Chapter 236 Wei Xiaokuan
Wei Sui looked at this young nephew and asked:
"Why did Xiao Kuan say that?"
Although Wei Xiaokuan was only twelve years old, he had been famous since he was a child. He was praised by the elders in the clan and was considered the talented child of the Wei family.
When Wei Sui was summoned by Xiao Baoyin, Wei Xiaokuan took the initiative to ask to come to the army and observe military affairs beside Wei Sui.
Wei then agreed.
But Wei Sui soon discovered that Wei Xiaokuan, who was only twelve years old, was able to perform clerical work in the army. He could write all kinds of official documents accurately and could quickly get familiar with the general affairs of the army.
What is even more rare is that Wei Xiaokuan has his own views on current affairs, and they are extremely accurate.
Because of these talents, Wei Sui increasingly relied on Wei Xiaokuan and came to discuss with him after the military meeting today.
In fact, in Wei Sui's opinion, Xiao Baoyin still has a great chance of capturing Yongcheng.
Yongcheng was the capital of Qizhou. However, when Cui Yanbo was defending Yongcheng last year, the city defenses suffered severe damage.
The rebels are good at destruction but not good at construction, so the defense of Yongcheng must be very weak.
The scouts reported that Mozhe Tiansheng had already led the main force back to Qinzhou, and only sent an unknown general to guard Yongcheng.
Therefore, in Wei Sui's view, Yongcheng would definitely be conquered, and he also wanted to make some efforts to get the credit for retaking Yongcheng.
But my nephew Wei Xiaokuan said that the government army would be defeated?
Wei Xiaokuan said:
"Uncle, the Qinzhou bandits were not defeated by the government troops, but because of an incident in the rear, they voluntarily gave up the western part of Yongzhou and retreated to Qinzhou and Qizhou."
Because of Xiao Baoyin's narrow-mindedness, he withheld the document of Su Ze's victory report, so even a general under his command like Wei Sui did not know the outcome of the war in Liangzhou and Longxi County.
So even though Mo Zhe Tiansheng withdrew his troops, no one knew why he did so, and there were all kinds of speculations in the market.
It was said that there was a conflict among rebels within Qinzhou, and Mo Zhe Tiansheng was busy leading his troops back to stabilize the situation.
There are also reports that General Anxi Su Ze defeated the main force of the rebels in Longxi County, and Mozhe Tiansheng returned to Qinzhou to resist Su Ze's attack.
In short, there are all kinds of rumors.
Wei Xiaokuan said:
"There are too many pieces of information and they are too complicated. I have no way of guessing why Mo Zhe Tiansheng returned to Qinzhou, but one thing is certain. His main force did not suffer any losses, nor was he defeated by the government troops. His morale was not damaged."
Wei Sui looked at his nephew and waited for him to continue his analysis.
Wei Xiaokuan sighed. He thought his uncle would understand, but it seemed he had to continue explaining.
He said:
"That's enough. General Cui's defeat at Wuzhangyuan has already broken the courage of the government troops."
"The rebels retreated calmly, and Chencang was abandoned by the rebels themselves. How can the government army fight Mo Zhe Tiansheng now?"
Seeing his nephew belittling the government troops in this way, Wei Sui said:
"Xiao Kuan, you also know that this army is not the imperial army brought by the Grand Commander from Luoyang, but our own soldiers from Guanzhong."
Wei Xiaokuan said: "Uncle, this is the biggest problem."
Seeing that his uncle still didn't understand, Wei Xiaokuan decided to break the matter down and help him analyze it. He said:
"The battle to recapture Chencang was fought by Guo Zihui, an old subordinate of the Grand Commander-in-Chief. No matter if they were from Guanxi or Guandong, they had no objection."
"But in the next battle of Yongcheng, the Grand Commander will no longer send Guo Zihui to lead the troops."
Wei Sui nodded. This was the most basic technique of checks and balances. There was no way Xiao Baoyin didn't understand it.
Recapturing Chencang was already a great achievement. If Xiao Baoyin were allowed to lead the troops again, it would seem that he was too stingy.
In addition, if Guo Zihui had successively recaptured Chencang and Yongcheng, his contribution would have been too great, which would also be detrimental to Xiao Baoyin's reputation.
Wei Sui nodded, and Wei Xiaokuan continued:
"Since we cannot use Guo Zihui as a general, the only people qualified to lead the expedition under the command of the Grand Commander are only a few people including my uncle."
Wei Sui nodded. He was the governor of Xianyang and the only general under Xiao Baoyin who was qualified to lead troops into battle. He also knew that there were only a few qualified generals.
Wei Xiaokuan said:
"The soldiers are from Guanxi, so the Grand Commander will definitely appoint people from Guandong as the generals."
Wei Sui said angrily:
"Why!"
Wei Xiaokuan sighed and could only say that the Guanxi scholars had invested so many years in Xiao Baoyin, and they still had some illusions.
Wei Xiaokuan had long seen through Xiao Baoyin's tactics of checks and balances.
