The people in the hall who had previously attacked and scolded him were stagnant. They had to admit that Zhang Wangzhi's words had some truth. The reason why everyone gathered their own soldiers to form a private army and wanted to go north to Guanzhong to support the King of Jin in conquering Chang'an was because they valued the huge gains they could gain once they won. The benefits, although the risks are great, are also great, and it is worth the effort.
But if they knew they would lose, who would spend all their money to form a private army and go north?
Wujun is adjacent to Huating Town, separated only by two low mountain peaks and a few low-lying lakes. The naval troops stationed in the Wusong River arrive at dawn or dusk, whether by waterway or land. How can the Zhang family stop them? ?
Some people disagreed: "His navy is also the army of the Tang Dynasty. We are not rebelling, so why should he send troops to attack us? Even if he really sends troops, it is just a threat, and he may not dare to attack us with real swords and guns."
The current situation is unpredictable. Tongguan has been occupied by the army led by the King of Jin. The east and west are isolated. The only way to get the news out of Guanzhong is through a few roads such as the Shangyu Ancient Road. These roads lead to Shangzhou and the exit to Luoyang is also blocked, so It is difficult for the outside world to know the situation in Guanzhong in the short term.
The situation in Guanzhong is unclear. Even if the navy has special channels to get the news, it will take a lot of time to get the information back and forth, and the delay will be greatly increased. How dare you rashly attack the Jiangnan clan?
Even if you take action, can you still kill the whole family?
As long as you hold on, no matter how much losses you suffer, when King Jin ascends the throne after winning this battle, he will make up for it and even become more prosperous than before...
Zhang Wang smiled bitterly and reminded: "The navy was founded by Fang Jun. Everyone from top to bottom obeys his orders. They are all proud and powerful generals. Even if you don't remember how the navy has been overseas in these years, After massacring the city and destroying the country, killing all the barbarians with their heads rolling down into rivers of blood, don’t you remember the tragedy that happened to the Gu family?”
As soon as he said this, everyone in the hall was shocked.
Yes, in the past two years, Fang Jun's navy has been transporting goods from the Tang Dynasty all over the world, and also transporting rare items from various foreign countries back to the Tang Dynasty. In the process, they have made huge profits. Every family in the south of the Yangtze River is smiling and hating the navy for all kinds of things. "Escort fees", "protection fees" and so on are "exorbitantly collected". I dream about how to get rid of the "blood-sucking insect" of the navy and take the routes on the vast ocean as my own. However, I have completely forgotten how Fang Jun was there in the first place. Jiangnan was slaughtered with mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and heads rolling in.
During the Battle of Niuzhuji, various families in the south of the Yangtze River encouraged Shanyue mobs to besiege Fang Jun on the Nanshan Mountains on the bank of the Yangtze River. They privately sent dead soldiers from each family to mingle among the mob, trying to kill Fang Jun there.
As a result, Fang Jun led hundreds of armored cavalry, swooped down and killed tens of thousands of mobs, killing tens of thousands of mobs to a sea of blood and corpses. It is said that the blood flowed down the mountains into the river, and half of the Yangtze River was dyed red...
In one battle, every family in the south of the Yangtze River was killed, and they were so frightened that no one dared to confront them head-on.
The Jiangdong Lu family sent dead soldiers to assassinate Fang Jun, but he escaped. Afterwards, they sent their troops to storm the Lu family's Wubao on a rainy night, killing all the prominent Jiangdong families who had inherited it for hundreds of years. The Jiangnan clan was filled with anger. , but no one dared to stand up and demand justice for the Lu family.
Today, everyone knows that Fang Jun is the staunchest supporter of the Prince of the East Palace. It is not an exaggeration to say "the pillar of the East Palace" and the "Prince's humerus". The Jiangnan clan wants to unite with the Shandong families to form a private army and rush to Guanzhong to fight for the throne. Who knows whether Fang Jun will issue a "shoot to kill" order to the Navy?
The land south of the Yangtze River is vast and the clans in various places have a large population. Naturally, it is impossible for the navy to kill them all. But what if they choose one or two of them to try to kill the chickens to scare the monkeys?
