Li Hong, the general of the captivity, led an army of 70,000 and 50,000 people, and slowly entered the Great Wall fortress in Shangjun.

The various military materials such as food and weapons sent from Chang'an City to the fortress, as well as 50,000 people, were immediately handed over to the Bingcao battalion. Without saying a word, Li Hong first paid the soldiers' salaries and ordered a ten-day rest at the Great Wall fortress to wait for further arrangements from the imperial court. Ever since he received the Son of Heaven's order to immediately rush to Taiyuan County in Bingzhou to quell the ant thief rebellion, he had never received the decree, not even the documents of Shangshutai. Originally, he thought that these holy decrees and documents had been sent to the fortress, but after arriving at the fortress, he learned that the imperial court had not sent him any news.

Something big must have happened in Luoyang, otherwise it wouldn't have been more than ten days, and he wouldn't have given any instructions. Li Hong didn't know what was wrong with the imperial court, and he was very anxious. Although he knew from the Great Wall fortress that Zhang Yan had occupied the entire territory of Taiyuan, and Yang Feng had also begun to attack the party, he had no marching route, and he didn't know who would provide him with grain and grass on the road, so he could only do it in a hurry, and there was no way.

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In the big tent, Li Hong sat on the huge map of Bingzhou, looking at Taiyuan County in a daze.

Tian Zhong walked in with a smile.

"My lord, have you figured out how to beat Zhang Yan?"

Li Hong smiled, got up and beckoned him to sit down, "Uncle, you now have 100,000 people under your command, how to beat Zhang Yan should be your business." ”

"What a joke the adults say." Tian Zhong said, "It's your business to fight, and I'm only responsible for the grain and grass." I've come to ask for someone. ”

"Someone?" Li Hong asked strangely, "Who do you want?" ”

"Now there are 100,000 people and hundreds of thousands of livestock in the Bingcao battalion, and these all need to be arranged and commanded, how can I have so many people. You have to add more men to me immediately. ”

Li Hong thought for a moment and asked, "One hundred thousand people?" Do you need so many people? ”

"Of course I do." Tian Zhong said, "In the past, we fought in northern Xinjiang, and the cavalry of several thousand people did not have much food and grass to carry it, so we could just use surplus war horses to carry it, and we did not need to recruit people. When we arrive in Jizhou, the Jizhou government is responsible for providing the grain and grass, so we don't have to worry about it. On the way to Xiliang, the grain and grass are provided by the counties along the way, so we only need to carry baggage. When we arrived in the western Xinjiang, all the grain and grass were in charge of Lord Zhang Wen and Lord Gai Xun, and we didn't have to worry about these things, but not now, and the state was poor, the population was small, and the road was difficult, and the grain and grass and baggage had to be transported from Chang'an and Luoyang and other places, and there was no people to transport them back and forth, and they could not reach Taiyuan at all. ”

"My lord, in my opinion, if this battle starts, 100,000 people may not be enough." Tian Zhong said with a frown.

Li Hong nodded and said with concern: "Uncle, I've tired you." How many people do you want? ”

"In addition to the doctors, carpenters, blacksmiths and others, there are less than 500 people in the Bingcao Battalion who really help with things, my lord, how many people do you think I have?"

"Let Tang Yun and Yin Si, as well as Pang De, take the Black Panther Yi from the camp." Li Hong smiled, "Three thousand people are enough, right?" ”

"No, no." Tian Chong shook his hand again and again, "There are too many Hu people in the Yicong camp, and the people are all ordinary people, and they are very disgusted with the Hu people, you still transfer Zhang He's soldiers to me, okay?" ”

Li Hong frowned and said, "Disgusted? Without them to fight, Guanzhong and Kansai would have been captured and plundered by the Xianbei people long ago. ”

"My lord, they are ordinary people, the reason doesn't make sense, don't have nothing to do, you better transfer Zhang He to me."

