In the past few days, the news that Ouyang Xuan was in love with the eldest daughter of the Yang family had spread. Some people were even talking privately that Brother Xuan had decided to marry the Yang family. When Lu Dezhi and Li Shuang mentioned this matter to them with smiles, Ouyang Xuan blushed. However, he neither admitted nor denied it. He just muttered to himself, repeating the phrase "The Huns are not destroyed, why?" Family is". Therefore, at the joint military and political meeting, when Ouyang Xuan proposed a firearms transaction with the Bozhou Yang family, all the participants agreed unanimously, and no one expressed any objection, let alone objection. Everyone believed that since it was a life-long matter for Brother Xuan, they naturally wanted to strongly support it. Seeing everyone's ambiguous smiles, especially the gossipy expression on Cao Ergou's face, Ouyang Xuan knew that everyone had misunderstood him. He cleared his throat and explained the reason why he agreed to sell firearms to Banshu.
The Yang family in Bozhou has a history of nearly four hundred years. As far back as the late Tang Dynasty, there were frequent wars between the Tang Dynasty and Nanzhao. Nanzhao repeatedly invaded Bozhou. Yang Duan, a native of Taiyuan, responded to the court's call and led his young people to Bozhou to resist Nanzhao. After Yang Duan arrived in Bozhou, he built a city with his tribe, fought against the local natives, and slowly expanded his territory. After the Anshi Rebellion, the imperial court was busy dealing with vassal towns and had no time to take care of itself, so it acquiesced to Yang Duan's expansion. Later, Yang Duan expanded step by step and became the actual ruler of Bozhou.
After the establishment of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Yang family submitted to the Northern Song Dynasty. The Northern Song Dynasty court still implemented Jisi rule over the southwest region, and the Yang family continued to be the Caotou king of Bozhou. During the reign of Renzong of the Song Dynasty, Yang Chongguang, the son of Yang Yanzhao, visited Bozhou. Yang Zhao, the head of the Yang family in Bozhou, hosted a banquet in honor of him. During their chat, the two accidentally discovered that their ancestors were actually from the same lineage of Yang Duan, and they were of the same seniority. At this time, Yang Zhao had no children and no one to inherit his huge property. It is a good idea not to let the rich water flow to other people's land, so Yang Chongguang adopted his son Yang Guiqian to him. In this way, Yang Gui, a descendant of the famous Yang family, became the successor of the Yang family in Bozhou.
Ouyang Xuan's decision to sell firearms to Bozhou was not a sudden decision, but a long-term consideration. The Yang family in Bozhou is famous in history and has a great influence in the southwest region. This is why Ouyang Xuan ordered a caravan to go to Bozhou soon after the Perak Army came down the mountain. The first consideration in this decision is that the Yang family has not only been loyal and loyal, but also its family has always been committed to serving the country with loyalty. Once there is war in the country, Chieftain Yang will inevitably send his elite men to help the country determine the rebellion. During the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, the Southern Barbarian Nong Zhigao rebelled. The Yang family of Bozhou obliged and sent elite soldiers and generals to fight with General Di Qing, and achieved outstanding achievements.
The second consideration is its firm anti-Mongolian attitude. As early as when Yu Jie was in charge of Sichuan, the Mongolian army tried to invade Sichuan from the direction of Diaoyan Prefecture. Yu Xing, who was the prefect of Jiading at the time, was ordered to go to Fan District to intercept the Mongolian army. Yang Wen, the leader of Bozhou, also led 5,000 soldiers to accompany him. Under the vast snow-capped mountains, the Song army and the Mongolian army launched a fierce fight. The Mongolian army was severely defeated, and Yang Wen was promoted to General of the Left Guard by the imperial court.
Since the Mongols destroyed the Dali Kingdom in 1252, the door to the southwestern hinterland of Sichuan has been opened, and Bozhou has repeatedly thwarted the Mongolian army's attempts to invade Sichuan from Dali. In the second year of Baoyou's reign (1255), Lizong of the Song Dynasty, the Mongolian army took Dali soldiers as the vanguard and attacked Xuanhua, Sichuan. Yang Wen sent his younger brother Yang Da Dashang to go to the enemy with 5,000 infantry and cavalry, and won nine battles and nine victories, and captured the enemy general Ali and others. people. When Meng Ge attacked Diaoyu City, the defender Wang Jian asked Bozhou for help, and Yang Wen immediately sent troops to support him.
