Chapter 49 Snatching
Guo Qinglin and others took Liang Laosi out of the water, then placed his feet high on the bow of the boat and made him vomit, finally saving his life. Unexpectedly, Liang Laosi, who had just regained his composure, opened his eyes and said the first words that made the captain so angry that he almost kicked him into the river again: "Are you thieves?"
Guo Qinglin is so angry: I saved your life, so why don't you just say thank you? Just as he was about to round up his arms and give this guy a big mouth and then kick him back into the river, the confused Liang Laosi suddenly understood a little bit. He looked at the costumes of the people around him and the second sentence came out immediately. Come out: "Well, I want to defect to you!"
The captain of the country, who was both angry and funny, stopped his slap abruptly and replied in a dumbfounded voice: "We are thieves! Are you tired of your fucking life?"
Hearing that these people were really the thieves he was looking for, Liang Laosi burst into tears. He told his experience intermittently and without any preface or follow-up. While Guo Qinglin was listening to Liang Laosi's story in the cabin, several of his men cast a net and caught a lot of fish. Everyone went ashore and went back to camp to grill the fish.
Today it was Gu Baihua's turn to guard the rear. He was a horse thief, and he was very good at his tricks. When he saw a few people from Guoqinglin rowing a boat upstream from a distance, he guessed that he was going to fish, so he asked Shanggu Baisong to run to the auxiliary barracks together, set up a pile of firewood, and waited for this. Come back and eat together.
It was impossible for Gu Baihua to know everyone in the auxiliary barracks, but he could still tell at a glance that this guy dressed like a drowned beggar was just fished out of the river by Guo Qinglin. Nowadays, the army has strong soldiers and horses, and they can even rob and extort money. After more than half a year, even the clothes of the auxiliary soldiers are very good. They are lined up next to each other with wet clothes, and the rags fluttering in the wind cannot be from the team. Especially since the two of them were still arguing - if it were other auxiliary soldiers, the national team would have greeted them with their loud mouths! I became interested immediately.
Guo Qinglin waved his hand and wanted to send Liang Laosi to the chieftain, the team responsible for civil engineering work. The latter refused to work and followed the begging all the way, determined to be a soldier who could kill the officers and soldiers. Of course it is impossible for Guo Qinglin, who can open door locks but not happy locks, to say that "although the division of labor is different, they all contribute to the cause of revolution", he would just believe that I saved your dog's life. You are my man, and you have to do whatever I tell you to do. Liang Laosi only wants to kill the officers and soldiers with his knife and no longer wants to dig the ground with his hoe. After hearing what happened to him and looking at his miserable state, the national captain couldn't bear to actually slap him. The two sides argued about this all the way.
While Guo Qinglin's men were cleaning the fish, skewering it and grilling it, Gu Baihua asked and understood the whole story, and patted his chest: "You want to kill dog soldiers? It's easy to handle. Come with me!"
Liang Laosi looked at Guo Qinglin, who was dressed in cloth with a long dagger stuck to his waist, and then looked at Gu Baihua, who was half-dressed in leather armor with two knives on his left and right sides. He threw himself at his feet and kowtowed. The meaning was clear. Gu Baihua laughed loudly, and Guo Qinglin lost his temper and said anxiously: "You damn person who wants to rob me also wants to eat my fish? Go away! I won't give my fish to my turtle grandson!"
Gu Baihua laughed and scolded: "You bastard's conscience has really been eaten by a dog! Don't think about who your subordinates got them for you?" He sat down on the ground and grabbed a grilled fish. He pinched a pinch of salt from the salt bag tied around his waist and sprinkled it on the branch. He opened his mouth and bit it. He sucked in air and said vaguely: "Human, I will take it away later and eat the fish too! I want you to be nice." Do it, I’ll catch your baby later, it’s not like you can have as much as you want!”
Guo Qinglin calmed down after thinking that this was indeed the case. He smiled, cursed a few words, and reached out to get the fish.
Liang Laosi, who was lying on the ground, kowtowed heavily a few more times. He raised his head and suddenly felt hungry. His stomach growled. Gu Baihua and Guo Qinglin looked at each other, laughed, and waved in unison. : "Get up, come and eat fish!"
After everyone ate for a while, Gu Baihua asked, "Liang Si, have you ever killed anyone?"
Liang Laosi shook his head.
Gu Baihua said: "Killing people is not like killing chickens. You might get killed by others."
Liang Laosi's eyes turned red again: "Fight with the dog officers and soldiers!"
