Chapter 682 Arrangements before leaving

Chapter 682 Arrangements before leaving

Chapter 682 Arrangements before leaving
When the order to withdraw was passed down, the auxiliary soldiers and laborers who were transporting food and fodder in Hanoi and Shangdang almost cried for joy.

It’s really bitter!
The 70-plus li Taihang Pass Road was extremely slippery after the snow. In the deep ravine on the left side of the road, fallen carriages and horses and dead bodies were everywhere.

In front of Tianjing Pass, there are densely packed vehicles parked, waiting to pass through the pass.

On the mountain road behind Tianjing Pass, whenever a vehicle was damaged, there was no time to repair it. They would simply remove the leather harness, pull away the draft animals, and then push the carriage off the cliff to avoid blocking the road.

Transporting food and fodder by land is too inefficient and too costly, and it becomes unbearable over time.

Moreover, so much food was diverted to the front line, and no one knows how many people would starve to death in Hebei and Qingzhou.

Anyway, the Qingzhou Tianshi Taoist followers have taken advantage of the famine to rebel with great momentum.

Liu Ling, a subordinate of the General's Office, put down the rebellion everywhere. Mi Huang, the governor of Xuzhou, transferred one million hu of grain from the five counties of Donghai, Pengcheng, Langya, Lanling and Dongguan to Qingzhou to cooperate with Liu Ling's military operations, using both suppression and appeasement in order to calm the situation as soon as possible.

There were more and more refugee leaders in Jizhou. Some went south to Yuzhou and Yanzhou, some went north to Youzhou, and some passed through Youzhou to escape to Murong Xianbei.

Li Chong led his army to suppress the rebellion and tried his best to guide the refugees to go south to Yecheng to find food, which was close to the Yellow River and had more food input.

However, it won't be long before the Yellow River freezes over.

There was also fighting in the south.

Gan Zhuo and Ji Zhan joined forces and marched north, attacked Runan and Ruyin, broke into several counties, looted people and property, and then left.

Liu Can sent troops out of Lantian Pass and arrived at the city of Wuguan. Le Kuan, the right attendant of the Duke of Chen's mansion and the governor of Shangluo, was ready to fight the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu ran out of food and grass and retreated.

There was famine in Luoyang, and people began to eat each other...

Shao Xun also had a pile of shit on his butt. If winter had not arrived, he might have gritted his teeth and persisted, and fought in Danzhuling again, but when the north wind blew and the first heavy snow fell, he decisively stopped fighting.

On October 25th, Shao Xun met his uncle Liu Shan, who had come to transport grain and fodder, outside Gaodu City.

"My uncle is over fifty years old, and he still has to lead the troops. It's really not easy." Shao Xun rode a horse, walking side by side with Liu Shan, passing by one camp after another.

Many soldiers cheered spontaneously.

When Yewang captured the city, the Mule Army created another legend of rapid success.

Gaodu, Xunshi and other places were taken over peacefully, and the legend came to an end. Some soldiers were dissatisfied and wanted to fight again.

This ragtag army, composed mainly of hereditary soldiers from Xuchang, young men from Henan, surrendered soldiers from Shi Le, and hereditary soldiers from Yanzhou, was so high-spirited that Shao Xun was reluctant to disband it.

In the end, most of them were dismissed, leaving only 20,000 strong men on the list. They would be given priority in the next call-up and reorganized into an army.

However, 5,000 of them will be left behind in Gaodu, led by Tang Jian. Most of them are hereditary soldiers from Yanzhou whom he had led before, and many of them are based in Linqiu, Puyang.

After much deliberation, Shao Xun decided to divide the 5,000 men into two groups. Half would be led by Tang Jian and stationed in Xunshi, while the other half would be led by Liu Shan and stationed in Gaodu.

It’s not that we don’t want to station more troops behind, it’s that we simply can’t afford to support them.

An army of 5,000 people would need 9,000 hu of rice a month, and 54,000 hu of rice in half a year, not counting the consumption of draft animals and extra meals during training, and only counting two meals a day (three meals a day during training and expeditions).

