Three days later, as soon as Wang Xiaolie and his army entered Baofeng County, someone came to report that someone was sent by Zhai Jin of Luoyang.
After entering the county government office and changing into official uniform, Wang Xiao ordered people to bring Zhai Jin's envoy in.
The envoy entered the official hall and made a promise to Wang Xiaolie. Crosshand said: "I'm reporting to Zhizhou. Recently, Yang Jin from Zhengzhou has made a rebellion and is approaching Henan Prefecture. The Taiwei has unified the army to fight. Yang Jin's troops left Yingyang and headed toward Luonan, which is close to Ruzhou. Zhizhou should command the troops and horses to garrison. Let them enter Ruzhou and cause chaos."
Wang Xiaolie said: "I have ordered my troops and horses and are here at starry night. I wonder how many troops Yang Jin has?"
The envoy said: "Yang Jin claims to have 700,000 soldiers. It's just a false claim and cannot be counted. According to the Taiwei's estimate, the number is no more than 10,000."
Wang Xiaolie thought for a while and said: "It is one thing to have ten thousand soldiers, but it is another thing to have many capable soldiers."
The envoy said: "Zhizhou, who can tell clearly? But he is a military thief, so he should not be underestimated."
Wang Xiaolie said: "I understand. By the way, Lieutenant Zhai is going to fight. Do you need my help?"
The envoy said: "The Taiwei just asked the magistrate to raise troops as soon as possible, but did not give any orders to go to help in the battle."
At this time, Zhai Jin had been promoted to the post of envoy of the Northwest Route of Beijing, and Wang Xiao's troops and horses were nominally under his jurisdiction. However, at this time, the title of official title is often a false title and cannot be taken seriously. Not to mention Wang Xiaolie, Zhai Jin on the northwest road of Beijing could not command many people.
Zhai Jin's troops were not many, only several thousand. And they are stationed in many places. No matter how many people there are, Zhai Jin will not be able to take care of the food. The main officers are from the Zhai Jin tribe, so they are particularly united and capable of fighting. A few thousand people are enough to intimidate a party.
In his previous life, Wang Xiaolie often saw ancient wars, often involving hundreds of thousands on one side and hundreds of thousands on the other. Tens of thousands of troops are not worthy of leaving their names. Only when I really came to this world did I realize that was not the case.
At this time, the number of households in a state, taking Ruzhou under his rule as an example, was only tens of thousands. How many troops can tens of thousands of households support? It is impossible to raise one person per household. Under normal circumstances, raising one soldier for five households is already the limit, raising one soldier for ten households is a very heavy burden, and raising one soldier for 20 or 30 households is generally acceptable. In times of war, how many troops can be stationed in a state without the ability to transport logistics on a large scale? An army of ten thousand is enough to eat up most of the households in this state. In just a few months, this state will be hit hard.
At this time, it is very difficult to send troops with more than 100,000 troops along the way, and there must be a large number of transportation troops in the rear. If 10,000 or 20,000 people are stationed in a state at the same time, it will be fine for a short time, but over time, sources of food and grass must be found.
Zhai Jin is based in Yiyang County, which is basically the valley along the Yi River to Luoyang. In this area, even if all the people were soldiers, they would not be able to support too many troops. However, Zhai Jin is the largest force near Luoyang, and the rest follow his orders.
Luoyang was captured twice by Jin soldiers and was extremely dilapidated. To fight in this area, Zhai Jin's few thousand men would be his limit. If there were more people, the food and grass around him would not be enough. No matter how many soldiers and horses Yang Jin brings, he will not be able to stay there for long.
After settling the envoys, Wang Xiaolie sent people to Ruzhou quickly. I was ordered to pay attention to inquire about Yang Jin's movements and not to be careless. At the same time, Yang Shen was ordered to prepare manpower and food. If you lead your own troops into Linru Town, you must not cut off the supply.
This is the advantage of using troops inside. Within the state, Wang Xiaolie does not need to consider logistical issues. Once shipped, transporting grain and grass is a big deal.
In Ruzhou City, Cao Erniang was coaxing her young son. The child was less than two years old, walked unsteadily and kept making noises, which made Cao Erniang extremely irritable. On one side, my uncle Zheng Youcheng was holding a stick and squinting at a cat.
After a long time, Cao Erniang said impatiently: "Why are you raising a cat to catch mice? What are you doing there? I don't know what is being sold outside, and it keeps barking there. It's annoying to me! Go out and chase people away quickly. Don't mess with me." !”
