Hong Chengchou and Wang Ji really made the calculation.
Liu Shizi is indeed unsure about his own logistics, and at the same time, he also really wants to take charge of Guanzhong.
After all, the geographical conditions in the northwest are not very good. There are only a few places that can be called rich places. Liu Chengzong's intentions towards Guanzhong are almost written on his face.
When the generals at all levels garrisoned in Qinghai and Gansu gathered in Lanzhou, Liu Chengzong held a lively military meeting in the Marshal's Mansion. In the evening, the generals had a banquet in the Ningxi Garden in Suwang City, and Liu Chengzong boarded the Fuyun Tower. Looking at the Yellow River at night.
"Brother, how do you feel about supervising Gansu? What difficult problems did you encounter?"
Cao Yao, holding on to the railing of Fuyun Tower, was stunned for a moment when he heard these words, and then shook his head and said: "It sounds like a town, but based on its population, it is nothing more than a large scattered county. It is very dilapidated and has no major problems. Lots of little problems.”
After that, he smiled at Liu Chengzong and said: "It's the same problems that other places in our commander's office have. Too much road consumption, too long distances, troops stationed in various places, food transportation is poor, and a bunch of officials have to be assigned to pay them salaries. It hurts."
Liu Chengzong nodded and laughed when he heard this, and said with emotion: "The administrative costs are high. This is the price of our survival."
This is a common problem in almost all areas of the Marshal's Mansion. This is a regime with no hope. In the long history, there are countless ethnic groups like them that have briefly ruled the northwest by force. Many of them collapsed within a decade or even a few years.
Unless the enfeoffment system is used, it is possible to continue the rule to the second or third generation by luck.
The fundamental reason lies in administrative costs. Barren land and difficult roads lead to administrative decentralization, which requires more bureaucrats or nobles to rule. Things from here cannot be transported and needs from there cannot be met.
It is a province in name only, but in fact the population and output are equivalent to one or two counties in Guandong, but it has to pay more than ten times the administrative costs. Every minute and every second of its rule is invisibly consuming prestige.
This is what is meant by the saying that the mountains are high and the emperor is far away.
There is no higher mountain than in the northwest.
But this is the price that the Marshal's Mansion must bear. If they had not come to Qinghai, they would still be a group of rebels wandering in the Central Plains, and they would probably have died in the endless pursuit.
"Chengyun has built a track in Hehuang. It will be completed by the end of this year. Depending on the situation of military discussions, if we can free up our hands, Gansu will also build a road from Jiayuguan to Liangzhou."
Hearing about the track, Cao Yao became energetic. Because there was a post road from Ganzhou to Hehuang to deliver urgent messages, he had heard about the track in Hehuang. He had long wanted to build such a road in Gansu, but the locust plague struck. Human and financial resources are stretched due to disasters, and there is no capital for road construction.
"That's good, but now let's watch the war first." Cao Yao said, the smile gradually fading on his face: "This is another battle in the empty country."
"When was it not the case?"
Liu Chengzong discovered that after Cao Yao became the governor of Gansu, he became more sentimental: "War is the most dangerous thing in the world. If you are not careful, you will fall into the abyss of eternal destruction."
As he spoke, he changed the subject and said: "But rebels like our Marshal's Mansion are always swimming in the abyss, and the probability of landing ashore is small. To be honest... the preparation for this Eastern Expedition is not a whim. In fact, Forced by the situation, if we don’t start a war, I won’t even be able to pay the army.”
Cao Yao had not been in Hehuang since he went on an expedition at the end of the year before last. He still had the impression that the finances of the Marshal's Mansion were sufficient. Moreover, there were not many troops to be paid by the Marshal's Mansion at that time. Now when he heard Liu Shizi say that the military pay was fast, Unable to express himself, he immediately opened his mouth and asked, "Huh?"
"There are expenses everywhere. Hehuang is too small and the Marshal's Mansion is too big. At the end of the Northern Expedition, there are six more battalions of paid soldiers. This is the result of me sealing Yang Qi's gang to Monan."
Liu Chengzong shook his head: "There is really no other way. If we want to maintain it, the only thing left is to start a war and fight the enemy."
In the Gansu battle, there were not seven additional battalions on paper, but the expanded numbers of the three battalions of Zhang Tianlin, Wei Qian'er, and Gao Yingdeng alone were close to two standard battalions; plus Suzhou and Gansu The deployment and expansion of the three battalions of Zhouzhou and Liangzhou, as well as other battalions, further expanded the army paid by the Marshal's Mansion.
Without this locust plague, Liu Chengzong would have been able to cope with it, but now this is obviously a luxury.
Thinking of this, Liu Chengzong took a deep breath and sighed: "Northwest, how can we restore vitality?"
"So that's what happened, I just said..."
Cao Yao didn't finish his words. In fact, he was surprised when he received the news in Gansu that Liu Chengzong planned to march eastward.
It's not that the interval between the two battles was too short, but that he knew Liu Chengzong too well. The Eastern Expedition was a war where the scale of the battle could not be controlled. This was not something Liu Chengzong would do.
