In his letter, Wang Li did not say that Lelang and Daifang counties would default on their debts. Instead, he told Liu Yu that the situation in Lelang and Daifang counties had changed and was different from the previous situation.
It turned out that Wang Jun's newly appointed Dongyi Colonel Cui Ao had arrived in Liaodong County, and in the name of Dongyi Colonel, he quickly mediated the disputes between Goguryeo, Murong and Yuwen. After all, these three families were still in power at this time. They are very weak. Even Wang Jun's minion Duan Bu Xianbei is stronger than these three families, not to mention that Cui Ao is backed by Wang Jun himself.
Although Dongyi Colonel Cui Ao's move was not aimed at Lelang and Daifang counties, after the war between Goguryeo and Murong Xianbei stopped, he basically had sufficient troops and soon defeated the Beifuyu barbarians in the north. They entered deep mountains and old forests. At this time, the sons of Lelang and Daifang counties led by Zhang Tong were just beginning to prepare to invade the Goguryeo and Haoqian villages near Gaima Mountain, intending to capture slaves with swords to repay their debts.
As soon as the children of these two counties started to move out, they were quickly counterattacked by the Goguryeo people from the south. The Goguryeo King Yi Fuli personally led an army to conquer, known as an army of 100,000.
As a result, Zhang Tong's powerful men and county soldiers were panicked and took the initiative to retreat.
As soon as Liu Yu told Liu Xun these situations, Liu Xun immediately became worried.
"An army of one hundred thousand? If Zhang Tong and the others cannot defeat the one hundred thousand Goguryeo, wouldn't it mean that they would not be able to capture the Hu Nu and repay our debts?"
Liu Xun's words were what Liu Yu was most concerned about.
You must know that the weapons, armors and other ordnance previously delivered to Zhang Tong, although they are all styles that are no longer used by the Qingzhou Army, were all hoarded for war when Emperor Wu of Jin destroyed the Kingdom of Wu. Except for some being old, they are basically from the last generation. The goods are of high value, which means they are worth a lot of money. If Zhang Tong cannot compensate for this with slaves, it will be a huge loss.
"Hmph! One hundred thousand?" Liu Yu sneered disdainfully, "These Goguryeo people, even if they are all the men in Goguryeo, there may not be one hundred thousand."
Goguryeo at the end of the Western Jin Dynasty was not a large country in Northeast Asia that spanned Liaodong, Huifa River and the northern part of the peninsula during the Sui and Tang Dynasties. At that time, Goguryeo could mobilize not only 100,000 troops, but also 300,000 militiamen.
However, now, in the late Western Jin Dynasty, Goguryeo is just an initial slave state in the mountains near the north and south of Changbai Mountain. The Dongyi Xiaowei, Murong tribe, and Yuwen tribe on the Liaodong Peninsula are all his fathers in terms of strength. That is to bully the savage North Fuyu, Sushen, Wuji, and Haoqian people, and the other is to encroach on the two counties of Lelang and Daifang, which are isolated overseas and whose father does not care for their mother.
At this time, it was impossible for Goguryeo to mobilize 100,000 troops to attack Zhang Tong.
According to Liu Yu's speculation, the total number of men in Goguryeo at this time may not be 100,000. Because they have been fighting with Murong Xianbei and other enemies for years, it is impossible to send out all the troops. This time, the army going south will not exceed 20,000 at most.
Moreover, even among the 20,000 people, there are only one or two thousand elites who actually possess armor and iron swords.
Because, according to Liu Yu's memory, the historical records of Goguryeo's excellent military equipment were concentrated after the mid-to-late fourth century AD, which coincided with the "Five Husties" period. A large number of Han people from the Central Plains fled to Liaodong, and Murong Xianbei and others entered the Central Plains. After Goguryeo took advantage of it, large-scale application of iron tools began.
At this time, in Goguryeo, iron armor and iron swords could only be used by noble warriors, and it was impossible to achieve the same popularity rate as the Jin army.
Regarding this issue, when Liu Yu called Qingzhou Navy General Yi Zhong, who had been responsible for sailing to western and eastern Liaoning, he also received confirmation from Yi Zhong.
After more than a year of trade, Yi Zhong became familiar with the various tribes in Liaodong. He swore that the Goguryeo people must only send out ten or twenty thousand people this time, because Goguryeo was a junior country and did not have that much military power at all. Go on an expedition.
However, although the Goguryeo people are not very strong, Yi Zhong is not optimistic about the victory of the troops from Lelang and Daifang.
"The soldiers in these two counties are basically the sons and tribes of powerful families. Although the Goguryeo invasion this time has only ten or twenty thousand troops, they must have recruited a large number of Haoqian barbarians to join the battle along the way. These people must have scattered and looted, and each of them must have The powerful families will definitely only protect their own Tiandiwu forts, and it will be difficult to concentrate their military power to fight back against the Goguryeo people."