This answer made Gu Baihua very satisfied, and he suddenly became heroic and said loudly: "Okay! It's not that easy for the dog officers and soldiers to kill my people!"
At that time, the most reliable guarantee of the army's combat effectiveness was hatred. Although there is no communication with each other, each general likes to form a team of soldiers with blood feud as their own ace seed troops to focus on training - after accumulating rich battlefield experience through several battles, these people who survived , will be assigned to each battalion to become fruit commanders, commanders and other grassroots non-commissioned officers. Under their words and deeds, over time, the teams under their command will have a stronger combat power than other ordinary soldiers. Then, they will be promoted to team officers and general managers. Finally, when they rose to the rank of guerrilla and general, they brought out a bloodthirsty tiger and wolf division that made the enemy, oh, well, not just the enemy, but everyone fearful. Of course, this situation is rare, and the vast majority of them will not survive that time.
The second means of ensuring combat effectiveness is the desire to rob. This is also a reward for the soldiers who shed their blood and sacrificed their lives. In ancient times, it was the same regardless of whether it was Chinese or foreign, whether it was officials, soldiers or bandits.
In the Chinese military tent, Guan Shengyun and Luo Yonghao were also discussing the same topic while eating: robbery.
Ganquan belongs to Yan'an Prefecture, and almost none of the counties in northern Shaanxi can be called wealthy. However, according to the order of the Third Division of Shaanxi Province, the meals prepared and delivered to the army by Ganquan Magistrate were really good: nearly half of the buns were mixed with 50% white flour, and the other half were also full of grains. More importantly, there is sauce! Even the regular frontier troops of the Ming Dynasty ate multigrain cakes mixed with rice and wheat bran and salted wild vegetable soup most of the time. The soldiers dined the steamed buns in salty sauce and ate them with smiles on their faces. Many of them secretly carried the steamed buns into their arms as a habit. At first, the team officers were kicking and beating to stop them. When they saw it, the battalion officers who knew what they were doing laughed and cursed: "Look at how hungry you are! Don't worry, there will be food wherever you go along the way." Where, the one in front is better!" The soldiers laughed sarcastically, but none of them stopped and continued to hide... This habit was not changed until the central part (today's Huangling).
The officers were better fed, with meat. Not only are there chickens, dogs, pigs, sheep, and even cows!
Ganquan is the first stop for these rebels to leave Shaanxi Province, and they must not cause any trouble or make any mistakes. This is the verbal order given by the Third Division to Ganquan Magistrate. Of course, even if it is a verbal order, the word "rebels" must not be mentioned. What the adults are talking about is "the army" - no matter how stupid the county magistrate is, he is still a member of the officialdom. Even if he doesn't understand at first why the adults treat these beggars The military man was so concerned that when he saw this group of people, he immediately understood: there were two roads in front of him. One is to start a riot and let this group of powerful characters who can't be offended by the provincial government break into the county and massacre all of their own families. At the same time, they will trap all the leaders (well, this means that even if the imperial court really admits their Loyalty, giving his son and nephew an official status, this kid will also be confused and die in the future), the other is to pretend to be deaf and dumb and act according to orders, and then ask his superiors to reimburse him and make a lot of money, and he can also do it because of this So that I can be appreciated by my superiors, my superiors’ superiors, and my superiors’ superiors’ superiors… adults! The county magistrate is the seventh grade, starting from the sixth grade, and then the sixth grade... The chief envoy is the second grade, how many levels are there in between, you can calculate it yourself!
So Ganquan is very well prepared.
When Guan Shengyun and Luo Yonghao negotiated with the provincial government representatives earlier, based on the principle of not giving up, and at the same time in order to achieve the best deterrence effect, they falsely reported the size of their troops by double--well, in fact, they reported twice the size at the beginning. , the adults had to pay the money on the spot until it reached this amount. However, the facts proved that they were still conservative: after two delays, the number of troops was actually expanded to almost enough!
Even so, Ganquan has prepared enough supplies!
Unexpectedly, Ganquan County Magistrate almost caused a catastrophic disaster to himself because he was too well prepared. At this time, Guan Shengyun had not yet completed the ideological transformation from the bandit leader to the commander-in-chief of the army. Seeing these many supplies, he actually had a little thought of robbery. Fortunately, he was killed by Luo Yonghao in time: "Big." Handsome! This sweet spring is already an empty city at this time. If we mobilize troops at this moment, not only will it be in vain, our army will break its promise first, and Shaanxi Province will inevitably mobilize the entire province’s troops to encircle it, and we will all die here!"
