A few days later, Ning Ci, the minister of household affairs, and Zhang Xin, the deputy envoy of the imperial camp, crossed the river and rushed to Lujiang with an order to confer meritorious generals on them.
Xu Huai had previously rushed to the aid of the capital alone, gathering volunteers at Niushou Mountain, forcing the soldiers to no longer blockade Jianye City. Emperor Shaolong did not want to hand over the control of the soldiers and horses of King Qin, and wanted to deal with it with the title of Duke of Anding.
At that time, Xu Huai returned all the rewards to the capital at Niushou Mountain, saying that he would not accept the reward for having done nothing.
Xu Huai later argued that the reason for neglecting the emperor's magnanimous favor was actually to slacken the strategy of seizing troops, which was why there was a subsequent great victory at the mouth of the Qinhuai River.
Of course Emperor Shaolong accepted this explanation "calmly", but the matter of the canonization was postponed and no one mentioned it again.
This time Ning Ci and Zhang Xin brought the decree across the river to mention Xu Huai's reward, but they still conferred the title of Duke of the county. The biggest difference was that the title was changed from the previous "Duke of Anding" to "Duke of Pingliang".
Pingliang is also the name of an ancient county in Jingzhou. Compared with "Anding County", "Pingliang County" contains the meaning of Pingjing Hulu.
Xu Huai did not refuse the grant this time, but after being granted the title of Duke of Pingliang, he took Liu Shiwang, Zhang Xiongshan and other generals to Shucheng to supervise the battle on the pretext of urgent military situation on the front line, leaving Xu Wujiang, Han Gui, Zhu Tong and others in Lujiang
Discuss with Ning Ci, Zhang Xin, Wei Chujun and others about "submitting the enemy without fighting".
Although Ge Boyi proposed to sue for peace in the name of "no war", he did not stay in the capital to promote everything. It seemed that he had an idea and thought of it unintentionally; Wei Chujun, Wang Boqian and other latent generals
, and no one took the initiative to stand up and mention this matter.
However, the whole thing seemed to have grown wings and spread quickly among the soldiers and generals of the Qin King and the generals on the roads of Lujiang.
If the Chihu people withdraw from Huainan without stringent conditions, Xu Huai really can't stop it.
The first is that objectively speaking at present, and the most critical point, there are indeed no conditions for a decisive battle with the main force of the Japanese army with a total scale of more than 150,000 in the Longshu River and Liling Mountain areas west of Chaohu;
The imperial army plus the troops of King Luqin totaled only 120,000, of which King Luqin's troops accounted for two-thirds. How to fight?
The second is that if the war drags on, it will become more difficult for the besieged troops in Shouchun and other cities. In addition to consuming a huge amount of food and supplies and the refugee problem will become increasingly serious, the more optimistic results that can be achieved in the end are just
Repulse the captive soldiers to the north of the Huaihe River, where it will be difficult to damage their roots.
The third is that the Qinwang soldiers from all walks of life are still the main force of the west wing army. Not only the princes of Yu, but also the senior generals above the commander level, the middle and lower-level soldiers, and the ordinary soldiers are not very strong in their will to fight.
If not for this, Xu Huai would not have used the clumsy strategy of company camp and shallow attack to consume huge amounts of supplies, and gradually approach the enemy's front line; if it weren't for King Qin who accounted for two-thirds of the troops on the west wing,
The soldiers and horses were unable to fight, and Xu Huai would not say that the conditions for a battle were not met at this time.
Especially when the news spread that there was a possibility of suing for peace, Qin Wangbing's fighting spirit collapsed even more.
Although Xu Huai was able to order all the troops of the Qin kings to be gathered in Yuhou, and all senior generals above the commander level to stay in Lujiang to assist Wei Chujun in transporting and distributing military supplies, he could not completely cut them off from the forts built along the Longshu River.
, the connection between the vast number of Qin Wang’s soldiers and generals.
To be honest, Xu Huai was still a little worried that this incident would shake the morale of the army and whether the Red Husbands would take the opportunity to launch an attack.
Xu Huai did not obstruct the peace proposal, and he could also pretend not to know that Qian Di was secretly making peace with the Chihu people, but he did not have other opinions.
Since Ge Boyi and others recognized that Vietnam's more than 200,000 soldiers and horses garrisoned in the Longshu River-Chaohu-Fucha Mountain-Zhangbaling area were the basis for "conquering the enemy without fighting", Xu Huai took advantage of the situation and proposed to
Before the troops withdraw, they need to advance for a while
He further strengthened the construction of defense lines and battalions in Longshushui and other places, and formally requested the court to agree to restore the Jingsheng Army establishment that once represented the glory of the Wang family and was the source of his previous title.
