Riding and cutting the imperial pirates of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 604
When Zhang Zhao and others all arrived, they came into the hall and took their seats.

The stove in the hall has been lit for a long time, and the temperature rises, and everyone feels warm. The fire is burning high, and the candlelight dances, projecting on everyone's faces, all of them are glowing red.

Wang Zheng, who was on the throne, showed the army report to everyone, and said with a slight smile: "This time, our army will divide into two groups, one will take Danyang, and the other will attack Wujun. The stronghold of our forces, and guarded by the veteran general Cheng Pu, it should have been more difficult in the first place."

"But I didn't expect our generals to be so fierce and brave. The three armies fought bravely. In just a few days, Qu'a was defeated. Let alone more than a thousand beheaded, the enemy generals Quan Rou, Wang Xiu and others were captured alive. I was really overjoyed, but"

Speaking of this, Wang Zheng paused, looked around at the crowd, and changed the topic abruptly: "We all know about this, and we also know about it when we want to come to Wu County. Cheng Pu may send troops to help. What do you think about this matter?"

"Qu'a's victory was already within the expectation of the ministers."

Guo Jia came out first, and said loudly: "This time when we captured Wu County, the lord used the joy of a big wedding to confuse people's eyes and ears, so as to catch them by surprise and catch them by surprise. This way, our army has the upper hand from the beginning, and we also mobilized the ancient swords. , Wei Yan, and Zang Ba, although the soldiers and horses they use are only a few thousand, they are all veterans of the Heavenly Army. With such a strong army, and with the addition of five thousand soldiers borrowed from Yuan Tan in Linzi, it would be inconceivable if they could not win."

"However, to be able to win so quickly, to be honest, it was beyond my expectations. Now that I have won, in my opinion, the most important thing for the current plan is not to attack, but to do defense first. , hold Qu'a firmly, as long as this city is in the hands of our army, we will be able to break through Wu county."

"Qu'an is the gate of Wu County, Cheng Pu will definitely not sit idly by, as the lord said, rushing to help is inevitable, but this person has fought with our army several times before, and when the army arrived, he saw that the city was lost. It may not be that they will act rashly, but it is more likely that the army and horses will be stationed on the opposite bank to the north of Qu'a to form a confrontation with our army."

Wang Zheng nodded slightly, Guo Jia thought the same as him, "What Feng Xiao said is true, the general has issued a military order to order Gu Jian and Wei Yan to slow down and fight steadily, and to send more scouts to spy on them. Regarding the military situation on the other side, this matter has already been ordered."

"My lord sees thousands of miles away."

Now that Wang Zheng had thought of this festival, Guo Jia stopped talking and said, "Since this is the case, Cheng Pu is no longer a concern, and the recovery of Wu County is just around the corner. In my opinion, the next focus is nothing more than grain storage. , Raising salaries, etc., thinking that preparing for war is all related to logistics, and it is an internal political matter. Mr. Zhang is now the governor of Yangzhou, and Mr. Lu is the governor of Jiujiang County, so he must have his own opinions."

Years ago, Wang Zheng had sent an envoy to Xudu, intending to announce that Zhang Zhao was the governor of Yangzhou. At this time, the envoy had not returned, so naturally he had not received an accurate reply, but this is not really important.

Because everyone knows that if Emperor Xian, or Cao Cao is not stupid, it is impossible to refuse,

Now that Wang Zheng is the de facto ruler in Yangzhou, he didn't directly confer himself a Yangzhou pastor in a grandiose manner, and he took the initiative to go through a process of "asking for a form", which means that he is still willing to continue to do it on the surface for the time being. A Hanchen who respects the court and the emperor.

But if Emperor Xian and Cao Cao are unwilling to cooperate, it will force Wang Zheng to take the initiative to ignore the authority of the court, to completely separate himself from reality and in name, and even return to the identity of a traitor again.

Because of this, in the eyes of everyone, Zhang Zhao has officially assumed office since the first day of the second year of Jian'an.

