Chapter 52: Invincible in the world

The cold winter finally covered the entire land. With the snowflakes fluttering, the two border vassals of the Later Tang Dynasty attacked and soon achieved results. Shi Jingtang left the south of the desert and occupied the Heicheng, and Zhao Dejun also won many battles when he went out of the western part of Liao. Liu Zhiyuan searched all the food and grass in the northern part of the Jin Dynasty, and moved them out of Lei Gongkou and didn't know where they were hidden. Yun, Wei, Ying, Huan, Shuo, and hundreds of thousands of people in the six prefectures were exhausted. He took the IOU issued by Shi Jingtang and recommended his elders to Taiyuan to cry and ask the court to allocate grain and provide relief.

After Li Congke heard the news in Luoyang, Thunder was furious. Shi Jingtang and Zhao Dejun went out to attack at this moment, so the imperial envoy he sent could not find them in Yunzhou. The imperial envoy sent to Yanjing returned without success. When he returned to Luoyang, he was killed by Li Congke. The imperial envoy sent to Yunzhou was frightened and turned back halfway after hearing the news. He went out of Lei Gong's mouth to find Shi Jingtang. As a result, he encountered Khitan cavalry on the way and died outside the frontier without any body. Sang Weihan wrote a letter for Shi Jingtang, saying that Shi Jingtang was fighting fiercely with the Khitan in the south of the desert, and it was extremely dangerous to go out of the frontier in the cold winter. When Zhang Jingda was about to take over the military power in Yunzhou, Liu Zhiyuan said that the commander was not there, and the war was in urgent need, "for the country's plan", and he did not dare to defend himself in the face of the battle.

Luoyang and the two major border vassals were just quarreling, but they made the people in northern Shanxi suffer!

In recent years, Shi Jingtang has done many good things that are conducive to the rest of the people. He not only manages the people well, but also manages the army well, and has a strong custom. Other Khitans have not been able to make it easier to harass him several times. Therefore, the living environment of the states in northern Jin is not worse than that in Luoyang. Unexpectedly, disasters have come this winter. Because Li Congke intends to reduce the vassal states, Shi Jingtang runs out of the frontier and scrapes the food stored in the six states. The urns of hundreds of thousands of ordinary people are immediately stretched. However, they not only secretly cursed Shi Jingtang, but they also have no good feelings for Li Congke, and they think that the prince-cong's destiny was forced to do such an abnormal thing.

Seeing the mountain of IOU displaying on the case, Li Congke was furious and kicked the Long Case over with his foot, and said angrily: "Why do I need me to pay back the money and food that Shi Jingtang borrowed?"

Han Zhaoyin and Liu Yanlang looked at each other, and in the rage of the emperor, he did not dare to contact each other. Feng Dao stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, the prince-consort is the governor of Hedong, the general manager of Datong, Zhangguo, Zhenwu, and the military power of the foreign and Han soldiers. This time he sent troops under the order of the court. The money and grain he borrowed, that is, the money and grain borrowed by the court, is not unreasonable for the people to repay us."

Li Congke said angrily: "What did you say!"

Feng Dao was not too anxious and continued: "The Shi Prince Ma's move is indeed inappropriate, but now he has imposed heavy taxes and even resentment in northern Jin. Isn't this a great opportunity for the court to win the hearts of the people?"

"Great opportunity?" Li Congke said coldly: "Are you saying that you are sending grain to pay off Shi Jingtang's debt?"

Feng Dao said: "The prince-consort has been governing Jin for several common years, and it has won the hearts of the people. The people are content with their governance. The year before yesterday was a little familiar with Hedong this year. Jinnan Jiang, Jin and Fen prefectures can all provide one year of wasteland for the remaining grain, and even Taiyuan Prefectures still have a lot of grain. If Taiyuan Prefecture is transferred to maintain grain to help the people of the six states in northern Jin, and then Jiang, Jin and Fen prefectures are then stored in Taiyuan Prefectures to realize the treasury of Taiyuan Prefectures, then Hedong will not be turbulent and the people will not be hungry. The people in the six states can be collected overnight. Once the people are met, the prince-consorts will have heavy troops outside the border, and they will not be able to start. Over time, their soldiers and generals under their command will miss their families, and they will naturally scatter and Hedong will not be able to recover without fighting."

Li Congke laughed and said, "This is exactly the scholar's theory! Military rations are easy to disperse and difficult to gather. It is extremely difficult to raise tens of thousands of troops, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of people in northern Shanxi. When will I raise them? Taiyuan and southern Shanxi are the foundation for my expedition to attack Shi. How can I spread out? How can I raise soldiers after all the food is dispersed? Most of the Hedong tyrants colluded with Shi Jingtang. This time, Shi Jingtang was able to scrape all the grains in the six states so quickly, so they must assist them. I expected Shi Jingtang to scrape away one bucket, and they must squeeze three or five buckets from it to go home! This is their wealth.

