Two years ago, at the beginning of the first month of the twelfth year of Xiantong, Jiannanchuan East Road, Luzhou, Jiang'an County, Luofu.

Hou Luo Taiwang, who lived in his uncle's house, was drinking wine with his staff Luo Heng with some boredom: "Lao Heng, I am a little unworthy of my name after Banzhou, do you think I still have a chance to recover Banzhou?" ”

"Don't worry, Master Hou, there will definitely be opportunities in the future." Seeing this, Luo Heng hurriedly comforted: "It's not a good time now, just wait." ”

Hearing this, Luo Taiwang raised his head and shook his head a little dejected after taking a sip of wine, and said, "If it doesn't work anymore, I'm afraid I have to continue to ask the court for orders." ”

"Master Hou can't." Hearing Luo Taiwang's words, Luo Heng hurriedly persuaded: "Master Hou, if you ask the court for advice, the court will definitely send troops to come, but according to the current situation of the court, there are no soldiers to send, then only Eli will recruit the world's heroes to come, and at that time, this Banzhou will not be Lord Hou, you have the final say." ”

Luo Taiwang frowned at first when he heard this, and then said indifferently: "It doesn't matter, I just want to be an Anlehou in Banzhou." ”

After seeing no hope of recovering Banzhou, the historical Luo Taiwang continued to ask the imperial court for support on the one hand, and wrote a letter to Yang Duan, a fellow clan in Taiyuan, asking for help, wanting to use Yang Duan's power to recover Banzhou.

However, although Banzhou was recovered, it did not fall into the hands of Luo Taiwang, because Yang Duan, who led the battle of Banzhou recovery, was an ambitious person, and the reason why he agreed to Luo Taiwang to recover Banzhou was not because he wanted to recover Banzhou for Luo Taiwang, but because he wanted to occupy Banzhou himself.

As a result, from the moment Banzhou was recovered, the Yang family began to replace the Luo hereditary Banzhou region, and then, the Tang court was no longer able to make decisions for the Luo clan, in order to prevent Banzhou from rebelling against the Tang court, the Tang Dynasty was forced to recognize the Yang family's right to rule Banzhou, and granted the Yang family the title of Banzhou assassin.

In this way, starting from Yang Duan, the Yang family officially became the new master of Banzhou recognized by the Central Plains Dynasty, which is the Banzhou Yang Tusi.

Of course, Luo Taiwang didn't seem to care about this, after the fall of the Tang Dynasty, Luo hugged Yang's thighs and became the second largest Tusi in the Banzhou area, until the Ming Dynasty pacified the rebellion of Yang Yinglong in Banzhou, Luo Tusi switched to the Ming court and got the title of a hereditary guard commander.

Seeing this, Luo Heng wanted to open his mouth to persuade something, but he opened his mouth for a while, but he didn't know how to speak.

At this moment, a subordinate trotted in, bowed down and reported: "Master Hou, there is a monk outside, claiming to be able to solve your urgent matter now." ”

"Monk?" Luo Taiwang frowned when he heard this, and said suspiciously: "What else did he say?" ”

"Back to the Hou Ye, he also said that he was the king of Ming, and Pudu sentient beings came."

"It's him!" Hearing the subordinate's answer, Luo Heng was taken aback.

Seeing this, Luo Taiwang was quite puzzled and asked, "What?" Lao Heng knows? ”

"I don't know." Luo Heng shook his head when he heard this, and said, "However, I have heard a lot of this name. ”

After a pause, Luo Heng explained: "Don't hide it from the prince, since last year, there has been a rumor among the people, saying that there are immortals in a temple in Tieshan, Zizhou, who can come back to life and save the people from fire and water. ”

When Luo Taiwang heard this, he was shocked and asked, "Is this serious?" ”

"I'm afraid it's true." Seeing this, Luo Heng nodded and said, "When I heard about this incident, I also sent someone to Iron Mountain to investigate, and the traces of the scene do not look fake, in addition, the person's resurrection was done in front of everyone's eyes, and many people saw it with their own eyes at that time." ”

"It's just that the person's whereabouts have been uncertain, and it is difficult for outsiders to find his traces, if the person who came is really that person, this matter of Hou Ye should not be a problem."

