Chapter 744 Luo Yi's Conditions
Chapter 744 Luo Yi's Conditions
Zhang Gongjin and Wen Yanbo temporarily left. Not long after, Luo Shou hurried in, clasped his fists and said, "Brother, I have something important to report!"
"Sit down and have some hot tea first!"
Luo Yi then ordered his son Luo Cheng, "Go to the hall and don't let anyone in!"
Luo Cheng walked away quickly. The maid came in and brought hot tea, then left. Luo Shou drank the hot tea and said, "General Luo Shixin and Qin Qiong led 30,000 troops to the south from Liaodong. I was caught off guard. Beiping County has been lost, and 10,000 troops have surrendered to the Sui army."
"Then why did you come out? Where are your sister-in-law and two nephews?"
"They are still in Pinglu County. I am here to deliver a letter to my brother."
Luo Shou took out the letter and presented it to his brother. Luo Yi took a look at the envelope and was stunned. On the envelope was written: "Emperor Yang Xia of the Great Sui Dynasty to General Luo, the governor of Youzhou!"
"Prince Jin ascended the throne?"
Luo Shou nodded, "I just found out that the King of Jin ascended the throne in Luoyang on the first day of October."
"What about the Sui Dynasty in Chang'an?"
"I don't know either. Brother, you can send someone to inquire about it, but I think it's meaningless whether it exists or not. A small Guanzhong cannot support the Sui Dynasty."
Luo Yi agreed with what his brother said. Ever since Li Yuan lost Hedong, Luo Yi had looked down on Li Yuan. A small Guanzhong actually called itself the Sui Dynasty and conferred a title on itself.
"You surrendered to King Jin?" Luo Yi suddenly reacted.
"Brother, he is no longer the King of Jin. He is the real Emperor of Sui Dynasty. From Jiaozhi in the south to Yunzhong in the north, since the other party has given me a choice, I don't want to make a big mistake."
Luo Yi glared at his brother, then opened the letter and read it carefully. In the letter, the emperor advised him to put national interests first, resist the Turks, and protect Hebei. He also hoped that he would continue to serve the Sui Dynasty. As long as he was loyal to the Sui Dynasty, all previous unpleasant things could be written off.
Luo Yi was silent and thoughtful. He felt unhappy that the emperor did not promise to confer any official position or title on him in the letter.
Luo Shou knew his brother very well. He knew that his brother always wanted a high price, so he advised: "Brother, don't keep thinking about the King of Yan. Even if Li Yuan made you the King of Yan, he didn't mean it. He was just trying to appease you. Brother, you know that according to the etiquette of the Sui Dynasty, only the emperor's sons can be made princes. If you insist on making you the King of Yan, you will end up with no way out."
Luo Yi really wanted to be the King of Yan, and he also wanted to continue to rule Youzhou and pass it down from generation to generation. He was very obsessed and said slowly: "If you can't be crowned the King of Yan, it's fine, but at least you want to be the Duke of Yan. Secondly, Youzhou is my territory. My descendants and I can be loyal to the court, but you can't deprive me and my descendants of our territory."
Luo Shou sighed and said, "The King of Jin has started to use salt as a weapon. Brother, you only have two or three thousand stones of salt left in your inventory. How long can this amount of salt last? It will be completely gone by the end of the year! The people have no salt, and facing the boiling public resentment, how long can you hold on?"
Luo Yi said after a while: "I can go to Dou Jiande to buy salt!"
"Brother, what are you thinking about! Dou Jiande has also been cut off from salt, and he sent people to buy salt from me. Brother, are you still counting on him?"
Luo Yi was speechless. He pondered for a moment and asked, "What are the equipment and combat effectiveness of the Sui army?"
Luo Shou said unhappily, "They are all infantry, all wearing Ming Guang armor, and all soldiers use infantry spears. Brother, you think your cavalry can be useful, so go ahead and give it a try!"
Luo Yi currently has an army of 50,000, 10,000 of which he gave to his brother. Now, among his 40,000 troops, there are 20,000 cavalry, especially 5,000 heavy armored cavalry. When the former emperor Yang Guang attacked Goguryeo, he placed the equipment in Youzhou, and finally it was obtained by Luo Yi.
This is Luo Yi's biggest capital, and precisely because of this capital, Luo Yi asks for a very high price.
"Go tell the commander of the Sui army that I can be loyal to the emperor of the Great Sui, but you must make me the Duke of Yan, and secondly, I want to serve as the governor of Youzhou for another 20 years."
