(Updated two chapters, there is another chapter ahead, please read carefully and don’t make mistakes, please give me a red vote)
Soon, Lin Fu led his soldiers to disperse in the fields on the south side of the official road to meet the enemy. Soon they came face to face with the attacking enemy.
The enemy came with more than a hundred cavalry, all of them strong and brave. The leader, Lin Fu, looked familiar. He remembered that this man had stood beside Du Rong during the robbery in Baisha County.
These more than a hundred cavalry were elite combat forces sent directly from the She family, and Lin Fu was not surprised at all.
In order to welcome Gu Wuchen, Chongzhou County garrisoned troops along the river and notified the township camps west of the county to strengthen defense. The county also sent some government officials and archers to each township to check for suspicious persons. Today's police network in Chongzhou has been able to
It's quite dense.
These more than a hundred cavalry can sneak through the warning net and approach, and their anti-reconnaissance capabilities are extraordinary. Naturally, they are not ordinary Donghai bandits. Besides, ordinary Donghai bandits cannot take such a huge risk to sneak into the country to carry out a surprise attack.
Lin Fu did not fight with the opponent vigorously. More than 40 horsemen spread out along the south side of the official road, shooting at each other with bows and crossbows. They quickly circled to the enemy's side and then went up the official road. The enemy came in large numbers to pursue, so Lin Fu and the others rode their horses.
Running west along the official road, once the enemy tried to pursue and kill the Chongzhou officials and gentry who had taken refuge in the farmyard, Lin Fu would turn around and bite their tails.
After such repeated entanglements, it was not until Yang Pu and Ma Chao came over to escort Gu Wuchen that the enemy cavalry broke out to the east before the encirclement was formed.
Chen Kun and other Chongzhou county gentry were disgraced by the sudden enemy attack. They were no longer as bright as before noon. Watching the enemy cavalry escape, Ninghai Town's garrison in Chongzhou also sent troops to chase them, and then they walked out of the earthen courtyard.
Welcoming Gu Wuchen, he was in a state of embarrassment.
Gu Wuchen got out of the car and came to chat with the Chongzhou officials and gentry, comforting them with kind words and letting them feel at ease with their looting.
The day before yesterday, someone from Jiangning did not say that Zhao Qinmin would accompany him to Chongzhou. Lin Fu was quite surprised when he saw Zhao Qinmin and Gu Siyuan getting out of a carriage at the same time. He thought to himself: Gu Wuchen has decided to let Zhao Qinmin participate in the internal affairs of the Inspectorate.
Has the decision been made?
Zhao Qinmin saw Lin Fu and greeted him very politely and enthusiastically. He knew very well the role Lin Fu had on Gu Wuchen at this time.
Lin Fu rushed to raise a large amount of money and food for the Dongyang training Xiangyong before the large-scale influx of Donghai bandits into the Taihu Basin. This is not something that just anyone can do. Zhao Qinmin also has some self-awareness, so he can make suggestions behind the scenes.
This kind of charging work is far less efficient than Lin Fu's; besides, there are also many high-ranking people who want to win over Lin Fu. How can Gu Wuchen let go?
Gu Siyuan was more mature than the last time they met. At least he saw that Lin Fu no longer had a straight face, and he still didn't talk much to Lin Fu. Because he was Gu Wuchen's son, when the Chongzhou officials and gentry surrounded Gu Wuchen, they naturally also
Focusing more on him, Gu Siyuan quickly became involved with the Chongzhou officials and gentry, leaving Lin Fu aside.
Gu Siyuan completely gave up the path of taking the imperial examination to become an official. After Gu Wuchen was promoted to the third rank of Zhengshilang, he got the rank of zhengshilang from Ximenyin and lived with Lin Fu in the eighth rank. However, Ximenyin needed to serve as a trainee for a certain number of years.
Only then could he get a real job, so Gu Wuchen kept him by his side as a clerk to increase his experience.
Lin Fu sent Ao Canghai and his soldiers to disperse along the official road to provide warning. He and Yang Pu stayed behind. Yang Pu told him about the situation on the way: "We set out from Hailing City early in the morning and encountered harassment along the way.
, several sections of road were dug at night, and people were sent to deliver letters. Those who wanted to deliver letters were intercepted and killed on the way. Your Excellency was worried that there would be an attack on Chongzhou, so we did not dare to delay on the road. Unexpectedly, we were really attacked here.
"Yes," Yang Pu asked Lin Fu again, "You are in Chongzhou and have also been to Anji, Huzhou. How is the situation in the south?"
"I have detailed it in my letter to you, and Uncle Yang should have seen that the situation will only be worse than what I wrote in the letter, not better. A few days ago, I intercepted several pirate ships on the river. You
Guess what they grabbed and took to sea?"
"What?" Yang Pu asked, shaking his head.
