klisemfg Chapter 565: The Storm is Coming, and the War is About to Begin
Chapter 565: The Storm is Coming, and the War is About to Begin
Shen Changgong's memorial of accountability reached Shengjing.
When the empress saw that it was a letter from Shen Changgong, she opened it with great joy, thinking that it contained love and affection. However, as she read, the smile on her face gradually disappeared.
This turned out to be a letter of accountability. Shen Changgong reprimanded her for not paying enough attention to anti-corruption work, which led to local officials being unscrupulous, levying heavy taxes and oppressing the people. If this continues, the people will inevitably rebel and a fire will break out in the backyard!
Yan Fuyao angrily slammed the memorial on the table and cursed Shen Changgong several times, which made Tang Xinyi, who was standing beside her, terrified.
Then, she picked up the three confessions again and was shocked to read them. Only then did she understand why Shen Changgong was angry.
If a county governor dared to do this under the noses of the two kings, how dark must other places be?
After careful consideration, Yan Fuyao sent someone to call Fairy Mei Yan and a newly crowned top scholar, Yuan Xuewen.
This new number one scholar came from a humble background and was full of integrity. He was once thrown into jail for suing a corrupt official. Many people tried to bribe him to stop suing, but he remained unmoved. Facing torture and coercion, he remained as hard as iron and unwavering. There was absolutely no problem with his character.
Yan Fuyao first showed the confession and Shen Changgong's letter to the two of them, and then instructed Fairy Mei Yan to immediately send people from Jiutian Tower to secretly investigate officials in various places.
At the same time, Yuan Xuewen was given the Shangfang sword and appointed as the imperial commissioner, with the power to execute first and report later. He could act at his own discretion, secretly investigate officials in various places, collect evidence of crimes, and punish corrupt officials.
Now that stability has been achieved in all places, it is time to rectify the administration of officials.
A nationwide anti-corruption storm quietly unfolded.
……
In the south, as time passed, the wheat seedlings in the fields turned from green to yellow.
Last year, Xuzhou County was ravaged by war, and many people fled and became refugees, or were drafted and died on the battlefield.
Large areas of land south of the four counties and north of the county seat became battlefields, and farmland was left uncultivated.
At the beginning of spring, these large tracts of land were divided into legions by the Yan army, and all the legions cultivated the fields and planted seeds.
If the grain can be harvested this year, there will be food to eat when fighting in the autumn.
In addition to the continuous supply of grain from the imperial court and the ability to rob food from southern countries, these sufficient food and fodder can support the Yan army in fighting to its heart's content.
What is the most important thing in war?
They are elite soldiers, weapons, and food.
All three are indispensable. If any one of them goes wrong, we can't fight.
The five countries in the south had already completed their discussions and were waiting to send troops after the autumn harvest.
The southern countries also had top generals who analyzed the situation and the war situation. They had already predicted that after the autumn harvest, while the southern army was heading north, the Yan army would inevitably go south to attack Wei and Qin.
The two countries were the first to bear the brunt of the attack, so they naturally had to mobilize the entire country to stop the Yan army and prepare for the arrival of the armies of the three countries.
As for the three countries of Chu, Sichuan and Qian, they will each send an army of 400,000 to provide support.
According to the distribution of Yan's troops, there were 650,000 troops on the border of Wei and 350,000 troops on the border of Qin.
The number of Yan troops on the border of Wei State is almost twice that of the border of Qin State, so Yan State will inevitably focus on attacking Wei State, which has a flat terrain, in order to open a breakthrough. As for the Qin State, it is unknown whether the Yan army will attack or defend.
The coalition's battle plan was as follows: Wei and Qin would first hold off the Yan army, engaging in a tug-of-war with the Yan army, and would do their utmost to hold it off no matter what.
The armies of Qian and Chu marched north to support Wei.
The army of Sichuan State went north to support the State of Qin.
Work together to destroy these two main forces of the Yan army.
These were almost all the combat-capable troops of the Yan State. As long as these two tribes could be eliminated, Great Yan would have almost no troops left. The coalition forces could then advance like a hot knife through butter, capture Shengjing, and drive the Yan people back to their hometown in the northeast.
If the Yan people do not escape, it would be even better. We can capture the Queen of Great Yan alive and make her dance for the emperors.
Their overall strategy was well designed, and they had even made harsh statements: they would destroy the State of Yan, capture the Emperor of Yan alive, and let the people of the world appreciate the Emperor of Yan's dance.
When these words reached Shen Changgong's ears, he did not get angry, but just said,
"The curses of the weak are powerless and can only be used in this way to boost their own non-existent courage.
Let them wash their queen clean and prepare her to dance for me."
As a result, Lanling Wang's words spread like wildfire and soon reached the south.
The five countries were in an uproar.
Because everyone knows that they were just bragging when they said they wanted to make the empress dance.
Shen Changgong wanted their queen, and that was real.
This guy has already taken in the Queen of Kun and the Queen of Qi.
There are also many beautiful queens among the five southern countries. If one of them is targeted by Shen Changgong, they will be in trouble.
Especially Emperor Cao De of Wei, he was even more panicked. He himself liked married women and knew the charm of married women. After all, wives belonged to other people, but he didn't want his queen to become someone else's wife.
As the autumn harvest draws closer, the tense atmosphere among countries becomes more and more obvious, and there seems to be a sense of impending storm.
On the Wei side, there were only 700,000 central troops in the entire country, and another 200,000 were transferred to the north to fight a decisive battle with the Yan army.
As a result, there were 500,000 people on the northern border, while the capital Luoyang had only 200,000 people.
The Emperor of Wei also ordered that after the autumn harvest, local troops should be organized immediately across the country, and they should take the food and grass collected from all over the country to Luoyang to defend the capital!
It is not possible before the autumn harvest. If too many able-bodied men are conscripted, it will affect the autumn harvest.
Finally, in September, the wheat was fully ripe. The Yan army picked up sickles, swords, etc., went into the farmland, and began an emergency harvest.
In order to encourage the enthusiasm of the soldiers, Lanling King Shen Changgong personally went to the fields, holding a sickle and cutting wheat with the soldiers, and then loaded the wheat onto carts.
Except for the Zhennan Army guarding against the enemy on the dike, all the members of the other legions were working, harvesting on one side and grinding on the other, quickly packing the wheat grains into bags.
Even Yu Ziling, the commander-in-chief of the Yuying Army, took a sickle and went to work in the fields, following the example of Shen Changgong and his wife.
After an emergency harvest, all the food in the legion was harvested in three days, and two days later, all the food and grass were collected in place.
Looking at the mountains of food and fodder in the granary, Shen Changgong and King Nan both knew that the time to go to war had come.
That night, Shen Changgong and Ma Ling called all the commanders into the tent to hold a meeting and deploy tactics.
The border between Wei and Yan was separated by only one natural barrier, the Fengling Mountains. Once you passed it, the land was flat. The Wei army commander Pang Liao distributed his 500,000 troops at Fengling Pass and on two hills on both sides.
(This is a fictional story, please don't mind. Luoyang is located southwest of Xuzhou. It's necessary for the plot, so please understand.)