The troops sent out to quell the rebellion, instead of quickly and effectively quelling the civil uprisings in various places as the imperial court and the gentry in various states and counties had expected, they were retreating steadily! What's more, there have been appalling things like generals being unable to restrain their subordinates, causing them to mutiny, and those who gathered with the rebels to capture prefectures and counties, plunder warehouses, rape, burn and kill indiscriminately!
"Most of the world was controlled by the gentry. Previously, the Wei Dynasty established Dingding. Starting from Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Gaozong, Emperor Taizong, and Emperor Xuanzong worked hard to govern, and the Wei Dynasty was prosperous for hundreds of years. The blessings of our ancestors lasted until several decades ago, and they were exposed only because of the neglect of the late emperor. The situation is obviously declining." He threw another urgent document back on the case - the content of the document was that the troops recently sent to Bozhou to quell the rebellion were besieged by the mob. After losing the battle, there was a shortage of military food and the morale of the army was shaken. Fortunately, this The leader of the army was decisive in killing. After noticing that someone was spreading rumors about the uprising in the army, he killed dozens of people and showed their heads to the public, temporarily suppressing the entire army. However, there were mobs outside and lack of food and grass inside. The general did not know how long he could hold out, so he wrote dozens of blood letters, tied them on arrows, and shot them out of the siege. As expected, several letters were quickly returned to the imperial capital and presented to the Upward.
Shen Zangfeng shook his head, "In the past hundred years, although wars have been raging on the borders of the Wei Dynasty, the border troops are no stranger to going into battle. However, there have been no weapons within the borders for a long time. The Yanzhou Army can still keep a close eye on them because they guard the baggage. On the other hand, as for the Royal Forest Army and the various government troops, they have been idle for too long. The lack of training of the soldiers is one of the reasons. The most important thing is that the army's salary system is too serious... The army is full of troops in name. No more than fifty-sixths of them, not counting the idle men they temporarily recruited for perfunctory interrogation. The barracks are so empty, so there is no need to talk about training... All in all, the Wei army's combat power is not much better than that of the common people. "
"But the people were so angry that it could be said that the military morale was available. But these soldiers were not. At first, they were influenced by the princes in the court and thought that they would just bully their neighbors in normal times, so they happily left the capital. However, after the confrontation, they knew how powerful they were, but they His courage immediately weakened!" Shen Zangfeng said with a serious expression, "For example, the general who wrote this letter asking for help, from the time he rushed to Bozhou to being besieged and then sent this request for help, it only took a few days. What happened to the army? No food and grass? This shows that they thought they could win as soon as they arrived there, or they thought that this time they were just like some of the people they bullied when they were rampaging through the countryside. In short, they were not alert, fearing that they did not bring enough food and grass. That’s why I suffered this calamity!”
He sighed, "I'm afraid it will be too late before I send someone to rescue you once I reach the imperial capital!"
There was no one else in the study at this moment. Apart from Shen Zangfeng, there were only two brothers, Shen Xuan and Shen Zhou, both of whom looked solemn.
After listening to Shen Zangfeng's words, Shen Xuan nodded and said: "This army is not harmful to the overall situation. It doesn't matter whether it is saved or not. What Feng'er said about the situation in the world is..."
"Empty pay harms the country!" The Shen family passed down the family line by martial arts, and also shouldered the important task of guarding Xiliang and resisting the invasion of the Di people. As a member of the sect, Shen Zhou was naturally very aware of the issue of empty pay in the army. In fact, due to the long period of peace in the Wei Dynasty, except for the frontier troops who often had to fight against the Rong and Di, the military strength in the hinterland of the Wei Dynasty was not very good... This is still a nice way of saying it. The truth is that these armies didn't go into battle anyway. Opportunity, it has become a habit for the superiors to have free pay and to have peace of mind, while the subordinates are not disciplined...
In the long run, although they are called armies, many camps actually look like scoundrels and ruffians.
How could it be so easy for them to quell the chaos
It's just that whether it's the Holy Emperor or the officials in the court, including those who have never served as officials but have great prestige in their hometown, they must eat well and dress well, and everything they see in their eyes is full of flowers. I was used to being aloof. Although I had heard about the corruption of the army except the border troops, I never expected them to be so miserable.
Therefore, the order was issued lightly - this kind of order also affected the soldiers - it was just to pacify some mobs who had not had enough to eat and started to rebel, and they were not going to the frontier to fight against the Rong and Di.
As a result, this quelling the chaos only made the entire Wei Dynasty more chaotic!
"The Lu Hao attack in Yanzhou has become a reality. Cao Jianlin, Xu Zongwen and others in Youzhou have not been executed yet, let alone other places!" Shen Xuan frowned and said, "Now it is a spark that will start a prairie fire... What I have said The one who worries is Dong Hu!”
