"..."

Zhao Ting'er returned to Shangyang Garden and saw Han Qian standing alone in the courtyard of the dormitory. There was no one waiting around in the courtyard. He came over and asked,

"Did Lu Qingxia, Yao Xishui and the others be escorted back to Luoyang?"

"I was escorted back. I saw them in Lingyun Pavilion before dusk. Their mouths were as hard as boiled ducks before they died. I wanted to see them begging for mercy with snot and tears, but they didn't. I was disappointed.

"Han Qian said with a smile.

"Do you really want to send them to Jinling?" Zhao Ting'er asked, "Send Lu Qingxia and Zhou Yuan to Jinling. The half-brothers and sisters of Yao Xishui and Li Zhigao will still be left to Li Zhigao to deal with."

"That was my original plan, but before noon Li Zhigao sent a secret letter, praising Feng Xuan for his general demeanor, and saying that when he led his troops into Chengzhou two years ago, he was hit by an enemy arrow in the left ankle, leaving behind a secret

He was ill and suffered unbearable pain every time it rained or snowed. He wanted to resign from his post as the Longyou Xuan Comfort Envoy. Feng Xuan would take over and lead the Longyou Army to attack Fengxiang from the west wing." Han Qian put his arm around Zhao Ting'er's shoulders and said, "He

He didn’t say it clearly in the letter, but he wanted to trade his fame and wealth for the lives of Lu Qingxia, Zhou Yuan and the others..."

"Oh, I didn't expect that Li Zhigao would not forget his friendship with Lu Qingxia - yes, Lu Qingxia brought trouble to the world, but no matter what, he still kept the lineage of the previous dynasty intact." Zhao Ting'er was quite surprised and said with emotion.

At that time, a palace coup was launched to murder Emperor Yanyou Yang Yuanpu, Lu Qingxia, and Zhou Yuan were the chief culprits. In the eyes of the Chu court, what they committed was an unpardonable crime.

However, when it comes to the attitude of the people in Daliang towards Lu Qingxia, Zhou Yuan and others, they are somewhat dispensable.

The relationship between Han Qian and Emperor Yanyou Yang Yuanpu was already in name only from the moment he escaped from Fanchang City on the pretext of not discussing the marriage; Yang Yuanpu's death was even promoted by Han Qian behind the scenes.

And if Yang Yuanpu had not died and Han Qianchan succeeded to the throne of Daliang, Liang and Chu would not have been able to negotiate a peace agreement. Daliang would have faced dangers and difficulties that were many times more dangerous than imagined.

From this point of view, Lu Qingxia launched a palace coup and assassinated Emperor Yanyou Yang Yuanpu, which actually contributed to Daliang but had no fault.

As for Lu Qingxia, Zhou Yuan defected to the Mongol people and helped them deal with Daliang. Even in the past, they targeted Xuzhou and Tangyi everywhere, but they did not have any effect.

However, at this time, Daliang was still professing vassalage to the Chu court. After Zhao Mengji sent Lu Qingxia and Zhou Yuan to Luoyang, he should send them to Jinling for trial. This could also ease the tense relationship between Liang and Chu.

relation.

At present, the power of the Chu Ting's young war faction has been on the rise. If they detain Lu Qingxia and Zhou Yuan in Luoyang instead of taking them to Jinling, they will lose their pretext, and eventually the Chu Ting courtiers will become angry, and it is very likely that they will quickly

As a result, Chu Ting's attitude towards Daliang became tougher.

The problem now is that Li Zhigao must protect them, even at the cost of handing over military power, to save the lives of Lu Qingxia and Zhou Yuan, but they cannot ignore Li Zhigao's request.

However, by agreeing to Li Zhigao's request and leaving Lu Qingxia, Zhou Yuan and others in Luoyang without handing them over, it was not simply asking Li Zhigao to hand over his military power. Han Qian also wanted to use Li Zhigao to lead the army in battle, and he did not need him to hand over his military power.

However, as long as Li Zhigao is willing to cooperate, the General Staff Office can better transform and reorganize the Liangzhou Army, thus better solving the problem that Liangzhou is still half-established at this time, and making Liangzhou and its generals more capable.

Completely integrated into the beam.

Of course, this matter and Zhao Mengji's surrender will undoubtedly involve the sensitive nerves of the Shu Kingdom.

Zhao Ting'er asked: "What are you going to do? Are you going to give Li Zhigao's letter to Feng Liao and the others? Or are you going to imprison Lu Qingxia and the others first and wait until Guanzhong is recovered?"

"That's all we can do for now," Han Qian said, "I was planning to write a letter to Li Zhigao, telling him not to worry too much and to concentrate on fighting this battle first, and then talk about other things after Guanzhong is recovered..."

