Chapter 239: Thieves

Chen Cheng said that there were other things to deal with today, not to deceive Wei Li, but to really have something more urgent than receiving the imperial envoys. After Wei Li left angrily, Yang Qiu, who had been waiting for a long time, was quickly brought in by the tooth soldiers.

After Yang Qiu sat down, Chen Cheng asked, "Song Jian is the king?" What's going on? ”

Yang Qiu had a happy look on his face, and he said to Chen Cheng: "Song Jian called himself the king of the Han Dynasty in Heshou in Caohan ten days ago, set up a hundred civil and military officials, and established a title system. Lord, Song Jian is the opposite! ”

Well, even if Song Jian rebelled, why are you so happy?

"Of course, it's because I can send troops to fight!" Yang Qiu said loudly: "From last year to now, we have built so many armor weapons and trained for so long, now is the time when the soldiers are full of food, Song Jian dares to rebel, we will send troops to destroy him!" ”

In Liangzhou under Chen Cheng's rule, for the soldiers, only by fighting could they be promoted and rich. Yang Qiu has already achieved the Shangshu of the Ministry of War, it is difficult to rise further, and the wealth of the family is already inexhaustible for several lifetimes. But fighting is something he is good at and likes to do, and now that he heard that Song Jian was the opposite, how could he not be excited?

While he was talking, Yan Zhong, Zhao Yun, Wang Yue, and Xu Chao all arrived.

After Chen Cheng and the others sat down, he said: "The military department got the news that Song Jian of Jiuquan has established himself as the king, so I called everyone over and discussed it together to see what to do about it." ”

Yan Zhong had the highest status and took the lead in saying, "What else is there to say about this?" Naturally, an army should be sent to fight immediately! ”

Everyone else also meant the same thing, even Xu Chao, who had always disapproved of outward expansion, said: "The first one is dead, this time the lord is just taking Song Jian's head to shock the princes of Liangzhou!" ”

In fact, Chen Cheng, the Liangzhou pastor, also claimed to be the king at the beginning, but now he can't see others calling him king. Speaking seriously, others have to call him a "double standard dog".

Chen Cheng pondered for a while and asked, "Song Jian dares to establish himself as the king, of course he must die." But why did he dare to do this? Doesn't he know the strength of our army? Or did he think that Cheng Yin, Ma Teng and the others would be on his side? ”

He said to Wang Yue, the assassin of Liangzhou: "You are in charge of the intelligence department, didn't you receive a little bit of news in advance?" ”

Wang Yue replied: "I have heard some news before, saying that Song Jian defeated the Wusun people to the west and seized hundreds of miles of land, but I have not heard that he has the intention of becoming king. ”

"I know something about this," Xu Chao said: "Last year, the princes of Liangzhou sent people to Yinchuan to ask for grain seeds, and at that time, the lord and the prince were different and sold the seeds to the princes from all walks of life. Song Jian once photographed more than 100 people over, bought a lot of grain seeds back, and then started planting in Jiuquan, and when the summer harvest this year, hundreds of thousands of stones had been harvested. Probably he felt that the soldiers had enough food, so he had the idea of becoming the king. ”

"Hey, in that case, it's still mine." Chen Cheng snorted and said, "How did Xu Shangshu know this?" ”

Although he was a little dissatisfied when he saw Chen Cheng, Xu Chao was not afraid, and he said calmly: "Before, the price of grain in other parts of Liangzhou was more than three times that of Beidi, and many people came to buy grain and then transported it to other places to sell. Since the beginning of this year, there have been almost no people trafficking in food. The minister is a household secretary, and he naturally has to ask about the tax less, so he learned about this situation. ”

Chen Cheng couldn't help but smile on his face and said, "Xu Shangshu has done a good job. ”

"Now that the reason is known, let's immediately send troops to fight." Chen Cheng turned his head to Zhao Yun and said, "How many tooth soldiers can be dispatched now?" ”

Zhao Yun immediately said: "The trapping camp and the Flying Bear Hussar have been practicing all the time, and they can be dispatched immediately." Together with a cavalry battalion that has already been trained, a total of 3,500 men can be dispatched. of them were 1,000 infantry, and 2,500 cavalry,"

Chen Cheng asked Yang Qiu again: "How many soldiers and horses can the military department mobilize in three days?" ”

Yang Qiumo calculated for a moment and replied: "Within three days, the Qianghu cavalry of Shuofang and Wuyuan will not be able to catch up, so they can only use the local garrison, and they can gather 6,000 people in three days, if they add Chengyi, Ma Teng will .........."

Chen Cheng shook his head and said, "Don't count other people's first. Three thousand five hundred tooth soldiers plus six thousand foot cavalry were enough to deal with Song Jian. This time, I don't plan to use the soldiers and horses of other princes, just let Cheng Yi and Cheng Yin along the way each bring 3,000 cavalry to follow. ”

Zhao Yun asked, "The lord still wants to personally lead the troops to the expedition this time?" ”

"Yes, just like last year, I personally led the troops to conquer Song Jian, and you take good care of the north."

