Liu Wenzhong was a native of Ouhai. He was a graduate of Chongguan for five years. Although he was only one class ahead of Lin Fu, he was two rounds older.
When the She family controlled the East China Sea bandits, they raided Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The Liu family was severely damaged, and their children suffered numerous casualties, forming a bloody feud. From the time of the East China Sea bandits, Liu Wenzhong led the villagers and the clan to actively resist. His reputation in Yongjia Mansion was very high, so he fought with
Ye Su also led the anti-luxury forces in southern Zhejiang. While Ye Su was appointed as the magistrate of Yongjia Prefecture and supervising military preparations, Liu Wenzhong became the general magistrate of Yongjia Prefecture and the inspector of affairs.
On the one hand, the imperial court clearly agreed that all the anti-luxury forces in southern Zhejiang would be controlled by the envoys in northern Zhejiang; on the other hand, after withdrawing from Yongjia and Yueqing, the titles of magistrate and general magistrate on Ye Su and Liu Wenzhong were completely changed.
The name does not live up to its name; on the one hand, Ye Su, Liu Wenzhong and their generals were all eager to regain the entire territory of southern Zhejiang. Due to these considerations, Ye Su and Liu Wenzhong did not accept the Huaidong Military Division's suggestion to withdraw from Yueqing.
, Yongjia.
However, this does not mean that Ye Su, Liu Wenzhong and others are not aware of the serious situation they are currently in.
The two cities of Yueqing and Yongjia were surrounded by Zhejiang and Fujian rebels. Their troops were weak and the cities were in ruins. The villagers were also instigated by the rebels, and their resistance was not strong. Only the Huaidong Navy could tear apart the blockade of Shejia.
, and dropped the warships to the coastal areas of southern Zhejiang and eastern Fujian, the Yongjia Anti-Luxury Army could only obtain support in terms of men, horses and materials from Huaidong.
Liu Wenzhong was forty-eight years old at the time, with a thin figure. He was wearing a crimson official robe given by the emperor that didn't fit him. His eyes were bright and he looked sharp. He followed Zhang Gou and walked into the small courtyard in front of the official hall. To show respect, Lin Fu specially
He led Fu Qinghe, Zhou Tong, and Zhao Qingshan to the eaves of the official hall to wait.
"I have heard a lot about Mr. Liu's righteous deeds in leading the people to resist the rebellion in Huaidong. I have admired him for a long time. I am lucky enough to meet him today..." Lin Fu bowed his hands to greet him.
Lin Fu was the only person in Huaidong who was qualified to wear purple official robes. Liu Wenzhong walked into the small courtyard and secretly took care of Lin Fu. Lin Fu's deeds spread in southern Zhejiang are mixed, good and bad: he was a civil servant,
However, he was good at running the army, leading troops to fight against the enemy, and being able to survive a hundred battles. There were several famous generals after Li Zhuo. As a backbone of the Dongyang Party, he was incompatible with Zhang Xie and Yue Lengqiu in the court. They restrained each other in Jiangdong and were suspected of supporting bandits.
The self-respect of the troops is the culprit behind the long-term improvement of the situation in the Jianghuai River. His governance in Huaidong is tyrannical, and in order to facilitate looting, he frequently sets up unjust prisons, making the people under his rule dare not speak out but dare to be angry - these are just rumors spread to
Liu Wenzhong did not know the truth of the rumors in southern Zhejiang. He just followed the etiquette and bowed to Lin Fu: "In front of the adults, the meager reputation of a low official is like the brilliance of a firefly. It is really not worth mentioning...
…”
"..." Lin Fu laughed and said, "I only want to be worthy of my conscience when I do things, so why not be famous?" He looked at the dark-faced young man behind Liu Wenzhong and asked, "Is this General Zuo Guangying Zuo?"
"Guangying, please see me!" Zuo Guangying stepped forward to pay homage.
"General Zuo, there is no need to be polite..." Lin Fu stepped forward and blocked Zuo Guangying, and then invited Liu Wenzhong, Zuo Guangying and others into the official hall to discuss matters.
Zuo Guangying was born as a poor fisherman. During the period of resistance against the East China Sea invaders, he became one of the leaders of the Yongjia Township Army. He was brave and resourceful. The imperial court organized the Yongjia Anti-Luxury Army Sixth Battalion and gave him the title of six Zhaowu Colonels. Zuo Guangying was the Yongjia Sixth Battalion.
