Fenniu Village is located in the hills to the north of Yiyang County, close to the road to Shouan, and has an important geographical location. This is Zhai Xing's hometown, and several surrounding villages are full of Zhai clan members, so they have a certain number of soldiers. This mountain village has been the center of the resistance against gold in the north for a long time.
The cottage is very large, far exceeding the scale of Yiyang County not far away. Zhai Xing's soldiers were scattered in the low hills and mountains near the stronghold, plowing and fighting.
Wang Xiaolie built the town of Yique, and Dong Xian defended Shou'an in the north. In the past two years, Zhai Xing was not harassed, and he had plenty of troops and food. After the imperial court gave Wang Xiaolie's Yique Town to Zhai Xing, it began to think about the Northern Expedition.
Cui Sanshe and Ren Zhiqing passed through Luanchuan County and returned to Fenniu Village. As soon as they entered the village, without rest, Zhai Xing greeted him.
After entering the village hall and saluting, Zhai Xing ordered that he be given a seat.
As soon as Cui Sanshe sat down, Zhai Xing asked, "You are going to Xiangyang. What does Wang Jieshuai say?"
Cui Sanshe said: "Wang Jieshuai is a sensible man. How can he object to the Northern Expedition? He has said that he will do his best to help us if we send out troops. He will send all his 100,000 elite soldiers to help us in the Northern Expedition!" "
After hearing this, Zhai Xing couldn't help but frowned: "The Meng State has less than 20,000 soldiers, why do we need 100,000 soldiers? Furthermore, I have less than 10,000 soldiers, and 100,000 soldiers from Xiangyang are coming north. Is it Wang Jieshuai's Northern Expedition or me?" Northern Expedition?"
Cui Sanshe said hurriedly: "Zhenfu, don't be anxious, I didn't explain clearly. What Wang Jieshuai meant, he did not participate in Zhenfu's Northern Expedition, he just guarded the way back for us. After occupying Luoyang, Jin Bing and Liu Yu They must be dissatisfied and must send troops to rescue them. Xiangyang's troops marched all the way north to occupy Zhengzhou and blocked Liu Yu's troops from coming east. They concentrated 10,000 or 20,000 people at Lu's along the way and attacked Guo and Shaanxi at any time. If the Jin soldiers from Shaanxi came to rescue , then seal the reinforcements in the mountains near Mianchi, gather them together and annihilate them!"
After hearing this, Zhai Xing's expression softened and he nodded. Said: "I have known Commander Jie for many years and have a deep friendship. Even so, how can I afford him to send troops to help me like this? Luoyang City was handed over to me, and Xiangyang's soldiers only helped me repel the reinforcements. This kind of kindness is too deep. .”
Cui Sanshe said: "Zhenfu, there are many soldiers in Xiangyang and the territory is vast. It is our duty to help us in the Northern Expedition! In recent years, we have been in Fenniu Mountain Stronghold, surrounded by mountains, and we have no sources of troops even if we want to expand the army. If we occupy Luoyang, it will be considered With the territory. At that time, the governor had enough money and food to recruit soldiers and horses, and he was no longer as poor as before! After two years of development in Luoyang, with soldiers and horses, it is not difficult to restore Tokyo!"
Zhai Xing smiled bitterly: "Brother, is it so easy to recruit troops to fight? That's all, there is no need to say more about these things."
After asking Cui Sanshe and Ren Zhiqing what they had seen on the way to Xiangyang, Zhai Xing asked them to rest.
The two left, and Zhai Xing sat stunned for a while. The Northern Expedition is no small matter. Although Meng Bangxiong is not strong, for Zhai Xing, it cannot be underestimated. With only the soldiers and horses in Fenniu Village, winning or losing is still a matter of uncertainty.
Wang Xiaolie and others believed that Zhai Xing would win because he also had Dong Xian as deputy governor. The two of them joined forces and attacked all the way from Yihe River and all the way from Luohe River. How could Meng Bangxiong of Luoyang stop them?
Zhai Xing felt helpless when he thought of his deputy governor. One of them occupied Yihe River, and the other occupied Luohe River. Although there was a road connecting them, the connection was not close. Although Dong Xian was named Deputy Envoy of Zhenfu, he actually did not obey Zhai Xing's military orders.
The governors appointed at this time rarely set up deputy positions, and Dong Xian was an exception.
