Moreover, Li Shi was in the area of Yaoshan for a long time, and he did nothing. An army of forty or fifty thousand people, fed by horses and men, and had to be transported from long distances.

Xue Li didn't understand what the emperor's intention was in sending troops this time.

In mid-April, Li Ji, a guerrilla general in charge of carrying grain and grass, led his men and horses to return to the front of the Yaoshan Army more than 10 days ahead of schedule.

He came and went so quickly that Li Shi was a little surprised after receiving the report.

What surprised him even more was that his nephew didn't bring a grain of grain or a single piece of grass! How many people went, and how many came back empty-handed!

As soon as he asked, Li Shi knew that Li Daozong, the king of Jiangxia, had not arranged grain and grass for Li Ji at all, which was really bold! What can the prince do! Aren't you afraid that you will play in the court?

"Uncle, although I didn't bring grain and grass, I brought a lot of silver."

"Where?"

"According to the instructions of Lord Gao of the Ministry of War, the advance 40,000 taels of silver have been sent to Fengtou City and handed over to General Xue Li, and there is also a letter from Lord Gao to General Xue."

In this way, Gao Jun is already with Li Daozong, "This is to let the army collect grain and grass on the spot, but what is the use of 40,000 taels!" ”

Li Shi looked at his nephew and found that he was also confused.

Li Ji was embarrassed to tell his uncle about the contest with Master Shangshu Gao of the Ministry of War.

But he remembered one thing, "Uncle, Master Gao said...... He agreed to stop letting me escort grain and grass, and let me make meritorious service in front of the army. ”

"He doesn't prepare grain and grass for us, what are you still escorting! Don't mention it, what about the horses? Since Gao Jun is in Yingzhou, why haven't any of the four thousand war horses I want arrived, what did he say? Li Shi asked.

"Uncle, I don't think this is what the prince of Jiangxia meant, but the idea of Lord Shangshu Gao of the Ministry of War. Because before I left, I heard Lord Gao say to King Jiangxia that the horses of Yingzhou were not suitable for fighting in the bitter cold area of Goryeo, and he wanted to set up another large ranch in Fengtou City to accompany the war horses used in the battlefield of Goryeo. ”

Li Shi smiled a little bitterly, Gao Jun's reason seemed to be "full", but now he was in the sedan chair, and he was clearly shelving his request to transfer another four thousand war horses.

And the military newspaper that he originally wanted to send directly to Chang'an must have been intercepted by Gao Jun after reading it in Yingzhou.

He said to Li Ji, "The first major event in the army is grain and grass...... You go, take your people to Fengtou City to find General Xue, just say that it is to assist him, and then see how he does it, and then come back to report to me. ”

"But uncle, who listened to whom I went? I am from the fifth rank to the lower rank, and he is the sixth rank to the upper level. ”

Li Shi glared and said, "Of course I listened to General Xue, sometimes, it is often not that you are of high grade and high energy." ”

Li Ji was not convinced, but the military order was difficult to disobey, so he pouted and went to Crested City.

Two days later, Li Ji came back once and reported to his uncle: General Xue had set up a pasture in Fengtou City and Longxing City. At the same time, the grain requisition notice was issued to the cities under the rule of Guangfa to purchase surplus grain from the people.

Li Ji excitedly said to his uncle, "I really didn't expect that this method is not bad!" I bought a bucket of polished rice for 20 yuan in Yingzhou, but it became two and a half buckets here! How many people have been saved? ”

Of course, Li Shi understands this truth, and the people in the mainland are more valuable than the local people in Goryeo. But he still remembered the two large pastures, so he asked his nephew, "But where did General Xue's horse come from?" One is two ranches, is it also a buy now? ”

Li Ji said that the ranch in Longxing City was still empty, but the ranch in Crested City was already full, a full 30,000!

"Huh? Three, thirty thousand?! Where are so many! ”

Li Ji "fluttered" Yile, "Uncle, it's a sheep!" ”

"Sheep?!?! How is a sheep? Why the fuck am I a sheep? ”

Li Jidao, "This is what Lord Gao instructed General Xue in his letter, saying that the army is working the front line, and General Xue wants to raise sheep in Fengtou City, so that our army will have mutton to eat!" When the time comes, take the whip and rush to the front of the army, and there is no need to pull the car on the shoulder. ”

Xue Li once said to Li Ji, General Li, look at my brother Gao Jun's method? One horse arrives at six sheep, a mare in Yingzhou is more than 4,000 Wen, and the sheep is 600 Wen, but here is one hundred and twenty Wen! We just changed places, and the money for one sheep became five!

Li Shi calculated, Gao Jun gave Xue Li 40,000 taels of silver, and 30,000 sheep cost 3,600 taels, but don't feed so many sheep?