Guan Shengyun was a little confused: "Empty city? What did the military advisor say? They even brought cattle. They must be extremely rich. How can it be an empty city?"
Luo Yonghao said sternly: "It is precisely because of this bull that Luo dares to make such a conclusion! This is the first stop for our army. In order to put the blame on others, the Third Secretary of Shaanxi Province is eager for us to leave quickly. There is no doubt about this. I think. It was the provincial government that issued strict orders to Ganquan, and they must be fully prepared, and may even have stipulated the quantity of each item. If there were not enough pigs and sheep, the magistrate would force the cattle to make up the number. The commander-in-chief must not do what he thinks, this journey , until we leave Tongguan, our army will not only have no shortage, but will also gain a lot, so we must not be quick and quick!"
Guan Shengyun suddenly understood as if he was enlightened. After expressing his shame, he couldn't help but sigh: "Alas, these grains, meat, and money are all plundered from the people. Although they were sent by dog officials, in the end it was because of us that the people were tired. suffer."
Luo Yonghao smiled slightly: "Commander, you have an early rest today. Let me tell you a few stories to pass the time."
Guan Shengyun said happily: "Great, great!"
Luo Yonghao asked: "Commander, what do you think of Emperor Zhaolie of Shu Han?"
Luo Yonghao is talking about Liu Bei. The ancients' respect for the emperor was deep down. Except for a few such as Wang Mang, who tyrannized the Qin Dynasty and usurped the Han Dynasty, most of them were referred to by posthumous names and temple names.
Guan Shengyun raised his thumb and praised: "Needless to say? Hongyi is generous and a benevolent hero!"
Luo Yonghao smiled lightly and said: "Mr. Zhuge said that the unparalleled benevolent and righteous First Lord (Liu Bei) did not restrain the soldiers after he captured Chengdu! When the army entered the city, they started looting. The soldiers only regretted that they were missing two hands and even weapons. They didn’t want any more, just threw away the swords and guns and started robbing property. Where is the kindness and generosity?”
Guan Shengyun did not expect this question, hesitated for a moment, and argued: "It's no wonder Emperor Zhaolie, right? Brothers are living a life of licking blood from the edge of a knife. It would be difficult for anyone to restrain him."
Luo Yonghao said calmly: "The commander-in-chief is absolutely right. However, I haven't finished speaking yet. Although Shu has the reputation of heaven, its population and territory are limited after all. No matter how hard the soldiers snatch it, the Zhao How did Emperor Lie resist Sun Wu in the east, resist Cao Wei in the north, and launch great wars again and again?"
When it comes to fighting, Guan Shengyun is an expert, and he knows very well that war is a gold-eating beast. As long as the war starts, huge amounts of money, food and materials will be consumed every day. Liu Bei has been fighting since he established the Shu Han Dynasty. Where does the money and food come from? This question has never been thought of before.
Luo Yonghao saw Guan Shengyun's confusion and directly revealed the answer: "Of course the money and food were taken from the people, even his own soldiers. Emperor Zhaolie only used two methods. One was to open an official market. That is All businesses, as long as they are profitable, must be run by the government and compete with the people for profits! What does the commander think should be the situation of those ordinary people who have been cut off from their way of making a living? Second, cast a hundred coins. The so-called hundred coins do not mean a hundred coins. It’s the kind that’s ‘worth a hundred’! With the same weight of copper, new money can be worth a hundred pieces of old money.”
At this point, Guan Shengyun was a little confused, so he asked: "Military advisor, it is wrong to compete with the people for profit. I understand this. However, I don't quite understand: no matter how much copper is used, a hundred coins is a hundred coins." The money is just a hundred cents. What loss do the people have?"
Luo Yonghao said: "The harm of a hundred coins is far greater than the official market! Let me give you an example. Suppose you are one of the common people in the Shu Han Dynasty and have a hundred old coins in your hand. I am Prime Minister Zhuge. Now I will use one coin worth I will exchange hundreds of new money with you. You must exchange it, otherwise it will be a serious crime! Then, I will send merchants to the merchants in Soochow or Cao Wei to buy grain and cloth, and buy them with the old money! If the old money is universal , I can buy a full one hundred yuan worth of supplies. Even if they are not universal, I can still buy at least eighty yuan worth of supplies - after all, it is copper, and the same goes for melting it to make money. Right? You said, I How much did it cost to buy these goods? Just one penny! And where did this hundredfold profit come from? Is it Soochow or Cao Wei? They got a hundred penny! Is it me? Obviously I only It’s just a new coin spent! Then it can only come from the common people!”
Guan Shengyun became enlightened.
