Chapter 21: The Whole Army (4)

  Pingzhou is located on the coast of the sea, more than 500 miles away from Youzhou. It was originally the location of the Andong Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty. During the Tianbao period, it was assigned to the Fan Yang Jiedushi and became an important base for the An Shi Rebellion. After that, it was under the control of the Lulong (Youzhou) Jiedushi for a long time. Its northern neighbor, Yingzhou, has always been the center of the Tang Dynasty's control over various tribes outside the pass. In the decades before Li Chengyou's crossing, due to the decline of the Tang Dynasty, the original controlled states gradually broke away from the control of Lulong Jiedushi, and Yingzhou also gradually declined.

  In recent years, the actual control area of Lulong Jiedu Mansion has retreated to Guannei, and Lulong Army only set up various passes along the border wall to guard with local troops. The vast land north of the original Yingzhou outside the pass gradually became a no man's land, where Khitan, Western Xi, Silla Mohe, and Bailang people hunted. Especially the Khitan people, who rose strongly, came south more frequently every year, and the fertile land on both sides of Xuan Water and White Wolf Water all became their pastures. Local Han people either fled to Guannei or were captured and taken north to become slaves of the Khitan people; many others struggled to survive with difficulty, unwilling to leave their homes.

  Especially this time, the Khitan people took advantage of the Lulong army's southern expedition to launch a large-scale looting campaign. The Khitan cavalry once appeared under the Yuguang Pass, and the only dozens of old and weak soldiers on the city wall could only watch as the Khitans showed off their military prowess outside the city before driving away with the captured Han slaves.

  From Youzhou to the east, via Lucheng, Yutian and Shicheng, Li Chengzhong ran continuously for three or four days before arriving at Pingzhou. This was also because he was not familiar with horse riding, if it were a military messenger, it would have taken only two and a half days to complete this 500-mile journey. Along the way, Li Chengzhong saw groups of refugees fleeing along the official road, their clothes tattered and worn out. When he arrived at the foot of Pingzhou city wall, he was shocked to find that the surrounding fields were filled with refugees who had fled from outside the pass. These people looked at Li Chengzhong with weak eyes as he galloped by, a mixture of confusion and resentment in their gaze.

  The Pingzhou Governor's Mansion was located in the city of Lulong County, which is also within the city of Pingzhou. It wasn't until Li Chengzhong entered the city that he discovered there were even more refugees inside. Fortunately, the Pingzhou Governor's Mansion had set up over a dozen shelters for the state, so the refugees could barely get by without any major incidents. However, every household had closed their doors tightly, and the atmosphere was somewhat tense.

  Li Chengzhong had passed the city gate and rushed to the residence of Governor Zhang, but when he arrived, he was informed by the door officer that Governor Zhang was not in the mansion, as he was inspecting various places. Li Chengzhong had no choice but to wait patiently at the gatehouse.

  It wasn't until the time of the evening lamp that Li Chengzhong finally saw this four-product member with a tired face in the book room of the governor's mansion.

  Zhang inspected the porridge sheds inside and outside the city of Ji, not returning until nightfall. He was so busy that he didn't have time to eat, going a whole day without food or water. After wiping the dust from his face, he had the bailiff bring him food. Hearing that Li Chengzhong had already eaten, Zhang didn't stand on ceremony and had Li sit below him, then began eating heartily.

  The governor's dinner was very simple, a bowl of porridge, two pancakes, with a plate of meat sauce and a few pieces of pickled vegetables. He spread the meat sauce on the pancake, holding the pancake in his hand and taking big bites while turning around in circles, just like Li Chengzhong eating pizza before he traveled through time, making Li Chengzhong feel slightly dazed for a moment.

  Zhang Zaiji finished a pancake in the blink of an eye, took a long sip of porridge, and after alleviating the hunger in his stomach, he picked up another pancake, spread some meat sauce on it, and began to eat while unfolding Zhou Zhiyong's letter. He quickly scanned the letter, and when he finished reading, the pancake was also gone. He closed his eyes for a moment, then asked Li Chengzhong: "Li Peirong, what has your family's commander been busy with these days?"

  Li Chengzhong bowed and said: "The commander-in-chief has been busy with military affairs recently."

  Zhang Zaiji uttered an "oh" and said: "I've also heard a bit about the matter of rectifying the army, but I don't know how to make a specific judgment. Do you know?"

  Li Chengzhong then detailed all the plans for preparing the army at the Jiedu Fu.

  Zhang was silent for a long time, and then sighed: "If the central army does not provide support, and each state and town reduces its troops by 70%, what soldiers can I use to defend Pingzhou against the Khitan invasion?" Originally, Pingzhou had a garrison of 1,500 soldiers, but according to the new military reorganization plan, it would be reduced to 500 soldiers, divided into two second-rate battalions, each with 250 soldiers. With such a small force, it was indeed difficult to resist the Khitan harassment along the border.