Li Ji said, "It's spring...... There is grass on the mountain. ”

Li Shi said to his nephew, "I still need you to remind me?" But I haven't been fighting here for many years, and I'm going to go back to my division when it's cold, and how will he pack up his more than 30,000 sheep by then? ”

When his nephew saw that there were no outsiders around, he just had two nephews and uncles, so he said, "You stupid uncle, how can Master Gao not think of this?" When the war starts, of course, the sheep should be harvested, and when there is no war, only the breeding sheep can be left, and the other sheep will of course rush back to the interior to sell mutton, and one becomes five. ”

Li Shi thought that Gao Jun was going to hold a shelf, supply good rice and meat to let himself fight, and he would be good at business.

He waved his hand at Li Ji, and Li Ji asked, "Uncle, what do you mean?" ”

Li Shi said, "You are stupid, go back to Crested City and listen to General Xue's orders!" ”

……

Crested City.

Xue Li respected Li Ji very much, and consulted General Li for instructions on major and minor matters, "General Li, your official rank is higher than mine, and my brother said in his letter that I have to ask for your consent for major matters...... General Bei is in trouble right now, and he wants to ask General Li for guidance. ”

Xue Li said that although the local prices in Fengtou City are much lower than those in Yingzhou, 40,000 taels of silver can't afford to spend so much, so he may ...... On the south bank of the Cheongcheon River, in the countryside of Goryeo, rice firewood will be cheaper.

Li Ji's eyes lit up at that time, "General Xue is going to break through behind enemy lines?" I have no opinion! ”

The two hit it off, and at that time, Xue Li left two lieutenant generals and 2,000 men and horses from his headquarters to guard Fengtou Town.

And he himself did not bring a single soldier, but only acted with Li Ji and his 1,000 men.

The sergeants carried food bags and money bags on their backs, and drove empty cars, first up along the north bank of the Qingchuan River, until they reached the foot of Yaoshan Mountain, where Li Shi was camped, and then crossed the river to the south.

Li Shizao received a report from the scout: there was a Tang army, and it seemed that it was Li Ji's headquarters of 1,000 people, who rushed into the Goryeo countryside.

He was furious, "This muddy tent! When did I give him an order? What a move! ”

"Lord Li, the leader is General Xue Li, and General Li was not sent by you to cooperate with General Xue?" Li Shi was speechless when he heard this, so he had to order his subordinates to pay close attention to the movements of Xue Li and Li Ji.

They didn't have many people with them, but they ran to Gaisuwen's lot, and if one of them didn't get it right, they would not return.

……

Two hundred miles southeast of Yaoshan Mountain, Jincheng Mountain. There is a small town at the foot of the North Mountain. Because it was far away from the defensive points facing the north, the local garrison of Goryeo was only five or six hundred men.

From a distance, the guards saw a Tang army coming straight to them with a big banner, lazy and lazy, and cars and cars, but there were not many of them, and it looked like they were fleeing from the famine.

The Goryeo guard is named Gao Nan, who is in his thirties, and immediately uses a big sword, and he has some courage. He expected that this Tang army must have returned after transporting military supplies, and then he was unfamiliar with the place and got lost and bumped into here.

Otherwise, why are all those vehicles empty? The sergeants also have empty pockets?

And the team that transports the military supplies generally has little combat power, and is tired from a long journey, and he waits for his work and surprises him......

In short, this man thinks in a way that is advantageous.

So I immediately decided: the opportunity must not be missed, and we must seize it when we come! Annihilating thousands of enemies is a great achievement, and we must concentrate our forces, and one blow will be effective, and all 500 people will be dispatched.

At the same time, in order to enhance the sudden effect of the blow, Gao Nan ordered that all the banners at the head of the city be laid down and the city gates wide open. In order not to alert the Tang army, no sergeants were allowed to show their heads on the city, and they were not allowed to show the tips of their spears.

The subordinate said, "General, according to your order, we are all assembled behind the city gate, and there is no one in the city!" ”

Gao Nan said, "Very good, where is Tang Jun?" ”

He replied that he had reached the land of two arrows outside the city, and after turning the last bend in the mountain road, it was time to face the city gate. Gao Nan yelled, "Rush! "Rush out of the city first.

Tang Jun walked with his waist twisted and crooked, and there was no formation, and some of the sergeants under the step crowded into the ox cart in groups to laugh.

It turned out that as soon as he saw the shadow of the small town in front of him, Xue Li asked the sergeants to go like this, focusing on hiding from the enemy.

When Gao Nan took the lead in killing, Xue Li said to Li Ji, "General Li, let the humble general deal with this ......."

Li Ji didn't care about this, he finally saw the enemy, and he had the final say, and before Xue Li finished speaking, Li Ji rushed out and was fighting opposite Gao Nanma.

Gao Nan slashed at Li Ji with a force, Li Ji made a big iron rod, rounded it, and went up on the ground, and the opponent's long knife took off with a "day" and flew away without a trace.

The tall man turned his horse and ran, and the five hundred Goryeo soldiers behind him were stunned, turned around and ran. The Tang army was encouraged by Li Ji's victory, threw food bags and money bags, and each grabbed a knife and a gun and shouted to cover up from behind.