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The two chatted casually, and Li Hong asked, "If we add those hundreds of thousands of livestock, how many days can we probably support it?" ”

"The rations of 70,000 soldiers and 100,000 people, plus the forage for war horses and livestock, according to my estimates, the current stock is only enough for us to use for 30 days at most, and we can probably go to Taiyuan, and then there is not much left, and we can only rely on slaughtering livestock to fill our stomachs." Tian Zhong said, "Why do you ask this? Do you want to cross the Yellow River in advance and rush to Taiyuan? ”

Li Hong shook his head and said with a smile: "If you say that, I won't dare to leave." ”

"My lord, when you go to Taiyuan County to fight, this bit of food will definitely not be enough." Tian Zhong said, "This batch of grain and grass is prepared for the Xianbei people, I heard that it was originally for the Northern Army, didn't they originally go to Bingzhou to fight Zhang Yan?" Because of the important situation in the Western Xinjiang War, the imperial court temporarily transported it from Luoyang to Chang'an for emergencies. ”

Tian Zhong suddenly remembered something, and said indignantly: "My lord, this northern army stays in Luoyang every day and doesn't fight any battles, but the ordnance is the best in the Han Kingdom, and the imperial court looks at people with two eyes, which is too unfair to us." ”

"We are a border army, and of course the imperial court will not give us the best weapons." Li Hong said with a smile, "Once it is robbed by foreigners and copied in large quantities, it will be our border soldiers who will suffer." ”

"The adults also look up to the Hu people too much, they don't have iron, and they don't have craftsmen who are proficient in manufacturing, like the iron chariots used for siege, as well as strong ballistae and even crossbow carts, they can't imitate them at all." Tian Zhong smiled disdainfully, "Speaking of which, it's still our Great Han Kingdom that is powerful." ”

Li Hong snorted in his nose, a little dissatisfied with Tian Chong's words. He has been in Xianbei since he can remember, Xianbei people saved his life and taught him many rules of survival, he always has an inseparable feeling for Xianbei people in his heart, and this feeling also directly affects his views on the Hu people of all ethnic groups.

"Is there a lot of equipment in this batch of ordnance too?" Li Hong asked.

"Yes, there are 660 military vehicles of all kinds, of which the main ones are crossbows and repeater vehicles." Tian Zhong said happily, "There are also 13,000 siege ladders, 340,000 swords, guns, halberds, spears and other hand-held weapons, 18,000 strong bows, 1,750,000 long arrows, and 340,000 pieces of 58 kinds of other types of ordnance. It's almost equivalent to the amount of weapons in a large state. ”

"So much?" Li Hong asked in surprise, "Tens of thousands of people in the Northern Army need to use so many weapons?" ”

"No wonder the Northern Army is powerful, these ordnance is used on the battlefield, even we can't resist it." Tian Zhong sighed, "The Northern Army is invincible in the world, and half of the credit still depends on these ordnance." ”

"Uncle difference. When General Huangfu, Lord Lu Zhi, and Lord Zhu Jun each led the elite to pacify the Yellow Turban Army, they relied not on ordnance, but on strategy. Li Hong said with a smile.

"Forget it, I don't believe it, without these weapons, they are a fart." Tian Zhong scoffed and said mockingly, "With so many weapons, how many Yellow Turban soldiers can kill them all." ”

Tian Zhong then looked at Li Hong solemnly and asked in a low voice: "Zimin, I want to ask you a personal question, do you really want to go to Taiyuan to exterminate Zhang Yan's Yellow Turban Army?" ”

Li Hong shook his head and said in a low voice: "When we were in Jizhou, we said that we wanted to pacify the Yellow Turban Army and kill it, it was not a way at all. In these years, homeless people are everywhere, and these people can become the Yellow Turban Army at any time, and they can't be killed. He hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Don't make a noise, I have my own solution." ”

Tian Da was overjoyed, patted Li Hong hard, and said with a smile: "I knew that you wouldn't kill again." The battle of gall pottery chilled people's hearts. Who are the Yellow Turbans? Aren't they just homeless people who have nothing to eat? Huangfu Song killed 100,000 Yellow Turban Army soldiers in Xiaquyang Pit, what was the result? Zhang Niujiao immediately appeared in Jizhou with hundreds of thousands of troops. Who is afraid of death these days? ”

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The curtain was lifted, and Xiao Lan, dressed in a military uniform, walked in.

"Xiao Lan, come on, come on...... Tian Chong's eyes narrowed into a slit when he suddenly smiled, "Child, have you been working under the general's account recently, are you tired?" ”

When Xiao Lan saw Tian Chong, she ran over in surprise, saluted respectfully, and then took Tian Chong's hands and greeted him repeatedly.

"Uncle, when did you come? If you don't leave at night, Zhong Yuan and I will invite you to dinner, and you can also have a good chat with the general. You haven't been here for a few days, and the general has been talking about it several times. ”

"I'm too busy, how can I have time to stay here to eat, next time." Tian Zhong said with a smile, "The Bingcao camp is only a few miles away from the big camp, and I have time to go to my place with Zhongyuan, and my food there is better than here." I don't know what you generals eat, it's about the same as horse feed. Come, come, let me see, I haven't eaten the food of the Bingcao camp recently, whether I have lost weight. ”

Shinoran smiled embarrassedly.

