There is an ancient poem that goes: "The north wind blows the white grass to the ground, and the snow falls in the eighth month of the year..."
In Youzhou and Daishuo, the snowstorm did come very early. Although it was not as exaggerated as the snow in August, a sudden snowstorm at the end of October forced the warring parties to stop fighting and withdraw their troops.
The warlord Yelu Xiadi of Yaoyan and the treacherous hero Yelu Shilu of Diela retreated sadly before the heavy snowstorm came. They came with a large army and great ambition, but in the end they were defeated and returned with heavy casualties. I'm afraid these two people must be feeling terrible, right
When they go back this time, they will have to face the hungry old and young in the tribe, as well as the nobles from various tribes who are full of hope. How can they explain to these people
This time when they went south, not only did they fail to plunder any food, but they also left the other people's fathers, husbands, and sons on the battlefield. Just thinking about it was enough to give these two a headache.
Li Quanzhong and his son Li Kuangwei also withdrew from Youzhou in displeasure. Even if there had not been Zhu Li's Ye Niu surprise attack, it would have been impossible for them to attack Fan Yang in the wind and snow. Countless battle examples have proved that raising an army in winter is absolutely a thankless task.
What's more, Zhu Li's night raid caused heavy casualties and the loss of allies, which completely shattered their ambitions to take advantage of the situation and overthrow Lulong. There is still a long way to go. For them, the war has just begun.
After Li Quanzhong retreated, Shuozhou quickly sent a load of silver, which was mainly used to pay for the purchase of cattle, as well as the reward that Zhu Li promised to the soldiers of the Xiongwu Army. After the silver arrived, Zhu Li fulfilled his promises one by one and paid the debt.
After Li Keju found out, he patted his shoulder gratefully. It was not that he could not come up with the money, but almost everywhere in Youzhou needed money. It was already very good that he did not ask Zhu Li for a loan.
Zhu Li wrote a letter and sent it to Gao Yuan and Zhang Guimou by express horse, asking them to stay under Yue Pengju's command for the time being. As for Li Hanzhi, let him continue to assist Gao Yuan. Zhu Li planned to take Gao Siji, Gao Mian, and the families of the two Gaos to Shuozhou.
The Gao family has three brothers who obey Li Quanzhong's orders. He is really worried about letting the two brothers of the Gao family stay in Youzhou. What's more, even if the two Gaos are loyal to Zhu Li, he can't let the brothers fight against each other. How can he bear it
After bothering Li Keju in Fan Yang for more than ten days, and waiting for the two Gaos and their families to arrive one after another, Zhu Li decided to return to Shuozhou. He was accompanied by 5,000 war horses, more than 10,000 Xi captives, as well as Madam Yuchi and some relatives of Li Keju, who followed Zhu Li away from Fan Yang and headed for Shuozhou.
It can be predicted that Youzhou will become a place of trouble in the coming year, and war is inevitable. It is better to be safe than sorry. Both Li Keju and Zhu Li have to consider it early. If there is a real crisis, it will be difficult to relocate these people.
The third year of Zhonghe slowly came to an end as wind and snow swept across the north.
A lot of big things happened this year.
But there are two most significant events. The first is that Huang Chao was defeated and left the stage of history. The second is that Emperor Xizong ended his journey to Shu and returned to Chang'an.
However, for the people in the Heshuo area, the biggest thing is that their patron saint, General Zhu Li, was finally rehabilitated. From then on, the people in the Heshuo area would no longer be called rebels.
The benefits brought by Zhu Li's rehabilitation are obvious. As soon as I returned to Shuozhou, I heard Guo Qizuo and Guo Chongtao talking about the latest news.
As Zhu Li was twice appointed as a third-rank general, and now controls more than ten states in Hebei, after being rehabilitated, a large number of
The influx of scholars into Heshuo laid a solid foundation for the prosperity of Heshuo.
Until now, Heshuo is still the only region in the late Tang Dynasty that emphasizes both civil and military affairs.
Scholars who could no longer make a living in other places, or who were unhappy and miserable, all went north to Heshuo.
The arrival of high-level literati naturally included some well-educated and capable people.
For example, there was a guy named Luo Yin, who was very famous among scholars and was known as “the one who failed the imperial examination ten times.”
In other words, this person took the exam more than ten times but failed. Under normal circumstances, he should have been a person without talent. But now it is the end of the Tang Dynasty and Guo Qizuo failed, so it is not surprising that others fail.
Luo Yin was a very talented person. The famous "Slander Book" and "Taiping Liangtong Book" were compiled by him. He tried to refine a set of "Taiping Kuangji Techniques" for people all over the world to use to save the world and the people. It belongs to the Taoist Huang-Lao thought.
Luo Yin was already old and had passed the age of knowing his destiny. After Zhu Li came back, he sent him directly to Hetao to serve as the governor of Shengzhou.
In addition to Luo Yin, there is another person who is equally talented, and that person is Wei Zhuang.
According to historical records, this person once served as the prime minister of Former Shu. His representative works include "Huanhua Collection" and "Song of the Qin Woman".
However, in history, he started to make a fortune relatively late. If he had developed normally, it would have taken him ten years to come to the fore. Now he is still a poor scholar who has failed in many examinations.
He is also not young, and is only one or two years away from reaching the age of knowing one's destiny.
The Heshuo region values literati. In this era, almost all scholars have heard this news to a greater or lesser extent. They did not come before because Zhu Li was a traitor and joining him was treason. Who would be willing to come
But now Zhu Li has been rehabilitated and has once again been appointed a general of the third rank. The last psychological barrier that prevented the literati from moving north has been eliminated. Is there anything else that can stop the literati from moving north
If there are capable people, they must be used, otherwise it would be a waste of resources. Zhu Li was not vague and also sent him to Hetao to serve as the governor of Youzhou to share the pressure from Wang and Yan Keqiu.
