Chapter 1064 Behind the Scenes

Chapter 1064 Behind the Scenes

Chapter 1064 Behind the Scenes
For several days in a row, the Jin army's navy was eliminating the hidden spies.

Shao Shen was also getting a little anxious.

It seems that the layers of obstacles set up are not very effective. We have the advantage of water surface. As long as we are willing to spend time, we can clear them one by one sooner or later.

During these few days, he ordered people to build a floating bridge on the river.

Every night, people were sent to launch fireboats.

They basically all failed, except for one time when they were lucky enough to set fire to two medium-sized ships.

When the Liang army on both sides of the Mian River saw the burning ships, cheers resounded through the night sky.

Countless local or mixed-race young men were driven down the river to install obstacles.

At the same time, they got several boats filled with sand, found shallow water, and let them sink.

This is to not care whether this river can be used in the future, just sink it first. As for whether the sunken ship is useful, it is hard to say, anyway, it is always right to give it a try.

The enemy troops on Mount Xian launched a charge at night, killing a group of miscellaneous Hu people who were attacking the mountain and making them flee in panic and completely defeated.

More than 2,000 soldiers of the Right Flying Dragon Guard rushed forward and first shot arrows intensively, regardless of friend or foe, and swept down all the fleeing Hu soldiers and the Jin soldiers who came down the mountain. Then they beat drums and advanced, pushing the enemy back into the mountain city.

To this day, after many battles, the defenders of Xianshan are reduced to less than two thousand people.

On the tenth day, a small tribe from Helong suffered heavy casualties and kept making noise. They were directly attacked from both sides by the Huangtou Army and the Zhuosheng Army who were ready for battle. More than a thousand people were slaughtered.

The Zahu people were frightened, but their morale was also lower.

News from the battlefield at the front reached Yuyang on the night of the 11th.

At that time, Shao Xun was playing chess with Yang Jiong. After hearing the news, he stood up and looked at the map on the wall.

Taibao Pan Tao did not come on this southern tour because he was very ill and had difficulty getting up.

Pei Miao was also ill, but he was still able to carry out his duties, so Shao Xun asked him to recuperate in Luoyang.

Only Yang Jiongzhi was still healthy, but at this age, who could tell? Without modern instruments for physical examination, his health might have been irreversible, but it just hadn't exploded yet.

"The troops heading south can be divided into three routes." Shao Xun looked at the map and said, "What do you think, Lord Yang?"

"I think the Prince of Julu has miscalculated." Yang Jiongzhi said bluntly, "Tao Kan has no intention of rushing to the city of Xiangyang."

"How can a war always go as planned?" Shao Xun shook his head and laughed, "Tao Shiheng only has 40,000 soldiers. If he divides one here and one there, that's all he can mobilize."

Did Cao have many soldiers when he fought against the coalition forces of Sun and Liu? Of course he had many, more than 200,000. But after the troops were divided into several routes, the number of soldiers in each route was smaller, and if the local garrisons were removed, the number of soldiers deployed on a battlefield would be even smaller.

At the end of the Battle of Red Cliffs, the front line had already engaged the Wu soldiers, and they were all familiar with each other, and there was more than one troop behind them rushing to the front line.

The battlefield's capacity was limited, the traffic ability was not good, the troops were separated by long distances, and the various troops were separated by the terrain, so they could not deploy too many people, which ultimately resulted in a confusing defeat.

However, it was also because of this that Nanjun, Xiangyang and other places were preserved, because those troops did not have time to participate in the war and their strength was still there, so they could fight a fierce battle with the coalition forces of Sun and Liu.

Shao Xun's troops were now also divided.

"Xu Lang is ill in Anlu." Shao Xun pointed at the map and said, "I ordered him to protect Anlu and wait for an opportunity to clean up the counties."

"Your Majesty, it would be better to send someone to pacify them." Yang Jiongzhi said.

Shao Xun seemed not to hear it.

There are several powerful families in Jiangxia, which are basically concentrated in one county, namely the county seat Anlu. There are no respectable forces in other places, only local tyrants and even groups with the nature of bandits and pirates. It can be seen that the core of this county is in Anlu, and this city belonged to the north most of the time during the Three Kingdoms period.