Zhai Xing's army is based on the Zhai family. The generals who commanded the troops were either Zhai or a relative of Zhai. Only a few people were promoted because of their bravery in combat, and they did not hold important positions.
How could Dong Xian accept this situation? In the past few years, he has been separated from Zhai Xingmao, and their relationship is very delicate.
After thinking for a while, Zhai Xing called Peng Qi. He said to him: "You went to Yongning a few days ago. Dong Taifa is not opposed to the Northern Expedition, right?"
Peng Qi said: "Dong Taiwei did not object, but he was not enthusiastic either. The Taiwei said that if Zhenfu went to the Northern Expedition, he would be willing to lead his troops to Shouan, so that Meng Bangxiong did not dare to use all his troops against Zhenfu. But after arriving in Shouan How to fight, I didn’t say.”
Zhai Xing sighed and said: "Wang Jieshuai from the south has agreed to help us. It depends on how Dong Xian is doing. Around Luoyang, Dong Xian and our army are now there. How can we do without him? In two days, we will wait for Da Lang to come back. , you and Dalang should go to Yongning again. No matter what Dong Xian's request is, try to agree to him and let him send troops to Luoyang with us."
Peng Qi said: "Zhenfu, Mr. Dong is unruly and unruly. It is not easy for him to send troops."
Zhai Xing said: "No matter how difficult it is, can his appetite be greater than that of Wang Jieshuai? Now in Luoyang, those of us who lead the troops have to act according to Wang Jieshuai's wishes. Although Jieshuai has a kind personality, he has a hundred thousand troops under his command. It’s not false. Regardless of whether I or Dong Xian, I only have a few thousand soldiers under my command, so what does it mean to me in front of the Commander-in-Chief? When Xiangyang’s army comes north, everything will be different from now.”
After saying that, Zhai Xing looked a little helpless. He is not as ignorant as Cui Sanshe and thinks about what will happen after occupying Luoyang. The fact is that as long as Wang Xiaolie's army goes north, no matter what Wang Xiaolie is doing, Zhai Xing and others can only be in a subordinate position.
Wang Xiao can't enter Luoyang, so what? When the Jin army and the puppet Qi army arrive, can Zhai Xing be able to defeat them? If Wang Xiaolie sends troops, can he still maintain his independence? No matter how good-tempered Wang Xiaolie is, he will not allow others to boss him around.
In fact, as Wang Xiaolie has grown and developed over the years, Zhai Xing, Xie Qian and others around him can see that everyone's independence is slowly losing. If Zhao Gou doesn't make the northern expedition as soon as possible, these people's forces will sooner or later be annexed by Wang Xiaolie. In their jurisdiction, Xiangyang Huizi, which relied more and more on Wang Xiaolie's economy, had already taken control of the currency. Even in places such as Jingzhou where Jie Qian lives and Jinzhou where Wang Yan lives, Wang Xiaolie's supply and marketing cooperative has opened branches there, becoming an important source of income for them.
With the economy under control, how much independence do these people have left?
The reason why Zhai Xing was eager for the Northern Expedition was also due to this factor. Although Yiyang is a large county, it is still too small compared to Wang Xiaolie's territory. In the past two years, Yiyang's economy has been deeply affected by Dengzhou in the south, and merchants basically trafficked goods south. Without taking advantage of the empty troops of the puppet Qi to launch a northern expedition to Luoyang, Zhai Xing's situation would be even more embarrassing.
Publish Huizi and others can follow suit. For example, Jie Qian once printed Jingzhou Huizi. But the problem is that the printed Huizi can only harvest folk wealth once, and it will soon become waste paper. It cannot be like Xiangyang Huizi, which has not depreciated in value for several years, and its usage is still expanding.
It is difficult for people in this era to understand that Huizi is just a tool for private transactions. If the local economy does not develop, society will not need much. If it depreciates too quickly and does not pay attention to the issuance method, there will be less use in society.
Xiangyang Huizi is very popular, not because of how exquisite Wang Xiaolie's printing is and how strict his management is, but because of the rapid economic development in Xiangyang and Dengzhou in recent years. After all, printing Huizi is just the seigniorage collected by Wang Xiaolie.
Once credit currency is issued, the regime can ensure that the currency does not depreciate rapidly, and seigniorage or money in other names will be a very huge amount. Especially when the economy is developing rapidly, this amount will be very large, no less than various taxes. Over the years, Wang Xiaolie's main income has been printing Huizi, and he has invested in other industries, but it has not yet been time to reap the rewards.
