Lin Xuwen and others were able to obtain accurate information from Luzhou. From what Shen Rong said, they knew that Yue Lengqiu did not deceive Shen Rong about the defeat of the Chizhou Army.
In the defeat of Songyang, the Chizhou Army’s casualties were almost this number:
The Chi army and navy were almost completely destroyed; the Chizhou army stationed on the north bank, except for the two thousand soldiers and horses guarding Yicheng, was almost completely destroyed west of Yicheng.
Especially when Yue Duming led his troops to attack Huanglongling, he was caught off guard. Chen Hansan and She Yuan led their troops to advance eastward very quickly, resulting in a large number of defeated troops being trapped west of Xiaocang Mountain and captured by the She family. If he is captured and fails to escape, he can only be considered dead in battle.
The real death toll may be smaller, but the losses to the Chizhou Army were.
If the Chizhou infantry camp is lost, new soldiers can be recruited from the poor to replenish it. However, the naval army is almost destroyed. It is almost impossible to restore its strength because it also involves the replenishment of warships.
After the Jiangning War, Lin Fu was forced to compromise with Yue Lengqiu and Dong Yuan in order to welcome Emperor Yongxing back to Jiangning and stabilize the situation in Jiangnan, and transferred nearly 20,000 people from the original royal camp navy to Chizhou along with hundreds of warships. ——On the basis of the Yuying Navy, Yue Lengqiu reorganized and reorganized it, and finally formed the Chizhou Navy.
In the past year, the Chizhou navy and the She family's navy in Jiangzhou have fought against each other on the Yangtze River, and it is difficult to distinguish between winners and losers. Above the temple, Zuo Chengmu, Cheng Yuqian, Yu Xinyuan, Zhang Yan, Yuan Guizheng and others No one thought that the Chizhou navy would lose so completely this time!
"This is Lord Yue's apology document. Lord Yue asked his ministers to present it to the court." Shen Rong took out a memorial from his arms, held it in both hands, and waited for the chamberlain to take it and present it to the Queen Mother and Emperor Yongxing.
After the collapse of Congyang, Yue Lengqiu submitted a memorial to plead guilty. This time he asked Shen Rong to bring back a memorial. It must have been a countermeasure that Shen Rong discussed with Yue Lengqiu after arriving in Qiupu - Lin Xuwen thought to himself, actually Without saying anything, the Privy Council already has an absolute advantage in how to investigate the responsibility for the Songyang defeat. Let's see how they perform.
The chamberlain came and took the memorial and brought it to the throne. Emperor Yongxing asked the Queen Mother to read it first.
The Queen Mother read Yue Lengqiu's memorial and handed it to Emperor Yongxing calmly.
Emperor Yongxing saw this and was surprised and said: "Yue Lengqiu wants to resign from Jiangxi to recruit envoys, Chizhou camp manager, Chizhou magistrate and other positions? How does this make Yue Lengqiu responsible for the defeat of Songyang, but over there? The mess needs to be dealt with by someone who is familiar with the situation, and Yue Lengqiu can't pick the winner for me!"
After returning to Jiangning, Emperor Yongxing rarely spoke so much in front of the ministers. At this time, he was eager to defend Yue Lengqiu, so he inevitably lost his composure.
The princes in front of the palace looked at each other, and they all understood that this was Yue Lengqiu's technique of retreating in order to advance. The Queen Mother was unfazed after reading the memorial. After all, Emperor Yongxing was in need of some support.
Cheng Yuqian, Zuo Chengmu, Yu Xinyuan and others all went to look at Lin Xuwen to see how he would react.
Although the power of the Central Committee has gradually shifted to the Privy Council, except for Lin Fu, there are no senior officials in the Privy Council who can directly participate in the political discussions of Hantang. Therefore, Lin Xuwen, Huang Jinnian and others advocated for the Privy Council on behalf of Lin Fu and Jiang Ning. demands.
Without waiting for Huaidong's remonstrance to seize military power, Yue Lengqiu took retreat as an advance, took all the responsibility for the defeat of Songyang, and resigned from his official position. Cheng Yuqian and others wanted to see how Lin Xuwen responded on behalf of the Privy Council...
Lin Xuwen stood with his arms folded, neither impatient nor impatient.
The memorial had to be circulated one by one among the ministers, which wasted too much time, so Shen Rong stood in front of the palace and presented it on his behalf.
