Chapter 1348 National Defense Obligation
Chapter 1348 National Defense Obligation (Monthly Ticket Plus 6)
Jundu is a small county located in the northwest corner of Yan County. It has not many people and is named after its location at the southern entrance of Jundu Xing.
By walking northwest through the pass, you will enter the territory of Shanggu County.
During Shao Xun's stay here, chiefs from all over the country came to meet him.
He distributed rewards amounting to tens of thousands of pieces of silk, hundreds of exquisite utensils, a hundred jars of sugar, and dozens of large bags of spices.
This was a reward for those who obeyed. As for those who were not so obedient, at the very least, their position as tribal leader would be stripped away and replaced by other clan leaders, or at the worst, their entire family would be killed.
There was no way around it. Conquering Liao was indeed a hard job, and the main pressure was on the Hu and Han people in You, Ji and Qing states, while the four states of Si, Yu, Yan and Bing were just playing supporting roles.
Tong Qianjin followed behind Shao Xun and looked at these chiefs quietly.
He has received accurate information that he will soon be posted as the Internal History of Yuyang and concurrently as the Left Sima of Yanshan Protectorate. It would be beneficial for him to get to know these chieftains in advance.
Of course, a rough understanding is enough, no need to remember too deeply. It is hard to say whether the chieftains who come before the emperor will still be in office next year. Maybe before the end of the year, some tribes will be registered as civilians, and the chieftains will "voluntarily" come to the capital and be given a small official position.
As for the military towns in Hebei, even though they have made great achievements in attacking Jicheng, they will have to wipe out the remnants of Murong Xianbei next, but no one can predict what their final outcome will be.
In Lao Tong's opinion, when the army returns in late autumn and gathers in Youzhou, with the power to destroy the country, they will surely clear out these military towns one by one.
The emperor was not afraid of war. Destroying the Murong clan was only one of his goals. Cleaning up the chieftains of Youzhou and the military garrisons of Jizhou were also important matters, and neither of them would be left behind.
After seeing off the chiefs, Shao Xun began to read the military reports sent from the front line.
Huan Wen and Murong Han went to Tuhe and persuaded several tribes to surrender, totaling more than 20,000 people. Then they headed eastward together with Jiang Ke of the Silver Spear Left Camp.
At the end of June, they defeated a Xianbei tribe, beheaded more than 2,000 of them, and then advanced into the quagmire of Liaoze, where they captured more than 10,000 people.
Murong Khan was trapped in a dangerous place and was able to hastily muster less than 10,000 soldiers. Morale was low and there were signs that he was about to flee.
After Shao Shen captured and surrendered Ku Li Guan Xi, he used him as the vanguard and fought several battles with Murong Jun and Murong Biao within ten days, winning all of them.
Xu Lang and Murong Ren from the south pushed forward, while Jun and Biao led the remaining people to retreat eastward and hide in the mountains. In fact, that direction was already the territory of Goguryeo.
"Great, Goguryeo!" Shao Xun smiled happily after seeing it.
At this moment, he was inside the military capital Xingnankou Pass, accompanied by his three children Shao Wo, Shao Ji and Yuan Zhen. Zhao Wang Shao Xu had been ordered to lead 10,000 infantry and cavalry of the Fifth Battalion of the Yellow Head Army to the east, escorting a large amount of food and military supplies to catch up with Jiang Ke's troops and approach the dangerous Ducheng deep in the Liaoze.
"Why is grandpa laughing?" Shao Wo asked.
"I laugh at Gao Zhao's lack of strategy and Gao Wu's lack of wisdom. They actually let Murong Xianbei enter the country." Shao Xun said.
"Could it be that they failed to stop them and allowed the Xianbei people to break in?" Shao Wo asked.
"Most likely." Shao Xun said, "Goguryeo often plundered Liaodong and Xuantu counties, so did the Murong Xianbei not plunder them? It's mutual. Over time, it's normal for the border to be sparsely populated, and it's impossible to stop the remnants of the Murong Xianbei. But so what?"
While Shao Xun was speaking, he had already spread out paper and pen and began to draft the imperial edict.
Shao Wo waved his hand, and the three children came over together, looking up.
Shao Xun liked being surrounded by children, because it made him feel needed and less lonely, so he had a smile on his face when he drafted the edict, and asked the three people to look at it carefully after he finished writing.
Shao Wu was a little surprised after reading it and asked, "Grandpa, will Goguryeo agree?"
In his edict, my father first reprimanded Goguryeo for "allowing" the remnants of the Xianbei to enter the country, and then demanded that they return the two counties of Lelang and Daifang without any excuse.
"I'll hit you if you don't give it to me!" Yuan Zhen made a fist-waving gesture.
Shao Ji lay on his shoulder, delighted.
Shao Wu thought more than the two idiots whose minds were full of military battles, so he said, "Grandpa mentioned the 'frost-free period' before. Lelang and Daifang counties are warmer than Goguryeo's territory and can grow good crops. Are they willing to give them up?"
"Yes, you are willing to use your brain." Shao Xun touched his son's head and said, "As far as I know, Goguryeo did not attach much importance to these two counties. At the beginning, they were determined to move westward. After being defeated by Murong Xianbei, they took advantage of the situation and moved south to vent their anger on Lelang and Daifang counties. It has been 20 years now. However, during the past 20 years, they have been doing a lot of things to control the local nobles, but they are not buying it. In my opinion, Goguryeo should be looking west with wide eyes to see if there is a chance to expand westward. After all, Murong Xianbei was defeated miserably, so they will unconsciously think that there is a chance. The seat of Xuantu County is called 'Goguryeo County', which is not an ordinary place in their eyes."
"Lelang and Daifang counties are probably still under siege. Unless they have given up on advancing westward, or Baekje to the south of the two counties has the idea of advancing northward, Goguryeo will be forced to march south and fight against them."
