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Volume 2: Hu Qi and a Thin Willow Chapter 111: North-South War Strategies (5)

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    ps: Thanks to Iron Man and Brother Eagle Zhou for the reward, thank you.  The battle between the Yan army and the allied forces of the princes on the Gaoping front line is becoming increasingly fierce. The soldiers of both sides fought repeatedly around key points such as Jiepailing, Xuanhu and Shizuitou, and each suffered numerous injuries.  At the peak of the fighting, there were more than 2,000 casualties in one day.  Zezhou City, thirty miles away from Jiepailing, is also busy.  Because the city was not large enough to accommodate the various princes, only Liang Wangxing lived in the city, while hundreds of thousands of coalition troops were distributed outside the city, with large and small coalitions stretching for dozens of miles.  The deployment of the army, the deployment of various battalion headquarters, the replenishment of troops in the front, the consumption of food and suppliesthe numerous affairs came one after another, making Jingxiang's mind swamped with work.  The subordinate officials in the King of Liang's account were headed by Jingxiang, Li Zhen and Pei Di, each of whom had their own responsibilities.  Li Zhen served as Liang Wang's military counselor and made suggestions, Pei Di lived in Bianzhou to take care of the rear and military supplies, and Jingxiang took charge of internal affairs and planned military affairs.  Since the expedition to Zelu, the three of them have hardly had a good night's sleep, especially Jingxiang, who now has dark circles under his eyes and can't even comb his bun.  Mountains of documents were piled up in every corner of the room. Several large frames of order arrows and soldiers' symbols were placed on the huge table. Order sergeants and civil servants came in through the water and quickly left. Several book offices were burying them on the small desks on both sides.  First wave of hair.  In this busy hall, Jingxiang held an official document in his hand and was silent in thought.  Starting from the end of July, grain and fodder from various states in Henan Province were gathered in Zezhou, but the quantity gradually decreased. From the very stable 30,000 dan per ten days at the beginning, it was reduced to 28,000 dan, and by the end of August it became 25,000 dan.  Thousand stones, but now, it has dropped sharply to thirteen thousand stones If it were not for the arrival of 130,000 stones of food from the southern princes last month, hundreds of thousands of troops would have started to go hungry today!  The official document in Jingxiang¡¯s hand was from Bianzhou and was handwritten by Pei Di, who was based in Bianzhou. Judging from the slightly scrawled handwriting and the slightly messy lines, Pei Di was writing this official document.  How anxious and restless I feel inside.  Pei Di couldn¡¯t help but feel anxious. The autumn harvest had been completed and at least more than two million dan of food had been planned. However, now only less than 600,000 dan had been levied. Where did the rest go?  These grains are now being shipped to Zezhou one after another. The Zezhou granary will be replenished within a month, allowing the army to survive until December. However, that's it. What next?  Pei Di blamed himself in a handwritten official document.  Frankly, he didn't pay enough attention to this issue. When he started collecting grain, he discovered that the amount handed in was wrong.  Pei Di said that for this matter, he arrested some landowners who failed to pay the grain, and even severely punished several Jiedu officials, and finally figured out where the grain went.  Starting from September, every few days, there will be a large fleet of grain ships taking advantage of the late night.  Going up the Bianhe River and entering the Yellow River, we actually went to Hebei!  Pei Di said that he didn't believe it at first, but then he went to see it in person and figured out what was going on.  Wealthy landowners in Henan, headed by the Yuan family and the Jiang family.  Purchasing grain throughout Henan Province and selling it to Hebei at high prices has almost hollowed out Henan Province.  It is said that Hebei offered three times the price to take over the autumn grain.  Driven by such high interests, everyone from senior officials in the royal palace to petty officials in prefectures and counties are going crazy about it.  Pei Di said.  The reason why I had been concealed for so long was because many of my staff and officials were involved in this matter. So far, twenty-seven people have been arrested for this, and each of them confessed under severe torture.  How many officials stayed in Bianzhou with Pei Di?  There are less than a hundred people involved, but in the past few days alone, 30% have been involved. From now on, it is still uncertain how many people will be involved.  After taking down these officials, Pei Di's pressure also increased sharply. All kinds of people who wanted to intercede and begged for their release swarmed in. Some offered inducements, some implicitly threatened, some begged, and some  Jingxiang looked at the stack of notes attached to the official document. This was part of the gift money Pei Di received. They were all "arrears agreements" issued by "Henan United Bank", commonly known as "flying notes" among the people.  ".  The largest amount was "a debt of one thousand guan", and the smallest one was also a "debt of ten guan". After counting, the total amount of this pile of bills alone exceeded 10,000 guan!  Pei Di didn't explain these bills too much, and Jingxiang didn't quite understand the extent of circulation of these things in the states of Henan Province. If he had been distracted for a while, he might not have been so dismissive.  Since the second half of last year, with the support of many wealthy families such as the Yuan family and the Jiang family, Youyan United Bank has expanded its presence in various states in Henan Province on a large scale under the name of "Henan United Bank", and the "flying tickets" issued by it have a good reputation.  , extremely practical.  The meaning is beyond what Pei Di and Jingxiang can guess.  So far, the two of them have not been able to figure out the potential relationship between "flying tickets" and "selling grain to Hebei", but the latter is a real and huge problem.  Pei Di also said that in addition to officials from the Liang Prince's Mansion, the original Xuanwu Jiedu Mansion, there should be many people involved in the government offices of various states in Henan Province. He estimated that this??A fairly large system.  But Pei Di had no way to continue the investigation after he arrived, because many states and counties in Henan Province had been enfeoffed by King Liang. The original upper and lower system was in chaos, and many governors and county magistrates were busy trying to get rid of it.  