Hearing this, Wang Zheng turned his head sideways, and his eyes fell on Zhang Zhao. Zhang Zhao secretly complained, but had no choice but to bite the bullet and go out, "Report to the lord, 'Garnish' is the subject of the next matter." , but at present the spring plowing has not started, and it is at a time when there is no harvest, so it is difficult to predict for the time being, and as for the raising of wages, there are already plans."

Wang Zheng was not surprised when Zhang Zhao said that there was no good strategy for storing grain. He still understood the truth that a clever woman can't cook without rice. Hearing this, he nodded and signaled Zhang Zhao to continue.

"Jiujiang is a big city at the end, which already gathers half of the essence of Yangzhou, and because of the support of the lord, it has frequent business exchanges with various places in Xuzhou and Beihai, Jingzhou, Jiaozhou, etc. Next, it will rely on the taxation of Baixing to raise funds for the frontline troops. There should be no problem with military pay. After all, the lord did not use many soldiers to attack Jiangyou this time. Even if Jiujiang cannot support it alone, with the benefits of fishing and salt in the North Sea, and the tax of merchant ships, it is expected that they will be able to pay Fill in the gaps."

When Wang Zheng first started the incident, he was poor and empty, and the military pay was food. After the power was stabilized, it was impossible to continue like this. Food is a hard currency equivalent to money in troubled times, but bartering is not as good as buying it directly with five baht. It is convenient, so the Tianjun is providing meals at the same time, and then sending a military salary.

Most of the taxes and corvees in the nine counties under the king's government still follow the Han system. In addition to land taxes, there are taxes on salt, iron, wine, various minerals, bamboo, wood, cotton, leather, etc. .And also business tax.

In terms of internal affairs, Zhang Zhao is definitely a good hand, especially in terms of money collection, Guo Jia and Mi Heng are unmatched. When he was the prime minister of Pengcheng, he was actually the chief of internal affairs of Wang Zheng. Wang Zheng bought people's hearts wantonly in Xuzhou. Tax cuts and exemptions, but Zhang Zhao can still run the finances in a healthy way. With the power of one state alone, it not only supports [-] soldiers and pays the salaries of hundreds of officials, but also handles some additional situations: such as road construction for disaster relief, new government offices, etc. Government schools, and even the establishment of military academies and so on.

You must know that before going south to Yangzhou, Wang Zheng went down to counties and counties. In fact, Beihai was considered to be really rich. Not to mention Taishan and Pengcheng, places where hundreds of battles have been fought, each one is cleaner than a family, even Xiapi and Donghai. Long before Liu Bei, he was hollowed out by Tao Qian.

Under such circumstances, Zhang Zhao was able to achieve this level without arousing the dissatisfaction of the people of Xuzhou, which is already very good. Strictly speaking, he is the most indispensable existence among Wang Zheng's subordinates.

This is also the main reason why Wang Zheng finally awarded the governor of Yangzhou to Zhang Zhao.

"So good."

Wang Zheng smiled slightly: "Mr. Zhang is a great talent. I would have known it well. That's why I invited you to sit in Shouchun. I hope that with the help of Mr. Zhang's intelligence and ability, I will solve my worries for the future. Although Jiujiang and Lujiang are rich places, However, due to Yuan Shu’s violent expropriation, the common people are in decline, and the trade with Jingzhou, Xuzhou and other places has also decreased compared with previous years. If we don’t use some ingenious means, it may be difficult to restore prosperity in a short period of time.”

As for what kind of ingenious means to use, this is naturally for Zhang Zhao to worry about, and Zhang Zhao is duty-bound: "I will do my best to repay the lord's kindness."

"Back then, Emperor Gao was able to defeat Xiang Yu, thanks to Prime Minister Xiao He. Since Pengcheng, he would have relied on Zhang Gong's help a lot, and he would have been very lucky to have Zhang Gong's assistance."