The new Jingsheng Army will be based on the Beijing-Xiang aid division and the Suwei Forbidden Army stationed in Shucheng, Lujiang and other places, and will recruit brave generals from the Qinwang soldiers of various routes and the Niushoushan rebel army, and will be organized into four towns and five
Ten thousand elites, including Fan Zongqi, Wu Chihai, Yu Gong, Cheng Jin, Zhou Shu, Yu Zheng, Jiang Ang, Fu Liang, etc. will be the chief and deputy commanders.
In addition, Xu Huai also petitioned to separate the Jingzhou Navy from the Jingzhou Military and Horse Supervision Department and organize it directly under the jurisdiction of the Beijing-Xiang Production Department. In fact, he upgraded the Jingzhou Navy from a local garrison to a war department.
soldiers.
After the defeat of the Jianye Navy, the Jingzhou Navy will be the only fully-organized naval force along the Yangtze River. Xu Huai initially planned that the Jingzhou Navy would have 8,000 generals, a number of oarsmen, and boatmen.
Wang Zhang and Ling Jian are the chief and deputy commanders.
The remnants of the Jianye Navy were completely dispersed and then accepted by the Jingzhou Navy. Even if the imperial court insisted on separating these generals, they could not form an independent army.
After all, the Jianye Navy only had a few warships left, and it did not have the ability to build warships on a large scale and recruit soldiers for training in a short period of time.
As for whether the Jingzhou navy will be promoted or not, the court's opinion is no longer decisive.
As for the Suwei Forbidden Army being incorporated into the new Jingsheng Army, this is far from just a matter of Liu Shiwang, Yu Gong, Cheng Jin, Zhou Shu and other generals defecting to Jingxiang. It is actually the cause of the uproar in the northern city of Jianye, and the vast number of Suwei Forbidden Army generals.
The foundation of mutual trust with the imperial court has been lost.
Emperor Shaolong really wants to transfer the Suwei imperial army back to Jianye at this time. Even if the generals don't make trouble and don't worry about being liquidated afterwards, Emperor Shaolong can sleep peacefully?
And they were eager to seek peace in order to confirm the true attitude of the Chihu people. Either they believed that Liu Shiwang, Yu Gong, Cheng Jin and others, as well as the generals of the Suwei Forbidden Army, had all been won over by Xu Huai, or that Han Shiliang,
If another accident occurs to Ge Yu's troops, will the government and the public fall completely under the control of Jingxiang?
Now Xu Huai is just turning what they believe into a public statement.
Xu Huai now invites the new Jingsheng Army and Jingzhou Navy. Based on this, it may be possible to encourage the soldiers to give up their illusions and withdraw from Huainan early. What can Emperor Shaolong say?
As we enter May, there are frequent heavy rains in the Jianghuai River.
Liling Mountain, Nanfei River and Longshu River (later Hangbu River) are all located on the lower side of the eastern or northeastern foothills of Huaiyang Mountain. They have always been prone to frequent floods after summer; the same is true for the shallow siltation areas along Chaohu Lake.
At this time, the rivers are overflowing, and roads and villages are either flooded or destroyed. Not to mention organizing large-scale wars at this time, both sides guard their camps and have to worry about whether they will be affected by the indiscriminate floods.
At this time, in addition to Ning Ci, Zhang Xin and others went to Lilingshan prisoner camp many times on behalf of Dai Viet to discuss the withdrawal of their troops. The reorganization of the new Jingsheng Army and Jingzhou Navy was also in full swing.
At first, both sides were demanding high prices. They sent envoys to each other several times to negotiate. Entering the hot July, which was also unsuitable for fighting, they finally reached an agreement on the withdrawal of the Red Husband troops from Huainan:
All troops of the Chihu people will exercise restraint and will not take the initiative to attack Longshushui and other places, nor will they launch attacks on Shouchun and other cities. They will withdraw all troops from the south bank of the Huaihe River before the end of September and return all occupied areas on the south bank of the Huaihe River.
The prefectures and counties will return thousands of local officials captured in this southern invasion, and will not forcibly abduct people from the occupied areas to go north.
Before the withdrawal of the Chihu people from Dayue at the end of September, the soldiers and horses of Shenzhou were not allowed to cross Gushui (Zhugan River), the soldiers and horses of Luzhou were not allowed to cross the midline between Longshu River and Liling Mountain, and the soldiers and horses of Chuzhou were not allowed to cross Fucha Mountain.