A sum of money, because they didn't know where they would go to take office Although there was no way to continue the investigation, Pei Di still mobilized troops to block the Bianhe River waterway to prevent grain ships from continuing to transport northward, but he said with great concern that this  Such a blockade density would probably not achieve the desired result, because he could not figure out whether any of the officers responsible for blocking the river were involved in this matter.  Pei Di finally said that in order to prevent officials from committing fraud, he had strictly ordered that all the collected grain be shipped immediately and sent to the army, otherwise he would not dare to guarantee the safety of the grain.  In the official document, Pei Di did not say many things clearly, but the problems were exposed, hitting Jingxiang's already tired heart like a heavy hammer.  It is an indisputable fact that the Yuan family, the Jiang family, and even more wealthy families are involved in liaison with the enemy. However, the reason why Pei Di did not talk about the issue of accountability is because even Jingxiang understands that this matter involves too much.  big.  Not to mention the relationship between the Yuan family and the Jiang family and the King of Liang, Yuan Xiang is currently guarding Xiangzhou, which is the only place in Henan that borders Hebei. Under Xiangzhou, separated by a river, there are Huazhou, Zhengzhou and Huaizhou.  The state is in a line, covering Bianzhou.  Who will lead the troops in these three states?  It¡¯s Jiang Xuanhui!  This is a matter that affects the whole body. Once there is a change between Yuan Xiangxian and Jiang Xuanhui, Bianzhou's old nest will not be saved. How can we wipe out Hebei and determine the world?  From what we have learned, it is true that the Yuan family, the Jiang family, and even many wealthy families lost food because of their greed for money, causing a shortage of food in front of the army. However, from a willing point of view, Jingxiang would rather believe that they did not really  The thought of turning to King Yan.  When they arrived in Hebei, what high-ranking officials and generous salaries could King Yan offer to win over them?  Can you be more noble than being by the side of King Liang?  Jingxiang thinks they should understand this.  Even if there is to be punishment, it should be done after the war, and it cannot be made too obvious for the time being.  Jingxiang¡¯s worries come from another aspect. It can be seen from Pei Di¡¯s official documents that the entire officialdom of Henan Province is rotten. If not all of it is rotten, at least half of it is rotten.  Whether this problem is caused by the feudal state or the property, Jingxiang doesn't have time to take care of it at the moment. As I said before, he will just rectify it after the war.  The last issue is military rations. This is the most urgent matter at present.  According to Pei Di, 600,000 shi of grain is the last sum that can be raised at present. If you want to find it, you can only search it from wealthy families, and they are top wealthy families, such as Jiang Yuan and others, and ordinary small and medium-sized landowners.  If you sell the remaining grain, you won't be able to get a single grain unless your house is ransacked and all the families are wiped out.  When it is time for a big battle, can there be chaos in the rear?  I'm afraid that King Liang's decision to kill would have to be carefully considered.  Another way is to continue to urge the southern princes to transport grain. There is a lot of grain in the south, which is harvested twice a year. There is plenty of grain there.  But even if we start the shipment now, we won't be able to reach the front of the army in more than a month or two, and the losses on the road are too heavy. It is good to transport 100,000 shi of grain to 30,000 shi of the front of the army.  The most important thing is that King Liang paid a lot of money last time he asked them to lose food. What benefits should they get this time?  These questions made Jingxiang think so hard that his hair was almost gone, and he finally had to come to see Prince Liang in person.  Just as Jingxiang expected, after hearing the report, King Liang quickly gave the answer.  The former Duke Yuan Xiang was granted the title of Marquis of Kaiguo County, and he was granted the title of Marquis of Cai when he lived in the south of Yingchuan. The Duke of Jiang Xuanhui was granted the title of Marquis of Kaiguo County. He was granted the title of Marquis of Fangcheng.  There will be no delay if the two of them are in the country within two months each.  This is a good way to deal with it. It is the same as Jingxiang¡¯s plan. However, the relationship between the two and Prince Liang is too close. One is Prince Liang¡¯s nephew and the other is Prince Liang¡¯s die-hard brother. Jingxiang cannot tell.  It can only be said by King Liang himself.  King Liang simply ignored the overall corruption of officials in Henan Province and did not express his position on it. However, Jingxiang could see from his clenched hands that after the war, the lives of these officials were very worrying.  As for the problem of food shortage, King Liang pondered for a moment and asked Jingxiang what to do.  Jingxiang said slowly: "Food can support the army until December, but His Highness knows that we cannot fight until December. If there is a change, the whole army will collapse. Even if we can really win in December, there is no way  If we continue to hold on, all the victories gained will be meaningless. Therefore, it is advisable to attack quickly and end the war by the end of October! By then, all the princes will be sent back, and the army will be reduced to 200,000, so that the army can be maintained until February next year.  Month, the remaining grain can only be requisitioned from Hebei." After hearing this, King Liang was silent for a moment, then veins popped up on his forehead, he punched the table, and said "Okay" in a deep voice!  Following the strict order of King Liang, the warThings suddenly accelerated, and the intensity of the fight between the two sides suddenly increased to a higher level.  Starting from the first day of October, with Liang Jun as the main force, the allied forces of the princes cooperated with each other and gathered more than 100,000 soldiers. They attacked the front lines of Jiepailing, Xuanhu and Shizuitou for several days. The shouts of killing shook the sky and fireworks filled the fields every time.  At this moment, hundreds of soldiers from both armies fell on this battlefield that was no more than ten miles long.  (To be continued)
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