Volume 2 Clouds Chapter 12: Fengzhou is the main battlefield
Wang Jing and Han Lingkun each divided their troops to take Chengzhou and Jiezhou.
Luo Youdu led 5,000 soldiers to garrison Fengzhou.
Wang Jing and Han Lingkun each transferred 2,000 soldiers from their own command to Luo Youdu, plus 1,000 surrendered soldiers from Zhao Yan in Qinzhou, totaling 5,000 soldiers.
This was his first time leading troops, and Luo Youdu felt a little excited, but more cautious.
The first time may also be the last time.
In this era, civil officials have very few opportunities to command the military. If they perform poorly once, they will never get the chance to do so again.
Things like impression substitution will affect your whole life.
After careful consideration, Luo Youdu asked Cao Bin to take over the city defense of Fengzhou.
Zhang Jianxiong left behind by Wang Jing and Yang Yuan left behind by Han Lingkun were both good generals.
They are good at charging into battle, but when it comes to taking over the city defense and being responsible for the city's public security, they may not be as good as Cao Bin.
Although Cao Bin had never been on the battlefield, as a descendant of a general, he had dabbled in all these military affairs. What he lacked was only experience, so it was easy for him to get started.
The most crucial thing lies in Cao Bin’s character.
Cao Bin is serious and works carefully and meticulously, which makes him very suitable for this kind of delicate work.
Luo Youdu could rest assured when leaving it to Cao Bin.
On the third day after Wang Jing and Han Lingkun left.
Luo Youdu called Zhang Jianxiong, Yang Yuan and Cao Bin to the Fengzhou meeting hall.
"General Zhang, General Yang, do you two feel wronged staying in Fengzhou?" Luo Youdu greeted Zhang Jianxiong and Yang Yuan familiarly, asking half-jokingly.
Zhang Jianxiong and Luo Youdu are more familiar with each other, and he was the first to speak: "I am a little aggrieved, but it is not directed at the governor. I respect the governor very much. It's just that I feel itchy, and I have no place to use my skills in Fengzhou."
Yang Yuan smiled awkwardly, obviously meaning the same thing.
Luo Youdu smiled mysteriously and said, "If I say Fengzhou will be the main battlefield, do you believe it?"
Zhang Jianxiong and Yang Yuan looked at each other.
Zhang Jianxiong asked excitedly, "Could it be that the Kingdom of Shu has sent another army to attack Fengzhou?"
"No!" Luo Youdu said, "The people who came should be Li Tinggui and Gao Yanchou."
Zhang Jianxiong frowned and said, "But the news that Duke Bao received was that the two of them led a large army to reinforce Chengzhou and Jizhou."
Luo Youdu stretched out his hand and clenched his fist and said, "I am 70% sure that their target is Fengzhou. The so-called reinforcement of Chengzhou and Jizhou is just a decoy."
Zhang Jianxiong and Yang Yuan were skeptical.
Luo Youdu asked, "How about a gamble?"
"What's the bet?"
The person speaking this time was Yang Yuan, a real gambler who loved gambling like his life depended on it.
Luo Youdu said: "It's not big, just treat me to a meal!"
Zhang Jianxiong immediately said, "If the eunuch is so kind as to invite me to drink ten meals of wine, how about that? But this time, I want you to drink what the eunuch is offering."
Yang Yuan also said: "I also want to drink the governor's wine, so I'll make a bet."
"Okay!" Luo Youdu clasped his hands together and said, "It's a deal!"
He looked at the two generals with burning eyes.
Luo Youdu knew very well that his prestige was not enough to convince Zhang Jianxiong and Yang Yuan completely.
Zhang Jianxiong and Yang Yuan only obeyed orders from their superiors.
This kind of assignment cannot ensure strict enforcement of orders.
Faced with Luo Youdu's orders, they would most likely think about it and then choose to obey or oppose.
