Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 354: Recruiting Longyou
"put!"

"Boom bang bang-"

It was early June, nearly two months after Xichuan was invaded.

As the north continued to lose land, the fighting in the south remained fierce, but because Choi Hyun had mastered the time and place, Yu Shilong's army was never able to break through the three passes set up by Choi Hyun.

Not to mention anything else, just the Qionglai City blocking their way is more like a pass than a city.

Qionglai City was built on the hillside, with a river valley next to it, but the valley was long and narrow and difficult to navigate.

Cui Xuan led 10,000 cavalry and infantry to garrison here. He first blocked the river valley with chevaux de frise and trenches, then dug a moat on the spot, and built a rammed earth wall about ten feet high and thick behind the river.

Although You Shilong kept ordering attacks with catapults, after half a month, not only did the Qionglai defense line not have any problems, but it became increasingly solid.

Faced with the insurmountable Qionglai City, You Shilong couldn't help feeling despair.

It was noon, and although the catapults were still attacking, You Shilong had a premonition that today would be another day of failure.

He returned to the tent and asked someone to prepare a pot of wine for him, trying to numb himself with alcohol.

After three rounds of drinks, he was feeling melancholy when he suddenly heard footsteps outside the tent.

"Your Majesty, Shang Moyan has sent us military intelligence!"

Zhao Nuomei's voice rang out, and without waiting for You Shilong to call him, he walked into the tent.

Seeing this, You Shilong laughed at himself and said, "Is he here to show off to me?"

Although the three states of Wei, Ji and Mao have a sparse population, they are better than the two counties of Hanyuan and Tongwang that he has just captured.

In You Shilong's opinion, it was most likely that Shang Moyan had taken over some place and was showing off to him.

"This... requires you to open and read it yourself, Your Majesty."

Zhao Nuomei didn't dare to open the letters between the two heads of state, so she handed them to You Shilong with both hands.

After taking it, You Shilong opened it impatiently, glanced at it casually, and then his eyes lit up.

"Gao Pian may need to dispatch troops to help Xichuan, most likely Mianzhou and Hanzhou!"

You Shilong handed the letter to Zhao Nuomei, but Zhao Nuomei frowned and said, "That being said, Gao Pian has more than 30,000 Dongchuan soldiers."

"Even if half of them are transferred away, there are still nearly 15,000 left to guard Rongzhou. I'm afraid we won't be able to please him..."

"Damn Gao Pian!" Upon hearing this, You Shilong's mood immediately became much worse.

Only then did he remember that Gao Pian had blocked Dali's army of more than 100,000 with less than 20,000 soldiers last time.

The disastrous defeat at Niutou Gorge has caused Dali to still recover.

Thinking of this, You Shilong clenched his fists, and at this moment there was a sudden commotion outside the tent.

"What happened?" You Shilong was slightly excited, thinking that the army had broken through the defense line of Qionglai City.

But when he looked outside, he did not see the soldiers reporting the victory, but only saw a familiar figure.

"Dong Qingping? Why are you here?"

Dong Cheng, who was supposed to be in Yangzhumie City to dispatch money, food, and troops, now appeared on the front line of the war.

"Your Majesty, I am here to offer you advice."

Dong Cheng came in exhausted and walked into the tent without taking a rest, and saluted You Shilong.

You Shilong stood up and walked towards him. After supporting him, he asked, "What's Dong Qingping's plan?"

"Your Majesty..." Dong Cheng took two breaths and then bowed:
"Your Majesty has already taken Hanyuan and Tongwang, why are you still obsessed with Lizhou?"

"Our army is strong and powerful, and we shouldn't die in the dangerous place of Lizhou. Why don't we lead the army along the Dadu River and attack Jiazhou directly?"

Dong Cheng's voice was not loud, but when he said this, it was like a thunder exploding in You Shilong's mind.

"Open a road along the river and attack Jiazhou directly?"

