The sky was already dark, the candles were burning out, and bad news kept coming along the east coast. Everyone in the Ming Jing Pavilion sat there all night, everyone's face was ugly and their thoughts were heavy.
Song Bo sat quietly at the bottom. In his opinion, this day has finally arrived.
Not counting the counties in southern Zhejiang, the coastal areas of East Fujian are under the jurisdiction of the Zhejiang and Fujian Governor's Office. From Guanshan in the north to Raoping in the south, there are a total of fifteen counties directly facing the sea.
Eastern Fujian has many mountains and few fields, and the small grain-producing areas are almost concentrated in the coastal plain area. The taxes and grain paid by these fifteen counties account for almost two-thirds of the entire county of Eastern Fujian. Including Xiapu, Jiaocheng, and even
The five coastal counties of Jin'an Prefecture, including the Yangtze River, are the core areas under the jurisdiction of the Zhejiang and Fujian Governor's Prefecture. At this time, they were also exposed to the attack range of Huaidong warships.
Unable to figure out Huaidong's intentions, the Metropolitan Governor's Office could only order all counties to strengthen preparedness for the time being.
In the past two years, Zhejiang and Fujian have been deploying elite troops to strengthen western Zhejiang, hoping to find opportunities to break through from the western front into Jiangxi and southern Huizhou. Even the troops assembled in eastern Zhejiang are stronger than the Jin'an base camp.
Although there are still 20,000 elite soldiers left in Jin'an, most of them are concentrated in Jin'an City. The naval force is strongest with the water camp on Nantai Island guarding the gateway to the Minjiang River. The defense forces in other coastal prefectures and counties are very weak.
Many counties have only three to five hundred sword archers with very limited fighting ability.
Don't let these counties go out of their way to intercept the Huaidong Army's landing. Once the number of soldiers landing in Huaidong exceeds a thousand, even the county and city may fall.
When She Feixiong led the East China Sea bandits to plunder the prefectures and counties along the Taihu Lake, their core combat strength was only three to four thousand people, but they were able to defeat seven cities along the Taihu Lake in two or three months, including Pingjiang Prefecture and Danyang Prefecture.
hurt.
At that time, everyone in Jin'an felt very happy, but now they thought that they might be forced to swallow the same bitter pill, and their mood was completely different.
After the news came that Pingtan Fort was likely to be captured and that another infantry in Huaidong had landed on Le'an Island in the east sea of Xiapu County, Diannong Sima Deng Yu suggested that elites be immediately dispatched from Jin'an to strengthen the coastal counties.
defense.
Song Bo saw She Wenzhuang frowning slightly. He must be dissatisfied with Deng Yu's suggestion, so he suggested: "At this time, we have not yet figured out the number of troops in Huaidong to attack Jin'an, or even the number of troops in Huaidong."
With the intention of attacking, I think it is not appropriate to divide our troops!"
The Grand Governor remained silent. Qin Zitan and others observed their words and understood that it was impossible for the Grand Governor to hastily divide his troops to defend the counties at this time. The troops were dispersed, just in case Huaidong's troops attacking Jin'an were unexpectedly strong.
If there are too many, what should Huaidong do if it gathers troops to attack Nantai Island?
It will be even more embarrassing then!
To prevent the Grand Governor from making such a stupid mistake, he must first find out the size of the troops attacking Huaidong, which requires sending more sentries from Nantai Island to conduct reconnaissance.
Judging from Huaidong's attack on Pingtan Island last night, Huaidong's troops coming to attack this time will not be too small.
Deng Yu retorted to Song Bo. When he saw that no one stood up to speak for him, he knew that his suggestion was not good. He glanced at Song Jiazi and sat down in his seat without saying a word.
"Should we send an order to eastern Zhejiang and have Su Tingzhan lead the navy to attack Huaidong?" suggested his superior Ma Wen Ruyun.
Wen Ruyun's words resonated with many people. We can't just sit back and watch the Huaidong Army act recklessly along the East Fujian coast. The Zhejiang Navy's retaliatory attack on Huaidong will force Huaidong to attack the fleet.
return to!
Qin Zitan glanced at Song Bo who was sitting across from him and saw him shaking his head slightly, obviously disapproving of Wen Ruyun's suggestion. He was wondering: when did Song Bo have such a clear understanding of the Huaidong Navy?
She Wenzhuang was also quite moved. Although he knew that the naval attack in eastern Zhejiang was risky, if nothing was done here, no matter whether the losses to the coastal counties were serious or not, the impact on the morale of Zhejiang and Fujian would be incalculable.
She Wenzhuang's eyes swept across everyone, and finally fell on the second son She Feihu, and asked: "Feihu, what do you think?"
