Reining their horses and standing on the sand embankment, Yuehai Tower, Zhong Changqing and others looked at the turbid Huaihe River, with sorrow on their faces——
The mountains in southwestern Henan have been experiencing heavy rains since April. Not only has the floodplain area covering hundreds of miles between Ruying and Ruying flooded the country again, but the banks of the Huaihe River from Luoshan to the east have also been in disrepair due to years of war, and the shallow siltation zone has changed earlier than in previous years.
It became a vast swamp, which greatly restricted the deployment of troops and horses.
Although there is no need to worry about the Southern Dynasty soldiers and horses forcibly crossing the Huaihe River for the northern expedition, Zhennanzong Palace and Pingyanzong Palace can get a longer rest time to restore military morale, but the rainy season has come so early, wheat and other crops grown in the Hehuai area have been flooded
Seriously, this year's summer grain harvest will be greatly affected.
"Wang Boqian and the others just finished playing like this. Isn't it too much of a child's play?"
In the silent and oppressive atmosphere, someone finally couldn't help but complain.
Zhong Changqing looked back but said nothing.
After Wang Boqian sent a secret envoy to contact him, he learned that Emperor Shaolong had conspired to leave Jingdong and rush to Runzhou before Xu Huai could lead his troops to cross the Huaihe River. He would join Ge Yu's troops and establish a new capital to balance Jingxiang. Zhong Changqing had no idea at that time.
I felt that Emperor Shaolong, Wang Boqian and their ilk could accomplish anything if they were so restless, but I also thought that the Southern Dynasties would be in chaos for a while, so I gave them a chance.
take.
Zhong Changqing never expected that Xu Huai had been in charge of Huangchuan for more than a month, and 200,000 troops were stationed south of the Huaihe River. The whole thing was like a farce, and he was wiped out so quickly. It was almost here
In Zhennan, Prince Ping Yanzong's palace had no time to react.
Although the Qiandi system in the Southern Dynasties did not completely fall apart, Han Shiliang's troops still defended Chuzhou, and Ge Boyi and Ge Yu even led their elite troops to occupy southern Zhejiang (Liangzhe East Road). However, as Emperor Shaolong returned to Jianye,
This means that the entire Jinghu Lake, as well as Guangdong, Guangxi, Liangjiang, western Zhejiang, Huaixi and other places will be included in the capital.
At the beginning of that year, Jingxiang occupied the three remnant states of Rucaishen, Nanyang, Xiangyang and half of Jingzhou, blocking their 300,000 troops from marching south in the middle. Then the area and population controlled by Jingxiang were ten times that of the previous ones.
Not to mention organizing a new offensive, is it really possible for the Princes of Nanzong and Pingyanzong to block the troops advancing from the north of Beijing and Xiangxi and defend Hehuai, Heluo and other places?
After so many fierce battles with Beijing and Xiangzhou in the past few years, and having fully experienced the second Huainan Battle, Zhong Changqing was deeply suspicious of this in his heart. He just didn't want to shake the morale of the army, so he could only try his best to cover up the frustration and powerlessness in his heart.
.
Of course, most of the generals in the two provinces realized that the Jingxiang problem was difficult to crack. Most of them also believed that before there was a better opportunity, they should temporarily give up continuing to cross the Huaihe River or launch a new offensive southward from the center.
However, few people thought that after the offensive and defensive changes, there would be any problems in blocking the front line of troops crossing the Huaibei River from Beijing to Xiangzhou and defending the Hehuai River.
After all, it is much easier to defend than to attack.
Deep down in his heart, Zhong Changqing hoped that his worries were unfounded, but whether he was truly unfounded might not take long to be tested, right?
…………
…………
The rains and floods in the Huaihe River Basin have arrived early, and the plum rain season has not yet entered along the Yangtze River. The climate is even milder than in previous years, and it is the time when spring is bright.