"The bronze Buddha is roughly estimated to weigh 25,000 kilograms," Lin Fu said. "The pirates can calmly load such a heavy bronze Buddha onto the ship. This shows how bad the situation in the south is."
"..." Yang Pu frowned. If this were the case, the local defense systems in Pingjiang Prefecture and other places would have been almost destroyed.
Lin Fu said: "It seems calm over there in Dongyang now, but I'm worried that they are trying to attack the east and attack the west. When I sit down in the city later, I will have a detailed discussion with you, sir..."
Gu Wuchen and his entourage, the accompanying guards, and the escort team from Hailing Mansion were all placed in the post house in the city and the requisitioned houses around the post house.
The conditions were relatively simple, and the local people in Chongzhou County were actually indifferent to Gu Wuchen's arrival, but after all, Gu Wuchen was the chief of the county, and the local officials and gentry could not help but be very enthusiastic on the surface.
When Gu Wuchen entered the city, he inspected the city's defenses on the spot, and then went directly to the posthouse to summon the county magistrate, chief secretary, county lieutenant, and Ninghai Town's garrison commander in Chongzhou and other civil and military officials to question the county's banditry, official management, military preparations, and grain supply.
It took until late at night to let these people go.
*************
By the end of August, the weather had become colder. Wearing a single layer of cloth in the courtyard at night could no longer withstand the cold. Lin Fu, wearing a jacket, sat with Gu Wuchen and Zhao Qinmin in the small courtyard of the post house, talking to Yang Pu and Gu Siyuan.
Standing aside.
Talking about the poor performance of the Ninghai Navy and the Zhenjun in Pingjiang Mansion and other places, Gu Wuchen shook his head and said: "The Zhenjun is no longer enough, but there are no troops to mobilize at this time. Admiral Zuo Shangrong thought that the Western Front
Although Liu An'er, who was already stable and huddled in Sizhou, Shiliang and other small towns, claimed to have a crowd of 200,000, it was difficult for a mob to achieve much. The bandits in the East China Sea were so rampant, and the prefectures on the eastern front were particularly important to the court, and the salt tax was not allowed.
If it is lost, we should strengthen our preparations for war on the Eastern Front."
"No," Lin Fu shook his head and said, "I told Uncle Yang on the way that this may be the She family's strategy to seize the opportunity to attack the east and attack the west."
"Oh," Gu Wuchen asked, "How do you make this judgment?"
"I observed Xisha Island for more than ten days and captured some prisoners..." Lin Fu said.
"Which of them only caught a few?" Gu Wuchen said with a smile, "There are so many generals in Ninghai Town who are led by the Donghai bandits. They are exhausted and running for their lives, but no one of them has killed the enemy and captured more than 400 people."
"This is a coincidence. It is from these prisoners that I judged that the East China Sea bandits under the direct control of the She family are still very limited. I originally wanted to go back to Jiangning to report the matter to the adults," Lin Fu said, "Before the storm season,
There are only thirteen families of East China Sea bandits who have formed an alliance on the Shengsi Islands, with about 4,000 members. This is also the backbone of the East China Sea bandits that attacked Taihu Lake this time. Only about a thousand of them are under the direct control of the She family. This group should have been based on the Ninghai Suppression Division.
The officers and soldiers of the Sixth Battalion were well-prepared. The main reason that ultimately led to this disaster and the success of the East China Sea bandits was that Pingjiang, Jiahang and other coastal prefectures did not form a complete external defense system. In the early stage, when more than a thousand East China Sea bandits attacked Anji County
The garrisons from the surrounding provinces such as Li, Jiahang, Huzhou, and Pingjiang were mobilized to the inner line, completely opening up the already scattered defense line; in the mid-term, the Ninghai Navy also passively avoided the war, and the warships of the Ninghai Navy were damaged.
Nearly half of the time, only a few East China Sea bandits were annihilated, which made the East China Sea bandits increasingly rampant. In the later period, powerful men from coastal counties such as Mingzhou, Jiahang, and Pingjiang also disguised themselves as East China Sea bandits and entered Taihu Lake to loot..."
"..." Gu Wuchen nodded and said, "You see clearly. You don't agree with strengthening the military preparedness on the Eastern Front, but the Eastern Front has become a mess. What do you think should be done?"
"In a short period of time, the coastal prefectures should concentrate their superior forces and join forces with the locals to guard the main waterways where the East China Sea invaders enter. With preparedness, especially when the Ninghai Town Navy still maintains its complete organization, Pingjiang Prefecture and Jiahang Prefecture will
The Dongjiang River and other waterways are narrow and easy to block. The key is the mouth of the Yangtze River and Zhejiang (Qiantang River). This is not a problem that can be solved by deploying the town army. It is reported to the court that a force should be transferred from the Jiangning Water Camp to strengthen the Ninghai Town Navy. If
If we can adjust Xiao Taoyuan, the commander of the Sixth Battalion of the Ninghai Town Navy, and replace him with a general who knows how to fight water battles, the Eastern Front will have no worries in the short term..." Lin Fu said.