You Shilong's eyes brightened, and then he seemed to remember something, and handed the letter in Zhao Nuomei's hand to Dong Chengdao:
"No wonder Shang Moyan wrote to tell me this. It turns out that he wanted to remind me to wait for the Dongchuan army to rush to the north for assistance. Then I can open a road along the river and attack Jiazhou directly."

"Although Shang Moyan is a barbarian, he is better at commanding troops than I am. Good, good, good..."

You Shilong was not angry. He was extremely happy at this moment, and Dong Cheng also finished reading Shang Moyan's letter.

He frowned slightly, and then said: "Shang Moyan is brave but not wise, as can be seen from his recovery of Duokang. This is not something he would come up with."

"Don't worry about him!" You Shilong didn't care who came up with this idea. He just wanted to invade Xichuan, occupy Xichuan's land, and plunder Xichuan's population!
His eyes turned to Zhao Nuomei, who saluted upon seeing this.

"Zhao Qingping, you lead 20,000 armored soldiers and 30,000 barbarians, and drive the barbarians in Shizhou to open a road along the north bank of Dadu River to Jiazhou."

"Before the autumn harvest, I will go to Jiazhou in person and eat the food picked from the fields in Jiazhou!"

"I obey your order!" Zhao Nuomei responded without hesitation, then turned and walked out.

At the same time, Dong Cheng suddenly spoke up: "I would like to ask Your Majesty, have you ever thought about how our dynasty should get along with the Tang Dynasty after taking Jiazhou?"

"Hmm?" You Shilong looked at Dong Cheng, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Of course, they plundered Chengdu Prefecture, captured the people and craftsmen of Xichuan, and returned to Yangzhumie City to replenish the population of Tuodong City."

"If we can't defend Chengdu and Jiazhou, we will then find a way to seize Annan and Lingxi."

You Shilong only had the idea of expanding territory in his mind, which made Dong Cheng sigh:
"Your Majesty, the court has been at war with the Tang Dynasty for six years. All men over the age of eighteen in the country have joined the army, and all tribes are resentful."

"If we continue to fight the Tang Dynasty, even children aged seventeen, sixteen, and fifteen will have to go to the battlefield."

"By then, only women will be farming in the country. Even if we can occupy Annan, Lingxi and even Xichuan, what can we gain?"

"There are several times more Han people in Xichuan than us. We simply cannot gain a foothold here."

"I support you in taking Annan and Lingxi, but the war in Xichuan should be stopped after looting Chengdu."

Dong Cheng's words certainly made sense, but You Shilong was not convinced.

He had just turned 22, and at this moment he was not satisfied with conquering Jiazhou, plundering Chengdu, and occupying the future of Lingxi and Annan.

He also wanted to capture Shezhou, defeat Gao Pian, and even capture Qianzhong Road.

"Dong Qingping, we have finally forced the Tang Dynasty into this situation. Don't you want to occupy more territory?"

"I want to...but I can't do it." Dong Cheng couldn't help but sigh:
"Over the years, the number of men who died, were injured or disabled in the country is at least 100,000, if not 200,000."

"The country needs at least ten years of recuperation to recover to its pre-war strength."

"What's more, this success was only possible because Duokang Tubo sent troops to tie down half of Xichuan's troops."

"Although they are still fighting in the north, if they take advantage of the situation and withdraw their troops, what should we do?"

"Your Majesty, if you still want the ceremony to last, please listen to my advice..."

Dong Cheng spoke earnestly, but You Shilong's face was as cold as ice and looked very ugly.

He thought about it again and again, and finally said unwillingly: "After we capture Jiazhou and plunder Chengdu Prefecture, I will consider your words again, Dong Qingping."

"Before that, please return to Yangjumie City and dispatch money, food, and troops for me."

Dong Cheng watched You Shilong grow up, so he naturally knew that You Shilong did not listen to his words, so he could only helplessly say: "Your Majesty, take your leave..."

After saluting respectfully, Dong Cheng, who had rushed to the front line exhausted, left the front line with a hunched back.

At the same time, Zhao Nuomei also recruited the barbarians in Shezhou and Lizhou, and led them to Jiazhou along the north bank of the Dadu River.

