Chapter 63: Well, well, the entire northwest is in chaos...
In order to win the war, Shen Zhiwei made a lot of efforts. First, he strongly supported trade to obtain military funds, and then asked the Hundred Craftsmen's Workshop to work day and night, hoping to equip most of the soldiers with the sharpest weapons and the strongest armor.
This kind of behavior of the court providing armor and weapons is actually quite rare, because generally speaking, when people first join the army, they are vanguards and they all provide their own weapons and protective gear. Only after they join the general's army and become formal soldiers can they get some monthly salary, and then use the monthly salary and the general's subsidy to buy better weapons.
In short, it is impossible to provide it for free. If it is free, then there must be a charge for it somewhere.
Ever since Shen Zhiwei issued the title for military merit, she basically took over all the military equipment expenses, trying her best to ensure that every soldier in the army could use the weapons made in hundreds of workshops.
Knowing that the army will pay their salaries on time, take care of their affairs after death, and even the military equipment and armor will be taken over by the court, and the soldiers only need to charge into battle and take the enemy's heads, the new recruits can feel more at ease.
With various benefits in mind, the people have a strong desire to start a war and an equally strong desire to participate in the war. This kind of atmosphere does not exist in other countries.
Shen Zhiwei just wanted to do the same as later generations, so that those who defended their country would not shed blood and tears. Since the soldiers fought for the country, the country had to consider the soldiers.
Shen Zhiwei thought it was normal, while the world thought it was a benevolent policy.
Many vassal states that paid attention to Jingchang wanted to follow suit, but they all failed, just like when they tried to use the military merit system to confer titles before, they failed completely.
The reason is still the same. Shen Zhiwei does not have any aristocratic families under her command that can confront her head-on, while in other vassal states, the domestic forces are intertwined and complicated. Any policy that will harm the interests of the nobles is extremely difficult to implement.
Marching in winter is very difficult. The ground is frozen solid. If you want to set up camp, you need more manpower to bury the tent pillars in the ground, not to mention the freezing weather. If the cold-proof clothing is not warm enough, the soldiers' hands and feet will be frostbitten, which will greatly affect their combat capability.
Relying on several large cities and abundant military funds, Shen Zhiwei bought up almost all the animal skins in the entire territory, and only managed to make enough winter clothing for the 100,000-strong army. Fortunately, Jingchang still had some in stock, and combined with the stocks in Taisheng and Biandi, the 200,000-strong army could barely afford a set of leather clothing for everyone.
Shen Zhiwei now really wants to send people to the West to find cotton seeds. Without cotton, the cost of this kind of warm clothing is too high.
If she wasn't rich, the leather jacket alone would have bankrupted her.
Fortunately, a leather jacket is not something that can be worn out after one year. If it is well maintained, it can be used for ten years. If it is not well maintained, it can be used for three to five years. In the next few years, you don’t have to worry about keeping warm during winter marches.
But he still wanted cotton. Shen Zhiwei thought about it and couldn't find a suitable candidate. Zheng and Shang De were now focused on long-distance trade, and they obviously had no time to take care of land trade like this.
However, as the king, Shen Zhiwei had all the capable people he wanted. It was not difficult to find a few people to go on a diplomatic mission to the West. As soon as Shen Zhiwei leaked the news, the officials in the court recommended several big businessmen to her.
Shen Zhiwei selected a businessman who often went to the west and had crossed the desert, and handed the matter over to him.
The merchant's name was Zheliu, and people often called her Liufu. Her husband was once a big businessman. After her husband passed away, she inherited most of his inheritance, including the caravan and some shops.
She has deep facial features and does not look like the people in Jingchang. It is said that she has half blood from the far west and can understand what those people say.
When Shen Zhiwei saw Zhe Liu, his first reaction was that he had met a Xinjiang person. His high nose and big eyes were full of exotic charm.
She also spoke with a bit of Xinjiang accent, but it was much lighter than that of modern Xinjiang people. It was probably because she used to speak elegant language, and when she learned Mandarin, she had already lived in Jingchang for more than ten years.
When Zheliu went out, she would wrap her face with a scarf. Her appearance, which was different from that of the people in the Central Plains, would bring her trouble, because the people of the Zhou Dynasty looked down on foreign countries and called them "barbarians", meaning they were uncivilized, wild and vulgar.
However, compared with the Zhou Dynasty, which had already entered a semi-slave and semi-feudal society, the social process of the surrounding countries was still in the pure slave period. They were indeed very backward and looked like a group of savages who ate raw meat and drank blood.
Shen Zhiwei chatted with Zhe Liu and found that Zhe Liu still had some foreign customs on the surface, but in fact he had completely integrated into the Zhou Dynasty. He felt from the bottom of his heart that he was just a commoner of the Great Zhou and had no impression of his homeland.
"I need you to cross the desert and reach your homeland, then sell porcelain, tea, and refined salt for me in exchange for gold, silver, jewelry, and anything else that the Great Zhou doesn't have. Focus on finding a crop called cotton."
Shen Zhiwei gave Zheliu the paper with the appearance of cotton recorded on it. There was also a picture of a cotton plant on it. This was roughly drawn by the palace painter based on Shen Zhiwei's description. It was somewhat similar to the cotton in later generations. Shen Zhiwei didn't know how similar it was to the cotton today.
As we all know, many crops have been selected and evolved by people from generation to generation, and the gap between modern crops and ancient crops is even greater.