Wang Zheng nodded, and then looked at Lu Ji, "Gongji, you are a handsome young man with a beautiful belly, and you should know it well, but you are still young and have insufficient experience. You might as well talk to Mr. Zhang in your spare time. See you a lot."

"As long as our monarchs and ministers work together, why worry about Jiangdong's prosperity? Why not succeed in our achievements?"

"Yes."

Wang Zheng even compared Zhang Zhao to Xiao He, so Lu Ji naturally didn't dare to neglect, not to mention that the other party is still his ostensible boss, and immediately bowed down to accept his orders: "My lord's good words, I must keep them in my heart."

He cupped his hands to Zhang Zhao who was at the side, and said earnestly, "I hope Mr. Zhang will give me some advice in the future."

Wang Zheng could say that Lu Ji was inexperienced, but Zhang Zhao didn't want to offend him.

He knew very well in his heart that this Lu Ji was born in the Lu family of Wu County with four surnames in Jiangyou, and he made great contributions in the process of Wang Zheng's seizure of Shouchun. Although he was young, he had already become the leading figure of the local gentry forces.

Young people are young and energetic, especially Lu Ji. It is not wise to rely on the old and sell the old in front of him. He immediately stroked his beard and smiled, and said tactfully: "Gongji's talent is better than me. The future achievements are limitless, but A sage has a saying, but a fool who has a thousand worries will surely gain something."

"Although my talents are meager, I may have some occasional gains. If so, without my lord's orders, I will definitely ask Gongji to be upright for me."

"Eunuch Zhang is too modest."

After a moment of politeness between the two, Lu Ji turned to Wang Zheng and said, "My lord, although military pay is not a problem, the only thing to worry about is food."

"Lu Su's previous missions to Jingzhou, although he bought millions of stones and grains, it has cost a lot to hire civilians for the front-line war. I am afraid that he can only support the Jiangyou war for a month or two. If Cheng Pu and Shanyue counterattack and the war lasts for a long time, there may be a real shortage of food."

Wang Zheng didn't use many troops against Danyang and Wu Commanderies this time. Even with Jiang Qi's Jizhou Army, there were actually only 5000 people. Naturally, the food of millions of dendrobiums could only last for a month or two.

But you have to know that now is the beginning of the new year. No one knows what the harvest of the cultivated land will be like and whether there will be a new war. In order to be prepared, Jingzhou’s grain has just arrived in Shouchun. , These grains must first fill all the official warehouses, and they cannot be used easily.

In the eyes of a historical novice like Wang Zheng, the presence of Yuan Shu and Yangzhou in the Three Kingdoms is not high, so he is not very clear about many things, but it is impossible not to know about the important event of Yuan Shu's proclaiming the emperor, so he vaguely remembers it, It was also in this year that there seemed to be a large-scale famine in Yangzhou, which had been enjoying good weather.

That being the case, Wang Zheng had to make preparations early. After all, in troubled times, there was no food to reuse.

As long as there is enough food, it doesn’t matter what the military salary is. If you have no money, you can exchange food for salt and cloth. Mountains may not be able to call a full meal.

As long as there is food, the soldiers will be obedient and the people will feel at ease. If there is another food shortage, Jingzhou may not come to help. What should we do then?My own riding and cutting system can't change the food either!

Wang Zheng knew this well, he frowned slightly when he heard the words, thought for a long time, and sighed: "It's hard for a clever woman to cook without rice, this matter is indeed difficult."

"It's hard for a clever woman to cook without rice." Zhang Zhao savored it carefully, and couldn't help feeling: "My lord's words are true and even reasonable."

At this time, Mi Heng said suddenly: "My lord, when Yuan Fang came here, didn't he say that Yuan Shao is short of salt and wants to do business with me in Beihai?"

"If you ask him to exchange grain for salt, can we solve our army's urgent need?"

"Even if it is agreed, I am afraid that the number will not be too much, and it will not be enough."

