"This." Gao Heng finally mentioned Zheng Wei's pain point, which made him stunned on the spot. Yes, they can't spend too much energy on Gao Heng. Think about it, this time more than 10,000 troops were annihilated. Thousands of people, this number is nothing if compared to the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty had a million troops, and a few thousand people were like a drop in the bucket. But Annan was different. There were only a hundred thousand people in total. Thousands of people were lost at once, including Beijing soldiers. This It’s already a scary number.
Even though they had been confronting the Ruan clan in the south for so many years, the largest battle between the two sides only resulted in tens of thousands of casualties each. Is it possible to waste so many lives by beating up a bunch of idiots?
Now not only have they not been eliminated, but they have also strengthened their armaments. So how many troops will the court mobilize to besiege Gaoheng next time? Ten thousand is not enough, twenty thousand? The Zheng family has no mobile troops at all. If something goes wrong with the Ruan family or elsewhere in the country, the court will be in danger.
"Don't worry, our original intention is not to be an enemy of your Annan court. You are the one who forced the war. If you could treat the overseas Chinese well, how could there be so many things later? The matter is now over, as long as you release them, I have no intention of harming you. Fighting, I believe the people also want to live and work in peace and contentment, we live here, and the water in the well does not interfere with the river, what do you think?" Gao Heng said.
"Can you guarantee it?" Zheng Wei said.
"Of course, I still say what I said, we just want a way to survive, not to fight with you. Who wants to fight? Unless you don't want to leave us a way to survive." Gao Heng said.
"Well, I promise you personally, but I still have to go back and report such a major matter. Please give me some time, general, and wait for the king to make a decision." Zheng Wei thought for a while, but gave up the idea of making a decision directly. He must ask the king for instructions on such a major matter, otherwise, he will not be able to shoulder the responsibilities in the future.
"Then I'll give you ten days. Now you can go back. Fan Yu, see the guests off." Gao Heng made a sign to see off the guests.
Fan Yu and a group of guards came in and asked Zheng Wei to go out. Zheng Wei cupped his hands and walked away.
"Bastard! Who does he think he is!" There was a loud crash, and the sound of the teacup falling to the ground and shattering kept coming. In the Shenglong Imperial City, Lord Zheng was furious.
After Zheng Wei negotiated with Gao Heng, he didn't care about riding in a carriage. He didn't care about his old age and rode directly back to Thang Long on a starry night. He didn't care about the bumps along the way and his old bones almost fell apart.
When he returned to Sheng Long Mansion, he rushed straight into the palace without stopping to report the situation to Lord Zheng. As soon as he finished introducing the situation, Master Zheng became furious. He was not going after Zheng Wei. He would really get angry if Zheng Wei took the decision on such a big matter without authorization. But now that Zheng Wei had thrown this problem to him, how could he have thought that this guy named Gao Heng was so cunning that he wanted to give money to others without giving it to others, would he fall into another cycle, and his power would become more and more powerful? Damn it, the Annan court couldn't control him.
Seeing Master Zheng getting angry, Zheng Wei was very calm. He knew Master Zheng's temper and it was normal to get angry. If he didn't have this awareness, how could he be the prime minister. On the other hand, Master Zheng was also performing for him. Everyone knew that Master Zheng definitely wanted to save the prince, but he just couldn't make up his mind. Zheng Wei had to help him make this determination, so that he could do more when he shouldered the responsibility. A man goes into the water.
Zheng Wei cursed secretly in his heart, old fox! Then he took a step forward and said: "Your Majesty, please take care of yourself. There is no need to vent your anger with a mud-legged person."
Lord Zheng turned around and said: "Then what do you think we should do? This guy has made it clear that he is causing trouble. He wants a population. What does he want a population for? Does he still want to build a state within a state on my Zheng family's land?" Although I am old, I have not yet reached the point of being stupid, so I cannot agree to such conditions under any circumstances."
Zheng Wei said: "Your Majesty, we can't let our words die. If we really don't take any action, the prince will not be able to come back. There will be no one to inherit the political power. This is more terrible than giving him some people. Isn't the Zheng family's foundation cut off? ?”
