ps: Thanks to jc, a bookworm of more than ten years, for the tip.
As soon as Cao Wenzhao entered Linqing Prefecture, he immediately sent his men out to Liaocheng in Dongchang Prefecture to inquire about the news, trying to find out where the soldiers and horses of the Tiger Character Banner had gone.
Cao Wenzhao considered himself a brave general, but the Tiger-Character Banner had never been defeated when facing the Ming army, so he never underestimated the Tiger-Character Banner in his heart.
He came to Linqing Prefecture with more than two thousand Ming troops, including four to five hundred cavalry, all from the Guan Ning army.
He can be said to be the most powerful soldier under Sun Chuanting.
"General, General Cao is back." A soldier below whispered to Cao Wenzhao.
At this time, Cao Wenzhao walked in angrily from outside.
"What's wrong? Your face is so droopy and ugly!" Cao Wenzhao frowned subconsciously when he saw Cao Bianjiao's appearance.
Cao Bianjiao said angrily: "The officials of Linqing Prefecture are no longer a joke. We came to Dongchang Mansion to help them deal with tiger thieves. Now it's better. They won't even give us a grain of food. As soon as I ask for food, the local officials Just cry and complain, you damn thing, I’m young and easy to deceive. Who doesn’t know that Linqing Prefecture is the key to water transportation. With the benefit of water transportation, all the officials here have made a fortune, but now they can’t bear to give even a grain of food. Let’s use it to suppress thieves.”
"Did you attack someone?" Cao Wenzhao ignored Cao Bianjiao's complaints about the Linqing officials, but first asked if Cao Bianjiao had attacked the Linqing officials who received him.
Cao Bianjiao shook his head and said, "Uncle, you specifically told me before I went that I would definitely not be able to fight against these Ming dynasty worms. My nephew just feels too angry."
"It's okay if you don't take action." Cao Wenzhao breathed a sigh of relief and said immediately, "Linqing is in a strategic location, and most of the officials here are closely related to the officials in the capital. You must not do it unless you have to. Fight them."
It is impossible for a wealthy place like Linqing to fall into the hands of people with no background.
Even if someone with no connections comes to serve as an official in Linqing, in a few years, with the wealth acquired in Linqing, he can definitely build relationships with the important officials in the capital.
Cao Wenzhao saw this very clearly when he was an official for thousands of miles just for money.
Not to mention these civil servants, the same goes for military generals. They cannot support their own soldiers and servants without making money. If there are not enough soldiers and servants, no one will take them seriously even if they are given to a general soldier.
As long as he has enough soldiers and servants who are strong enough, no one dares to look down on him even if he is just a guerrilla.
When the Li family of Liaodong generals was in glory, no one dared to stroke their beards. The reason for their decline was precisely because all the soldiers and servants were killed and injured. The Li family of Liaodong, which had infinite glory, was no longer the leader of Liaodong generals.
"It is because I listened to my uncle and knew that the officials here in Linqing are related to the officials in the capital that my nephew did not take action. Otherwise, if he dared not give him food, my nephew would have directly robbed his mother." Cao Bianjiao said in a muffled voice.
Cao Wenzhao knew what his nephew's temper was like, so he immediately taught him a lesson: "Linqing is the throat of water transportation. If you steal food here, no one can protect you."
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"My nephew just said it casually and wouldn't have any idea of passing the canal ship." Cao Bianjiao was just dissatisfied with the attitude of Linqing officials. He was not stupid. He naturally knew where to send troops to borrow food and where not to do so.
Cao Wenzhao warned uneasily: "You must remember what I just said, and you can't mess around here in Linqing."
He was familiar with the virtues of civil servants, and was afraid that if Cao Bianjiao borrowed food, even if he only borrowed a few hundred shi, it would probably turn into tens of thousands of shi from the Linqing officials, and the evidence would be solid enough to make you unable to defend your case. Arguable.
The lower limit of these civil servants is much lower than that of their generals.
"I understand, uncle." Cao Bianjiao nodded in agreement, and then asked, "But what about the army's food and grass? We don't have much food and grass."
Cao Wenzhao hesitated for a moment and said: "You stay in the camp, and I will personally go see the magistrate of Linqing Prefecture to see if I can let Linqing Prefecture give out some of the food for the army to use first."
Hearing this, Cao Bianjiao nodded.
My uncle was also a third-rank general, so I thought that coming to Qingzhizhou would give him some face no matter what.
Sure enough, after Cao Wenzhao came forward, a batch of grain was delivered that afternoon, which amounted to more than one hundred shi.
With the food in hand, Cao Wenzhao led his army to leave Linqing the next day after receiving the food.
"Uncle, didn't you say that you would leave Linqing after finding out more about the tiger bandits' troops?" After the army broke camp, Cao Bianjiao, who followed Cao Wenzhao on horseback, looked puzzled.
Cao Wenzhao looked back at the soldiers and horses following him, and said, "How can we get more than one hundred shi of grain without leaving Linqing?"
After hearing this, Cao Bianjiao suddenly realized.
He understood that his uncle had made a deal with the officials of Linqing by using the army to evacuate Linqing.
Although Cao Bianjiao felt uncomfortable, he didn't say anything more.
Guest troops are outside and are not welcomed by the local government. Unless there is a war, guest troops are likely to be valued and given preferential treatment.
When the army reached the area of Weiwan Town, the Ming army spies sent by Cao Wenzhao returned from Liaocheng and brought back news about the troops of Tiger Character Banner closest to Liaocheng.
Cao Bianjiao, who was following Cao Wenzhao, naturally heard the news about the soldiers and horses of the tiger-character flag brought back by the spies.
"Uncle, what does the leader of the Tiger Thieves want to do? He has already captured Yanggu and Xinxian County, why didn't he take Liaocheng and instead station troops in Xinxian County?" Cao Bianjiao looked at Cao Wenzhao with a puzzled look on his face. .
Cao Wenzhao, who was also confused, hesitated for a moment and said, "You will find out when you go to Liaocheng."
There is a Pingshan Guard in Dongchang Prefecture, located in Liaocheng.
When we arrived at Weiwan Town, we were not far from Liaocheng. The cavalry could arrive in one day, and the infantry only needed two days' journey at most.
In Xin County, a military camp was stationed in the Tiger Banner.
Leading the troops was Zheng Cao Guang, the First Battle Barracks of the First Battle Division.
After Zhang Sancha left the First Battle Division, he took over the position of the First Battle Camp.
"I just received news that Cao Wenzhao led his army to stay in Liaocheng."
As the words fell, Chief of Staff Wu Chunguang walked in from outside, sat down opposite Cao Guang, picked up the teapot on the table and took a sip of water.
Cao Guang looked up at him and asked, "What do you think of General Cao who was sent here by Sun Chuanting?"
"This family of yours is difficult to deal with!" Wu Chunguang said, while placing the large teapot in his hand on the table in front of him.
After hearing this, Cao Guang pursed his lips and said, "Let's wait and see, maybe this Cao Wenzhao can't help but take the initiative to attack Xin County."
"I can't see." Wu Chunguang shook his head slightly and said immediately, "Our Tiger Flag is no longer the easy-to-bully rebels in the eyes of the Ming army. We have won so many battles in the past few years, and even more There are several provinces, and no matter how stupid the generals of the Ming army are, they will never think that we are soft persimmons."
Cao Wenzhao led his army to stay in Liaocheng, which was both unexpected and reasonable.