…………

…………

Anji Xiang always felt that he was out of tune with the atmosphere in Luoyang. After staying in Dutingyi for a few days, he rushed to the You Neishi Prefecture's Li Division to find Feng Liao, and asked for a job as a councilor for the establishment of the Mengzhou Prefecture.

Before the end of the month, he took the official ship and rushed back to Mengzhou to take up his post.

Zhao Mengji imprisoned Lu Qingxia, Zhou Yuan and others, and secretly infiltrated Luoyang. The Mongolian army and the Dongliang army had naturally noticed the abnormality long ago, and also began to strengthen the defense of Jincheng in the northern section of Taihang County and the walled city on the south bank of the Yu River. However, the Mongolian army at that time

And the Dongliang Army still more or less harbored the illusion that Zhao Mengji had turned around, or thought that Zhao Mengji only intended to occupy Mengzhou and preserve his strength.

Zhao Mengji led the Mengzhou garrison to formally raise the flag, and escorted Lu Qingxia, Zhou Yuan and the Mongolian army officials stationed in Mengzhou to Luoyang. The Mongolian army and the Dongliang army were still greatly alarmed.

Anxiang stopped his boat at the Nanguan River Pier and landed. He could see that in Bianliang and Wuzhi territory, the Dongliang Army was driving tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians to build strongholds on the south bank.

To the east of Mengzhou are Huaizhou and Weizhou, which are both former counties in Hanoi, and further east are Weibo and Weizhou, one of the three towns in Heshuo.

The old county of Hanoi and the town of Weibo are located north of the Yu River, south of the Taihang Mountains and in the southeastern area of ​​the Taihang Mountains. The terrain is connected. If Liang Jun wants to attack Huaizhou, Weizhou and Weibo in the east, he must start from Mengzhou

It is most convenient to send troops.

However, even if Anji Xiang was not involved in the secret, he knew very well that it was unrealistic for the Mengzhou Army, whose military morale and morale had not yet truly stabilized, to attack the important town of Weibo guarded by the Dongliang Army; and the main force of the Liang Army

Elite, the focus of this year's operations is in Guanzhong.

When he returned to Mengzhou, when the official ship approached the Nanguan River dock, he saw that the dam that the Mongolian army had filled in to cut off the Yu River between the southeast of Mengzhou and Wuzhi was already filled with soldiers and civilians.

On the side of the dam approaching the south bank, I saw that hundreds of soldiers had built a simple defense barrier using obstacles such as horses and deer antlers. After the barrier, hundreds of soldiers gathered with shields and crossbows to guard against the enemy troops on the south bank from entering the dam.

dam.

On the water to the west of the dam, there are still several warships moored, jointly forming a blockade against the Dongliang Army on the south bank of the embankment.

On the north side of the fortification, a huge gap has been dug, and thousands of strong civilians, like a colony of ants, are constantly transporting the excavated soil back to the north bank.

At present, the gap has been dug to a depth of more than two feet, and the flood season of the Yu River has not yet arrived, so the water level of the Yu River is still more than ten feet from the bottom of the gap currently dug.

At that time, the Mongolian army forced tens of thousands of civilians to dig and build a dam to cut off the Yu River. After that, civilians were recruited to reinforce it every year, so that the current dam was formed, which is flush with the embankments on both sides of the bank and is more than 12 feet wide at the top.

In a short period of time, Mengzhou only used three to five thousand able-bodied civilians, and it was impossible to completely dig the dam. However, after the flood season of the Yu River came, it was still possible to pass through the gap and divert part of the flood from the upper reaches of the Yu River.

Import old ways.

Of course, seeing a newly built dredger docked at the dock, Anji Xiang thought that if Yique Shuiying Dazhai built more special dredgers, the dam might be dug faster.

Anji Xiang returned to Mengzhou and wanted to have some time off, but he couldn't.

In the seventh year of Taihe, the focus of Daliang's military affairs was on the battle to regain Guanzhong on the west wing, while the east wing and northern front were mainly on construction and consolidation of the existing defense lines.

Even though Huaizhou, which is adjacent to Mengzhou, has only four to five thousand defense troops in all counties, Han Qian also clearly requested Mengzhou not to rush to use troops against Huaizhou, but to focus on reorganizing military and political affairs in the early stage.

In order to allow the Shu soldiers to take root in Mengzhou with peace of mind, Usu Dashi forcibly recruited tens of thousands of unmarried or widowed women from Zelu and other places, and deported them to Mengzhou, where they married Shu soldiers and had children. In Mengzhou, Heqing

A total of 40,000 military households were organized in the land and other areas and ordered to cultivate and cultivate the land.

Although there are 40,000 military households in Mengzhou, there is a big difference from the military households compiled by Chu, Shu, Dongliang and Mengwu in Heshuo and Yanyun.

That is the military households (military households) in countries such as Chu and Shu. Each household has almost two or three adults. Usually, each household only needs to send one adult to perform four to six months of military service every year, which is the main rank.