"...After the defeat of Congyang, Mr. Yue felt that his crime was too serious and he did not dare to ask for forgiveness. However, in the face of a powerful enemy, Chizhou's military and political affairs could not be neglected, so Mr. Yue handled official duties in the government office during the day and imprisoned himself in the prison cell at night to repent. This can be seen in his heart. At present, Jinghu is still in danger, but Chizhou on the east wing is slightly safe. Master Yue feels that it is time to resign and commit crime to thank the world, so he temporarily entrusts the military and political affairs of Chizhou to Deng Yu and imprisons himself in Qiupu. In the prison, sharing the same cell with the prisoners, just waiting for Jiang Ning to send someone to tie him up and return him to the capital..." Shen Rong said.
Hearing this, Lin Xuwen and Huang Jinnian were slightly moved, thinking that Yue Lengqiu would still have to fight to the death.
If Yue Lengqiu really wants to commit crime, he can just follow Shen Rong back to Jiangning. Why does he need to act like this?
Yue Lengqiu's cruel tricks were not only staged for them, but also for the soldiers and people of Chizhou. In the final analysis, they were just to win the sympathy of the soldiers and people of Chizhou.
Yue Lengqiu took full responsibility for the crime, and Deng Yu took charge of Chizhou's military affairs on his behalf. Even his nephew Yue Zhi also dived underwater. Even if Yue Lengqiu was captured and brought to Jiangning for punishment, it would not be possible to immediately arrest him. Chizhou Army wiped it out.
Yuan Guizheng looked at the reactions of the people in front of the palace and sighed that Yue Lengqiu was really old. He walked to the front of the palace and said: "The Privy Council is in charge of military affairs. How to punish the defeat of Songyang? It is impossible not to listen to the opinions of Duke Chongguo." .Should we send an envoy to Yuzhang? Firstly, to express our condolences to the Duke of Guoguo for his efforts in regaining Jiangxi. Furthermore, the situation in Jinghu Lake is dangerous, so it is indispensable to worship the Duke of Guoguo before he can work for the court!"
Empress Dowager Liang sat on the throne and said: "The Shei family thinks that when discussing merits, it must be in accordance with etiquette. Things cannot be done hastily. The situation in Jinghu is dangerous and cannot be delayed. Since Yue Qing has resigned from office and is guilty, Chizhou's military and political affairs have If you leave it to Deng Yu, he can get away. Then why not ask Yue Qing to go to Yuzhang, first to analyze the defeat of Songyang with Duke Chongguo, and second to discuss the attack and defense of Jinghu. What do you think?"
Asking Yue Lengqiu to go to Yuzhang to meet Lin Fu was also intended to plead guilty. However, no matter what, Queen Mother Liang still wanted to try her best to let Yue Lengqiu participate in the military plane, and did not want to really punish him for the defeat.
Zuo Chengmu, Cheng Yuqian, Yu Xinyuan and others were hesitant and asked Yue Lengqiu to go to Yuzhang to plead guilty to Lin Bingjing. Can Yue Lengqiu let go of this arrogance?
You must know that scholars in this world pay attention to integrity and prefer to die rather than surrender. Yue Lengqiu has been fighting with Lin Fu for nearly ten years, and his position has always been far higher than Lin Fu. It was only after the Jiangning War that Huaidong truly became powerful and surpassed the others. Press it down.
At this time, Yue Lengqiu and Lin Fu were asked to bow their heads and admit their mistake. Zuo Chengmu and the others found it unimaginable.
"What the Queen Mother said is true," Shen Rong said, "No one but Master Yue is familiar with the situation in Jinghu."
As soon as Shen Rong said these words, Zuo Chengmu and others felt differently.
Shen Rong had just returned from meeting Yue Lengqiu in Qiupu. Since he said so, it should be Yue Lengqiu's own decision to go to Yuzhang to meet Lin Fu.
As a result, Zuo Chengmu and others had different thoughts. Some felt that Yue Lengqiu was shameless and had to humble himself to Lin Fu in order to protect his position. Some felt that Yue Lengqiu was flexible and flexible, and they were worried that the Queen Mother had also deceived Yue Lengqiu. Leng Qiu borrowed money from Yuzhang and from then on surrendered to Huaidong.
It's just that Yue Lengqiu himself has no objection to going to Yuzhang to plead guilty and doesn't feel humiliated. How can Cheng Yuqian and the others stop him?
