Chapter 546 The opportunity is given to you

Chapter 546 The opportunity is given to you

Chapter 546 The opportunity is given to you
After taking Anping County City, Shao Xun stayed there for several days to stabilize the situation.

A number of the recruited troops were dismissed.

Especially those people in the fortress who had weak fighting power were all dismissed.

They don't want to fight anymore.

Human beings are strange creatures sometimes. After achieving the set goals, they will relax their spirits, as if the breath has dissipated, and they will feel lazy and lack energy. They have to make some adjustments.

Most of the cattle and sheep seized in the city were distributed as rewards after being appraised.

This is an additional reward, not a normal reward.

In fact, since the Han Dynasty and even throughout the Southern and Northern Dynasties, there was no necessarily any monetary reward for conscripting private troops to fight in wars.

The main way to reward merit is official position.

As for whether the soldiers who went into battle should be rewarded, that was a matter for the fortress owners to consider and had nothing to do with the imperial court.

Therefore, this was also an important reason why many people requested to massacre Anping before. They themselves became officials and wanted to plunder money and women from Anping City to satisfy their own soldiers and farmhands.

To put it bluntly, they want to avoid paying their own costs.

The cattle and sheep given as rewards were mainly used to pay several types of people promised by Shao Xun: "the brave ones who climbed the mountain first" and "the ones who were tired after a long battle".

In fact, he sent out a lot more.

With less than 30,000 Xiongnu and other Hu people, they should normally have about 500,000 large and small livestock. But Anping was not normal. In the end, they only had more than 200,000 heads of livestock. Some of them were kept inside the sheep and horse wall outside the city, some were captured before the siege, some were obtained from pastures outside the city, and some were captured inside the city.

A batch of them were eaten during the siege, and after the rest were distributed as rewards, only a few tens of thousands of skinny sheep and calves were left.

Not many horses were captured, but Shao Xun had incorporated so many tribes that he was not short of horses.

Of the more than 20,000 horses obtained, part was given to the officers as rewards, and the rest was allocated to the Volunteer Army, bringing the number of horses in the 7,000-strong army to about 20,000.

More than a hundred of the most majestic stallions and five thousand mares were sent to Guangchengze Ranch for breeding.

As for the cloth promised to the soldiers to ransom their lives, only a few thousand pieces could be delivered on the spot.

The army has its own rules. The proceeds from the looting were divided into two parts: one for the shogunate, one for the army, and one for each individual. These thousands of rolls of silk and linen were considered Shao Xun's personal "dividend" since the war and the "tribute" from his subordinates.

There was still a shortage of more than 20,000 pieces of white linen, so he could only write a letter and ask Yu Wenjun to allocate 15,000 pieces of white linen from her various estates.

We are still short of more than 10,000 horses...

"General." After Wang Yan returned from Qinghe, he was stopped by Shao Xun.

"What's the matter, Taibai?" Wang Yan had heard something vaguely. When he saw Shao Xun looking for him, he stood by the roadside with his collar tied, stroking his beard.

Alas, I used to think it was shameful that my wife even picked up the feces on the ground. Now I realize that having more money at home is also a good thing!
But he underestimated Shao Xun's shamelessness.

"Hui Feng and I are in love with each other..." This sentence immediately broke his defense.

Wang Yan was anxious, very anxious, extremely anxious, but this was too blatant and too fast.

Shao Quanzhong, shouldn't you beg me?
After much begging, I reluctantly agreed to Huifeng's request - no, she probably didn't want to - to Jingfeng's request to marry you as his equal wife and have a baby as soon as possible.

If you give birth to a boy, I won't necessarily ask you to make him your heir. There is still a long way to go. It would be too revealing to mention it now. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future.

That's what it is, but could you be more tactful?
"Quanzhong!" Wang Yan's face fell, looking a little unhappy.

"I don't have a name - that's all, you can call me whatever you want, General." Shao Xun said, "I still have many letters written to me by Huifeng, you can't destroy this marriage."

"Bullshit!" Wang Yan cursed in his heart.

At the same time, I was also a little angry. What was going on? Hui Feng was such a reserved and sensible person, why did he look like he was giving it away for free? Was Shao Quanzhong lying to me?

Internal betrayal is the most chaotic thing.

"This..." Seeing Wang Yan's frustrated look, Shao Xun sighed, "The overall situation in Hebei has been decided. I own dozens of counties and kingdoms in the five states of Yu, Yan, Si, Ji, and Jing. The great cause will be accomplished, and the team has been decided. From now on, we just need to take it slow. Let the Yang family send troops to attack Qingzhou, and I will lead the troops to Xuzhou. That's all, just take it slow."

Wang Yan secretly let out a breath and calmed himself down.

He once reflected on why he was always defeated and could not win an argument with Shao Xun.