In fact, this number was not enough, and Shao Xun requested that as many as 100,000 hu of grain as possible be transported to Shangdang for the remaining troops to consume.

In addition, more food is needed for disaster relief.

Therefore, even if he ordered a ceasefire, the auxiliary soldiers who were transporting food and fodder might be too early to be happy. They still had to continue transporting food until the road became too difficult to travel.

The cost of war is really huge.

"The party committee is very important. I am worried about being alone. Uncle, are you willing to stay in Gaodu for me?" Shao Xun asked.

Liu Shan said without hesitation, "I can't fight for a few more years. I still have some strength now, but in a few years, I may be bedridden. Staying in Gaodu is a small matter, I have nothing to be unwilling to do."

"Just defend the city, no need to fight." Shao Xun nodded and said, "It's enough for you five thousand people to exist. If anything happens, I will order the Black Sword Army to rush north to help."

"Where is the Heiliang army stationed?" Liu Shan asked.

This was a powerful force with 6,000 soldiers. Its previous base was in Heyang, and most of their families were also settled in the three cities of Heyang - mainly Heyang South City.

"There are already many civilians in the three cities of Heyang, and there are also thousands of Black Sword soldiers. There is not enough land." Shao Xun said, "I want to move their families to the areas of Yewang, Biting, and Confucius Temple."

Bi Ting is seven or eight miles southeast of Taihang Xingkou. The Confucius Temple is west of Bi Ting, located between Yewang and the ancient city of Bi State. In fact, both are within the territory of Yewang County.

Hanoi was a place that was extremely densely populated during the Han Dynasty, but now there are only a few people left.

Tao Bao and his men who were on the Western Expedition took over Qinshui and Chenxian, and all said that there were less than a hundred households in the city and no one was living in the countryside. Shao Xun traveled all the way from Ji County and saw few people.

This place is ruined. It's a great plain, but it feels less populated than the Shangdang mountain area.

The situation in Ji County and Dongqiu was roughly the same as that in Henei, almost a complete mess - Xingyang, separated by a river, was only slightly better than these "three brothers".

But he always thought on the bright side. If these places could successfully resettle refugees, pacify the displaced, and prosper again, they would become the base of his Shao Liang Kingdom.

Without a basic base, the gentry would lose face, and Shao Xun knew this well.

Of the fifteen counties of Liang State, six are located north of the Yellow River, spanning four states: Yu, Yan, Si, and Bing. Hebei is a blank canvas for painting, and will be the key operating area for next year.

From this perspective, it was very appropriate to locate the capital of Liang State in Bianliang - it was close to the Yellow River and could take into account the Liang State's iron plate on both sides of the Yellow River.

"Young Master, aren't you afraid of being robbed by the Huns?" Liu Shan subconsciously felt that something was wrong after hearing this arrangement.

"If the Xiongnu come, they can only go through Chenguan." Shao Xun shook his head and said, "Chenguan is located in the mountains. There is almost no flat land behind the pass, and there are few farmlands available for cultivation. Maybe they can graze in the hills and valleys, but they can't support too many people. Three days ago, Cheng Xia sent an envoy to report that Shi Hu led more than a thousand cavalrymen to escape to Chenguan. Liu Xian, the Xiongnu Quyang King, also stationed in Guanzhong and gathered refugees in Henei. The number of soldiers reached 7,000 to 8,000. With so many soldiers, Chenguan alone cannot support them. Most of the food and supplies must be transported from Hedong. I think the Xiongnu will withdraw some of their people sooner or later. Chenguan is a strategic place, and 3,000 people are enough to defend it."

There is no need to station a large army in a military fortress without self-sustaining capabilities. It is enough to use the dangerous terrain and place two to three thousand people. As long as you can hold out for a period of time, reinforcements will gather from the rear, and this is the most economical way.

"You know what's going on, so I won't say much." Liu Shan said.