The disastrous defeat two years ago reduced She Feihu's voice in Jin'an to an extremely low level. Even if he had any suggestions during military discussions, he was often ignored by everyone.
When it was basically confirmed that the eldest son She Feixiong would be the heir, people like Wen Ruyun, Deng Yu, Hu Zongguo and others would not give She Feihu much face.
She Wenzhuang could also accurately grasp the mentality of his tribe, so he rarely consulted She Feihu for his opinion during public military discussions. However, She Wenzhuang also knew in his heart that the people from Zhejiang and Fujian who stayed in Jin'an had no idea what Huaidong could do.
Only She Feihu and Qin Zitan have a deep understanding.
She Feihu held the table with his hands and said: "That's not right. Vice Admiral Shi's rash departure to sea yesterday caused a great setback to the Nantai Island water camp. Who knew that Huaidong's attack this time was not to lure the Zhejiang Navy to fight?"
The trick is to lure the snake out of its hole!
Qin Zitan was also worried about this.
"Instructing Zhejiang to guard the city, and the Zhejiang Navy to go to war, it seems that there is no chance for Huaidong to take advantage of. No matter how bad the situation is, it is better than being passive at this time." Wen Chengyun said.
Qin Zitan felt a headache: What She Feihu meant was that he was worried that the Zhejiang Navy would be lured out to fight at sea, and that he would fall into Huaidong's plan of luring the snake out of its cave again. However, Wen Chengyun understood that after the Zhejiang Navy went to war,
, the empty defense of Mingzhou Prefecture may give Huaidong the opportunity to make a sneak attack, thinking that Huaidong is trying to lure the tiger away from the mountain.
Lead a snake out of its cave, and lure a tiger away from a mountain. One snake and one tiger can travel a thousand miles.
The reason for such misunderstanding is that, to put it bluntly, Wen Chengyun and others did not have a deep understanding of naval warfare. They thought that the Zhejiang Navy with 20,000 troops was still the most powerful presence in the East China Sea. They thought that two years ago,
The defeats in all the battles in the East China Sea were all caused by She Feihu’s personal poor leadership!
Qin Zitan saw the veins popping out on the backs of She Feihu's hands that were propped up on the table, and knew that he was feeling angry.
Because of the defeat in the East China Sea battles, he sat on the bench for two years and was looked down upon by everyone. No one would be in a good mood.
"Master Wen misunderstood the second young master," Qin Zitan said, "Zitan thought that the Zhejiang Navy and the Huaidong Navy had a low chance of winning in a sea battle! I think the Zhejiang Navy also had this understanding, so for the past two years, he has not
I am willing to send troops to attack Huaidong!"
Qin Zitan's words were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake. Wen Chengyun, Deng Yu and others all looked at each other in shock.
Wen Chengyun was blocked by Qin Zitan and could not immediately refute it. Deng Yu questioned from the side and asked: "Is Zitan exaggerating?"
Qin Zitan saluted to Shewenzhuang and said: "Even if the Zhejiang Navy has a chance of defeating the Huaidong Navy in a battle, it is too risky for Zhejiang..."
She Wenzhuang nodded. The frontal opponent in eastern Zhejiang is Dong Yuan. The main force of the navy in eastern Zhejiang is fighting. Even if it can cause a heavy defeat to Huaidong, it will not be of great help to improve the situation on the eastern front. On the contrary, if it suffers a heavy defeat, the eastern front will be defeated.
will fall into complete passivity.
The lower reaches of the Qianjiang River are unusually open. Once the Zhejiang Navy suffers serious setbacks, Dong Yuan can safely concentrate the main force of his command on the Huzhou front line in the west, which will greatly restrict their deployment of breaking through from the west line.
She Wenzhuang asked: "Will the Eastern Zhejiang Navy send a small force to harass the enemy? Will it be effective?"
Qin Zitan turned his head and asked She Feihu: "What do you think, Second Young Master?" He and She Feihu had a full discussion about the situation in Huaidong. It was only after She Feihu regained the right to speak in Jin'an Mansion that he emerged.
The opportunity to invest in land. Faced with She Wenzhuang's inquiry, Qin Zitan was more willing to give the opportunity to She Feihu.
Qin Zitan avoided answering, and She Wenzhuang had no objection, and looked at the second son She Feihu again.
"Lin Fu built and defended the sea wall in Huaidong. He built a stronghold every thirty miles along the sea wall and deployed 60,000 to 70,000 troops along the sea wall. In fact, a tight blockade defense line was formed. On the periphery of the sea wall, there are Lianghuai Salt
In the area under the jurisdiction of the Iron Zone, the Zhejiang Navy sent a small force to penetrate into the two Huai salt areas, and Feihu thought that Huaidong would not be greatly affected." She Feihu said.
