Chapter 683: Rewarding the Army
To be honest, Kyoto is not easy to fight.
Inheriting the system of the former Han Dynasty, this dynasty has always followed a military pattern that emphasizes internal affairs and deemphasizes internal affairs.
In addition to deploying the most elite northern and southern armies inside and outside Kyoto, they also cultivated core troops in the Sanhe area of Gyeonggi. Once there is trouble on the four sides, they will gather the northern army and the Sanhe Knights to conquer.
It can be said that the most elite military equipment of this dynasty is gathered in Kyoto. On weekdays, these people are stationed inside and outside Kyoto, which makes Kyoto itself a huge military camp fortress.
This huge fortress is divided into two parts, the inner and outer parts.
At its outermost periphery, there is an irregular rectangular city wall, about nine miles long from north to south and six miles wide from east to west.
It is in this place of Liujiu that the most noble people in the world live.
Oddly enough, the city walls of Kyoto are not aesthetically square, but very irregular. Some places protrude, and some walls are concave. Anyway, it is very unsightly.
Therefore, some courtiers at that time asked Guangwu, who planned the city wall, why it was not built more orderly, but Guangwu smiled silently and did not answer.
Later emperors of the Han Dynasty tinkered with the city defense planned by Guangwu, but they did not go beyond this framework.
It was not until Zhu Jun actually took charge of the defense of Kyoto that he discovered that these irregular city walls were really conducive to defense.
Compared with regular city walls, irregular walls provide more firing surfaces, making the outer city defense more three-dimensional.
In addition, there are a total of twelve gates on all sides of Kyoto, including two gates on the north wall, one is Xiamen a little to the west, and the other is Gumen a little to the east.
These two doors are generally not used very much.
Because the emperor sat in the north and faced south, according to the etiquette of this dynasty, one had to enter through the south gate to attend court meetings, and one had to go to the south gate to submit a letter or request an audience.
Then, the carriage driver from Nanque Gate brought Shangzhang, contributions from all directions or achievements into the palace to meet the emperor.
Therefore, the most important gates of Kyoto are in the south, and the two gates in the north are not commonly used.
For example, Xiamen, which is the passage used for mourning; and Gumen, which is the passage for escorting criminals out of the city for execution.
All in all, it's not a good door, and it's not open all year round.
However, precisely because it is closed all year round, the two most important buildings are also located here, namely Taicang, which stores food, and the arsenal, which stores weapons.
Among them, Taicang was built in the north of Diquan.
Diquan is a river in Kyoto City and can be connected with Yangqu.
The Yang Canal was a major project implemented by Emperor Guangwu at that time to dredge the Luoshui River in order to achieve the purpose of connecting Heji in the east, diverting the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers in the south, and transporting the tribute to Kyoto.
Therefore, Taicang is located here, and the tributes from Jianghuai can be sent directly to other places outside Taicang through lakes, seas, rivers and rivers.
In addition to the two gates on the north side, there are three gates on the east and west sides. Only the south side is unique, with four gates. This also shows the importance of the southern city wall of Kyoto.
In addition to these twelve city gates, Kyoto also has a large number of water transport channels running through the outer city, so there are also six water gates for the entry and exit of goods. Each water gate has an iron gate that can be lowered at any time to prevent sneak attacks from enemies outside.
In addition, in order to defend against enemies, most of the gates in the outer city have a three-story urn with a turned-opening structure.
The so-called Wengcheng is a closed enclosure with the same height as the city wall built at the city gate. There are two gates on the enclosure, one leading to the outside of the city and the other to the inside.
Once the enemy breaks through the gate of the plane, they will only enter the enclosed area of Wengcheng, rather than directly entering Kyoto. Around the barbicans, arrow towers are generally set up, which can carry out covering strikes against enemy troops that break into the barbicans.
Also because the Wengcheng is open and unobstructed, the enemy troops who enter the Wengcheng will be almost dead if they do not carry these things.
Then there is the moat outside the city gate.
The moat of Kyoto is actually Luoshui and Yangqu in the south of the city.
Luoshui flows through the south of the city from west to east, and then the Yang Canal was built during the Guangwu period, which was dug from the west to the east of the city, so that Luoshui could flow through the west, north, and east of the city.
In addition to the outer city wall and moat, the most defensive features are actually the North and South Palaces.
In the city of Kyoto, in addition to the temples, palaces, temples, and the three official offices, the two largest and most important buildings are the North and South Palaces.
In fact, it was the North and South Palaces that came first, and then there were Kyoto, and then there were other settings outside.
Nangong was the city of the Zhou royal family at that time. The famous Dongba Division was stationed here to stabilize the situation in Guandong for the Zhou royal family.
Later, at the end of the Warring States Period, Qin captured this place and granted it to Lu Buwei as a fief. Lu Buwei carefully managed and expanded the Nangong, making it grand in scale and spectacular in scenery.
