Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

Therefore, he issued an order in the court to encourage retired officials to go to Luoyang for retirement. At the same time, he planned to add ten battalions to the three towns of Heyang in the north of Luoyang to ensure the safety of Luoyang.

In addition, Li Gu, the former prime minister, and Fu Yanqing, the head of the state, have all gone to Luoyang as examples, and they can also attract many people.

"This city wall is too straight and needs to be improved. If there are local soldiers approaching the city, such a straight city will have a dead corner when they approach the foot of the city. The top of the city is difficult to see, and they cannot easily attack." Han Tong walked a long straight The city wall, explained to Shi Congyun with a dissatisfied face.

As he spoke, he stood at the head of the city to demonstrate to Shi Congyun.

Shi Congyun leaned over and looked down, and it was exactly as Han Tong said. Because the city wall was too high, the view directly below was limited. If the enemy really approached the city wall quickly and stuck to the corner, it would be difficult to attack.

Han Tong over there also said the solution very professionally, "Officials, such a city wall must build a tower every other section, so that the enemies at the corner of the city can be attacked from the side.

Another way is to build the city wall into a curved shape, so that the soldiers on the side can clean up the enemies at the foot of the friendly city......"

Han Tong talked endlessly, he was an expert in building the city wall.

Shi Congyun was far away from the top of the city, and the dust was flying in the distance. Pairs of troops were gathering towards the avenue to the south, but he couldn't see where the troops were. Now the tone of the battle is basically set. are being recalled.

"The person who controls the Crane Army." Wang Zhong explained to him.

Shi Congyun nodded, then turned around and asked Han Tong, "What kind of city wall does General Han think Daliang City is suitable for?"

Han Tong thought for a while, "Daliang City is too long, and it would take too much time and effort to build towers at intervals, and it may be expanded in the future. I think it is better to build a curved city wall."

Shi Congyun nodded: "Wang Zhong, you are the inspector of the capital. You and Kaifeng Mansion are in charge of this matter. As for the project, General Han is mainly responsible for it. He is a veteran."

"No!" Wang Zhong agreed rather unhappily, but he remembered the expression Han Tong showed them at the beginning.

Shi Congyun also thought about this problem. Han Tong is not very popular because he stares at everyone and offends many people. If he is not given a higher position, he is afraid that it will be difficult for him to do things.

So Shi Congyun continued: "Han Tong, I temporarily appointed you as the co-magistrate of Kaifeng Mansion to fully manage the expansion of Daliang City."

Han Tong was so shocked that his eyes widened, and then he knelt down on one knee and said, "I obey!"

As the capital of Kaifeng Prefecture, any official has a high position and authority. Generally, if the crown prince is an adult, then the governor of Kaifeng Prefecture is the crown prince, and the Tongzhi of Kaifeng Prefecture is also a high authority as the second in command. The reason why Shi Congyun let Han Tong To be in charge is to let him take charge of this matter without restraint.

"You go to the Chuigong Hall the day after tomorrow. I will call the Third Division, the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Kaifeng Mansion to formally coordinate this matter." Shi Congyun ordered. After all, this is not a small matter, and it needs to be coordinated and discussed by all parties.

.......

Afterwards, everyone was talking and laughing, and they had a tour around the city. Shi Congyun was in a good mood. Looking from afar from the high city, there were villages and towns outside the city full of vitality in the distance, and there were new green fields in the distance. Busy, the imperial army from the brigade on the other side of the road is gathering, it should be the soldiers from the North Camp who are training.

Everything seemed to be in order. After walking for a while, a young official came to the Political Affairs Hall and sent a new memorial. This was requested by Emperor Shi. If there is any recent memorial related to Lingnan, you should report it to him as soon as possible. , no matter where he is.

Because the emperor's temper is well known in the world, officials from all over the country, especially those close to Guangdong and Guangxi in Hunan and Hubei, were not so afraid. They wrote letters to the imperial court, raised various opinions, and provided information.

When Shi Congyun saw that it was Zhongshu Sheren who came, he immediately understood that there was a memorial about Guangyu in Lingnan.

After calling everyone down the city wall, they sat and rested under an old tree below, and then asked, "Who is this time?"

Zhongshusheren took out a memorial from his arms and said: "Zhang Quhua, the general judge of Daozhou, wrote to the imperial court to propose to the imperial court to take Guizhou and attack the Southern Han Dynasty. Stick to it and rely on it for defense. If the army conquers its city first in order to take Panyu, it will be like trampling on an uninhabited territory.

His suggestion is to go through the Yuechengling Road and take Guizhou first. The Yuechengling Road is low and flat, and it is the most convenient route to cross the Nanling Mountains. Therefore, since the Qin Dynasty, it has been the main passage for the northern army to reach the south of the Lingnan Mountains.

