Chizhou is located between two rivers, surrounded by mountains and rivers. The terrain is high in the southeast and low in the northwest. Therefore, the road to Chizhou from Jiangning and Xuanzhou is dangerous and difficult. It is relatively easy to enter Chizhou from Jiangzhou and Pengze. It is across the river from Yicheng, an important town in the north of the Yangtze River.
On the eve of when She Feihu abandoned Jiangning and fled westward, and Zheng Mingjing led the remaining troops to besiege Meizi River, the Zhejiang and Fujian troops retreating westward had already entered Qingyang County on the outskirts of Chizhou...
In Qiupu County, the capital of Chizhou Prefecture, facing a large number of enemy troops coming in, there was a trembling wind. At the moment, the walls were clear and the city was tightly guarded.
Before nightfall on the second day of the twelfth lunar month, a small group of rebels had crossed Qiupu County and marched westward. At the Qiupu County Yamen, which had been temporarily recruited to serve as a camp, the rosin torches made a crackling sound, exuding the aroma of rosin.
The lobby was transformed into a public hall. Yue Lengqiu wore a battle armor inside and a velvet robe outside. He sat in front of a long desk, majestic and dignified.
Lin Xuwen was wearing a python robe, sitting on the left side of the long desk, and said to Yue Lengqiu: "Cut the Shehe rebellion's way of escaping westward, and annihilate its main force under the Chizhou city. The remnant bandits of the Shehe rebellion in Jiangzhou will naturally be unable to support themselves; Yue Lengqiu will naturally be unable to survive alone;
If the prime minister leads the troops again to recapture Jiangzhou, Yuzhang, and Ganzhou, it will be easier to take control of the country, and the achievements of Sheji can be expected..."
"Prime Minister Lin's statement is totally absurd." Zhang Yan, wearing a four-clawed golden dragon python robe, walked into the public hall and directly refuted Lin Xuwen's words, saying, "Even a good hunting dog can't catch a cunning rabbit running for his life. Jiangzhou suddenly fell, and people's hearts were
In panic, we must put the country first, and we should not waste our time fighting..."
"How can you abandon Jiang Ning so easily?" Lin Xuwen saw Zhang Yan coming in and became angry. His veins popped out and he grabbed Zhang Yan's sore spot and asked, "Why would you abandon Jiang Ning?"
When you leave, do you put the country and the country first?"
"Why did Prime Minister Lin make such lies?" Zhang Yan asked sternly when he was stabbed to the point of pain, "Where was Prime Minister Lin when we and the emperor were guarding Jiangning?"
"A certain person came to Chizhou and advanced and retreated with Yue Xiang, but he did not retreat to Luzhou..."
"Xiang Lin said that the She family is at the end of its rope. If the She family is really at the end of their rope, it would be an opportunity to send envoys to recruit them. If we can stop the troops and rest as soon as possible, the people's livelihood will be benefited, which is better than going out for military force!"
"It's extremely shameless, it's extremely shameless," Lin Xuwen was shaking with anger, pointing at Zhang Yan's nose, and scolded, "What you said, could you face the people of Jiangning who were being slaughtered?"
Lin Xuwen came from Huaidong on behalf of Huaidong and provided food and grass from Dongyang Prefecture to Chizhou to feed the Jiangzhou Army's 40,000 soldiers and horses, with the intention of urging Yue Lengqiu to lead his troops eastward and encircle the Zhejiang and Fujian rebels who had entered Jiangning.
Zhang Yan arrived in Chizhou just before noon yesterday. When he came to Chizhou by boat, the imperial navy and the imperial horse guards had already escorted Emperor Yongxing into Juchao County, Luzhou Prefecture.
Rather than asking the Jiangzhou Army to defend Chizhou and advance eastward to Jiangning, Zhang Yan's more important intention here was to hope that Yue Lengqiu could cross the river to serve as emperor.
Zhang Yan and others were naturally aware of the consequences of the Emperor's expedition to Huaixi when he left Jiangning. However, if they did not leave Jiangning, they would be afraid that the city would be captured and the soldiers would die, which would lead to overthrow of the nest - whichever of the two would be the lesser.
, even though they knew that the emperor's abandonment of Jiangning would shake the foundation of the imperial family and lose the popularity of the world, Zhang Yan and others finally supported Emperor Yongxing and fled from Yangtze Jiangxi to Luzhou to avoid disaster. In the end, including Emperor Yongxing, Zhang Yan, Cheng Yuqian and others
People have a strong distrust of Huaidong.