Yi Zhong's words are basically in line with Liu Yu's guess about the power of the two counties.
"Then everyone is cleaning up their own homes. Wouldn't it mean that they can only fight on their own? The two counties have few troops and are unwilling to work together. How can they repel the Goguryeo people?" Liu Xun said about Lelang and Daifang described by Yi Zhong. The two counties were very dissatisfied with the powerful performance.
Yi Zhong smiled helplessly and said.
"Sir, you don't know something. Lelang and Daifang counties were originally the military leaders of all sizes who guarded the border. It is these people who have become the powerful people they are today. There are not many people with household registration who can let Zhang Tong. The prefect dispatches, and what Zhang Tong, the prefect, can really mobilize is his own two or three hundred soldiers, plus some powerful troops who support him, the total will not exceed a thousand people."
Yi Zhong continued.
"Moreover, Zhang Tong's two counties were originally appointed by himself. If it weren't for the urgency of Goguryeo's persecution, the powerful people in the two counties who disobeyed him might not have listened to his orders."
After listening to Yi Zhong's words, Liu Yu understood that Zhang Tong, the governor of these two counties, might not want to concentrate his military power and clenched his fists to beat people. However, due to his strength and prestige, it was difficult to truly unify the powerful families. command.
"Okay, if that's the case, then let's find a way to help Zhang Tong." Liu Yu had already made a hasty idea.
Zhang Tong, the governor of these two counties, must be supported, not just because he can easily capture the barbarian slaves around him.
Another reason Liu Yu thought was actually more important. Lelang and Daifang counties were a big nail in the back of Liaodong, and Liaodong was a very important place in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The three parties of Murong, Yuwen, and Goguryeo fought against each other. It's all around here.
Liu envisioned that if Zhang Tong could be used as an opportunity to use the strength of Lelang and Daifang counties for his own use, he would not only have a place to capture slaves in the future, but also restrict the influence of the Hu people on the Liaodong Peninsula and let them He did not dare to march westward into the Central Plains easily.
Therefore, Liu Yu decided to directly dispatch a Qingzhou army to directly intervene in the war between Lelang and Daifang counties and Goguryeo. Of course, he could first do so in the name of helping Zhang Tong, and in name he could obey Zhang Tong's orders, which would be convenient for Zhang Tong to borrow. This order was given to the rest of the powerful forces. Of course, the Qingzhou Army still had the final say in the actual march.
It is estimated that the Qingzhou Army that Liu Yu plans to send will not exceed 3,000 people. On the one hand, 3,000 soldiers wearing iron armor and using strong bows and steel can defeat twice the number of Goguryeo tribesmen. On the other hand, the water of the Qingzhou Army Military ships are not that wealthy. In addition to maintaining normal trade, transporting three thousand people and supplying materials is already the maximum limit.
Today's Qingzhou Army has 20,000 combat troops, of which the most elite 5,000 are concentrated in Linzi, and the rest are scattered in various counties and counties. There are also 30,000 auxiliary troops, basically for the war effort. The farmers in the military fields have now started farming, so they should not mobilize too many troops.
Liu Yu already had a rough plan for the mobilization of three thousand soldiers, but it was difficult for Liu Yu to choose who would lead these three thousand soldiers to fight against the Goguryeo people.
This time, Liu Yu himself was not suitable to go there in person. On the one hand, he had the trouble of killing a chicken with a knife. On the other hand, what Liu Yu was most concerned about at this time was actually the spring farming. After all, this was related to whether he could do it all year round. The real big question is whether we can have enough food to feed so many soldiers and people.
Besides Liu Yu, the other most suitable person is Dong Ping.
In Liu Yu's view, Dong Ping was already quite talented as a general and a relatively cautious man. However, Dong Ping guarded Jibei County and guarded against convenient enemies in Yanzhou and Jizhou, so he could not act lightly.
In addition, Li Feng and Zhao Kun, the old brothers from Donglai County, are both more than brave and slightly less brave. Moreover, Liu Yu found that these old brothers have become a little inflated recently. If they are left alone If he leads the army to Lelang and Daifang counties, he may rely on his military strength and treat Zhang Tong and the scholars of the two counties arrogantly. In that case, it will not be conducive to win over the hearts of the two counties in the future.
As for the other subordinates who came from powerful locals in Qingzhou, Liu Yu did not want them to make any further contributions. After all, even if these people had no merit, they were already powerful local factions in Qingzhou. If there were more top-notch figures among them, everything would be lost. Once a leading local force was formed, Liu Yu would not feel at ease.