The most typical example is watermelon. Modern watermelons have red cores and thin skins, are very sweet, and some even have no seeds. However, the watermelons of this period not only have many large seeds, but also have basically no red cores, very little edible part, and are not very sweet.
Shen Zhiwei felt sad when she thought of watermelons, but fortunately, watermelons had been introduced to Da Zhou, which meant that the trade route with the west had been opened, and it would not be difficult to send people to consolidate the trade route.
Zheliu solemnly accepted the paper, saying that she would definitely work hard for the king and that she would keep the paper properly. Even if something happened to her, the paper would not be in danger!
Shen Zhiwei was shocked by Zhe Liu's serious expression, nodded and agreed, and asked her to go down and prepare for the journey to the west.
Shen Zhiwei discovered that businessmen seemed to be easily irritated, and this was true for Zheng He's business ethics and Zhe Liu.
She didn't know that merchants in this era did not have a good life and could not enjoy the money they earned because the nobles looked down on merchants and thought that they were very lowly because they engaged in speculative trading.
The real reason remains to be investigated, but this contempt is mixed with too much envy and hatred. Merchants are rich, richer than many nobles.
Shen Zhiwei is the king, the emperor who is high above everyone else. She is so friendly to the merchants. It is no wonder that the merchants think they have met a wise master and are eager to use all their efforts to satisfy the wise master.
Less than two days after Zhe Liu left, Shen Zhiwei received the first report of victory. Hu Youan led his troops to attack Tonggu City on the northern border. The first battle was a victory. Of the 50,000 defenders in Tonggu City, nearly 15,000 were killed in the battle. Currently, 3,000 were seriously injured and dying. The rest were not in serious condition and were taken as prisoners.
Our side suffered 3,000 casualties. Judging from the number of people, this battle was a great victory.
Because the 200,000 soldiers were divided into three groups, Hu Youan only led 100,000 soldiers to attack the city. As mentioned before, when attacking a city, it is best to have dozens of times more people on your side than the defenders, so that the attack can be successful at the lowest cost. Now the ratio between the attacking and defending sides is close to two to one. Hu Youan was able to successfully attack the city in such a short time and capture the most difficult Tonggu. He was simply a god in using his troops.
Shen Zhiwei felt a little nervous when reading the military report. Many people died in Tonggu City alone, and the defending army had 50,000 soldiers. The combat effectiveness of the Northern Kingdom was indeed much stronger than that of the Bian Kingdom.
It is also possible that when fighting against Bian State, An State and other countries were the main forces, so the pressure on Jingchang was not that great, and the consumption of both sides seen by Shen Zhiwei was relatively small.
Shen Zhiwei didn't care how many people died on the other side, but when three thousand of his own people died, Shen Zhiwei was so heartbroken that he couldn't breathe.
She had been to the military camp and the front line, and she had seen the soldiers. The soldiers were wearing armor and seemed to have the same face, but Shen Zhiwei knew that each one was different.
Behind every person, there is a caring family member and a home waiting for that person to return.
"Be sure to verify the name and hometown of every martyr who died in battle, and make sure the pension is handed over to the martyr's family." Shen Zhiwei didn't know what else she could do, so she could only ask Wen Tao to keep an eye on them. "If anyone reaches out to take the pension, you will chop off their entire family to commemorate the martyr."
It was the first time that Wen Tao saw the king reveal pure murderous intent. She was stunned for a moment, then bowed and responded.
The fact that Great Zhou has a great king is truly a blessing from heaven.
Wen Tao had thought about this more than once, but never was she so determined in this idea as she was at this moment.
For the next period of time, Shen Zhiwei received reports of victory one after another. It was not because the Northern Kingdom’s army was so vulnerable, but because only the reports of victory would be delivered to her first.
If they lose, the army will continue to stalemate with the city, and naturally no news will be received.
However, these good news confirmed one thing, that is, Jingchang's army was very powerful, so powerful that it could suppress the Northern Kingdom, and the Northern Kingdom could not take back the cities captured by Jingchang.
This fact shocked the princes who were watching the battle. When, when did the emperor's army, once so weak and incompetent, become so powerful? Even the most powerful Northern Kingdom couldn't stop it!
When the Jingchang army began to approach Fengbao City after a month, the surrounding vassal states finally could not sit still, especially Anguo.
Anguo and Beiguo are not on good terms, but if Beiguo is destroyed by Jingchang, then Anguo will be the only major threat left near Jingchang. It goes without saying that Jingchang will attack Anguo next.
Previously, Anguo had been attacked by various countries and suffered heavy losses. Anguo's king Zhuo was seriously injured and left with a psychological trauma. He dared not lead troops outside at all. Under such circumstances, if Jingchang targeted Anguo, Anguo would be even more vulnerable than the current Northern Kingdom.
So during the war, King An Zhuo sent a letter to King Yue of the North to discuss an alliance between the two countries.
Not only did Anguo take action, but the surrounding small countries also sent letters of alliance. The princes who could not see the situation clearly and thought that the destruction of the Northern Kingdom was a good thing were a minority among the minority.
Lianyun and Ning countries both joined in the fun and sent letters of alliance, claiming that they were seeking revenge. In this matter, the two countries did not care about Anguo's face at all.
Spring has arrived. Shen Zhiwei's special event has been resolved, leaving a task bar empty, and the outside world is in chaos.
The special event that was triggered again was called "National War Three".
Shen Zhiwei felt that she would definitely get the SSR ending this time, because Jingchang’s presence was so high in this special event.
However, it should be impossible to completely conquer the Northern Kingdom.
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