Later I felt it was very complicated, but Shao Ze’s shamelessness was definitely an important reason.

He is that kind of person, holding great power, speaking in a terrifying way, and being shameless. He made himself so confused that he couldn't use his eloquence and was ultimately defeated in the tug of war.

That was typical just now.

It's really shameless! Even if Huifeng really wrote to you, is it really appropriate to talk about such a private affair?

It's just like Han Shou stealing the fragrance. It makes me so mad.

However, after calming down, Wang Yan quickly began to plan.

Haha, you even asked the Yang family to send troops to attack Qingzhou. If it were anyone else, I would really be worried that you would hold Tai A upside down, and I don't know how serious it would be. But you, Shao Quanzhong, haha, you look good but you are evil at heart, everyone knows that!
"The Yang family has been a family of officials for generations. Since the Han Dynasty, there have been few families as prosperous as this one." Wang Yan glanced at Shao Xun and said, "If the Yang family sends out troops and mobilizes the forces of the four counties of Taishan, Lu, Qiao, and Pei, they will surely be able to manage Qingzhou like an iron barrel and relieve you, Taibai."

Shao Xun smiled, said nothing, and looked at Wang Yan.

Wang Yan also looked at Shao Xun.

"General, I heard that the Wang family of Langya has many talented people. You can call a few back from Jianye. After taking Qingzhou, I will also need people to manage Jinan, Qi, Chengyang and other counties for me." Shao Xun said.

Wang Yan was a little annoyed.

He didn't understand what he had done with his life.

At this point, I have nothing.

Mao Hong was very good at making friends in Jiangdong and was trusted by the King of Langya. In order to win over the scholars in Wu, he even learned the local dialect, but he did not speak it in a standard way, which made the people of Wu secretly laugh at him.

Isn't this embarrassing?

Who would want to be like this if they can stand up straight as a human being?

But even this family business may not be preserved. If Shao Xun unifies the north, he will definitely go south. It is hard to say who will win or lose.

As for the situation he managed in Luoyang, well, don't mention it.

If the new dynasty came into being, what position would Wang Yan be able to get? I really couldn't guarantee it.

Official positions are limited, and positions of high-ranking officials with real power are even more limited.

If they cannot occupy a good position in the new dynasty, how can the Wang family of Langya keep their family business? Do you really think that the Yang family, the Yu family and others will not take action against the Wang family? Are they good people? It is inevitable that they will gradually decline. So he was anxious, very anxious, extremely anxious.

Even though Shao Xun was so shameless, for the sake of the Wang clan, he really had no good solution.

Shao Xun asked him for money, but in fact he was giving him a chance.

What he wanted was not only money, but also the influence of Wang Clan of Langya among the scholars of Qingxu. To put it bluntly, he wanted Wang Clan to restrict Yang Clan in the east.

The opportunity is given to you, do you want it?

Of course, Old Wang was also very clear that Shao Xun did have intentions towards his two daughters, especially Huifeng.

He used to be very averse to this kind of thing.

I have been regretting it for the past few years, and I am now regretting it. I have decided to learn from Shao Xun to be shameless.

It would also be beneficial for the Wang family if their daughter went to the Shao Mansion.

Many things, if exposed, will have no room for maneuver and will easily lead to a breakdown in the relationship. At this time, someone needs to mediate and pass on the message so that if the talks fail, everyone can still make do without a falling out.

The person who acts as a messenger can be a mutual friend or a woman.

Relatively speaking, women’s words can be ignored, “women’s opinions”, “misunderstandings”! Moreover, women are more likely to play a role of mediation, making people more accepting and even confusing men.

The most important thing is, if by some stroke of luck, the child born to Huifeng or Jingfeng...

Well, thinking about it this way, Lao Wang felt that Huifeng was more suitable. She was smart, tactful, and knew when to advance and retreat. She might not be the last one to laugh.

"Alas! In troubled times, everyone is contributing." Wang Yan sighed, "The Wang family is rich and prosperous enough, and we don't want to cause trouble. But Taibai, you work day and night for state affairs, and how can I stand by and watch! Among the sons of the Wang family, if Taibai takes a fancy to someone, I will find a way. I always have this face."

Shao Xun was overjoyed and blurted out: "With Yi Fu's help, great things will be accomplished."

"How disrespectful." Wang Yan cursed inwardly.

"The matter of silk and cloth..." Shao Xun said again.

"It needs to be transported from Luoyang, Guangchengze, Xuchang and Chenxian." Wang Yan said.

Shao Xun looked at him, smiled and said nothing.

Lao Deng is capable. Wherever he goes, the Wang family’s business will run there.

My mother-in-law really has a talent for business. She is doing very well in the gold and silver business, and she is also doing well in the onion and garlic business. I heard that she is also doing the oxcart business recently, just because Wang Yan sold an oxcart that year...

