"It's raining?"

In the dripping rain, Gao Renhou, whose eyebrows and eyes were deep and heavy, also boarded the Qixingdu outside Yuzhou City with a body of moisture.

Then I saw a group of officials in green robes in the rain, led by an official in a light scarlet robe, who greeted them with umbrellas; Behind him are also several Zhanzi (lifting frames) with a hood.

"The lower official has seen the attacker."

"Thanks to the envoy to bring troops to the rescue, it's really..."

However, Gao Renhou was ostentatious at this moment, and passed by the crowd who were familiar with it, and went straight to the state gate located at a high place with his generals; Immediately, these local state officials were embarrassed to hang in place.

However, the leading official gritted his teeth, wiped the rain splashed on his face, and hurriedly followed. He is Tian Wei, the assassin of Yuzhou, who forcibly climbed to Tian Lingzi in Chengdu to become an official.

It's just that the talent and luck are not very good, and it didn't take long for him to become an official when he encountered the rebellion of Han Shengxiu in Fuzhou, and he was helpless to sit idly by. When he led his troops westward, he actually abandoned the city and fled to Luzhou upstream for refuge;

As a result, almost all of the cities in Yuzhou, except for Ba County, which was backed by a city wall, fell into the hands of the rebels. Qu Congxing was able to connect villages everywhere, and many water villages were built along the river, and many boats and boats were gathered to guard against the crusading officers and troops upstream.

As a result, the upstream crusading army had not yet arrived, but the fundamental land of Fuzhou was attacked by the Jingnan army that followed Song Hao into Shu; Qu Congxing hurriedly sent a boat to the south to rescue, but Song Hao took advantage of the situation to ambush and break through the White Horse Salt Field outside Fuling City, and only fled into Fuling City alone.

Then the men and horses who stayed in Yuzhou naturally dispersed without a fight; Tian Xun hurriedly rode the crusade army to arrive, and ran back from Luzhou to fight for the credit of protecting the territory of the thieves.

Then he fled from Fuzhou to the scattered place, and again heard that the Jingnan army downstream was also defeated by the thief army that came out of the Xiajiang River; I couldn't help but be frightened and restless again; It's just that this time I didn't have time to run, and finally waited for the news of the arrival of the Xichuan army with high benevolence upstream.

Thinking of this, Tian Wei gritted his teeth and said loudly to the officials and subordinates behind him:

"As you can see, this high fighter is not a good match; Now he is coming with a great victory to pacify Shuxi, but I am afraid that the swords and guns in my hands are not sharp enough, and I am not decisive enough. ”

"Self-ranking colleagues and officials, it's better to go back and sum up how to come up with enough sincerity to tide over the current difficulties."

Then in the palace of the nest of the birds,

"This Song Hao is really not a top deal. The Jingnan army had 20,000 horses, and there was the danger of the Xiajiang River, so it was defeated. ”

Gao Jingcheng, the gun general, also complained loudly

“。 What is the origin of this Taiping thief, who dares to offend the land of my sword. The defeat of burning the battalion and ambushing 100,000 corpses in the original battle of Kuimen is not enough to teach a lesson. ”

"And don't underestimate the enemy. Although the Jingnan Army is a newly recruited army, the loyal soldiers under the command of Song Jieya are one of the few strong forces in the Central Plains; Nowadays, there are still most thieves in the pass. ”

Gao Renhou interrupted him with a straight face, and then he said to another soldier who wanted to borrow Liu Cunyi.

"The pacification strategy of the place, you still need to pay more attention to it, and you must prevent some people from hiding the disadvantages of women and children, the old and the weak. Tell those soldiers that if they can kill less, they will kill less, and if they can, they will not kill. ”

"It's really well-intentioned. A certain must do his best. ”

The army wanted to borrow Liu Cunyi, and immediately agreed.

"It's not that I'm a strong man, but it's that the people of this world are already miserable enough; Even if they are thieves, they are mostly coerced and bewitched, or they are involuntarily unable to survive. ”

However, Gao Renhou sighed a little helplessly and embarrassed.

"However, since we are deeply favored by the emperor and have to fight with swords, then we can judge the situation and reduce some superfluous killings, and try to affect some people as little as possible."

Hearing this, all the subordinates present couldn't help but look at this high-ranking man with reverence. After all, he is a general of the Bohai Gao clan from a family of forbidden soldiers; Since childhood, he has read military books and has all kinds of skills such as horseback, horse, horse, and archery, and he is promoted to the captain of the prison gate with the martial arts "knowledge and strategy".

In that year, he was ordered by Tian Lingzi to escort Chen Jingxuan into Shu to serve as a general of the Shence Army to serve in Xichuan Town.