***************
Lin Fu was not in Jiangning, and the daily affairs of the Privy Council were presided over by Lin Mengde, Song Fu, Sun Jingxuan and others. If larger matters needed to be dealt with urgently, Lin Xuwen, Huang Jinnian and Zhao Hu, who were in charge of Jiangning's defense, were called together to discuss and discuss
.
It's not like the situation in Jiangning is out of control just because Lin Fu is not in Jiangning.
After the palace meeting, Lin Xuwen and Huang Jinnian went to the Privy Council, which occupied half of the Western Imperial City, and told Lin Mengde, Song Fu, and Sun Jingxuan about the palace meeting.
Huang Jinnian was a little more anxious and asked: "How should we deal with Yue Lengqiu? Your Excellency has not sent back a word from Yuzhang?"
"There has never been a new one." Lin Mengde said.
"It's great that Yue Lengqiu wants to go to Yuzhang," Song Fu smiled slightly and said, "How the Chizhou Army will follow? How do you want to deal with it? I think the truth will come to light when Yue Lengqiu comes back from Yuzhang.
Already..."
The Chizhou Army's defeat was indeed a good opportunity to completely eradicate Yue Lengqiu from the court, but completely suppressing Yue Lengqiu at this time may not be in Huaidong's interests.
In the past few letters to and from Lin Fu, he just wanted to sit here and watch what happens, and did not explicitly say what he wanted to do to Yue Lengqiu.
Lin Fu did not express his position. There were various opinions among the Privy Council and Huaidong officials outside the Privy Council on how to deal with Yue Lengqiu in the end.
Some people think that Yue Lengqiu can be roped in to help - Yue Lengqiu's political life can be said to be completely in Huaidong's hands at this time, and there is a basis for wooing Yue Lengqiu for his own use.
Some people think that Yue Lengqiu will never be able to stand up again - Yue Lengqiu also had a high position in the old days and a high spirit. Especially in the Chizhou Army, he still had a certain fighting capacity. Even if Yue Lengqiu was willing to win over Huaidong, how could he know that it was not him?
A tactic to delay the war? Especially when Yue Lengqiu went to Yuzhang to meet Lin Fu this time. On the surface, he was submissive, but in fact, his plan was deeper, and it was not reassuring.
Unless Yue Lengqiu is willing to disband Chizhou's troops, but judging from Yue Lengqiu's appointment of Deng Yu to preside over Chizhou's military affairs, this possibility is extremely low.
Some people also think that even if Yue Lengqiu cannot be won over, he should still be preserved - the Chizhou Army's strength has been greatly reduced and it no longer poses any threat to Huaidong. Huaidong's urgent suppression of Yue Lengqiu will only aggravate Dong Yuan and Hu Wenmu.
Waiting for the commander-in-chief to panic.
The Yan-Hu army is about to invade the south, and Huaixi and Jinghu cannot fight with all their strength from the front, which will ultimately be detrimental to Huaidong.
Even if we want to completely suppress Yue Lengqiu, the timing should be delayed for a year or two.
When the forces of Huaixi and Jinghu no longer need to borrow, Huaidong can show its fangs to its fullest.
However, no matter how many opinions there are, in the end, Lin Fu, who sits like a mountain in Yuzhang, will make the decision.
The more Lin Fu said nothing about this matter, the more Lin Xuwen and others believed that Lin Fu had already made up his mind about this matter. Therefore, except for the officials below who had some comments, Lin Xuwen and others sat back and watched.
Later, Lin Xuwen talked about the cost of war, which was also a matter that must be discussed at every gathering.
Although Huang Binghao and Chen Zishou still occupied Yuanzhou and have not surrendered, and the She family still resisted in eastern Fujian, the war in Jiangxi has generally calmed down. Compared with the past, the consumption of the war will drop sharply and return to normal levels.
It was a breath of relief.
"Fortunately, this battle is over," Lin Mengde said with emotion, "otherwise it would have been really hard. Shangrao put in five million silver, but now there is not even one or two left. If it drags on for another month or two,
I have to get sick urgently. Although the situation in Jinghu is critical, in my opinion, it is better to delay it for a while, and it must be delayed until after the autumn grain is on the market. Taxation and silver are on the one hand, and on the other hand
A large amount of military supplies have been purchased, and prices in Jianghuai have become unstoppable, which is not a good thing."
"If the Yuanzhou matter can be settled as soon as possible, the situation will be better..." Song Fu said.
"If Huang Binghao hadn't surrendered to the She family, there would have been no Battle of Jiangxi. He turned around and surrendered again at this moment, and he was erratic," Huang Jinnian said disdainfully, "Keeping him here would be a hidden danger!"