Li Hong laughed and said: "Uncle, what you said is too much, why do I eat horse food?" Could it be that the food in your battalion is different from that in my battalion? ”

Tian Zhong ignored him, carefully looked at Xiao Lan, who was red-faced, and pretended to be angry and said: "Thin, thin, Xiao Lan, you still pack up your things and follow me to the Bingcao camp, the general only knows how to summon you, that Li boy probably doesn't have the heart and lungs and doesn't know how to feel sorry for you, so let's go to my Bingcao camp." ”

Li Hong couldn't help laughing, shook his head again and again, and walked aside with the documents sent by Xiao Lan.

Tian Zhong and Xiao Lanye sat together and talked affectionately.

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Sending Xiaolan away, Tian Zhong touched his goatee with a smile and sighed: "Lord Zhu is blessed, raising such a good daughter, if it is my ......"

"Don't be satisfied, Xiaolan is so good to you, I look jealous." Li Hong smiled, "Zishan Zilong and I snatched her out, and I haven't even heard a word of thanks until now, what about you?" You see how affectionate she shouts and shouts you, and she can't wait to throw herself into your arms and be coquettish. Li Hong shook his head and sighed deliberately, "Hey, I'm angry......"

"You're a general, and I still care if Xiaolan thanks you or not, I really don't have a stomach." Tian Dazhong laughed.

"Uncle, you are also a captain now." Li Hong asked, "How does it feel to be a captain?" ”

"Not good." Tian Zhong shook his head and said, "I'm too tired, things are endless, compared to when I was looking at the city gate in the endless city in the past, I feel that it is better to be a soldier." I'd rather go to the city gates than be this captain. ”

Li Hong smiled and said: "After this great victory over the Xianbei people, His Majesty was gracious, and three lieutenant generals, twelve captains, ten captains, and twenty-five officials in the army reached twenty-five......

"Your Excellency won't think it's the Emperor's grace, right?" Tian Zhong smiled faintly, "In the current Great Han Kingdom, even the Marquis of Guannei is flying all over the sky, not to mention any officials with two thousand stones. He said a little angrily, "How many battles have we fought?" How many people died? If you look at others, the powerful family of the gate lords, the rich and rich, which one does not have the Hou of Guannei? What family doesn't have an official with two thousand stones? Others buy with money, and we exchange our lives for it, which is also called the emperor's grace? ”

Li Hong smiled slightly and did not speak.

"What kind of He Miao, relying on the fact that he is a relative of the emperor, using tens of thousands of elites of the Northern Army to fight a little traitor, he was actually named a general of the Che Cavalry by the Son of Heaven, Marquis of Jiyang, phew!" Tian Zhong spat at the ground and scolded loudly, "What bullshit." ”

Li Hong laughed, shook his hand at him, and said: "Okay, okay, you will scold you if you don't seal your official position, and you will scold even more fiercely if you seal your official position, you don't care about this captain, but someone cares, don't say this in the future, so as not to be impeached." ”

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Li Hong immediately picked up the paper and handed it to Tian Chongdao: "This is written by Li Zhongyuan, he said that because of the large number of vehicles and weapons in the army, it is recommended to form another battalion in the army to use vehicles and weapons in order to give full play to the great power of vehicles. ”

Tian Zhong didn't look at it, put the bamboo slip on the desk, and praised: "This idea is good, Li Xiaozi is very discerning." The limited number of soldiers in the Bingcao battalion has not been able to concentrate on these vehicles, and I have been worrying about this for the last few days. More than 1,000 vehicles and equipment are placed there, and they can only be seen, not used, which is really annoying. That's a good idea. ”

"Another battalion of military vehicles?" Li Hong asked, "But these vehicles are mainly ballistas, unless you attack and defend the city, it is difficult to exert power, you see......"

"We used it once when we were blocking the Xianbei people in Qingshi Mountain, and the effect was very good." "If we can use these vehicles in field battles, we will have greatly reduced casualties and increase our chances of winning the match." ”

"What about transportation?"

"It's a question for them to figure it out on their own." Tian Zhong said, "Is the meal ready, do you want us to feed it?" ”

Li Hong nodded and said with a smile: "Then who is the right person to lead the army battalion?" ”

"Zhang He, let Zhang He go, I like this kid. I still remember when we first arrived in Jizhou, this kid suddenly came out from behind us with grain, grass and soldiers, and startled us. Tian Zhong said with a smile, "This kid has a good brain and is also cautious, so it must be the most suitable for him to lead the army battalion." ”

"In addition, I suggest that Yin Si be his marching horse."

