"Guo Qing, how is the situation of the navy in the East China Sea?" Liu Chengyou turned his attention to Guo Tingwei and asked directly.
Is it his turn now? Guo Tingwei was slightly surprised, but he reacted quickly. He stood up and reported emphatically: "The soldiers lost in the Northern Expedition have been replenished long ago. In the past three years, they have been trained and eliminated, and so far we have gained a total of 30,000 soldiers. There are 10,000 people in Laizhou and 20,000 in Mizhou, including 8,000 soldiers. They patrol the seas and conduct combat training all year round. I have the confidence to gallop across the East China Sea and be unrivaled!"
Seeing Guo Tingwei showing such a confident posture, Liu Chengyou smiled and said: "I will admit that I am not familiar with naval battles and battleships. I am an outsider. Guo Qing is a rare navy general for a big man. Since you said this, I also believe that the Donghai Navy can be of great use!"
"Your Majesty has given you too much praise, and I dare not live up to it!" Guo Tingwei bowed and responded. The emperor's words were full of praise. They not only recognized and encouraged Guo Tingwei, but also put great pressure on him. The words were released. If they were released, Whatever the mistake was, let’s not mention other crimes for the time being, and the label of being a deceiver can be directly slapped on him.
Therefore, Guo Tingwei solemnly asked: "Please give me your Majesty's order!"
"No rush!" Raising his hand, Liu Chengyou looked at Cao Bin again, sizing up this famous commander in history, and smiled: "Cao Bin!"
Cao Bin stood up, saluted, and said calmly: "I see your Majesty, and I respectfully listen to your Majesty's instructions!"
This calm and calm demeanor made the whole person's image look better. Liu Chengyou nodded secretly and said: "I have been famous for you for a long time! Through the memorial, I can be regarded as knowing you. When I see you today, you are indeed extraordinary. , Become a general!"
"Your Majesty, you are so complimentary!" In response to Liu Chengyou's praise, Cao Bin felt pressure rising in his heart.
After asking Cao Bin, Liu Chengyou turned his attention to Pan Mei and chuckled: "Zhongxun, I put you in Hunan and stayed there for seven years. You must be exhausted!"
Before meeting the Emperor, Pan Mei was full of ambition, her heart was up and down, and she seemed to have countless things to say to the Emperor. However, when she actually saw the Emperor, facing the peaceful but majestic gaze, she was a little intimidated.
When he heard about it, he reported: "Your Majesty has promoted me very highly. Every time I think about it, I always want to fight and die in order to repay my kindness!"
After hearing what he said, Liu Chengyou looked around and said leisurely: "You are all smart people. I think you all have your own guesses as to why I called you back to Beijing. The trend of the times and the direction of the people, there is no need to avoid talking about it. I have already It has been decided that Commander Pingnan will summon you just to discuss this matter!"
After saying this, few people showed much surprise. Pan Mei took advantage of the situation and took out a memorial from her arms and presented it: "Your Majesty, before I returned to Beijing, I drafted a strategy for the peace of Guangdong. I have some superficial opinions. Please review it and make corrections." !”
Taking Pan Mei's charter from Sun Yanjun, Liu Chengyou opened it and read it on the spot. It didn't take long. When he raised his eyes, there was already an expression called satisfaction on his face.
Although he was eager to make achievements, judging from the memorial, Pan Mei was not impatient, and the strategy he presented was also sound. From the strength of the troops, supplies and supplies, to the timing of the advance, the offensive route, and the defense of the Guangdong cities along the way, Pan Mei Meidu gave a detailed explanation.
This is a very complete strategy for entering the army. Pan Mei stayed in Hunan for too long, and it was obviously not in vain, nor was it wasted. She even went to Prince Xing's Mansion as an envoy of the imperial court several times, fully knowing herself and the enemy.
Looking at Pan Mei, Liu Chengyou expressed curiosity and said, "To annihilate the Guangdong Kingdom, you only need 50,000 troops?"
Upon hearing the question, Pan Mei calmly responded: "Your Majesty, after twelve years of fighting in Qianyou, southern Guangdong has been fully exposed. With its national conditions, it can still gather an army of more than 100,000 people, but it has neglected training and has poor armaments. No match for my mighty warriors;
Furthermore, Southern Guangdong originally lacked generals, but because of villains' slander, the generals were killed again, and the Lord of Guangdong appointed eunuchs as generals, so that the generals were not attached, the army was unstable, and morale was low;
Thirdly, since the Lord of Guangdong came to the throne, he has acted arbitrarily and tyrannically, and the people of Guangdong have been suffering for a long time. The king's army went south to save the people from fire and water.
