Chapter 4150 A blow to the head
When Niu Jinda saw Cheng Yaojin striding into the handsome tent, with a dark face that was almost the same color as the bottom of the pot, he wondered: "With this look, could it be that the prince is embarrassing you? It's unlikely."< br>
Now Cheng Yaojin is just standing by and watching, and has not completely turned to King Jin. Logically speaking, the prince can only care for him and cannot give orders. Otherwise, what if Cheng Yaojin is pushed to King Jin's side? The left Wuwei is inside the city of Chang'an, and the right Houwei is outside the city. Once these two are fully mobilized, the entire Chang'an will be razed to the ground...
Cheng Yaojin Damajindao sat down behind the desk, picked up the teapot, drank a glass of water in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and said gloomily: "I'm afraid there may be trouble with King Jin's plan this time. Shandong has been around since the end of the Sui Dynasty." There has been constant fighting since then , the population has dropped sharply, and the Shandong family may not be able to gather enough private troops. The Jiangnan clan is strong, but its land and water network is crisscrossed. Once the main rivers are cut off by the navy, it will be difficult to rush to Guanzhong. "< br>
Niu Jinda pondered for a moment, and his color changed a little.
Although Cheng Yaojin did not completely succumb to the King of Jin, the tendency was very obvious after all. The crime may not be punishable by death, but as long as the prince ascends the throne and holds the throne firmly, the charge of "responsible and derelict of duty" will probably not escape. It is inevitable to invest in idle stocks.
Not only can’t we “feudalize the world”, but we can’t even keep our current power...
The situation is changing a bit fast, and most people can't keep up.
After thinking about it, Niu Jinda said doubtfully: "Isn't it possible? There is no doubt about the strength of the Navy, but the waterways in the south of the Yangtze River are densely covered, and any small river can lead directly to the Yangtze River, and the Yangtze River stretches for more than a few hundred miles? With so many people in the Navy, , it is absolutely impossible to block all rivers. As long as the Jiangnan private army is allowed to cross the Yangtze River, the navy will not be able to pursue it on land, right? "
The views are almost exactly the same as Cheng Yaojin’s previous doubts.
Cheng Yaojin said in a dull voice: "Why does the navy need to block all the ferries on the Yangtze River? As long as someone from the Jiangnan clan secretly communicates with the navy and informs the navy of the place to cross the river in advance, do you think the Jiangnan clan hastily formed a private organization? Can the army still cross the river? ”
The power of artillery had already been demonstrated vividly when the Guanlong army and Li Yuanjing's royal army attacked Youtunwei. It can be said to be powerful in the world. It is said that the navy's ships are equipped with at least two artillery pieces, and those super battleships that are tens of feet long are even equipped with dozens of cannons. During naval battles, each ship is lined up one after another, euphemistically called "Battle Line", during the battle, dozens of warships and hundreds of artillery fired a salvo, which was earth-shattering and unmatched in the world.
There are even rumors that the Jiangnan Shipyard is gathering all the top shipbuilding experts in the Tang Dynasty to design and build a two-deck super warship equipped with twice the number of artillery pieces than before...
How can Jiangnan's private army be defeated?
Moreover, based on Cheng Yaojin's estimation of the navy's combat effectiveness, even if they abandon their boats and log in, with the quality of the navy's soldiers and sophisticated equipment, the Jiangnan private army will still be no match...
Niu Jinda was speechless and asked quickly: "What should I do?"
Cheng Yaojin sighed helplessly and said: "I am also helpless and beyond my reach. Let me just leave it to fate."
He called Cheng Chumo in, explained the details one by one, and ordered: "Immediately leave the city and rush to Tongguan in person, report the matter to His Highness the King of Jin, and ask him to respond quickly."
"Here."
Cheng Chumo was a little panicked, the situation had taken a turn for the worse. He quickly walked out of the commander's tent, ordered his men to bring in the war horses, and led a dozen of his own soldiers to ride out of the city from the Mingde Gate in the south of the city. They went around in a circle and headed straight to Baqiao. After crossing the bridge, they He caught up with the Youhou Guards at the rear, but he ignored them. Instead, he passed through these troops and galloped forward to Tongguan to deliver the message.
*****
When Li Zhi arrived at Tongguan, the rain was getting heavier and heavier.
The majestic and majestic Guancheng stands tall in the heavy rain. The winding walls on both sides tightly block the road in and out of Guanzhong. The Yellow River roars and roars on one side of the tower, turning up the turbid waves all over the sky and flowing eastward. The Forbidden ditch on the other side is like a sharp sword falling from the sky, dividing the towering plateau into two. The slopes are steep, and the bottom of the ditch flows from the Qinling Mountains. The river below is so turbulent that it is difficult for manpower to swim and no boat can cross it.
They had just settled into the barracks under the city gate. Before they could be repaired, Cheng Chumo had already rushed there...
Horses neighed loudly outside the barracks. The troops who had just settled in had not yet been allocated barracks in time. They all stood in the rain waiting for the assignment from the military quarters department. The heavy rain soaked their clothes. They were cold, hungry and tired, and it was inevitable that they would continue to complain.
Li Zhi wiped his wet hair with a towel, washed his face, and quickly summoned Cheng Chumo.
Cheng Chumo entered the barracks to see the ceremony, turning a blind eye to Xiao Yu, Yu Chigong and others, and spoke the news very quickly.
Then he said: "General, I still have military affairs and cannot stay for a long time. Please respond to it as soon as possible. General, I will take my leave."