Later, after the emperor of the previous dynasty came to the Yangtze River in Sishui, he also set up wine in Luoyang Nangong and held a banquet of meritorious deeds.
After that, Guangwu of this dynasty went to Quefei Hall in Nangong, decided to make Luoyang his capital, and carried out systematic renovations on Nangong, officially turning it into the imperial palace.
The North Palace, which stands opposite the South Palace, was rebuilt roughly during the Ming Dynasty.
Among them, the main hall in the North Palace is Deyang Hall, which is thirty-seven feet wide from east to west and seven feet long from north to south. Although it is not as good as the Epang Palace of Qin and the Weiyang Palace of the former Han Dynasty, it can still accommodate tens of thousands of people.
Even the majestic platform of Deyang Hall is two feet high. In front of the hall are the Five Vermilion Bird Towers, which tower into the clouds and can be seen from forty miles away. They are majestic and magnificent.
In the architecture of the Qin and Han Dynasties, palaces not only had a simple enjoyment or ceremonial function, but also had a military role.
The two towering northern and southern palaces are themselves huge fortresses. Standing here, you can sit back and relax. In addition, the two palaces are connected by a complex road and can support each other. It can be said to be an excellent twin fortress pattern.
So in other words, for Kyoto, the two northern and southern palaces are the inner city, which itself is used for defense. In addition, Taicang and the arsenal near the North Palace, the North and South Palaces alone are the strongest barriers in the world.
In this way, there are Luoshui and Yangqu surrounding the city outside, a thirty-mile city wall in the middle, twelve urn gates connected to each other, and two palaces in the north and south inside. It can be said that Kyoto is the most impregnable city defense in the world.
It's just that this fact is often ignored by people all over the world, intentionally or unintentionally.
After all, when the Henan nobles and the Qing Dynasty marched from Hulao Pass to Kyoto, didn't Liu Hong just run away without guarding?
Not to mention, in another dimension, facing the discordant Kwantung Allied Forces, didn't Dong Zhuo burn down Kyoto and then retreat to Chang'an?
Therefore, in Zhang Chong's heart, it is difficult to defeat Kyoto.
Isn't he worse than those jujube coalition forces?
But on March 28, when Zhang Chong was racing around Kyoto with Hengchang Jiang, he realized how absurd his previous thoughts were.
As a result, Zhang Chong immediately gave up the original battle plan and ordered all armies to stay in camp to rest and recuperate. He wanted to renegotiate the siege plan with his staff.
And just when Zhang Chong was summoning He Kui, Xun You, Tian Feng and other staff to the shogunate for discussion, Kyoto, which had been silent for the past few days, suddenly opened its summer gate.
Then a group of a hundred people were seen, slowly heading towards the Taishan Army base camp in Beiman Mountain with a large number of carriages.
It's not a good sign to open the summer gate.
……
At Beimang Mountain Base Camp, Tian Fengzheng said bluntly to Zhang Chong:
"Your Majesty, before we thought that this battle would involve clearing out holes, but looking at the city of Kyoto today, I am afraid that Kyoto cannot be easily won."
At this moment, many staff members and military officers nodded. Zhang Chong also agreed with Tian Feng's words, and the previous optimism about victory due to the victory over the walls in Luobei was dissipated a lot.
So, he asked Tian Feng:
"How do Tian Jun think he can defeat Kyoto?"
Tian Feng replied:
"In addition to being besieged for a long time, I'm afraid it still has to attack the heart!"
Zhang Chong pondered for a while and asked:
"Then how to attack the mind?"
Later, Tian Feng, Xun You and other staff made suggestions one after another, but none of them were in line with Zhang Chong's ideas.
Just as everyone continued to think, the voice of a cross-dressing general came from outside the tent:
"Your Majesty, a group of envoys came out of Kyoto City and want to meet the King."
After Zhang Chong heard this, he understood what was going on after a moment's thought. Then he smiled and said to his staff:
"It seems that our strategy to attack the heart should be here."
Everyone laughed, and then Zhang Chong allowed the envoys from outside the camp to enter the camp to pay a visit.
……
At this time, standing with the envoys out of the city were the envoy Wei Meng and the deputy envoy Zhong Ji.
In fact, during the past few days when Taishan's army was resting outside the city and building siege facilities, the officials in the city were not idle either.
After watching the long and optimistic battle on March 22, these ministers were already frightened. The ministers who originally had full confidence in defending the city no longer had full confidence.
If you are a loyal person, as long as there is a chance, you will definitely fight for the Han Dynasty until the last moment. But these officials, who had reached the pinnacle of wealth and wealth in the world, did not dare to gamble like this, so they thought of a way.
That is summation.
This is undoubtedly a betrayal of Yuan Shao.
Because it was summoned by these ministers, in order to alleviate the pressure of the external situation, Yuan Shao began to focus on the Taishan Army. Not only did he send troops to Guangcheng Pass, he could attack Yique Pass and Dagu Pass at any time to support Kyoto, but he had also fought with Chen Liu's Zhang brothers joined forces to launch an attack on Heji of the Taishan Army.
