Hezhong Town.

It was called Puyang in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. It is located in the southwest of modern Shanxi, with Hezhong Prefecture, Jiangzhou, Cizhou, Jinzhou and Xizhou, and a total of four prefectures. Hezhong Town has one prefecture and four prefectures, which is an important town. It is located in the center of the five capitals of the Tang Dynasty, the eastern capital Luoyang and the northern capital Taiyuan, and its location is extremely important. Especially Puyang, the Pujin Gengxun Road here connects Guanzhong and Hedong, and even Guanzhong Chang'an into Hedong Taiyuan, and then you can leave Jingxing and go straight to Hebei.

Puyang Bridge is also the north gate of Tongguan.

Hezhong is located in the middle of the Three Capitals, Chang'an in the southwest, Luoyang in the southeast, and Taiyuan in the north, both not far apart. Moreover, Hezhong Town not only has an extremely important strategic position, but also has two major salt ponds in Anyi and Jie County, which have always been the largest salt production area in the Central Plains. At this time, the salt tax paid to the court alone reached nearly two million guan each year. For the court, which had only about tens of millions of guan per year, the salt profit of the two ponds reached about 20% of the year, which was the last treasure pot of the court and the golden rice bowl.

In the late Tang Dynasty when the towns were divided, Hezhong Town, which had two pools, was extremely wealthy, comparable to Huainan.

If Fengxiang Town is the western barrier to Chang'an, then Hezhong can be regarded as the northeastern gateway to Chang'an, and its territory and wealth are far superior to Fengxiang. Fengxiang Town has Fengxiang Mansion, which is Xijing. Although Hezhong Town does not have a subordinate capital, Hezhong Mansion is also one of the emperor's residences and one of the ten prefectures of the Tang Dynasty.

Hezhong Town is so important, so the court has always appointed civil servants as Jiecheng. However, the Hezhong Army is rich and strong, so it is difficult for the generals to be arrogant. If you are dissatisfied, you will be in a mutiny. After the Huang Chao Rebellion, the world is shocked and the court's prestige becomes weaker. In this case, the general Wang Chongrong of Hezhong mutinys twice, driving away two Jiechengs in a row, and finally became Hezhong Jiecheng.

In order to consolidate his position as the coach, Wang Chongrong immediately turned against Huang Chao after Huang Chao entered Luoyang.

However, Wang Chongrong joined Huang Chao just to use Huang Chao's power to consolidate his position, but he did not really intend to work hard for Huang Chao. However, Huang Chao himself was a salt dealer, so how could he not know the huge economic benefits of the two salt ponds in the river?

Huang Chao did not take Wang Chongrong seriously. He did not pay enough attention to Wang Chongrong's surrender. Instead, he regarded Hezhong Town as his money tree. After becoming emperor in Luoyang, Huang Chao sent him to Hezhong to collect taxes, and there were endless envoys to collect grain. In just over half a year, there were as many as thousands of envoys sent. He even issued several orders to lead the army to obey the order.

Wang Chongrong originally wanted to find Huang Chao to take advantage of his power, but who would have found an ancestor for himself?

This is naturally satisfying. The Hezhong Army, which was originally domineering in the Tang Dynasty, is now under Qi, but now it is being exploited in such a way. Of course, the soldiers below were extremely dissatisfied. However, at that time, Huang Chao was in great power, and he fought eastward and even broke through Tongguan. The occupation of Chang'an forced Wang Chongrong and other soldiers to endure it, but he still regretted it in his heart and was even more resentful to Huang Chao.

According to the practice of the late Tang Dynasty, Hezhong Town, as an important northern town, was at the forefront of preventing and curbing the Hebei vassal states. They rarely paid taxes like the imperial court, and almost all the money and grain collected were used to support the army of the town. Only two pools of salt profits were huge. Hezhong Town shared salt profits with the imperial court, and the taxes received by the imperial court were actually just the default share ratio.

But now, Huang Chao has changed the old rules and regarded Hezhong Town as a money tree, which is naturally an enemy of the entire Hezhong Town military group.

In the late Tang Dynasty, soldiers were angry. The consequences were very serious.

But I had to endure it because Huang Chao was powerful.

Now, the King of Qin ordered the king to be the king of the world. Kang Chenghui, Xin Xi, Yu Wen and others in the east of Luoyang all issued a letter to respond. Immediately afterwards, Zheng Ting, Fengxiang Town, in Guanzhong, also responded. Then Yang Fuguang, the military supervisor of Zhongwu Town, explained that the governor Zhou Ji was corrected. Next, the towns in Guanzhong and other towns rebelled against Qi. The resentment accumulated by the soldiers of Hezhong Town suddenly burst out, and they immediately killed all the officials and envoys sent by Huang Chao to Hezhong, and issued a letter to announce that they would respond to the order of the King of Qin. Anyway, they returned to the Tang Dynasty and swear to fight against the Huang thieves.