One of the captains.
Even if Ye Su, Liu Wenzhong and other Yongjia people wanted to stick to Yueqing and Yongjia, they still knew the importance of keeping the sea route open to Huaidong, so it was inevitable to send troops to the Lushan Islands, which were easy to defend and difficult to attack.
People in Yongjia lacked a correct understanding of Huaidong's maritime combat power. For a long time, they only saw the She family manipulating the East China Sea bandits to run rampant in the East China Sea. They also always believed that the Zhejiang Navy, which integrated the forces of the East China Sea bandits, was the most powerful force on the East China Sea.
Combat strength - this concept will obviously not change due to the Huaidong Navy's southern attack.
From this point of view, people in Yongjia will undoubtedly think that defending the island is more difficult and more dangerous than defending the two cities of Yueqing and Yongjia. Even if there is a need to keep the sea route with Huaidong open, no one is willing to take on this hard work. In the end, it is
Zuo Guangying resolutely led his troops to the Lushan Islands!
Compared with Zuo Guangying's origin, the other generals of the Yongjia Army all came from clans. The reason behind Zuo Guangying's resolute decision to defend Lushan Island is also quite complicated - from the perspective of Huaidong, I am happy to see this complexity.
, which means that Zuo Guangying is more likely to accept Huaidong's influence.
After discussing matters in the government office for a long time, Lin Fu also learned more details about Yongjia's anti-luxury army from Liu Wenzhong and Zuo Guangying.
Although Ye Su and Liu Wenzhong led their troops down from Yandang Mountain and occupied the two cities of Yongjia and Yueqing, and the number of troops increased from more than 2,000 to more than 4,000, the situation was already difficult.
She Feihu has resisted Ouhai City on the south bank of the Yongjia River. The She family has mobilized troops from western Zhejiang. She Feihu can mobilize more than 5,000 elite combat forces in Ouhai. Together with the recruitment of local surrender forces, the number of troops is nearly
Thousands of people formed an absolute advantage on the south bank of the Yongjia River. She Feihu would only wait for the complete blockade of the Yongjia River estuary and cut off the Huaidong Navy's access to the Yongjia River, then he would lead his troops across the river to attack Yongjia and Yueqing. In Yongjia,
To the north of Yueqing, Linhai is connected to Kuaiji Prefecture by land. The She family's garrison in Linhai counties has also increased to more than 4,000 troops, and they have stepped up their efforts to clear Kuocang Mountain.
Compared with the She family's elite combat power in southern Zhejiang, the Yongjia army with more than 4,000 troops was short of soldiers and armor, and was also seriously short of money and pay.
The Yongjia army was controlled by Si Yao, the envoy of the Northern Zhejiang Province. No matter how difficult the situation in Yongjia was, it would not be Huaidong Yue's turn to take over. Lin Fu listened to Liu Wenzhong's words for a long time, and finally nodded and said: "I will immediately send someone to escort Mr. Liu to Hangzhou to meet Dong.
Your Excellency, the Northern Zhejiang Procurement and Procurement Department allocated Yongjia’s materials and money, and Huaidong sent a ship to transport it to Yueqing for Mr. Liu! No money will be taken, and if there is any loss at sea, Huaidong will also bear it..."
Lin Fu made such a statement, what else could Liu Wenzhong say?
Even if the Dengzhou Navy helps transport rice grains in the sea east of Hejian Prefecture, it is customary to charge an additional 30% to 50% for "floating".
The She family's Zhejiang Navy also controls the waters off Mingzhou Prefecture, Daishan, and the Changguo Islands. Transporting supplies by sea to Yueqing is extremely risky. Huaidong doesn't charge a penny for helping transport supplies, and is willing to bear all general losses.
, and also prevented him from making higher demands on Huaidong.
How much material support we can get on this trip depends on how generous Dong Yuan is. Maybe we need to make a trip to Jiangning.
Liu Wenzhong stood up and saluted with thanks: "Thank you so much for your kindness. The millions of people in Yongjia are all thanks to your thoughtfulness..."