Luzhou is sandwiched between the mountains and rivers of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River. Although it is not the foundation of imperial power, it can still ensure short-term peace. After temporarily avoiding the war, Emperor Yongxing, Zhang Yan and others had to consider what to do next.
?
Obviously, if we can get the understanding and support of Yue Lengqiu, Dong Yuan, Jinghu Liu Wenmu and others to abandon Jiangning and hunt in the west, even if there will be serious sequelae, it will not immediately trigger the crisis of abolishing the establishment. Therefore
As soon as the emperor entered Luzhou, Zhang Yan came to Chizhou to meet Yue Lengqiu, Yu Xinyuan went to Shouzhou to meet Dong Yuan and Liu Tingzhou, and another envoy was sent to Jinghu to meet Liu Wenmu with an order. Only Zuo Chengmu and Cheng Xueqian remained with Emperor Yongxing.
Wang Xueshan and other ministers guarded...
When Zhang Yan rushed to Chizhou, Jiangzhou had fallen, and the news of Huang Binghao's surrender reached Chizhou. The news of Huaidong's troops advancing outside Liyang was not available in time because the road was far away and there were rebels blocking the way.
When the news reached Chizhou, Chizhou was immediately faced with the collapse of the country and the ruins of the mountains and rivers, which made the Jiangzhou soldiers guarding Chizhou panic and uneasy. On the 28th and 29th, the Zhejiang and Fujian armies continued to have large numbers of soldiers.
The horse marched westward from Jiangning, in the name of chasing the fleeing Emperor Yongxing, and even made the territory of Chizhou full of noise, and the grass and trees were filled with soldiers.
Just this morning, Ge Cunxin sent a paddle boat from Jiangning to Chizhou City to report that the imperial city had not been lost.
By this time, the entire battle situation was basically clear. A large number of Zhejiang and Fujian troops entered Chizhou under the pretense of fleeing and chasing. In fact, they did not dare to stay in Jiangning and fight to the death with the Huaidong Army. Instead, they wanted to pass through Chizhou and enter
Jiangzhou...
Lin Xuwen's attitude naturally became more determined at this time, and he asked Yue Lengqiu to lead the Jiangzhou Army to block the remnants of the Zhejiang and Fujian Army to the west of Chizhou, and wait for the Huaidong troops to come and encircle and annihilate them after they regained Jiangning.
As long as the Zhejiang and Fujian rebels who invaded Jiangning from Huizhou in the winter are completely wiped out, the She family will basically be crippled. Even if She Feixiong captures Jiangzhou, the combined forces of the She family in all places will still be
Seventy or eighty thousand, but it won't make any difference.
The Huaidong Army was expected to regain Jiangning soon, which made it even more obvious that Emperor Yongxing was foolish and immoral in abandoning Jiangning and fleeing westward.
If Huaidong were to depose Emperor Yongxing and establish King Lu instead, and let Lin Fu and Huaidong officials including Zhang Yan, Wang Xueshan, Cheng Yuqian, Zuo Chengmu, Yu Xinyuan and other ministers who fled west with the emperor, they would not
There is good fruit to eat...
At this time, instead of asking the Jiangzhou Army to fight with the Zhejiang and Fujian Army in a lose-lose situation, Zhang Yan hoped that Yue Lengqiu could preserve his strength. Even if he negotiated a peace with the She family at this time, asking the She family to preserve a certain strength would be far better than calling Huaidong.
It is better to be completely in control.
Lin Xuwen and Zhang Yan were fighting in the public hall. They exchanged evil words and glared at each other. They almost took off their robes and had a fight. Yue Lengqiu stood up and acted as a peacemaker to dissuade him: "Where are you two gentlemen?"
"Where has the personal friendship gone? Why bother with this? After all, aren't we all thinking about the imperial court and the country?" He then waved his hands to withdraw all the generals in the hall, lest the joke here fall to the bottom.
In the eyes of others, it will shake the morale of the army.
Lin Xuwen said angrily: "The She family surrendered and rebelled again, and launched an army to slaughter and plunder the southeast. All faith and virtue were lost. If the emperor has a secret decree to allow Lord Zhang to go to negotiate surrender, Lord Zhang can go without stopping!" He threw up his sleeves and walked away!
, leaving Zhang Yan and Yue Lengqiu in the public hall.