Zheng Youcheng put down the stick, stood up, and muttered in a low voice: "It's your son who's troubled, why should you blame me?"
As he spoke, he walked out of the room.
I saw a man wearing a large fan hat, standing under the big willow tree on the roadside in front of the house. There are two baskets of tender lotus roots in front of me, selling them there.
Zheng Youcheng said: "That man, please don't do business in front of my house! He's shouting back and forth, it's so noisy that it makes people anxious!"
The man acted as if he didn't hear anything and just focused on selling. And I don’t know whether it was intentional or not, but the voice was a little louder.
Zheng Youcheng couldn't help but feel angry after hearing this. He strode forward, grabbed the man's arm, and was about to hit him. Unexpectedly, the man was so incredibly strong that he didn't even move it this time.
Just when Zheng Youcheng was about to get angry, the man lifted Fan Yangli slightly and whispered: "How are you these days, brother?"
Zheng Yangcheng took a look and said hurriedly: "It turns out to be my brother! After listening for so long, I didn't even recognize your voice!"
The man said: "There is no way. There are too many people who know me in Ruzhou City, so I can only take medicine to change my voice. How are your parents at home these days? How are your sister-in-law and children? Is anyone causing trouble?"
Zheng Youcheng said: "Okay, everything is fine. It's just that my sister-in-law was a little upset when you left and disappeared."
This person is Zheng Youcheng's second brother Zheng Youming. He turned out to be an official in Ruzhou. A few days ago, Wang Xiaolie was rectifying the affairs of the officials. Zheng Youming left because he had too many misdeeds in the past and did not want to take out the money. For some unknown reason, I rushed back today.
Seeing that there were no pedestrians around, Zheng Youcheng hurriedly said: "Since brother is back, go home quickly."
Zheng Youming nodded, picked up the burden, and let Zheng Youcheng go first. He followed him into the courtyard.
Cao Erniang had just helped the fallen child up. When she looked up and saw her uncle bringing in a lotus root seller, she couldn't help but be furious. Said: "You are useless! I asked you to drive people away, but how can you bring them into your home instead!"
Zheng Youming stepped forward quickly and lifted Fan Yangli up. He whispered: "Don't shout! I'm back!"
Looking at her husband's face, Cao Erniang was stunned and didn't know what to say.
Zheng Youming put down the loan and whispered: "Don't let others know my whereabouts and speak in a low voice."
Cao Erniang nodded, lowered her voice and asked, "Where have you been these days? Do you care about our family's life or death?"
As he said that, he started crying.
Zheng Youming sighed: "What can I do? If I don't leave, I will have to behead my head according to the rules set by the governor. It's not enough for me to die, but if our family property is taken away, it will be difficult to survive! As soon as I leave , who will come to make things difficult for you?"
Cao Erniang said: "How come no one comes to trouble you? It's just because you haven't left for a long time and they don't come. In the past two days, I heard from your former colleagues that if you don't come back, they will come and ransack your home!"
"Straight bitch, when I was here, these people didn't eat less of me, use me, take what I have!" Zheng Youming's teeth itched with hatred. "And make a note of it. When I become rich one day, I will not let them off lightly!"
Cao Erniang said: "Forget it. We are living a difficult life now, and we have to make people criticize us when we go out. We have money at home, but we don't dare to spend it, otherwise people will gossip."
Zheng Youming said: "Don't be afraid. I just came back because I was worried that you would have a bad life."
Cao Erniang looked her husband up and down and said disdainfully: "Looking at you carrying burdens and selling lotus roots, do you have any amazing skills?"
Zheng Youming said: "Madam, you are mistaken! I am afraid of being recognized when I carry a load to sell lotus roots. Business people only need to give some money when entering the city, and the city guards will let them in. To tell you the truth, today I’m really prosperous!”
Cao Erniang curled her lips and didn't believe it at all.
Zheng Youming said: "After leaving Ruzhou, I went to Zhengzhou in the north. I don't want to be appreciated by Captain Yang over there and become a high official."
"Which Captain Yang? Isn't it rumored that they want to attack Captain Yang of Luoyang?" Zheng Youcheng on the side asked curiously.
Zheng Youming nodded repeatedly: "Yes, that's right. With Taiwei Yang's hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, taking Luoyang is just like searching for something! After defeating the Zhai family in Luoyang, what's the difficulty in taking Ruzhou? I came here today precisely to do so. Do a great thing and make a great contribution!"