She Feihu's opinion is very clear: if the entire Zhejiang Navy is dispatched, there is a risk of rashly fighting a battle; a small-scale invasion will not cause substantial damage to Huaidong.
Shewenzhuang frowned and thought hard. The coastline of Huaidong was much shorter than that of Zhejiang and Fujian.
When Huaidong mobilized troops to build and defend the sea wall, others only saw Huaidong wasting money. When the sea wall was about to take shape, they suddenly realized that the sea wall was actually a coastal defense network for Huaidong.
The post forts from Jiangmen to Hecheng are denser. There is one for about ten to twenty miles. The road network in the direction of Chongcheng is dense. Even if the Huaidong cavalry sets out from Chongcheng, it can support any post fort in two hours.
.
The limited cavalry in Zhejiang and Fujian are concentrated in western Zhejiang. The total cavalry in Jin'an city is less than one battalion, and they are all close servants and guards of Shewenzhuang. This also makes it take longer for Jin'an's troops to support the coast.
Since Jin'an has not been threatened by the sea for a long time, its coastal defenses are weak.
If we want to follow the example of Huaidong and establish a coastal defense system, we may be able to do it calmly in twenty or thirty years; if we want to do it in two or three years, Zhejiang and Fujian's finances will be directly ruined; let alone expect that western Zhejiang can do it.
How can Jiangxi maintain its offensive posture against Huinan and Jiangxi?
The key lies in this line of defense. How many troops should Zhejiang and Fujian deploy?
Wen Chengyun, Deng Yu and others all looked at each other. Their understanding of Huaidong was far less profound than that of Su Tingzhan and others who stayed in Mingzhou Prefecture. When the Zhejiang and Fujian armies faced Jiangxi on the western front, several Huinan troops
Tens of thousands of officers and soldiers could still maintain a positive and strong posture, but at this time, the Eastern Front was helpless against Huaidong, which had only risen in two or three years, which was somewhat difficult for them to accept.
"According to what the Second Young Master sees, what is the chance of winning in a decisive battle between Zhejiang Navy and Huaidong Navy?" Deng Yu asked hesitantly.
The sea route was cut off and the interests of all families were harmed. That was for sure. The Deng clan mainly gathered in Xiapu. Once they came to Jiaocheng, they were directly threatened by Huaidong warships. Although Deng Yu knew nothing about naval warfare,
It's not profound, but he knows how serious the damage caused by the East China Sea bandits to the eastern Zhejiang and Jiangdong coasts in the early years. Otherwise, they would not be able to conquer the eastern Zhejiang. No one wants to copy what they did back then.
On oneself.
If the Zhejiang Navy had a better chance of winning, Deng Yu and others would still support the war.
It was really difficult for She Feihu to answer. He could guess that this time there might be a chance to directly lead the troops, but the chances of winning were slim. If he went to lead the troops in eastern Zhejiang, wouldn't he have to take the blame again?
In the past two years, he has repeatedly emphasized the need to develop the water camp's offshore combat capabilities, but has turned a deaf ear. Now he comes to ask what are the chances of winning the battle?
After hesitating for a long time, She Feihu said dejectedly: "Perhaps we should send someone to ask eldest brother or Su Tingzhan for their opinions!"
"The messenger sent to see Duke Song should have returned. What do you think of Duke Song?" Wen Ruyun said impatiently.
After sitting all night, bad news kept coming from the outside, but everyone was helpless, and everyone was inevitably a little impatient.
Hearing Wen Ruyun mention Song Fu, Qin Zitan looked at Song Fu's son Song Bo and secretly thought that Song Fu had been ill in Quanzhou for two years. He sent his eldest son Song Bo to work in Jin'an Mansion. Was he sick for too long?
Seeing that others had seen it, Song Bo said, "Maybe it's almost time... My father fell ill in Quanzhou and was bedridden. The counties in Quanzhou were also exposed to the threat of Huaidong warships. My father will probably send a messenger to Jin'an to ask for help!"
"
She Wenzhuang always felt a headache. He and Song Fu had differences in many aspects. Song Fu had been recuperating in Quanzhou for the past two years and refused to come to Jin'an, so it was hard for him to say anything.
She Wenzhuang said: "Everyone should go back and have a rest. By the afternoon, more detailed news should come. As for whether the Zhejiang Navy wants to go to war, I will immediately send someone to ask Zhejiang for its opinion."
Wen Chengyun, Deng Yu and others resigned, and She Wenzhuang told She Feihu and Qin Zitan: "Feihu, Zitan, you stay, I have other things to ask you..."