Zhangye, Ganzhou's administrative center.
Although Zhangye County was not the most prosperous area, under Liu Hongcheng's governance, no one would pick up anything on the road or close their doors at night. One had to know that Zhangye was located in the Western Region. Since ancient times, the Western Region had been a chaotic place. Many people were uneducated and ran amok. However, Zhangye under Liu Hongcheng's governance had achieved such results.
Not only did it benefit from Liu Hongcheng's moral education, but most importantly, Liu Hongcheng's methods were tough. He dealt with those who disobeyed his teachings and did not abide by the rules of etiquette.
In a short time, Zhangye was governed.
Liu Hongcheng had an extremely high prestige in Ganzhou. Not only was he skilled in governance, but he was also proficient in commanding troops due to his family background. Therefore, even though he only had a small number of soldiers, he still managed Ganzhou well.
In the study of the Provincial Governor's Office.
Liu Hongcheng was dealing with government affairs.
He was currently encountering a lot of things because of the war in Suzhou. Many Tang dynasty merchants fled back, and many Xia Xia merchants also fled. Because of the war, the people's livelihood was also affected. Food prices and prices began to rise. All these needed Liu Hongcheng to stabilize. Because of this, Liu Hongcheng had a lot of things to do. He was so busy that his feet did not touch the ground.
Knock! Knock!
There was a sudden knock on the door.
Immediately after, the door was pushed open. It was Liu Hongcheng's aide.
The aide's name was Guo Zhao. He was from Chang 'an. His ancestors were once glorious, but by Guo Zhao's generation, his family had already declined and was extremely poor. The imperial court had opened examinations for scholars, but he failed several times. Under the recommendation of an old friend, he worked for Liu Hongcheng and gave him advice.
Guo Zhao entered and said, "Provincial Governor, the imperial court has sent an imperial edict!"
Liu Hongcheng did not dare to delay and quickly got up to welcome him. When he arrived at the door, he saw the eunuch who summoned him. Liu Hongcheng bowed and saluted according to the etiquette of receiving an imperial edict.
The chamberlain immediately read out the edict. The general content was to promote Liu Hongcheng and appoint him as the Governor of Gan Province. He would be in charge of military affairs and at the same time, he would be recruiting and organizing troops to prepare for Xia's attack.
After receiving the imperial edict, Liu Hongcheng knew that the situation at the front line was definitely not good. Li Shimin must have been defeated at the front.
Otherwise, Shimin would not personally send the order.
He even promoted him.
After Liu Hongcheng sent off the chamberlain, he took Guo Zhao to the study. On the way to the study, someone entered and handed a letter to Guo Zhao. The two of them entered the study. After the host and guest sat down, Guo Zhao quickly took a look at the news sent over. His expression was shocked as he said in a deep voice, "Provincial Governor, we've lost. The army led by His Majesty has been completely defeated at the Changbai Slope in Jiuquan County. According to the information we have gathered, only a few thousand of His Majesty's 100,000 strong army managed to escape. "
Liu Hongcheng couldn't help but gasp when he heard that. He said, "No wonder His Majesty promoted me to the position of Gan Province's Commander-In-Chief to wield military and political power. He even asked me to recruit soldiers. Although I already expected His Majesty to lose, I didn't expect him to lose so miserably. But His Majesty has suffered such a great loss. What about Xia Xia? "
Guo Zhao said, "Xia Xia's army has also suffered a great loss. Countless troops have been consumed. A rough estimate is at least seventy to eighty thousand troops, maybe even more. However, the exact data was unknown. In short, the current situation is very unfavorable. His Majesty's defeated army is on the way to retreat and will probably reach Zhangye County soon. "
Liu Hongcheng said, "In such a situation, we'll have to prepare to welcome him."
Guo Zhao said, "This humble one thinks that His Majesty may pass by, but he may not stay."
Liu Hongcheng asked, "Why?"
Guo Zhao said, "The reason is very simple. The flames of war are rising everywhere in the Tang dynasty, and there are rebellions everywhere. The domestic situation is unstable, so His Majesty must seize the time to go back and stabilize the situation. Once the best opportunity is missed, the consequences will be unimaginable. "
Liu Hongcheng nodded. It was also reasonable.
At this time, a soldier sent a message saying that Li Shimin's army was about to arrive at Zhangye.
After Liu Hongcheng learned about it, he personally went to the city gate to welcome them.
After Liu Hongcheng, Guo Zhao, and the others arrived, they waited quietly. After waiting for about half an hour, they saw Li Shimin arrive with thousands of soldiers. Liu Hongcheng quickly stepped forward and saluted, "This humble subject, Liu Hongcheng, pays his respects to Your Majesty."
Li Shimin was still in a sorry state, and the soldiers under his command were also quite tired. After all, after entering Gan Province, although they had replenished a small amount of food in the town, they didn't waste any time and didn't change their clothes. Therefore, everyone was travel-worn and looked even more tired and dispirited.
Li Shimin nodded and said, "Minister Liu, I only need to replenish food and equipment. You will provide half a month's worth of food and fodder. I'll rest here for an hour and then leave directly. "
Liu Hongcheng said, "This humble subject obeys!"
He immediately arranged for people to transfer food and equipment from the granary in the city to replenish Li Shimin's food and weapons. In fact, it took more than an hour just to transport the food and equipment, and this was with the help of Li Shimin's soldiers. By the time everything was arranged, two hours had passed. Therefore, although Li Shimin said that he would rest for an hour, he actually rested for two hours before leaving.
After Li Shimin left, Liu Hongcheng began to recruit soldiers and strengthen the security in Gan Province at the same time.
Just as Liu Hongcheng began to be on guard, news of Li Shimin's great defeat began to spread in Gan Province. The news was that Li Shimin had lost hundreds of thousands of troops and that the Tang dynasty was on fire.
When the news spread, the county that was originally in a state of panic became even more turbulent.
For a time, public opinion began to spread.
It caused panic among the people.
After Liu Hongcheng received the news, he sighed inwardly because it was something that had happened in the first place. Liu Hongcheng couldn't refute the rumors. The only thing he could do was to continue recruiting soldiers and strengthen the defense in Gan Province. At the same time, he arranged for scouts to gather information from the frontlines and be ready to fight at any time.
In fact, even so, Liu Hongcheng was still uneasy.
The situation was too unfavorable.
Although Xia Xia had suffered a great loss, Du Qi's strength was still there. In particular, Du Qi's continuous victories were increasing his influence. As long as Du Qi's army came, Gan Province would definitely be in a precarious situation. In fact, the people in various places under Du Qi's rule lived well and were well-off. They were not bad if they followed Du Qi. Therefore, many people would be tempted and easily bewitched.
These were all things that Liu Hongcheng had to deal with.
As a result, he was now so busy that his feet didn't touch the ground. He was doing his best to prepare for the defense.
However, no matter how Liu Hongcheng prepared, the negative public opinion took over. Countless people were not optimistic about Liu Hongcheng. Many government officials were even discussing in private that Gan Province would not be able to be defended. There were also some merchants who, after seeing Liu Hongcheng, vaguely mentioned that they were no match for Du Qi and persuaded Liu Hongcheng to simply surrender.
However, Liu Hongcheng rejected them one by one.
It was impossible for him to surrender to Du Qi.
In detail, he and Du Qi had a grudge against each other. That was because his clan brother, Liu Hongji, died in Du Qi's hands. It was impossible for Liu Hongcheng to choose to surrender, regardless of whether it was for personal or personal reasons.
His choice was to fight to the death.
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