Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 355: The Fall of Six States
"Dad, I heard about what happened in the temple today!"

In the Zhang family's Situ Mansion, when Zhang Huaiding, who had just returned from duty, walked into the central hall of the mansion wearing armor and holding an iron helmet, Zhang Yichao was discussing today's regular court affairs with Zhang Yitan and others.

Sitting in the hall were Zhang Yichao, Zhang Yitan, Zhang Huaiquan and Zhang Huaicheng, representing the family opinions of the two Zhang families.

Seeing Zhang Huaiding coming in, the 78-year-old Zhang Yitan chuckled twice: "Erlang is back?"

"Uncle, I'm back from my shift."

Zhang Huaiding still maintained his respect for Zhang Yitan on the surface. Seeing his expression, Zhang Yichao frowned slightly and said, "Sit down."

"Yes!" Zhang Huaiding agreed, and then sat in the second seat from the left.

Seeing him sit down, Zhang Yichao continued to talk to Zhang Yitan about the changes in the court. At the same time, Zhang Huaiquan also told Zhang Huaiding what he had said before Zhang Huaiding came.

After all, they are actually talking about the court's planning for the states of Shannan West Road and Jiannan Road.

Although Zhang Yitan was old, he was not completely confused, so after Zhang Yichao's explanation, he quickly realized that the court was probably targeting Longyou.

He could no longer remember Liu Jillong's face, but he vaguely remembered that Liu Jillong was very handsome, with a god-like appearance.

"Mu Zhi has gone too far. Even I can guess that he is plotting to take over the six states in the north and south of Jiannan."

"The court's change of ownership of the states may also be intended to warn him."

"As for the rumors in the court and the public... that Huai Shen changed his allegiance, I don't think it can be trusted. At least Huai Shen didn't tell me..."

During these days, the Beisi and Nanya had been spreading rumors about the separation of Hexi and Longyou in order to boost the confidence of officials in the court and the country.

Zhang Yitan is old and seldom goes out, let alone attends court, so if Zhang Yichao hadn't told him, he probably wouldn't have known about such rumors outside.

"Brother will never separate from Liu Jieshuai!"

Even though he was only sixteen years old, Zhang Huaicheng didn't believe that his elder brother would break off relations with Liu Jilong.

In response to their words, Zhang Huaiding was secretly trying to figure out the meaning of the letter Liu Jilong had written to him last time.

In the letter, Liu Jilian said that the Zhang family was not strong enough in Chang'an and should avoid being involved in any struggles and wait until the emperor was weak before emerging as a powerful force.

Could it be that...when Liu Jilong said that the emperor was weak, he meant that he personally led the army to defeat the government army, causing the emperor to lose his prestige?
Zhang Huaiding was a little bit unbelieving, but he felt that his guess made sense.

Thinking of this, he even came up with many explanations in his mind to justify Liu Jilong's behavior.

"Brother, you also know the situation of the Imperial Guards. If the imperial court wants to pacify Longyou, it will definitely start recruiting soldiers, or transfer troops from various towns to guard the western border."

"Although the imperial court has already recruited 15,000 soldiers for the Shen Ce Army, most of them are poor and weak."

"We have been training for less than ten days. Although we can form a battle array, we can hardly bear armor."

"Although the eunuchs in the Northern Department don't know anything about military affairs, they have been trained for a long time, so they can still tell which soldiers can fight and which can't."

"If this army does not rush to Xichuan to provide assistance within three months, and the court has also mobilized troops from various towns in Shandong to garrison the western border, then the court will definitely take action against Longyou."

"If this army is dispatched within a month, it means that the court's adjustment of the states and the recruitment of 15,000 soldiers are all means of persuading the enemy."

"As long as Mu Zhi doesn't seize the opportunity to go south, the imperial court shouldn't send troops to deal with him..."

Zhang Yichao said a lot, and Zhang Yitan nodded in agreement, but Zhang Huaiding was already certain that Liu Jilian wanted to go to war with the imperial court.

Thinking of this, his eyes flickered and he didn't care about what his father and uncle said.

When the meeting was over and everyone left, Zhang Huaiding walked out of the Zhang mansion and prepared to return to his own mansion, while Zhang Huaiquan came to see him off.

The two walked to the outside of Wutou Gate. Before getting in the car, Zhang Huaiding said to Zhang Huaiquan:
"If Liu Jilong goes against the imperial court, this will be our Zhang family's chance."

"What opportunity?" Zhang Huaiquan was confused, while Zhang Huaiding chuckled:

"The court is afraid of you and me, so it has not expanded the left and right Shenwu armies. But if the various towns and the imperial army fail in Longyou, then the three thousand Shenwu armies in your and my hands will become the last few elite divisions in Chang'an."