"Is everything done in Anping?" After talking about the "big things", Wang Yan began to care about the "small things".

"Everyone wants something." Shao Xun said, "The brave warriors who first climbed the mountain have received double the reward, the troops with the most casualties have received additional rewards, the officers have been promoted, and Yang Pengzu has become the governor of Qinghe. Who would still make trouble? The Silver Spear and the Loyal Consorts are here, come and make trouble if you don't want to die."

Wang Yan nodded.

Quanzhong is quite capable as he is so skilled in using the tactics of beating, pulling, dividing and disintegrating the enemy.

Now all we have to do is pay off the final debt and everything will be over.

"Are we going to move to Shexian County next?" he asked.

"Of course we have to go, but not all of them. We will select the best troops and send out 30,000 to 40,000 people." Shao Xun said, "Liu Yao only has 40,000 to 50,000 troops, and She County has 9,000 defenders. He will not be able to take it even if he dies of exhaustion."

Of course, nine thousand people are a thing of the past.

The three thousand people in the camp outside the city were already dead. There were originally three thousand hereditary soldiers from Wancheng, one thousand surrendered soldiers from Shi Le, one thousand soldiers from Luonan Prefecture and one thousand other troops in the city, totaling six thousand people.

Liu Yao suffered at least several thousand casualties when he attacked the camp outside the city. If he attacked She County again, he would have to kill more than half of the infantry he brought with him, unless there was an unexpected incident.

If he really did that, Liu Cong would never forgive him.

Moreover, it is difficult to send more troops due to the terrain of Shangdang.

One is that there is not enough space, and if too many people go there, they will just be eating.

Another reason is supply. How can Shangdang compare with Hebei?

In the Tang Dynasty, there was a vassal state named "Zhaoyijun", which governed five states: Ze, Lu, Xing, Ming, and Ci, which is roughly the present-day Changzhi and Jincheng in Shanxi, plus Xingtai and Handan in Hebei.

This vassal town had many troops, and its seat was in Luzhou (Changzhi). When the Jiedushi had nothing to do, he would take his troops eastward through Fukouxing and go to Hebei for food. The reason was that the loss of grain transported from Hebei to Luzhou was too great, and the money and grain in Zezhou and Luzhou were not enough to support so many troops, so he could only exercise his subjective initiative - transporting grain was difficult, so why not take the troops to Hebei for food?

When Liu Yao arrived at Shangdang with 50,000 infantry and cavalry, he had already raised food and fodder from many sources and even requisitioned a lot of cattle and sheep. If he had more, the logistical pressure would have been enormous.

The fighting lasted for a month in Shexian, Gushan and Wuan, with the two sides engaging in many clashes. It is estimated that Liu Yao's troops suffered tens of thousands of casualties. How else could he fight?
The troops were sent from Fukouxing, Baixing, and Jingxing. Fukou was the main force, which was not wrong because it was the closest to Yecheng. But it was their fault that they could not take the triangle area of ​​Shexian, Gushan, and Wu'an.

Now, it's time to put an end to this mistake.

If Liu Yao doesn't end it on his own initiative, Shao Xun will help him end it.

"Can we capture Liu Yao's main force?" Wang Yan asked.

"Difficult." Shao Xun said: "Liu Yao dug trenches and built walls outside Shexian County, not to break into the city, but to facilitate escape."

"What do you mean?" Wang Yan was stunned.

"Liu Yao knows very well that he does not have the capital to carry out a long-term siege. The Battle of Anping will be over soon, and the army will head west. If he does not fight a decisive battle with me, he will retreat behind Hukou Pass." Shao Xun said: "Whether it is retreat or a decisive battle, it will not be wrong to surround the Shexian garrison."

Of course, Liu Yao is more likely to retreat.

What kind of brains did he have to fight a decisive battle with Shao Xun under the city of Shexian? The trenches and earth walls were not iron walls, and they would be broken through by the defenders sooner or later. By then, the whole army would be defeated, and it was very likely that they would be attacked from both inside and outside.

Wang Yan nodded silently.

"When will we attack Shi Le?" he asked again.

"Let's drive Liu Yao away first. What if Shexian is really captured?" Shao Xun said with a smile, "Besides, I'm running out of food."

"Henan is still stepping up the transportation of food and grass. If the river freezes, it will be impossible to transport them."

"Hebei has had a poor harvest this year, and there is nothing left to be exploited. If we continue to fight, they may really rebel."

Wang Yan hummed. He didn't know how to fight, but since the end of the Han Dynasty, there had been too many cases of both sides running out of food and retreating. This year's harvest was already huge enough, so there was no need to take any more risks.

"Will you live in Yecheng for a long time?" Wang Yan asked finally.

Shao Xun smiled but did not answer.

(End of this chapter)