What Luo Youdu wanted was complete obedience. Only by making bets like this could he intimidate them and make them truly recognize his abilities, and then he could further command them.
"I won't say anything else! The two generals go back and arrange for the soldiers to prepare for battle, and then you and I will hang out in Cuihong Tower day and night for the next few days. I'll treat you! Remember to invite General Zhao, and don't tell him about our bet..."
The General Zhao he mentioned was the surrendered general Zhao Bin.
It is true that Zhao Yan was a surrendered general, but he was not promoted by Meng Chang, but an old general of the Later Jin Dynasty, a general from the Central Plains, who had never been reused. He was not very loyal to Shu, but simply lived a life of receiving salary. Compared with Han Jixun, he was still trustworthy.
However, Luo Youdu did not intend to take the risk and did not include him in the list.
Zhang Jianxiong and Yang Yuan took the order and left.
Only Luo Youdu and Cao Bin were left in the hall.
"For the next period of time, I, Zhang Jianxiong, Yang Yuan, Zhao Yan and I will drink wine in Cuihonglou and act careless. You have become familiar with Fengzhou's defense in the past two days, so relax your vigilance appropriately. Remember to be relaxed on the outside and tight on the inside, and grasp the right measure. We not only want to attract the Shu soldiers, but also make them underestimate me, a weak scholar."
The 70% certainty that Luo Youdu mentioned was not just a random guess based on memory.
Now he has factual basis.
After splitting up with Wang Jing and Han Ling, Luo Youdu stayed in the archives of Fengzhou for a whole day and night, reviewing the population growth rate and tax situation in Fengzhou over the past ten years.
Twelve years before the Guangzheng reign of Shu Kingdom, Fengzhou's economic situation was very good.
Meng Chang adopted the two-tax system, where people only had to pay land tax and household tax. Among them, the annual tax for cultivated land was one bushel per mu, and there would even be tax exemptions from time to time. The corvée was even simpler, just building roads and controlling floods, and the number of people conscripted was not large.
It can be imagined that the people of Fengzhou were very happy at that time.
But just seventeen years after Meng Chang ascended the throne, that is, twelfth year of Guangzheng, the land tax increased from one dou per mu per year to three dou per mu per year, which was directly tripled. In addition, the conscripted labor was more than twice that of the previous year, and the people-friendly projects changed from road construction and water control to palace repair.
People's livelihood has been affected since then.
As time went on, the tax situation in Fengzhou became more and more chaotic. Originally there were only two taxes, but gradually all kinds of additional taxes emerged, such as head tax, charity granary tax, agricultural tool tax, cow leather, tendon and horn tax, import tax, silkworm and salt tax, song-drawn tax and market tax.
This does not include cases of corruption.
The corvee labor became heavier every year.
Especially two years ago, when Meng Chang wanted to renovate the palace, he directly used the best nanmu wood to offset the tax.
Fengzhou, which is close to the Qinling Mountains, is rich in nanmu trees. In order to pay taxes, the people gave up farming and became woodcutters, which caused a famine.
Luo Youdu didn't believe that Meng Chang specifically targeted Fengzhou for his crimes. The situation in Fengzhou must be a microcosm of the vast majority of prefectures and counties in Shu.
Seeing the big from the small, one falling leaf heralds the coming of autumn.
War is the continuation of politics, and the economy influences the direction of politics.
How the economy develops means what measures the other party will take.
The other party's economy is in a mess, and it is impossible to fight a protracted war with them.
Therefore, sending generals Li Tinggui and Gao Yanchou to support Chengzhou and Jizhou respectively, in order to use Chengzhou and Jizhou to resist the Zhou army in a protracted war, was most likely a sleight of hand.
Because they can’t afford it!
Their only option was to attack Fengzhou, cut off the Zhou army's retreat and food supply, and end the war as quickly as possible with a small effort to gain a big victory.
Therefore, Luo Youdu was certain that Fengzhou was the real target of Hou Shu.
