The New Year has just passed, but the earth has not recovered yet——
The snow lingers on the top of the distant mountains.
On the bank of the Han River, a guest in Tsing Yi with two frost-white manes stood under a withered locust tree with withered leaves, looking at the sparkling green waves.
The last large gray-white sails were swollen by the north wind, driving the warship quickly southward.
Xu Zang was bored and whipped the withered reeds by the river with a horsewhip.
Compared to the indifferent and impatient Xu Pang, Su Mi accompanied Shi Zhen up the cliff, looked at the shadows of sails on the river, and asked with some worry:
"Mr. Shi, the Red Husbands have been waiting for Shouchun for half a month. The imperial court has to wait for the Shenwu Army to arrive in Luzhou before sending troops north to fight. Can you make it in time?"
"The Red Hudong East Route Army waited until the Huai River was completely frozen before crossing to the south of the Huaihe River. Compared with the West Route Army, it launched an offensive against Rucai more than a month later - although the Red Hudong East Route Army has conducted large-scale drills in Xusu and other places in the past two years.
After the navy crossed the Huaihe River and moved south, it no longer needed to retreat north before the Huaihe River thawed. With the navy army, the people and horses on both sides of the Huaihe River could be firmly maintained, and the supply of supplies could be used to carry out a long-term siege of Shouchun and other cities. However,
Large-scale siege operations place great demands on logistical supplies. As for large-scale logistic supplies and large-scale infantry siege operations, the Chihu people have been working hard to strengthen them in recent years, but they still have shortcomings."
Shi Zhen said in a calm tone,
"It has been more than half a month since the Red Husbands crossed the Huaihe River and besieged Shouchun, but it only took these two days for the Western Region stone cannons to be deployed under Shouchun City for bombardment. Although the prime minister is a minister, he has served in the border states for many years.
Later, he presided over the defense affairs of Cai Xuying, Ru and other states, organized and trained the Caizhou army, and presided over the Privy Council. Many military affairs were arranged in an orderly manner, and he was indeed a good commander in Vietnam. The Privy Council was stationed in Luzhou and was reluctant to send troops northward, seemingly waiting for the Shenwu Army.
Rushing there is suspected of delaying the opportunity to fight. In fact, it is to delay the opportunity to go north for reinforcements as much as possible until the rivers thaw and it is difficult for the Red Husband cavalry to gallop between the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers..."
Su Mung imagined the situation when the permafrost had just melted and was filled with water and dew, and said: "The land has just thawed and is the softest and thickest. When the horses' hooves step on it, and they pull it out with difficulty, they often make a "plop" sound. It can definitely restrain the enemy's cavalry.
Weaving in and out, attacking flanks - I didn't expect that there are so many things to consider when leading troops to fight."
Shi Zhen said: "If there are only a hundred or a thousand generals, if you can control the soldiers and execute orders and prohibitions, kill bravely, and know how to arrange troops, you will be a good general. However, if you want to be a general of ten thousand people, the weather, the right location, and even the right people are all important."
He, there was one mistake that was not fully considered, and thousands of lives were lost at your hands. How could we not notice it? The Battle of Huainan was a matter of life and death for Vietnam. The Prime Minister seemed to be indecisive and slow to act.
In fact, thousands of lives are tied to one body, like shouldering a huge burden..."
"Tsk," Xu Tan sneered and said disdainfully, "Xu Huai's troops are as fast and violent as wind and thunder rolling across the sky. How can anyone be as capable as Mr. Shi who can tell the truth from the mud?"
"Commander Jie is a genius. He uses his troops like antelopes hanging their horns. There are no traces to follow."
Shi Zhen was not offended by Xu Pang's words and smiled and said,
"However, how can ordinary people learn the art of military discipline? I can't teach you this, and ordinary people can't learn this either. If your understanding is a little less, or your courage and courage are a little less, you won't be able to maintain a high degree of vigilance all the time.
You cannot make the most correct decision without hesitation in the face of every fleeting opportunity. The result will only be that you will end up being a dog instead of a tiger, and you will suffer great harm. What I can teach you is to drag your feet.
The mediocre method of stagnating water but making less mistakes can be obtained by ordinary people as long as they are diligent enough. The method of military commander-in-chief seems to be like a claw in the snow, and there is no trace to be found, but it cannot be separated from this foundation.
Take the Shenwu Army gathering from camps in Fangcheng, Biyang and other places as an example. Thirty thousand men and horses were assembled in batches within five days. They boarded the warships of the Jianye Navy at the mouth of the Tangbai River and embarked on reinforcements.
If you can reach this point in the Huainan journey, you can already be called a strong army. Don't look down on the Zheng family and his sons. Whoever can lead such a strong army like the Zheng family and his sons in this world is qualified to be called a good general.
