The weather is sunny and cold, and the river is rippling with cold blue water.
Zhu Hang traveled westward to Jiangxia County in Ezhou before abandoning his horse and boarding a boat. He went upstream to Jiangling County in Jingzhou. Standing on the bow of the boat, he could see hundreds of miners busy building embankments on the north bank.
Because several large embankments with a radius of ten to twenty to thirty miles have been built in the Linjiang area south of Bailu Lake and Sangchi Lake. At this time, the main purpose is to build sluices and dig flood outlets between the various embankments.
When building a dike in Yinglang District, the total number of laborers recruited was not large, but the project was more complicated, and it took two or three years to prepare in the early stage.
Once the Jingjiang embankment is completed, the flood disasters in the four counties in northern Jingbei during the flood season will be greatly reduced again, and more fertile land can be reclaimed.
It's just that Zhu Hang had no intention of looking at the construction achievements of Beijing and Xiangzhou in the past few years, and his eyes were fixed on the approaching Jingzhou City (Jiangling).
Although Wang Fan kept saying that Xu Huai would not ignore Jianye's danger, Zhu Hang watched Xu Huai's rise step by step and understood how flexible and even cunning Xu Huai's methods were.
Yes, there is no doubt that Xu Huai had the ambition to expel the barbarians and regain the Central Plains, but how loyal is Xu Huai to Vietnam, or how loyal Xu Huai is to Vietnam?
Zhu Hang longed to be a loyal minister and good general, but he really didn't have much confidence.
At least those people around Xu Huai and Zhu Hang did not expect them to have any loyalty to the court.
Before Shi Zhen, Han Gui, Cheng Yi and others went to Chushan, they were all mediocre officials with no achievements. There was a gap between them and the ministers that was difficult to bridge in their lives, but it was Chushan that helped them become famous officials in the temple.
Wang Ju, Xu Wuqi, Su Laochang, Fan Yong and others have experienced painful memories brought to them by the imperial court; not to mention Pan Chenghu, Guo Junpan, Tang Dynasty and others who were born in rough mountains and lakes and were traffickers.
Pan, Tang Qing, Xu Xin'an, Yin Peng and Chen Zixiao, Zhang Xiongshan, Han Lurong and others who were born as Khitan Han generals.
Do you expect them to persuade Xu Huai to act loyally?
Zhu Hang even more suspected that they wished that Jianye would be trampled all over by the captive soldiers, as long as the overall situation was not completely out of control.
If he hadn't realized it early in his heart, why would Zhu Hang have been so careful in recent years, even deliberately alienating his brother-in-law Wang Fan? Wasn't he just worried that one day, Jingxiang and the imperial court would be at loggerheads, and it would be difficult for him to save his body?
The closer he got to Jingzhou, the more uneasy Zhu Hang felt. He thought that Xu Huai had received the imperial edict from King Qin but delayed sending troops. Could Jianye really escape this disaster?
"It seems to be the second young master..." The family general Lu Wenhu was now over fifty years old. He had followed Zhu Hang around all these years. His face was weathered and his temples had turned gray, but his eyes were still as sharp as ever. He could see from a distance
Among the people standing on the pier, there was a man who looked like the second young master Zhu Tong.
"Why is Zhu Tong in Jingzhou?" Zhu Hang was extremely surprised. He put his hand on his forehead to block the light and looked towards the dock, but his eyesight was not good enough and he couldn't see the face clearly, so he yelled, "No way? Zhu Tong
If you are with Zhu Zhi in Lizhou, you will not be in Jingzhou!"
However, as the ship approached the pier, the faces of the people standing on the pier to greet him became clearer and clearer. Who was that man in a green and black coat and robe, if not Zhu Tong?
"Lizhou produces cinnabar and rock salt, but they cannot be sold at a high price in nearby Jiazhou. It happened that there was a need in Beijing and Xiangzhou, so I escorted the boat for a trip. I was just about to take a boat back to Lizhou the day before yesterday, but I learned that my father was coming to Jingzhou.
So I stayed to see my father." Zhu Tong explained with a laugh when he saw his father Zhu Hang's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot after getting off the boat.