Boss Yang Qiu disagreed, and shouted: "As the secretary of the military department, the minister should go to war with the army!" ”

Zhao Yun also said: "Since the minister commanded the tooth soldiers, he has not yet achieved the size of the merit, and this expedition must have my share." ”

Chen Cheng said with a smile: "Yang Shangshu is just that, Zilong, you are about to get married, what are you doing here?" Ma Teng has already come to Yinchuan again, just waiting for you and Miss Ma Yunlu to get married. ”

Zhao Yun said excitedly: "Marriage, private affairs. Conquest of rebellion is a public matter, so how can it be abolished for selfishness? ”

Yang Qiu was furious and said, "Servant Zhong Ling, you want to be in charge of the subordinate province, why do you still come to fight with me for the opportunity to lead troops to fight?" ”

Ever since defeating the Huns, Zhao Yun had been training tooth soldiers and knights, and although the latter had little success, the former had been very effective. In the two battles of Chen Cang and Liuchuan River, the Flying Bear Hussars and the Trap Camp all showed extraordinary combat effectiveness. Li Kan and Liang Xing also became famous because of this and became rising stars in Liangzhou.

However, those honors and praises don't seem to have much to do with Zhao Yun. As soon as others talk about him, they will say: "Ah, I know, Zhao Zilong, training is very powerful", as if he can only train soldiers. Martial generals need to prove themselves on the battlefield, although the tradition of "no marquis without military merits" since the Qin and Han dynasties has been almost destroyed, but for warriors like Zhao Yun and them, winning the battle is the only way to prove themselves.

Facing Zhao Yun, who couldn't even take care of his daughter-in-law in order to fight, Chen Cheng couldn't help but have a headache. It's a good thing that everyone is happy when they hear about the war, but it's different from his plan. He reassured Zhao Yundao: "Song Jian is just a small trouble, why should Zilong come out? The Northland is our foundation, and isn't it more important to be optimistic about this place than to go forward and fight? ”

Zhao Yun shook his head and said, "There are tens of thousands of reclamation troops near Yinchuan, where do you need me to sit here?" Although Song Jian only has one county, he can never be negligent in fighting because the enemy is weak. In addition, the drill manuals written before were only written behind closed doors, and if you want to continue to improve the training methods and tactics of the tooth soldiers, you need to personally participate in the battle. It's useless to just dream at home. ”

Chen Cheng said in his heart: What Zilong said is not unreasonable, but .........

He said to Zhao Yun: "We'll talk about this later." ”

Turning his head, he said to Yang Qiu again: "This time we have to dispatch close to 10,000 soldiers and horses, horses, armor and weapons, as well as dry food and other things to prepare a lot, can the military department take it out at once now?" ”

Yang Qiu said loudly: "Of course you can!" ”

He then said to Chen Cheng: "The lord has said that he will personally lead the troops to fight like last year. It just so happens that I also fought with my lord last year, and I have to follow it this time! ”

Last year, because of some things, Yang Qiu and Chen Cheng almost met each other. Later, he participated in the Eastern Crusade with him, also to dispel Chen Cheng's suspicions and prove his innocence. However, with him relinquishing control of the Northland counties, the estrangement between the monarchs and ministers has been removed, and Chen Cheng no longer intends to take him out to fight.

Of course, front-line operations are very important, but the overall arrangement of the rear, the transfer of military rations, and the replenishment of troops are equally important. Since Yang Qiu is the secretary of the military department, he should do his job well, instead of leading the troops to fight as a general.

Chen Cheng glared at him and said dissatisfiedly: "You really treat Song Jian as a waste material?" He can pull out four or five major armies under his command! Recently, he also defeated the Wusun people in the Western Regions and seized hundreds of miles of land! In the past this time, there may be a fierce battle to be fought, and I will need you to replenish my troops and food and grass in the back! ”

Yang Qiu sneered: "Song Jian and I are both from Liangzhou, who doesn't know who?" Of his forty or fifty thousand, a small half was used to make up the numbers. Of the rest, less than one-third of them have armor. He used to be a formidable enemy, but now? I don't need the lord to go out, I only need to bring 20,000 elites, and I can go over and destroy him! ”

Chen Cheng snorted and reprimanded: "The lion must fight the rabbit with all his might, let alone fight?" Before you start fighting, you look down on the enemy so much, if you really lead the troops, you will inevitably suffer! This time, just stay in Yinchuan and take a good look at this place for me! ”

Yan Zhong said with a smile: "Song Jian is just a clown who jumps off the beam, just send a general to lead the troops to recruit." He Jin sent someone to canonize the prince as the pastor of Liangzhou, this is the real big thing! ”

Yang Qiu scoffed at this and said, "The lord is the pastor of Liangzhou, why do you need the canonization of the imperial court?" I heard that he also named Zhang Yan of the Black Mountain Army as the general of the Pingnan Zhonglang, and Yang Feng of the Baibo Army as the general of the Zhonglang of the Dingnan. I don't think He Jin can do it, otherwise, how could he even win over people like Yang Feng and Zhang Yan? ”

After Guo Tai, the commander of the White Wave Army, was killed on the south bank of the Yellow River, and after a period of internal chaos, Yang Feng subdued the others and became the new commander of the White Wave Army.

Xu Wen has the lowest status, and he is still Yang Qiu's subordinate, although he has won Chen Chengxin's appointment, but he has always only listened and did not interject, and at this time he also said: "What Yang Shangshu said is extremely true, how can Zhang Yan and Yang Feng be compared with the lord?" ”

Chen Cheng thought it was very interesting, the Xiliang Army was called the Xiliang Thief Army by the imperial court, and it was a righteous rebel army, which was much more established than Zhang Yan's Black Mountain Army and Yang Feng's Baibo Army. Now these people in front of them regard Zhang Yan and Yang Feng as thieves, and in the eyes of the world, it is not certain who is more like a thief.

But this is also a good thing, indicating that the officials of Liangzhou have seen themselves as officials, not only bandits who know how to loot.