Less than half a day after the Shen family prepared fifty thousand stones of food and grass, Su Qi'an and Xie Cang led an army of twenty thousand to the front line.
The purpose of their trip was Haizhou City on the front line.
Dongzhou has a vast territory and rich resources, and is divided into nine counties in the front and rear. In order to facilitate the administration and administration, there is a state city in the front and rear.
In order to distinguish them, the rear area was called Dongzhou City and the front line was called Haizhou City, also called Haicheng.
This trip to Haicheng is about four to five hundred miles. With the speed of Su Qi'an and Xie Cang's army, it is estimated that it will take about three or four days to reach Haicheng.
This time when we went to the front line, in addition to the 20,000 troops, there were also civilian personnel transporting 50,000 grain and grass. The total number of people was several thousand.
With a team of this size walking on the official road, Su Qi'an did not worry about being ambushed and marched towards Haicheng according to the rhythm.
Let alone Su Qi'an, no one in their right mind would think of ambushing Su Qi'an's army.
The combat effectiveness of an army of 20,000 people is no joke, let alone an army of 20,000 people. In terms of combat effectiveness, it ranks at the forefront of the Daliang army.
If you really encounter it, just push it over.
As the army continued to advance, Su Qian was riding a horse with an indifferent expression. No one could guess what he was thinking. What could be determined from his position was that Su Qian definitely had some anger hidden in his heart.
If someone dares to come forward and deal with him at this time, it can only be said that his luck has run out, and Su Qi'an will definitely not mind sending them on their way.
As time passed, about two days later, Su Qi'an, Xie Cang, Fang Jingzhi and others entered the boundaries of the nine counties on the front line.
Although there is only one boundary between the front line and the rear, once you step into the front line, you can clearly feel the tension of the front line, and even the air is filled with a thick chilling atmosphere. .Ь.
They did not enter the first county on the front line, but walked through. Although most of the sights they saw were remote villages and towns, as they went deeper, they always gave Su Qi'an a depressing feeling.
This feeling is very familiar to Su Qi'an. He felt it deeply when he was in Ningzhou in the north.
It is no exaggeration to say that since the division of the nine counties in Dongzhou, the lives of the people living in the frontline counties have been completely separated from the people who enjoy the comfortable environment in the rear.
The mighty Dongshan Army and Split Mountain County passed by, which naturally attracted the attention of some people living in towns and villages.
Although he was only watching from a distance, Su Qi'an could feel the tension and a little bit of ferocity in the eyes of these people.
This is not against Su Qi'an and the others, but is caused by dealing with pirates and Japanese pirates all the time.
These are not protected by the county seat, but exist in various towns and remote villages on the outskirts of the county seat. On the contrary, they are the favorite prey of pirates and Japanese pirates.
Raid attacks at any time are commonplace. If you are lucky, the people in these villages can resist until the county soldiers come to support them. If you are unlucky, by the time they arrive, the entire village and town will have been looted, and no women, children, old or young will survive.
Therefore, in the eyes of these people, hatred is naturally planted, as well as vigilance at all times.
Only when you come to the front line and step into the front line territory can you truly feel the pain of the people on the front line.
If the rear is an oasis that gives people life and can survive, then the front line is a desert without any grass.
I had heard Fang Jingzhi talk about his experience in serving on the front line before. When I really went there, I realized how much the people on the front line had sacrificed.
If you want to let the people on the front line live a good life again, you no longer have to worry about it every day. The only way is to eliminate these pirates and Japanese pirates, fight them back to their hometown in Dongyang, and build a complete defense line on the Dongzhou front line, like that in Yuezhou.
Only in this way can the people on the front line live a good life, but it is difficult to achieve this, and it is a long way to go for Su Qi'an.
No matter how difficult it is, there is always someone who can do it. Su Qian took a deep breath, looked away, and ordered the entire army to speed up and march towards Haicheng as quickly as possible.
At the same time, in Haicheng on the front line, the atmosphere in the city was very depressing. Although the streets were guarded by soldiers to maintain order, there were also various vendors in the city.
But no one was happy, and all looked sad. Some people looked at a mansion in the city from time to time.
Shaking his head, he sighed.
The frontline suffered such a disastrous defeat, losing more than 10,000 people and two counties. This was unprecedented in the history of fighting against pirates and Japanese pirates.
What's even worse is that they were unable to recapture the two lost counties in time. Although the governor sent troops to besiege them, the effect was not very effective.
The disastrous defeat on the front line was reported back to the rear, and all the officials were shocked. The inspector appointed by the imperial court had already led his troops straight to Haicheng.
There is no need to guess. The inspector came this time mostly for accountability. I guess their commander was in trouble this time.
The front line has just experienced a tragic defeat, and with the appearance of this inspector, the front line will probably fall into turmoil.
The mansion that the people in the city were looking at was not an ordinary mansion, but the Haicheng Prefecture.
At this time, the atmosphere in the state capital was even more depressing than in the city. There were about ten people sitting in the palace.
These people were all wearing armor, with indifferent expressions, and sabers hanging on their waists. They said nothing, but everyone could feel the tyrannical aura emanating from them. At a glance, they knew they were big shots from the nine frontline counties.