If Wang Shijun takes this route, it can save the troops the long-distance fatigue of going west first and then going east, and can make full use of the convenient water transportation conditions. "

After hearing this, Shi Congyun said: "You go back and ask Fan Gong to write a commendation letter to praise Zhang Quhua's memorial, and give him a jade belt as a reward."

"Yes." The official took the order.

Shi Congyun understood the meaning of Daozhou's general judgment, which was the question of whether to send troops to the east or west.

Generally speaking, there are two routes for them to send troops now, one is the west route, just like Qin Shihuang's Qin army Pinglingnan, taking the line from Bozhou to Guizhou, which is roughly the same as the later generations of Yongzhou City, Hunan Province along the river valleys and straight down to Guilin. It is flat and can travel both land and water.

The disadvantage is that the west line is farther away from Guangzhou, and Guilin needs to be conquered before marching south. Guilin now has the largest naval camp in the Southern Han Dynasty, Jingjiang Army Town, and it is rumored that there are [-] naval troops.

The other is to go south to Daozhou (later Dao County) in the east, capture Hezhou (later Hezhou City), and then march south. This road is closer to Guangzhou.

However, the conditions of water transportation are not as good as those on the western front, and this means temporarily ignoring the huge navy of the Southern Han Dynasty on the side and rear, which is dangerous.

The dispute between the east and west lines, and the battle between the two fronts have always been the focus of discussion in the court, but Shi Congyun also has his own judgment in his heart.

.......

In mid-March, Shi Congyun summoned the generals, the Privy Council, and senior officials of the Political Affairs Hall in the Chuigong Hall. However, this time he did not invite them to discuss, but directly announced his decision.

"After your discussion, I have thought about it for a long time. Many of your ideas are reasonable. I have considered your suggestions, gathered the strengths of a hundred schools of thought, and finally came up with a battle plan and arrangement." In front of everyone, Emperor Shi As soon as he opened his mouth, the entire hall immediately fell silent.

Everyone looked up and looked up, waiting for the emperor's decision.

Shi Congyun didn't just choose generals on a whim, he had already arranged the candidates, he also wrote notes, put them on the table in front of him, and said according to the list: "I will deploy Pan Mei as the Lingnan capital. For the matter of attacking Lingnan, give Shang Fang a sword, and anyone below the lieutenant will be able to kill anyone who does not die."

Many people had already guessed this result, because the emperor recalled Pan Mei early and discussed the situation in the south with him from time to time, and because Pan Mei had always been the emperor's confidant before, anyone with a little brain would have guessed this result.

Pan Mei came out in military attire, and the eunuch next to her presented a gorgeously decorated sword on a sandalwood tray. This sword did not look like it was used to kill enemies, but more of a symbolic meaning. Pan Mei took it, and then knelt down on one knee Land: "Your Majesty will live up to His Majesty's expectations!"

Shi Congyun nodded, and then arranged, "Cao Bin will be the deputy, and Dou Yi will be the supervisor."

The two immediately went out to accept orders, and then thanked them.

"Guo Tingzhi, Liu Renshan, Si Chao, Wang Huan, Meng Xuanzhe, Yin Chongke, Dang Jin, Jing Si, and Fu Zhaoyuan are all leaders in the army."

The generals who read their names, except Yin Chongke, who was not present in Chenzhou to prevent the attack of the Southern Han Dynasty, all of them came out to take orders.

"Use Shen Yilun as the envoy to the South of the Five Ridges to conquer the army and civilians in Tanzhou, Hengzhou, Daozhou, Chenzhou, Yongzhou and other places to ensure supplies for the army."

"The old minister takes orders!" Shen Yilun, with gray hair and beard, came out. He was not young, and Shi Congyun actually couldn't bear to let him go to work as an old man, but others were really worried. Shen Yilun was an old man. , Conquering the Southern Han Dynasty, and the Liao Army War were all his work of turning far, and he did it very well.

Shi Congyun got up and went down to help him up, and then said: "Mr. Shen, you are old, and you have spent your whole life working on state affairs. I have no heart to let you go around. How can you measure grass and luggage and turn far away? You are no better than the commander of the three armies. The formation of troops should be simple and equally important, I really can't worry about others."

Emperor Shi made some manipulations, and the old man was so moved that his eyes filled with tears, "Please don't worry, the officials, even if the old minister sacrifices his old life, he will not let the army's logistics be in trouble."

Shi Congyun nodded with emotion, "Mr. Shen has worked hard."

Then he turned his head and said to Liu Qingchuan, the trusted general beside him: "Liu Qingchuan, you lead the Inner Palace Imperial Guards to protect Duke Shen and wait for orders. If there is any problem, I will take you as the questioner."

"No!" Liu Qingchuan quickly accepted the order, he was more clever.