Master Zheng was silent. Of course he understood what Zheng Wei said. The remaining sons were not up to par. Some were fond of wine, some were lustful, some were terrible at handling government affairs, and some were not good at handling government affairs. Yes, but it has no prestige in the military. If the military does not support it, there will be a risk of a coup in the future. Only Zheng Zuo can preserve the Zheng family's legacy.
Zheng Wei added: "Besides, they are a country within a country. In fact, they are already a country within a country. It's just a matter of size. Gao Heng is just a mud-legged person. This time I also found out about his background. It turns out that he is just a country within a country." He is just a small flag officer in the Ming army, the lowest military attaché. How much talent can such a person have? Governing a country is different from leading troops to fight. When there are more people, there will be different opinions, but it is difficult to govern."
Master Zheng said: "So what do you mean?"
"Your Majesty, there is a saying in the Central Plains that if you keep the green hills, you won't have to worry about running out of firewood. We have the right to agree to him. Since we can afford more than five hundred thousand taels of silver, according to his plan, we don't have to give out even one tael of silver. We will get it from the treasury. Just allocate food and release the overseas Chinese. We can do more things with these more than 500,000 taels of silver, and we can also replace the equipment of the national army. When the prince comes back, he will definitely work hard to avenge his past humiliation. When that time comes, we will expand our army and prepare for war. It will not be too late to destroy him. What do you think, Your Majesty?" Zheng Wei advised.
Lord Zheng stood up and paced back and forth, then stamped his feet and said: "Well, let's do as he wants. Solve the immediate trouble first, and then worry about the future. I will leave this matter to you and let everyone go. "
The news came back very quickly, and it didn't even take ten days. On the fifth day, Zheng Wei hurried back. For this matter, he also worked hard and devoted all his energy to this matter. Zheng Wei brought back the good news, and Gao Heng and the others celebrated with their foreheads and hands. You know, no one was sure that the Annan court would definitely agree. Once the war between the two sides resumes, Zheng Zuo will definitely be dead, but the Zheng family will destroy Gao Heng at all costs.
When the Zheng family fights them all, the Ruan family will become the biggest winner. The most important thing is that Gao Heng is not willing to fight against the Annan people, not to mention one for one, even for ten. The lives of the descendants of Yan and Huang are much nobler than those of them.
The next step is to wait for the expatriates and food to arrive one after another. In the city, Zheng Zuo himself could clearly feel the changes in the surrounding affairs. In addition to being imprisoned, his food standards had obviously improved, and Lu Tao had never punished him again. But if nothing happened, Lu Tao would go around the prison. Seeing him, Zheng Zuo felt a chill all over his body, and had developed a conditioned reflex fear.
Except for seeing Lu Tao, everything was normal. Zheng Zuo knew that his father had reached an agreement with Gao Heng, and his departure was not far away. Now, he started to eat and drink normally every day, and his appetite was bigger than before. He had great hatred for Gao Heng and the others. As long as he was allowed to go back, he would definitely find a way to get revenge. So what he has to do is take good care of his body, and he can't let anything go wrong here.
After the deal was concluded, Gao Heng was in a good mood, and the army continued to train. Within a few days, the first batch of 30,000 dan of food promised by the Annan people was shipped over. They used donkey carts or mule carts from Thang Long Palace to Totuo. The roads in the county are full of vehicles transporting food. Although the 150,000 shi of food negotiated sounds scary, it is actually not much. Once all the expatriates arrive, the population of Tuoxian County will expand to 50,000, and a small county will definitely not be able to accommodate it.
In ancient times, because there were very few non-staple foods and insufficient oil and water, the ancients had very large appetites. Even the modern people of later generations, if they do not consume meat and vegetables, just eat rice, no oil, water, and intestines, a man It is estimated that a pound of grain can be eaten in one meal, and three or four pounds will be consumed in a day.
In the Ming Dynasty, one stone was equivalent to 120 kilograms of grain, which was only what a man consumed in a month. If we roughly calculate it like this, 150,000 kilograms of grain would be enough to feed 50,000 people for three to four months. If we were frugal, it would be enough for half a year. That’s incredible.