The two people sitting above were none other than the Grand Governor Wu Dingguo and the Right Governor Zhong Liang, who commanded the nine counties on the front line.
Sitting on both sides below are the county guards of each county. The officials of the nine counties on the front line are different from those in the rear.
Whether they are county guards or county magistrates, in addition to being responsible for the public security and government affairs within their respective territories, they also have to command an army and serve as military generals during wartime.
Therefore, even though they were civilian officials, the aura they exuded was a bit more ferocious compared to the officials at the rear.
This is why when Su Qi'an saw Fang Jing again, he always felt that he was very different from before.
He just has a bit more ferocity and strength in him, which he cultivated in the battles with pirates and Japanese pirates on the front line.
Why do the nine counties in the front and back rotate their officials every one to three years? In addition to preventing them from cultivating their own power in the local area, more importantly, it is to stimulate the blood of these officials.
The implementation of this policy is good, but the effect is not good. If it can be truly implemented, rubbish like Zeng Mo and Han Cheng will not be found in the rear.
Who gives them a strong background? As long as they manage the top and bottom well, whether they should be rotated or not is not a matter of the above sentence.
Most of the people sent out were eccentric, unsociable, and poor people with no background.
Anyway, the purpose is to rotate, whoever is sent is not going. This also leads to the development of officials in the nine counties before and after going to two extremes. The front line fights to the death, while the rear side indulges in pleasure.
Although Wu Dingguo can realize that there are huge disadvantages in this matter, for now, he cannot change it.
He is on the front line and has to fight pirates all year round. Their money and food are basically provided by the rear. If he really has a falling out with Zhou Zibin and Feng Nan, it will be uncomfortable for the front line to take some eye drops at the critical moment.
Xiu Shuwang himself is a rough man. He has always looked down on smooth people like Zhou Zibin and disdained to join in the same trend.
Even if those rubbish were toned down, Wu Dingguo might not want them. Compared with those rubbish, Wu Dingguo still prefers these poor families.
Therefore, as long as the supply of food and grass can be maintained every year and the personnel arrangements are in place, he will not care about the corruption in the rear and cannot control it. He can only focus on managing the nine frontline counties.
With this idea in mind, Wu Dingguo devoted himself to the battle on the front line, but it was this single-mindedness that actually led to today's disastrous defeat.
Not only were the troops lost, but one-fifth of the soldiers were injured. Within a few days of the end of the war, the 100,000 grains and fodder transported from the rear were discovered by pirates and burned down by pirates.
This is no longer a disastrous failure, it is a shame!
After more than 40 years of military leadership, I never expected that I would make such a big mistake in my later years.
This was unacceptable to Wu Dingguo. After such a disastrous defeat, Wu Dingguo immediately mobilized his troops and launched a counterattack, hoping to regain the two lost counties.
But as time went by, I originally planned to attack and win, but in the end it turned into a stalemate.
It has been unable to recover the two lost counties.
Wu Dingguo was quite anxious. Today he summoned the governors of various counties to discuss and come up with a plan.
"Now that the matter has come to this, let's talk about it. As long as we can regain the two lost counties, I will admit it even if the governor loses his official position and is beheaded."
"Grand Governor, this..."
"This, this, this, this is the time. If you have something to say, just say it. Don't be whiny." Wu Dingguo glanced at a county guard who wanted to speak and said.
When the county guard was told this, he stood up without hesitation and faced Wu Dingguo.
"Grand Governor, my subordinates feel that we are not considering how to recapture the two lost counties now, but how to deal with the punishment of the inspector."
"That's right, Grand Governor, the responsibility for the loss of the two counties does not lie with you. Who would have thought that these guys would have lurked into the city half a year ago and cooperated directly from inside and outside to catch us off guard."
"Now that the two counties have been lost, we have seen the effect of the strong attack in the past few days. It is not possible at all. They have made preparations long ago. The initial target was the land of the two counties."
"Continuing to attack now will not be worth the loss at all. It is reported that the supervisor will arrive at the front line in the near future. Considering the conflict between the Grand Governor and this person, and because this person is a villain who will seek revenge, he will definitely take advantage of this opportunity and try every means to do so. I will supervise you."
"That's right, Grand Governor, I think it's better to deal with this person's difficulties in time. It's better to hold off on regaining the land of the two counties. Grand Governor, please think twice!" xь.
Someone took the lead, and naturally several other county guards started to dissuade them.
They had long known about the conflict between Wu Dingguo and Su Qi'an in the rear.
In their eyes, the inspector from the imperial court was no different from the officials in the rear who were addicted to pleasure.
I just want to take advantage of being on the front line and fight a few battles to gain military merit so that I can be promoted in the future.
How could there be such a young one in Great Liang? Moreover, in just a few years, each battle they fought became more dangerous than the last, and the news that was sent back was miraculous.
He repeatedly defeated the invading cavalry from Da Rong in the north and suppressed the rebellion of the two state governors one after another. He took about a thousand people around him to command the local army in Yuezhou, annihilated the pirates in Yuezhou, and escaped unscathed.
This spread is too sinister, and it is an exaggeration no matter how you look at it.
