May 7, afternoon
Hundreds of craftsmen on the Weiguan City Wall are working quickly to repair the battlements and other damaged walls.
"Bring me those bricks quickly!"
"Has the lime mortar been mixed? Bring it over as soon as it's ready. We're waiting to use it!"
"If you can't finish your work tonight, you won't be allowed to eat!"
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In this bustling atmosphere, two serious-looking middle-aged warriors stood side by side on the tower, surrounded by guards, looking at the Fengwu Army camp in the distance.
Compared with the Deputy Governor Tang Peng on the side, the expression of Ma Chongyang, the Governor of Weiguan at this time, can be said to be even more ugly.
Ma Chongyang, who knew the true results of Liu Bing's battle, did not expect the Fengwu Army to completely stop bombarding Wei Pass because more than a dozen of its gates were blown up.
However, he hoped that the Fengwu Army would be cautious and stop bombarding as unscrupulously as before. It would be best to suspend the bombardment for at least half a month. In this way, he would have confidence in the court and the soldiers below. Tell me, you can even round out your bull nose!
But now, only two days later, the Fengwu Army restarted the bombardment, which undoubtedly exposed his lies and made everyone understand that Liu Bing's actions did not completely destroy the city outside the city as Ma Chongyang had propagated. All the artillery of the Fengwu Army caused heavy losses to the Fengwu Army!
Ma Chongyang's propaganda is a complete lie, which undoubtedly makes Ma Chongyang very embarrassed, and his cheeks feel burning pain...
Looking at Ma Chongyang with a gloomy face, Tang Peng didn't say anything on the surface, but he snorted disdainfully in his heart.
He knew very well that Ma Chongyang, an old man, had always looked down upon them, the children of noble families. He felt that he and others relied on his ancestors to get to the position, and they were all incompetent idiots. Unlike Ma Chongyang, who relied on his own military capabilities. Climb up step by step!
When Ma Chongyang was ordered to come to Weiguan, although he said nothing, Tang Peng could feel that the old man was gloating about his misfortune!
It looks like my old horse is indeed right, you guys are just incompetent idiots who relied on Zu Yin to rise to power, and at the critical moment, I have to come out to wipe your butts!
Seeing Ma Chongyang's virtue at that time, Tang Peng felt very uncomfortable. However, after all, he had lost the battle and the defeat was very miserable. Ma Chongyang was the governor appointed by the imperial court, so Tang Peng didn't say anything. The tone was suppressed.
Although he endured this tone, Tang Peng still remembered Ma Chongyang in his heart. So now that he saw Ma Chongyang's face as black as black coal, Tang Peng felt as if he was drinking iced sour plum soup in the dog days of summer. He felt very comfortable. Refreshing and refreshing!
Although he was happy to see Ma Chongyang, an old man, get slapped in the face, as the deputy governor of Weiguan, Tang Peng still had an overall view and wanted to help Ma Chongyang find someone to make amends for him.
We can't really let the soldiers below think that Ma Chongyang's propaganda is a lie. The Fengwu Army has not suffered much losses at all. This will cause the morale of the army to plummet... ·········
After pondering for a while, Tang Peng immediately gave instructions to the general beside him:
"Pass the order, the Fengwu Army's logistics supplies have arrived, and they have brought twenty cannons to the Fengwu Army!"
"yes!"
After hearing this, Ma Chongyang's expression softened a bit, and he understood that Tang Peng was trying to smooth things over for him. After the general left, he nodded slightly at Tang Peng.
Tang Peng also asked directly:
"Lord Governor, our army cannot handle the sharp artillery fire of the Fengwu Army for the time being, but our military supply is about to run out!"
"Moreover, the soldiers have not received their military pay for almost five months. The soldiers below are talking about this matter a lot. Lord Governor, do you think you want to write to the court to ask how to solve this matter?"
Facing this question raised by Tang Peng, Ma Chongyang also found it very difficult. He had a detailed discussion with Shangguan before coming to Weiguan.
Shangguan Changgong also gave Ma Chongyang a sneak peek. Shangguan Changgong said that he would do everything possible to ensure that the tens of thousands of forbidden troops in Weiguan needed the logistical supplies.
However, the Luo'an court was in a difficult situation both internally and externally, so Shangguan Changgong also asked Ma Chongyang to be prepared in case the logistics supplies could not be supplied in time.
Logistics and supplies are so difficult, and there is nothing we can do about military pay and pensions. However, Shangguan Changgong told Ma Chongyang directly that military pay will definitely not be available this year, and pensions and rewards will be gradually distributed in the next three years. ··························
Although Shangguan Changgong told himself the true situation clearly, Ma Chongyang could not tell these words to the soldiers below!
After all, although the soldiers at the bottom are shouting to swear allegiance to the court every day, in the end, everyone still has their families to eat, and the prices in Guanzhong are so high. If you tell the soldiers clearly, your military pay will not be paid, and your rewards and pensions will also be gone!
Let’s not talk about the morale of the army. I am afraid that the soldiers below will be disturbed, and even in extreme cases, they may turn on and off to welcome the Fengwu army into the city!
Therefore, in order to keep the Fengwu Army out of Wei Pass, we must not tell the truth, but if this matter is not resolved, the soldiers below may not be able to fight to the death, so Ma Chongyang also feels a headache and doesn't know what to do.
Facing Tang Peng's gaze at this moment, Ma Chongyang could only nod his head and said:
"I know about this matter. I will write to the court in the next few days!"
After finishing his words, Ma Chongyang gave another serious instruction;
"As for the soldiers below, Commander Tang, you must stabilize them and make sure nothing goes wrong at this juncture!"