In the eyes of the civil and military ministers of the imperial court, Liu Chengzong was the most terrifying monster in the northwest, but Cao Yao knew that was not the case. In fact, there was a group of monsters in the northwest who wanted to kill you. It was only because of Liu Chengzong's hold on the reins that he could not escape. Destroy the world.
There are many generals in the Marshal's Mansion, and they all look forward to the Marshal's Mansion integrating the peasant army, the Wala Tatars, the Mongolian soldiers and the Fan soldiers, with hundreds of thousands of tigers descending from the mountains and rushing into the Central Plains, killing those who can and robbing those they can.
As for how to use the local abandoned fields, how to repair the damaged water conservancy, and how to cultivate the broken population, that is not what they consider... There are many people among them who are capable of fighting. No one is as convinced as Liu Chengzong that the Ming Dynasty will soon be over. .
Cao Yao knew from the time they started the uprising that only Liu Chengzong truly believed in this matter and was only considering things three to five years from now.
Others don't even know if they can live another three to five years.
Pessimists think that they will be finished soon, while optimists think that they can cause heavy damage to the Ming Dynasty. Even if they die ten years first, they will be considered as the forerunners of our death.
Liu Chengzong's belief belongs to a terminally ill lunatic.
Of course, this kind of madness is mutual. They think Liu Chengzong firmly believes that the powerful Ming Dynasty will be destroyed, so establishing a stable regime to compete with the Ming Dynasty is crazy; Liu Chengzong also thinks that everyone has the belief that if they go crazy, they will die.
Up to now, they are not dead, they are still alive and well. The battles that the Generalissimo said will be fought will be won, and the difficulties that the Generalissimo said can be overcome without fighting will be overcome. This is also the bulk of the Marshal's Mansion, which has a sparse territory. The basis for the regime to maintain stability.
"So the Marshal's Mansion has come to this point."
Cao Yao looked up at the dark night and opened his mouth without speaking. It was very difficult.
He joined the army in Henan, was defeated in Liaodong, fell into exile in Beizhili, was recruited in Shanxi, became a thief again, was recruited in Shaanxi, and started an uprising with Liu Chengzong in Yan'an Prefecture. God pushed him every step of his life, and finally Liu Chengzong decided to enter Qinghai. At that moment, I had the illusion that I was in control of my own destiny.
It was very short-lived, but I still couldn’t escape God’s pursuit.
However, Liu Chengzong didn't know his sense of fate and asked in surprise: "Which step?"
Cao Yao didn't go into too much detail, he just smiled and said: "Because we won't be able to pay the salary soon, it's better to seize the time to fight while we still can. If we win, we will have the military salary. If we can't win, it doesn't matter. If we lose the war, we'll be fine." There’s no need to think about military pay.”
"Are you so pessimistic about the war situation? Haha!"
Liu Chengzong laughed heartily, also leaned on the railing, raised his index finger and waved it in front of his face, and said: "It's not necessary. The military meeting has three goals. The first is to capture Longxi, the second is to enter Guanzhong, and the third is to capture the entire Shaanxi Province. .”
Cao Yao was very cautious about the situation of this war and said: "I also listened to the military discussion. The battle line is too long, thousands of people from Ningxia to Hanzhong..."
"This is our chance to win. With thousands of miles of front line, I can't attack everywhere, but the Ming army has to defend everywhere. During the military meeting, everyone was in high spirits. I didn't say anything. The brothers now value the territory too much. Battle in formation. We can fight, but there is no need to build a defensive line with them. We can fight wherever we want, and it doesn’t matter if there are holes in the defense.”
"We will lose the land when the Ming army comes. From Jingning Prefecture to Gongchang Prefecture, and from Gongchang Prefecture to Lintao Prefecture, we can throw it away. Just like before, don't care about those lands. There is neither food nor people there. , there are only 1,997 people in the huge Jingning Prefecture, and they are all empty cities."
Liu Chengzong raised his hand and waved it in the air from Fuyun Tower, as if he had a map in front of him that accurately marked the location of the city, and said: "On the north road, we will attack Weizhou, Ningxia Town, and Qingfan's two royal cities, and win a military salary." That’s it.”
"Guanzhong on the middle road is difficult to enter. The Ming army throws away He Renlong's mobile troops. If we can't defend it well, we will crush them. If we defend it well, we will attack Guyuan and let Han Xiaowang go to them for help. If they go north, we will Enter Guanzhong.”
"We will attack Hanzhong on the south road. It is difficult for our heavy troops to enter that place, but the light troops of Master Gao and Huang Wa Ge are walking over the mountains and ridges as if they were on the ground. There is Ruifan there, and it is also a good place to solve the problem of food and wages."