As the battle went on, the three cities of Heyang, which were originally the key to the place, seemed to have become the rear and were no longer so important.

Think about the previous few years, when my nephew started from Luonan, got Yuzhou, and used Yanzhou as a northern barrier. At that time, many counties and states in Yanzhou were in the war, and the people were uneasy, but after fighting for several years, when Fangtou City was built, Shi Le was defeated, and Yecheng was advanced, Yanzhou became the rear again.

By this time, Qingzhou was pacified, Henei, Jijun, and Shangdang were all in hand, and Yecheng and most of Hebei also became the rear area.

The areas where people can farm and graze in peace are getting larger and larger, and the battle line is expanding outward step by step.

This year's victories in Hanoi, Shangdang and other places are the benefits brought by Henan becoming the rear base. Without the food and grain provided by Yuyan, my nephew would not have been able to fight so smoothly. In fact, the Xiongnu was defeated because of its national strength.

After inspecting the camps, Liu Shan went south, intending to transport food and fodder back again before taking up his post.

Shao Xun returned to Gaodu City and lived in Liu's house. He had some things to discuss with Liu Runzhong and his son.

"You are the governor of Shangdang. As the saying goes, you have the responsibility to defend your territory. If there is a war, you must not gather the people to protect yourself." Shao Xun said, "The civil affairs of Shangdang will be managed by you, and the military affairs will be managed by Liu Shan, the supervisor of the General's Office. Keep in mind the hierarchy."

"Okay." Liu Runzhong agreed immediately.

Things have come to this point. Not to mention that he has a grudge against the Huns, given the current situation, he would not be stupid enough to surrender to them again - Liu Yao didn't even dare to cross the Danzhu Ridge and head south, isn't that clear?

If you hang out with Lord Liang, maybe you can move up a level, become a founding hero, and transform the Shangdang Liu family into an aristocratic family - you gotta say, you gotta say, this is pretty damn attractive.

In the Shangdang area, the Liu family was still well-known, and they were definitely the first family. If they were in the Han area, they would have long been a member of the gentry. Unfortunately, they were Jie people, and it was really difficult to be considered a noble family, because the Shangdang Liu family was a typical "barbarian surname".

In order to consolidate his position, Liu Runzhong had his three sons marry the daughters of tribal chieftains. Now he regrets it a little and feels that this was a wrong move.

However, if they could become founding heroes, perhaps some Han nobles would be willing to marry them?
After several generations, who would still talk about those old things - in fact, there are quite a few people like this. After the end of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, there was a Xiongnu Liu who served as prime minister in the Tang Dynasty (Liu Chongwang). This was how he "whitewashed" himself and infiltrated the circle of Tang Dynasty aristocratic families.

"I like Ye Na very much." Shao Xun added: "She gave birth to a daughter for me, and I really love her. If you have time, you might as well go back to Bianliang with me to celebrate the New Year. If you can't come in person--"

Shao Xun pointed at Liu Quan and Liu Zhao and said with a smile, "They are also OK."

Before Liu Runzhong said anything, Liu Quan and Liu Zhao seemed to be interested and obviously wanted to go see their aunt.

"I'll find some gifts right away." Liu Runzhong knew this was a big deal and said immediately.

Shao Xun did not stop him.

Of course the nephew can't go to visit his aunt empty-handed.

In addition, when discussing politics, it is really much easier if there is this kind of family affection as a lubricant.

People need reasons to convince themselves. Even a trivial reason can sometimes be enough to influence something.

Liu Runzhong is not a fool. If Shao Xun founded a country in the future, his sister would be the empress. It would be much more convenient to have someone in the palace to speak for him. As a royal relative, the status of the Shangdang Liu family rose sharply. These were all tangible benefits.

This family relationship must be maintained.

After discussing this matter, Shao Xun decided not to stay in Shangdang any longer.

On the 26th, the army left Gaodu and headed south to Henei via Taihang Xing Road.

(No more rest, keep going, still three chapters today.)
(End of this chapter)