Ang Lee's new method was indeed useful. After sending out a hundred men as the vanguard, the group's progress on the second day increased significantly. Yesterday, they had only advanced ten li, but today, they had advanced twenty-five li. This was also because the vanguard had encountered a relatively large hole on the road. In order to fill this hole, the vanguard had spent a lot of time, so they had only advanced twenty li. At night, they had already met up with the group behind them.
"Assistant Minister Li, wasn't the one hundred men we sent yesterday too little? If we sent more people, perhaps we could have advanced further today."
Chen Long said.
Ang Lee said, "One hundred men is already quite a lot. Who would have thought that we would encounter another hole? Today, we're sending another hundred men, but we have to change people. The one hundred men from yesterday are already very tired. Let them have a good rest in the camp!"
The Dragon Martial Army had a total of three hundred soldiers. One hundred men in a group, and there were also three groups. Each group would work hard for a day, then rest for two days. They could completely recover their strength without worrying about being too tired.
After some preparations, the second group of one hundred men set off. Similarly, they would receive three times the salary for a day and night of hard work. This would make their hearts feel a little better and they wouldn't have too many complaints.
Dazhou's territory was larger than the previous provinces, but its population was much smaller. Even the main city of Dazhou didn't have a large population. It was said that the population was less than a thousand at its peak. In this famine, the population had dropped to less than five hundred. It could no longer be considered a city. Among the five hundred people, many were merchants passing by. As a result, there were even fewer locals.
Ang Lee's group was currently camping near the main city of Dazhou. They were still five li away from the main city. The bonfire at the top of the city could already be seen clearly. In fact, as long as they persevered a little longer, the group would be able to enter the main city of Dazhou. However, Ang Lee's group was too large, and the main city of Dazhou was very small. Ang Lee decided not to go to the main city of Dazhou. They would just camp in the wilderness to avoid wasting time.
As long as they passed the main city of Dazhou, they would enter Dongnu Province after another fifty li. That meant that they would reach Dongnu Province in two days. There was a small checkpoint at the border, which was the Dazhou Checkpoint. It was a very inconspicuous checkpoint. This checkpoint was very simple, but the area was relatively large. It was enough to park transport vehicles for a few hundred li. It was a place for merchants to rest. There were restaurants and teahouses here, and business was pretty good. Because of the guards, there was usually no need to worry about thieves. No thieves had the guts to rob the place.
"We'll reach the border of Dongnu Province in two days, if nothing unexpected happens."
Ang Lee said.
Chen Long nodded. "That's right! We'll reach Dongnu Province in two days. We don't know what the situation is over there, and how many people don't have enough to eat. "
Ang Lee and the others could only find out about the situation in Dongnu Province from the merchants they met. However, after the merchants arrived at the border and sold the food to the imperial court of Dongnu Province, they would return. They would not enter Dongnu Province. Therefore, they did not know much about the situation in Dongnu Province. They only knew a little about the situation in Dongnu Province.
It was not that these merchants were unwilling to enter Dongnu Province. It was because the soldiers of Dongnu Province stopped them at the border. Perhaps for the stability of the regime, Dongnu Province only allowed its citizens to go out to make a living, and outsiders were not allowed to enter Dongnu Province. After all, one more person coming in meant one more mouth to feed. It was good to stop one more person. It could save one more person's food, and it could also reduce the burden of Dongnu Province.
Of course, the most important thing was to maintain stability. After all, merchants were outsiders. After entering Dongnu Province, there was no telling what they would do. If they were robbed, it would be very troublesome. In addition, there was already evidence that some outsiders who entered Dongnu Province were here to cause trouble. Therefore, in order to prevent these troublemakers from entering Dongnu Province, the soldiers at the border set up checkpoints everywhere. They did everything possible to prevent outsiders from entering, especially merchants. It was very important to stop them because merchants were the most interested in profits and could be easily bribed.
A thousand people set up camp nearby and lit so many bonfires. The soldiers in the main city of Dazhou, which was five miles away, naturally could not turn a blind eye to this. There were only 50 militiamen in the main city of Dazhou. This was almost all of the Da clan's strength. At the peak of their glory, there were only one or two hundred guards here. Now, there were only 50 left.