Wang Zheng shook his head slightly. If he were Yuan Shao, he would rather exchange his armor for salt than food. "But talking is better than nothing. Mr. Zhang can mention it later."

As he spoke, his fingers unconsciously tapped on the case, and he pondered, "Right now, I can only hope that the frontline war will be resolved as soon as possible, and don't take it off for too long. Danyang is just a mere idiot, and Wu Sheng's cooking should be fine. The key is Wujun Here, if Cheng Pu resists to the end, it will be a bit tricky, and if it is delayed until the spring plowing, it will be even more troublesome."

"Man proposes, God disposes."

Guo Jia said in a deep voice: "My lord, there is no need to worry too much. Our army has indeed used too many troops in recent years. It was only a season after the recovery of Jiujiang, and we started to fight again. Originally, we were too hasty, but we were able to do all the preparations to this level. , and another triumphant song all the way, it is already considered very good.”

"Also, didn't my lord send Zhou Yu to the front line of Wu County? Although Gong Jin is young, he is a genius of heaven and has the weapon of a general. Although Cheng Pu is not mediocre, he may not be his opponent. It is expected that within a month You can tell the difference."

Wang Zheng's expression softened a little. He naturally trusted Zhou Yu's ability. He nodded and sat upright, looking around the crowd as if facing a distinguished guest, and said, "What Feng Xiao said is not bad, but just in case, I was going to order Wu Sheng , After taking Danyang, let’s not take care of the cities of Wuhu, and directly lead the army to the north to help Qu'a, so as to complete all our achievements in one battle and solve Cheng Pu as soon as possible."

Everyone has no objection,

Wang Zheng looked sideways at Ni Heng and asked, "Zhengping, Lubu is ready." Lubu is the victory document after the victory.Expose but not seal, to inform everyone.It is carried by a special person on a fast horse, carried on the shoulder and carried in the hand, and sent to various places.For the military and civilians to read, to boost morale.

"The subject has been written." Mi Heng took out a book from his pocket, stepped forward and offered it with both hands.

Wang Zheng took it and unfolded it to watch. After watching for a while, he frowned slightly, and without raising his head, he just waved his hand. The guard at the side understood, and quickly took a pen from the case table and put it in his hand.

Wang Zheng erased a few strokes, added a few strokes, then passed it back to Mi Heng, and said in a deep voice: "This is written for the common people and the people of the world, not for this general, so the words should not be too obscure. Such documents, remember to be simple and straightforward."

If someone else questioned his own article, Mi Heng would definitely change color, but he dared not refute Wang Zheng's reprimand.

Although he didn't dare to face it publicly, he was still dissatisfied in his heart. He took it and watched it carefully, savoring it carefully, and finally he was convinced after a while: "My lord, it is indeed more appropriate to write like this."

There were not many sentences rewritten by Wang Zheng, but he pointed out three key points.

First, Zhang Zhao has now been ordered by the emperor to be the governor of Yangzhou, so Danyang and Wujun are justified and become the territory under his rule.

Second, Shanyue and Sun Ce joined forces to rebel against Jiangdong before, and this expedition is "revenge and revenge".

Thirdly, the troops were divided into two groups, both of which were victorious all the way, and even a famous town on the right side of the river, Qu'e, only lasted for less than seven days, and captured the enemy general Quanrou and others, which shows the strength of Wang Zheng's martial arts. Sheng, the sharp edge of the heavenly army.

The fewer the words, the more prominent the key points. Compared with the original text, the literary talent is naturally very different, but in terms of conciseness, it is much better.

"You can polish it a little bit, and then order the official office to send it to various places."

"promise."

Soon after, the envoys who sent Lubu rode out of the city overnight, and Yangzhou, which had only calmed down from the war for a few months, became noisy and boiling again.

Three days later, Wang Zheng had just got married, and the Xuzhou army escorting Quan Rou and the captives arrived in Shouchun.

(End of this chapter)