Chapter 462 Five Armies
Pingzhou, Liaoxi County, Governor's Office
Important civil and military officials in Pingzhou gathered at the governor's mansion and were actively preparing for war.
Facing a strong enemy, everyone was serious.
Lu Desheng asked, "How are the construction of the border defense cities progressing?"
Xue Xu said, "Everything has been heightened and reinforced!"
"Then let's arrange your tasks." Lu Desheng first looked at Sima Le Guicai. "Sima Le, the war is about to begin. This governor believes that as the highest-ranking general in Pingzhou, you should be in charge of the main tent in the rear and coordinate the overall situation."
"I will obey your orders."
"After all our collective efforts and brainstorming, we suspect the Xianbei army will attack Longcheng in Liaoxi County and Houcheng in Liaodong County. We need to focus on defending these two areas. Sima Le, who do you plan to send to guard them?"
Le Guicai responded in a deep voice, "Lord Lu, in my opinion, Zhou Da and Qin Heng will lead an army to garrison Longcheng, while Ma Jin and Qin Yan will be in charge of Houcheng—"
After two years of getting along with each other, Le Gui felt that the Qin brothers were worthy of being from a family of generals. Their military qualities and combat capabilities were extremely outstanding.
"But, let's leave Xuantu County to Le Lin and Qin Zhao."
Lu Desheng returned the favor by promoting Le Guicai's nephew.
"And Lelang County..." Lelang County is mainly used to guard against the natives of the Three Han Kingdoms, so two local young generals will be enough.
When selecting talented people, regardless of their relationship, Lu Desheng appointed the Qin brothers to key positions in the three counties of Pingzhou. This battle was crucial and could not be lost.
The Jintai Army led by Qin Sheng has its own mission.
No one had any objection to this. Their roots were in Pingzhou, and the Lu family's relatives were all in Pingzhou. Everyone hoped to win this battle.
"Except for Houcheng and Longcheng, other places must also remain vigilant. Once the Xianbei army is discovered, light a smoke signal to warn them."
Seeing that the atmosphere was relatively relaxed, Lu Desheng couldn't help but say, "You should test the other party's bottom line first. Others used their big moves right from the start, which was too harsh." They still wanted to pass on the blame, so how could they not give the other party any chance?
"Don't worry, Master Lu, we saved it."
After finishing the discussion, Lu Desheng let everyone go and do their own things.
…
"Has the imperial envoy sent by the emperor arrived? Who is he?" Lu Desheng asked his daughter.
"Yes, the person who came is Zuo Anmin's nephew Zuo Yi, and a clerk from the Cangbu Department. It is said that they have already entered the territory of Liaoxi County."
Lu Desheng curled his lips. The emperor clearly didn't believe him. "You came quickly."
"It's good that he came. We have a witness to testify, so we can avoid arguing in the future." It might even bring an unexpected surprise. Lu Songli smiled meaningfully.
"Zuo Anmin's nephew, do you think he'll cry after being tricked?"
Lu Songli thought to herself, no matter if it was him or anyone else, they would all cry when faced with such a situation, right?
"Is everything arranged? There won't be any mistakes, right?"
"Dad, don't worry." She handed the matter over to Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhao had served as a logistics quartermaster in the northern border and was very familiar with food and fodder. He could falsify the supplies so that no one could see.
Xu Junfan, a clerk in the granary department, had just arrived in Changli with his deputies. After having only eaten and rested for a short while, he was asked by Lu Desheng to check on the grain.
"Xu Caoyuan, this is the grain tax that Pingzhou has to pay, a total of about 1.2 million dan of grain." Xue Xu said in a proud voice.
For this tax collection, they counted the population and land. At present, in Pingzhou, after nearly two years of unremitting efforts, the four counties of Pingzhou have a population of about 620,000 households and a population of about 3.2 million. The average person is entitled to eight acres of land, and part of the eight acres is reclaimed land, which does not need to pay taxes for the time being.
Xu Junfan gasped. This is the tax grain of a state? It's really a lot. This is the state that pays the most grain tax he has ever seen.
"Everyone can check it out."
Xu Junfan was not polite and took his men to conduct inspections. They found that the grains handed over by Pingzhou should have been screened, with full grains and no problems at all.
After the inspection, Xu Junfan took the keys to the warehouses and arranged for someone to guard the doors.
Xue Xu agreed and let him do whatever he wanted.
Later, the government held a welcoming banquet for them. Lu Wei attended and Lu Desheng showed up.
The Pingzhou authorities urged them to depart, and Xu Junfan and Zuo Lin, worried about potential complications, set off the next day. Early in the morning, the Pingzhou people helped them load the truck. Before leaving, he carefully checked it but found nothing.
As soon as their grain transport team set out in a mighty force, the Xianbei side received the news immediately.
…
Suddenly, smoke of war rose in the north.
Not long after, Chang'an received an urgent military report sent from eight hundred miles away.
The Wuhuan army raided the northern border, and General Yan Zheng was killed. Now General Fu has retreated to Baihe Town with his men and requested the court to send troops for support.
Song Mo couldn't believe it. What had happened to Yan Zhengfu, Jiangong, and the others? Hadn't they defeated the Wuhuan last year? Now, in just one round, the northern border had been breached? Jinyang had been lost to the Wuhuan.
Is Yan Zhengfu a good-for-nothing? The Qin family has guarded the northern border for many years and has never allowed foreign tribes to cross the line.
Before Song Mo could recover from the shock, he received news that Bingzhou Yanmen, Youzhou Youbeiping County, Pingzhou Liaoxi Liaodong County were attacked by the Xianbei, and Yanmen and Youbeiping County had been lost.
The Xianbei are fighting on four fronts! How dare they?!
If we include the Wuhuan in the north, there will be a total of five fronts of warfare.
Five armies invaded Dali!
The war was expected, but it broke out in an unexpected way, on an unprecedented scale.
Messages requesting help came from four places one after another.
Thinking back to what Xiao Qun mentioned a few days ago, there were also unusual movements among the Southern Barbarians.
Song Mo felt cold all over. At this moment, he no longer cared about the tax grain in Pingzhou.
He truly felt that the Xianbei, in alliance with Wuhuan and other foreign tribes, were coming with great force and that it was no longer the minor skirmishes of the past.
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