However, this Gao Zheng, who has a lot of connections with the "pillar of the country" Gao Bohai, is also a real character who is consistent in his words and deeds in daily life; In addition to his outstanding martial arts in fighting and pacifying, he is also good at recruiting soldiers without fighting;

At the beginning, the rebellion in Shuxi, which lasted for several states, was pacified, and tens of thousands of rebellious troops were appeased; pinched the head and tail before and after, but only officially killed six people. Among them, in addition to the five thieves led by Qian Neng who were abandoned to the city, that is, a thief who was afraid of the thief was killed and sacrificed the flag, so as to deter the army's heart.

It is a proverb in the world: "High benevolence, true benevolence; When you are benevolent, you can live. ”

"But where should Chen Envoy Jun and Tian Gong explain, at the beginning, it was said that all the expediency of the attack should be cut off, but this time it is an additional amount of money that needs to be worshipped."

Gao Jingcheng, the gun general, immediately said a little worried again.

"I can only think of some ways from these places, since I don't have a thirst for those small people, I should fall between the local officials and gentry, and I used to keep those hands and tails outside the city. Isn't that what I'm going to do? ”

Gao Renhou said with a smile.

"It is difficult to escape the blame for making this situation under the rule of the incumbent, and it is necessary to let them cut a large share of their net worth to explain. In addition, there are some rewards and gains in my account that have not been used, and they can be handed over to make up for one or two; ”

"It's too much to beg and be harsh on yourself. I'm afraid that those people haven't been able to comprehend this painstaking effort.,But they're going to slander your reputation.。。 ”

The army wants to borrow Liu Cunyi, and he is also worried.

"As long as you can have a clear conscience about yourself, what is a little infamy and slander afterwards."

Gao Renhou shook his head and sighed.

"It is precisely because the world is so unbearable that my generation must insist on our own heart and set an example for a while. Now when the country is in danger, only then will you see the hope of the imperial court and the future of the country. ”

"This is simply a clear stream of light in the muddy world."

Liu Cunyi couldn't help but sigh from the bottom of his heart in his heart.

However, he immediately became worried and worried, such a person from a famous family and rare upright, but he didn't know how far he could go in this world full of filth.

However, at this time, there was a sudden ragged noise outside, and then there was a faint shout of killing mixed in; And Gao Renhou couldn't help but be alert. After all, as the first to come on the same ship, there are only five people in this city now.

As he rushed out of the palace with all his clothes in place, he climbed to the nearest gatehouse in the inner city and looked away. I found that the corresponding noisy shouting sound mainly came from outside the Waiguojiao Gate in the northeast. Immediately, it was reported that:

"The suspected thief army attacked the Fang market outside the Zhen'an Gate. Just as it was being carried into the city. ”

In the rain, Wang Qiu, whose body was splashed with mud and blood, also looked at the city gate in the rapid restoration of order, and still blew the whistle to send a message to retreat.

Originally, it was just a temporary military reconnaissance, but I didn't expect that the officers and troops guarding the city were so empty and weak; Almost at the touch of a button, it collapsed into a spontaneous wave of fleeing people.

However, the rain that gradually began to sink in did provide some convenience for their surprise attacks and armed reconnaissance, but it also greatly weakened the effectiveness of the corresponding fire attacks and other means of destruction.

On the river boat in another place, there were also people who complained loudly in front of Yang Maoyan, the deputy of the Xichuan Army, who was in charge of raising funds for use along the way.

"He is not necessarily benevolent at all, and all he thinks about on weekdays is to invite fame and reputation, but he is exchanging the benefits and future of our sons."

"We are not allowed to kill more people, and we are not allowed to rob things by ourselves, what will we take along the way to reward our sons. Just rely on the little things that those big families worship and donate, and provide a few meals of wine and meat can deal with it? ”

"What kind of days did I live in the camp of the West Mountain, and what days did I live when I was guarding the saints. On the way to this solicitation, what kind of days have you lived? Instead of letting us take the food, clothing, and livestock of those thieves, we also want to give them the land and materials to settle in. ”

"Since he doesn't follow the rules, does he still have to pull us to suffer and suffer together? You can't afford to let him do it this time. When you go to the place, you should also let the brothers have a good meal and food. ”

"However, after all, we are the officials and soldiers of the imperial court, so we still have to pay attention to the wind and behavior."

Yang Maoyan, who seemed to be moved, hesitated.

"The praise and reputation of those ant-like lowly people have another egg, but they are dragged down to tie their hands and feet and can't do anything; Isn't it a self-inflicted trouble to waste money, food, and materials in vain? ”

- I'm the dividing line -

In Xiangyang City, Zhou Huai'an also dealt with a sudden diplomatic affair again. But it was General Zuo Jinwu from the imperial court in Qianzhou (now Pengshui County, Chongqing City), and Gao Tai sent someone to contact Taiping?