  Li Chengzhong said: "Governor Zhou is also worried about the Pingzhou affair, but now the military expenditure of the governor's office is tight, and it cannot afford so many soldiers. Even the Jianzuoying camp is on the list to be disbanded. Therefore, I am afraid that there is a desire but no power. I once heard Governor Zhou say that the commander-in-chief often worries about the border affairs from dawn till dusk, but the military funds are insufficient and it is really impossible..."

  Zhang muttered to himself: "Insufficient military funds..."

  Li Chengzhong cautiously said: "I see that the refugees inside and outside Pingzhou are crowded, if this continues for a long time, I fear there will be changes. Why doesn't the Governor's Mansion recruit volunteers from among them to have them guard the border on top of the city wall?"

  Zhang gazed at Li Chengzhong and slowly said: "I am a civil official, not involved in military affairs, the governor's mansion has no orders, how dare I take such a risk..."

  Li Chengzhong saw Zhang staring at his own eyes, as if he wanted to see through him. He gritted his teeth and said: "I dare to be bold. If Pingzhou has no order, I will not dare to recruit, but I will ask the governor's office for an order. This is a matter of great importance to the safety of the border people, why are you afraid to take responsibility?"

  Zhang Zijin listened and nodded: "Good 'justice for the public', okay, I'll try."

  It's come to this, no need to say more. Li Chengzhong rushed back to Youzhou overnight, while Zhang Zaiji sat in the hall with his eyes closed for a long time, thinking deeply. After finishing the pastry on his hand, he walked into the front hall where documents were signed and stamped.

  The lamp in the room was still lit, Zhang Zaiji pushed open the door and entered. A young Confucian scholar wearing a long gown was bowed over his desk, pen in hand, reviewing a stack of documents. The scholar saw Zhang Zaiji come in and hastily stood up to pay his respects. Zhang Zaiji smiled and said: "It's already late at night, can you still be busy?"

  Rufeng Dao, a native of Yingzhou, was traveling through Pingzhou when he was accidentally picked up by Zhang Zaiji on the road. He was immediately invited into the city and hired as a staff member. He handled matters thoroughly and meticulously, and worked hard without complaint, gradually gaining Zhang's appreciation. When Zhang asked him about his well-being, Dao replied: "Your Excellency is worried about the people, and has not rested yet; how can I dare to rest?" As he spoke, he handed over a document on the desk to Zhang, saying: "This is the number of refugees reported by each county and the grain expenditure. After calculating, it was found that the three counties of Lulong, Macheng, and Shicheng have received 37,000 refugees from outside the pass, and need to provide 330 shi of porridge every day. This is just a rough estimate, and there should be another 3,000 to 7,000 people entering the pass continuously. Among them, the refugees gathered in the state capital are the most numerous. Macheng and Shicheng have fewer refugees and can still hold on for more than a month, but the treasury of Lulong County is almost empty, and they say that at most, they can only hold on for ten days."

  Zhang took over the account book and looked at it, saying: "County Magistrate Zheng said today when he accompanied me to inspect the city walls that he requested to open the state treasury for allocation. There is still enough grain in the state treasury to last two months. Tomorrow, I will convene a meeting with the wealthy merchants of Pingzhou to discuss and strive to obtain another 10,000 stones of grain. The autumn harvest is expected to be good, so there's no need to worry about this winter. However, what will happen next year is a concern? At present, the biggest worry is not food, as Pingzhou is rich and prosperous, and I have saved some family assets over the years, which can support us until next year without worry. But the looting of the Hu barbarians outside the pass is the greatest concern. As Pingzhou is currently empty, I have sealed off the news, only allowing people to enter the pass but not leave, so the Hu barbarians are still unaware of this. However, this is just a temporary measure, and if the Hu cavalry invades, it will be a major disaster."

  Feng Dao thought for a moment and asked: "With the border situation being so urgent, won't the Military Governor's office send troops?"

  Zhang sighed, "This time the southern expedition was a great defeat. The various armies of Lulong have almost nothing left, and the governor's office has been exhausted to an extreme degree, with no resources available. Just now, someone from Youzhou came and spoke about the details of the governor's office reorganizing the army, fearing that it will be impossible to expect anything in the near future." At this point, he went on to explain the matter of the Lulong Governor's Office reorganizing the army one by one.

  Feng Dao sank into thought for a moment, then said: "Five hundred men? I'm afraid that's not enough to accomplish great things. Lately, I've been observing the refugees and have gained some insights, which I'd like to share with Your Excellency."

  "Please go on."

  Feng Dao cleared his throat and said, "The refugees come from outside the pass, their homes have been destroyed. In recent days, I visited some of the households and none of them do not harbor a deep hatred for the Hu cavalry. Rather than letting the refugees gather and wait for relief, it would be better to submit a memorial to the Jiedushi (military governor) to recruit strong young men from among the refugees to guard the border. On the one hand, this will provide defensive strength; on the other hand, it will prevent the refugees from causing more trouble. Simply use the relief grain as military rations and there is no need for government rations. The refugees will surely gather in response."