Xu Huai stood on the deck of the armored ship, and the city of Jianye appeared in the distance——
Jiangnan is the season when trees are shading and flowers and plants are blooming. There is rich verdure everywhere. However, in order to prevent the view of the defenders at the top of the city from being blocked, the city
The grass and trees within a thousand or two thousand steps outside the wall were all eradicated, and it was forbidden to build houses or courtyards, or to allow refugees to stay. It was as if this world was suddenly wiped out when approaching Jianye City; the dusty city wall was obviously incompatible with the surroundings.
The verdant woods, swamps and wheat fields are incompatible.
Before he went to King Qin of the capital, Xu Huai did not step foot into Jianye City. Strictly speaking, this was the first time Xu Huai set foot in Jianye City after the death of Emperor Jianji.
Xu Huai refused Zhou He's courtesy of leading all the civil and military officials out of the city to greet him, and he did not enter the city in a show of force, surrounded by thousands of soldiers.
In addition to the necessary safety measures, Xu Huai disembarked at the mouth of the Qinhuai River, together with Han Gui, Dong Cheng, Chen Songze, Wang Jun, and Su Mung who came out of the city to meet him, as well as Shi Zhen, Fan Yong, and Xu Wujiang who rushed to Jianye from Biyang two days in advance.
, Guo Junpan waited for the generals of the Beijing and Xiang factions to gather together, and then, surrounded by more than two hundred armored cavalry, he went directly to the Lijing Gate of the West City.
Jianye City, which experienced the "Escape from Beijing", quickly returned to its former peace and prosperity after "welcoming" Emperor Shaolong; the long streets were bustling with traffic, as if the escape from Beijing was just a farce or a surprise.
Dreams should not leave any trace when they pass.
"... Before His Majesty 'welcomed back', more than 3,000 soldiers from Runzhou had fled from Runzhou. Currently, in addition to more than a hundred people hiding outside, there are not many
In addition to the information that the chaos has been quelled, other government soldiers have already verified the person..."
On the way into the city, Shi Zhen, Han Gui, Dong Cheng and others also rode together to introduce in detail some of the finishing work of the escape from Beijing. The most important one was the Jianye Prefecture Army, which totaled 20,000 people.
placement.
Xu Huai was determined to relocate the capital to Xiangyang. The 20,000 soldiers of the Jianye Prefecture Army were all recruited from the local area. They were directly recruited and transferred to Xiangyang to garrison. Most of the soldiers would be resistant and were not in line with Beijing and Xiangyang.
Consistent recruitment principles.
At the same time, these soldiers also experienced the change of fleeing from Beijing, and their hearts were restless.
Therefore, after welcoming Emperor Shaolong back, with the promotion of Wang Fan, Han Gui, Dong Cheng and others, Dong Cheng, who had the power to know the affairs of Jianye Prefecture and temporarily took charge of the military and political affairs of Jianye Prefecture, began to carry out batches of the Jianye Prefecture army.
They did not wait until the move of the capital was officially put on the agenda before suddenly disbanding the Jianye Prefecture Army.
In that case, it is likely to bring serious security risks to the Jiangdong area.
Of course, in order to make the work detailed enough, in addition to the generals of the government army that Dong Cheng took over in Runzhou, the government troops who had previously escaped from Runzhou were also sorted out accordingly.
"There are still many people in the court who are not in favor of moving back to Xiangyang." Shi Zhen arrived in Jianye two days earlier than Xu Huai, and had already met with Wang Fan, Gu Fan, Zhou He, Qian Zerui and others.
After meeting, he said with emotion, "I still have to go to the trouble of convincing you personally!"
Xu Huai nodded, knowing that even if Emperor Shao Long was brought under control, moving the capital would involve too many aspects and would cause great disturbance.
Not to mention the ministers of the DPRK and China, there are also different voices within Beijing and Xiangyang, or they think there is a better choice than moving the capital to Xiangyang.
Although Xu Huai has made up his mind on this matter, he will not deliberately suppress the existence of different internal voices.
After Dong Cheng temporarily took over the military administration of Jianye with his power to know the affairs of Jianye Prefecture, the command office of the Niushoushan Rebel Army was merged into the Military and Horse Supervisory Department.
