Southwest of Ezhou, north of Puqi, where the Jun River enters the mouth of the river, there is Chibi Mountain, where Cao Gong was defeated. Due to its superior terrain, it is still an important military area and a key location, especially when the Han division moved south and mobilized troops.
After visiting Jinghu, there was even more tension.
In the fifth year of Emperor Qianyou's reign, Wuping Jiedushi was ordered to attack the Tang Dynasty, but was severely defeated by Wuchang Jiedushi Liu Renfan. After the war, Liu Renfan immediately established a stronghold in Chibi to prepare for the invasion of enemies from upstream.
At first, some people still questioned why they should be so serious about Jinghu, but now, with hindsight, they understood that Liu Renfan was still guarding against the strong men in the north.
A stern boat came up the river, with several walking boats guarding it. It arrived at the water village on the south bank of Red Cliff and anchored ashore. One old and one strong, two generals in Tang army uniforms appeared under the escort to see their uniforms, armor and status.
Not low, obviously a senior general in the Southern Tang Dynasty.
The veteran general was Liu Renfan, the military governor of Wuchang, and the young general was Lin Renmin, a key general in the Tang army. The Tang general in charge of the garrison rushed up to pay homage and wanted to invite the two of them to the camp to rest, but Liu Renfan refused.
He directly ordered the two leaders to inspect the defense.
Of course, Liu Renfan basically knew the defense of Chibi Village. After all, he arranged it by himself, and he often inspected it. This inspection was mainly for Lin Renxiang to see.
After spending half an hour walking around, the two of them stood on a high wall, facing the river, looking at the water flow and sighing with emotion. Pointing to the Red Cliff Stronghold, Lin Renmin said with an admiring expression: "Here is the place.
The fortress is rigorously fortified, carefully arranged, and there are no omissions. Liu Gong deserves to be the pillar general of the Tang Dynasty!"
"I'm old! Now I'm just sitting on the sidelines! The imperial court still has to rely on young heroes like you!" Liu Renfan waved his hand and said to Lin Renmin: "I have already known the name of General Lin.
I heard that in the Huainan War, the Han army was invincible. Our army was defeated in consecutive battles. All troops and horses suffered heavy losses. Only you, the general, could resist the Han army, weaken its spirit, and return the whole army. There are thousands of generals, but you are the only one.
ah!"
Lin Renmin was both brave and resourceful, with a resolute personality and a high vision, but he also admired Liu Renfan very much. Hearing his praise, he immediately expressed humility and even smiled bitterly: "I really don't dare to accept such a high reputation and lose it in a battle.
The Fourteen Prefectures feel even more ashamed when they think of my insignificant performance. The loss of Huainan should be an indelible shame for our southern troops!"
"Know your shame and then be brave! I'm afraid there are only a few people who are as ashamed as the general!" Liu Renfan sighed.
The two chatted about business and couldn't help but fell into silence. Under the summer sun, the river breeze was blowing in front of them, which was very refreshing. Lin Renmin couldn't help pointing to the southwest: "How is the battle at Sanjiangkou? Is there any progress by the Han army?"
"
During this period, Liu Renfu was always paying attention to the war situation in the south, collecting spies carefully, and traveling to and from the river without stopping for a day. Lin Renfu took the initiative to come to Chibi to inspect, obviously he was also interested in the war between Han and Chu.
After hearing the question, Liu Renfan couldn't help but turn to the southwest. His calm gaze seemed to be able to penetrate the clouds and see the fighting situation at Sanjiangkou. He said: "The 60,000 water and land troops on both sides of Han and Chu have been fighting fiercely at Sanjiangkou for half a month.
More than enough. However, the current situation is that Zhou Xingfeng mainly attacks and the Han army mainly defends. From the rivers and lakes to the walled city, the two sides are fighting fiercely.
However, judging from the movements of the Chu army, Zhou Xingfeng cannot hold out for long. Without external force, his defeat is imminent!"
"The Gao family was cowardly and incompetent, and sacrificed all their territory to the Han army, allowing them to move south easily. Zhou Xingfeng was considered a powerful force, and he dared to show off his chariots and ships against the enemy Han army. It was a pity that he could not sustain his strength!
It is said that the commander-in-chief of the Han army has personally led his troops southward, and the troops are directed towards Wuling. If nothing unexpected happens, Zhou Xingfeng's defeat will be in these few days!"
Listening to Liu Renfan's narration, Lin Renmin's expression showed seriousness and he said: "Liu Gong is unwilling to sit back and watch his defeat!"
After hearing this, Liu Rengan showed a little anger on his face and said: "It's only a hundred and twenty miles from Chibi to Baling, but it's so close! The enemy is fighting at home, but he can only shrink like a turtle...
.”
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As he said this, Liu Rengan showed bitterness on his face and turned to look at Lin Renmin: "The general is also a man of outstanding knowledge. Jinghu and Jinghu are the lips and teeth of each other. If Jingnan is lost, it is difficult to protect Hunan. However, as far as our dynasty is concerned, Jinghu and Jinghu are not the same."
We are also dependent on each other. When the Han army captures Jinghu Lake and occupies the heart of the world, it is not far away to move eastward along the river! This is a matter before our eyes. I have reported to the court that I want to send troops to help, but Jinling has many concerns.
If you don’t accept it, what can I do?”
Liu Renfan had been in Ezhou for many years and was much more sensitive to the surrounding situation. When the Han army moved south, he went to Jinling several times to analyze the situation and elaborate on the pros and cons. He hoped that the court could send more troops and horses to join forces with Gao and Zhou Xing.