Luo Yonghao continued: "For another example, if you are a weaver, the cloth you weave every day can be sold for a hundred coins, and then you can buy raw materials and food. I exchanged one new coin for your hundred coins, and then used a hundred old coins to cast I will give you a hundred new coins and continue to trade with you, trade with the farmers, trade with the bucket makers, trade with the shoe makers, trade with the umbrella makers..."
Guan Shengyun intercepted and said: "Military advisor, I understand."
Luo Yonghao continued: "Another example is Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. In the battle to attack Baiyan City in Goryeo, he made an appointment with the soldiers and defeated the city for three days. The morale of the Tang army soared and the offensive was like a tide. Baiyan City asked for surrender. Taizong was happy and was waiting for the surrender. , Li Ji argued: "The soldiers are fighting for arrows and stones, regardless of the dead, and they are greedy for the captives. Now, the city is falling, how can we accept its surrender and betray the hearts of the soldiers?" Taizong responded: "The general said it is true. Even if I can't bear it when soldiers kill people and capture their wives and children. I will reward those who have merit under the general's command with treasures from the treasury, and I will redeem this city because of the general.' Commander, do you understand? A wise man like Taizong will also be robbed. ——The city redemption fee was said to be paid by the Holy King himself, but where did it actually come from? It did not belong to the people of Baiyan City! Another example is the Anshi Rebellion. Su Zong had few soldiers, so he asked falcons to "borrow troops" to put down the rebellion. What are the conditions? On that day, the local scholars and common people returned to the Tang Dynasty, and their gold, silk, and children all returned to the Uighurs! Where did the gold, silk, and children come from? Where did the food come from? Are the thieves able to farm, or the officials know how to weave? Neither can they? Then they will all return in the end. It just comes from the common people! 'Scholars and common people return to the Tang Dynasty', they are our own people, 'children return to the Uighurs', you see, even the common people themselves can be used to make transactions!"
The words made Guan Shengyun break into a cold sweat.
Luo Yonghaofu said coldly: "I heard that Emperor Zhaolie set a land tax of up to 60% for the people of Shu. I don't know whether it is true or not. But I do know that the people of Shu are so poor that every household has His son lay dead on the Qishan Road, but he still felt deeply grateful for the kind-hearted Uncle Liu and the incomparable wisdom of Prime Minister Zhuge, but he never thought about what all this was for. Even if Uncle Liu really revived his Han Dynasty and unified the world, how could he What does it have to do with you? You have to pay your land, taxes, and corvee services as you should, and you have to serve them as you should, right? Can your dead children come back alive?"
Guan Shengyun left his seat with sincerity, cupped his hands to Luo Yonghao and said, "The military advisor's lecture was so good! Guan has learned a lesson!"
Luo Yonghao hurriedly returned the salute and replied: "The commander-in-chief is so flattering that I really don't deserve it. In this province of Shaanxi, we must not engage in war unless we have no choice. The people are pitiful, but they are destined to be like this. Just don't force them. Don’t worry, isn’t this what happened to you and me?”
The two of them were talking, Gu Baihua, Qinglin and others had eaten and drank enough, and the Gu brothers took Liang Laosi away.
After that, the army followed Yanzhou and arrived at Central County (today's Huangling). Here, Luo Yonghao and his son, accompanied by Shaanxi Chief Minister Si Zuo Councilor Zhao, separated from Guan Shengyun and marched along Yijun, Tongguan, Yaozhou, Fuping This line goes to Weinan; the army continues down the Luoshui River and marches towards Tongzhou and Tongguan on the outskirts of Baishui and Pucheng.
Before leaving, Luo Yonghao was still worried. He was thinking about how to tell Guan Shengyun not to cause trouble. Unexpectedly, before he could speak, Guan Shengyun said, "Don't worry, strategist. The strategist's life is in the hands of the enemy during this trip. Guan Mou I will never do what he wants again and put my husband in danger!"
Luo Yonghao smiled gratefully, and just as he was about to speak, Guan Shengyun's eyes had already glanced viciously at Wang Ziyu, the Deputy Inspector, and Bao Zhicai, the Commander-in-Chief. The two men couldn't help but shuddered at the ferocious light in Guan Shengyun's eyes. Seeing this, Counselor Zhao hurriedly yelled: "Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief of your army, the safety of Mr. Luo and his son is guaranteed by Zhao! Even if the heel is short, "Sweet hair," he pointed at those two people, "just stew them alive!"
Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter. Only those two people smiled and greeted Master Zhao's eighteen generations of ancestors in their hearts.