As more and more people fell into hunger, bandits began to appear on a large scale. These 50 militiamen were almost unable to deter the rapidly expanding bandits in the surrounding area. Perhaps it would not be long before the hungry bandits would raid the main city to steal the food in the city. This was very likely to happen. Regarding this, the patriarch of the Da clan was extremely anxious, but it seemed that there was nothing he could do. He could only think of ways to buy as much food as possible and gather as much food as possible in order to gather more forces to protect his core interests.
It was certain that Dazhou was already very dangerous. Unpredictable chaos could happen at any time. The food shortage in Dongnu Province was even more serious. Naturally, the danger was greater, and it was more difficult to solve. Therefore, it was really very troublesome.
"Patriarch, there are hundreds of bonfires five miles away. It seems that many people have already set up camp."
The militiamen reported what they saw to the patriarch.
The patriarch was naturally an old man. This old man had not had a good night's sleep for half a year. He was really aggrieved as the patriarch. His prestige among the people was almost completely gone. After all, even if he did not do anything wrong, if he could not solve the food shortage problem, then he was in the wrong. The people would not consider the patriarch's difficulties. They only felt that the patriarch was too incompetent to solve the food shortage problem here.
Since the patriarch had lost his prestige and could not solve the food shortage problem for the hungry people, the people naturally no longer followed the patriarch. Many of the people left the main city to find a way to make a living outside. Some went far away, some went into the mountains to become bandits, and some died halfway. In short, the Da clan suffered heavy losses. The main city, which did not have a large population to begin with, had lost half of its population. One could imagine the difficult situation in the other villages.
"Patriarch, a hundred soldiers passed by our main city and continued to head west. They said that they were troops from the Capital City and that the main force is camping behind them."
Another soldier came over to report.
The patriarch thought for a moment and said, "Let's go! Let's go outside the city and take a look. "
Since he could not sleep, the patriarch decided to go five miles away to see Ang Lee. Five miles was not far. Although the city was poor, there were still a few lean horses. The Da clan patriarch and his group soon arrived at the location of Ang Lee's camp.
"General, may I ask if you are from the Capital City?"
The Da clan member asked.
The person who was asked was a captain. He replied, "We are from the Capital City and are going to Dongnu Province. What are you doing?"
"Oh, I am the Provincial Governor of Dazhou appointed by the imperial court. Actually, I am just the patriarch of a tribe. It is not worth mentioning."
The Da clan patriarch said.
The captain of the Dragon Martial Army nodded and said, "The Provincial Governor appointed by the imperial court is the Provincial Governor. Please wait a moment."
"Assistant Minister Li, the Provincial Governor of Dazhou requests an audience."
The captain said.
Ang Lee walked out of the tent to see the Provincial Governor of Dazhou. He saw a shriveled old man with a sickly face. He immediately lamented the miserable state of Dazhou. If even the patriarch was like this, one could only imagine what kind of life the rest of the people were living.
"Greetings, Assistant Minister Li."
The Da clan patriarch wanted to kneel.
Ang Lee personally helped him up and said, "There is no need for formalities. This official is just passing by, that's all. "
"Assistant Minister Li is already here. Why don't you come to Dazhou City? Although Dazhou City is too small, it is still better than the wilderness! "
The Da clan patriarch said.
Ang Lee smiled and said, "It is nothing. I am just afraid of causing trouble for you! It is also to reach Dongnu Province as soon as possible. "
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Ang Lee told the Da clan patriarch that Dongnu Province would soon become Dongnu Province. As a condition, the imperial court would transfer a large amount of food to Dongnu Province. This made the Da clan patriarch, who was also short of food, very envious. He was also short of food, but he was used to being a local tyrant. He really couldn't bear to give up all of his ancestors' foundation. But now, he was a little aggrieved as a local tyrant. He only had 50 soldiers under his command. The so-called Provincial Governor of Dazhou was just an empty title. In fact, it had no value at all.
"Patriarch, what are you thinking about? You are so engrossed. "
Ang Lee saw that the Da clan patriarch was deep in thought and asked.
The Da clan patriarch was stunned. He smiled and said, "Assistant Minister Li, Dazhou is also short of food. Can the imperial court provide some support? When we have food, we will definitely return double."