The Anlu Li family surrendered, but the Huang family and the Zhang family did not.

Before Xu Lang fell ill, he assisted Li in defeating Huang, but Zhang was still resisting.

Yang Jiongzhi asked Shao Xun to send people to persuade him out of "simple feelings".

Shao Xun pretended to be stupid out of "realistic calculations".

When we go south to Jingzhou, some families will be ruined.

The Liao family of Xiangyang has gone bankrupt, and this is a big piece of fat meat that he has already got in his hands.

With the shitty strength of the Cai family, they still want to keep the huge family property of their ancestors? Dream on.

Besides, what does a good place like Caizhou have to do with you, the distant clan of the Cai family? You are not one family, right? Are you here to eat the whole family?
Just send the two minor officials away and take away the property.

Huang and Zhang of Jiangxia were killed and their property was taken away. Li became the governor, with both positive and negative examples, and he won twice.

How can there be no reshuffle in a big war?

Of course, we can't be too absolute in doing things. The golden mean is the most important thing in the world. So Shao Xun pointed to the map and said, "We can pacify Jiangling in the west."

"Although Jiangling is rich, most of its inhabitants are descendants of the great families of Jingxiang who migrated here. Their family status is not high. Who can we recruit?" Yang Jiongzhi asked.

"Why do you have to be so obsessed with family background?" Shao Xun said unhappily, "Besides, I have no intention of recruiting those branches of the noble families. If they take the initiative to surrender, it's fine. If not, I will attack and kill them. The ones I want to recruit are the local tyrants. They don't have family background, but they are eager to make progress. Even if the leader of a river bandit surrenders, I don't mind."

Yang Jiongzhi glanced at Shao Xun and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

"Do you seem to have something else to say?" Shao Xun asked.

Yang Jiongzhi sighed, "I know your majesty's intention. However, it is already winter, and there are only three or four months left before the beginning of spring. If we cannot quickly capture Jiangling, the epidemic in the army will increase rapidly, and we will have to withdraw. Your majesty may pardon the Jiangling nobles and ask them to surrender. Not only will the war go smoothly, but we can also use Jiangling as a base to build a navy in the future. Otherwise, we will be like Cao Mengde, who had no choice but to abandon Jiangling."

In a word, you need to have a mass base in the local area.

This “masses” does not refer to ordinary people.

If the masses support you, you can gain a firm foothold. If the masses do not support you, you can only withdraw in disgrace.

Shao Xun hesitated.

He knew that during the Wei, Jin, and even Southern and Northern Dynasties, there were more political wars than military ones.

Local support includes not only food and supplies, but also military personnel.

It is impossible for Shao Xun's main force to be stationed in this area permanently. You have to appoint local tyrants as officials to help you defend the place.

"Who can be used in Jiangling?" Shao Xun asked.

"Nanyang and Xiangyang have been fighting each other for many years. Some big families can't stand it anymore, so they sent their sons and nephews to move to Jiangling to manage their property." Yang Jiongzhi said, "Your Majesty, you might as well select a few obedient people and let them lobby. With the army approaching, people's minds will change. Tao Shiheng hasn't come to Xiangyang for a long time. I think he may station troops in Jingling to lure our army south. Then we will cut off his foundation and make it impossible for him to raise food and grass. He won't be able to hold on for long."

After listening to this, Shao Xun praised: "This is a strategy to remove the firewood from under the cauldron."

Yang Jiongzhi bowed.

"Could you be concerned about this?" Shao Xun asked.

"I am willing to share your majesty's worries." Yang Jiongzhi said.

"Good." Shao Xun said with a smile, and then looked at the map again.

The eastern route cleared out the remaining enemies in Jiangxia, while the western route marched southward and attacked Jiangling directly. Only the central route was still besieging Xiangyang to see if they could lure out the main force of the Jin army.

Now it seems that there is little hope. Tao Kan has been using the navy to make trouble. He may have some land forces, but the number is small. It is obvious that he did not take Xiangyang seriously and just encouraged the defenders to continue to hold on.

"When you go to Xiangyang, bring some silk with you," Shao Xun said again.

Yang Jiong was stunned for a moment, and then began to speculate endlessly.