After saying that, he left the barracks and headed back in the rain, regardless of Li Zhi's plea to stay.
Inside the barracks, the atmosphere was depressing, no one spoke, and the sound of heavy rain outside the window was extremely noisy.
It was originally thought that they would stick to Tongguan and wait for reinforcements. After the reinforcements arrived, they could counterattack Chang'an, settle the overall situation in one fell swoop, and achieve their grand hegemony. Unexpectedly, the private armies formed in Shandong and Jiangnan encountered great danger before they came to Tongguan.
This is a huge blow to morale...
The previous confidence and high spirits were completely gone, and a haze enveloped everyone's minds.
Xiao Yuqiang calmed himself down and said: "The Jiangnan clan is united and loyal to His Majesty the King of Jin. They may not have cheated and leaked the army's route to the navy as Cheng Yaojin said. Moreover, even if it was leaked, the water is now The main force of the division is stationed in various places in the ocean. There are not many ships and troops left in Huating Town, and they may not be able to stop our more than 100,000 private troops. "
He spoke very firmly, but the hand holding the tea cup was trembling slightly.
This time, the Jiangnan clan had exhausted all their wealth and stood unreservedly on the side of the King of Jin in an attempt to seize the heir. The money and grain in each family's warehouses were poured out like water, summoning local warriors, requisitioning civilians, purchasing grain, and forging ordnance. ... An army of nearly 100,000 people was organized, almost depleting the entire Jiangnan resources.
It's not that Xiao Yu is too gambling, or that the Jiangnan clan won't give up until they take over the central government, it's because they have no choice but to retreat.
For a long time, the Guanzhong area has been the center of the empire, gathering the world's population, money and food. However, with the development of the Jiangnan area, the advantages of warm climate, abundant water, vast land and sparsely populated areas began to appear. By the tenth year of Zhenguan, the Jiangnan area had gradually become The empire's wealth is important, and it bears no less money, grain, and taxes than the Guanzhong region.
The role of Jiangnan has become increasingly significant.
However, with the rapid growth of economy and population, political ability cannot be improved at the same level. Therefore, the per capita tax in Jiangnan is much higher than that in Guanzhong. In other words, in the eyes of the big shots in the court, Jiangnan is equivalent to the vegetable garden. Since the leeks in the garden are growing well, let’s cut them one crop after another...
How can the Jiangnan clan allow people to be treated as human beings? It's tolerable, but it's intolerable!
This is one of them.
The second is the increasingly prosperous maritime trade.
In recent years, as the navy has become increasingly powerful, it has become unrivaled in the vast sea areas of the East and Southeast Asia. Brand-new routes have been opened up. Sea-going ships loaded with silk, paper, porcelain and other goods set out from Huating Town. Go to Wa, Silla, Baekje, Jinwa, Annam, Johor and other countries to trade and exchange for huge amounts of gold and silver.
Everyone knows about the huge profits from sea trade. The Jiangnan clan's income from this is dozens or even hundreds of times that of land, but half of the profits are collected by the court in the form of taxes.
The tax rates in Huating Town are unprecedentedly heavy. The commercial tax setting is often above ten taxes and one. Some specific goods can even reach ten taxes of two or ten taxes of three...
Although the benefits brought by sea trade to the Jiangnan clan were unimaginable before, such a heavy tax rate also made the Jiangnan clan very dissatisfied - who would be willing to spend the money in their pockets?
Under the control of Fang Jun, Huating Town has no room for change in tax rates and is extremely powerful. After all, the navy is tightly held by Fang Jun. Whoever dares to disobey will have his fleet go to sea. We will face the situation of having no water divisions to change the escort team.
This is not a question of the probability of encountering pirates and causing the ship to capsize and people to lose all their money, because no one can guarantee whether the talisman-like navy of the Tang Merchant Ship will turn into a pirate at some point...
The Gonggun princes in the court despised commercial taxes from the beginning and talked about "competing with the people for profit" until they were shocked by the huge amount of commercial taxes brought to Beijing from Huating Town. The full treasury made various yamen troubled in the past. The financial allocation has been greatly alleviated, and the high commercial taxes have naturally been gradually accepted and accepted by everyone.
The superposition of the two made the Jiangnan clan realize an imminent problem: there is a lack of Jiangnan power in the center, and no one speaks to Jiangnan. If this situation continues, the Jiangnan clan will forever become the imperial court's leek. After cutting one crop, Another crop will be cut, and there will be no end.
Taking control of the center has naturally become the most urgent need for people from Jiangnan to express their voices.
As the Yi Chu turmoil continues, the Jiangnan clan naturally regards it as the most suitable opportunity. As long as they can spare no effort to support the King of Jin, in exchange for the Jiangnan people's position at the center of the court to protect the interests of the Jiangnan people, it is worth it.
For this reason, the entire Jiangnan clan is united as never before, united and desperate.
However, now the navy suddenly appeared. As a native of Jiangnan, his family owns dozens of merchant ships, and the amount of annual sea trade is extremely huge, so Xiao Yu understands the terrifying beginning of the navy better than others.
Above the sea, looking around the world, the navy is invincible.
On land, the most powerful army in the world can be replaced...
Once targeted by such an army, would the Jiangnan clan's improvised rabble be prepared to resist?
But if the Jiangnan private army cannot rush to Tongguan, will the King of Jin also use his head to counterattack Chang'an?
The news sent by Cheng Chumo was no less than a blow to the head of King Jin's family.
If it gets damaged, you won't be able to fight with your head...(End of Chapter)