Chapter 757 Zhang Family
Bald Hair Ministry has to solve its own food and housing problem in winter, and Xu Miao from Liangzhou also has to solve Liangzhou's food problem.
Since he became the governor of Liangzhou, he has never been able to settle down for a day.
In the first year, as soon as the front foot arrived in Liangzhou and took office, the army of Shu captives followed his rear foot into Longyou.
After the war, there was a severe drought.
With Xu Miao's ability in governing the people, as long as he can survive the first year, and given another two or three years, he will definitely be able to govern Liangzhou so that the borders of the state are peaceful and the people return to their hearts.
What he didn't expect was that in the first year, without contacting the court, countless county magistrates and county magistrates were granted the position.
This came over with the grain of the Liangzhou Hao tribe.
Unexpectedly, in the second year, the Shu captives, who had also thought that they would also have a severe drought in Longyou and would rest for two or three years after the war, were able to directly send troops to Jincheng.
Liangzhou lost less than half of its troops last year, but it finally recovered its strength this year. This year, it lost half of its troops and even lost two counties.
Even in the cold winter, Xu Miao could still feel that all parties in Liangzhou were about to move.
In this case, Xu Miao, who had no plan to govern the people, could only sigh to the sky, and then had to turn to the wealthy families in Liangzhou again.
In the first year, all parties in Liangzhou learned that Wei had stationed more than 100,000 troops in Guanzhong.
Many people felt that Wei still had a chance to regain Longyou, so they were willing to help after receiving promises and benefits.
What they didn’t expect was that the food in Guanzhong had been emptied out in advance by a certain Feng Langjun who did not want to be named.
One hundred thousand elite soldiers who do not have enough food and grass are also one hundred thousand soft-footed shrimps.
At the beginning of this spring, after Cao Zhen pacified An'an, he wanted to test his way into Longyou from the An'an direction.
Unexpectedly, Zhuge villagers reacted greatly, so they directly sent generals to lead troops out of Chencang from Hanzhong.
The threat is very obvious. If you dare to touch my upper body, I will dare to touch your lower body.
Cao Zhen, who was not ready yet, could only give in.
Now the situation in Longyou is becoming more and more obvious.
Many people in Liangzhou know that the Han Dynasty may have already established a firm foothold in Longyou, otherwise it would not be able to send troops to Jincheng.
After losing Jincheng and Xiping, Wei's hope of returning to Liangzhou began to become dim.
So this winter, each family’s food storage is much less than last year:
Xu Shijun, we just borrowed food last year, so we have to wait a little longer this year, right?
No one is a fool. Although the loaned grain was never expected to be recovered.
But it can’t be thrown away in vain!
According to the current situation, Liangzhou will fall into the hands of Han sooner or later.
Now if you lend grain to the governor of Wei State, isn't this a waste of money?
It’s just that others don’t have to borrow it, but one family has to.
Liangzhou Governor Xu Miao's chariot had just left the Zhang family. Zhang Hua, younger brother of Zhang Gong, the Wuji captain of the Western Regions and the former Jincheng prefect, angrily closed the door himself.
Then he returned to the house where Zhang Gong was resting, and couldn't help but cursed angrily:
“This old man has repeatedly asked our family to provide food. Is our Zhang family so easy to bully?”
Zhang Gong is already old, his sparse white beard hangs down on his chest, and his eyebrows have turned gray.
There are deep wrinkles on his face, bulging veins on his arms, and black spots everywhere, which also show that this famous figure in Xizhou and even the Western Regions has entered his twilight years.
"If you don't want to borrow food, how about I lend you a head for use?"
Zhang Gong was half lying on the couch, wrapped in a thick fine velvet quilt. He didn't even raise his eyelids and said something in a hoarse voice.
If the situation in Liangzhou were not unstable now, the Han people would want to attack the four counties of Liangzhou at any time. In addition, he still has a little reputation and can help Xu Miao control the Qianghu in Liangzhou.
I'm afraid that Xu Miao may not be so easy to talk to, he just asked the Zhang family to lend him food.
Zhang Hua is not too young, but in front of his clan brother, he is like an obedient child.
He was stunned by Zhang Gong's words and his face turned red.
Fortunately, there was no one else in the house except Zhang Jiu, his nephew.
“After the First World War in Jincheng, the three main roads into Liangzhou were all under the control of the Han people. As long as they wanted to, they could enter Liangzhou from three directions at any time.”
Zhang Gong coughed a few times and said, "I made a mistake in this matter. I shouldn't have promised Xu Miao to let you guard the Golden City in the first place."
Zhang saw the adult coughing and quickly stepped forward to help rub his back with a guilty look on his face:
“Sir, it’s just a child who is incompetent…”
Zhang Gong waved his hand and said, "It's none of your business. No one thought that after the battle of Longyou, the Han people encountered a severe drought in Longyou, and they could still have spare strength to attack Jincheng."
With the defeat of Jingzhou in the past and the defeat of Yiling in the later period, the Shu people's vitality was almost exhausted.
Who would have thought that after only a few years of silence, the army would be able to march out of Longyou, and its military power would not be as strong as before.