Seeing that his brother was stubborn and refused to change his ways, Luo Shou didn't want to try to persuade him anymore. He decided to let him have a taste of the power and then he would know.
Luo Shou did not stay overnight, so he stood up and said goodbye. Luo Cheng walked up to him and said, "Father, are you really not considering being loyal to the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty?"
Luo Yi glared at him fiercely, "Are you eavesdropping on our conversation?"
Luo Cheng sighed and said, "Father has made great contributions to the Sui Dynasty. The emperor will definitely not treat him unfairly. But father took the initiative to ask for an official position and title, which shows that he is not sincere." "What do you know? Go call Zhang Gongjin and Wen Yanbo. I have something to discuss with them."
Luo Cheng had no choice but to rush to invite Zhang Gongjin and Wen Yanbo back.
Luo Yi asked, "Can our salt last until spring?"
Wen Yanbo thought for a moment and said, "Based on the current stock of salt, it is definitely not enough. It can only last until the end of the month. I have counted the amount of salt that has been bought by the foreign merchants in various salt shops, and it is about 20,000 stones. If we can find this batch of salt, maybe it can last until the beginning of spring."
Luo Yi finally decided to give it a try. As long as he could hold out until the sea ice melted in spring, he would not be trapped by the salt. The seaside was so large, how could the Sui army control everything?
He immediately said to Zhang Gongjin: "I will give you 3,000 soldiers. Arrange them to search thoroughly and find the salt."
In Luoyang, the first heavy snow of winter fell heavily. After one night, the city of Luoyang turned into a world of snow.
In the imperial study, the charcoal fire was burning brightly. Xiao Xia stood in front of the sand table, thinking silently. His plan of using salt to weaken the enemy seemed to be effective so far.
The people of Hebei began to run out of salt, and public resentment was boiling. They took to the streets every day to protest with drums and gongs. Even though Dou Jiande robbed the people of their salt, he had an army of hundreds of thousands and could only hold out until this month.
Xiao Xia was basically certain of what would happen next. Dou Jiande would definitely rush to the seaside to grab salt at all costs, and would send a large army even if it was covered with heavy snow.
It seems that the 30,000 troops he sent to Bohai County are not enough. He has to continue to send more troops to take over the entire Bohai County and Hejian County.
At present, Hebei's salt fields are mainly concentrated in Yanshan County in the northern part of Bohai County. In the southern part of Bohai County, because the Yellow River flows into the sea, the amount of sea salt along the coast is very low and cannot be cooked.
Although there was no salt field in Hejian County in the north, it did not mean that it could not make salt. The largest Changlu Salt Field in later generations was located in Hejian County.
It was just a habit and the gathering of salt farmers that concentrated the Hebei salt fields in the northern part of Bohai County. However, once Dou Jiande was forced into a corner, he would definitely take salt in Hejian County.
He must take advantage of this opportunity to directly capture Bohai County and Hejian County and completely sever the relationship between Dou Jiande and Hai.
At this time, an attendant reported, "Your Majesty, General Li wants to see you!"
"Let her in!"
Not long after, Li Luming hurried in and bowed, "Your Majesty!"
Xiao Xia said slowly, "I have received news that someone on the other side of the Yellow River is offering three to five times the price to buy official salt. Many merchants on our side are also eager to make a move. The Yellow River will soon freeze over completely, and a large number of merchants will inevitably risk smuggling official salt to the other side. I will not allow any official salt to flow into Hebei privately. The inner guards will be dispatched to inspect the south bank of the Yellow River. If anyone is caught selling salt, they will be arrested and each person will be severely beaten with thirty sticks!"
"Your Majesty, this punishment is too light!"
Xiao Xia shook his head. "They are selling official salt, which is not illegal in nature. If they were selling private salt, they would be beheaded, but selling official salt would only require a minor punishment."
"I understand. I will arrange for the internal guards to go out immediately!"
The official salt of the Sui Dynasty has never been limited. You can buy as much as you want and sell as much as you want. It’s okay to store it for your descendants to eat, but if you use it to support the enemy, that would be a serious problem.
Li Luming whispered again: "Your Majesty, why don't you stop selling salt along the Yellow River and put an end to it at the root, so that no one will smuggle it."
Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "We will definitely leave a gap when we besiege the city, so that the enemy won't fight to the death. The same is true if we don't stop selling salt. We will leave a gap for Dou Jiande, so that Dou Jiande won't fight to the death to defend the two coastal counties, and it will be easier for us to capture the two coastal counties."
Li Luming suddenly realized it and said immediately: "I will go back and send troops right away!"
(End of this chapter)