At the watershed between Zhangbaling and Lianzi Mountain, Shouchun and other defenders were not allowed to leave the city. At the same time, the returned troops and the families of military officials above the generals were sent to Chihu.
It was set up in Huoqiu's camp.
The two sides will not compensate each other, and this withdrawal does not involve future peace and war between the two countries, nor does it involve the ownership of Hehuai, Heluo, Shandong, Shaanxi, Hedong, Hebei and other vast areas.
Regardless of the dirty thoughts hidden behind the secret peace talks with the Red Husbands, there is absolutely no fault in the peace agreement itself.
Next came the execution stage. Both sides dispatched supervisory officials to each other and set up beacon towers and observation posts at the agreed places. The Chihu people also specifically allowed the Jingnan Army to organize a team of 500 mules and horses in Qingliu County to monitor them.
Next, head to Shouchun City to deliver grain, fodder and other necessary supplies.
Dai Viet not only started to discuss the follow-up Jianghuai defense arrangements, but also planned to reorganize the Suwei Forbidden Army based on the Jingnan Army under Luo Wang's command.
By the end of August, the rain in Jianghuai and other places began to decrease, and the weather became cooler. At this time, the Red Guards troops began to shrink northward from Liling Mountain and the Nanfei River line; in mid-September, the first batch of surrendering Han troops passed through
The floating bridges west of Shouchun were withdrawn to Bozhou; the number of captive troops in Hefei, Lu'an, Feixi and other cities also gradually decreased to less than a thousand.
A few days before the final deadline for the withdrawal of the Japanese troops, Ning Ci and Zhang Xin went to the Japanese camp again and saw that the main force of the Japanese soldiers had indeed passed through.
The floating bridge was withdrawn to the north; except for a small number of surveillance troops, Shouchun City was no longer surrounded by large-scale prisoners.
Ning Ci and Zhang Xin also returned to the Shucheng camp with satisfaction, preparing to wait in Shucheng for two days until the last moment of the retreat of the captive troops, and then formally represent the imperial court to take over the important town of Hefei in Huaixi.
On the day when Ning Ci and Zhang Xin arrived at Shucheng, Wei Chujun and many high-ranking generals from the various military forces were in Shucheng, and Xu Huai also held a rare banquet in honor of them.
The banquet started at midnight (no hour) when Ning and Zhang arrived, and lasted until noon, which was the normal time for dinner. Zhang Xiongshan, who had never been seen, walked into the banquet hall and handed a letter to
Xu Huai whispered a few more words.
Xu Huai smiled and whispered a few words to Liu Shiwang and Xu Wujiang who were accompanying him at the banquet. Liu Shiwang said with a solemn expression: "Let me make your decision!"
Zhang Xin asked with a smile: "What is so serious?"
"Nothing. It is currently confirmed that the main force of the Japanese soldiers has withdrawn from Huainan. At this time, there are still 30,000 to 50,000 rear-guard troops on the south bank. Although they are all elites and should be very wary, eating them should not be a problem," Xu
Huai said with a smile, "I am going to order the Duanhou soldiers to be eaten. What do you think?"
"..."
Ning Ci, Zhang Xin, Wei Chujun and the troops and horses representing the various Lu Qin kings were all deployed, the deputy capitals were deployed, etc. At this moment, they stood stunned as if they had been struck by thunder.
Wei Chujun stammered quickly:
"Peace...peace is negotiated, it is an edict issued by His Majesty. Even if the Duke insists on monopolizing power, he has sent troops from Longshu River to the south bank of the Huaihe River for more than 200 miles. How can he really have a chance to annihilate Duanhou's soldiers except for the fact that they can only give instructions?
You act so rashly just to trap His Majesty in injustice! Please think twice, Duke, and don’t make an irreparable mistake!"
"Emperor Tianxuan and thousands of his clan members were detained in Mobei and lived a life worse than pigs and dogs; thousands of Dayue concubines, princesses and noble daughters were allowed to be ravaged and trampled by the captors in Huanyiyuan, and life was worse than death; Hedong
, Hebei, Hehuai, Heluo, Shaanxi, and Shandong fell, millions of Dai Viet people died tragically, and 20 million Dai Viet people were enslaved - now you tell me, what should we do to be righteous, and what should we call justice?
Doing something unjust?" Xu Huai stood up with his sword in hand, staring at the banquet people in the tent, and asked sternly.
At this time, two teams of armored soldiers filed in from the open doors on both sides.
Xu Huai said calmly: "To prevent the news from leaking, please stay here to continue the banquet and wait for the good news to come..."