Tang Peng nodded and said:
"Captain Ma, I know what to do, and I will do my best to stabilize the mood of the soldiers!"
"But the soldiers below are in a very bad mood. If this matter is not resolved, I think the soldiers may not be able to focus all their attention on fighting... ··············》
Ma Chongyang sighed after hearing this and spoke again:
"I will report the actual situation here to the court!"
After that, Tang Peng had nothing else to say, so he said goodbye and left. After Tang Peng left, Ma Chongyang looked at the Fengwu Army outside the city for a while.
Looking at the slowly setting sun, Ma Chongyang suddenly felt that the current imperial court was going down just like the sun and was about to reach the end of his life!
Thinking of this, Ma Chongyang sighed heavily again, and then turned around and walked towards his mansion in the city.
After returning to the mansion, Ma Chongyang once again thought about the problems of logistics supplies and food and wages. He knew that this matter could not be solved.
According to the scouts' reports, the Fengwu Army is gathering troops and horses in various places in Yunbin. It is expected that a new batch of Fengwu Army will arrive outside Weiguan City in five days at the earliest. By then, the Fengwu Army will officially begin to attack Weiguan!
Therefore, if we delay the issue of military pay now, when the Fengwu Army begins to attack the city, the troubles caused by the soldiers below will become even more troublesome.
It is better to try our best to alleviate the dissatisfaction and public opinion of the soldiers before things get out of hand, so that they can focus all their energy on the bloody battle with the Fengwu Army... ···············
Thinking of this, Ma Chongyang also made up his mind not to drag this matter out anymore. He would immediately write a letter to Shangguan Changgong asking for money!
Although he was writing to ask for money, Ma Chongyang did not expect Shangguan Changgong to be able to pay all the arrears and rewards and pensions that should be paid. This is simply unrealistic and impossible!
The five months' salary arrears plus the rewards and pensions due should be at least 3,780,000 taels of silver, or even more than 500,000 taels of silver.
The Luo'an court has spent so much money now. If you ask Shangguan Gong for so much money, you won't get anything else except being scolded by Shangguan Changgong.
Therefore, Ma Chongyang just hopes that Shangguan Chief
Gong can raise one hundred thousand taels of silver for him so that he can deal with the public opinion of the soldiers. If one hundred thousand taels is not enough, then seven or eighty thousand taels of silver can be used.
If 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver are not enough, then 50,000 taels of silver is not impossible. In a word, if you ask everyone to defend Wei Pass to the death and hold on to the last hope for the imperial court, you always have to give everyone a taste of the sweetness. , You can’t just be a white wolf with nothing!
After writing this sincere letter to Shangguan Changgong, Ma Chongyang was ready to have dinner. Although the supply of logistics supplies from Wei Guan was not on time.
But his life as the governor of Weiguan is still very good, with a standard meal of six hot dishes and two cold dishes, and a bottle of beautiful flower wine from the south of the Yangtze River... ···················
However, just when Ma Chongyang was looking forward to what he would eat tonight, one of his cronies, Commander Chen Yuming, walked over quickly and bowed and said:
"Report to the Governor, the craftsmen responsible for repairing the city wall discovered a crack in a wall in the east of the city!"
As soon as these words came out, Ma Chongyang was shocked and quickly asked Chen Yuming:
"What's going on? How big is the crack?"
Seeing Ma Chongyang's anxious look, Chen Yuming did not dare to neglect and introduced carefully:
"After the Fengwu Army's bombardment today, I took the craftsmen on a routine inspection of the city wall. We found a crack about two miles north of our east wall, but please rest assured, Lord Governor, that this crack is not long at present. It’s not deep, it looks like it’s only a foot long, and its depth is only about an inch!”
"At present, the craftsmen have repaired this crack. However, the craftsmen said that Weiguan itself was a city built for hundreds of years. Since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, we have lacked maintenance of it. The city wall itself has some problems, and the artillery of the Fengwu Army has also failed. It’s really sharp!”
"Although the cracks in the city wall can still be repaired, if the Fengwu Army continues to bombard it like this, the craftsmen say that the city wall may not last long!"
Hearing what Chen Yuming said, Ma Chongyang couldn't help but feel even more bitter. It really happened that the house leaked, it rained all night, the boat was late, and there was a storm, and all kinds of unlucky things happened to him!
After sorting out his helpless mood, Ma Chongyang ordered:
"You and your craftsmen will use all means to strengthen and maintain the city wall. You must ensure that there is absolutely no problem with the city wall!"
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Looking at the situation of Wu Jun's establishment of schools, Bai Jiujiu discovered some problems.
Because it involved children and education, Bai Jiujiu felt that the problem was urgent, so he submitted a report to Youyan Chief Minister Liu Zhengyue on these issues and proposed some solutions. Liu Zhengyue also attached great importance to Bai Jiujiu's report and also made Instructions are prepared to solve these problems·························
According to the procedures of the Chief Secretary, after the Chief Envoy gave instructions and permission, he should receive financial allocations. However, the problem is that in order to support the continuation of the war, it is very difficult to come up with money, so even with Liu Zhengyue's instructions, but Bai Jiujiu's plan is still pressed on the financial side.
Although Bai Jiujiu felt helpless about this situation, he also understood it. After all, everyone has to adapt to the special period!
Bai Changjiu hesitated for a moment, and then said to Wang Kun with some doubts:
"Brother Wang, aren't your finances out of money?"
Wang Kun waved his hand and said in a low voice:
"It is indeed very difficult financially, but we still have some money to maintain stability. You didn't use much money to submit this plan!"
"I'll give you more than two hundred taels of silver to do something special for you. It's included in the expenditure for maintaining stability. Brother Bai, don't tell others about this, otherwise they will start talking..." ··················》
