After Ding Quan finished speaking, Lu Gui, who was listening quietly, laughed and said, "There's a fire in Liu Yu's backyard. My lord, why don't you add more firewood to make the fire burn brighter."
Lu Gui also knew something about Yang Anxuan's strategy of using cotton to invade grain. Now that the fire was starting, it was time to add fuel and increase wages.
Yang Anxuan told Ding Quan: "The price of food in the Jiangnan area has risen, and the government has also sent people to keep an eye on people who buy food. You can save the secret guards from taking risks to buy food."
Ding Quan nodded in agreement and said, "I asked them to withdraw."
Yang Anxuan thought for a while and said: "There is no rush. During this period, the government is collecting grain and putting it into storage. Let them wait for an opportunity to set fire to the government's grain storage. However, safety is the most important thing and self-preservation is the top priority. If possible, do it and there is no need to take risks. .”
Lu Gui suggested: "In addition to the land of Sanwu, Shaopi is also the land of the Song army. If the granary of Shaopi can be burned down, the Song army in Pengcheng will be in trouble without food."
Since Sun Shuao in the Spring and Autumn Period, Shaopi has diverted Peishui water to form a lake to irrigate farmland. Up to now, it has thousands of hectares of fertile land and an annual grain harvest of nearly ten million stones. When Liu Yu conquered Southern Yan, it was Shaopi's grain reserves that supported the Northern Expedition. Today, Pengcheng and Dongguan mostly rely on Shaopi for their military rations.
Yang Anxuanming took the map and said: "Shaopi is in the middle reaches of the Huaihe River. To the north is Shouchun City of Huainan County (near Shouxian County, Huainan City, Anhui Province today), and to the west is Anfeng City, Anfeng County (20 miles southwest of today's Huoqiu County, Anhui Province). , to the south are six counties of Lujiang County (today's Liu'an City, Anhui Province), to the southeast is Hefei, Liu Yu is stationed in the Shaopi area, with more than 16,000 troops, plus the troops from various cities and counties, the strength is 24,000 About a thousand."
Lu Gui laughed and said: "I heard from my lord two days ago that Meng, the governor of Northern Yongzhou, would send 6,000 light cavalry to Yanzhou. Why don't my lord let these 6,000 light cavalry be stationed in Ruyin Shen County (now Tangwei, Jiangkou Town, Yingshang County, Anhui Province)?" Villages and villages), taking advantage of the swiftness of light cavalry, they went deep into Shaopi to loot, plunder, and burn food, which could lead to depression in Huainan and a shortage of food for the Song army. It could also cause people in the Jianghuai area to panic and cause chaos in the enemy's rear areas."
Yang Anxuan nodded and had plans in mind for the leader. Wang Zhene once proposed to him that Wang Huilong should serve in the staff department, believing that Wang Huilong could be reused.
Wang Huilong was born in the Wang family of Taiyuan, and was both civil and military. He was one of the top talents among Yang Anxuan's subordinates, and he was still young. Yang Anxuan really valued him.
Yang Anxuan also knew Wang Zhene's intentions, which were simply to integrate his family closely with the Wang family in Taiyuan and continue the family's destiny. In the future, if anyone in the descendants and nephews could inherit the family business, they would also be cared for by Wang Huilong.
This was originally the way for aristocratic families to survive. Although Yang Anxuan didn't like it, he also knew that it would take at least several generations to change this situation. Some things cannot be rushed and can only be done in a hurry. Xiu Shuzhu
"Wang Huilong is a steady man and can be entrusted with big things." Yang Anxuan said, "Order him to hand over Xingyang's troops and horses to Qi Ke and go to Shen County to lead the army to attack Shaopi. As for how to act, let him decide on his own and act according to the situation."
Gao Changqing stroked his beard and suggested: "If the people of Huainan are worried about food and clothing, my lord may wish to report to the emperor that he is willing to share the worries for the country and allow the people to go to Yong, Si and Yan for food and shelter."
Yang Anxuan laughed and said: "Gaogong Lao Cheng has made plans for the country. This proposal can be worth tens of thousands of troops."