The Communists fought against the Northern Han Dynasty. However, they never received clear instructions. They only agreed that Liu Ren would distribute part of Ezhou's grain and sell it to Zhou Xingfeng for support.
Later, when the Han envoys arrived at Jinling, they issued a stern edict, asking Liu Renfan to secure Ezhou. Without orders, he was not allowed to use any of his soldiers. This made Liu Renfan, who was full of fighting spirit,
The anger is hard to fill.
This time, Lin Renmin came to the west with the post of inspector of Ezhou. He was also ordered to supervise the Wuchang Army. He was afraid that Liu Renfan would be impulsive and participate in the Han-Chu war and drag the Southern Tang Dynasty into the war.
Disaster to oneself.
Liu Renfan was also clear about Lin Renmin's intention, and he did not avoid his feelings at all, and he also wanted to tell him.
Sure enough, Lin Renmin also showed a bit of a wry smile and said: "I have also heard about Liu Gong's report. I also fully agree with your analysis and the development of the future situation. The Northern Han Dynasty wants to conquer the world. This is already true.
Those who know it are things that everyone knows. No matter how careful you are, the day will inevitably come when the Han army marches eastward and southward.
However, since the surrender of Jinling, no one has wanted to fight, for fear of offending the Northern Han Dynasty and causing the Han army to point its troops towards our court. Even if the general dares to fight, what can he do? Can he still ignore the imperial order and march privately?
Even if we kill first and report later, with the military strength of Wuchang and without the support of the imperial court, if we rashly participate in the Jinghu War, we will be bringing disaster upon ourselves!"
It can be seen that Lin Renmin also supports sending troops from his own heart. However, the choice of national strategy cannot be influenced by their envoys.
As Lin Renmin said, Liu Renfan had the idea of killing first and then showing off, in order to conquer his superiors. However, he was also worried and finally gave up. If he had not led his troops to the war, the entire Southern Tang Dynasty would have been involved in the war.
That way, not to mention going against the will of the imperial court, given the urinary temperament of the Jinling imperial court, it is impossible to use Liu Renfan's head to flatter Tokyo and calm down the anger.
"This time the Northern Han Dynasty defeated Jinghu, our court should have united with them to fight together. This is not without a chance of victory. The Northern Han Dynasty only experienced the Qin-Feng War last year, and suffered disasters year after year. The losses were huge, and the army and the people were exhausted. This year
They still refused to stop and moved to fight at Jinghu. Even with its national strength, it would be difficult to support a protracted war!"
Liu Renfan continued: "As long as the three parties join forces, cooperate with each other, and rely on the river, they can defeat the Northern Han Dynasty's attempt to annex Jinghu. If we are safe now, we can maintain peace for three or two years, but it will inevitably lead to disaster in the future.
The Northern Han Dynasty has already taken all the land north of the Yangtze River. If it captures Jinghu Lake again, its power will become more and more powerful. Our country is in danger. Once it advances from two directions and stretches across the river, it is difficult to call it a natural danger. How can we stop it then?
Instead of waiting for the fate of being alone and hopeless, if you can stand up and fight, as long as you can block the Northern Han Dynasty's offensive on Jinghu, you can still maintain the safety of the upper reaches..."
Liu Renfan spoke freely and eloquently. Lin Renmin listened attentively, even in a daze. Finally, he heard a sigh full of complicated emotions: "It's a pity that Zhuge's talent is difficult to find in Jinghu. If you go east to Jinling, you can make an alliance."
.There is no one in our court who can be like Lu Su!"
After coming back to his senses, Lin Renmin sighed: "Our dynasty is not Soochow, the Gao family is like Liu Cong, but Zhou Xingfeng is not Liu Bei. Not to mention other things, the contradiction between Tang and Chu is enough to form an alliance
obstacles."
Hearing this, Liu Renfan couldn't help but feel depressed, and sighed: "More than seven hundred years ago, Zhou Yu defeated Cao's army here. Later generations thought about it, admired it, and were fascinated. Now, I am stationed here, but I can only sit here.
Watch success or failure!”
"After the Huainan War, the country's strength was severely damaged. Prime Minister Han and his colleagues implemented strict reforms. It took three years before they recovered. However, for our court, it was still not enough to mobilize troops. The army was still mixed with good and bad, and the combat power was uneven. Above the court,
——" Lin Renmin said, subconsciously stopping and turning his words into a deep sigh.
Nowadays, the Jinling court is no longer peaceful, and it seems to have returned to the chaos of the middle period of Baoda. Li Jing is still enjoying himself in the palace, and the party struggle is showing signs of recovery. The reformists headed by Han Xizai have begun to be attacked by the southern aristocrats and bureaucrats.
, the landlord group's backlash, and a group of people led by Zhong Mo stirred up the situation. And Li Hongji, who was established as the prince, also began to expose the taboos in his temperament after taking office, which was not liked by Li Jing...
.
Under such a situation, it is difficult for talented people like Liu Renfan and Lin Renmin to make a difference.
"Can Liu Gong send one or two to attack me?" Lin Renmin said suddenly, relatively silent and slightly depressed.
"What do you want to do?" Liu Renfan was curious.
Raising his hand and pointing to the southwest, Lin Renmin regained some energy and said solemnly: "I want to go up the river to have a closer look at the war in Yuezhou, and then explore the strength of the Han army!"