Huang Chao, who was far away in Chang'an, woke up and found that he was immediately trapped in the Tang army's ocean. All the towns rebelled, leaving only the prefectures and counties controlled by the rebels themselves. Huang Chao was furious and immediately appointed his younger brother Huang Ye as the marshal of the army and led the troops of Shanzhou to launch a storm to the river.

The soldiers and horses in the river fought for themselves, and this time they showed great courage. With the danger of the Yellow River, Wang Chongrong defeated the troops of Huang Ye of the Qi army, annihilated more than 3,000 Qi army, and seized more than 40 grain ships. The victory of this battle further boosted the morale of the towns and became tougher.

However, although Wang Chongrong defeated Huang Ye for a while, he was still full of worry. After all, he drove away two generals in two previous mutinies before he came to power, and then rebelled against Tang. Now the court still knows what attitude the court has towards him. If the Tang court wants to replace him, or if Huang Chao is not willing to give up, he will fight alone, and he will be insignificant. Whether it is against Tang or Qi, he is not for anything else, but for his own position as the general.

Wang Chongrong's brother Wang Chongjian said: "Why don't you ask Li Jing of Yanjing for it? Li Jing is now not only the Shangshu Ling, but also the Grand Marshal of the World, but also the fake Huang Yue, who commands the five soldiers and horses of the sky. Moreover, Li Jing is the king of Qin and is respected by the emperor as the emperor. He has millions of elite soldiers and thousands of generals. He has a large land and sufficient grain to be elite soldiers and prestige exceeds the emperor. If he is to give Li Jing money, food, treasures and beauty, and get Li Jing's support, why should his brothers worry about the unstable position of the Jieshou in Hezhong Town?"

Wang Chongrong's third brother Wang Chongying spoke out and said, "What the elder brother said is bad. It is said that far away water cannot save the near fire. Li Jing is very respectful, and he is also very good at holding elite soldiers. But did the two brothers not discover that Li Jing is a mansion very deeply. Judging from his past actions, although he summoned the soldiers and horses of the world to fight against the king, he thought that Li Jing would only shout a few times at most, and he would only watch the fun next to him, but he would not really send troops to fight against the thieves."

Wang Chongrong and Wang Chongjian thought about it, and felt that things seemed to be true. Last time, Li Jing had hit the east bank of the Bian River, and they were about to hit Luoyang. As a result, this guy handed over the Song Caozhou to Xin Yufeng and others, but he shot himself and directly killed the southeast, fought with Gao Pian, and robbed Xu Si, but also went to the three states of Hao, Chushou in Huainan. It can be seen that all the things that support the king were just shouting. Li Jing took action. He was obviously grabbing territory. Now Li Jing is in Hebei, so how could he go south?

If you defect to Li Jing, you will never be helpful except for a verbal promise.

"What good advice do you have for the third brother? Now we are facing each other across the river from Huang Chao. Huang Chao has hundreds of thousands of troops. If he comes to attack with all his strength, we will never be able to stop it." Wang Chongrong was full of worries. If he doesn't rebel, he will sooner or later be sucked away by Huang Chao. But if he rebels, he is unable to withstand Huang Chao's revenge.

Wang Chongying narrowed his eyes slightly, and after a long time he gritted his teeth and said, "It's better for us to turn the defense and fight Huang Chao."

"Brother, what nonsense is this? If we could fight Huang Chao, why should I surrender to the thief in the first place?" Wang Chongrong shook his head and said.

Wang Chongying smiled, "Second brother, don't panic, after I finish my words, we are not fighting with Huang Chao alone. What I mean is that we might as well send a letter to Zheng Congxian from Hedong, Li Zhuo from Zhaoyi, Li Keyong from Yanmen, Mi Haiwan from Datong, Anqing, Qi Bizhang from Zhenwu, Wu Shitai from Tiande Army, Helianduo from Tiande Army, Li Sigong from Xia Sui and others to counterattack Luoyang? Zheng Ting joined forces with Guanzhong towns to counterattack Chang'an. I

We can invite each unit to counterattack Luoyang. In this way, we do not have to fight Huang Chao alone. Hedong and Longshang towns are united. Now the main force of the Huang Chao army is in Chang'an, and Luoyang has few soldiers. Even if we join forces with the towns to attack, we can solve the urgent problem of Huang Chao's attack. If it is successful, then in the future, we can use this to consolidate the position of the second brother, Hezhong Jieshou. Since this is the case, why should we leave the near and look for far away? Looking for Li Jing?"

"The third brother, the wonderful plan." Wang Chongrong exclaimed. This was indeed a good plan. Regardless of whether Li Jing really wanted to attack Huang Chao, Li Jing's order was released, as if the towns in the lower towns responded today. The momentum had been achieved. Zheng Ting had joined forces with the towns in Guanzhong and the towns in Shannan to counterattack Chang'an. At this time, they joined forces with the towns in Hedong and Longshang to counterattack Luoyang. Not to mention that the matter was very successful, they could first help solve the crisis that Huang Chao would invade.

