Chapter 343 Stall
Chapter 343 Stall
Sima Pi followed Sima Que back to Xuchang.
He mainly wanted to play.
Sima Que went back to gather troops.
The spring plowing is over, and the soldiers of Xuchang can be called together from the fields.
There are 20,000 on paper, and in reality, 16,000 to 17,000 can be mustered. As for why the number has decreased, it is mainly because people don't like to be soldiers and have fled.
The first batch of worldly soldiers had long been wiped out by the Eight Kings Rebellion, the second batch was almost finished as well, and now it’s the third batch.
To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that the Governor of Xuchang could reward me with some food and silk from time to time, and if it weren't for the fact that there had been disasters for years, anyone who wanted to be a soldier could do so, but I didn't want to be one anyway.
After Sima Que returned, he immediately summoned 7,000 soldiers stationed under the city, and then sent people to Chenliu to join him.
At the same time, he found ways to summon craftsmen and began to make arrows and chariots in case of emergency.
The burden left temporarily, and Shao Xun was very happy.
But Concubine Pei was very quiet along the way, with her eyes closed to rest. When she stopped to rest, she was also reading and writing letters, and she really didn't give him any chance.
When he was near Junyi, Shao Xun received news that the governor of Yangzhou, Zhou Fu, had submitted repeated petitions requesting to move the capital to Shouchun, but the emperor issued an edict to appease him and refused.
In addition, Li Shu, the governor of Yanzhou, held a series of banquets in the capital, bid farewell to his relatives and friends, and prepared to set off.
Finally, there is another good news: Beigong Chun led 5,000 soldiers from Liangzhou to Tongguan.
This was the man that the emperor had urgently summoned before Luoyang was besieged last year. He was indeed loyal. The winter in Hexi was extremely harsh, and fodder was extremely scarce, so it was not suitable to send out a large number of cavalry. However, he still squeezed out a mixed force of infantry and cavalry to march eastward, and after several months, they were about to reach Luoyang.
Wu Qian also came back.
After a year, he recruited 2,000 soldiers and bought 1,000 horses. To prevent any accidents, Zhang Gui ordered him to travel with Beigong Chun, so they also arrived at Tongguan at this time.
When Shao Xun saw the news, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He had long been fed up with the sterile geldings in Guangchengze. In recent years, he had been actively searching for mares to breed with the uncastrated Xianbei stallions, and so far he had only grown to over a thousand.
This time he got a thousand horses at once, and it was heard that Zhang Gui also gave him a hundred horses as a return gift, so his horse herd became even stronger.
But this is not enough to be proud of.
Horses are consumables and their consumption will increase significantly on the battlefield.
Rapid marching will consume energy, charging into battle will consume energy, and chasing the enemy will also consume energy.
As long as you are on horseback, there will be losses.
In a large-scale cavalry battle, it is normal for thousands of horses to be killed or injured - injury, in most cases, means death.
More than two thousand horses are not enough for a few rounds of use.
After receiving this information, Shao Xun felt it necessary to report to Concubine Pei, so he called Tang Jian: "Go and drive, I have something confidential to report to the princess."
"Yes." Tang Jian immediately dismounted, drove the driver away, and drove the car himself.
When the bodyguards heard that there was a secret, they immediately scattered and did not let anyone get close.
Shao Xun came to the side of the car and said, "Princess, I have something important to report."
Concubine Pei lifted the curtain of the carriage, looked at Shao Xun, and nodded slightly.
Shao Xun got on the carriage immediately.
"What's the matter?" Concubine Pei asked in a calm voice.
Shao Xun leaned close to her ear and whispered, "The Xiongnu are already transporting food and military supplies to Hedong."
"Don't worry, Concubine Liu is still in Tangli Courtyard. She won't leave unless I go back." Concubine Pei calmed herself and said.
"Oh..." Shao Xun felt that he had nothing to say.
Why is it so hard to let go under the gaze of Concubine Pei? Have all the flirting skills disappeared?
The two were silent for a moment.
The carriage was shaking a little, and Concubine Pei snuggled into his arms.
Shao Xun was overjoyed. Is Hua Nu going to give me a little sweet treat?
"What other women do you have?" Concubine Pei suddenly asked.
"At home..."
"I know both of those two in your family." Concubine Pei said, "Are there any others?"
"Liu..."
Concubine Pei looked at him with amusement and said, "How dare you covet her?"
Shao Xun smiled awkwardly.
"anything else?"
Shao Xun hesitated slightly.
Concubine Pei changed her posture, put her face on his chest, and whispered: "If you tell me now, I won't be angry."
His eyes were serious and sincere.
Shao Xun was thinking whether he should say more? Tell us what he had accomplished and what he hadn't accomplished?
"Empress Hui, surnamed Yang." Shao Xun said the first name.
There was some surprise in Concubine Pei's eyes.
She sat up straight and asked in disbelief, "Do you know what the crime of raping a member of the heavenly family is?"
"It's all done." Shao Xun recalled the scene when he held Queen Yang in his arms overnight, and thought to himself that if he was given another chance, he would still do Yang Yang.
"I really didn't think you had such courage and ability." Concubine Pei didn't know how to describe her feelings.
Yang Xianrong is the queen and the widow of the late emperor. Can't she stand the loneliness?
Moreover, this woman gave her a very bad feeling.
She couldn't see through it and felt that she was dangerous.
This bastard even dared to provoke Queen Hui, and he succeeded. Concubine Pei didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
She tried to control her emotions and asked, "Who else?"
Any more? No more.
Shao Xun looked into Concubine Pei's eyes and made some calculations in his mind.
Before Sima Yue died, Concubine Pei might not have made up her mind, so she indulged him. Now that A Yue is dead, Concubine Pei's thoughts may have changed.