In order to welcome Xu Huai's arrival in Beijing, the vacated Pingliang County Palace underwent emergency repairs, and the houses on both sides were requisitioned as a garrison for the guards.
Xu
Although Huai refused to allow Zhou He to lead hundreds of officials out of the city to greet him, Zhou He still insisted on welcoming him with Gu Fan, Wang Fan, Qian Zerui, Prince Wuwei and others leading hundreds of civil and military officials in front of the mansion of Pingliang County Duke.
Xu Huai had no intention of making a big fuss. After meeting with the civil and military officials, he asked them to leave. However, Zhou He, Gu Fan, Wang Fan, Qian Zerui, Wuwei County Prince Zhao Yi, Qiao Jien and others, Xu Huai
Or he specifically asked Zheng Tu to arrange a night banquet at the residence in advance.
After the dinner, everyone moved to the West Garden Garden Hall to drink tea, and Qian Zerui directly mentioned the matter of moving the capital:
"Nearly half of Dai Viet's wealth comes from Liangjiang, Liangzhejiang, and Huaidong. Eastern Zhejiang has not yet completely stabilized. It made Jianye its capital. The prime minister recruited envoys to supervise the war in Shouchun and sent troops to cross the Huaihe River. In response, the capital was moved to Xiangyang.
It’s more convenient…”
The primary purpose of moving the capital to Xiangyang is to stop the center from getting out of control, but in Qian Zerui's view, to achieve this goal, Xu Huai could station the chief of the envoy in Shouchun, or he could remotely control the center for his use.
The disturbance in all aspects can also be reduced a lot.
In this regard, Gu Fan, Zhou He and Qian Zerui all held similar opinions.
Besides, after the "Escape from Beijing Incident", the capital was directly moved to Xiangyang, which is hard not to make people think of Pian Pian.
Without Xu Huai's permission, Shi Zhen and Han Gui did not thoroughly explain Jingxiang's strategic vision to Gu Fan, Zhou He, and Qian Zerui after arriving in Jianye.
However, things have developed to this point, and many things can no longer be covered up too deeply.
In addition to ease of control, Xu Huai also considered two key factors when moving the capital to Xiangyang. At this time, he was patient and explained in detail to Qian Zerui and others.
As the capital is the center, the number of officials is extremely large. At the same time, most of the people and things in the entire imperial capital are circulated around the capital. The population of the capital is destined to be much denser than that of ordinary Lufu prefectures; it even needs to maintain a larger scale.
of garrison.
In order to maintain such a huge population, in the past, we mainly relied on rents and water transportation, transporting millions of stones of materials to the capital every year regardless of the cost; this also caused most of the rents imported to the capital in the past to be consumed on this.
Since the founding of the Dai Viet dynasty, redundant officials, redundant expenses, and redundant troops have accumulated disadvantages that are difficult to reverse. There are considerable factors related to this.
Xu Huai hoped that this shortcoming would be improved. The best model was to develop large-scale manufacturing in the capital and nearby areas to balance the material consumption of the capital.
However, the current industrial construction system taking place in Beijing and Xiangzhou is increasingly dependent on water power.
Xiangyang is located in the Nanyang Basin, where the Jianghan Plain and the Jingwu Mountains intersect. The hydropower resources it can utilize are far beyond the reach of Jianye, which is located in the Jianghuai Plain.
There is another more critical factor, which is the strategic direction choice of the Northern Expedition.
After ten years of war, the Hehuai area was too consumed. Even if it was forcibly recovered, production recovery would take an extremely long process. During this process, we would have to face the threat of large-scale cavalry from the Chihu people at any time.
Xu Huai intended to regain the Heluo area with dangerous mountains and rivers first, which destined the empire's military and political focus to be placed on Xiangyang rather than Jianye.
In the longer term, Xu Huai did not want to stop after recovering the Central Plains. He even wanted to include Helong, Hehuang and even the Tubo Highlands west of Shaanxi into the empire's territory. At the same time, he also needed to decisively destroy the effective strength of the Chihu people.
, all decided that the empire’s military and political center of gravity needed to tilt westward...