No one wants to be the chicken used to scare the monkeys, but any family may become that chicken...
A young man stood up from the mat, bowed to Xiao Xun, and said: "I came here this time. I caught a cold on the way and was very unwell... Since my family promised Nanhai Gong's men and horses, the grain and fodder have been delivered.
At this moment, I will go home to recover, and I will find a doctor to take care of me before I say goodbye first."
Then, without waiting for Xiao Xun to speak, he turned around and left in a hurry.
As soon as he left, the atmosphere in the hall became even weirder. Many people looked at each other and had the idea of leaving this place quickly. Anyway, the soldiers, horses and food we promised are not missing at all, so why bother to participate in it personally?
The worst case scenario is that after victory in the future, you, the Xiao family, will be able to take the lion's share...
Xiao Guan glared angrily and suppressed these people who were about to make a move. After all, the Xiao family in Lanling was now the only one with powerful strength. There was no one in the Jiangnan region who could compete with them. If they were offended, the consequences would be disastrous.
Moreover, everyone had discussed in advance to send troops north this time, and the words of bloodshed and alliance were still in their ears, so it would not look good to retreat before the troops were dispatched.
Old God Xiao Xun was sitting there, turning a blind eye to the chaos in the hall, turning a deaf ear to it, and said to another old man beside him: "Morality has declined, and people's hearts are not as old as they used to be. Yesterday, we made an alliance with blood and swore a life-and-death pledge. Today, we have been raped by someone."
The reputation of the child is so frightening that I am trembling and losing my mind. Even if this battle is won, how long can our Jiangnan clan prosper? Compared with the foundation of the Shandong family, we are far inferior. If things go on like this, the Shandong family has lasted for hundreds of generations, and the Jiangnan clan will be unable to continue.
A hundred years from now, today’s lintel will be lost to everyone.”
Wearing a beam crown, his back is straight, his hands and feet are long, he is tall even when he is sitting on his knees, and his square face is frowning. It is Yuan Chao, the head of the Yuan family in Chen County. He is stroking his beard with one hand and sighing.
Said: "So it is said that a gentleman is magnanimous, while a villain has long-term relationships. He spends all his time calculating the gains and losses of petty gains, but does not have the courage to forge ahead and move forward with determination. In the end, his achievements are limited."
Guojiang is the "overseas Chinese surname", Wang, Xie, Yuan and Xiao are the big ones, Shandong is the "county surname", Wang, Cui, Lu, Li and Zheng are the respected ones. These are the most prosperous families at the moment, and the rest are not enough.
In terms of reputation, status, and heritage, even the Longxi Li family from which the royal family originated was ranked first in the Clan Chronicles, but was suppressed by the Zhaojun Li family.
However, although the Jiangnan clan is rich in wealth and talented people, it lacks the inheritance of Confucian classics from the Shandong family, which makes the family lack cohesion. It is fine when it is prosperous, but once it encounters setbacks, it is easy to collapse.
Xiao Xun sighed, invited Yuan Chao to drink tea, and laughed at himself: "Thankfully, Shi Wen worked hard for the future of the Jiangnan clan, risking his whole life's political legacy to find a way out for the Jiangnan clan, but now look at it, among the Jiangnan clan, only
Only one of the family heads, you, Mr. Yuan of Chen County, was present, but none of the others were seen."
The children from various families on the side could only smile awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
Yuan Chao pondered for a while and then changed the topic: "Although Yanziji has been a ferry across the Yangtze River since ancient times, it is a bit narrower than Xijin Ferry, which is not conducive to tens of thousands of people crossing the river at the same time. Moreover, boarding from Xijin Ferry only requires crossing
The river can reach Guazhou Ferry, go straight up Yangzhou along Shanyangdu, reach Chuzhou, and then turn into Tongji Canal... Therefore, why not choose Xijin Ferry, but board the boat at Yanziji?"