If we want to defeat them, thirty thousand troops will suffice, but I ask for fifty thousand troops, but for the sake of safety, I am making preparations to put an end to the chaos and bring stability."
"My General Pan has a far-sighted strategy and an overall view of the situation!" After listening to his statement, Liu Chengyou pointed at Pan Mei and said to Chai Rong and the others. After a pause, Liu Chengyou raised the charter in his hand and said, "You... It’s not just an army strategy, it’s also a letter of challenge!”
Upon hearing this, Pan Mei immediately knelt down and asked for orders: "Your Majesty, I would like to lead the army to conquer Guangdong. I hope your Majesty will agree!"
In fact, the candidate for the expedition to Guangdong was decided long ago, as early as seven years ago. There are many speculations about the military general. Even if there is no preference from the emperor, there are few candidates more suitable than Pan Mei. .As for senior generals such as Murong, Zhao Kuangyin and Gao Huaide, they are not suitable to compete with them.
Without responding directly to Pan Mei, Liu Chengyou glanced at Cao Bin and asked, "Cao Qing has been guarding Chenzhou for many years, what do you think about this?"
Cao Bin thought about it and said: "Your Majesty, I would like to send you the general to attack Guangdong. I think there is no one more suitable than General Pan!"
Seeing Cao Bin's calm look and facing Pan Mei's expectant eyes, Liu Chengyou stood up and greeted everyone: "Let's go to the Privy Council!"
"Pass on my oral instructions, ask Wei Renpu and Murong Yanzhao to come to the Privy Council, and then pass on Zhao Yanjin!" Before leaving, he ordered Sun Yanjun again.
"yes!"
Privy Council, military machine room. The emperor is in the chair, and under him are all the military and political leaders of the Han Dynasty. When they saw everyone gathered, Liu Chengyou waved his hand and ordered: "Please tell the ministers about the Pingnan strategy formulated by the Privy Council. !”
"yes!"
The war in Pingnan has been planned for a long time under the instruction of Liu Chengyou. By now, it has basically been finalized. All aspects of the situation, including troop deployment, general candidates, and march routes, have been considered. Due to the latest situation, And constant adjustments. Although Pingnan is a general plan known to both the government and the opposition, the confidentiality of this aspect is very high.
The person in charge of the introduction was Zhao Kuangyin. Standing in front of the map that had been moved to the hall, he calmly began to narrate. The people here who didn't know the story cheered up, especially the generals who were ordered to return to the capital.
"According to the Privy Council's plan, this Pingnan march will be divided into four routes! In the first route, Xiaodi's army will be transferred southward and send troops from Jiangling, Gui, Shaanxi, An, Fu, Ying, Xiang, Li, Yue, and Kui. Ma and the Jiangling Navy, a total of 40,000 land and water troops, attacked Ezhou from the upper reaches, took Hukou, and went eastward along the river. Cao Bin was the chief general and Liu Guangyi was the deputy;
The second route, Faquan, Chen, Dao, and Gui garrison, as well as soldiers and horses from various states in Hunan, as well as 3,000 Yao soldiers and eastern Sichuan soldiers, a total of 50,000 troops, went south to pacify the Guangdong Kingdom, with Pan Mei as the chief general and Cui Yanjin as deputy Of;
On the third route, the Longqi Army, Longjie Army, Fengguo Army and Jianghuai land and water armies, totaling 70,000 water and land troops, crossed the river from the lower reaches at selected locations, aiming for Jinling;
The fourth route, led by General Guo Tingwei, led 30,000 Jing navy troops, went south by sea, landed at Hangzhou, and together with Wu and Yue troops, went north to attack Chang, Run..."
After hearing the general plan of the Privy Council, everyone present, whether they knew it or not, couldn't help but sigh, this is another large-scale military campaign. The army just mentioned is nearly 200,000. If you include the conscripts The civilians are afraid that half of the south will have to be mobilized. Of course, the scale is far less than that of the Northern Expedition, and the troops sent this time will have far fewer professional soldiers than before.
Liu Chengyou, on the other hand, summed it up with great courage: "This time, I want to level the south in one fell swoop and resolve all the forces in the south of the Yangtze River in one fell swoop!"