Zhang Yan also mentioned the matter of recruiting and surrendering to stimulate Lin Xuwen. At this time, Zhang Yan hoped that the She family could still retain a certain strength to contain Huaidong, and asked Huaidong to be cautious, but if he really wanted to openly send people to the Zhejiang and Fujian armies to negotiate peace,
It will only give Huaidong more excuses to abolish the emperor and establish a new one - I used to think that the Empress Dowager Liang was a trouble, so not to let her return to Jiangning. Now it is even more troublesome. The Empress Dowager Liang is in the hands of Huaidong to promote and abolish the emperor.
The biggest move ever made.
There was no one else in the public hall, and Zhang Yan spoke without any scruples. He only said to Yue Lengqiu: "If Mr. Yue believes what Lin Xuwen said, he can kill all the soldiers and horses in Jiangzhou. I think with Chizhou's contribution, Lin Fu may not be able to do it."
I will compete with Mr. Yue for the position of first assistant, but what is the use of first assistant..."
Although the vassal towns in various places were powerful in the past, they were basically able to obey orders and be controlled. Many prefectures and counties were directly controlled by the court. Jiangning could also control most of the officials, the dispatch of generals, and the mobilization of troops, horses, and grain. Therefore, the court
The position above is worth fighting for. However, the court is completely controlled by Huaidong officials, including the troops and horses guarding Jiangning.
No matter how dazzling the title is, it is just decoration - how could Yue Lengqiu not understand this truth?
"Lord Zhang, there is no need to be so excited. Encircling and annihilating the remnant bandits is also the duty of the minister..." Yue Lengqiu said to Xini, but when it came to substantive issues, he never made a statement and did not have much to say to Zhang Yan.
Patience, on the pretext of going to the city for patrol, sent Zhang Yan away first.
After Zhang Yan left, Deng Yu came to meet him and reported: "Almost all the main force of the bandit army has entered Qingyang, and they will arrive at Qiupu City in large numbers tomorrow at the latest..."
After the defeat of Daqingxi, Deng Yu led his remnant troops to cross Yishan Mountain and defect to Yue Lengqiu in Pengze County. The Huinan Army had 20,000 elite troops, but in the end, less than 2,000 remnant troops escaped with Deng Yu.
Deng Yu led the remnants of his troops and merged them into the Jiangzhou Army. Yue Lengqiu treated him well and assigned another army to his command, but the Huinan Army ceased to exist.
"Deng Yu, tell me, when the Zhejiang and Fujian troops are crossing the border, should I stop them or give way?" Yue Lengqiu asked Deng Yu before the case.
Deng Yu's face changed and he struggled, pondering for a long time, and said: "If we don't fight, it won't work; if we fight hard, who knows when the Huaidong Army will be able to sort out the situation in the east and come to help. She Feixiong led his troops from Jiangzhou
, but be faster... If Prime Minister Yue can trust Deng Yu, Deng Yu is willing to lead his troops to Shicheng!"
"How come I don't believe you?" Yue Lengqiu said, "I can't blame you for the Huinan Army to come to this point. If you want to say that I have a responsibility, I have a bigger responsibility. But if I really want to go out to fight in Chizhou City,
I won’t send you there, there is someone else! I’ll let Chen Zishou go!”
"Huang Binghao surrendered. Chen Zishou is an old member of Huang's tribe. His family is small and all his relatives were captured in Jiangzhou. If he is sent to lead his troops out of the city, the consequences are unpredictable!" Deng Yu said in shock.
When Jiangzhou was besieged, it was Chen Zishou's troops who made a fuss about returning reinforcements. After Jiangzhou fell, Chen Zishou and other generals also blamed Yue Lengqiu for not returning reinforcements in time. They were full of complaints and the quarrel became tense.
"If Chen Zishou surrenders, I will always have to shoulder some responsibilities, but as long as you don't abandon me, it doesn't matter if you take some responsibilities..." Yue Lengqiu said.
Hearing what Yue Lengqiu said, Deng Yu suddenly understood.
Chen Zishou surrendered, and Yue Lengqiu just had an excuse to defend Chizhou City. Yue Lengqiu took responsibility for Chen Zishou's surrender, so he should bear the responsibility because he didn't need to be transferred to Jiangning to serve as minister.
On the other hand, he could continue to stay in Chizhou and control the military power. In the upcoming battle between Ninglu and Ninglu, Yue Lengqiu had resolutely decided to give up Emperor Yongxing, but he did not want to be led by Huaidong. The only way was to control
Military power, and support the bandits to respect themselves!