"As long as you and I maintain our strength, our status will surely rise in the end."

Zhang Huaiding's tone was slightly excited, while Zhang Huaiquan hesitated and said, "This... After all, the towns also have elite troops, it is impossible for them to fail in Longyou..."

"Stupid!" Zhang Huaiding sneered, even showing a bit of disdain on his face: "Brother, you and I have both fought all the way here from Shazhou."

"Tell me the truth, do you think the Eight Towns in the Northwest of Beijing and the Shen Ce Army can be even one-third as brave as our Guiyi Army?"

When mentioning the three words "Guiyi Army", Zhang Huaiquan's eyes couldn't help but flicker, as that was an experience he was proud of.

"Not as good as him." Zhang Huaiquan shook his head and told the truth:
"We have been fighting with fewer troops all the way east. The eight towns in the northwest of Beijing and the Shen Ce Army have been fighting against the Tanguts who have no armor for more than ten years, and finally had to pacify them. Naturally, they are no match for us."

"That's right!" Zhang Huaiding nodded confidently:
"Liu Jilong has at least 50,000 to 60,000 elite soldiers. If he knew that the imperial court wanted to defeat him, he would at least mobilize 70,000 to 80,000 troops to fight against the imperial court."

"Given the current situation of the imperial court, it would be difficult to deal with Liu Jilong unless we dispatch an army of 200,000 or 300,000."

"Liu Jilong is like Shi Siming, but the court lacks Li Guangbi and Guo Ziyi..."

"This is our chance, and also our Zhang family's chance. We must not let it go!"

Seeing his own Erlang like this, Zhang Huaiquan nodded immediately, and Zhang Huaiding said to Zhang Huaiquan:
"Big brother, please work harder these days and keep an eye on the developments in the North Division."

"Even if the imperial court wants to defeat Liu Jilong, it won't do it right now."

"If we want to defeat Liu Jilong, it will take a year or so just to mobilize food and troops. If we observe carefully, we will definitely be able to detect some clues."

"Okay!" Zhang Huaiquan agreed without hesitation. Zhang Huaiding was very satisfied seeing this, and then turned around and got on the carriage.

As the carriage drove away, Zhang Huaiquan returned home.

When he walked into the central hall, Zhang Yichao, who had already seen off the guests, looked at him and asked calmly, "What did Erlang say to you?"

"Nothing... just asked me to keep a close eye on the movements of the Northern Division. If the imperial court really wants to defeat Liu Jilong, I can send news to Liu Jilong."

Zhang Huaiquan was lying, but he was really not good at lying, so much so that Zhang Yichao knew he was lying as soon as he opened his mouth.

"You guys..." Zhang Yichao sighed, stood up and walked out.

When he passed by Zhang Huaiquan, he looked at him deeply:

"Aye is old and won't live long. I hope you guys can behave yourself after he's gone..."

"Father, what are you talking about? You will definitely live longer than your uncle." Zhang Huaiquan was a little uneasy, but he still tried to comfort his father.

Zhang Yichao didn't say anything, just shook his head and walked out, disappearing at the end of the corridor.

A few days later, Wang Shi received the military governor's banner and then led dozens of servants south to Shannan West Road.

At the same time, Wen and Fu states were successively broken, nearly two thousand Xichuan soldiers were captured by Duokang Tubo, and three thousand soldiers died on the battlefield.

Duokang and Tubo joined forces. After nearly 30,000 of their troops were killed or wounded, the remaining 20,000 armored soldiers and 20,000 troops surrounded Jiangyou County, the only remaining county in Longzhou.

Li Changyan of Fengxiang Town led his troops to garrison Jiangyou Pass in the southern part of Jiangyou County. Even after receiving a call for help, he did not leave Jiangyou Pass.

Jiangyou County was captured after 27 days of resistance, and Shang Moyan occupied many passes and counties in the six states except Jiangyou Pass, Gutao Pass and Songling Pass.

"Crackling——"

As flames exploded, Shang Moyan led his troops into Jiangyou County.

At this time, there were countless corpses lying all over the county, most of whom were civilians who committed suicide after the city was broken.

Shang Moyan looked towards a yard that was destroyed by a catapult, where a child of seven or eight years old was standing in front of a well.

After seeing them, the child seemed to curse a few words, then jumped into the well without any sound.

Several Tang riders went to check, and soon returned and saluted, saying: "Da Lun, the boy has drowned..."

"Yes." Shang Moyan nodded slightly and said to Mo Ludanzeng behind him: "Send people to collect and bury the remains of this city. Less than 4,000 residents have held out for 27 days. They are braver than the Tang soldiers we met along the way and deserve respect."

"Yes..." Lu Danzeng bowed and responded, not feeling sad about these things.