It is a good opportunity, so I am willing to obey orders. If I follow the requests of these troublemakers to send grain, I will send a ten dou, and these wealthy families will at least take seven or eight dou from it! Once such a business is started, they will eat the marrow and taste it, and they will not be filled with it like a bottomless pit! Moreover, Shi Jingtang can collect the valley of the people today, and he can also go south tomorrow to collect it. I will distribute one dou, and he will collect one dou. The grains in southern Jin are north of Taiyuan, and the grains in Taiyuan are north of the six states. When the grains in southern Jin are almost gone, then the grains will be transferred from the Eastern Capital? Humph, this is a theory of capitalizing for the enemy, and no further remarks are allowed!"

"Your Majesty," Feng Dao said: "North Jin and northern Jin are worried about famine. If you do not follow the request of the people, you may not be able to gain a foothold when the newly appointed officials of your Majesty come to northern Jin. If there is a turmoil in northern Jin, you may be afraid that the Khitan will take advantage of the situation and it will be more than worth the loss at that time."

"How dare they? Do they rebel with Shi Jingtang!" Li Congke said: "The people in northern Jin are fierce, fighting aristocratic families, and border tribes have built camps and defended themselves. Even if someone Shi plunders, they cannot plunder all the wheat urns of these aristocratic families. These are the pillars of northern Jin. As long as they can still live, there will be no trouble. As for the common people, let them live on their own. The money and food of the Eastern Capital and the various palaces are the fundamentals of my kingly dominance. I will not be able to get Shi's plan to transport food for him! If the people really can't live on, let them eat the New Year at the homes of the rich - and they say that I promised them!"

Because he urged Zhang Jingda to enter northern Shanxi immediately and take over the defense of the six states, he unexpectedly, as Feng Dao said, the wealthy families of the six states were dissatisfied when they saw the new officials coming empty-handed, and all spread rumors among the people: "The court only knows how to collect grain and pay taxes. Now our rice jars have been squeezed out, but the court does not send a grain of rice down. What are we going to do with this official?"

The prefect sent by Li Congke, the county magistrate, said: "It was Shi Jingtang who collected your money and food, not the court."

The wealthy families in northern Jin sneered and said, "Isn't Shi Gongma the official who was an official of the court? He went to the frontier to attack the Khitan in the north and was ordered by the emperor. It was precisely because of this that he asked him to recruit the food we depend on for survival! Now Shi Gongma the boss has left with money and food, and His Majesty wants to appoint a new official to come there, but at least he has to give us a way out."

Many places were joined by military and civil servants to completely isolate the officials sent by Li Congke. In some places, they heard that the emperor did not intend to pay off the debt and expelled the officials in the future. Seeing the noise of northern Shanxi and Taiyuan was not stable, Zhang Jingda dared not go out lightly and submitted a letter to ask Li Congke to send grain to repay the debt.

Li Congke was furious and wanted to order Qin Zheng to go to Taiyuan in the north, Han Zhaoyin, Liu Yanlang, Xue Wenyu and others to persuade him quickly, saying that the emperor should not be moved lightly. Li Congke said: "Zhang Mai can sweep Anlong because he depends on his own expedition. I am from Fengxiang, and I can make trouble and ascend the throne to the emperor because he depends on his own expedition! Now Zhang Mai can travel thousands of miles to Beiting, and only more than a thousand miles between Taiyuan and the Dongdu. Am I not as good as Zhang Mai?"

Feng Dao advised: "It is now the harsh winter of the 39th century, and heavy snow has fallen in many prefectures and counties, and the roads are blocked. It is not the time to use troops. It is better to wait until the spring of the next year and make plans."

Li Congke smiled and said, "The general uses troops to open the road when he encounters mountains and builds bridges when he encounters water. The frozen Yellow River is just passing by. The snow blocks the road and lets the forward sweep away! Shi Jingtang has been bribing the hearts of the people in Hedong for ten years. If I don't go to suppress the bullets in person, Zhang Jingda alone will be afraid that he will not be able to suppress these troublemakers!"

Just as he was about to raise an army, shocking news suddenly came from the West. When Li Congke opened it, he saw that his face changed slightly. He stopped mentioning the matter of advancing the army that day. Seeing that Li Congke's face was gloomy and unstable, all the ministers did not dare to ask questions. After retiring from the court, Feng Dao's in-laws, Liu Feng, came to him to inquire about the news. Feng Dao whispered: "I haven't seen that war report, but a disciple who has been to surrender to Fan Wensu (Fan Zhi) just sent a letter yesterday, and mentioned something inside. Your Majesty's thoughts may be related to this."

Liu Xun asked, "What's the matter?"

Feng Dao leaned into his ear and said, "The Battle of Beiting is over!"

The results of the battle in Beiluntai City finally reached Liangzhou at an accelerated speed of 800 miles. Li Congke sent troops to take over Taiyuan in advance. The actions of Youzhou made the three ministers left behind in Liangzhou decide to spread the results as soon as possible. Therefore, within a few days, the news of the victory in Beiluntai City started from Liang, Lan, and Ningyuan in the west. The news of the great victory in Beiluntai City was like a firecracker igniting, one city after another, and one state after another exploded!

Even though it was in the cold winter, the people of Anlong were not afraid of the cold wind. They rushed to the streets to celebrate with ecstasy. They all went to the streets to beat drums and drums as if they were celebrating the New Year in advance. Even those who said the change of literature started to talk about the various stories of the battle in Beiluntai City!

