was established by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty in the 16th year of his reign. It was only three hundred miles away from Xiangzhou, and it only took a day for a messenger to deliver the news.

In fact, Cui Che had already received the news that he would lead his troops north even before he came to protect his children.

Cui Che even knew how many soldiers and horses were sent from which state and how much military rations were prepared.

Qidi can be said to be one-way transparent to him.

The envoys who went to contact the salt soldiers and salt workers had already gone south.

Salt workers and salt soldiers have been dissatisfied with the imperial court for a long time. As the days get longer, the hours that salt workers need to work in the salt fields every day also extend. Naturally, the salt soldiers who are responsible for patrolling the salt fields and guarding the salt fields do not

Possibly rest.

Since Cui Che left office, three meals a day have been reduced to two, and the deduction of food and wages has become more severe.

At first, corrupt officials only dared to take advantage of the salt workers' food. Later, even the salt soldiers became the targets of their exploitation.

Over the years, dissatisfaction has been brewing, but it lacks an outlet to vent.

No one is a fool. Unless there is a huge change, as long as they can survive, who is willing to risk losing their head and plotting rebellion in the prosperous age of the Sui Dynasty.

Now, something unexpected happened. Cui Che raised troops in Youzhou and went south. The momentum was rapid and he occupied Xiangzhou in a short period of time.

As for the salt soldiers and salt workers, he recruited and organized them all.

Although twenty years have passed, some people have left and some have come, but young people will develop a good impression of him when they hear their fathers mention the good days they had under Cui Che.

This time they went south to organize the salt soldiers. The people responsible for the salt work were quite prestigious in Qi. They were Qin Ai, the father of Qin Qiong, and Cheng Lou, the father of Cheng Yaojin.

Qin Ai was invited by Cui Che to go out, but after helping Cui Che to relieve the victims, he hurriedly resigned.

Just as he decided not to serve in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Qin Ai also refused to become an official in the Sui Dynasty.

Of course, it was just that he was unwilling to serve in the Kansai regime. After fleeing to Hebei with Qin Qiong, Qin Ai once again regained his fighting spirit and actively participated in Cui Che's preparations before launching his army.

In Qin Ai's eyes, it seemed that Cui Che's rebellion against the Sui Dynasty was not just for his own personal interests, but for the common interests of the Shandong gentry who were marginalized in the court.

When Cui Che was worried about who should be sent south, Qin Ai took Cheng Lou and asked him to volunteer.

After careful consideration, Cui Che sent someone to ask Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin for their opinions before agreeing.

These two people are indeed the most suitable candidates.

Qin Ai and Cheng Lou cherished their homeland and remained in office throughout their lives. Their integrity also gave them high prestige in the local area.

Secondly, Qin Ai and Cheng Lou were both from local noble families, and Cheng Lou even served as the Grand Central Officer of Jeju. Their connections in Qi were something that the rest of Cui Che's command did not have.

At the same time, Cui Che originally selected middle and low-level officers for the Salt Corps. Apart from their personal bravery, he only selected young people. Now twenty years later, these people are generally in their forties and have not left the Salt Corps.

Qin Ai's son Qin Qiong once served as the captain of the first battalion of the Salt Corps. With this connection, when Qin Ai was the first to arrive at the Qingzhou Salt Fields on Cui Che's order, he quickly gained the unanimous consent of the officers of the First Battalion of the Salt Corps.

support.

Not to mention the salt workers, the heavy hard labor has long made them breathless. They have been looking forward to this day for many years.

In Qin Ai, Cheng Lou dragged his old body around for Cui Che. Under the connection, a total of 10,000 salt workers and 6,000 salt soldiers from the four states of Qing, Mi, Lai, and Ju decided to attack on October 19th, that is,

Three days after Lai Huer crossed the Yellow River north, he launched an uprising.

The plan to send troops to protect children has been leaked for a long time.

On October 19, the fourth year of Renshou (AD 604), when Lai Hu'er marched westward at a speed of sixty miles a day and was still two days away from Yecheng, the cloud of rebellion had already enveloped Qingqing.

, over the four states of Mi, Lai and Ju.

Something was delayed, so the update is late. There are still only four chapters today.

(End of chapter)