After Liu Chengzong finished speaking, he took back his hand, tapped twice on the railing, and said: "If it's easy to fight, go in. If it's not easy to fight, go back. Mobilize the Ming army, and bring in Lian Guo Shi, He Renlong and others led by Chen Qiyu." Once the armies of Zhang Yingchang, Yang Yanchang, Zuo Liangyu, Deng Qi, and Tang Jiuzhou are wiped out, we can go to the whole of Shaanxi wherever we want."
Cao Yao was happy, and slowly shook his head and said: "It's not that the generals value the territory and do not seek political power if they are not in their positions. If you don't speak up, who of us would dare to abandon the territory to fight with the Ming army?"
Liu Chengzong just smiled at this. Giving up land is easy to say, but to actually do it requires a complicated migration process. He couldn't directly tell all the generals to lose land casually at the military meeting. As long as the brigade commanders commanding the battle knew about it, it would be fine. .
The drama still needs to be done to make the Ming army commander think that he has a place to fight.
"Should Gansu also lose it?"
Cao Yao thought about it for a while and finally asked the question. He explained: "It is easy to relocate the population in other places, but it is not easy to relocate in Gansu. Besides, if Liangzhou is lost, it will really hurt... The person named Hong had a good fever last year. The land in Wuwei Oasis is very fertile and we can produce a lot of grain this year."
Not to mention the food was fine, but when it came to food, Liu Shizi felt distressed: "Gansu, it must be the Ningxia army that attacks Gansu. Let's see who is faster. I will attack Weizhou first, and Gansu's frontier troops will not be able to reach Liangzhou." Go, they attacked Liangzhou first... we gave in and continued to attack Weizhou."
At worst, like Bajiao City, Liangzhou will be turned into a happy city for the Ming army, and they will continue to surround it this year.
"But if this happens, Gansu will definitely be unstable." Liu Chengzong thought for a moment and said, "Go back and take a look. I remember that there are many Ming army generals in Gansu who are idle at home. How are they now?"
"Yes, there are forty-three families." Cao Yao was prepared for this, and said carefully: "For example, Ouyang Gun from Ganzhou happened to stay at home during the Battle of Gansu. He was going to take up the post of deputy commander-in-chief of Lintao. He caught up During the war, a group of squires helped Yang Jiamo form two Ganzhou battalions."
"Their group did not surrender to the Marshal's Mansion until the war was over. They hid in the city. When they were found, they wanted to return to their hometown. I sent them to the Great Buddha Temple to accompany Bai Yiqing to chant sutras."
Cao Yao said with a smile: "The Great Buddha Temple in Ganzhou is not like your empty ghost. I have thrown away a bunch of old Ming generals and officials, from the governor to the scholar, from the deputy chief soldier to the thousands of households. Anyway, they are unwilling to surrender. Just throw it inside and chant sutras. Anyway, the army is suppressing Gansu and they can't change the world."
"Well done, brother."
Liu Chengzong encouraged him and said: "But now that the war is about to begin, most of the troops stationed in Gansu will be transferred to Shaanxi. If news of the frontline's setback spreads back, I'm afraid they won't be able to stabilize them, lest a fire breaks out in the backyard. Go back and move them and their families to Lanzhou.”
Lanzhou is the most important transportation hub in Hexi. Military supplies from Gansu and Hehuang all pass through here. No matter what happens to the front line, Liu Chengzong will definitely leave one or two battalions in Lanzhou, which is more than enough to look after this group of people.
"Well, I'll do it when I get back."
Cao Yao agreed and then heard Liu Chengzong ask easily: "How about it, brother, do you want to take action? Should you attack Ningxia or guard Lanzhou?"
Cao Yao said without hesitation: "Ningxia."
There is no need to consider this issue. Even if he stays in Gansu, he will definitely have to fight with the border troops of Ningxia. In this case, he might as well attack Weizhou first to avoid the war from spreading to Liangzhou.
"But if I go to Ningxia, what should I do in Gansu? How many troops does the commander plan to keep to guard it?"
"I plan to ask Zhong Hu to lead the training troops there. There is a Red Gold Division outside the pass to guard Ganzhou; the other troops will be drawn into Shaanxi to fight with the imperial court."
Liu Chengzong clapped his hands as he spoke and said, "By the way, I almost forgot about the big thing. A big thing when you go to Ningxia is Qing Fan's clan members. If you can, I won't kill them. We will take them all to Tianshan Mountain."
"Go to Tianshan?"
Cao Yao was puzzled. There was no shortage of people in the mountains that day. Instead of going to the Tianshan Mountains with all the effort, it would be better to stay in the quarry at the foot of the Qilian Mountains. Besides, there were mines in Gansu that could accommodate those princes.
Liu Shizi knew what Brother Cao was thinking at a glance, and quickly shook his head and said: "It's Dai Daozi. I promised Dai Daozi to help him avenge. When his enemy is dead, I will hand over Qingfan's people to him. This battle is better than I imagine it will be early, he will not be able to come back until next year, and I will send him there after the fight."
"Don't worry, I will take care of Guanzhong and Guyuan. Once all the ministries are dispatched, please tell me directly if you need support in Ningxia." (End of Chapter)