  Zhang Zaiji nodded: "Some also have this intention, but are afraid to intervene in military affairs and provoke the suspicion of the commander." Since the mid-Tang Dynasty, the power of various state governors has been extremely great, with the right to appoint officials, and many governors even recruited troops, which was equivalent to a regional military governor. However, these governors were all within the jurisdiction of the imperial court, and the regional military governors were not among them. Zhang Zaiji belonged to the Lulong Jiedushi Prefecture, where all military power was under the jurisdiction of the prefecture, and the governor's office only had civil administrative power. The regional military governors themselves relied on their own military strength to be independent of the imperial court, so they were most sensitive to interference in military affairs by various states. Therefore, Zhang Zaiji's biggest headache was right here. Although he had previously agreed to let Li Chengzhong submit a memorial to the prefecture, for the time being, he did not know how to proceed.

  Feng Dao smiled: "This is simple. Now that the soldiers of Pingzhou have gone south, there are only a few dozen old and weak people left to guard the city gate. Even if we recruit young and strong men, the governor's mansion has no power to train them. Your Excellency can submit a memorial to the military headquarters, asking the military headquarters to send dozens of generals to Pingzhou to take charge of recruitment." This idea was very clever. For Zhang Zaiji, he had no intention of taking military power, and it didn't matter who led the soldiers, as long as there were soldiers guarding the border; for the military headquarters, Pingzhou would not only pay its annual taxes but also provide disaster relief grain and salary to support the military headquarters' army. This was a win-win situation.

  Zhang was overjoyed, but immediately looked worried: "But now the middle army is being re-established, who would be willing to come to Pingzhou to serve as a garrison? Not only will the military pay and treatment be reduced by half, but also face danger in battle..." This sentence pointed out another key issue. During the Tang Dynasty, not all prefectures were controlled by the governor, although the governor was nominally in charge within the prefecture, he did not have absolute power. Especially for traditional prefectures like Lulong, Weibo, and Chengde that had been passed down for over a hundred years, military power actually rested with the group of military generals. If the governor could satisfy the lower-ranking military leaders, they would naturally support him; if he was biased towards some and suppressed others, causing dissatisfaction, he would naturally be abandoned by the military leaders.

  Let's take Liu Ren-gong as an example. Six years ago, he was still the commander of Bianzhou Town. At that time, the military governor of Lulong Army was Li Kuang-wei. After Li Kuang-wei was driven out by his own brother Li Kuang-chou, Li Kuang-chou took over as the new military governor. This new military governor had no experience and didn't take Liu Ren-gong's request for internal transfer seriously after he finished his border defense period. His mind was preoccupied with his own brother who had fled to Chengde Army, thinking of ways to get rid of this potential threat. As a result, his inexperience led to a great disaster. Feeling ignored, Liu Ren-gong's troops simply raised the flag of rebellion and marched directly to the city of Youzhou, carrying out a military coup in the tradition of the three towns of Hebei that had lasted for over a hundred years. Unexpectedly, the new military governor Li Kuang-chou did not follow the rules and not only failed to appease Liu Ren-gong's troops with kind words but also agreed to their request for internal transfer. Instead, he sent troops to defeat Liu Ren-gong's troops, causing them to suffer a crushing defeat.

  This immediately triggered a collective backlash from the military and civilian officials of Lulong Town. Liu Ren-gong ran to He-dong after fleeing, cried to Li Ke-yu, brought in the He-dong army, and launched a surprise attack on You-zhou under the internal response of the major generals of the Lulong army. In this unique era, Liu Ren-gong's rebellious behavior occupied the moral high ground, so he got the tacit support of most of the Lulong army generals, and thus became the new military governor of Lulong.

  What Zhang said in Ji is just such a tradition. If the major generals of Youzhou are not willing to come to Pingzhou as town generals, the military headquarters cannot force them.

  As a northerner, Feng Dao naturally knew this tradition, but he immediately smiled and said: "It's different now than it was in the past. Just now you said that the governor's mansion is reorganizing the army, although the general has just suffered a defeat, his position is even more stable. The governor's mansion has given an order, who dares not to follow it now?"

  Zhang Zijiao shook his head and said, "Being forced to come and coming voluntarily are two vastly different things!" A general who had no choice but to follow orders and come to the town's border could only have a limited impact, and he didn't hold out much hope for this.

  Feng Dao thought for a moment and said: "Sir, you just mentioned that someone came from Youzhou?"

  Zhang hesitated for a moment, but still decided to tell the young man he had been appreciating more and more: "Yes, I am familiar with Commander Zhou of Jianzhou Camp. He sent someone to inform me of something." After finishing speaking, he took out Zhou Zhiyu's letter from his sleeve and handed it over.

  Feng Dao took it over and looked at it carefully, then smiled: "Your Excellency doesn't need to worry, someone will come to Pingzhou."

  Zhang Ziji was taken aback: "You're saying......"

  Feng Dao smiled but did not speak, Zhang Zai was startled and stroked his palm, saying: "Very good! Please ask Ke Dao to work hard again, write the article overnight, and affix the official seal of the History Office. Tomorrow morning, it will be sent to Youzhou!"

  Feng Dao slightly bowed: "How dare I disobey!"