, the other young men are called Yu Ding. Under normal circumstances, they do not need to perform military service and only need to participate in drills during leisure time.

In other words, even during the war, the military service of military households may be extended indefinitely, but military households can at least ensure that there are one or two young and strong laborers to maintain farming.

Each of the military households compiled by Mengzhou only had one young man, and they were all enlisted in the army. The children they gave birth to were still very young. The farming in the fields was all done by the women who were kidnapped into marriage. You can imagine the hardship of their lives.

.

Thousands of people die from overwork or hunger every year.

In addition to being far away from home, this is also a major reason why the Mengzhou Army's combat effectiveness has always been unsatisfactory.

The most urgent thing now is not to clear the land, implement a new tax system, and take over local political affairs, but to convert all 40,000 military households into civilian households and dismantle most of the 10,000-strong garrison to make up for the needs of farming as much as possible.

labor force, allowing them to truly recuperate and recuperate.

As a reward for the generals who returned to Yiyi, even the generals who were dismissed this time will be allocated fifteen acres of paddy and dry land and some necessary relief materials at one time.

For those military attaches and generals who have retired from active service, the allotment of land will be increased to thirty acres. If they are educated, they are also recommended to participate in the official examination organized by the county and serve as county or township officials.

Some people even miss their homeland very much and want to return to Shu to reunite with their families. Luoyang is currently sending people to Chengdu to negotiate. As long as Wang Yong, the leader of Shu, agrees to accept it, they will be given travel expenses to help them return home.

Of course, considering that the Shu Kingdom is increasingly wary of Daliang, even if Wang Yong, the Lord of Shu, is willing to accept some Shu soldiers returning home, the number of places is estimated to be quite limited.

Anji Xiang guessed that only the aristocratic clans that continued to hold a certain amount of power after Wang Yong, the leader of Shu, seized the throne, would find a way to bring back their children who had been living abroad for so many years.

Generals and soldiers from the lower classes and ordinary military households have always had the fate of drifting with the tide. Perhaps staying in Mengzhou to settle down is the best destination for them.

Mengzhou will eventually select brave and strong soldiers, retain the recruiting staff of three integrated infantry brigades, be responsible for local defense, and organize them into the Xingyang Marching Army.

Zhao Mengji stayed in Mengzhou as the magistrate of Mengzhou Prefecture, the commander of the capital, and the deputy capital of the Xingyang Camp Army. He accepted the Xingyang Prefecture system for military defense and established the prefecture, and the Xingyang Camp Army was under the control of Han Donghu...

In addition to using military tactics and not encountering any opponents, Han Qian has been able to accept the Wen family and the Li family in recent years. He severely punished Chen Kun, an old Liang general who killed women and children in the Rongyang battle, and treated prisoners of war favorably.

He was able to integrate well into the old Tangyi military system and was given important tasks. He was also very patient in solving the Liangzhou problem. He even boldly used Li Zhigao and Chai Jian as the main generals in the west wing to attack Guanzhong, and even used Zhu Yu's son to lead the army.

Showing the true magnanimity and magnanimity of a hero.

And these are precisely the reasons why Zhao Mengji finally let down his guard.

Anji Xiang didn't know how much alarm Mengzhou's surrender to Daliang would cause to the Dongliang Army and the Mongolian Army, but the news must have reached Fengxiang, and the impact on Wang Xiaoxian and his troops would certainly be considerable.

Anji Xiang walked into Mengzhou Mansion and saw Zhao Mengji talking about his trip to Luoyang, meeting Han Qian's many experiences, and also noticed Gu Mingfu and some other old faces, and even protected Zhao Mengji's eldest son, Yuhou, the capital of Yuan Yajun

Zhao Shuo is missing.

He didn't need to ask in detail. Zhao Shuo, Gu Mingfu and others must have rushed to meet up with Chai Jian or Li Zhigao so that they could persuade Wang Xiaoxian and his generals to surrender...

…………

…………

"Marquis Wei, if you put down your halberd and surrender now, you can still spend the rest of your years in peace. If you want to go to Jianghuai to reunite with your wife and children, your Majesty will do your best to facilitate it..."

After the Qizhou City was captured, tens of thousands of soldiers surrounded the inner city. Li Zhigao, wearing battle armor and surrounded by more than a hundred guards, walked slowly two hundred steps away from the south gate of the inner city of Qizhou, reined in the reins, and stopped at the Chang'an Gate.

On the street, he said in a vibrating voice.

Zhao Mengji's surrender greatly weakened Wang Xiaoxian's will to resist.

Chai Jian led his sons Chai Xun, Zhou Tong, and Hao Zixia to attack the city. Wang Fan, Xiang Zhen, Zhao Feixiong, and other defenders of Fengzhou, Meiwu, and Chencang Walled City successively led their troops to surrender. Li Zhigao, Feng Xuan,
To be continued...