Li Ji chased Gao Nan tightly and did not leave an inch, Gao Nan couldn't pick up the knife, and wanted to go to the city, but found that another member of the Tang Dynasty had already blocked the retreat of the white horse halberd, so he turned around and ran back. He bullied Li Jima slowly, and turned back as he ran, "You have the ability to catch up with me!" ”

But at this time, one of Xue Li's arrows shot from behind, hitting the throat of the tall man. Gao Nan shook on the horse, and was caught up by Li Ji to make up for it.

The 500 Goryeo army was slashed and slaughtered in the blink of an eye, and no one closed the city gates. Li Ji went up and said to Xue Li, "General Xue's magic arrow, it really deserves its reputation, let alone shooting it so far, it is not easy to shoot it here!" ”

Xue Li said on the horse, "General Li is brave and victorious with one blow, we have captured this city, please General Li enter the city!" ”

The army entered the city, took over the defense, and sent fast horses to report back to Li Shi, the commander of the Tang Army.

Gai Suwen has been reckless in military force for many years, and he does not grasp the economy, inside and outside this remote small city called "southern Jiangsu", the land is barren and the grain is scarce, and there is really not much food.

But there are countless bamboo shoots, mountain mushrooms, and aged hazelnuts in Jincheng Mountain.

Li Ji touched his chin and said, "That's it...... Then the price will have to be lower than the price of rice! ”

If it's lower, it's lower, anyway, it's just a matter of trying to climb the mountain, and there will be a lot of money to exchange, so why not. The people were enthusiastic, and even women and children went up to the mountains to pick and dig bamboo shoots.

On April 23, Li Shiba "Sunan City", allocated 2,000 troops to garrison, and the good news was transmitted to Chang'an.

In order to celebrate this great victory, Li Shida rewarded the three armies and improved the food of white rice, mutton and mushroom shoots.

At the beginning of May, Xue Li and Li Ji carried grain bags on their backs and took 1,000 Tang troops to the countryside of "Mudi City" 50 miles southeast of southern Jiangsu City to collect grain.

In May, Li Shike occupied the "Mudi City", allocated 300 troops to garrison, and the good news was transmitted to Chang'an.

In order to celebrate this great victory, Li Shida rewarded the three armies and improved the food without white rice, with mutton and sweet potatoes and haggis stewed with morning sticks.

Li Shi thought, Gao Jun's trick is enough.

Xue Li led Li Ji to cause trouble in the weak areas of the enemy's forces, and sooner or later led the Goryeo army over, and it would be difficult for him to be idle at that time......

He cheered up, arranged his troops, occupied a favorable position, and waited for the arrival of Gai Suwen's army.

……

Changan. Not only did the military department not go to the court, but even Tang Jian, the seventy-year-old secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and Lu Guogong, who was almost sixty years old, did not come.

The officials inquired in private, only to learn that the two had gone to Yingzhou.

Someone had already reported the general news to the emperor, and the emperor listened to the secret music, in the past, Tang Jian and Cheng Zhijie, the two old ministers, they couldn't bear to send them so far away on business.

That's good, I ran first! Yes, Gao Jun did not upload a word about Cheng Chuli and Tang Jiqing's disobedience, otherwise it would be difficult for even the emperor to do it.

Who knew that he just hinted that the three ladies of the Gao Mansion went to the Lu State Mansion and the Ju State Mansion to make a string, and then dealt with such a tricky matter.

As the emperor, he didn't need to do anything else except pretend to be deaf and dumb.

Subsequently, Li Daozong, the king of Jiangxia, and Gao Jun, the secretary of the military department, jointly played by Yingzhou: "I invaded Goryeo, but I worked for civilian service and damaged my financial resources, which is not a good deal." The ministers will take the materials of Goryeo in the land of Goryeo, and use my money to buy cheap goods for military needs. One saves the power of escort and escort, and the other is that the army serves the local water and soil grains, and over time it is no different from the locals, which not only avoids wind and miscellaneous diseases, but also greatly boosts the military strength. ”

Behind is Gao Jun's separate list of military horses, the meaning is similar to the above. Gao Jun said that every time a war starts, military horses are now pulled from the mainland, and the drastic changes in the seasons along the way are the reasons for the serious loss of horses.

Gao Jun wanted to set up a ranch in Longxing City, and pull inland military horses to feed and tame them for a long time. Adapt it to the local environment and climate of Goryeo. Then, the horse is strong and strong, and there is no need to worry about the future.

The emperor looked at the chapter of the two important ministers, and after thinking about it, he said to himself, "This is really a method! ”

The Yingzhou grain and grass warehouse has not been canceled, but the scale has been reduced and only some refined grain concentrate has been stored to meet the urgent needs ahead. Then the money saved can improve the storage conditions of the warehouse, improve the treatment of the warehouse staff, and live lightly!

And Gao Jun's method of preparing military supplies in Goryeo cleverly used the price difference between the two places, and there was more than a penny in Yingzhou in the local area! And the money for escorting along the way has also saved a lot.

This trade is done! He instructed, "The household department will give me a general manager, and these crusades against Goryeo will cost a lot of money." ”