In fact, Xiao Baoyin cannot be blamed. Ever since his old subordinates were killed by Cui Yanbo and he had to recruit soldiers in Guanzhong, he could only continue to maintain political balance.
If you don't do this, you people in Guanxi can put down the rebellion by yourselves. Why do you still need him as the commander-in-chief of the Western Expedition?
What Xiao Baoyin was most worried about was the emergence of a subordinate under his command who could command the Guanxi scholars.
In other words, Xiao Baoyin just didn't like Guanxi to put forward a person to take charge.
The soldiers are from Guanxi, the generals are from Guanxi, the money is from Guanxi, and the food is from Guanxi.
If a leader emerges in Guanxi, Xiao Baoyin will inevitably be sidelined.
Therefore, Xiao Baoyin became very famous among the scholars in Guanxi, and Su Liang, who had followed him the longest, was sent to Hezhou.
Yang Kan, who was originally from Guandong but politically inclined towards Guanxi and had the influence of his father and could become the leader of the Guanxi scholars, was sent to Liangzhou.
Wei Xiaokuan really had no way to explain to his uncle, so he could only say:
"Uncle, please look at this. The Grand Commander does not want to appoint a Guandong man as a general to attack Yongcheng. If that is the case, uncle, please do not send troops."
Wei Sui was skeptical, but he also took note of his nephew's words. If Xiao Baoyin really appointed a man from Guandong as a general, he would definitely not lead his clan soldiers into the war.
Returning to his room, the twelve-year-old Wei Xiaokuan touched his head.
Children of wealthy families are generally well-nourished, and the twelve-year-old Wei Xiaokuan was not considered short.
Unlike the general recognition and investment in Xiao Baoyin in the clan, Wei Xiaokuan looked down on Xiao Baoyin.
In the historical timeline before Su Ze traveled through time, after Xiao Baoyin occupied Guanzhong and rebelled, Wei Xiaokuan, a member of the Guanxi noble family, led his clansmen to Luoyang and asked the court to lead troops to suppress Xiao Baoyin.
The Northern Wei court was already in turmoil at the time, so they naturally supported such a powerful Guanxi man who volunteered to fight. They appointed him as a military commander and allowed him to follow Changsun Zhi to the west to quell the rebellion.
Wei Xiaokuan made military achievements in every battle and was appointed as a doctor of the Imperial College and acting prefect of Huayin County, thus officially entering the official career.
Wei Xiaokuan is only twelve years old now, but he has extraordinary knowledge. He believes that the family should not be tied to Xiao Baoyin's broken ship.
Wei Xiaokuan sighed, hoping that his uncle would listen to what he said today and not sacrifice the family's troops.
As Wei Xiaokuan had expected, Xiao Baoyin finally appointed Liu Kai, a native of Guandong, as the general to lead the Guanxi troops to attack Yongcheng. This caused the Guanxi nobles to explode.
However, Xiao Baoyin used his authority as the commander-in-chief of the Western Expedition Camp to force through the appointment and mobilize troops to go on the expedition.
Xianyang prefect Wei Sui remained silent until after the military meeting. He immediately remembered his nephew's instructions and brought out from the military camp the soldiers and retainers who had been well-supported by the Wei family for many years.
The retainers are the thugs that the powerful families have kept for a long time.
Their families all live in the manors of the wealthy families. They are extremely loyal to their masters and are elite soldiers who have undergone certain training.
When recruiting soldiers, ordinary soldiers are easy to recruit, but these troops require long-term training.
When war breaks out, these veteran soldiers will automatically become grassroots officers, and they are the foundation of the powerful families' wars.
In fact, it was not only Wei Sui who did this, many powerful families in Guanxi did the same.
If they wait until they reach the front line before running away, it would be desertion. If they take these troops away now, Liu Kai would have nothing to say.
You can't use the blood of the people of Kansai to earn military merit for you, the people of Kanto, right?
When Wei Xiaokuan received the news, he was not happy at all because his prediction came true. Instead, he was deeply worried about Xiao Baoyin's behavior.
If Yongcheng is defeated again, the government troops on the front battlefield will really have no morale at all. By the time Mozhe Tiansheng recovers his strength, Yongzhou will be in danger.
The Wei family lived in Jingzhao near Chang'an. Those people from Guandong could run away, but how could their own family run away?
Wei Xiaokuan regretted again that he had not yet been crowned. Although he had the reputation of a child prodigy, he was only a promising future and could not lead the family to make decisions.
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North of Qinzhou is Gaoping County.
After Yu Jin took office in Gaoping County, life became extremely difficult.
Although he imprisoned the Gaoche general Hu Chen and Hu Chen's veteran generals Wanqi Chounu and Su Qin Mingda according to Su Ze's suggestion, it was not enough to maintain the stability of Gaoping County by simply capturing these leaders.
The current situation in Gaoping County is that the political and military orders of Yu Jin, the county magistrate, can only be maintained within Gaoping City (now Guyuan, Ningxia), and are no longer effective outside Gaoping City.