It can be said that if Kyoto sues for peace at this time, then Yuan Shao will become the person who is against the Taishan Army, and he will really get angry.
But at this time, the officials in Kyoto care about Yuan Shao's life and death?
However, the matter of suing for peace cannot be handled directly. This is not because of concerns about Yuan Shao, but because the dignified Han Dynasty wants to sign a city alliance with the thieves Taishan Army. It will always be ugly if it is revealed.
So the ministers discussed it and decided to send a team of envoys to reward the army with some small gifts. In fact, they just wanted to let people talk to the Taishan Army first.
They discussed it and chose a person named Wei Meng to be the leader.
Wei Meng came from the Wei family in Gucheng, Gyeonggi Province. His family was a long-time official in counties and counties, and he was considered to be from a wealthy family in Gyeonggi Province. Originally, this Wei Meng was an official in Dongjun. Later, due to the chaos in Yanzhou, he took his family to join the clan.
Later, the Taiwei Mansion was short of a scribe, so the family asked Wei Meng to find a job.
This kind of transactional work does not require a formal examination, so Wei Meng is not considered to be involved. However, even though he only received a meager salary, Wei Meng still fulfilled his duties.
In Kyoto, not to mention self-denial and dedication to duty are not enough, so Wei Meng's performance of duty fell into the eyes of many people.
But unfortunately, if you are strong and valued by the boss, it may not necessarily mean that you will be reused, but it is more likely that you will take the blame.
At this moment, Wei Meng became the best candidate for this mission.
If you have some ability, you won't mess up things. There are also clans and family members in Beijing, so they can be easily handled. What's more important is that he comes from an ordinary wealthy family and doesn't have a big background.
So, Wei Meng, who was still copying books in the Taiwei's house, was called over and asked to go to Nangong to discuss matters.
Nangong? That's where the ministers are in charge, Wei Meng is just fighting for food, so why should he go there?
But the bus was waiting outside the office. Even though she was confused, Wei Meng still stepped on the bus.
But before he left, he asked his colleagues to go back and tell his family that he would not go back to eat tonight.
So, Wei Meng, who was worried, took the emperor's bus to conquer the heroes and drove into Nangong.
When he arrived, the front hall of Nangong was in chaos, with people quarreling constantly, and Wei Meng didn't know anyone, and he had never even seen his superior, the Taiwei.
Just when Wei Meng appeared, before he even introduced himself, an old minister ordered him to go out of the city to reward the Taishan Army in order to reward the military envoy.
When Wei Meng heard this order, he didn't react. He was not surprised that he was promoted quickly, but was surprised by the fact:
"What? To reward the army? Or to reward the Taishan army who attacked us?"
Reward the enemy and then hit yourself more vigorously?
This is the most ridiculous order Wei Meng has ever heard.
What does this mean? That is, you buy a fund, but the fund manager takes your stocks and lends them to others, and then shorts you.
Yes, you kill yourself.
But Wei Meng had no choice. Just as he was about to refuse, Zhi Jinwu pushed him onto an ox cart and sent him out.
Outside the Nangong Palace, a delegation with only the envoy in charge had been waiting for a long time.
In addition to the main envoy, there are a total of eighty people in this mission, including thirty-five Jinwu officials, forty-three miscellaneous officials, and a traveler from Honglu Temple who can speak Qingzhou dialect.
The last one left is the deputy envoy, who introduces himself as Zhongji.
Just hearing this person's last name, Wei Meng knew that her trip was to cover for this person. She didn't say anything else and could only bury her head in reading the gift list.
Taking a quick look at this gift sheet, what do you say about the specifications?
There are three court horses, three pairs of gold and silver saddles and bridles, one pair each of South China Sea ivory and tortoise shell, three gold bottles with ears, six red sandalwood lacquerware, ten pieces of Sichuan embroidery, ten jars of honey water, and three boxes of bud tea.
Just this gift list and you said you were going to reward the army? At this time, Wei Meng was even more upset.
What happened next was that Wei Meng saw that they were leaving from Xiamen. Not knowing the situation in Kyoto, Wei Meng also knew that this place was for dead people. Can a normal mission go here?
Therefore, Wei Meng remained silent along the way, acting like a fool the whole time, listening to that kind of editing.
After leaving the city, they were stopped by a group of wandering cavalry as soon as they left Linping Pavilion outside Xiamen. After learning that these people were here to reward King Zhang's army, even though their faces were weird, they still led them to the north. Mangshan is over.
Of course, those armors and weapons held by King Wu were also taken away.
In this way, when Wei Meng and his party were taken to the base camp of Beimang Mountain, and even agreed to meet Zhang Chong's request, no matter how absurd their coming here was, Wei Meng could only go on.
Because there is still his wife and children in the city.
So, taking a deep breath, Wei Meng straightened his clothes and walked into the camp.