"Yuanzhou is above Yuzhang, and the road is dangerous to Shaanxi. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and it is difficult to attack forcefully." Song Fu said.
In the later stages of the Jiangning War, Huang Binghao surrendered to Jiangzhou, and the She family was able to control the entire territory of Jiangxi. Otherwise, even if She Wenzhuang led his troops to flee into Jiangxi, they would never have been able to hold on for nearly a year and a half.
Now Huang Binghao did not lead his troops to flee north with the She family across the Yangtze River, but he and Chen Zishou led 30,000 to 40,000 troops to defend Yuanzhou and negotiate with Huaidong on the conditions for returning to Jiangning.
Who knows that Huang Binghao may be a hidden danger in the future, but he led three or four troops to occupy Yuanzhou.
Yuanzhou is located to the west of Yuzhang and is the western gateway of Jiangxi, bordering Tanzhou to the west.
After Huang Binghao defected to the She family, he led his troops to Yuanzhou and wanted to enter Tanzhou. He had a good fight with the Xiangtan army and intended to open a channel for the She family to march westward to Xiangtan. However, by the late stage of the Shangrao war, the She family was in danger of being defeated.
Yuanzhou and Tanzhou quickly stopped their troops.
It is not difficult to see from this that Tanzhou is still worried about the possibility of destroying Huang Binghao. Facing the powerful Huaidong, Tanzhou will no longer have a stronghold to stand on its own.
Tanzhou wanted to keep Huang Binghao in Yuanzhou as a buffer with Huaidong. It would be very difficult for Huaidong to attack Yuanzhou by force.
Now that the situation in the north is critical, Lin Fu dare not ask 60,000 to 70,000 elite troops to waste three to five months or even more time to attack Yuanzhou. Therefore, the Yuanzhou issue can be resolved through negotiation, and Lin Fu also wants to resolve it through negotiation.
Huang Binghao wanted to slow down the attack, so Huaidong could not stabilize Huang Binghao?
"Jiangxi has almost become a wasteland. If we don't want thousands of people to starve to death in the wilderness, we can only delay the complete solution to Yuanzhou's problems." Sun Jingxuan also said.
Nowadays, Jiangxi is extremely short of food. A while ago, the She family's exorbitant taxation almost wiped out the remaining food among the people.
Another is that this spring people in Jiangxi have risen up against the She family, and war has spread across Jiangxi, which has had a great impact on farming; the war has requisitioned a large number of civilians to accompany the army, further reducing the labor force engaged in field work.
The spring harvest has passed. If Yuanzhou continues to fight in Yuzhang, rice farming in Jiangxi will also be missed, which will directly threaten the survival of more than 500,000 households in Jiangxi.
The Yuanzhou matter can be resolved through negotiation, firstly, the main force of the Huaidong Army can withdraw northward in time to prepare for the Huma's southward march, and secondly, the farming season in Yuzhang, Ganzhou and other hinterlands of Jiangxi is not missed.
In addition, if the Yuanzhou incident can be settled, Huaidong does not expect to collect taxes and grains from Xiangtan, but if he uses his money to buy grains, he can still buy one or two million shi of cheap grains.
Grain production in the two lakes has increased since the mid-Yue period, and after large areas of mulberry and cotton were planted in the coastal plain around Taihu Lake, grains had to be introduced from the two lakes to make up for the shortage.
The price of grain in the Jianghuai River soared just after the Yangtze River waterway was interrupted and rice grain from the two lakes was blocked from moving eastward.
There were frequent wars in Jinghu and food shortages, but the situation in Xianghu (Xiangtan) was better. Especially after the great invader Yang Xiong led his troops to withdraw, there was almost no fighting in the hinterland of Xiangtan, and the surplus food among the people was enough.
Today, the waters of the Yangtze River west of Jiangzhou are far from peaceful, but there is a land route from Yuanzhou between Jiangxi and Xiangtan, and grain can be transported into Jiangxi to meet urgent needs.
"We have already said that we will be exempt from taxes for three years, but the officials and soldiers stationed in Jiangxi will have to pay extra money to support them." Lin Xuwen thought about these things and felt a headache and upset. "Come on, come on, come on, if Cao Cao
We will not be able to defend Guanzhong this year, and the western front will be penetrated by Yanhu. Even if the main troops and horses can be transferred north to participate, the money and food issues will kill us all!"