They cannot always rely on the food of the Annan people to survive, so growing food has become an inevitable choice. Fortunately, the climate conditions in Annan are good, and grains can be harvested three times a year, and there are many farm tools left in the county. , there are also some seeds in the county government warehouse. Originally, there were many fields owned by Annan locals outside Tuo County. Now that they are gone, the fields cannot be left abandoned. They can continue to use them and expand the scope. They farm and work outside the city. The army is training outside the city at the same time. Unless the enemy The army must attack in a large scale, otherwise a small group of enemy troops will not pose a threat to Tuoxian County. Moreover, it is a truce period between the two families. If they want to take the prince back safe and sound, they must not cause trouble.
"Here they come, they are here!" One morning more than ten days later, people inside and outside the city were busy building bricks and mortar for their new lives. The soldiers also lined up for training outside the city, and Gao Heng even practiced equestrian skills in the cavalry company. After a period of training, relying on the excellent skills of later generations of special forces, Gao Heng has basically mastered the skills of horseback riding, although he is not yet ready to fight on horseback. It's too good, but there is no problem with riding. You can even do some difficult actions like hiding in stirrups on horseback.
The running-in between the black male horse and Gao Heng is also very good. The horse recognizes its owner. Perhaps it is the military temperament exuded by Gao Heng that makes the war horse like it very much. The two get along very well. At first, the black male horse did not adapt well and was a bit unruly. Untamed, but now, every time Gao Heng gives an order, the black stallion can accurately complete it. In time, Gao Heng can also gallop on the battlefield like the ancient generals.
Just when everything was going according to plan, suddenly, the soldiers watching from the top of the city noticed something strange outside the city. At the end of the official road, in addition to groups of grain trucks escorted by Annan soldiers heading towards Tuoxian County, many people were also spotted.
Yes, these are the first batch of expatriates to be released. They came from the nearest Lang Son Palace. After receiving the order from the court, the governor of Lang Son Palace immediately released them. Who dares not to obey the order of Lord Zheng? implement. However, it is impossible to take away much food when people are released. Each of these people can get some pitiful food rations, are escorted by the army, and then head towards Tuoxian County. As for whether they can arrive alive, it depends on It depends on their fate.
These people couldn't run away even if they wanted to. They had been hungry for so long and their physical strength had long been exhausted. Everyone was unkempt and disheveled. It was pretty good that they could survive until they left the county. The Annan people who let them go said that Tuoxian County had become a life-saving place for them, expatriates. There were already expats there who had organized themselves and built camps. They were let go this time so that they could go to Tuoxian County and fight with those people. Expatriates meet.
These tortured immigrants also asked around for some news. They heard that the leader of the immigrants in Tuo County was Wu Quxing who came to earth and defeated Annan's tens of thousands of troops in one battle. He also captured Annan's prince, and then exchanged them with the prince's life. It is not an exaggeration to say that such a great benevolent person is a living Bodhisattva.
Although the people were hungry, they were also full of hope, and they arrived at Tuoxian County step by step. When these ragged people saw the county walls, the expats working outside the city, and the troops lined up in neat rows, they felt as if they were in another world, as if they had arrived in another world. Is this the legendary safe haven?
There were about five thousand people in Lang Son. These people supported the old and the young and helped each other approach the city. After the message from the city was sent, Gao Heng asked the army to stop training immediately and go to meet the people. The expats in the city also heard the news and went out of the city with food and clothing to greet their compatriots. They did the same thing a few months ago. Now, It's their turn to help others.
"Stop!" the Annan officer leading the team shouted, and hundreds of soldiers stopped immediately. Before setting off, they counted the number of people. Some people died on the road, but fortunately, Lang Son is not far from here, so A limited number of people died.
Gao Heng suppressed his excitement and stepped forward to hand over to the Annan people. The Annan officer said in somewhat stiff Chinese: "There were 5,120 people in total before departure, and more than 200 people died on the way. There should be more than 200 people left now." There are 4,900 people, you can go back and count them, my mission is over."
Gao Heng nodded, and Annan's officer immediately turned around and ordered to his subordinates: "Everyone, turn around!" Annan's army dispersed, and the nervous hearts of these people relaxed. Gao Heng's army surrounded them. When they heard the familiar words, the people cried loudly, as if they had been reborn. They finally found their compatriots who were also descendants of Yan and Huang, which also meant that such a long period of hellish days was finally over. .
Some women even became so excited that they lost their balance and fainted, but the family members next to them had quick eyesight and quick hands to help them.