Emperor Shi said: "Lu Duoxun, Li Fang, you also go with Shen Gong, study hard as deputies, and fully serve Shen Gong's orders."

Both of them were relatively young and came out to listen to orders.

After arranging the appointment of high-level personnel, Shi Congyun began to order troops.

The arrangement of troops was the result of discussions between the Privy Council and the Third Division, after considering the carrying capacity of the south, the country's surplus food and other issues, and Emperor Shi also nodded in agreement with the final decision.

The eunuch next to him directly took his edict and read out the troop arrangement: the navy and the Cangbo armies all listened to each side, and the land used the tiger to win the first side, the crane control the fourth side, the iron cavalry to the right side, and the god fire to the left side For the main force.

A total of 10 troops!

With an army of one hundred thousand, it can be said that there are very many troops.

You must know that there were only tens of thousands of people who destroyed Shu back then, but now the [-] soldiers are not sent by the Privy Council, the Third Division, and the prime ministers who think that the Southern Han is more difficult to deal with than the Shu Kingdom. Coupled with the dividends of the war, the country is rich and can afford such a war.

That's right, if you have money and food, you can do whatever you want, that is, you can send more troops, and sending more troops will increase the chances of winning the war, forming a virtuous circle. It can be said that the whole country has begun to snowball.

As for the subsequent strategic arrangements, not everyone was present. Shi Congyun just summoned all the officials and generals who had just been named to the side hall for discussion.

Strategic deployment is confidential and cannot be disclosed casually.

........

After that day, the forbidden army, which had been resting for a year and a half, began to be dispatched. The forbidden army from all over the place was urgently recalled, and the capital galloped in all directions.

The river along the way was temporarily under the compulsory control of Kaifeng government officials, large and small merchant ships and civilian ships could only pass along one side, while many navy ships Qiyun and Guangwei gunboats gathered along the Bian River to the south, preparing to enter the waters of the Huaihe River, pulling a long stretch of water on the river. There are more than ten miles of battleship dragons.

Even if no one said that the common people were not blind for such a big move, the news of the war soon spread out of the palace, and the whole Daliang City knew about it very quickly.

There was no intention of concealing it in the imperial city, and soon the Imperial Academy wrote a document to announce it to the world, denouncing the various crimes committed by the Lord of the Southern Han Dynasty against the people and the crime of disrespect to the Chinese emperor. Congyun felt that his face was not that important, but in order to save the people of the Southern Han Dynasty from the fire and water, he decided to send troops to Lingnan, and at the same time, let other countries in the world feel at ease.

This document is not only for the people to read, but also to appease the Southern Tang, Wuyue, Dali and other countries, so that they can feel at ease.

After almost two years of silence, Qin's powerful war machine is running at high speed again.

Chapter 409, An Unprecedented Fleet

In the spring breeze, everything revives. The lights behind the low-walled huts are dim, and the wind blows away the noise of the neighbors’ homes. It gradually becomes quiet in the night. There are still bright lights on the riverside in the distance, but there are not many.

In such an era, people generally went to bed early, and firewood and lamp oil were not cheap.

Behind the low wall, the woman's crying could be heard faintly, "It's hard to live in peace for two years, and you are going to fight again......

The battlefield is so dangerous, what should our mothers do if something goes wrong..."

Trivial grievances are interspersed with the chirping of night insects, and from time to time mixed with the cry of frogs in the distance, intermittently and scatteredly.

The woman whispered for a long time before she heard the man's voice: "How can we live a good life without fighting, our family is the only one in the village who can eat meat, and there is still so much land.

Neighbors in the neighborhood, come and go, they are very envious, it is all in exchange for the war... Fighting with the emperor, others think that there is no such opportunity, women's family, long hair, short knowledge. "

"But..." The woman sobbed faintly in the room, "I don't want anything, I just want you to be well and safe."

Now the man stopped talking, and the night suddenly became quiet.

It took a long time before I heard the man say: "This is a major event in the world..."

At night, the woman's crying did not stop.

The wind blows the willow leaves outside the house and floats in all directions. Under the night, thousands of stores around Daliang are submerged in the night.

The princes and generals in the court, the emperor's supreme talker, have a strategy in mind, and control the world, but for ordinary people, it is a different reason, most of the time it is to survive and live a better life.

When the news of the dispatch of troops spread, some families were still happy and some were sad.

Naturally, the 20 forbidden soldiers and their families around Daliang were the first to respond.

.......

In mid-March, after the order to send troops was issued, Shi Congyun sent many officials to the area where the families of the Forbidden Army gathered to express condolences on his behalf.

The Qin State had both the military system of the Tang Dynasty and the recruitment system, but because of the frequent and cruel wars since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the main force today is the forbidden army of the recruitment system, which is a professional army specialized in fighting.