While they were openly attacking Qionglai City and secretly making way for a surprise attack on Jiazhou, Chang'an City also welcomed a hero.

"Long live the Tang Dynasty! Long live the Tang Dynasty!!"

"May the King win..."

In the city of Chang'an, Zhuque Street was surrounded by countless people, and tens of thousands of people voluntarily came to both sides of the street to congratulate the official who had defeated the bandits and dredged the canal transport.

Even the beggar in the corner straightened his chest and called out loudly, "Envoy Wang."

The Envoy Wang they were talking about was none other than Wang Shi who had returned from fighting the bandits in Henan Province.

At this moment, Wang Shi was riding on a horse, surrounded and guarded by nearly a hundred Shenwu soldiers.

Looking at the people celebrating for him, Wang Shi felt mixed emotions.

Twenty years ago, he was neglected by the court in Jinzhou because of his connection with Wang Shoucheng, and could only protect the people of Jinzhou from the invasion of Tatars.

Twenty years later, he has become a hero celebrated by the people of Chang'an.

In the course of twenty years, he grew from thirty-four to fifty-four years old, and finally gained recognition from the imperial court and the people.

Thinking of this, Wang Shi couldn't help but feel that his life had its ups and downs and he had no regrets. Surrounded by the people, he went to the Daming Palace and climbed up to the Purple Palace.

"The emperor's will is to promote Wang Shi, the governor of Huainan and the commander of the various towns, to the positions of minister of ceremonies, assistant minister of the Ministry of War, and governor of Shannan West Road."

"Dongchuan Lizhou originally belonged to Shannan West Road. In the past, it was under the jurisdiction of Jiannan Dongchuan, but now it is under Shannan West Road."

"Wenzhou, Fuzhou, Longzhou, and Mianzhou were once governed by Dongchuan, but are now under the jurisdiction of Dongchuan, and are governed by Gao Pian, the governor of Dongchuan."

As soon as Wang Shicai ascended to the throne, he was enthroned by the imperial court, and some prefectures and counties that had been assigned in response to the changes in the situation in Longyou in the past were also restored to the status they had been during the Huichang period.

In the past, Wen Fu, Long, Mian and the other four states were assigned to Xichuan in order to prevent refugees from going north and to facilitate the recovery of the seven states in Longnan.

The reason why Lizhou was assigned to Dongchuan was because Shannan West Road was always unable to control the refugees fleeing to Longyou, and then it was assigned to Dongchuan.

The current situation is also due to the fact that each state has been returned to its original territory.

First of all, the defense pressure in Xichuan was too great, so the four states of Wen, Fu, Long and Mian were transferred back to Dongchuan, and Gao Pian of Dongchuan was asked to find a way to defend these four states and repel the invading Duokang Tubo.

Lizhou was transferred back to Shannan West Road because Lu Jun, the governor of Shannan West Road, died of illness half a month ago, and the court was preparing to let Wang Shi go to reorganize the military and political affairs of Shannan West Road.

Wang Shi was able to suppress the Hehuai bandits so quickly, which shows that his political ability is not bad.

From this series of arrangements made by the court, he vaguely felt that the court seemed to be preparing for another war.

In the entire western frontier, it seemed that the only person worthy of such treatment by the court was Liu Jilian who was entrenched in Longyou.

Thinking of this, Wang Shi couldn't help but frown. He seemed to know why the court suddenly increased taxes.

Without raising taxes, where would we get the money and food to pacify Longyou?

"Your Majesty, thank you..."

After his thoughts came to an end, Wang Shi bowed his head to express his gratitude, then slowly stood up at the command and returned to the team.

Not long after, the regular court session in the Purple Palace, which was mainly attended by officials, ended. However, this was only the end of the regular court session for officials, not the court.

"Wang Situ, Your Majesty asks you to move to Xianning Palace."

"I accept your instructions..."

After the court was dismissed, Wang Shi watched the eunuch walk up to him and whisper in his ear, and thought to himself, as expected.