As for Wu Xin and others who came from Jizhou and other places to invest, although Liu Yu admired his strength very much, Liu Yu's cavalry training was still counting on Wu Xin and others, and they could not be easily mobilized at all.
After counting again and again, Liu Yu discovered that he had no generals available.
Seeing that Liu Yu was worried about this, Liu Xun on the side immediately recommended himself.
"Sir, I have recently become familiar with Wu Zi and Sun Tzu, and have also read through the new book on military training records and records compiled by your lord. Although I cannot command thousands of troops, I can command three thousand troops, which is more than enough."
Liu Xun has been serving as a guard general by Liu Yu's side. In fact, he is commanding and leading dozens of people. He does not really command operations at all. However, because of his blood relationship, his prestige in the Qingzhou Army is not bad. In addition, his personal bravery is also very good. If he goes out to command, he would be a good candidate.
"You? Definitely not. You still have to learn a lot about marching and fighting." Liu Yu ignored Liu Xun's youthful enthusiasm. After all, he was only sixteen or seventeen years old. It was already good to have personal bravery, but to command the battle But it is not appropriate.
However, the young and passionate Liu Xun was not discouraged by Liu Yu's denial.
"Sir, there are just a bunch of Goguryeo barbarians. If you give me Ran Liang as my deputy, we will each have an army. We can beat the crap out of those Goguryeo barbarians with one attack."
Hearing what Liu Xun said, Liu Yu refused even more. He seemed to be quite steady on weekdays, but when it came to marching and fighting, he was still so simple and crude.
However, Liu Xun's words made Liu anticipate a suitable candidate, that is Ran Long, who was already serving as a cavalryman by Liu Yu's side.
Because Ran Long traveled hundreds of miles to seek help from the Guangping Begging Army, his reputation among the soldiers of the Qingzhou Army was still very good.
In addition, his son Ran Liang was deeply valued by Liu Yu and served as the leader of the young guards together with Liu Xun. Everyone in the Qingzhou Army knew that Ran Long was highly trusted by Liu Yu.
Moreover, when Ran Long was in the beggar army, he already had quite a lot of experience in leading troops. As long as he was cautious, he would not make any big mistakes when he led 3,000 men into battle.
Therefore, the more Liu Yu thought about it, the more he felt that it was most appropriate for Ran Long to lead these three thousand troops.
After a while, Ran Long was summoned by someone sent by Liu Yu.
After Ran Long heard this, he was a little flattered that Liu Yu had given him the task. Only Dong Ping had such power to command thousands of people in the entire Qingzhou Army.
Although he didn't know why Liu Yu favored and trusted his father and son so much from the moment they met, Ran Long was still very touched that Liu Yu valued him so much.
However, he was a rough man, but there was no expression on his face. He just agreed happily without any pretense of coyness and humility.
This is quite suitable for Liu Yu's temper.
Later, Liu Yu asked Liu Xun to follow Ran Long to prepare all the armaments for the expedition. He planned to ask Liu Xun and Ran Liang to follow Ran Long. After all, even a young general like Ran Liang needed to gain experience in actual combat. , and at this time, Goguryeo's strength was neither strong nor weak, which was perfect.
After arranging everything, within a few days, Ran Long led three thousand Qingzhou soldiers, boarded the six-tank ship of the Qingzhou Navy, crossed the sea to Lelang County, and prepared to use force to help Zhang Tong, the governor of the two counties. , to prevent the scholars in Lelang and Daifang counties from being unable to repay their debts due to the invasion of Goguryeo.
After handling these situations, Liu Yu began to lead his trusted officials and guards to leave Linzi City, preparing to inspect the spring plowing conditions in the surrounding Le'an County, Qi County, and Beihai County. After all, these three counties accounted for most of the military soldiers in Qingzhou. As for the Donglai County, Changguang County and Chengyang County in the east, they were handed over to Hua Xiu, the Qingzhou Special Vehicle, for inspection.
In fact, Liu Yu's inspection was only one aspect of supervising the spring plowing situation of military mansions in various places.
On the other hand, the reason is actually because in ancient times, there were no photos, news and the Internet. Many grassroots soldiers, especially the soldiers scattered in various counties, had a very vague and abstract concept of the most senior generals. In other words, they only have a rough impression of the Qingzhou Army's general Liu Yu. If Liu Yu had been squatting in Linzi City, it would be easy to lose his influence on these lowest-level soldiers. If some middle- and lower-level officers with ulterior motives encouraged these soldiers, It's easy to be blinded by people's differentiation.
Therefore, Liu Yu's show-like inspection is still very necessary.
When Liu Yu returned to Linzi City after nearly a month of hurried travel, Ran Long, who was far away in Lelang County, Haidong, also sent back the first good news about the Goguryeo people.
