Chapter 711 Departure

Chapter 711 Departure

Chapter 711 Departure
After the Spring Festival in February, various places began to transfer supplies and gather at various docks.

As the saying goes, food and fodder must be sent before the troops move. As the name suggests, because food and fodder are slow to transport, they must be dispatched before the army, otherwise it may be too late.

Therefore, Shao Xun did not move yet. He was still handling official business in Bianliang and meeting with all kinds of people to prepare for war.

Duan Jilujuan, Duke of Liaoxi County, died last winter.

His eldest son was given the name Duan Yongzhong by Shao Xun and succeeded to the throne smoothly, but many people inside were dissatisfied. When the Murong Xianbei in Liaoxi heard about it, they sent troops to plunder and seized a large number of people, cattle, sheep, and property.

Youzhou urgently sent troops to Tuyin County, but was defeated by Murong Xianbei.

The Murong clan released the captives from Youzhou and retreated to Liaoxi. Obviously they had some concerns, but they also demonstrated their strength and their prestige in Youzhou was unparalleled.

Shao Xun carefully looked up the history of the Murong family and concluded that this regime had not yet undergone a thorough reform and had a strong tribal style, so he felt relieved.

Judgment basis?

Actually, it is very simple. A few years ago, Murong Wei had a brother named Tuyuhun. Because the distance between the two sides of grazing was too close, the horses of the horses fought, so Murong Wei was very angry and scolded Tuyuhun.

Tuyuhun was so angry that he asked his people directly if anyone was willing to follow him and move westward, leaving Liaodong. In the end, 1,700 households were willing to follow him.

When Murong Wei saw that his brother was leaving, he regretted it and wanted to bring him back.

Tuyuhun said directly that he would never see him again in this life, and left in anger, heading west along the grasslands outside the Great Wall, crossing the grasslands of the Yuwen and Tuoba clans, to the Yin Mountains, then went south to Helong and settled in Qinghai.

Tuyuhun was a mediocre talent. His greatest contribution to the tribe was probably that he had more than 60 sons. It was hard to imagine how many children he had. I'm afraid he would have Cao Pi whenever he had time...

"The Murong clan has the will but not the courage, that's all." Shao Xun patted the official letter and said, "Tell Youzhou to protect the Duke of Liaoxi. If anything goes wrong, You Tong will not have to do his job."

The secretary-general Yang Yu immediately drafted the official document himself.

"As for the Yuwen Xianbei's looting of Shanggu, don't act rashly for the time being, just be on guard." Shao Xun added: "Ask Tuoba Xianbei if they are willing to let us pass through."

The recorder Jing Chan also began to write official documents.

But he was not very optimistic. Last year, Tiefu, who was attached to the Xiongnu, attacked Tuoba Yulu in Hexi and was defeated.

Thanks to this battle, Tuoba Yulu accumulated considerable prestige and established a firm foothold.

The Tuoba clan is currently in a neutral position, with some friction with the Xiongnu in the west and plundering Changshan, Zhongshan and even parts of Youzhou in the direction of Daijun in the east. This may not be the order of Tuoba Yulu, but it may be the decision of the local garrison commander or Fangbo. After all, the Tuoba clan is also relatively loose.

The reason why the Tuoba clan remained neutral was not because they had no ambitions, but because the internal political situation did not allow it. To be honest, if the Tiele Xiongnu had not taken the initiative to provoke last year, the war might not have started.

For the Tuoba clan, keeping calm, slowly rectifying the internal situation and rallying the people are more important than anything else. They need time now.

"Send orders to the generals of all the towns in Jizhou to meet in Yecheng." Shao Xun issued another order.

"Mingsir, when will you come to meet me?" Yang Yu asked.

"I will go north to Yecheng in late February or early March." Shao Xun said, "I want them to arrive before March 15th. Those who fail to do so will be dismissed. There will be no mercy."

"Yes, sir." Yang Yu began to draft the order with his pen quickly.

"Lu Zidao will be the Grand Commandant of Liang." Shao Xun gave his final instructions: "Lu, Wang, and Yu will jointly manage the affairs of the rear, with Chen Yougen, Yang Chen, and Pei Miao assisting."

******
Liang Gong gradually became busy.

Palace Cao had the most work to do. He had to prepare the carriages, ceremonial guards and other supplies for the trip, and then hand them over to Yang Qin, the commander of the imperial guards, to take them to Yecheng.

