Chapter 71 Zhai Rang Raises an Army in Wagangzhai
When Wang Bodang heard what Zhai Rang said, he thought the matter was already 60% to 70% successful.
I might as well make the fire burn brighter. He said in a firm tone:
"Lord Zhai, if you make Li Ai your leader, everything will be accomplished."
A trace of fear flashed across Zhai Rang's eyes. He picked up the cup of water on the table and took a sip of tea.
He asked doubtfully, "If Li Ai could become king, why would he come from Dongjun to be attached to me?"
When Wang Bodang saw his face darken, he couldn't help but feel nervous.
He thought to himself that he must not let down at the critical moment.
Master Li had already expected that Lord Zhai would ask this question.
Wang Bodang replied calmly:
"It's a secret that can't be revealed, but if I don't tell you, I'm afraid Lord Zhai will get suspicious."
Zhai Rang thought, I'm not the one who is suspicious, you and Li Ji came here to lobby together.
If you don't tell me who your mother is, do you think I'm easy to fool?
"Peaches and plums will rule the world."
"The Yang family will be destroyed, and the Li family will rise."
I have also heard such rumors.
There are many people with the surname Li in the world, could it be just one Li Ai?
Yang Guang also had doubts and killed Li Hun, the Duke of Ying, and drove away the guard Li Mi.
That Li Mi instigated Yang Xuangan to rebel, and after the failure of the rebellion, Li Mi disappeared like a ghost.
Was he secretly executed by Yang Guang? Or did he die in hiding under a pseudonym?
Now Li Ji and Li Ai come out again.
You don’t know yet?
There is also Li Yuan in Jinyang. Although Li Yuan and Yang Guang are cousins, won't Li Yuan rebel?
When Zhai Rang thought of this, he felt a chill in his heart.
He sighed secretly: "With so many powerful Lis, what future do I, Lord Zhai, have?"
Wang Bodang saw that Zhai Rang was puzzled, and then he commented:
"Why did Li Ai want to join Wagangzhai? The main reason is that the general's surname is Zhai, which is pronounced as Ze."
Zhai Rang almost laughed out loud, "Does this have anything to do with my last name?"
"Li Ai is a grass. Ai cannot grow without wetlands, so he came to rely on the general."
"Another point is that the word 'let' in Zhai Gong's name already contains a meaning, that is, the protagonist of Wagang must abdicate."
Wang Bodang followed the arrangement made with Li Ji in advance and finally convinced Zhai Rang that he was attracted by her.
Zhai Rang usually trusted Wang Bodang very much. After listening to Wang Bodang's words and combining them with the folk rumors told by Li Ji, he gradually believed them to be true.
Three people make a tiger.
They didn't even need three people, but Zhai Rang was already confused.
He smiled and said, "General Li has such ability, so I, Zhai Rang, will certainly look up to him. I will discuss this with other leaders."
At night, Wang Bodang came to Li Ji's room and reported to Li Ji about the evening's "Zhai Wang Talks".
Li Ji was very excited and thought that Zhai Gong should be tempted this time.
"Wagang was founded by Zhai Gong, so he should be the one to shoulder the responsibility. However, he is indecisive and may cause great trouble."
"Yes, how about you make another decision, my lord, and see what the second step should be?"
Li Ji thought that the nearby counties and prefectures were basically occupied by large and small rebel armies.
It seems that the only solution is a drastic move, which is what Zhang Xutuo proposed: attacking Luokou Warehouse.
Use major events to test whether your predictions are accurate.
Li Ji told Wang Bodang about his plan.
"My lord's plan is closely linked. As long as we take over Luokou Warehouse this time, our plan will succeed."
After Wang Bodang left, Li Ji deduced the marching route of Luokou Warehouse in detail.
The next day.
Zhai Rang held a meeting in the conference room.
"My dear leaders, we have gathered in Wagangzhai for some time. The military advisor has suggested that we should start an uprising immediately."
As soon as Zhai Rang finished speaking , everyone started talking.
"We have been waiting for this day. Otherwise, we can just attack Chang'an directly."
"Taking Chang'an in the west is a bit difficult, and our current strength may not be enough."