Longzhou belongs to the lower state in Jiannan Road, with a relatively sparse population. The population of the entire state is only more than 4,000 people, but it has resisted the longest and is indeed worthy of respect.

After Mo Ludanzeng conveyed Shang Moyan's military order, he went to Jiangyou County Government with Shang Moyan.

In the main hall of the government office, an official in a green official robe hanged himself. Shang Moyan nodded and said:
"He is a man, a good official, otherwise the people of Jiangyou County would not have followed him to death." "But he is too stupid. If he is willing to surrender, the people of this entire city can avoid death and be incorporated into Longyou in the future."

"Bury his body. Tell all the troops to report the number of armors they have seized. Slaughter all the livestock in the city so that the soldiers can have a good feast!"

"Yes..." Lu Danzeng nodded in agreement, then turned around and arranged for someone else to deliver the message.

The father and son sat in the seats in the main hall. After half an hour, each army compiled the captured information into a book and handed it to Shang Moyan.

The reason why there were so many scholars among the Tubo in Duokang was that Shang Moyan recalled the Tubo children in Songzhou to Jincheng before the war.

More than 200 Duokang children learned Chinese characters and arithmetic in Songzhou. Although they only studied for two years, they were able to do some military work and no longer had to count on their fingers.

Mei Ludanzeng summarized the numbers reported by each army, and finally said to Shang Moyan:

"Father, we lost 8,625 armored soldiers and 35,650 slaves."

"There are 18,652 sets of armor seized, but only 7,482 sets can be used directly. The others are damaged and need to be repaired."

"Now, apart from the 8,000 armored soldiers stationed in various cities, there are only more than 13,000 armored soldiers and more than 14,000 slaves who can still fight in the army."

In the attack on the six states, there were many casualties in the six states of Duokang, with more than 40,000 people killed in the battle or died of injuries and illnesses afterwards.

Duokang's military medical skills are not good. Severe injuries basically mean death, and minor injuries are usually not counted as wounded soldiers, so those who survive are counted as soldiers who can fight.

"Grant the fifty thousand slaves who participated in the war and their families civilian status, and recruit the more than fourteen thousand survivors into armored troops."

"Send Wei Gong Luolu to lead 500 people to escort the craftsmen from the six states back to Jincheng, and recruit slaves to fight in Jiannan. Also, let the craftsmen in Jincheng repair the captured armor and transport it back to the front line."

"Tell Zanlu to send troops to test the strength of the Tang army at Gutao Pass, Songling Pass, and Jiangyou Pass. I will break through the passes and plunder Xichuan in a month."

"Only the money, grain and craftsmen of Xichuan belong to us. Everything we get now is false."

Shang Moyan's words made Mei Lu Danzeng agree very much. Not to mention that the counties in the Six States were easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the population was sparsely populated. Just the fact that Liu Jilian asked them to hand over the population, land and cities of the Six States to Longyou would make it impossible for them to take root in the Six States.

At present, their strength is weak, and Liu Jilian has 35,000 troops stationed in Wuzhou and Dangzhou, and another 10,000 troops in Songzhou.

If these troops launched an attack on them, they would have no way of holding on to the six states from Liu Jilian.

It would be better to move the craftsmen from the six states to Jincheng first. After all, there are only more than 2,000 craftsmen from the six states, and Liu Jilian would not care about these things for the sake of losing the big picture.

For Dokang Tubo, craftsmen are the most valuable, and even soldiers can only rank behind craftsmen.

As long as they had craftsmen, they could produce armor in an endless supply, which was more practical than reusing captured armor.

Thinking of this, Lu Danzeng saluted and said, "Should we tell General Liu Jie that we have recovered the six states except the three passes?"

"I have sent someone north to tell him about this matter." Shang Moyan said calmly:

"We lost so much blood, it's impossible for him to lose nothing."

"You must immediately send someone to record the number of people in the six states. I want to ask him for food."

Although Duokang's army captured more than a dozen cities and passes in the six states and seized a lot of grain.

But just as Mo Ludanzeng said, the temperature in Tubo has been getting colder in recent years, and the barley yield in many lands has been getting lower and lower.

Dokham is one of the places with relatively high grain production in Tubo, but Dokham is still struggling to make ends meet, let alone the entire Tubo.

Shang Moyan had a premonition that Tubo might fall into even greater turmoil, and the most precious thing in turmoil is always food.

What's more, during the process of recovering the six states, he did not fight according to Liu Jilong's military orders several times. If Liu Jilong was angry and cut off the tea and grain trade with Duokang, Duokang would fall into a food shortage situation.

The right thing to do is to take this opportunity to use the land and population of the six states, plus the population that will be looted from Xichuan, to exchange for food and tea with Liu Jilian.