Lin Fu knew that Jiang Ning would not be too stingy. Although the entire southern front was barely able to stabilize the defense line, it was still in a hurry for Luo Xiancheng to lead the Changle army southward - to recapture Yongjia and Yueqing from the hinterland of southern Zhejiang. The strategic significance was small, but it was not
It's very morale-boosting.
Besides, if Jiangning wants to suppress Huaidong, it must highlight the merits of the people in Yongjia. How can it be too stingy? It’s just that Jiangning is in financial difficulty. It needs to allocate a full amount of money to Yongjia in one go. Bingjia will also
Some difficulties.
"It is your duty to serve the imperial court," Lin Fu said with a smile. "To ensure that the sea route from Huaidong to Yueqing is smooth, the Lushan Islands must be defended with all our strength. Huaidong still has some experience in defending the islands - besides
, Defending the Lushan Islands can interfere with the sea transportation between eastern Fujian and eastern Zhejiang. I hope General Zuo can stay here temporarily to discuss the details of guarding the Lushan Islands. In addition, Huaidong can also provide some support in defending the Lushan Islands.
Ordnance, warships!”
Ye Su and Liu Wenzhong came down from Yandang Mountain and occupied Yueqing and Yongjia. Except for a few broken fishing boats, they didn't have any decent seagoing ships, and they were even more lacking in armor.
Hearing what Lin Fu said, Liu Wenzhong regretted that Zuo Guangying had brought too few soldiers to the Lushan Islands. It was too late to regret it at this time. He didn't say anything more at this time and just said thank you.
The situation in Yueqing and Yongjia was severe, and Liu Wenzhong did not dare to waste time on Daheng Island. He took a boat to Haiyu that night and took the road from Haiyu to Hangzhou to meet Dong Yuan, the envoy of northern Zhejiang.
Although the Yongjia Army was expanded to more than 4,000 men, Zuo Guangying wanted to garrison the Lushan Islands, and his troops were not replenished, with less than 400 men. However, among the more than 400 soldiers guarding the Lushan Islands, most of them were fishermen.
Most of the soldiers are veterans, they have strong fighting ability, and they are also quite familiar with the situation of the Lushan Islands.
The situation in Yongjia is like that. Whether it can hold the Lushan Islands depends on the strength of Huaidong's support. Especially in the isolated counties of the Lushan Islands, which are more than 100 miles away from the coastline. The Yongjia army is already extremely short of supplies and decent warfare.
There was no ship, and the supply of supplies to the Lushan Islands depended entirely on Huaidong. Zuo Guangying knew the severe situation of guarding the Lushan Islands, so he personally went to Daheng Island to ask for help.
There are thousands of large and small islands along the southeastern coast of Zhejiang and Zhejiang. Huaidong hopes that Yongjia will send troops to guard Lushan Island, which is naturally a choice after repeated weighing.
The Lushan Islands are located in the southeast of Yongjia, about 120 miles away from the east coast of Ouhai County, and are right on the center line of the sea route connecting eastern Fujian and eastern Zhejiang.
The main island of the Lushan Islands is surrounded by Ming Reef, which is densely covered with hidden reefs, posing a great threat to passing ships. There are only narrow, winding and dangerous waterways for small and medium-sized boats to approach the island shore. The main island is not large, but the island has steep rocks and steep mountains.
,cave.
Because the Lushan Islands are on the inside, the Shejia did not send troops to garrison them, but as long as they stationed an elite force, it would definitely be a dangerous place that was easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Lin Fu first hoped that Zuo Guangying could lead his troops to defend the Lushan Islands, and secondly, he hoped that Zuo Guangying's troops could equip small and medium-sized elite warships to form a blockade on the waters around the Lushan Islands.
Only in this way can the Lushan Islands be like a huge thorn piercing into the She family's body, making it difficult for them to sleep or eat well.
It is said that Zuo Guangying's level is limited. Huaidong has dozens of generals above the battalion level on Daheng Island. However, Lin Fu did not take any airs and personally discussed with Zuo Guangying the details of the defense of the Lushan Islands. Zhang Gou, Chen Zhi and others
I visited the Lushan Islands in person and spent more than ten days with Zuo Guangying. They became quite familiar with each other and stayed here. Fu Qinghe, Zhao Qingshan, Han Caizhi and others were responsible for the rest of the southern raiding fleet and had no time.