Zhao Qinmin felt ashamed sitting at the table. He also had some insights into military strategy, but in front of Lin Fu, he could not find a chance to interrupt.
"What you say makes sense, but it's not that easy to do. In the military system, it's difficult for outsiders to interfere," Gu Wuchen sighed, "So, you're still worried about the Western Front?"
"Yes," Lin Fu nodded and said, "No matter how small a mob Liu An'er's tribe is, there are still 200,000 people. Besides, Liu An'er has a mob of 200,000 people, and he will not be willing to be trapped in Sizhou, Shiliang and other narrow places.
Once the defensive line that has finally been stabilized on the Western Front is weakened, it is very likely that Liu An'er will make a change or even organize a general battle."
"I also think the Hongzepu rebels are too quiet," Gu Wuchen said, "The Changhuai Town Army is the main force in the war on the Western Front. Admiral Zuo Shangrong has frequently reported good news in Haozhou, but there has never been a decisive result. The Dongyang Township Army has also not
I don’t know how long it will take to complete it, and I don’t know if the Hongzepu bandits can give us this time..."
There was great chaos in Jiangdong, and the existing troops were stretched thin. Gu Wuchen was very much looking forward to the results of training Xiangyong, which would not only stabilize the situation in Jiangdong, but also add glory to his political achievements.
"If you want to buy more time, Dongyang Xiangyong can enter Shiliang County to actively contain the Hongzepu rebels and delay the possibility of the Hongzepu rebels organizing a battle in the direction of Haozhou," Lin Fu said, "Train battles, train troops with battles
Only the best will come out..."
Gu Wuchen did not ask Lin Fu why he judged that the direction of Liu An'er's battle was Haozhou.
Although the admiral Zuo Shangrong gathered more than 15,000 officers and soldiers in Changhuai Town in Haozhou, which far exceeded the three directions of Dongyang, Weiyang, and Huai'an, Liu An'er could only capture Haozhou and get through to Huaishang and Zhongzhou.
Only with the passage can Hongzepu's chess game be played successfully.
Of course, Liu An'er can conquer Weiyang and Hailing Prefectures, open up access to the sea, and gain support from the She family from the sea. But don't wait until Liu An'er conquers Hailing Prefecture. As long as Weiyang Prefecture is seriously threatened, Cao Liang can do it.
If there is a fear of being completely cut off, the Chu party will also be forced to appoint Li Zhuo.
Once the Hongzepu waterway was cut off, the waterway in Weiyang Prefecture became extra important. Even though it was known that Dong Yuan, the prefect of Weiyang Prefecture, was an old official of Li Zhuo, the central Chu Party still gave the three thousand people of Weiyang Prefecture the quota to train rural warriors.
Ninghai Town also has nearly 5,000 officers and soldiers stationed at Weiyang Mansion.
The situation is also quite obvious. If troops are deployed within Jiangdong County to strengthen the eastern front, the most likely option is to deploy the Changhuai Town Army in the direction of Haozhou. This is really extremely dangerous.
"Train soldiers through battle..." Gu Wuchen muttered, tapping his fingers on the table, and then asked Lin Fu, "Which one of Lin Jiyuan and Chen Shouyan do you think is worthy of the important task?"
"None of them have experienced a war, so it's hard to say who is worthy of the heavy responsibility and who is not worthy of the heavy responsibility," Lin Fu said. "Let them alternately lead troops to raid Shiliang County, and let Lin Tingli sit in Dongyang. This arrangement is more secure..."
Gu Wuchen only regretted that the Gu family had been in decline for ten years and that there was no one available among the younger generation. He thought that it was not without reason that Lin Tingxun had been domineering in Dongyang for many years and had overwhelmed other families in Dongyang.
Any one member of the Lin family can stand alone. Fortunately, Shanglinli was captured, which caused an unprecedented setback for the Lin family. Both Lin Tingli and Lin Xuwen, the eldest son of Lin, were politically dependent on him, and they were both members of the Dongyang Township Party, so
Gu Wuchen can also safely use members of the Lin family. This time, Gu Wuchen still incorporated many Gu family and Hutang children into the newly trained four thousand Dongyang Township warriors. Even though training to train elite soldiers came at the cost of a high casualty rate, in order to be able to
In order for the Gu family and the Hutang children to grow up quickly, cruelty must be achieved.
"That's all I'm afraid of," Gu Wuchen nodded, "I will write a letter to Lin Tingli right away and ask him to take the initiative to harass the Shiliang bandits in Dongyang. Soldiers cannot be effective without training. This is absolutely correct."