While Shang Moyan was thinking this, Mei Ludanzeng also began to count the people of the six states according to his arrangements.

Faced with tens of thousands of people from the six states, even if Shang Moyan had more than 200 students, it would be impossible to count them all in a short time.

For this reason, he asked the garrisons in each state to prepare ropes and use the knotted rope method to record events, tying a knot for each citizen, regardless of gender, age or strength.

After all, he only wanted to exchange population for food. It would be enough for him to relocate the craftsmen and their families, and then calculate how many people there were, and then ask Liu Jilong for food.

Because of this, in less than ten days, each city handed in many knots.

After Lu Danzeng sent people to count the numbers, they sent the knots and letters to Pandi County, which was more than 200 miles away from Jiangyou.

When Liu Jilong saw the carts of knots and the letter, it was already the last day of June.

"Forty-two thousand six hundred and fifty-six?"

Liu Jilian looked at the more than thirty carts of knots and the number recorded in the letter in his hand. He did not expect that there were so many people in the six states.

After all, at the peak of the Kaiyuan period, the six states had only about 50,000 people. However, after so many years of absorption by Longyou, there were still more than 42,000 people in the area, which exceeded his expectations.

Even if only 30% of the men were left, there would still be tens of thousands of them, enough to drive horse-drawn carriages and solve the problem of transporting food and fodder for 5,000 soldiers and horses within a range of 200 miles.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong looked at the young man in front of him.

This is Weidan Phodrang, the eldest son of Duokang general Weigongluolu, and also one of the students of Songzhou Fanren School.

"Teacher, the number on the letter matches the number of knots on the rope. We dare not deceive you..."

As a student of the Fan school, Weidan Phodrang called Liu Jilong "teacher", which was also one of Liu Jilong's means of culturally assimilating the Fan people.

The textbooks of the Fan people’s schools often include Liu Jilong’s figure, poems, and even the vernacular books he wrote.

In addition, there are some Chinese Buddhist scriptures that he translated into Tibetan.

For students who have never been exposed to these classics, it is as if Liu Jilong wrote them for them to know, so it is not an exaggeration to call him teacher.

"Teacher will not doubt you. I will transport five times the number of these knots from Diezhou to Mochan City."

"You can tell Shang Moyan that I don't need him to distinguish between men, women, old and weak. As long as these people are still alive, I will trade with them for five stones of grain for each mouthful of food."

While Liu Jilong was speaking, he took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Wei Dan Phodrang, saying:
"Of course, the grain needs to be handed over to him after I get six states."

"Before that, I need him to defend six states for me, and it would be best if he could take down three of them..."

"Yes, I will pass on your words to the great theorist." Weidan Phodrang bowed respectfully, and Liu Jilong nodded and said:

"Rest well at Yin Hotel tonight and set off again tomorrow."

"Yes..." Wei Danpozhang nodded in agreement, and Liu Jilong also signaled Chen Ying to send someone to take him to Yin Hotel to rest.

After he left, Liu Jilong did not return to the yamen, but walked around the stables at the gate, looking at the knots tied into knots.

Chen Ying followed behind him. The two of them briefly looked at the rope buckles on more than a dozen carriages, and then Liu Jilong asked Chen Ying:

"Where are the troops from Dongchuan and Qianzhong Road? Where are they going to be stationed?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ying said, "The troops of Dongchuan are led by Wang Zhongren. They have now arrived in Chengdu Prefecture and taken over the defense of Songling Pass."

"The troops from Qianzhong Road have arrived in Jianzhou. It seems that they are preparing to go to Jiangyou Pass for defense. The general leading the troops is someone you know."

"My acquaintance?" Liu Jilong frowned slightly, then sneered: "Could it be Suo Xun?"

"Replying to the commander, it's him." Chen Ying answered respectfully. Liu Jilong smiled and said:

"Youshilong has been silent for nearly a month. Now the troops that Dongchuan and Qianzhong Road can provide support are all in the north, 200 miles away from Jiazhou."

"If he attacks Jiazhou now, can he capture it before the troops from Dongchuan and Qianzhong Road march south?"

"This..." Chen Ying didn't dare to be sure, but tried: "The troops of Jiazhou were all taken to Lizhou by Cui Xuan. If You Shilong takes them by surprise, there may be a 50% chance of taking Jiazhou."

"Fifty percent?" Liu Jilong chuckled, "Too little, I think it's at least seventy percent."

As soon as he finished speaking, he walked towards the Pandi County Government Office with steady steps:

"Whether we can rely on Shang Moyan to send troops to plunder the population of Xichuan and use it to enrich the six states of Longnan and Wenfu depends on how far You Shilong can go..."

(End of this chapter)