The last time Gao Changqing suggested to Lu Gui that flooding Ji Nancheng was useless, he felt that he had lost his face. Now when he heard Yang Anxuan's praise, he suddenly felt bright on his face and said with a proud smile: "I am old and it is difficult to fight for supremacy on the battlefield. I can only do it for you." My lord, you have made up for the omissions and made additions, and you are worthy of your position as an advisor."
Yang Anxuan said: "The Wei army is currently attacking Beiyan with all its strength and has no intention of going south. We ordered Hu Fan and Zhu Lingshi to lead their troops to rob food. If we can lure the Song army out of the city, we can take the opportunity to set up an ambush and annihilate the effective strength of the Song army."
"In addition, food is not allowed to cross the river," Yang Anxuan said: "Let the checkpoints be strictly inspected and the food routes cut off."
Ding Quan asked: "The price of grain in the Jiangnan area has risen to more than 200 yuan per stone. However, this year there are many people growing cotton in the Jiangnan and Henan areas, and countless wealthy families are planting it privately. It is estimated that the price of cotton will fall."
In order to boost the price of grain in Jiangnan, Yang Anxuan spent nearly 10,000 taels of gold and a large amount of goods, and successfully raised the price of grain from 160 qian per shi to 220 qian per shi, driving the prices of other commodities in the Jiangnan area to follow suit. rise.
However, Yang Anxuan plans to use the huge profits from cotton to induce people to switch to cotton cultivation. If the price of cotton drops at this time, fewer people will grow cotton next year.
The effect was not great, which was contrary to Yang Anxuan's strategy. But the money in hand is almost used up, and it is really hard to find the money to raise the price of cotton.
Yang Anxuan thought for a moment and said: "Let the secret guard spread the rumor, saying that Wei, Qin, and Liang want to purchase large quantities of cotton to sew winter clothes, and Liu Yu is preparing to stockpile cotton and trade war horses with Wei. Let the rumor spread again, and say that Runan The price of cotton in this area has risen to 80 yuan."
Lu Guijian said: "In order to convince the cotton farmers in Jiangnan, my lord might as well buy some cotton at a high price through the market to make the rumors true. To lure those big cotton merchants in Jiangnan to buy cotton and come to the market to sell, I'm afraid the price of cotton will soar. Ichiban.」
The market transaction can be done in secret. You don't have to spend any money to sell with your left hand and buy with the right hand. You only need to create a momentum, which will definitely attract the cotton merchants in Jiangnan to be fooled.
Gao Changqing pointed at the map and said: "Now that the two armies are at war, the trade routes to Jiangling and Xiakou are cut off, and most of the merchants are heading north from Xunyang and Liyang. The lord can order people to transform into bandits, block the trade routes, and burn the cotton carts going north. .”
Yang Anxuan's eyes flashed sharply and he said coldly: "This plan is feasible."
In order to attack Liu Yu and achieve unification as soon as possible, it is natural to use all possible means.
Jiangling, the camp of the Song Army.
Liu Yu and his subordinates urgently discussed several countermeasures: one was to strictly prohibit food from leaving the country; the other was to borrow food from aristocratic families; the third was to purchase food from the Wei State and urge the Wei State to send troops to relieve the difficulties; the last one was in the name of miscellaneous donations. Each person in Dingkou was asked to collect one more stone of grain.
Knowing that he was drinking poison to quench his thirst, Liu Yu had to give this order, otherwise how could the army fight against Yang Anxuan if there was no food and grass. Food was fundamentally related, so Liu Yu did not dare to be careless and sent his servant Fu Liang back to Jiankang to take charge of the food collection.
Wang Huilong received Yang Anxuan's military order, transferred the military affairs of Xingyang to Sima Qike of Yanzhou, and set off for Ruyin County. After reuniting with the six thousand Qingqi from Beiyongzhou in Shenyang City, Wang Huilong summoned generals above Sima to meet and discuss matters.
The biggest fear when leading an army is that the generals will not know the soldiers, and the soldiers will not know the generals. Wang Huilong hosted a banquet for generals above Sima, a total of twenty-eight people. Wang Huilong talked to them one by one, hoping to establish an initial impression through a brief conversation.
Wang Zhen'e was happy when he learned that his lord sent Wang Huilong to Shen County. The lord's affirmation of Wang Huilong showed that his vision was right, and it also showed that the lord still trusted him.