Otherwise, what qualifications would the Zheng family have to be so domineering?"
Tang Tiande handed over the horses to his entourage and walked to the river beach. When he saw Xu Pang and Su Mi, who had completely different temperaments, they had completely different reactions to Shi Zhen's lecture on the art of war. They smiled slightly. It was difficult for him to judge the two of them at this time.
Who will have greater achievements in the future? He asked: "Why did Commander-in-Chief ask you to do the job of escort again? What crime did you get punished for?"
"I thought they should take a closer look at the topography of Nanyang and Jingxiang, so I specially pulled them out from Commander Jie..." Shi Zhen said.
Although Xu Huai and Xu Wuqi also served as the head of the samurai Zhaishe mountain and the chief of teaching and learning, Shi Zhen was mainly responsible for arranging more daily teaching and learning matters in Zhaishe.
Not only are rising stars like Xu Pang and Su Mi who have great potential to be tapped, but also Tang Pan, Xu Xin'an, Tang Qing, Han Qi, Yin Peng and others, Xu Huai also asked them to take as much time as possible from their busy military affairs to combine
Learn the art of war from Shi Zhen based on his actual experience in leading troops in combat.
Tang Tiande was in Biyang these days. In addition to contacting and coordinating the movement of Zuo Xiaosheng's army to Xiangyang via Nanyang, Shi Zhen specially arranged to go to Biyang to observe the squire from Nanyang who gathered in Fuye Biyang City.
The gentry's reaction to Zuo Xiaosheng's army being transferred to Xiangyang, Shenwu's army being transferred to Huainan to join the war, etc.
Tang Tiande did not expect that Shi Zhen was not by Xu Huai's side in Yeliang County, Ruzhou, nor was he stationed in Ye County, where Zuo Xiaosheng's army was bound to go south, but he actually came to the bank of the Han River in a simple vehicle.
Tang Tiande received the letter and rushed over to meet him. He first informed him of the developments in Biyang City in the past few days:
"...In order to dispatch troops within the deadline of His Majesty, Zheng Huaizhong brutally suppressed all opposition voices. He seemed to be loyal to His Majesty. Even Zheng Cong, who was dissatisfied, was dragged outside the gate of the Biyang camp, stripped naked and beaten bloody.
Ten whips, but not only within the Shenwu Army, but also among the Biyang gentry, it was secretly spread that Zheng Huaizhong was actually forced by Chushan and the imperial court..."
"Before, I was slack, did nothing, and even let it go. Then I blamed the imperial court and Chushan for the five-day deadline for dispatching troops. Zheng Huaizhong turned things upside down very well!" Shi Zhen smiled.
said.
"The Shenwu Army is based on the Qin Feng Army, which has been run by the Zheng family for many years. The generals and military officials are all direct descendants of the Zheng family. It doesn't matter how they hate Chushan, but they are afraid that the Nanyang gentry will breed resentment and deepen the rift with Chushan..." Tang Tiande
He said with some concern.
The central and western sections of the South Ridge and the North Ridge of Tongbai Mountain were under the jurisdiction of the original Huaiyuan Inspection Department and belonged to Biyang County, Tangzhou. During the first Bianliang Defense War, Chushan County was dismantled; later, Chushan City was built and the original Huaiyuan Inspection Department
The part of the Prosecution Department was placed in Huaiyuan County, and the Jinniuling, Zhouqiao, Qingyi Ridge, Shimenling and areas along the Mingxi River north of Xinyang were newly placed in Chushan County.
In addition to Chu Mountain, which is rooted in Tongbai Mountain, and is inextricably linked with Biyang County, which is the jurisdiction of Nanyang Prefecture, Fangcheng County, which Nanyang Prefecture belongs to, borders Wuyang and Ye County; the southern slope of Funiu Mountain is Fengling
It belongs to Xiangcheng County and borders Lushan and Liang counties under the jurisdiction of Ruzhou.
In any case, Chushan and Nanyang Mansion have a close relationship.
"Aren't you happy enough to be 'dominating' in Biyang these days?" Shi Zhen asked with a smile.
Tang Tiande scratched his cheek and said embarrassedly: "Mr. Shi, you want me to come to Biyang. Don't you need to be polite to Ning, Zhou and others? However, all this is to urge the Shenwu Army to send troops from Nanyang, regardless of
In other words, it is not appropriate for us to expand the rift between us and the Nanyang area - otherwise, we will really fall into the trap of the Zheng family and his son!"
"If it wasn't for life and death, Ning Ci and the gentry all over the city would rather stick to the cold butt of the Zheng family and his son, why would they ever take Chushan seriously?"