While his subordinates were busy, Shao Xun was happy to have some free time.

On February 20th, he climbed to the highest point in Huangnu Palace, the Linjiang Tower, and overlooked the magnificent scenery.

The cold winter has faded, replaced by the breath of spring.

The wheat seedlings are starting to grow again, great! Shao Xun was very happy holding the teacup, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

By May, this wheat will become crucial nutrients for the war machine.

"Why don't you take me north?" Yang Xianrong walked to Shao Xun with a unhappy look on her face.

"The child is still young, how can you bear it?" Shao Xun pulled Yang Xianrong over, and the two sat side by side in front of the window, looking at the sunset outside.

Yang Xianrong was unmoved and said, "The child has his own wet nurse to take care of him."

"You——" Shao Xun looked at her in surprise.

Yang Xianrong looked at him with an expression that said "the child was an accident".

Shao Xun suddenly laughed.

Sometimes, he felt that among so many women, Yang Xianrong had more of the aura of a modern girlfriend.

It's just that she was born in the Western Jin Dynasty and was influenced by the times. She didn't have the requirement to allow a man to have only her as a woman. Although she really wanted to do so, even if she was jealous and had a bad temper, she didn't dare to openly say such unrighteous words as monogamy (including concubines).

Their child was an accident. Although Yang Xianrong loved him, in her heart, the child seemed less important than the man.

"What should I take you to do?" Shao Xun said helplessly.

"There are many wastelands in Hebei. I have people open manors and pastures there." Yang Xianrong said as a matter of course: "Among all your women, is there any one who can manage as well as I do? Even Princess Xiangcheng can't do it."

Shao Xun's heart moved, and he asked, "How many people do you have?"

"It's easy to send two thousand people. You don't have to worry about it, and I won't worry about it either. Just accompany me." Yang Xianrong said.

"Nonsense!" Shao Xun said, "You can go if you want. I don't have time to accompany you."

Yang Xianrong looked at him for a long time, smiled, and said, "Okay."

Xuan added, "I will send people to drive over a thousand mules and horses, ten thousand cows, and a hundred thousand sheep. You can find a piece of idle land that no one is cultivating, and I will have people go there to graze and fatten the animals. Maybe you will run out of food halfway through the fight."

Shao Xun was a little surprised. This was the assets of a small tribe with a population of over a thousand.

Yang Xianrong has been running intensive ranches in Guangchengze, Luoyang and Bianliang - growing grass and raising livestock - for so many years that his family fortune has almost reached the level of a tribal commander.

Of course, her assets are comparable to those of the tribal chief, not to mention the little handsome guy.

These livestock are not all she has. "You actually bribed me." Shao Xun had already surrendered.

These livestock can produce milk when grazing, which can be made into cheese and sent to the front line. It is nutritious and filling, and it is also light and easy to transport. If this is not possible, just let the livestock follow the troops, find a pasture to feed them along the way, and they will be able to produce dairy products continuously.

Not to mention the meat.

So many livestock have the equivalent calories of hundreds of thousands of bushels of grain, and they also have legs, so they can cross dangerous mountain roads.

At the end of last year, he discussed with his staff to exchange food, cloth, salt, tools, daily necessities and other things from herdsmen for livestock in order to improve logistical supply.

After all, the mountainous area of ​​Bingzhou is too difficult to get through, and the Hu people's logistics method can serve as an effective supplement, with less loss along the way - even if the livestock lose weight, it doesn't matter, in sparsely populated areas, there is grass everywhere, and all they have to do is convert the grass into energy, commonly known as "fattening them up."

When the Tang army went on an expedition thousands of miles away, even crossing the Tianshan Mountains, they had a large number of livestock accompanying the army.

It only took more than half a year for the "300,000" Khitan soldiers to fight their way from the northeast to Xinjiang, grazing and fighting at the same time.

This approach has its merits.

So far, the shogunate has collected a lot of livestock, but they are a little thin after the winter. They are now being raised and are preparing to be driven to various designated locations in Hebei for grazing.

"Okay, since you provide so many livestock, come with me to Yecheng." Shao Xun said with a long sigh.

"If you attack Murong, Yuwen, Tuoba, or even Xiongnu in the future, it is wishful thinking to transport food with horse-drawn carriages." Yang Xianrong said happily: "Emperor Wu of Han transported food for thousands of miles, which reduced the population of the country by half and almost destroyed the country. General, you don't want to--"

"Stop!" Shao Xun always felt that these words had a strong sense of déjà vu and sounded strange and irritating, so he quickly interrupted her next words.