The government soldiers are both soldiers and farmers, they farm and train in peacetime, and they are obliged to fight for the country in wartime.

The recruitment system was formed after Tang Xuanzong, and it was also one of the important reasons for the Anshi Rebellion. To put it bluntly, it was a professional army.

Armor and weapons, food, drink, and food are all contracted by the state. They don't have to do anything at ordinary times, and they only use full-professional troops who concentrate on military skill training.

It is undoubtedly very expensive to raise such an army, because not only one soldier needs to be raised, but his family is also included. If he is injured, dies in battle, or is too old to continue serving, the state will need to pay for it.

But the benefits are also obvious. Compared with the military soldiers who integrate farming and warfare, professional soldiers can devote all their energy to military skill training, and everything in normal times is just to practice the ability to kill.

Such an army will be very elite and capable of fighting, and can adapt to high-intensity warfare.

But that is the problem. These professional troops have two major problems. One is that the cost is astronomical. If the high-intensity war is over, but still maintain such a professional army, not only will not be able to achieve the result of defending the country, but it will also save the country. The country was dragged to death, and a large amount of national finances were spent on raising soldiers, but there was no war to raise soldiers.

The other is that the professional army is difficult to control, especially in this era when communication technology and transportation methods are backward, communication basically depends on shouting, and transportation basically depends on walking.Fubing is more loyal to the country, because they have their own fields and property, they fight to protect themselves, and they can live well without fighting.

The professional army is different. One is that they can easily not fight for the emperor and the country. They are not tied to the country to protect their land like the soldiers.

If there is no faith, no education, then you will become a mother whoever you are, whoever you are, if you give more money, you will fight for you. There is no such thing as family and country righteousness. I don’t even bother to shoot arrows without money. one.

The Anshi Rebellion caused by Tang Xuanzong can be said to have changed the fate of China. If we say that the Anshi Rebellion is a major turning point in Chinese history, there is no doubt that it is one.

This turning point was caused by the out-of-control military recruitment system, and the aftermath of the Anshi Rebellion is still there. Afterwards, the warlords separatist regime, the army expanded, and the court could not control it. The chaos in the world began after the Anshi Rebellion.

So Emperor Shi was actually hesitant in his heart, and once again he told Zhao Shijian about this matter under the old tree in the palace.

Today, his Daqin has 20 professional imperial troops in the central government, and a small number of professional troops in various local states and counties, adding up to about 35 professional soldiers nationwide.

Many generals in the court, including Wang Shenqi, Li Chuyun, Si Chao, etc., have written letters to him. Because of the continued expansion of the army, the forbidden army has been expanded to at least 40, and the national professional army has remained at around 80 million.

Because in the future we have to conquer Liao and deal with Jiangnan, we need more troops, and the current strength is far from enough.

But he himself is hesitant, because the lessons of the Tang Dynasty are still there. He used to boast that he knew astronomy from the top and geography from the bottom, and he knew 5000 years of history. Only when he became the emperor, amidst the tide of the times and the general trend of the world, did he realize that things were far from that simple.

It is impossible for him to turn a blind eye to the lessons of the Tang Dynasty that just passed away not long ago. The expansion of the army is naturally simple. He is now in the limelight and has a great reputation. Cutting is difficult.

The generals under him didn't have any thoughts, but when the country was on the rise, everyone's minds were very hot, and they probably thought about the 40 forbidden troops, directly stepping down to the capital and restoring the great achievements of their homeland.

As an emperor, Emperor Shi couldn't be too hot-headed, otherwise he would be the next Tang Xuanzong.

And it's not easy for him to tell outsiders about this matter, even the queen, because Fu's family is one of the largest military towns in Hebei, so he can only discuss it with Zhao Shijian in private.

In the end, he also had a fixed number in his heart. The expansion of the army is necessary, and it cannot be delayed. There will be a war in the next ten years, but it cannot be excessively expanded due to air pressure and fear, otherwise it will return to the old road of the Tang Dynasty.

In the past few days, he asked Zhao Shijian to help him carefully check the memorials of the Department of Household Affairs, review the revenue and expenditure of the court over the years, read the household registration statistics of the Ministry of Households, estimate the population of the whole country, and finally got a bottom line in his mind.

It is most appropriate to keep the national professional army below 50.

The professional army here does not include many auxiliary soldiers and township soldiers. It is a purely local professional army, plus the central professional imperial army.

Among them, the central forbidden army was kept at 30, and the local standing army was kept at 20.

Farming in peacetime, military training in leisure time, and government soldiers supporting operations in wartime are very flexible, and can be quickly recruited if needed.

In this way, the expansion of the central professional imperial army by another [-] is already the limit, and he has to be careful when it goes up.