"Okay." Luo Taiwang was overjoyed when he heard this, and hurriedly said to the subordinates on the side: "Please!" ”

.......

Outside Luofu, Li Zuo, who had a flat head and short hair, looked at the high-rise mansion compound in front of him, and then thought of the tragic situation of the homeless people he had seen and heard in the past year, and he really responded to that sentence: Zhumen's wine and meat stink, and there are frozen bones on the road.

"I hope this Luo Taiwang is more interesting, otherwise don't blame me for raising the butcher knife when the time comes." Thinking of this, Li Zuo suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

Whether it was to establish a solid base or to find a piece of land to house the miserable homeless, Rizo needed to get a piece of land.

From the looks of it, only Banshu is the most suitable.

Banju is not only the loss of land for the imperial court, in addition to the fact that even if it is occupied, it will not attract the jealousy of the imperial court and other feudal towns, but also because there are few people there, and there are only more than 20,000 people in the entire Banzhou, which is not as large as the population of one county in the surrounding states.

And the reason why Li Zuo wanted to find Luo Taiwang, the Marquis of Banzhou, was not only because he needed to attack Banzhou, but also because he needed to unite Luo's forces in Banzhou, and he should cooperate with the outside to reduce casualties.

......

After seeing Luo Taiwang, Li Zuo just bowed his hand and said, "I've seen the Marquis of Banzhou!" ”

"The master doesn't have to be polite." Seeing this, Luo Taiwang nodded, and then pointed to the seat next to him and said, "Sit!" ”

"Thank you, Master Hou!" After Li Zuo heard the words and thanked him, he walked to the side and sat down, fortunately, in this era, high chairs have gradually replaced the way of kneeling.

When he saw the tea brought by the maid, Li Zuo couldn't help frowning, although it was not the kind of tea boiled with spices and mutton fat, it was not much better.

In fact, making tea has only been popularized since the Ming Dynasty, and before that, the mainstream way of drinking tea was to order tea, the so-called tea order, that is, the group tea is crushed with tea powder, washed with hot water, and the tea powder and water are mixed and integrated through the tea whisk.

The scholars of the Tang and Song dynasties loved "group tea", which is a small tea cake weighing about 40 grams and carved with dragon and phoenix patterns on the surface.

When the Tang people drink group tea, it is customary to break the tea cake and crush it first, and then put it on the flame to roast, and when the tea leaves are roasted into powder, they are put into the pot and put spices to boil together.

Lu Yu, the tea saint, believed that this way of drinking tea would destroy the original taste of tea, so he improved it and created the method of "sencha".

The so-called "sencha" is a tea cake that is initially processed through three processes: broiling, grinding, and raking, and then the minced tea cake is processed into small particles and put on a fire with water to boil thoroughly.

Li Zuo, who has drunk tea in later generations, really can't drink tea like tea and sencha.

However, although Li Zuo didn't like it, he didn't care, he didn't come here to drink tea after all.

Without waiting for Luo Taiwang to ask, Li Zuo took the lead in speaking: "Dare to ask Lord Hou if he is worried about the recovery of Banzhou?" ”

"That's right." Luo Taiwang was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then nodded and said, "What do you know?" ”

Li Zuo smiled indifferently and said, "I have millions of believers, and I can help you recover Banzhou." ”

"What do you want?" Luo Taiwang frowned when he heard this, and then smiled and said, "I don't believe in Bai Hou's help. ”

Seeing this, Li Zuo didn't talk nonsense, and said directly: "First, I need Hou Ye to provide 10,000 people's weapons, equipment and food. ”

10,000 people, which Li Zuo secretly recruited and trained with the gold bars he brought, were hidden in several mountains in Shuzhong, in the absence of a stable base area, this is the limit of what he can do, which is also the reason why he urgently needs to take down the base area of Banzhou.