"Nothing special." Shao Xun waved his hand and said, "There have been many fierce battles in Xianshan and Caizhou, and the casualties among the tribes are not small. Some tribes had only 2,000 people when they went to the expedition, and nearly half of them were lost, which was very tragic. Those who died in the battle will be given three pieces of silk as compensation, and those who survived will be given one piece. These troops can be withdrawn. The nobles of Xiangyang--"

After thinking for a while, he said, "Forget it, let's talk about it after the war."

Yang Jiongzhi's mind was moved. This was to ask the nobles of Xiangyang to give money, food and meat to reward the army after the war. The reason why it was not mentioned now was because they were afraid that they would rebel again. Shao Taibai's heart was really black from top to bottom.

"I obey your command." Yang Jiongzhi replied.

"And..." Shao Xun said, "A group of meritorious Hu soldiers can be selected and transferred to Yuyang. I will grant them honorary titles and grant them land in Xiangyang."

Yang Jiongzhi responded, and then said: "The title of 'honorary official' may be changed."

"I've already said there's no need to be shy." Shao Xun said helplessly.

Yang Jiongzhi was speechless.

If you don't change, your descendants will change, and you won't be called "honorary officials" in history books in the future. What's the point of insisting on it?
Yang Jiongzhi left quickly.

Shao Xun paced in the room. He was not very satisfied with Shao Shen's playing style and always subconsciously wanted to make adjustments, but he held back in the end.

Doing this will only make my nephew lose all confidence.

There will be wars to fight in the future, and we can’t interfere in everything.

Wang Que'er, Jin Zheng, and Hou Feihu were all released, together with Li Chong, who had been a follower of the Yuan Dynasty in his early years, and each of them took charge of a certain area.

But having only four generals is not enough. The second echelon including the eldest nephew, Zhang Shuo, Jiang Ke, Xu Yu and others must keep up.

Of course, my nephew fought pretty well. At least his target was very clear and there were no major problems with the deployment of troops. This is also an important reason why there was no need to intervene.

Well, he should just do political united front work and interest distribution in the rear.

"Your Majesty." There was a jingling of bells and ornaments outside the door, and Liu Ye walked in personally carrying tea and snacks.

"The beauty has arrived at the right time." Shao Xun said with a smile.

Liu Yena put down the snacks, covered his mouth and smiled.

This smile made Shao Ze a little uncomfortable, so he could only laugh dryly and said, "A few days ago, Ma Qiu dispersed a group of Wu soldiers who landed on the shore, and he made great contributions. I want to give him land in Xiangyang as a reward. What do you think?"

"But do we need to move all the family members here?" Liu Ye asked.

"That's right." Shao Xun said, "Shangdang has been peaceful for many years, the population is increasing, and there is not much land. Why should we be cramped in one place?"

Liu Ye was not a fool, he immediately asked after hearing this: "Is Ma Qiu willing?"

The word "willing" has such rich meaning.

The first thing is whether you can adapt to the climate and soil there, and whether you are willing to move to a place that is very different from your previous living environment?
You said Xiangyang is in the south, and you are right, it has dense water networks and numerous forests, and the environment is a bit like that of the south.

But if we talk about the north, it seems to be somewhat related, because it is too close to Nanyang, and at the same time the environment is not purely southern. It is a bit like a transition zone between the north and the south, a little bit close to both sides.

The Jie people have lived in Shangdang for a long time. They came during the Cao Wei period, nearly a hundred years ago, and during the Jin Dynasty, several decades ago. They have now completely adapted to the environment of Shangdang. Some of them have moved to the nearby counties of Hebei and Sizhou, and they can adapt well. But what about Xiangyang? Not necessarily.

In addition, Liu Ye's deeper meaning is that Ma Qiu itself was a major tribe of the Shangdang Jie people and had its own tribe, but it was only dependent on the Liu family.

If it was Ma Qiu who proposed it, then he had the idea of ​​starting his own business.

It seems more dangerous if you are forced...

Shao Xun pretended not to hear and only said: "I will carefully select and try to choose the three counties of Xiangyang, Zhonglu and Shandu."

Liu Ye sat down and said, "Your Majesty, if you insist on doing this, it's best not to be too obvious. You can set up Longxiang Prefecture and select meritorious soldiers to be placed there. In this way, the soldiers will benefit greatly and may be willing to leave Shangdang. After all, life there is really hard. In addition, it will look good and not target anyone in particular."