Speaking of which, although the Shen family is responsible for guarding Xiliang, they also know Donghu very well and are very familiar with it. There is a reason for this, because the Shen family and the Liu family have been competing for military pay from the court for many years. Each of the two families has a place that needs to be guarded, and they always have to pay for every penny when it comes to this kind of thing. In order to suppress the opponent, it is natural to have a complete picture of everything that happens to the opponent, so that you can look for opportunities to make a big fuss.
Now is no exception - due to the great chaos in the Youyan and Youyan states in the rear, Donghu, even if the Liu family is forced to use their own treasures to stabilize the morale of the army, the situation is already precarious, and the town has even been lost!
The Liu family are not fools. They have to support the entire frontier army by themselves. Even if the Liu family's warehouses accumulated over hundreds of years can support it, it will still be a strain for several years!
Shen Zangfeng saw that Wei Zuo was declining as early as when the Wei Dynasty was still at peace. If the Liu family hadn't woken up by now, how could they rank among the six clans in the country? In order to preserve his strength and cope with the chaos in the world, how could the Liu family not save Shen Zangfeng
Under such circumstances, it is impossible for the Liu family to use all their treasures to support the border troops - the Liu family has already begun to lose towns and cities, and they will lose even more next time!
It is estimated that except for the Liu family's ancestral hall and a few escape routes to prevent the genocide from being annihilated by the Liu family, the rest of the places will be abandoned by the Liu family. In order to gather superior forces - mainly the private soldiers of the Liu family and the most elite part of the border army to guard their bottom line - once the road to the rich heart of the Wei Dynasty is opened, the Rong people will stay in Donghu and fight with the Liu family. Or drive straight into the hinterland of the Wei Dynasty to plunder the great rivers and mountains of the Central Plains? That is a no-brainer!
Beirong and Qiudi are both very bitter and cold places, making it impossible to farm, and the people from Rong and Di do not know how to farm.
They invaded the border every year, but in fact they did not have any enmity with the Wei people from the beginning. Firstly, when there was insufficient grazing to supply the tribes, they wanted to fight against the autumn wind; secondly, they were jealous of the prosperity of the Wei Dynasty.
The Rong people are not stupid. The elites of the Liu family's private soldiers and border troops are all brave men who have fought with them almost every year and been tempered by real blood and fire. The army within the Wei Dynasty has been raised in vain for nearly a hundred years. Even if the Rong people do not know that the Wei Dynasty is completely vulnerable except for the border troops, an army that has never been on the battlefield and a battle-hardened division , must fight, fools know who to choose as the enemy!
And why did the Rong invade the Wei Dynasty? It’s not just to plunder money and people!
Donghun, even if it was the birthplace of the Liu family, how could it compare to the prosperity of the imperial capital
As soon as the Liu family makes way, the Rong people will leave at least one man and horse to prevent the Liu family and the Wei court from attacking from behind. Then they will use all their strength to move south and take the hinterland of Wei. After Donghu makes way, the first ones to bear the brunt are You and Yan. Two states, these two states, now the civil uprising led by the Qin family in Yanzhou has been extinguished... In other words, Qin Hu and others were escorted when the children of various families who went to the border three years ago came back in September last year. Liu Jizhao and others also claimed the merits of the Liu family's private soldiers to annihilate them.
However, the private soldiers did not catch Lu Haozhi and left Yanzhou because the day when Liu Jizhao and others were to meet the saint was approaching.
So before all the ministers in the court had time to rejoice that Yanzhou was safe, they received urgent reports that Lu Haozhi had managed to escape when Qin Hu and his group were ambushing him, and he had won over his old troops and instigated the rebellion of more than 80% of the Yanzhou army who were native to Yanzhou. The generals and soldiers, relying on their familiarity with Yanzhou's defense, killed the Yanzhou governor at night who was born as a commoner but refused to accompany the uprising, and captured the entire city!
If Zhang Lesui of Daxingtai in Yanzhou had not been forcibly brought back to the imperial capital for impeachment by Liu Jing, he would certainly have died!
After hearing the news, the Holy Emperor and the princes in the court urgently ordered the Liu family's private soldiers to go with the imperial army to quell the chaos and recapture the city! However, due to the tight terrain of Yanzhou, the city has a strong and deep moat, which is far beyond the reach of ordinary cities. Not to mention that the city has been piled up with grain and grass that should have supplied the surrounding states and counties for many years. It can be said that the baggage is as heavy as a mountain. Lu Hao has heavy troops and countless grain and grass in his hands, so he can be said to be very handy in defending the city.
The private soldiers of the Liu family, who had high hopes placed on them, were indeed brave. They abandoned the useless Imperial Guards several times and attacked the city. However, because there were so few of them, they never returned... They were only meant to escort Liu Jizhao and others back to Beijing. With His Majesty's suspicion, how could the Liu family dare to send more people? However, in order to guard against bandits along the way, only a few hundred people were allowed.