She is also a woman. No matter how dignified and graceful she is, she cannot just watch Shao Xun act recklessly.
Of course, you can learn from Wang Dun and, after marrying the princess, keep dozens of concubines at home. Strictly speaking, Concubine Pei has no control over you.
However, everything in the world is just a matter of choice. Shao Xun thought about it and decided that Concubine Pei was more attractive to him.
But the impulsive side of his character made him want to take a gamble and settle the debt in one go to avoid trouble in the future.
"There are also sisters Wang Jingfeng and Wang Huifeng," he said.
The shock to Concubine Pei this time was not as great as before, but she was still surprised.
She recalled the rumors in the capital, and immediately sighed, saying, "Is Wang Yifu so easy to get along with? He is such a proud man, but he is so humble in front of you, he must be asking for something."
"Hua Nu is right." Shao Xun hugged her tightly and said shamelessly.
Concubine Pei did not struggle, but just looked at him quietly.
"Who else?"
"Gone."
"Where is Princess Xiangcheng?"
"She and I didn't - uh, sort of." Shao Xun nodded hesitantly.
"You go down first. I need to think about it." Concubine Pei said, "None of the women you provoked are simple. They rely on you and obey you now. If they settle down in the future, God knows what will happen."
Shao Xun nodded, knowing that the timing was not right, and got out of the car.
Concubine Pei looked at his departing figure, pondered for a long time, and began to write a letter to Pei Dun, the governor of Xuzhou.
******
Tang Jian was slightly surprised to see Shao Xun coming out, but his expression did not change at all. After someone else drove the car, he followed silently.
Shao Xun came to the roadside, asked his personal soldiers to bring a table, and sat cross-legged.
The spring day is warm and the roadside wildflowers are brilliant.
Sitting on the grass filled with the fragrance of earth, he began to write and draw.
Spring sowing should have been completed in Jizhou and Bingzhou areas, right?
After sowing the seeds of hope for a year, some people can no longer hold back.
He roughly drew a line of the Yellow River on the paper and wrote down a few ferry crossings.
Now the enemy will only send a small group of cavalry southwards to harass the enemy, and they dare not go too deep because they do not have enough food.
In ancient times, when the army was in a war, food and fodder would be sent ahead before the troops moved.
Without sufficient logistics, any tactical actions will be meaningless, and this has not changed until the 21st century.
Shao Xun also wrote down the mileage between each stronghold and silently calculated the consumption of infantry and cavalry.
This is also a skill that a general must learn. By knowing the distance of the post road, one can calculate how far the enemy can move.
In addition, when marching, it is fine for small-scale operations, but large troops cannot do without water sources. Many times they march along rivers, through which they can guess the enemy's advance route.
Some roads were in disrepair and not very wide, which greatly restricted the passage of the enemy's main force and forced them to split up their forces - everyone knew that advancing together was best, but splitting up forces was sometimes a last resort.
In this way, Shao Xun marked out several possible routes of advance on the paper.
The most likely one is outlined in a bolder way.
He silently calculated the troops he could mobilize.
The military farming army can mobilize about 10,000 people.
There are 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers in Xuchang.
About 4,000 soldiers and generals can be recruited.
There were more than a thousand volunteers in the army.
There are just over 4,000 Yamen soldiers.
There are six thousand Silver Spear Army.
This is 40,000 troops, which is basically enough. If it is really urgent, we can also recruit the fortress households, garrison soldiers, and farmhands of the noble families, and it will be no problem to gather tens of thousands of people.
Of course, more than 80% of them are farm soldiers. You don’t need to support them normally, but don’t expect them to have strong combat effectiveness.
Fortunately, the enemy is just ordinary stuff. Big brother, don't laugh at the second brother. Just make do with it.
After fighting for a long time, even the peasant soldiers will improve.
Shao Xun was sure that the fighting capacity of the peasant soldiers in the fifth year of Yongjia (311) must be stronger than the year he first came to Luoyang.
Some peasant soldiers, after having fought in the battlefield so many times, have even become skilled at forming battle arrays and fighting.
"Send a message to Pei Chun, mobilize the county soldiers to Hulao Pass, and strictly check the pedestrians coming and going."
"Please ask the King of Xincai to select two good generals, each leading 3,000 soldiers to garrison in Guancheng and Xinzheng. The Lord of Xingyang Pei will also recruit some men to help defend the two cities."
"Send a message to Chen Kuang in Xuchang, and have him recruit 3,000 soldiers from all the tribes and villages, and march north to Changsha to garrison."
"Tell the King of Xincai that Xuchang is an important city with thousands of brave warriors who can make the enemy retreat. Don't give up lightly."
After the clerk finished writing, he repeated it again. After finding no problem, Shao Xun sealed it and handed it to Tang Jian.
The messenger rode away quickly.
The clerk continued to wait.
After writing so many of these commands, he seemed to have some understanding of them. How should he arrange them in this way? What about other ways?
Tang Jian was a little surprised.
Xingyang was just a county, but it occupied so many troops, with layers of defense and blockades, it was truly shocking.
The key is that the enemy may not come yet, they can take another route.
"Send it out first." Shao Xun waved his hand and said, "I'll take a look at Chenliu and Puyang."
This is a journey to receive Sima Yue's heritage, but also a staff trip.
Luoyang's attractiveness gradually decreased, which was not a good thing for Shao Xun, because it meant that the enemy had more directions to deploy its troops and would no longer be confined to the Luoyang Basin.
At the same time, it also meant that his business was expanding, from Hongnong in the west to Dongping in the east, confronting the enemy on a front line of more than a thousand miles.
This requires a massive amount of manpower.
(End of this chapter)