Shi Zhenran smiled and said, "In their eyes, the Zheng family and his son are warriors and reckless men. In their eyes, Chushan is a warrior and reckless man who robbed them of their geographical advantage and prevented them from enjoying the benefits. What have they done these years?"
Will they always hope that Chushan will be better off? Only the Zheng family and his son led the Shenwu Army to help Huainan. The captive cavalry may tear open the Chushan defense line at any time, such as Ning Ci, Zhou Yunze and others. They feel the fear of life and death, and look around blankly, helpless
After relying on them, they suddenly discovered that Chushan was the only thigh they could hold on to, and they really hoped that Chushan could hold on!"
"..." Tang Tiande's head was a little stuck, and it took him a while to regain his composure, and he stuttered and asked, "Zuo Xiaosheng's army packed all the luggage, and used thousands of large and small cars, and used three to four thousand mules.
Ma, retreating south to Xiangyang with great fanfare, is it the commander-in-chief's intention?"
"Commander Jie is busy with military affairs and has no time to care about these small things, but these are indeed intentional," Shi Zhen said with a faint smile, "Zuo Xiaosheng's army moved to Xiangyang this time to rest and replenish new troops. It does take a long time.
time, but Xiangyang is not so embarrassed that it cannot even raise pots and pans. Everything is transported from Ruzhou. It is a waste of so much manpower and material transportation, and the consumption on the way is not as good as buying a new one in Xiangyang, but that is not the case.
, how can we make Nanyang officials and gentry feel the precariousness of the situation more clearly?"
"So that's how it is," Tang Tiande said with emotion, "the Zheng family's father and son secretly spread the news that the Shenwu Army was rushing to suppress reinforcements in Huainan. This was due to Chushan's urgent need, and Zuo Xiaosheng's army was retreating southward in large numbers, carrying far more luggage than imagined. These two
Someone came to me from time to time, overtly or covertly, to test whether Chushan had any intention of occupying the magpie's nest in Nanyang - I was also worried that allowing these speculations to flourish would harm the reputation of Chushan and the Commander-in-Chief, so I refuted them righteously.
, but I didn’t expect that this was exactly the effect Mr. Shi wanted! So, some wealthy gentry families in Ruzhou dragged their families to evacuate southward in a hurry, was this intentional by Mr. Shi? "
"...It was not intentional. How could they fly away if the checkpoint post road was blocked? Although they fled south in a hurry and took away some supplies that Chushan was in short supply, relatively speaking, it was better than them staying and being an eyesore...
..." Shi Zhen nodded and said.
"What does Commander Jie want to do in the end? Do you really want to drive the Zheng family out of Nanyang and occupy the magpie's nest?" Tang Tiande asked excitedly.
"Who will guard Nanyang is decided by the imperial court. Taking it without giving it is treason," Shi Zhen shook his head and said, "However, Funiu in the northern part of Fangcheng, Xiangcheng, Biyang and other counties
The eastern foothills of Shandong, the ridges on the southern slopes and Wufeng Mountain are handed over to Chushan to better improve the defense situation north of Nanyang. This is also something that the Nanyang government can decide if the Zheng family and his son are not in Nanyang..."
Most of the eastern section of Funiu Mountain and the ridges on the southern slope belong to Xiangcheng County and Fangcheng County under the jurisdiction of Nanyang; while Wufeng Mountain on the south side of Dengtaijia Mountain and the newly built post road from Chu Mountain to Ye County are connected from it.
Passing through the foot of the south slope, it belongs to Fangcheng County and Biyang County.
For a long time, the Shenwu Army has mainly garrisoned Fangcheng, Xiangcheng, Biyang and other major cities. With Fangcheng as the center, it has built a series of forts in the canyon about 30 miles wide between Funiu Mountain and Wufeng Mountain.
However, the defense within the mountainous area is still dominated by rural soldiers and village warriors, and is nominally under the jurisdiction of the Nanyang Prefecture's Military and Horse Supervisor Division (Fujun).
Shi Zhen's intention was to make Ning Ci and others aware of the imminent threat that Nanyang would be destroyed if Chushan did not defend it; on the other hand, it was to make Ningci and others suspect and fear that Chushan intended to withdraw from Nanyang - Chushan would not surrender.
The emperor ordered to evacuate and occupy Nanyang without a fight. If Ning Ci and others could not stop it, there would be no good fruits to be gained.
Based on all this, what Shi Zhen really wanted to do was to force Ning Ci to withdraw the village soldiers from the village, strengthen the defense of the city inside the Nanyang Basin, and hand over many of the above-mentioned mountainous areas to Chushan, so that Chushan could dominate the area north of Nanyang.
When the situation is truly improving, it will also force Ning Ci to stop holding Chushan back and better support the Chushan army in defending Ru and Cai...