Yu Jin took the initiative and imprisoned those generals who wanted to rebel in advance, which also made the tribes outside the city afraid to act rashly.
All the prestigious generals in Gaoping Town have been captured by Yu Jin, and now there is no one to lead a rebellion, so the situation has fallen into this strange balance.
But Yu Jin knew that things were taking a turn for the worse.
The envoys of the True King of the North frequently traveled between the tribes outside Gaoping City, and a storm was brewing in the six northern towns.
Qinzhou, which borders Gaoping Town, has already gathered troops to rebel, and even some tribes have responded to the Qinzhou rebels. Yu Jin has no way to deal with this.
Now Yu Jin could only send two groups of envoys, one to ask for help from Xiao Baoyin of the Western Taoxingtai, and the other to ask for help from Su Ze and Li Shizhe of Hezhou.
But there was no response from either of these two routes.
Let’s not talk about Xiao Baoyin. At that time, Cui Yanbo was defeated and Xiao Baoyin himself was in danger. He had no ability to support Yu Jin. He could only tell him to hold on and let Yu Jin find a solution himself.
At that time, Su Ze was also sending troops to Liangzhou, so he could only send 100 cavalrymen to Yu Jin, asking him to hold out until he defeated the Liangzhou rebels.
A soldier hurried into the governor's mansion and said to Yu Jin, "Governor Yu, Hu Chen's tribe has come to the city again. They are threatening you to release Hu Chen."
Yu Jin was in a lot of trouble. Ever since he imprisoned Hu Chen, his tribesmen would come to Gaoping City every now and then for an "armed parade", demanding that Yu Jin release Hu Chen.
But every time, these Hu Chen's tribes would tacitly march around and then retreat, so Yu Jin also asked the defenders of Gaoping City to exercise restraint and try not to cause armed conflict.
Everything was fine until this month, when things changed.
Hu Chen's tribe was dissatisfied with the parade and had begun a tentative attack on Gaoping City.
Yu Jin knew that this critical point was approaching.
Hu Chen's control over his tribe became weaker and weaker as he was imprisoned.
The rebellion in Qinzhou in the south was pulling these heroes from Gaoping County into rebellion.
All we can say is that the situation in Gaoping County was already very bad.
All the previous county governors were dishonest people. They just wanted to make a fortune and run away while in office, completely destroying the hearts of the people in Gaoping County.
Gaoping was recently changed from a military state to a county. It was located in a remote and impoverished area, and the local nobles had no channels for upward mobility.
The "True King" in the north is still constantly infiltrating and spreading the concept of the "Future Pure Land".
It is not easy for Yu Jin to survive until now by using both kindness and force.
At this time, another soldier came to report:
"Governor, Hu Chen's troops are attacking the city!"
After hearing this, Yu Jin immediately stood up. His personal soldiers came forward and put armor on him. Yu Jin then quickly walked towards the city wall.
Seeing Hu Chen's troops outside the city, it was clear that they came well prepared this time. They not only brought siege equipment, but also tents and livestock. It seemed that they were going to lay siege to the city for a long time.
The defenders on the city wall were all a little panicked. Yu Jin immediately said, "Why are you panicking? Didn't this prefect expect this day to come? There is enough food stored in the city. All you soldiers need to do is defend the city according to my orders!"
Yu Jin's calm performance quickly calmed the soldiers down.
Yu Jin was completely different from other county magistrates. Since he took office, the administration of Gaoping Town had been cleaned up.
Yu Jin also made an agreement with the soldiers, clarified the rewards and punishments in the army, and promoted a group of capable officers.
Naturally, he learned all these from Su Ze, and as a result, the soldiers of Gaoping Town quickly returned to their cause.
But a good cook cannot cook without rice. Yu Jin had no other choice except Gaoping City.
He could only stockpile supplies and repair the city defenses in order to wait for this day.
Alas, when the war breaks out, the people of Gaoping will suffer again.
Just as Yu Jin was thinking about the long and fierce battle that was about to begin, the sound of galloping horses suddenly appeared on the horizon outside the city.
what is this?
Yu Jin quickly climbed to a high place and looked into the distance, only to see flying dust. However, as a veteran of many wars, he knew clearly that these were cavalry!
Is there another tribe coming to besiege Gaoping City?
Yu Jin felt a little bitter. The Gaoche tribe where Hu Chen was located had a total of 50,000 people. Of course, only less than 10,000 of them could fight, but they were already the most powerful force in Gaoping Town.
However, there were only 2,000 defenders, and it was already quite difficult to defend Gaoping Town.
Just when Yu Jin was in a daze, this group of cavalrymen rushed directly towards Hu Chen's troops who were gathered outside Gaoping City.
Yu Jin rubbed his eyes. Hu Chen's troops outside Gaoping Town did not expect that this cavalry was actually charging towards them!
When Yu Jin saw the full body armor of the cavalrymen under the city, he began to tremble with excitement.
Only a familiar voice was heard:
"Sir Yu, I, General Murong Shaozong, am here to rescue Gaoping on the orders of General Su!"
(End of this chapter)