In Jingkou City, the soldiers were diligently repairing the city's armor and armor, and they were well-armed and ready for battle at any time. Compared with Du Xia Jiankangdu, the situation was much better.
Situ Chen Baxian has always been known for his wise military management and the combination of leniency and severity. Not long ago, when a group of Jiangbei soldiers who successfully defended Guangling City withdrew to Jingkou, because the imperial court in Beijing did not express its position on the matter, Chen Baxian simply dispersed his family wealth and returned to Jingkou.
Money and silk were used to reward these meritorious soldiers, and as a result, they gained more support from the soldiers.
In the main hall of the city, a soldier hurriedly went to the hall and reported: "Reporting to Situ, the envoy of that dynasty, Jiang Yuan, is here to see him again, begging Situ to be released and returned to the dynasty."
In the hall, before Chen Baxian had time to reply, Hou Andu below had already frowned and said: "This disciple came here with the order of traitors, intending to lure my elite troops into the court to impose sanctions. Now there are no sanctions, only detention, and he is already the master.
Mercy, if it were anyone else, I am afraid that I would have killed this apostle long ago. I swear that I am the righteous teacher, and I will throw myself into death!"
These words were not only an answer to the soldier who was performing the task, but also a message for Chen Baxian to listen to. Before the soldier came into the performance, Chen Baxian was summoning several of his close generals to discuss whether to obey the imperial court's call.
Order, send troops to the court to listen to the envoy.
Hearing Hou Andu's words of holding a gun and a stick, Chen Baxian didn't feel dissatisfied at all. He just pointed at him and said with a smile: "Mr. Hou is arrogant and has a bigoted opinion. He doesn't understand the principle of listening and listening at the same time. You guys, are you right?"
What do you think about this?"
Among the people present, in addition to Hou Andu, there were also Xu Du and Du Leng, as well as Zhou Wenyu, who had been stationed in Guangling and had just been recalled by Qingzhou this morning. These people had been involved since Chen Baxian was still in Lingnan last year.
The generals under his command are now Chen Baxian's confidants, and they are often consulted on important military matters.
As he spoke, Chen Baxian turned his attention to Xu Du who was present. Xu Du was much older than Hou Andu and had a more stable personality. He was both wise and courageous. He had many suggestions since joining Chen Baxian's command. Chen Baxian also
To make him the mastermind, Xu Du's opinion must be listened to on many matters.
Xu Du met Chen Baxian's gaze and said in a deep voice: "My lord was loyal and righteous, and tried hard not to welcome Zhenyang. There has been a deep gap between him and Wang Taiwei, and they have been suspicious of each other for a long time. Moreover, we have gained control of both towns, and we are stronger than Beifu."
, I am afraid that he will be even more intolerable to Taiwei Wang.
Just as Hou Lang said, the imperial court sent envoys to ask for men and horses this time just to weaken our army in the north. No matter whether the lord should respond or not, it is difficult to explain Wang Taiwei's suspicion. It is in vain to use people to make things difficult for me.
It’s just the mind. Since we are no longer on the same path, it is wise to make other plans as soon as possible!”
Zhou Wenyu on the side also nodded after hearing the words and said: "I followed my lord and fought fiercely for several years before settling the chaos in the Lingnan area of Jiaozhou. I can't say that it was in vain for the country. Since the northward march, I have not had time to sit around and have fought with all the people.
Fang Qiang and his bandits were fighting, and the blood of the soldiers was spilled across the rivers and seas, but they were still treated as aliens. It was really chilling!
The country is facing a crisis, and the only way to stabilize the country is to use force. When it comes to wearing armor to kill the enemy, why should someone be afraid of these Jiangling old disciples! Wang Sengbian abandoned Jiangling Yuze and married the northern captives for the high position of the Liang Kingdom. Everyone in the world knew that he was a traitor and a traitor.
, this heaven-given opportunity is for the lord to seize the talisman and transport it. Of course, some old disciples from Lingnan are also happy to follow the lord to show up in the capital!"
Compared to what Xu Du said, Zhou Wenyu's answer was more straightforward. Even though Chen Baxian was so deep-tempered, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed for a while.
He coughed twice and then sighed and said: "Although Emperor Xiaoyuan was not the hero of the ZTE, he was able to guide the heroes to quell the chaos and avenge the emperor and Taizong, which can be said to have served the country. Wang Sengbian was a confidant of his old colleagues. Not only did he not I felt sad and pitiful because Emperor Xiaoyuan died abroad, but instead bullied the weak young master and flattered the whole country to be strong. If I follow him with the same voice, where is the loyalty of Jiangnan?"
As he said this, he looked at Du Leng, the last one who had not yet expressed his stance.
Unlike the others who made impassioned remarks, Du Leng frowned and said: "My lord wants to make a big plan, how dare you disobey me? But now there is still a huge gap in power between the two parties. Wang Taiwei is in charge of the government alone, and all the people are involved." They all followed his military orders and carried more than 100,000 soldiers in armor.
On the other hand, we have less than 50,000 soldiers, and all the troops in Guangling are exhausted after a long battle. Now we can only support Beifu. Once we break up with the imperial court, we will be besieged on all sides. It seems that the power is across the river, allowing the south and the north. , in fact, both the north and the south are enemies..."
The originally exciting working atmosphere suddenly became dull as Du Leng began to analyze the current situation and talk about the difficulties and disadvantages faced by his side. Chen Baxian frowned even more after hearing this. , but not a word came out of his mouth.