Looking back at Lu Haozhi, the Yanzhou Army under his command used to be called 200,000. After deducting free pay, the actual number was around 100,000. After deducting those who are unwilling to follow him and be purged by him, the actual number of subordinates should be tens of thousands, right? When it comes to the best among them, three thousand capable warriors can be picked out! Lu Haozhi didn't get to the position by virtue of family background, but by talent!
A few hundred versus tens of thousands. Although the Yanzhou army is not as elite as the frontier army, even if the Liu family's private soldiers can be counted as tens of thousands, they can only take care of a few thousand at most...
After several times, the Liu family's private soldiers suffered heavy losses. His direct boss, Weiyuan Marquis Liu Sijing, was so distressed that he sent an order for them to slow down the attack on the city, while sobbing for 800 miles to his Majesty, even saying that his private soldiers were only good at it. Fighting with the Rong people on the grassland, they are not good at attacking cities at all, and they are said to be exhausted from the fierce battle... In short, they just want to increase their troops.
Before additional troops and siege equipment arrived, he didn't want his soldiers to die in vain!
This is what it should be. Tens of thousands of Yanzhou troops who are familiar with the terrain of Yanzhou are under the command of a general who has guarded Yanzhou for decades. They are still sitting on mountains of food and grass. They rely on hundreds of elite private soldiers and tens of thousands of people to look majestic. In fact, the Imperial Forest Army tried to capture the useless army after entering the battle... This is too ridiculous.
The problem is that the Holy Emperor does not agree with the Liu family to capture Yanzhou.
The reason is very simple. Everyone knows that Yanzhou has a lot of food and grass. This batch of grain and grass is particularly important to the Liu family.
For the Holy Spirit, if the Yanzhou Army can rebel, why can't the Liu family rebel
However, this time His Majesty’s disapproval is not entirely to blame. At this moment, the three Shens in the study all knew that if the Royal Forest Army had not behaved too badly when attacking Yanzhou, the tens of thousands of people would not be as conspicuous as the Liu family’s hundreds of private soldiers. So much so that when everyone in the Royal Forest Army felt that they were disgraced, they were deeply jealous of the Liu family's private soldiers.
So after they returned without success, they unanimously praised the Liu family's private soldiers in front of the emperor, as if hundreds of people would definitely be able to capture Yanzhou as long as they tried their best...
The Holy Father felt uneasy as he listened.
In fact, everyone in the court knows the truth, but these imperial guards, even ordinary soldiers, are descendants of distant branches of the noble clan. Is their attitude just the jealousy of young people
Shen Xuan sighed: "Yanzhou's grain and herbs are intended to be stored for ten years by Donghu, Youzhou and Yanzhou themselves. Such an important town has so much baggage, how can we let it fall into the hands of the rebels because of temporary suspicion? In the year of the Holy Shang At this age, it is wrong to listen to the words of a younger generation! Why is it that Wei Zuo has declined! Even though the Liu family has a disobedient heart, they are determined to take back Yanzhou. If the emperor is not worried, Are the six clans in the country still afraid that they won't be able to find anyone who can contain the Liu family? If Marquis Weiyuan is not allowed to increase his troops and break the city, looking to the north, who else can break Yanzhou City, which is well-supplied and guarded by Lu Haozhi himself? ? Given time, people around Yanzhou may have thoughts that they shouldn’t have!"
However, Shen Xuan just said this in the study. The Holy Master was getting older and his temper was getting worse because of the chaos in the world in the past few months. Even the young and beautiful concubines such as Miao Jieyu and Zhong Xiaoyi, who had always been doted on, were often offended. The eunuchs and palace officials were sometimes beaten to death to vent their anger... Anyway, the Shen family had long prepared their plans after Wei's death. Now the emperor himself has failed to live up to his expectations. No other noble clan came out to stop him, and the Shen family didn't bother to get into trouble.
"Feng'er has been so fierce in the past three years in Xiliang that he even killed the great chanyu of Qiudi, which even caused Qiudi to split. Wugumeng and Ayitahu each called themselves the chanyu and fought with each other..." Shen Xuan Narrowing his eyes, he glanced at his energetic and calm-looking son, and thought to himself, "It's just that my Shen family is already very famous in this dynasty. If the Wei Dynasty is still in its heyday, I'm afraid it's hard to escape a man with great achievements. Suspicion. Now that the world is in chaos, now that my son has become famous, I, the Shen family, don’t need to be afraid of the Wei family’s hidden bows and cooking dogs!”
...It’s just that the Shen family didn’t intend to wade into this troubled waters, and happily chose to sit back and watch. But it does not mean that all the nobles have such thoughts. Early the next morning, news came out from the palace that the Grand Master and the Situ kneeled down in the palace with hundreds of officials! (To be continued)