Soon, he, Lu Yan, Gao Qu and Xu Shang went to Xianning Palace.

Sitting here, in addition to the emperor who had arrived early, were the four nobles of the Northern Department, Wang Maoxuan, Qi Yuanshi, Qi Yuanjian, and Yang Xuanjie, who were granted seats.

Both the Northern Division and the Southern Court disliked Wang Shi. After all, he had an association with Wang Shoucheng in the past, which was considered a taboo in both the Northern Division and the Southern Court.

Wang Shi sat in the fourth seat on the right, and then waited attentively for the emperor to speak.

Li Yi didn't let him wait too long. As the four of them sat down, Li Yi immediately said:
"Lu Jun, the governor of Shannan West Road, passed away due to illness. However, not to mention that he had done nothing in his years in office, he also allowed refugees to flee to Longyou, which resulted in the soldiers of Shannan West Road not being able to maintain their weapons and armor, and their training was a serious crime."

"Considering his extensive experience in both Chinese and foreign affairs and his great achievements, we no longer pursue his faults and confer him the title of Grand Tutor and posthumous name of Yuan."

After a simple opening, Longyou appeared in the emperor's remarks with a not very good image.

The ministers knew exactly what the emperor was thinking, and they all fell silent.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Li Yi nodded slightly and looked at Wang Shi: "I wonder how long do you think it will take to reorganize the troops in Shannan West Road?"

"Your Majesty, I need to know how many troops the court needs..."

Wang Shi went straight to the point. After all, the Tang Dynasty was now suffering from the consequences of military expenditure. Wang Shi needed to know how many troops the court needed, and then he would know whether to lay off some or recruit new ones after layoffs.

"How many troops do you think are needed to defend against the invasion of Xingzhou and Fengzhou by the troops from Longyou?"

Xu Shang took the initiative to ask Wang Shi. Wang Shi thought for a moment before saying, "I have never seen the Longyou army, but those who have seen it all say that they are strong and powerful."

"I think that if we want to defend Xing and Feng states, we must have 20,000 soldiers and horses."

Wang Shi did not become arrogant because of his successive victories, but instead chose the conservative number of 20,000.

Xu Shang nodded when he heard this and asked again: "In our dynasty, the highest military pay for the imperial guards is 36 strings of cash, followed by 24 strings of cash, and then 20 strings of cash."

"General Wang, how much military pay should be allocated to the troops of Shannan West Road?"

"Twenty strings of cash will be enough." Wang Shi said without hesitation, and this was also the military salary he set based on what he knew about the prices in Shannan West Road.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Yi, who was sitting on the golden platform, was even more satisfied and said, "In this case, the task of recruiting 20,000 soldiers and horses by eliminating the old and weak in Shannan West Road will be handed over to Envoy Wang."

"I obey your command." Wang Shi bowed in response.

Seeing him so calm, Wang Maoxuan narrowed his eyes and asked:

"I wonder how many troops and horses Envoy Wang thinks the imperial court will need to pacify Longyou?"

"Sure enough..." Wang Shi thought to himself, and then pondered for a moment:
"I don't know how many soldiers and money and food there are in Longyou, so I dare not make a conclusion rashly. But if we look at the rumors that Longyou has a million people and tens of thousands of soldiers, this battle may not be easy to win."

It was not easy to pacify Longyou, and everyone in the court and the country knew it very well, otherwise the two emperors Li Chen and Li Yi would not have tolerated Longyou for so many years.

Wang Maoxuan, Lu Yan, Xu Shang and others also knew this, but what they wanted was for Wang Shi to give a definite explanation so that they could feel at ease to use their troops in Longyou.

Not to mention whether Duokang Tubo still belongs to Longyou, if Longyou continues to play the game of nurturing the enemy for its own benefit in the future, it will probably be Xichuan that will suffer in the end.

Xichuan was the imperial court's refuge, so it naturally could not be harassed by bandits all year round.