After all, there are only a few people like Luo Yin and Wei Zhuang who are both famous and talented. Most literati have talent, but the degree of their talent varies.
Guo Qizuo and Guo Chongtao hurriedly drafted the assessment content. If these literati wanted to be selected, they could take office as long as they met the standards.
The trend of literati moving north became increasingly stronger in the autumn and winter of the third year of Zhonghe, which also led to far-sighted and ambitious leaders beginning to pay attention to literati.
First, Yang Xingmi of Huainan posted a notice to recruit talents in order to reassure the literati and stabilize the loss of learned people in Huainan; then Zhu Quanzhong of Henan, on the advice of Jingxiang and others, began to restore the normal examination procedures for literati.
In the end, even Li Keyong of the Shatuo people, under the persuasion of Wu Gong and others, began to restore the examination procedures such as provincial and county examinations. The trend of valuing literature prevailed throughout the country, and the evil trend of valuing military power in the late Tang Dynasty was dealt a heavy blow.
But generally speaking, these people were still a step too late. By the time they had hurriedly restored all the procedures, the assessment in Heshuo region had been completed, and many county magistrates and county magistrates were already gearing up for a big job.
Especially those who came from poor families and stood out in this assessment were extremely excited and full of confidence.
The biggest benefit brought about by Zhu Li's rehabilitation was that the gap in county-level literati in the Heshuo region was basically filled.
Among several heavyweights in Heshuo, the most excited ones are Wang, Yan Keqiu and Guo Chongtao. These three have been so busy and sleepless over the years. Now they can finally relax and have time to go home and tease their wives.
The wind and snow bid farewell to the old year, and we welcome the new year with high spirits.
In the third year of Zhonghe, amid the laughter of the people of Hebei, the regret of the local vassal states, and the sound of Emperor Xizong's gradually failing health but still unrestrained mischief, it finally came to the past.
The fourth year of Zhonghe arrived unknowingly when the military and political situation in Heshuo was back on track.
In February, Heyang Jiedushi Zhuge Shuang first expressed his support for Zhaoyi Jiedushi Meng Fangli, and then stationed troops in Zezhou, eyeing the Hedong army covetously.
Yuchi Jin, whose pseudonym was Han Jin, was the commander-in-chief of the Hedong army's eastward advance. He had led the Hedong army into Shangdang. Upon hearing that Zhuge Shuang intended to intervene in the war, he had no choice but to station his troops in Shangdang and did not dare to act rashly.
In the same month, Wang Chongrong, who was stationed in Hezhong, reached a reconciliation with Gao Su in the Hetao area, and the two sides stopped the tense confrontation. Wang Chongrong immediately took advantage of the confrontation between Li Keyong, Meng Fangli and Zhuge Shuang to easily capture Pu and Jiang states. These two states were originally under the control of the Hezhong Jiedushi, and now they finally belonged to him rightfully.
Wang Chongrong's sudden change of strategy softened the attitude of his brother, Ning Jiedushi Wang Chongying, towards Hetao. The two sides agreed to only symbolically station some troops on the border.
From the perspective of brothers Wang Chongying and Wang Chongrong, Zhu Li, the actual controller of Hetao, has now been rehabilitated. Now that they are fellow subjects of the Tang Dynasty, there is no need for them to be as nervous as before.
In the south of Hetao, only the Yan Jiedushi Zhu Mei was still aggressive, but he was helpless and could not stand alone, and he no longer posed a threat to Hetao.
At the beginning of March, Han Zhi, the governor of Xuzhou, claimed that Wang Jingwu, the governor of Yicheng, was the remnant of Huang Chao. He expelled An Shiru, the former governor of Yicheng, and was ungrateful and abandoned by the world. Such a person was not worthy of being a governor at all.
In anger, Han Zhi issued a long manifesto, calling on warlords across the country to join forces to attack Wang Jingwu, the governor of Yicheng.
The next day after the manifesto was issued, without waiting for any reaction from others, Han Zhi immediately dispatched his generals Yang Shihou, Chen Gong, Xu Kan and others, with 40,000 troops, to attack Jeju. They advanced eastward, successively conquering Jeju, Qizhou, and Zibo, and attacked Qingzhou. The speed was so fast that people could not keep up and were shocked.
This was not an attack out of righteous indignation at all; it was a long-planned plot.
In the same month, Yang Xingmi, the governor of Huainan, dispatched his generals Tian and An Renyi to lead troops to Xuanzhou to suppress the rebels Bi Shiduo, Zheng Hanzhang and others.
In the middle of the month, Qin Zongquan captured Xuzhou. On the one hand, he sent the rebel generals Sun Ru, Yin Tielin, and Shi Junhe to plunder prefectures and counties, and on the other hand, he reorganized his army and attacked Chenzhou. Zhu Quanzhong rushed to fight and was defeated. It seemed that Chenzhou was about to be lost.
At the end of March, Chen Jing, the governor of Xichuan, was badly beaten by Li Sigong and Yang Shili, with heavy casualties and a severe shortage of military supplies. He had no choice but to write a letter to the powerful eunuch Tian Lingzi, asking his eunuch brother to help him think of a solution.
After receiving the letter from his elder brother, Tian Lingzi realized the seriousness of the matter and urgently plundered the people's wealth to support his brother. However, at this time, he discovered that Wang Chongrong in Hezhong owned a salt pond. Relying on this salt pond, Wang Chongrong had recently become very rich.
Out of greed, Tian Lingzi asked for it, but how could Wang Chongrong agree? The salt lake was the most important source of his income, so how could he just give it away? Wang Chongrong ignored Tian Lingzi's request.