"As it should be!" As soon as Li Zuo's words fell, Luo Taiwang immediately nodded.

"Second, after recovering the ...... of Banzhou"

This time, without waiting for Li Zuo to finish speaking, Luo Taiwang grabbed the words and said: "I will be my Marquis of Banzhou, and I will not care about the rest." ”

Seeing this, Luo Heng on the side just wanted to open his mouth to persuade him, but was stopped by Luo Taiwang raising his hand.

"Third, I need Lord Hou to contact the Banzhou forces to cooperate with the outside and the outside, and you have to lead the army to feint and attack Furong Mountain (Lou Mountain)."

In fact, Li Zuo still used the tactics used by Yang Duan in history, contacting local forces to counterattack, all the way to the army to attack Loushan, all the way to the army to attack Chishui, and in one fell swoop, he was able to break through Banzhou.

Hearing this, Luo Taiwang nodded again and said, "No problem, the local tribal forces of the three major bureaucrats of Xuan, Jiang, and Huangbanzhou are being plundered by the Nanzhao people, and I think they will be happy to help us." ”

"In this case, Hou Ye can relax, Banzhou I will definitely recover it for you, as long as Hou Ye keeps his promise, I can keep you safe for generations."

.......

In the middle of February of the twelfth year of Xiantong, after Luo Taiwang was ready, Li Zuo and Luo Taiwang each led their armies and set off according to the previous agreement.

When Luo Taiwang, the Marquis of Banzhou, arrived at the foot of Lou Mountain, he sent troops to storm the Nanzhao army, which really attracted the attention of the main force of Nanzhao.

Li Zuo personally led 10,000 horses to raid Banzhou in the dark of Chishui, and the three local tribal forces of Xuan, Jiang, and Huang Banzhou should be combined with the outside and the outside, and it was decided in one fell swoop.

When he walked into the Banzhou Mansion again, Luo Taiwang still couldn't believe that Banzhou was so easily recovered.

"Master Hou, I just received news that Nanzhao was defeated by the imperial court in Yunzhou last month, and half of the troops here in Banzhou have been withdrawn." Seeing this, Luo Heng pursed his lips and said, "They should know the news." ”

"What if you know? Don't know what? Luo Taiwang smiled indifferently when he heard this, and said: "Attacking Loushan in the open, Chishui in the dark, and combining the inside and the outside, it was not that there was no chance a few years ago, but did we think of these schemes?" ”

Compared with today's tactics and strategies, Luo Taiwang will always think of the scene of leading the army to defeat the Southern Zhao army at the foot of Loushan a few years ago, not to mention the heavy casualties, and he has not been able to recover Banzhou in ten years, which has to make him feel ashamed.

........

Even today, two years later, whenever the matter of recovering Banzhou is mentioned, Luo Taiwang still feels a little ashamed.

However, although he knew that Li Zuo was full of wisdom, he was still a little unsure about whether Li Zuo could hold Banzhou: "The combined army of Nanzhao and Luo Min has an army of 100,000, can you really hold it?" ”

Li Zuo just smiled calmly when he heard this, and said, "Master Hou still doesn't know how many people there are in Banzhou, Yizhou, Zhenzhou, Qinzhou, Nanzhou and Feizhou under our jurisdiction, right?" ”

Luo Taiwang was stunned when he heard this, and said with some uncertainty: "According to the records of more than ten years ago, there are less than 20,000 people in Banzhou, and the other states should add up to more than 300,000 people, even if you bring some displaced people into the broadcast, it should add up to 500,000 people, right?" ”

Seeing this, Li Zuo just smiled, turned his head to Shi Shoudao on the side and said, "Military advisor, you are in charge of civil affairs, so you can tell Hou Ye." ”

"Yes." Shi Shoudao first gave up his hand when he heard this, and then said to Luo Taiwang: "Don't hide it from Lord Hou, now the population of Banzhou is more than 500,000, and plus other states, the total population under our jurisdiction is about 1.4 million, and with the reputation of King Ming, a large number of displaced people are still pouring here, according to the estimate of our Ministry of Political Affairs, our population will exceed 1.5 million by the end of the year." ”

What did Rizo hit the state for? Isn't it just to settle those poor homeless?