"Du Gong's argument is fallacious! How can Hou Jingnan be a prosperous army when he comes to the south? No one in the capital can defeat him! Now I have tens of thousands of elite soldiers, but the capital is in ruins. If you dare not take action, consider yourself cowardly. , what does it mean to be invincible! How can we win in any battle? Fight hard when facing a battle, and never look back!"
Hou Andu was the youngest person present, and as Chen Baxian said, his personality was a bit arrogant. When he heard that Du Leng was so proud of others' ambitions and destroyed his own prestige, he felt dissatisfied and stood up. He pointed at Du Leng and said angrily.
When Du Leng saw Hou Andu frankly admitting that he was timid, while his lord Chen Baxian just sat in silence at the table, he felt a little unhappy. He also stood up and looked at Hou Andu and said, "So Hou Lang is going to be Hou Jing again? Where the capital is, where the imperial court is, and where the vassal ministers raise troops to admonish, it is a difficult task.
The current generals in charge of the army are all old Jiangling officials and relatives of the Wang family. Even if they can be quickly arrested, how can they overwhelm the four sides? What's more, the imperial court has made good arrangements with the Qi people and made an alliance. Once there is civil strife in the country, the Qi people will also How can I sit back and watch? Once the Qi army besieges Guangling again, what plan will I make to advance and retreat?
Hou Lang is so powerful and ambitious, how can he be used for it? If he acts rashly, what he will have to face is not hundreds of scattered soldiers, but a huge crowd? How many battles can Hou Lang survive, and how many people can he kill? Isn't it possible for such a grand plan? Should we plan and act later?”
Du Leng argued and asked, and Hou Andu was unable to answer for a moment, but he still refused to admit defeat, holding his sword in his hand and glaring at Du Leng in front of him.
At this time, Chen Baxian slowly stood up from his seat, walked up to the two people who were facing each other, and separated their eyes from each other. But then he suddenly pulled out a handkerchief, ducked around Du Leng's neck, and held it tightly with both hands. The hand towels were twisted together.
Du Leng was suddenly attacked by this attack, and was greatly panicked for a moment, but at this time he could no longer make any sound from his throat. He only wanted to take off the towel wrapped around his neck with both hands, but no matter how hard he struggled, Chen Baxian was behind him. The taut arms were as motionless as iron. His legs were kicking on the ground in a panic, but his breathing and strength were rapidly weakening, and his movements were becoming weaker and lighter.
When several other people in the hall saw Chen Baxian like this, they all stood up in shock, with a look of fear in their eyes. They tensed their bodies, held back their breathing, and did not dare to make the slightest sound.
Chen Baxian maintained this posture for dozens of breaths, until Du Leng in front of him had completely stopped making any movement. Then he loosened the tight towel and wiped the white mark with the towel. The palm of his hand then covered the face of Du Leng, who was lying on his back and motionless.
"Today's things are not things that can be done or cannot be done, but must be done! It is possible to drink poison to quench thirst, but being trapped in Jingkou is no different from sitting back and waiting for death, and it is also not waiting for the turtle!"
Chen Baxian looked around at the people present again, and said in a deep voice: "Du Gong's discussion of matters is indeed thorough. But why should we doubt anything about today's matter?"
Several other people had not reacted for a while, but Hou An, who was already enthusiastic, clapped his hands and cheered when he heard Chen Baxian's statement: "My lord is wise! The matter has come to this, the only way is to strike first, and then strike later." Treat people! If the situation is unresolved, my death is coming, and my life is still not guaranteed, why bother to tie me to the present with long-term plans!"
Xu Du and Zhou Wenyu both reacted at this moment and nodded in agreement.
After unifying the internal opinions, Chen Baxian immediately began to assign tasks. Ever since Wang Sengbian failed to withstand the pressure from the Northern Qi Dynasty and welcomed Xiao Yuanming to the south, he knew that the differences between them would be difficult to reconcile, so he had been making secret preparations. Even the materials to reward the soldiers have been secretly prepared. Even if Wang Sengbian had not sent envoys to recruit troops, he was already secretly planning when to launch the campaign.
This attack on Jiankang can be described as a desperate struggle, and Chen Baxian will naturally have no reservations. Although there are tens of thousands of soldiers under his command, after deducting the old, weak, sick and weak from the journey, there are still less than 20,000 elite soldiers. Naturally, this time they have to go out in full force, while other troops who are not called elites will temporarily stay in Jingkou to guard this old nest.
But as a result, the power used to guard Guangling in the north of the Yangtze River is inevitably somewhat insufficient, and the important town of Guangling must have a trusted general in charge before it can rest assured.
"How wonderful it would be if Seng Ming was still here!"
When considering who should stay in Guangling, Chen Baxian couldn't help but sigh and said that Du Senming was the number one general he relied on most, but he died of illness on the way to rescue Jiangling, causing him to lose his arm. Now, when I want to do big things, I don't have enough confidants anymore.
After some consideration, Chen Baxian decided to leave Xu Du to stay in Guangling, and told Xu Du: "None of the other generals are as thorough and safe as Xiao Jie. It would be best if the situation in Jiankang can be established as soon as possible. If not, It is still necessary for Xiaojie to take charge of the rear division to intimidate all parties. As for Guangling, abandon it when it is necessary. After all, Jiangdong is the foundation!"
After Xu Du heard the words, he quickly nodded in agreement. At this moment, Du Leng, who had been lying on the ground silently, suddenly let out a weak moan. Everyone in the hall was shocked. Chen Baxian was also stunned for a moment, but Xuan Ji sighed and said, "Duke Du has been with me for many years. He suddenly had a different plan, but I tolerated killing him! He will be placed in the dark room of the other hall first. When the army goes out for the expedition, I will apologize to him and go with him."