After hearing this, Shao Xun felt relieved.

He was also testing Liu Ye to see whether she stood on the side of the man and the child, or on the side of her brother.

Liu Ye was a little melancholy, but finally chose to stand by his side, which made Shao Xun quite satisfied.

As of today, the easy things have been done, and the things that follow are more difficult. It is impossible to be completely harmonious.

"But..." Liu Ye looked at Shao Xun again and said, "The war is going so smoothly, Your Majesty..."

"My dear." Shao Xun said.

"My dear, you are a little complacent." Liu Ye stood up, his eyes flickered, and said, "Defeat Tao Kan first."

"Beauty, just sit over there and talk." Shao Xun said.

Liu Ye chuckled, sat on Shao Xun's legs, rubbing his big, soft and firm buttocks gently, and said: "Ma Qiu is a small matter. He may forget his principles for the sake of profit, but it will make my brother unhappy. Let's wait and see. I will only give him rewards today and not involve other things."

After saying this, Liu Ye laughed even harder.

Shao Xun also laughed, but he couldn't do anything about his physiological reaction.

Sooner or later, I will die in this woman's belly!

However, it is also true that Liu Ye mentioned that Liu Runzhong was unhappy.

Of course, Shao Xun could not care, but his usual style of doing things makes people think that he cares.

Actually it depends on the person.

Just like the land measurement in the north, many people felt that he had to exchange interests, and they also said that the gentry suffered huge losses when they went to the south and were dissatisfied.

Maybe it was like this before, but it is not necessarily the case now. It's just that Shao Xun doesn't want to make things too ugly, so he tries to give benefits.

So what if I really give less benefits?

Mr. Shao was certainly very uncomfortable because the gentry were dissatisfied with him, but under the current circumstances, would the gentry really dare to raise an army and rebel?
Both sides had their reservations, and the gentry was deeply divided, so in the end most of them ended up with nothing happening and had to swallow the bitter fruit.

The North has been peaceful for so many years that many people seem to have forgotten that this was a founding emperor and a military emperor. In his early years, he was extremely ruthless and the things he did were often frightening.

Do you want him to play with your head in his hands?
Do you want him to pull out your tongue?
Do you want your wife and daughter to get pregnant by him?
For the Emperor of Taiping, even reforming the country was extremely difficult and required various exchanges of interests. But for the Emperor who founded the country, exchanging interests was an option, not a necessity.

Shao Zei is a respectable man, and normally he doesn't want to make relationships so awkward, but he can be dishonorable sometimes.

"Just as you say." Shao Xun said, "Give out the rewards for now to boost morale. I fought half of this battle for my nephew. Wang Que'er, Hou Feihu, Jin Zheng and others don't have these benefits."

The uncle did not intervene in the war, but he did a lot of work behind the scenes to win over the nobles, grant official titles and promises, and boost morale. It was too easy for the nephew to only consider military issues in this battle.

"The Prince of Julu is a royal family member." Liu Ye said, "In this world, if all the generals are outsiders and there is no royal family member, it may not be a good thing."

After saying that, he looked at Shao Xun again and said, "Your Majesty, the royal family is still a little small..."

Shao Xun felt a little tingling on his scalp.

Thinking back to the time when I first snatched Liu Ye, I was panting like a cow and wanted to stuff my entire sack of sperm into him, achieving both psychological and physical bliss.

Every time he saw Shi Le’s wife’s belly getting bigger, he felt a sense of accomplishment, as if he had won twice.

Now he has some feelings for Liu Ye, and this woman is also on his side, so it is difficult for him to be as sexually excited as when he first brought her home.

He was like a bear picking corn, destined to pick one and throw one away.

"I want to meet the officials of Xincheng County. Let's talk about it tomorrow." Shao Xun coughed and said.

The people of Xincheng County have just surrendered, and Shangyong will soon surrender.

Once Xiangyang was lost, these two places had no ability to maintain themselves. They had to either surrender to Cheng State or surrender to Liang State. There was no third way.

It is necessary to appease the officials of Xincheng, but it is not necessary to appease the women.

(End of this chapter)