"Oh?" Li Hong asked in surprise, "Why?" Because he's proficient in these vehicles? ”

"Of course, it's a waste to put such a genius in your camp." Tian Chongle said happily, "Don't look at his young age, but he has the ability." I told you that he wanted to make that big cart for throwing stones, and if he made that thing, it would be very powerful, wouldn't it just be right to strengthen the strength of the military chariot battalion? ”

Li Hong nodded again and again, and said with a smile: "Okay, okay, after I discuss this matter with Yu Xing and Zilie, I will arrange it immediately." ”

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Li Hong immediately thought of something, and said to Tian Chong: "Last time, you said that you wanted to allocate some money to Yin Si, did you just make this stone-throwing cart?" ”

"Yes, there are some other ordnance. This kid has a lot of weird things in his head, and I'm going to let him make them all. Perhaps we can find a few practical weapons that will be used on the battlefield in the future and also reduce the casualties of soldiers. ”

Li Hong smiled: "Uncle, you have to save money." We didn't leave much left when we were in Xiliang, we used a little less, and if we needed anything in the future......"

Tian Zhong smiled, leaned into Li Hong's ear and whispered a few words, Li Hong suddenly said in disbelief: "There are so many ......"

Tian Zhong sat to the side triumphantly and said with a smile: "So I said that Li Zhongyuan, this kid has vision, without his idea, where would he get so much money now." General, when Zhong Yuan and Xiao Lan get married in the future, we have to give a heavy gift, otherwise, I'm sorry for Li Xiaozi's idea. ”

"How did I not know?" Li Hong asked strangely, "When did Zhong Yuan come up with this idea?" ”

"When you leave Wing City." Tian Zhong said with a smile, "That night, everyone gave you food, Li Xiaozi and I sat together and chatted, I said that the soldiers were poor, and the military salary could not be paid. He said, that's not easy to do, there are rich businessmen in Chang'an City, find a few reliable, give them some money, let them run on their behalf, and they can make money immediately, and the wealth will be rolling. I said, "Is that okay?" The boy looked at me with contempt, like a beggar, and he said, "Why not, the court and local bureaucrats not only make a fortune by embezzlement, but also make money by this method, or many bureaucrats will not be officials later, but will be richer than when they were officials?" ”

"The first time I heard about these things, I was stupid, and I said that those scholars and bureaucrats don't look down on businessmen? How can you deal with businessmen? Li Xiaozi said that if you look down on you, you will look down on it, but no one wants to get along with money, and you still have to communicate when you should have a relationship. He said that although many bureaucrats of the world seem to be safe, they actually send their henchmen to run around in private, and even today they send people to make a lot of money by secretly trading and making a lot of money. ”

"And then I said, 'Is there anyone in the army doing this?' He said too much, from the northern and southern armies in the capital to the border army, as long as there is a military attache with brains, there is no one who does not do this. So I asked him, what money do they use to do it? Li Xiaozi said, it's too simple, use military salaries, otherwise when you don't fight, where will you be in arrears of military salaries? You adults are powerful and incorruptible, and you will not use military salaries, but you have money in your hands that was withheld during the fight against corruption, and you can use that money. ”

"I didn't dare tell you at the time. Later, I discussed carefully with Lord Xianyu, Lord Xu, and Lord Koji, and felt that this method was good, so Lord Koji sent someone to Chang'an to find his two brothers. Both of his brothers were in business, and you know that. When they heard the news, they hurried to the scene and said yes. ”

"They sent someone to me the other day and said we had made a fortune. Because they had received our news in advance and knew that the Xianbei people had begun to attack the Northland County, they hoarded a large amount of grain and various supplies. After the news that the Xianbei people entered Beidi County and endangered Guanzhong spread, everyone in the Guanzhong area panicked, so the price of things increased, so they ......"

"Grain? Where did they get so much food? Li Hong asked strangely, "Aren't all the grain in Guanzhong given to us?" ”

"I heard that it was transported from Yangzhou through a merchant named Xu Ling, and that merchant made a fortune because of it."

Li Hong smiled happily: "It's good to get rich, otherwise we will be subject to the imperial court in everything, and it will be very troublesome in the future." I'll talk to them again right away to see if there are other ways to make money. ”

Tian Chong laughed when he heard this: "I can't see that you are greedy for money like Your Majesty, haha......"

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