Now is not the time to care about Zhu Tong secretly communicating with Beijing and Xiangzhou behind his back. Zhu Hang personally went out of the city to greet Xu Wujiang at the dock. Dong Chenggong handed over his hand and asked: "Xu Hou knows the news that the Japanese navy is attacking Jianye."
Already?"
"The news that the Japanese navy attacked Jianye five days ago has reached Jiangling, and the news that the Jianye navy was defeated by the Japanese soldiers has also reached Jiangling the day before yesterday." Xu Wujiang returned the courtesy.
Jing Hu and Jiang Huai are the most prosperous areas in Dai Viet. In addition to convenient water transportation, there are also complete relay stations along the coast.
The Military Intelligence Department dispatched personnel, as messengers from Beijing to Xiangzhou, to quickly deliver the message with the help of the posthouses along the Yangtze River. They could change horses without changing people, or even change people and horses, and send the information from Jianye to Jingzhou in as little as three days and nights.
.
Although Zhu Hang rushed to Jingzhou without stopping, his body could not withstand such a violent jolt. Traveling two hundred miles a day on horseback was already the limit.
It was already the ninth day since he left Beijing with his decree.
Xu Huai had known about the news that the main force of the Chihu Navy had entered the Yangtze River five days ago, so it was not surprising.
What Zhu Hang never thought was that the Jianye Navy had been defeated?
"When did it happen?" Zhu Hang asked with cold hands and feet, "How is the situation in Jianye?"
"The Japanese navy arrived near Jianye on the 27th. On that day, three thousand Japanese troops landed on the shore, burned, killed, and looted. The next day, they escorted three thousand infantrymen from the north bank to cross the river. They stationed the Imperial Guards on the west bank of the Yugong River and joined the troops who boarded the river.
The soldiers on the shore fought fiercely for half a day, losing thousands of troops, and then withdrew into the city. Seeing that the soldiers crossing the river wanted to storm the water camp of Longjiang River, the DPRK was forced to hastily order the naval warships to leave the docking port to fight, but it was in the water camp.
On the river outside the river, the Chihu Navy was defeated, and countless boats were sunk..." Xu Wujiang said, "After that, there was chaos near Jianye. We don't know exactly what the situation was, and there is no new news yet."
"Is Xu Huaike in the city?" Zhu Hang asked with his hands and feet trembling uncontrollably.
"After learning the news that the Jianye Navy was defeated by the Japanese soldiers the day before yesterday, the envoy went to Nancai, and the follow-up army will also go to Nancai first. I was afraid of missing Duke Zhu, so I and Duke Dong were specially envoyed to stay in Jiangling to wait.
." Xu Wujiang said.
"Then let's go directly to Nancai without delay." Zhu Hang said.
"We have prepared the clipper and will leave immediately," Xu Wujiang said.
Zhu Hang abandoned his horse in Ezhou for a ship, which was a narrow-body official ship provided by the Jingbei Construction Department.
Xu Wujiang happened to be escorting a batch of supplies, and the generals were heading to Nancai. They were all ready to leave. When they received a message from the sentry ship that Zhu Hang was about to arrive in Jiangling, they waited for him. Otherwise, Zhu Tong would be left to deal with Zhu Hang in Jiangling.
Zhu Hang didn't want to delay for a moment, and immediately dragged Xu Wujiang, Dong Cheng and others to the troop ship and walked quickly. Zhu Tong followed behind and boarded the ship, not wanting to scold them.
Zhu Tongshi was secretly summoned to Jingzhou after Han Gui and Xu Wujiang discussed it. He only arrived yesterday, not much earlier than Zhu Hang. If changes really happen, Jingxiang needs people who are familiar with Jianye to deal with some complicated situations - if
It was not that Zhu Zhi was really inconvenient to leave Lizhou, Han Guidu wanted to invite Zhu Zhi to Jingzhou without permission.
Shi Zhen and Su Laochang rushed back to Biyang to take charge, especially Shi Zhen. Too many government affairs would be difficult to run without him; Dong Cheng stayed in Jingzhou, because of his status as a scholar, and he followed Xu Huai to lead the east.
Aid may have some unexpected effects.