"Once the uprising begins, we must capture the Eastern Capital."
"Attack Dongdu!"
"Take Chang'an!"
…
The leaders all spoke one by one.
Everyone has reached a consensus: agree to the uprising.
Zhai Rang continued:
"I think the strategy of the uprising is to attack from near and far, and wait for the enemy to tire themselves out."
Li Ji immediately expressed his opinion. He said loudly:
"My suggestion is to concentrate our forces and capture the counties of Xingyang. Small victories will add up to a big one."
He thought to himself that Xingyang County had basically been occupied by Li Ji's troops.
Starting with the easy part and then moving on to the difficult part will help boost morale. Zhai Rang is timid by nature, so let's lead him on the road first.
Zhai Rang looked at Wang Bodang, who stood up and said:
"I agree with Master Li's suggestion. Do you have any other opinions?"
Many leaders including Wang Bo and Hao Xiaode nodded in agreement.
Li Ji saw that his plan had been implemented, so after the meeting, he led the Ji Camp directly back to Xingyang in the name of being a vanguard.
As soon as Li Ji arrived in Xingyang, he arranged for Ji Hua, Shan Xiongxin and Qin Qiong to pass the news to various places in a timely manner.
As soon as Zhai Rang's army arrived, counties and prefectures rose up in rebellion.
Within one day, the entire Xingyang County surrendered to the rebel army.
After this great victory, Zhai Rang was overjoyed, so he allocated part of his troops to Li Ai and built another military camp, called Pushan Camp.
Zhai Rang seized a lot of baggage and armor and wanted to return to Wagangzhai. No matter how Li Ji tried to persuade him, he would not listen and finally parted ways with Li Ji.
So Li Ai followed Li Ji's secret order and led the Pushan Camp westward alone. He surrendered various cities along the way and obtained a large amount of military supplies.
Li Ji promptly sent the battle report to Wagangzhai by fast horse.
Zhai Rang regretted his decision when he heard the news, so he led his people to leave Wagangzhai for the second time and headed west to chase Li Ai.
Li Ji's intention was to guard against the attack of the Sui Dynasty's official army and to hold Zhai Rang back.
Let Zhai Rang follow his own ass.
Although the small Wagang Fort is easy to defend but difficult to attack, it is definitely not the world of the Great Sui Dynasty. Only by using strategies can we seize the initiative.
When Xingyang was first settled, Li Ji decided to implement a policy of recuperation in Xingyang County.
He continued to improve the equal-field system in various places and levied taxes based on the number of people.
First, a county-wide census was conducted.
Starting from the midnight of November in the twelfth year of Daye, soldiers were organized to enter villages and households to conduct population registration.
The equal-field system stipulated that "Men aged 21 are considered Ding, and the upper limit is 58 years old. The Ding tax is implemented, and at the same time, those aged 18 to 20 are classified as middle-aged men."
In Xingyang, there emerged a method of granting land to adult men and middle-aged men with different years of service.
The male adults and middle-aged men are granted permanent land for their own use.
The equal-field system not only had regulations on the granting of land to ordinary farmers, but also had regulations on permanent fields, official fields, and public land for officials.
In addition, there are regulations on granting land to adult men and middle-aged men, regulations on granting land to the seriously ill, disabled, elderly and young, regulations on granting land to gardens and houses, etc.
Li Ji stipulated the taxation method, which was based on a husband and a wife, with the "bed" as the tax unit and the "man" as the subject.
It was stipulated that the rent for a bed for a male adult was 3 shi of millet.
One piece of silk, 3 taels of cotton, or one end of cloth, 3 jin of linen.
The tax rate for single men, servants, and retainers was reduced by half, and those who were not entitled to land were not subject to tax.
At the same time, exemptions are also provided:
"Single males and servants were taxed half each, and those who had not been granted land were exempted from taxation. Those with noble titles, filial sons and grandsons, and virtuous husbands and chaste wives were all exempted from taxation."
Due to the increase in the population, Li Ji decided to exempt women and slaves from taxation.
For a time, the slave trade became more popular in Xingyang.
Jiangdu beauties flowed into the Central Plains along the Grand Canal...