Yanziji has been the most important ferry near Jinling since ancient times. When the First Emperor visited the south of the Yangtze River, he landed here. The Northern Qi Dynasty crossed the Yangtze River to the south and wanted to unify the south of the Yangtze River. The Southern Emperor Chen Baxian also led his army to fight at Yanziji and defeated the Northern Qi Dynasty...
However, compared with the Xijin Ferry that has connected the north and the south since ancient times, it is still slightly inferior.
Moreover, to board the ship from Yanziji, you need to go down the river for more than a hundred miles. Either enter from the Zhenzhou Ancient Canal west of Jiangdu, bypass Jiangdu and enter Shanyangdu, or go down dozens of miles to Guazhou Ferry and go north into Shanyangdu.
Yangdu.
Since the troops and supplies of the Jiangnan gentry were all gathered from all over the Yangtze River, why not go straight to Xijin to cross the river, but instead go to Jinling and then go down the river?
It's obviously unnecessary.
Xiao Xun took a sip of tea, raised his eyes to look at everyone in the hall, waved his hands, and said: "Everyone, please go down, go to the guest room to have a good rest, and then properly arrange the troops and equipment of each family, and follow the order planned in advance.
Gather by the riverside and cross the river early tomorrow morning."
"Here."
A group of disciples from various families in the south of the Yangtze River hurriedly stood up, saluted and then filed out. Xiao Guan also nodded to Yuan Chao, then stood up and went out to arrange for the disciples from the south of the Yangtze River to be settled, and to arrange the crossing of the river tomorrow based on the number of troops and equipment from each family.
sequence.
Only Xiao Xun and Yuan Chao were left in the hall.
The lobby here is five rooms wide, with a bright floor and several beams supporting the dome. There are windows on all sides, making it extremely spacious. At this time, the breeze is gentle, the fragrance of tea is lingering, and the two old men are sitting on their knees facing each other, which is quite comfortable.
.
Xiao Xun invited Yuan Chao to have tea and explained: "How could I not know that it is more convenient to cross the river from Xijin? But Xijin Ferry is too close to the Navy's station, and the Navy attaches great importance to Xijin Ferry. In order to control the traffic between the north and the south,
There is a well-equipped force of several hundred people stationed at the ferry all year round. If we cross the river from Xijin, we will inevitably have a conflict with it."
Yuan Chao took a sip of tea and frowned: "Now that things have come to this, does Nanhai Duke still expect to live in peace with the Navy? Fang Jun's loyalty to the East Palace is well known to the world. At first, he even wanted to protect the crown prince even at the cost of angering His Majesty. Now,
If we form a private army and go north to support the King of Jin in seizing the throne, he will definitely not want to sit idly by and do nothing, and conflicts will inevitably occur."
Everyone knows that now that His Majesty has passed away, the bad intentions of the Sixteen Guards in Guanzhong may not be loyal to the Crown Prince. As a result, although the East Palace Army has a slight upper hand when facing the King of Jin, the advantage is not obvious. Once the powerful families in Shandong and Jiangnan become secretive,
The army entered Tongguan, the Jin king's strength increased sharply, and the East Palace was in danger. Under such circumstances, how could Fang Jun allow the Jiangnan private army to reach Tongguan smoothly?
The navy must be dispatched to intercept, and a war is almost inevitable.
"Not necessarily."
Xiao Xun didn't see it that way: "Fang Jun is far away in Guanzhong, thousands of miles away from the south of the Yangtze River, and Tongguan is now under the control of the King of Jin. The news will inevitably be delayed. When we know that we have formed a private army to go north, we can send it to the navy."
News, how long will it take? And the Navy Commander Su Dingfang is just a military commander guarding one side. He absolutely dare not take the initiative to go to war with us without Fang Jun's order. Otherwise, it will cause turmoil in the south of the Yangtze River and the situation will be corrupted. How can he shoulder the responsibility?
Start? As long as we avoid the navy and prevent it from having any chance of provocation, we can naturally go northward calmly. By the time Fang Jun's order is passed to Huating Town and the navy gathers its best troops to move northward, we will have already entered the Yellow River from Tongji Canal.