The third consideration is military mutual assistance. Bozhou soldiers mainly use crossbows and poisonous arrows. They are best at fighting in the mountains and forests and are good at defense. If the Mongolian army is invincible on the grasslands and plains, then the Bazhou soldiers are the kings of kings in the mountains. In order to show their loyalty to the Southern Song Dynasty, they all had the words "loyalty and bravery" tattooed on the tiger's mouth on their right hands, so they were also known as the "hand-holding army" and "the trumpet-holding army". They were specially named the "imperial majestic army" by Emperor Lizong of the Song Dynasty. main force. The Perak Army forms an alliance with them to provide mutual aid, which will greatly enhance their strength against the Mongolian army.
The fourth consideration is to obtain economic benefits. Although the arms trade is hugely profitable, the transaction volume is not too large. Ouyang Xuan is more interested in the profits from trade with Bozhou and surrounding Miao territory. The area controlled by the Yang family is not only Bozhou, but also has a voice in Zhenzhou and Sizhou. It also has considerable influence on the Luo Shi Ghost Kingdom and Luodian Ghost Kingdom to the south and the border with the Dali Kingdom. This area is very vast and rich in products. It not only contains strategic minerals such as saltpeter, copper, silver, iron, and coal, but also produces mountain ponies and buffaloes that are urgently needed by the Perak Army. Ponies are particularly suitable for working in mountains or mines, while buffalo are particularly suitable for farmland farming in western Sichuan. At present, the various undertakings of the Pili Army are developing rapidly, and the problem of population shortage has become prominent. It’s just that population growth cannot be solved in the short term, so replacing manpower with animal power has become the only option at the moment.
The fifth consideration concerns the strategic direction of the development of the Perak Army. In Ouyang Xuan's plan, the Mongolian army must be driven out of Sichuan. But he often thought about what to do next, and had many private discussions with Li Shuang, Cao Ergou and others. In the end, after repeated weighing, the strategic direction he formulated in his mind was to use Bozhou as a springboard after taking over the Dali Kingdom, pass through the Luoshi Ghost Kingdom and the Luodian Ghost Kingdom, and develop in the direction of Hezhou, Liuzhou, and Qinzhou on Guangnan West Road, all the way to the sea . These places were nominally subordinate to the imperial court, but they were only Jisi areas and were not taken seriously. In order for the Pili Army to achieve rapid development in the next step, it must obtain more strategic resources from overseas, such as corn, sweet potatoes, gold and silver, and even oil and rubber. In this strategy, Banshu is at the core.
The reason why Ouyang Xuan prefers the southern coastal development strategy is because the west is the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with harsh climate, so he will not consider it at all. The hot, humid and mountainous geographical climate in the south is not conducive to the Mongolian army but conducive to the Perak army. The development to the north will inevitably encounter the powerful Mongolian cavalry regiment in the plains, and within the foreseeable few years, the Perak Army will not have such strength. The difficulty of the road to Shu not only means that it is difficult to enter Shu, but also means that it is difficult to leave Shu. This is evidenced by the fact that Zhuge Liang led his army to the Northern Expedition many times and was blocked. To develop eastward will inevitably conflict with the Southern Song Dynasty court, which means cannibalism. Although the Zhao regime was corrupt and cowardly, Ouyang Xuan had no intention of overthrowing it. After all, there were still large tracts of unowned land overseas waiting for the Perak Army to develop.
While Ouyang Xuan slowly stated his considerations, the top brass of the Perak Army present at the meeting remained silent. On the one hand, I was ashamed that I had misunderstood him. I originally thought that Brother Xuan was also a hero who suffered from beauty, but he was blinded by love and made the decision to sell arms. On the other hand, they were also impressed by Ouyang Xuan's lofty layout and broad vision. Brother Xuan really knew everything about astronomy and geography, and he even knew what products there were in distant overseas countries.
After Ouyang Xuan's explanation, the joint meeting successfully passed the detailed firearms sales plan. According to the plan, the firearms sold by the Pili Army to Banzhou include all types of old grenades and artillery, landmines, as well as new muskets and some types of light artillery. New naval guns, field guns and warheads of self-destructing ships are prohibited from sale. The purchase method is that Bozhou pays for the order first, and then delivers it after it is produced by the Pili Army Arsenal. In terms of payment, the Pili Army can accept some gold and silver, but does not accept currencies such as Jiaozi. Bozhou will still have to use fire salt, copper, ponies and buffalo as payment.
