"Your Majesty is very clear-sighted... Just as you said, at the beginning we had 50,000 to 60,000 people, 30,000 of whom were young and strong. But in the past two years, we have been severely squeezed by the Jurchens, so our number has decreased. But to be honest with you, even if there are 20,000 young and strong people, when the time comes to use their lives, I may not be able to dispatch them properly." Ma Kuo was honest.
"What do you mean?" Zhao Jiu was surprised for a moment, but then he realized. "Is it because you came from the North Taihang Mountains, and the locals in the South Taihang Mountains are dissatisfied?"
This time it was Ma Kuo's turn to be slightly startled, but he soon recovered: "As the emperor said, the two main families... one is from Taiyuan in Hedong Road, northwest of South Taihang; the other is from Weizhou in Hebei West Road, southeast of South Taihang, which is directly opposite here. They are all from the Tuanjie Society... Some of them have always been disobedient, and I may not be able to mobilize them when the time comes."
"Be more careful."
"Let the emperor know that the leader of the previous family is called Zhang Heng. His army is said to have 10,000 people, but they are all family members who have gone up the mountain. According to my estimation, he has only 2,000 people. However, although this man has a small number of soldiers and horses, he has a strong foundation around Taiyuan. Those in Taihang Mountain who want to trade with the people of Taiyuan and inquire about the military situation of Taiyuan all rely on him. Even last year, when the Jurchens oppressed the southern Taihang the most, this man led 2,000 people from Fenzhou across the Fen River to Guji Mountain for food, and the Jurchens didn't even notice it along the way... I dare not easily annex such a person."
Zhao Jiu understood what he said and nodded repeatedly.
Not only him, but also several close ministers around him who had some knowledge of military affairs became serious... It must be understood that Gu Ji Mountain was the Luliang Mountain, the main mountain range in the northwest of Shanxi Province in later generations. Zhang Heng's move from Taihang to Luliang was equivalent to crossing the entire Shanxi Province unscathed during the Jurchen sweep. Although he crossed from the southernmost narrow mouth of the Taiyuan Plain, it was enough to illustrate the problem.
At the very least, this person did have deep roots in the Taiyuan Plain, and no one dared to tell on him. More importantly, he was also very clear about the Jurchens' arrangements, so he was able to seize the opportunity and swagger past.
The role of this super local tyrant can have miraculous effects if used well. Ma Kuo would have to be crazy to risk annexing this person.
"When you leave, I will write him a solemn edict, promising him a future as a commander-in-chief. If he doesn't understand the value of the position, I can promise him any other future at will." Zhao Jiu thought about it for a moment and immediately made a political commitment.
"Your Majesty has made a wise decision. Zhang Heng was born into a wealthy family in Taiyuan and is certainly willing to serve the country. But the problem is that we are far away from each other, and an empty decree may not convince him." Ma Kuo was a little doubtful.
"Then let him go to Guji Mountain, to the upper reaches of the Yellow River to contact Yan'an Prefecture, and take over some military equipment from there... By the way, it can also be regarded as a test of his goods for me to see if he is just pretending!"
"So wonderful!"
"What about the other one?"
"The other is because of the strong army and horses." Ma Kuo came back to his senses, but was helpless. "This man is called Liang Xing, also known as Brother Liang, he is only 27 or 28 years old this year. He was an old subordinate of Yue Jiedu who got separated in Hebei. Later, during the Battle of Yaoshan, Yue Jiedu crossed the river and met him. It is said that he occupied a mountain stronghold in the mountains and led hundreds of people. Instead of taking him away, he let him work well in Taihang Mountain and wait for the government army to march north. He gave him the title of commander and left many weapons and armor..."
"Isn't this a good thing?" Zhao Jiu smiled awkwardly when he heard this, but he had already guessed what was going on in his heart.
"This should be a good thing." Ma Kuo was really angry. "But this man is young and full of energy. On the one hand, he relied on the weapons and armor left for him by Yue Jiedu to train soldiers and expand his strength; on the other hand, he refused to obey my orders, saying that I was just a figurehead. He was a real general in the front army of the imperial camp, so how could he listen to my words? He contradicted me in person many times, attacked the county town at the foot of the mountain without authorization many times, secretly colluded with the mountain strongholds many times, and even sent leaders to the mountain strongholds under my control to start a fight. For the sake of the overall situation, I couldn't control him! Even if I got the military order from Li Jiedu of Shanzhou, he turned a deaf ear to it, saying that he only recognized Yue Jiedu and not Li Jiedu."
Zhao Jiu was stunned for a long time before he continued with a dry laugh: "Let me try and let Yue Pengju give you an explanation... How many soldiers does this little brother Liang have?"
"There are a total of 4,000 strong men, and their weapons are the best in the southern Taihang Mountains." Ma Kuo looked increasingly helpless. "At least 300 sets of iron armor, more than a thousand sets of leather armor, and more than a hundred crossbows... The key is that he is a local who was born and raised at the junction of Weizhou and Huaizhou, and he was summoned by Yue Jiedu, and he has such strength, so the righteous men in Xiangzhou, Cizhou, Weizhou, and Huaizhou on the southern Taihang side all listen to him."
Ma Kuo's complaints were evident in his words. What this young man Liang did was indeed not in line with the overall situation, but Zhao Jiu could only smile bitterly.
It wasn't just Zhao Jiu. Everyone in the army, civil and military, knew about it. Even Ma Kuo had to go through so much trouble to cross the river to see the emperor. Even if Yue Fei cooperated, how could he deliver the military order to Liang Xing? And how could Liang Xing trust a piece of empty paper?
Unlike Zhang Heng, this Liang Xing’s matter is likely to end up in a mess.
"How about I give you a Jiedu?" After thinking for a while, Emperor Zhao felt embarrassed and tried to answer again. "Wait a few days and come back with the Jiedu ceremonial weapon."
“I thank the emperor for his kindness, but times have changed. There are heavy troops on three sides of South Taihang Mountain, and I can only take small paths to cross the mountains. It would be too conspicuous to bring something like the military guards. And if I only bring the seal and the decree, those mountain stronghold leaders will not believe it…” Ma Kuo responded with difficulty.
"Why don't you believe it?" Lu Benzhong couldn't help but interrupt and ask out of curiosity.
"Of course it's because of Prince Xin." Zhao Jiu sneered before Ma Kuo could look embarrassed. "After the two saints returned, the Jurchens must have spread rumors in the mountains, saying that Prince Xin was a fake and had really gone back a long time ago... Little did they know that my brother still had some integrity."
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