Ever since Wang Huilong decided to go to the General Staff, Wang Zhene regarded him as his disciple and carefully taught him his experience.
This time it was crucial to harass Shaopi and cut off the Song army's granary. Wang Zhene wrote a thick letter to Wang Huilong to advise him on what to do.
Wang Zhen'e was resourceful and resourceful, and Wang Huilong also regarded him as his teacher. After receiving the letter written by Wang Zhen'e, he understood it carefully. In the letter, Wang Zhene mentioned that when you first meet someone, remember their name and characteristics, and call them by their first name the next time you meet, is a good way to build a closer relationship.
Wang Huilong chatted with the generals in a pleasant manner, secretly remembering the names of these people and his judgment of them, and secretly observed their words and deeds among each other to revise the impression in his mind.
Among the twenty-eight people, there were fifteen Sima, eight captains, and five miscellaneous generals such as Saoyi and Li Feng. Wang Huilong's main focus was on the five generals. Fortunately, Meng Longfu sent Qingqi to come. Also considering the convenience of administration, three of the five generals were members of their own family who had made meritorious service and were promoted in the army. The Qiang general Ma Hedang and the Di general Gong Xuan were brave tribal generals who submitted to Meng Longfu.
Half of the school captains and Sima were originally from the Yong Army, but the composition of the six thousand Qingqi was complicated, consisting of more than a dozen large and small tribes. Wang Huilong frowned secretly, wondering whether such an army could obey his command.
After finishing the meal, Wang Huilong had written down the names, appearances, and military positions of the twenty-eight people. He had a preliminary impression of the characters of these people. The next step was to bring these people together.
Wang Zhene mentioned in the letter that to consolidate combat power, we must rely on heavy rewards and military discipline, and rewards for meritorious service and severe punishment for violations of discipline. As a general leading an army, Wang Huilong looked at the people laughing and joking, and he had a clear idea in his mind.
The next day, Wang Huilong ordered the Qingqi to go out of the city for drills. Most of these soldiers were recruited from the Qiang and Di tribes. Although they were proficient in cavalry and archery, they were not familiar with commanding the horns and flags.
According to Wang Zhene's approach of managing one level at a time, Wang Huilong first requested that twenty-eight
Famous generals are familiar with military orders, and then let these people teach the military commanders and camp commanders, and then the military commanders and camp commanders teach the team leaders, chiefs, and corps commanders, and finally the commanders and corps commanders restrain the soldiers under their command.
Wang Huilong asked the military officials to preach that those who could familiarize themselves with the military orders within one day would be rewarded, and those who still did not know the military orders within five days would be whipped ten times.
When the army was practicing, the trumpets and flags commanded the soldiers and horses to dispatch. Wang Huilong promoted a team leader to a military prince on the spot, and several soldiers who broke in were whipped five times, including the corps commander and chief commander, and the team leader was It's ten lashes.
After five days of continuous drills, Wang Huilong saw that the soldiers were already familiar with military orders, so he divided the six thousand Qingqi into six groups. Each general led a thousand Qingqi, and the remaining Qingqi was under his own control. Wang Huilong began to issue some simple military orders to test the execution and cooperation of Qingqi, and the results were good.
While practicing and getting familiar with the troops, Wang Huilong sent scouts to inquire about the situation in Shaopi. Soon after receiving the report from the scouts, the Song army had more than 12,000 hectares of farmland in the Shaopi area. It was expected that the grain collected would be more than 10 million dan. The 16,000 army stationed the harvested grain and stored it in more than 40 hectares. At the granary, Shouchun, Anfeng, Hefei and other cities also sent county troops to help collect grain. In the past few days, they were preparing to transport most of the harvested grain to the city for storage.
On July 22, Wang Huilong led all 6,000 light cavalry out, with a simple purpose: to attack and burn the Song Army's granary in Shaopi.
Shaopi is surrounded by important towns such as Shouchun, Anfeng, Liuxian, and Hefei. It is impossible for the six thousand Qingqi to capture the city without siege equipment. Wang Huilong told the five generals who led the army to take advantage of the fast and windy characteristics of the Qingqi. The Song army entangled, all with the purpose of burning down the granary.
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