"So, if I ask Goguryeo to hand over these two counties now, they will certainly be reluctant, but they are not completely unable to give them up. If they refuse, why send out so many cavalry this time? Rush into Goguryeo, plunder their people as slaves, seize their food and livestock for food, cut their crops to feed their war horses. If they raise an army to fight, then fight. If they hold their ground, then raze their farmland, pastures, and villages to the ground. Then let them see whether it is better to hand over the two counties or just hold on."
The three of them suddenly realized.
Yuan Zhen was the most excited and said, "Grandpa, please let me lead the troops. I want to go and see it for myself."
As he spoke, he pulled Shao Xun's arm.
Shao Xun was a little overwhelmed by him and said helplessly: "You are only twelve years old, what soldiers are you leading?" Strictly speaking, Yuan Zhen's fiefdom dispatched two thousand soldiers, who are now under Shao Shen's command. It is said that they have been dispatched to plunder scattered tribes on the grassland, and their combat effectiveness is quite good - the combat effectiveness of Liangcheng soldiers should not be underestimated. This country was originally established mainly with the elderly, the weak, women and children, and there were not many able-bodied men. The national soldiers were all teenagers at the beginning, and they were formed into an army after long-term training. They cooperated with each other very well.
"Forget it. Go to Jicheng to find your fourth brother tomorrow. If he is willing to take you out to play, you can follow him. You are not allowed to command the troops. You don't have the ability yet. Just follow your brother first and ask more questions and observe more." Shao Xun said.
"Okay." Yuan Zhen nodded repeatedly.
"Grandpa, I want to go too. I have learned military tactics and can use a spear," said Shao Ji.
Shao Xun couldn't help laughing.
This silly son, does he know how to fight after learning the art of war? Then it would be too easy to train a general. However, seeing his son's eager eyes, he couldn't bear to refuse, and he had already promised Yuan Zhen before, so he waved his hand and said: "Forget it, let the ugly slave bring people to escort you to Jicheng tomorrow. Remember, don't run around, if something happens-"
He stopped talking at this point, it was unlucky. Besides, he was not sure what he would do at that time.
"Since we are going to visit your fourth brother, you should take some more tools with you." Shao Xun added, "The three thousand households of Yanshan gardeners will go east with you and be handed over to Hutou. They will also contribute to the construction of the royal palace in the future. In addition, these three thousand households will be the first batch of households in the future Hutou Royal City."
The Murong Xianbei are doomed, and it is time to put the construction of a royal city for Hutou on the agenda.
The source of manpower is captives, but food and tools need to be provided by the Central Plains. In order to reduce costs, they are transported by sea. Therefore, the royal city of Hutou is destined not to be too far from the sea.
Shao Xun planned to build a capital city on the mountain for Hutou, following the model of the Goguryeo people in later generations who built mountain cities.
There was a reason why the Goguryeo people did this.
The climate and geographical environment of Liaodong are quite special. There are often rivers passing through the mountains and there are many springs. Therefore, there is no problem of water shortage when building a mountain city on the mountain.
Moreover, many mountains have abundant flat land and even lakes, which can often be used for farming, which is also a major advantage.
Third, mountain cities usually face plains with their backs to mountains and are located at transportation hubs, controlling all directions and playing a very important role.
Taking all the above reasons into consideration, Goguryeo began to build mountain cities and there were still quite a lot of civilians.
In addition, Shao Xun also needs to let Hu Tou assume national defense responsibilities.
If it was just a fiefdom, then wouldn't Xiangping City be his capital? It was located on a plain and had been developed for many years, so the agricultural conditions were good and there were many Han nobles, so it could be said that the living conditions were not too bad.
But doing so would go against Shao Xun's original intention.
Therefore, he decided to use local materials to build a mountain city at the hub leading to Lelang and Daifang counties in Liaodong to serve as the capital of Liaodong State.
This kind of mountain city is usually built with cliffs as walls, rammed earth or stone walls, and the terrain is relatively steep, so siege equipment cannot be used and it is relatively difficult to attack. During the Tang Dynasty, many mountain cities were captured, such as the Daheishan Mountain City (Beisha City) in Jinzhou, which was steep on all sides and only the west gate was accessible. The Tang army crossed the sea and attacked the city at night. The deputy general manager climbed the city first and captured 8,000 men and women. It was really heroic.
Hutou is his son, he can’t just enjoy himself, he must fulfill his obligations.
After dealing with these matters, he waved his hand and asked his son to leave.
Tong Qianjin came quietly and whispered a few words in her ear.
"Lead the way." Shao Xun said.
Tong Qianjin then called upon fifty soldiers to escort Shao Xun to the only courtyard in Guancheng.
The female members of the Murong family were housed in the courtyard. They were either sitting or standing, with their heads bowed and not saying a word. When they saw a large group of soldiers coming in, they all looked over and saw a man in a brocade robe standing at the gate of the courtyard.
The man was not young, probably in his forties or fifties, but tall and strong. He stood in the sunset beside the door, silent, like a bronze statue.
He put his hands behind his back and looked quietly at the women and girls in the yard.
Duan's eyes met his and she turned away calmly.
Gao's head almost dropped to her chest, as if she would burst into tears if she was slightly frightened.
Gongsun also lowered her head, but seemed to be glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.
But Zhu Hun looked at him with expectations.
The Murong aunt and niece subconsciously dodged backwards.
In addition to them, there are actually quite a few concubines, but most of them have no status.
After Shao Xun looked around, his eyes fell on Duan.
He smiled slightly, walked a few steps closer, looked down at Duan's pretty face which turned away unnaturally, and asked softly, "Madam, do you know me?"
(End of this chapter)