Obviously, the Da clan patriarch didn't have any better ideas. He couldn't conjure food, so he could only ask Ang Lee for it.
Ang Lee smiled and said, "I am afraid that will be very difficult. The imperial court has rules. They will only provide support at all costs to the provinces under their jurisdiction. They cannot provide too much support to Jifeng Province. If you are really in trouble, I can only give you a cart of food. I can't give you any more."
After saying that, he looked at the Da clan patriarch. This old man was dreaming too much. He wanted the imperial court's support, but at the same time, he was unwilling to give up his position as the local emperor. How could there be such a good deal in the world? Of course, Ang Lee couldn't agree to this request. The imperial court wouldn't agree to it either.
The Da clan patriarch's face was full of pain. If he was strong enough, he could completely block the road and prevent the Tang dynasty from providing food to Dongnu Province. If he wanted to starve to death, everyone would starve to death. Unfortunately, he was too weak. He didn't have that ability at all. Naturally, he didn't dare to block the troops and horses of the Tang dynasty. He didn't even dare to block the merchants. As such, they could only watch as the Tang dynasty transported large quantities of food to Dongnu Province.
The Da clan patriarch, who had a pained expression, thought for a long time and said, "Assistant Minister Li, this old man is willing to give up his position as the patriarch and let the imperial court send officials to Dazhou to govern. In this way, can I get a large amount of food from the imperial court?"
Now, Dongnu Province had given up its throne and was willing to completely submit to the Tang dynasty. As the patriarch of the Da clan, he didn't have much strength. Now that his people were in deep trouble, there was no point for him to be the patriarch. He wouldn't be able to get much benefit either. As such, it was better to just give up and leave this mess to the imperial court of the Tang dynasty. He didn't want to care about it anymore.
Ang Lee was waiting for this sentence. The Da clan patriarch's attitude made Ang Lee very happy.
"Since the patriarch thinks so, this problem is very easy to solve. I will write a letter to the imperial court. The disaster relief food will be delivered in a month or two at most."
Ang Lee didn't give the Da clan patriarch a chance to go back on his word. He directly said that he would immediately report to the imperial court. If the Da clan patriarch went back on his word, he would be guilty of deceiving the emperor. The consequences would be very serious.
The Da clan patriarch wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, "Assistant Minister Li, Dazhou is in urgent need of food. One or two months is too long."
Ang Lee said with a smile, "I know that. However, the roads are dangerous, and it will take time to transport the food. How about this? I will leave you two carts of food. A total of ten days of food. Although it's not a lot, it can solve the urgent situation. You should know that there are hundreds of thousands of people in Dongnu Province. Their situation is even more difficult. "
"Yes, yes, yes, I understand."
The Da clan patriarch hurriedly said.
Ang Lee immediately gave the order to give the Da clan patriarch two carts of food. He then watched as the Da clan patriarch slowly left.
"Patriarch, are we going to give up on our hundreds of years of foundation just like that?"
A loyal member of the clan seemed to be a little unhappy.
The Da clan patriarch sighed helplessly and said, "Hundreds of years of foundation? What hundreds of years of foundation? Compared to Dongnu Province, our foundation is nothing. Even Dongnu Province has given up on our foundation. What else can I do? My clan members are all starving."
In fact, the Da clan patriarch knew very well that since the western Dongnu Province had completely surrendered and given up on their foundation, it was only a matter of time before the Da clan surrendered. If they surrendered early, they could still take the initiative. If they were forcefully annexed, they wouldn't even be able to keep their lives. The old man usually saw things from a long-term perspective. He could see through the surface and see the essence of the problem.
"Haha! You got Dazhou with just a few words. This is too easy. Assistant Minister Li is really amazing. "
After the Da clan patriarch left, Chen Long said with a smile. It could be considered as a compliment to Ang Lee.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Dazhou has a radius of more than a hundred miles. It's a relatively vast place. He was able to get Dazhou with just a few words because Dazhou is too short of food. This old man is a smart man. He knows that he has to give up his hundreds of years of foundation. He has no choice."
Dongnu Province had already expressed its submission. Now, Dazhou was also going to completely submit. In this way, it wouldn't be long before the Jiang, Zhan, and Lang tribes would follow suit and completely submit to the Tang dynasty.
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