At that time, the thief put a weapon on his son's neck, but he couldn't make him surrender.
But now he is starting to get confused. The Shu people are so powerful, why didn't they directly attack Liangzhou after they captured Hanzhong?
This makes no sense at all!
Could it be that...Liu Bei's son Liu Chan is so much better than Liu Bei?
At that time, Liu Bei's subordinates, in addition to Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun, also had many world-famous generals and advisers.
However, after Liu Bei died of illness, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Kingdom of Shu was almost destroyed.
At that time, the Wei Dynasty also sent its auxiliary general Xianyu to Shu with an imperial edict to express his kindness and persuade Zhuge Liang, who was in charge of Shu, to open the gates of Shu and surrender to Wei.
In the past few years, the only person whose reputation has spread beyond Shu is Feng Yong, whose reputation is half-reputed and half-ruined.
The article is well written, he is a good leader, and he has a good way of amassing money.
However, I heard that his character is flawed, he is known for his clever words, and he likes women who have been engaged before. He is ruthless and has a sinister heart...
In the Battle of Jincheng, it was enough that his younger brother and his son were defeated. In the end, they also gained the reputation of colluding with the Shu people, thanks to Feng Yong.
This son is indeed a figure, but there is only such a person in Shu. This further illustrates the decline of talents in Shu. How can it be compared with the peak of talents in the Central Plains?
It happened to be such a state that not only supported the Han people's uninterrupted use of troops for two consecutive years.
Even guarded Longshan in the east, resisting hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers in Guanzhong.
He will care for Longyou in the middle, and let all the Qiang and Hu people return home.
Taking Jincheng and Xiping from the west, threatening the four core counties of Liangzhou.
Zhang Gong felt that in recent years, the people in the Wei State seemed to have made serious mistakes in their judgment of the Shu State.
More importantly, even now, no one can figure out how these misjudgments occurred.
So, what is the problem?
Does this Shu people not only have mountains of gold and silver, but also can grow grain out of thin air, and can also create small holes?
“Dadou Bugu, the mountains should be closed by heavy snow now, right?”
Zhang Gong suddenly asked.
Zhang Hua and Zhang looked at each other inexplicably, wondering why Zhang Gong asked this.
“My lord, the mountain has been closed for a long time.”
I don’t understand, I don’t understand, so Zhang still replied respectfully.
"Don't worry, my lord, there are elite soldiers guarding Da Dou Bago. The Han people should not be able to get through at this time."
Zhang Gong was out of strength and lay half-lying down with his eyes closed to rest his mind. Hearing this, he sneered and said, "The Han people can't survive. It's your decision that counts. It's the Han people who decide."
After the Battle of Jincheng, all the thoughtful people in Liangzhou came to their senses: As long as Longyou did not return to the hands of the Wei State, sooner or later Liangzhou would be decided by the Han State.
"grown ups…"
Zhang was almost in his forties, and when his master said this, he felt ashamed again.
“In the spring next year, if the Li family’s caravan comes over, find an opportunity to follow them back and see what’s going on over there in Longyou.”
"It would be best if we could enter Shu and see clearly."
After Xiping County fell into the hands of the Han, the caravan of the Li family in Longxi was finally able to try again to pass through the Dadou Valley and reach the four counties of Liangzhou.
They didn’t need to go further west at all, because goods such as brown sugar, spirits, and wool were sold out before they even left Zhangye.
The fine velvet quilt covering Zhang Gong was brought over by the Li family's caravan.
“Yes, sir. When the time comes, I will send the most capable people in the clan to follow...”
Zhang replied respectfully.
Before he could finish his sentence, Zhang Gong cursed, "Idiot, I want you to go in person!"
“Remember, remember everything you can see, and come back and tell me.”
At this point, Zhang Gong finally opened his eyes, but there was no focus in his eyes.
“Emperor Wu was good at using troops and had great talents. After the Battle of Chibi, he issued an order seeking talents and personally led the army into Guanzhong. At that time, I knew that Liangzhou was definitely in the possession of the Wei people.”
"However, when the Han people took Longyou, I first thought that they just took advantage of Wei's unpreparedness and would not be able to hold on for long."
“Later it was thought that even if they could barely hold on, they would not be able to advance westward.”
“After all, the gap between Han and Wei is just there. A temporary coincidence cannot last forever. However, until now, the Han people’s behavior is beyond the expectations of the world.”
In two years, hundreds of thousands of Wei troops were stationed in Guanzhong, but they were unable to make any progress. They could neither break through the Han people's Longshan defense line nor go south into Hanzhong.
Although the Han people had a critical advantage, they had to defend both Hanzhong and Longshan, and they still had room to attack Liangzhou.
The land of one state in the western border can fight against the land of ten states, but it can still do so many things. Is this world crazy?
If Shu is really so powerful, then Gongsun Shu should be the one who brought peace to the world, not Emperor Guangwu.
Therefore, Zhang Gong urgently needs to understand the current Han Dynasty in order to make judgments about the future choices of the Zhang family.
(End of this chapter)