"Are you still going to take Liu and Cui to Hebei?"

"Well, they are all useful." Shao Xun said.

Liu Ye Na, Liu Xiao He and Cui Shi will go to Hebei with him.

Yang Xianrong bought the ticket with her own money.

"Go north on the first day of March. Take your servants with you. When you arrive in Yecheng, live in the Bronze Sparrow Tower. Behave yourself and don't fight against the Cui family." Shao Xun said.

Yang Xianrong pinched him hard, and her face suddenly turned ugly again.

Shao Xun looked at her calmly and said, "I have no interest in Cui, but she is useful."

Yang Xianrong was stunned for a moment, and finally agreed.

If she doesn't fight, someone else will.

******
On the last day of February, the imperial guards had already loaded almost all the things they needed to pack onto the carriages. Even the first batch of rough items had been delivered to Wenshijin and shipped to Fangtou by ship.

Shao Xun took Yu Wenjun to Yu Ri Pavilion to visit his parents.

"Have arrangements been made for the people left behind?" Father Shao Xiu asked after lunch.

His mother, Liu, was always worried about the inconvenience of his life on the road, and gave him this and that instructions, but men think differently. Shao Xiu's first consideration was whether there would be chaos in the rear.

"Most of the soldiers from Chenliu Prefecture did not move, and were under the command of Chen Yougen. The soldiers from Puyang Prefecture were close by, but they were not all dispatched. The men from Chen and Liang counties have been trained for a long time, and tens of thousands of them can be mobilized in times of crisis, and they are also capable of fighting." Shao Xun said, "With these people here, the evil spirits will not dare to move."

In fact, soldiers from Luonan, Dongping and Gaoping also stayed behind.

The newly organized Heiliang Right Battalion, which had been training for several months, was also in Bianliang.

The young men in Luonan and Xiangcheng also fought several battles, and tens of thousands of people were within easy reach.

There are also military farms in Kaocheng and other places, and hereditary soldiers in Xuchang.

Overall, the remaining troops are still considerable.

Moreover, he must have been stationed in Yecheng in the early stage, which was only more than 200 miles away from Bianliang. If something happened, he could rush back in four or five days, so it would not be a big problem.

"Where are the Silver Spear Army?" Shao Xiu asked.

Shao Xun thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, I'll let the Silver Spear Camp stay."

Hearing his son say this, Shao Xiu nodded and said no more. This was really enough.

On the way back to Guanfeng Palace, Yu Wenjun held Shao Xun's hand, feeling heavy-hearted and hesitant to speak.

Shao Xun also felt a little guilty and said, "After we take Pingyang, I will take you to Liu Cong's palace to stay for a few days."

After hearing this, Yu Wenjun felt better, then rolled her eyes at Shao Xun and said, "You are so complacent before the battle even starts."

Shao Xun automatically ignored her words and was shocked by Yu Wenjun's seductive charm just now.

Once upon a time, Wenjun was still an ignorant, coquettish young girl, but she is 23 years old this year and has given birth to two children. She is becoming more and more charming as a mature woman.

She is becoming more and more beautiful, Shao Xun admired in his heart.

"Liu Cong is still moving tribes, fortress residents, food, livestock, and property to Guanzhong during the first month of the year. This is the way to his death." Shao Xun smiled and said, "It would be great if we could capture him alive."

"Well, my husband will definitely win." Yu Wenjun held Shao Xun's arm tightly and said, "I know. I am the mistress and have to stay behind. Ye Na told me some tricks and gave me the sword she used to kill the rebellious guy..."

"Oh? When did you guys get so good?"

"She is actually very straightforward and easy to get along with."

"Have you learned it?"

The two talked and laughed as they walked.

On the first day of March in the third year of Shengui (319), Shao Xun led his personal army, the left and right camps of the Silver Spear, the Luoyan Army, cavalrymen of the Xianbei Duanmobo tribe, and young men recruited in Henan, totaling nearly infantry and cavalry, north to Yecheng.

This is the general reserve force, which will be deployed in Yecheng, Anyang and Dangyin in the future. This shows that Shao Xun is optimistic about making a breakthrough in the Hebei direction, and is least optimistic about making a breakthrough in the Wuguan and Hongnong directions.

But the situation on the battlefield is ever-changing, who can predict for sure?

(End of this chapter)