Wang Chongjian was a little worried: "The third brother's plan is indeed very good, but one thing is that if we want to join forces with the towns to counterattack Luoyang, then we need a person with extremely high reputation to preside over the host. Although the second brother is determined, he does not have such appeal. I think that in addition to Li Jing's order, he also needs a person who presides over the overall situation. I think only the Hedong Jiedu governor Zheng Congxian can do it. He is the only one who stays in the Beidu and the Hedong Jiedu, and he is also a member of the same clan as Zheng Ting. Now Zheng Ting has a high prestige, and Zheng Congxian has always had a good reputation and a high prestige. If he comes to join forces with the towns, things will definitely be done."

Although this sentence is straightforward, Wang Chongrong really cannot compare his reputation with Zheng Congxian. If Wang Chongrong came to summon various towns, he was afraid that other towns might not be able to sell face. But if Zheng Congxian was summoned, the situation would be different. After all, Zheng Congxian was born into a wealthy Zheng family in Xingyang and was of the same clan as Zheng Ting. Moreover, he once led the towns to combat the Daibei Rebellion. Even Li Jing was also Zheng Congxian's deputy commander at the time. Such a person would indeed have a good effect when he called him.

"This is okay, I'm not a person who is fighting for the false reputation." Wang Chongrong was very open-minded. It would be great if he could become the leader of the Hedong towns. But he knew that he had just become the leader of the Jieshou and had just become the leader of the Hedong towns. How could he be the leader of the Hedong towns? This time, in order to maintain the position of the general, everything else can be considered.

"I will write a letter to Li Jing and Zheng Cong-sei, proposing to jointly send troops."

Wang Chongying reminded: "If Zheng Cong-si agrees to convene troops from various departments, there is a problem to be solved."

“What’s the problem?”

"People in charge of Li Keyong to send troops south. Otherwise, if Li Keyong did not send troops, I am afraid that other towns would not send troops easily." Wang Chongying explained. Almost all the towns in Hedong had a marriage with Li Keyong in Yanmen Town. Last time, Zheng Cong-yi had already wanted to serve the king and go south, but in the end, because Li Keyong rebelled against the Tang Dynasty twice, the towns immediately dispersed for their own nests. If Li Keyong did not go south, who could keep Li Keyong in the rear and lead the troops south?

Wang Chongrong's brothers frowned. Li Keyong was too capricious and elusive. He had two anti-Tang criminal records, and he was indeed a guy who could not believe. But in addition to joining forces with various towns to send troops to Luoyang and counter-defense as an offensive, they could not think of any other good way to solve the current crisis.

"It is probably not easy to convince Li Keyong to go south to send troops. Although the towns in Hedong are guarding against Shatuo, Li Keyong is now surrounded by various towns. Although he was named King of Jin and called the emperor's brother, he was actually afraid that the towns would be unfavorable to him, especially now that Li Jing occupied Youzhou and had just defeated Shatuo. Li Keyong was also worried that Li Jing would send troops to Yanmen after going south."

"This matter should be decided quickly, and it should not be delayed for too long. If it is too late, it may be too long to dream. If Huang Chao sends troops, it will be too late." Wang Chongjian said.

"It's better for me to go to Taiyuan and Yanmen in person to meet Zheng Congxian and Li Keyong, and discuss the greatness of it in detail to promote this. By the way, I can also go to Youzhou to meet Li Jing. No matter what, it is still necessary to make friends with Li Jing." Wang Chongying suggested.

Wang Chongrong clenched his fists and thought for a long time, but couldn't think of any better way, so he had to say, "Then I will give this matter full power to my third brother. My elder brother and I will be at home to treat you well."

"Don't worry, brother, I will do my best." Wang Chongying suddenly remembered something, "I heard that Li Keyong's wife has no legitimate son, only one legitimate daughter, and is only several years old. My elder brother's family is only over ten years old this year. I would not take the opportunity to propose marriage to Li Keyong on behalf of Ke'er and make Li Keyong the legitimate daughter and Ke'er as his fiancée. In this way, our Hezhong and Yanmen Town will become the friendship between Qin and Jin. After the two families have married, the alliance relationship has been solid. We will be called Li Keyong's brothers in the future and are also children's relatives. Isn't it better for the two families to watch over each other?"

Wang Chongrong has no son, so Wang Ke, the son of his brother Wang Chongjian, was actually adopted by Wang Chongrong's heir. If Wang Ke and Li Ke engage in marriage with their legitimate daughter, the two families will naturally become marriage allies and their relationship will be more stable. It is a great thing that Hezhong Town can get Yanmen Town as an ally.
Chapter completed!