lcionline Chapter 363: Qi and Liang station troops on the border
Chapter 363: Qi and Liang station troops on the border
In the morning, Shen Changgong taught at the Imperial College. In the afternoon, he asked them to study and discuss the textbooks on their own and prepare for the upcoming lessons.
He took a carriage to the arsenal east of Shengjing City.
When we were in Yanjing, because the city was small and surrounded by many mountains, we had no money and no resources, so not many fire thunders and cannons were produced and the productivity was limited, so they were directly manufactured in the East Factory in the city.
But this also poses a great safety hazard. It is full of explosives. Once it explodes, half of the city of Yanjing will be shaken, and both Prince Shen and the Empress will be buried underneath.
But at that time, Yanjing had no money and did not have the conditions for improvement.
So after taking Shengjing, during the two months of waiting for the capital to be moved, Shen Changgong found a large area twenty miles outside Shengjing City and built a factory. He also prepared various furnaces, coal, iron blocks, etc., and ordered that the iron ores from all over Kundi be supplied to the arsenal first after they were smelted.
Salt and iron were both monopolies of the imperial court.
Kun had money, people, and resources, and was much richer than Yan. In the three months after the capital was moved, the arsenal produced a lot of cannons and divine thunders, as well as a small number of muskets.
All of these were sent to the Shenji Camp.
Originally, the Yan army had only twenty cannons, but now it has two hundred.
The Shenji Camp also expanded to 10,000 people. One squad of ten people was in charge of a cannon, and the others were in charge of artillery shells, divine thunder, logistics, and supplies.
The people of the Shenjiying are not only in Shengjing, but also in the front-line troops. There is a Shenjiying in every legion.
However, Shen Changgong issued a death order that the Shenji Camp must be headed by an old Yan person, and the commanders of each legion only had the power to command and dispatch the Shenji Camp to fight, but did not have the power to replace or appoint people into the Shenji Camp. The Shenji Camp of each legion was under the responsibility of Shen Changgong himself.
What I mean is, we in the Shenjiying camp obey your orders and you can use us. We will fight the way you say, but you cannot place your people in. We are an independent organization and you have no control over personnel appointments.
This also led to the transcendent status of the commanders of the Shenji Camp of each legion.
In the entire Shenji Camp, there is only one person who is of Kun origin, and that is Ruan Weiba.
The arsenal continued to produce weapons, and the expenses were very high. The Minister of Grain, who was in charge of money and grain, had many complaints, but Shen Changgong only told him one thing.
If the money is not used for military expenses, will it be used for compensation?
Is it better to give the money directly to the enemy, or to turn it into a cannonball and shoot it at the enemy?
Dayan was becoming increasingly powerful in both military and military affairs, and its nine main legions were fully staffed. They also conducted daily drills, and each legion was composed of elite soldiers and generals.
The Yan State was a prosperous and peaceful country with harmonious governance and people's well-being.
But things are not peaceful in the south.
Especially the two countries of Qi and Liang.
After the envoys of the two countries returned, Liang State immediately sent an army of 300,000 to occupy the three counties, especially Xingyang County where the largest number of troops were stationed.
To their south was Xingyang Pass occupied by Qi State, and to their north was the Southern Army of Yan State, led by the King of the South himself.
This made Liangguo feel a lot more at ease.
In the battle against Kun, Liang State gained three counties, while Qi State gained nothing except Xingyang Pass.
This made the State of Qi very angry.
In the past two months, Qi sent envoys to Liang twice, asking Liang to return one and a half counties to Qi. Liang did not say no nor yes, but just kept dragging its feet, finding all kinds of excuses to do so.
Qi also saw through Liang's plan, which was to drag it out until the three counties were all absorbed by Liang. By then, it would become a fait accompli and they would not be able to leave even if they wanted to.
The angry and humiliated State of Qi sent troops directly.
They first increased the garrison at Xingyang Pass to 200,000, and then sent another 300,000 troops directly westward, stationed at the border between the two countries, in Jipu County, Linfen County, as if they were going to attack Liang State.
This scared the Liang Kingdom.
The total military strength of Liang State was only 600,000, and 300,000 were stationed in the three northern counties. The entire country now had only 300,000 troops available, and they also had to guard against the Qin State in the south. They could only mobilize 100,000 troops to defend the border, and at the same time sent people to meet the Yan army commanders Guan Shouchang, Chen Qing and Su Wuan on the northern border.
He asked them to help stop Qi from sending troops to Liang.
After all, these three legions are located on the border between Yan and Liang.
Qi did not rashly launch a war; it deployed its troops there only to scare Liang.
Prepare for the next negotiation.
After all, Qi fought a war and won a great victory, but gained nothing. Both the officials and the people in Qi were very dissatisfied.
Even if it was just for show, the young King of Qi had to send people to ask for land from the State of Liang.
The Emperor of Qi had just been in office for a year, and was full of vigor and ambition.
What's more, he won a great victory as soon as he took office, which made him even more proud. He was more enterprising and tougher than the old and frail emperor.
It is true that Qi is a country of gentlemen, but that does not mean that he, the King of Qi, is easy to bully.
The envoys from Qi State once again set out for Xingqing Prefecture, the capital of Liang State.
……
Xingqing Prefecture is located in the Yinchuan Plain and is one of the few cities in the impoverished Liang Kingdom.
Liang State has many deserts and a complex geological structure. The desert soil cannot be cultivated or used to build walls. Their only relatively good areas are the Yinchuan Plain and the northeastern part, and the border with Qi State, so most of the cities are concentrated there.
Then there are some grasslands in the north, which are suitable for raising horses.
As for other places, the endless desert is the best barrier.
The Liang State did not have many soldiers and horses, but its most famous unit was a 50,000-strong pure cavalry unit called the White Horse Army, led by Zhao Biao.
The White Horse Army was mostly composed of lightly armored cavalry, but it was the feared 3,000-man Iron Harriers who wiped out the various barbarian and small countries in the Western Regions and expanded the territory of the Liang Kingdom.
The Iron Harriers were heavily armored cavalrymen who rode the best warhorses. Both the men and the horses were covered in heavy armor. When a man rode on a warhorse, there were many iron hooks connecting the man to hold him tightly in place, making him invulnerable to swords and spears, and unable to be penetrated by arrows.
Even if a person is attacked in a weak point or is killed by a heavy weapon, he will not fall down. The warhorse will continue to charge and trample the enemy.
In the era of cold weapons, three thousand Iron Harriers could almost be considered heavy tanks. They were built by the State of Liang with all their efforts and money. Of course, the results were also very good. No small country could withstand the attack of the Iron Harriers.
Moreover, each Iron Harrier soldier is a noble or confidant of the Liang State, ensuring their loyalty and strong fighting capacity.
Although they were under the command of Zhao Biao, the chief general of the White Horse Army, Zhao Biao was also very respectful and esteemed of Tie Yaozi. After all, the people here were all powerful and influential.