"We know that the war is difficult, but we still need the advice of Envoy Wang."

"General Wang, do you think that the imperial court would need to mobilize tens of thousands of troops to pacify Longyou, how much money and food would it cost, and how many months would it take?"

After all, Wang Maoxuan was about to retire, so he dared to say what the other officials in the Northern Department dared not to say.

Wang Shi was very clear that the questions Wang Maoxuan asked were nothing more than the questions that the Northern Department, the Southern Court and even the emperor wanted to ask.

He didn't expect that just after he solved the problem of bandits in Hehuai, the court brought him a new problem.

With his brows furrowed, Wang Shi could only roughly say:
"I think we may need to mobilize the eight garrisons in the northwest of Beijing and the imperial army, as well as the troops from Shannan West Road, Jiannan West Sichuan, and Dongchuan, which will require no less than 150,000 troops."

"According to the expenses of suppressing the bandits in He and Huai, the annual expenditure, in addition to military pay, is no less than 2 million strings of cash in rewards from foreign countries."

"If the war goes smoothly, Longyou can be pacified in two or three years. If it does not go smoothly, it will take four or five years."

"But in my opinion, although Longyou has no intention of disloyalty, it has not yet shown any disloyal behavior. If we attack rashly, I am afraid that the other towns will be frightened."

"In addition, the people in various provinces are already suffering, so please ask the court to reduce taxes..."

Wang Shi did not support the court's attack on Longyou because he was unfamiliar with the area and was not sure whether the court could conquer Longyou.

However, although his words were far beyond the expectations of the Northern Secretariat and the Emperor, if Liu Jilian could be defeated, the court would no longer be threatened by Longyou.

Thinking of this, Li Yi's face showed obvious interest, and Lu Yan, who was always paying attention to the emperor's expression, immediately spoke:

"Your Majesty cannot bear to impose taxes on the people, but Liu Jilong of Longyou has repeatedly led foreign bandits to invade. If we do not punish him, how can we demonstrate the majesty of the court?"

"Your Majesty, I think... taxes cannot be reduced for the time being. We should pacify Longyou and restore peace to the people of Jingji, Guannei, and Jiannan before we can reduce taxes."

Lu Yan's words made Li Yi, who was already tempted, even more tempted, but he still had some concerns in his mind, and that was the imperial guards.

He looked at Wang Shi and couldn't help asking, "In your opinion, how many imperial troops should be dispatched to defeat Liu Jilong?"

Wang Shi sighed in his heart. He had already realized that the imperial court was determined to clean up Longyou.

Helplessly, he could only calculate carefully, and after a moment he gave the answer: "I think that the eight towns in the northwest of Beijing should send 60,000 troops, Dongchuan should send 20,000 troops, Xichuan needs to send 20,000 troops, and Shannan West Road only needs to send 20,000 troops to defend Xingfeng and Fengzhou."

"As for the Imperial Guards..." Wang Shi couldn't help but look at Wang Maoxuan and others from the Northern Division, and finally said, "No less than 30,000."

"Yes!" Before Wang Maoxuan and others could speak, Li Yi nodded and said:

"The Shen Ce Army will send out 20,000 soldiers, and the remaining troops will be sent out by the Shen Wu, Long Wu, Yu Lin and other six armies."

"If the imperial guards are insufficient, what do you think of dispatching garrison troops from Henan and Hedong?"

Li Yi asked Wang Shi, and Wang Shi saw that the emperor was determined to pacify Longyou, so he could only nod immediately.

"Of course you can, but it's not something that can be done in a moment. We need to prepare in advance, raise food and military pay, and deploy troops and horses. It will take a year or so to train the army."

"If the news leaks out, the day of the rebellion may have to be postponed. Your Majesty, please think twice..."

Wang Shi was still trying to make amends, but Li Yi was already furious.

"Pass on my order that all dispatches from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of War shall be headed by Lord Wang."

"Once the troops are deployed and the food and fodder are fully collected, I will recover Longyou and fulfill the late emperor's last wish!"

(End of this chapter)