Therefore, before attacking Banzhou, Li Zuo asked Shi Shoudao to contact the displaced people from all over Shuzhong.

The problem of displaced people has always been a headache for the local government, but now that Li Zuo is the unjust big man, they are too late to be happy, so no one in the local area will stop them.

With the settlement of Banzhou, a large number of displaced people also followed.

While resettling displaced people, cultivating wasteland, and building water conservancy, Li Zuo also had people teach local bureaucrats to learn the advanced technology of the Han people in the Central Plains, and at the same time, he had to recruit young men to train the army.

In this way, after two busy years, I finally got a foothold.

"Shhh Luo Taiwang and Luo Heng suddenly fell down a breath of cold air when they heard this, and after glancing at each other, Luo Taiwang smashed his mouth and sighed: "As far as I know, Nanzhao has a population of just over one million, right?" Our population here is more than Nanzhao? ”

Seeing this, Li Zuo nodded and smiled, didn't talk much about this topic, and instead said, "Master Hou, now you can ask the imperial court for help." ”

"Asking for help?" Luo Taiwang was stunned when he heard this, and said with some puzzlement: "Didn't you say that you can block the invasion of Nanzhao?" Why are you still asking for help? ”

Li Zuo didn't answer, but looked at Luo Heng behind Luo Taiwang with a smile.

Seeing this, Luo Heng hurriedly explained to Luo Taiwang: "Master Hou, asking for help is an attitude, and it is also an indication to the imperial court that Banzhou has been recovered. ”

"Oh, I see." When Luo Taiwang heard this, he nodded suddenly in realization, and then said: "But if you ask for help now, what if the imperial court sends reinforcements?" ”

"It doesn't matter, even if reinforcements arrive, what you see here is only superficial, and then you will say that it is your soldiers and horses." After a pause, Li Zuo continued: "Besides, even if the imperial court receives the news, I am afraid that it will not have time to care about it for a while, and even if the army is sent here, I am afraid it will be two or three years later." ”

"Oh?" When Luo Taiwang heard this, he immediately wondered: "Why? ”

Luo Heng and Shi Shoudao also looked at Li Zuo with puzzled eyes at the same time.

Seeing this, Li Zuo smiled and said, "The old emperor is seriously ill, and I am afraid that the court is now fighting for power and profit." ”

It is already May, and in two months, Tang Yizong will die of illness, and Tang Yizong Li Yi will succeed to the throne in front of the spirit under the support of eunuchs Tian Lingzi, Liu Xingshen, Han Wenyue, etc.

Today's Li Yi is still a young and weak person, and after succeeding to the throne, he naturally lacks the necessary ability to govern, and all political affairs are handled by the eunuch Tian Lingzi and others.

It will take at least two to three years for Tian Lingzi and others to fully control the situation, and by then, Li Zuo should be able to completely control Zhongzhou, Wanzhou, and Kuizhou in the entire Qianzhong Province and Jingnan Province, and control the east gate of Bashu.

What's more, it is not impossible to occupy the prefectures and counties south of Daba Mountain in Shannan West Road, in that way, the north gate and the east gate of Shu will be controlled in their hands, and Li Zuo will not do whatever he wants in Shu to close the door and beat the dog?

However, these plans are still just plans, and their implementation will depend on the situation that follows.

After learning that they were safe, Luo Taiwang and Luo Heng left with peace of mind.

After Luo Taiwang and the others walked away, Shi Shoudao got up and asked, "Dare to ask King Ming, how to arrange the affairs of Qianzhou?" ”

"There's no hurry." Li Zuo smiled when he heard this, and said, "Wait and see." ”

"Wait?" Shi Shoudao was quite puzzled when he heard this: "Could it be that there is a change in this matter?" ”