This Gao Tai is also one of the clansmen of the Bohai Gao clan; Just like the former Jiaozhou Assassin Shi Gao, who was working as a public servant in Guangfu, he belonged to one of the pro-parties who were elected and commissioned after Pingshuzhong and Annan in Gaoyu Town.

But this observer in Qianzhong (present-day southwestern Hunan, northern Guizhou, and parts of northeastern Yunnan) on the edge of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau; Although it has 15 counties including Qianzhou, Fuzhou, Yizhou, Sizhou, Guanzhou, Nanzhou, Zhenzhou, Qinzhou, Banzhou, Chenzhou, Jinzhou, Xuzhou, Xizhou, Shizhou, and Xiangzhou, there are only about 52 counties.

Moreover, most of them are remote and widowed, barren and poor, and barbarians mixed with middle and lower class counties; The local production is mainly mineral deposits such as dansha and soil salt; Coupled with the relatively mountainous and closed geographical environment, it was really a marginal area that was easily ignored and ignored in the late Tang Dynasty.

It is even more remote than the Annam Metropolitan Protectorate, which is located in the southernmost part of the Tang Dynasty. Compared with Guiguan and Huguan, which are all over the Lingxi Mandong surname, the only advantage in Qianzhong is that the local Tu forces are more fragmented and scattered, and since the first Dadu Governor Zhao Guozhen has been under the long-term influence of the Tang Dynasty, the degree of civilization and centripetal force are higher.

This time, Gao Tai, as an observer, took the initiative to send people to contact the rebel force of the Taiping Army; However, it was to discuss the need to communicate with each other from Wu, Chen, and Shizhuzhou, which are adjacent to Jinghu, and even to reopen the ancient trade routes through the road, that is, the ancient tea horse road in the traditional southwest interior.

The reason is also very simple, because this line has been cut off and stagnant for a long time due to the obstruction of the war; As an observer of Qianzhong, the direct land output and population under his rule were limited, and he could not support too many troops.

Therefore, a large part of the financial and material resources needed to maintain local government and military and civilian non-commissioned officers depend on taxes and other additional revenues from the transit trade routes. As the starting point of the ancient road, the most important tea-producing areas also have two places in this era, one is Jiannan Sanchuan Road, and the other is Hunan (tea cultivation on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau has not yet emerged).

Nowadays, the tea produced in Jiannan Province is mainly to go north to Yazhou, Songzhou to Tubo, East Tianzhu (Sichuan-Tibet Road), and through the south to Yaozhou, Qianzhou to the territory of Nanzhao to the Tonghai Jiedu envoys, and even along the Zhubo River (Irrawaddy River) basin into the country of Pi (Burma) and South Tianzhu (Bangladesh).

Now the Taiping army's behavior of attacking Shuzhong along the Xiajiang River is also tantamount to threatening and cutting off the waterway passage between Qianzhong Road and Shuzhong in disguise; In addition, since Tang Xizong's line entered Shu, Tian Lingzi has asked for a lot of worship for the surrounding counties in the name of supporting the Ouchi; Qianzhong Road is not exempt.

It is now that this general Zuo Jinwu, the observation of Qianzhong has made Gao Tai's position a little unstable; Because he was originally lacking in wealth and unable to enter the service, Lingwai was still a Huainan Gaobiao family who was at odds with the imperial court, and he could be replaced by a successor from Shu at any time.

It is not surprising that they even tried to secretly fight the rebel forces. However, coincidentally, the imperial court forces that secretly dealt with the Taiping Army were not inferior to his family, and someone had already been in front of him.

For example, the largest buyer of imported goods from the South China Sea to Guangzhou, and then trafficked to the southeast, as well as all kinds of treasures and luxury goods, is actually Yangzhou, where Huainan Town is located, which can't help but make people feel a little strange and take it for granted.

Moreover, the benefits of opening this ancient tea horse road, in addition to the gains and profit markets along the way brought by the trafficking of horse gangs, can also secretly squeeze and compete for the sources of wealth and interest in Shu.

It is equivalent to opening up a commercial channel that can generate income and weaken the financial resources of the imperial court in disguise with a negligible investment (relative to the place of origin). Why not do such a good thing.

Even if there is a recurrence and vacillation after the fact, it is only a test of limited losses, but it can further explore the situation in the southwestern states and counties, and introduce some new species.

For example, Zhou Huai'an was very interested in the mountain horse breed of this era, the Qianzhong horse, and a large amount of Tugong output of beeswax, dansha, bran, crude drug, rhino horn, and cowhide, which was also a supplement to the production system being established in Jinghu. It can be said that it is a conclusion that can be counted in one fell swoop.

So, Zhou Huai'an decided to call the big tea merchant Wang Po in Guanzhong first; At the same time, let the tea merchant guild in Canton also nominate a representative to jointly operate and open up such a new route.

(End of chapter)