Hey, the battle report has just been released, but the people who changed the text have a book to say it? But these people have prepared a manuscript. Although they have been to Beiting, they have only changed Shule and Gaochang's battles, and their names are similar. In short, it is how marshal Zhang Mai made a wise decision, how the governor Yang Yi made a brilliant plan, and how the pioneer Shiba bravely killed the enemy. On the contrary, it is the key figures of this battle - Guo Wei, Yang Xin and Xu Congshi, who did not appear in this initial rumor.

However, at this moment, everyone just listens to be happy, listens to be happy, listens to be happy!

It doesn’t matter who has made great contributions, the most important thing is to know that you have won!

"Our Tiance Tang Army is invincible!"

"Yes, yes, the Uighurs and Khitans, hundreds of thousands of troops were all gone. After this battle, our Tiance Army can be said to be invincible in the world!"

"Of course the world is invincible! Of course the world is invincible!"

"The world is invincible! The world is invincible!"

From Gaochang to Yizhou, from Yizhou to Guasha, to Suzhou, Ganzhou, Liangzhou, Lanzhou! Everyone is happy to get a good harvest! This battle in Beiting not only brought pride, but also proved that the Tiance Army has the strength to defeat all foreign enemies!

The herdsmen all felt awe. The farmers knew that there would be peace in the future. The merchants were particularly happy. They knew that the trade route was saved - not only was it saved, but they were afraid that they could go as far as they could in the future!

Naib said to his father Nair Shahi: "I heard that the Uighurs were defeated very much this time. Since their main force was defeated, it will not be long before they are in the west. Saman's trade route should be able to be reopened soon."

Nair Shahi laughed and said, "It's not just Saman's business path! This battle is so powerful that the Tiance army is everywhere! In the future, we, the royal merchants of the Tiance army, go wherever we want! Who dares to mess with us? With this battle, our Nai family will have to plan to become a century-old clan!"

On this day, Fan Zhi's disciples also received a lot of pens, and many merchants came to ask them to write praises. Large red silk hanged all over Liangzhou City. At this moment, the merchants seemed not afraid of losing money. Women and children sang and danced, singing loudly.

Looking at the city's celebrating scene, Fan Zhi said to a young scholar beside him: "Brother Daoji, this is the unity of the military and civilians. Unlike the Central Plains, the army in the front won the battle, but the people in the rear were not happy, but were worried. On the one hand, the people felt that the king had nothing to do with them when they won the battle, and on the other hand, they were afraid that the court would take the opportunity to increase taxes to celebrate and reward the soldiers. How could they be like Liangzhou? The scholars, farmers, industry and commerce were happy from the bottom of their hearts."

The young man looked similar to Fanzhi, but he was wearing a thick and lump dress and looked a little down and out, because he said, "Brother Wensu, you are an official in Luoyang now! If you say such words, be careful to be ginseng in the court!"

Fan Zhi smiled and said, "There is no third person here."

The young man smiled and said, "Wensu trusts me very much. But a while ago, news came from Central Plains that the court had taken over Taiyuan and Youzhou. What do you think about Wensu's matter?"

Fan Zhi said: "Your Majesty is using this move very fiercely, but recently there have been news that Shi Fengmao and Zhao Dejun have sent troops to attack the Khitan. When the imperial court urged them to advance, they rude around. Now that winter has arrived, the outer edge of the frontier is white. They have advanced when they are not on the way. This is obviously the name of advancing and avoiding the order. There is still some chaos in the Yanyun area. Judging from the current situation, the Tiance Army has established a foundation for unsuccessful growth. Therefore, if Brother Wei intends to become an official in Anlong, I would like to agree."

The young man lowered his head and said, "But this Anlong is a border vassal after all..."

Fan Zhi whispered: "The only virtues are found in the nine provinces. King Wen started in Xiqi, and Hangao started in Bashu. After all, he could sweep the world, not because of his land, but because of his virtue! Now the Central Plains are divided, Jiangnan is dismembered, Bashu is divided, and the heroes of Hedong and Hebei are all reverent. Only the Tiance army fought east and west, defeated the Uighurs, defeated the Khitan, captured all the hometowns of Longxi of the Tang Dynasty, and greatly boosted the reputation of China. Who can match such military achievements in the world?"

The young man said, "General Tiance has made great achievements and is famous in the world. But I have no chance to meet him for a while, but I don't know what his virtue is."

Fan Zhi pointed to the people on the street and said, "You can see if the king is a virtue, just look at whether the people under his rule are in the same heart as the emperor? If you don't say anything else, just talk about the establishment of the Taiwan system, and your mind and courage can be seen." Seeing the young man nodded slightly, Fan Zhi said again, "I heard the news that the Tiance Mansion is preparing to conduct a new imperial examination after the Beiting War, and to select scholars by subject, regardless of origin, race, or division, only talent is the only one to recruit talents from all over the world. If this matter is true, Brother Daoji should prepare for it. This is the first subject! If you can get the first lead, you will definitely have a bright future in the future!"
Chapter completed!