Even if changes occur, the banner of the imperial court cannot fall.
Especially at this time, hundreds of thousands of captive soldiers were raging across the Jianghuai land, and the imperial flag fell. How many elites could Xu Huai mobilize from Beijing and Xiangzhou to expel the captive soldiers from the Jianghuai land?
The main force of Beijing and Xiang must stay in Ruzhou, Caizhou and Shenzhou at this time to deal with the enemies in the west of Beijing and Heluo. The elite troops that can really be dispatched in an emergency are only 5,000 selected vanguard troops in the first batch.
In addition to some soldiers and horses from Tianxiong Army's Fifth Town, the second batch can only be dominated by local state troops.
With this small number of soldiers and horses, it is impossible to compete with the elite soldiers ten times our own on the land of Jianghuai.
Xu Huai must also use the banner of the imperial court or King Qin to gather the reinforcements of King Qin from all walks of life to fight against the captive soldiers.
Not to mention Han Shiliang and Ge Yu led tens of thousands of elites to besieged in Shouchun. It is not impossible to jump over the wall in a hurry and directly defect to the enemy.
Not to mention Gao Junyang and Gu Jiqian, one is in charge of Western Qin and the other is in Dongchuan. They used to be on equal footing with Beijing and Xiangxiang, but they also occupied a corner. ??????????????????
Act based on Jingxiang's expression.
Even if the changes in the situation can give Beijing and Xiang the greatest opportunities, they are bound to have too much blending and exchange of interests.
In some matters, Dong Cheng is obviously more suitable to come forward than Han Gui or even Wang Fan.
After boarding the ship, Xu Wujiang told Zhu Hang in more detail some of the military information that Jingxiang knew so far. He went down the river without stopping at the shore at dusk, and sailed in the river with the faint moonlight. Fortunately, he was in the south.
Cai had long built many bonfire towers at the mouth of the Han River to guide boats during night sailing, so that they would not miss the mouth of the Han River or sail into the shallows.
Xu Wujiang, Zhu Hang, and Dong Cheng arrived at Nancai in the middle of the night, walked into the brightly lit county government compound that had been used as a temporary residence for Xu Huai, and saw Xu Huai.
Xu Huai received the edict from King Qin from Zhu Hang, opened the letter directly, read it hastily, and said solemnly: "I'm afraid I can't act in accordance with the edict?"
"Why?" Zhu Hang asked in a somewhat irritated voice, "After Jingxiang received the news, he went to Nancai to gather troops, and he was not King Qin. Why?"
"Why is Mr. Zhu so excited? Isn't it already doomed that the current situation is rotten? Moreover, just before sunset, news came that Hefei has fallen, Luzhou is now in chaos, and the enemy's situation is not yet clear. How could I be so confused?
Water, lead the reinforcements along the north bank of the river directly to Luzhou?" Xu Huai asked in sharp words.
"What, Hefei has fallen? How is it possible that the Youxiaosheng Army alone has 10,000 elite troops stationed in Hefei City, not to mention the state army and temporarily recruited rural warriors?" Zhu Hang asked in disbelief with a face full of shock.
.
"The day before yesterday, a troop of captive troops marched south from Hefei to Shucheng. Xu Pu was concerned about the safety of Jianye, so he made an appointment with Luo Wang, the commander of the capital who led the Jingnan reinforcements to Shucheng, to send troops to attack in a pincer attack, hoping to cut off the passage of the captive troops and relieve the crisis in the capital.
Unexpectedly, they fought hard for half a day and were in a stalemate. The flanks were attacked by the reinforcements of the captive cavalry. When Xu Pu led his troops to retreat to Hefei City, they were attacked and defeated by the captive infantry and cavalry. The captive soldiers took advantage of the chaos and rushed into the city of Hefei..."
Xu Huai said in a cold and calm tone, "I had previously guessed that Your Majesty would order me to lead my troops eastward along the north bank of the Yangtze River to reinforce Luzhou. However, Luzhou is in chaos at the moment, and we need to think long-term on how to aid eastward. I have sent people to invite
Kong Changyu, the envoy of Jinghu North Road, came to discuss the big plan!"
