Hu Zongguo and Ma Zhen left to rest in the post house. Luo Xiancheng took off his python robe and exposed his naked body in the arms of two beauties in thin shirts. He asked a pretty maid to wipe the sweat stains on his body with a wet wipe.
Although the beauty was by his side, Luo Xiancheng's mind was not on this and was thinking about other things.
Although Luo Xiancheng has been somewhat indulged in sexual pleasures in the past two years, he is not confused in his heart.
In the past few years, he has occupied Suizhou and established himself as king. He is superior to thousands of people and not inferior to others. He has hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses under his command. How can he be willing to look at other people's faces and let others control life and death?
In the hand?
Whether to surrender to Jiangning or to surrender to Yanjing, Luo Xiancheng has only one criterion in his mind, that is, he will surrender to whose family can guarantee him the wealth and honor of breaking the earth and becoming a king; at the minimum, his military power cannot be dissolved.
A strong force emerges from the jungle of swords and guns, and all the soldiers and horses are lost, even worse than a dog. After Luo Xiancheng has been around for these years, he knows that this simple truth must not be given up.
Huaidong is good in many ways, but one disadvantage is that none of the forces that have surrendered to Huaidong can retain independent troops outside of the Huaidong Army.
Sun Zhuang's Su Yu Army surrendered in the early stage, Ma Yigong's and Yang Yihang's Tianjin Navy surrendered in the middle stage, as well as the Quanzhou Army of the Song family, the Hanghu Army of the Haiyu Chen family, and even Lin Fu's compatriots who surrendered in the later period.
The Dongyang Army led by Lin Tingli and Lin Zonghai were all dismantled and digested without exception.
Under this situation, if Suizhou surrenders to Huaidong, Zhong Rong, Wang Xiang and other generals and officials will not have to worry about not being able to find their place in Huaidong. Anyway, Huaidong also needs a large number of generals and officials to lead troops to fight and govern the herdsmen, but
What can Luo Xiancheng gain?
He was a majestic king of Changle who lived happily in Suizhou and responded to his every call. He refused to obey anyone and was attacked with swords and axes. How could he be willing to go to Lin Fu and follow him like a pug, waiting for orders?
Could it be that after all these years of bloodshed, you just want to return to the mountainous countryside and become a rich man?
After expelling Wang Xiang from Suizhou City, Luo Xiancheng made a choice between Beiyan and Huaidong. However, he has been able to live the longest among the migrant armies in recent years. His greatest strength is his ability to judge the situation.
If he could survive by surrendering to Huaidong, but he would die if he didn't surrender, he would undoubtedly give up the dream of tearing apart the earth and becoming king, and choose the former.
Luo Xiancheng is somewhat self-aware of how much money he has in his family.
Although it is said to have 200,000 troops, how much output can it produce and how many troops can it raise based on the land of the two mansions?
When the king was still in power, he did not hesitate to use bloody methods to forcibly expropriate nearly a million acres of grain fields around Baiyun Lake and on both sides of Piaoshui, Jianshui, Hanshui and other rivers. He also took away 60% of the 200,000-strong army.
It was only through farming that the Changle army's food problem in Suizhou was solved within one or two years.
Thinking of Wang Xiang, Luo Xiancheng was still quite emotional.
If Wang Xiang and Zhong Rong hadn't had such a quarrel and were too afraid of offending Huaidong, Luo Xiancheng would have been reluctant to kick him from Suizhou City to Chaishan County deep in the Huaishan Mountains. Luo Xiancheng thought to himself: Wang Xiang's relationship with the She family
What do you think of the military plan?
At this time, Wei Zhang sent Hu Zongguo off, and Ma Zhen hurried back to Changle Palace after going to the post house. He kowtowed in front of the palace to say hello. Luo Xiancheng said to him: "Write a letter to the Prime Minister and ask him about the alliance.
What’s your opinion?”
Wei Zhang stopped talking and got up to go to the side hall to write a letter. Luo Xiancheng saw that he was hiding something and said, "If you have anything to say, just say it. If you say something wrong, can I still eat you?"
"When Chen Hansan went to Qichun, Master Wang strongly opposed it; when the She family crossed the river, Master Wang built forts and built strongholds in the south of Chaishan Mountain, and repaired troops and armor." Wei Zhang said, "Master Wang is most likely to join forces."
It’s also against it.”
"Oh, let's write and ask," Luo Xiancheng said. "Even if the Prime Minister objects, he will tell you something, so it doesn't hurt to listen!"
"Yes." Wei Zhang responded.
"By the way," Luo Xiancheng said again, "Huaidong is increasing troops in Luzhou, and the salt and iron transported by private merchants across Huaidong will be restricted. To build troops here, there must be no shortage of salt and iron reserves. Call Wang Xiang
Think of more ways to do it in Chaishan—please write it in the letter."
Suizhou has been sealed off from surrounding military towns for a long time, and supplies such as salt and iron are in short supply.
Even among the 80,000 soldiers preserved in Suizhou, a considerable number of soldiers still used bamboo and wood as spears, let alone wearing armor.
However, after the She family crossed north, in order to raise food for hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, the She family brought out a group of soldiers and armor, which made the Suizhou army's military equipment look a little better.
Suizhou Governor Le's army was extremely short of soldiers; in comparison, although the She family had suffered repeated defeats against Huaidong in recent years, they had been successful in fighting on the western front.
Especially during the Jiangning War, the She family captured tens of thousands of soldiers and armor from the Imperial Army. The salt, iron and other materials looted from Jiangning City were also relatively sufficient, and they could provide some to Suizhou.
However, tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians of the She family hurriedly crossed the Yangtze River and fled north. They only secretly prepared two to three hundred thousand stones of food in Huanglong Ridge in advance, which was only enough to last for two or three months. Most of the places in eastern Hubei and other areas newly occupied by the She family were in ruins.
It's unbearable. In the early days, Chen Hansan occupied these places, and most of the grain and grass were secretly supplied by Suizhou. In just one year, to what extent could Chen Hansan restore production in eastern Hubei?
The food that can be collected from local areas is extremely limited. After the remnants of the She family cross the river, the food problem is a matter of life and death.
Therefore, the most important things after the She family crossed the river were to take advantage of the navy's control of the Han River to go to the south bank of the Han River and plunder grain in the area controlled by Jing Lake, and to exchange soldiers and armor with the state in exchange for grain.
Of course, Suizhou's grain reserves are also limited, and spending 200,000 to 300,000 shi of grain is already the limit.
This amount of food is only enough to support the She family for three or four months. At present, the She family is under attack from the Jinghu and Chizhou armies in the south, and there is no ample space for farming. Suizhou's grain production will not be long-term at the same time.
It is absolutely not enough to support the Suizhou army and the remnants of the She family.
Thinking of food, Luo Xiancheng had another headache. He thought it was great that the Prime Minister was in Suizhou, and he didn't have to worry about these things.
Wei Zhang drafted a letter to the Prime Minister and read it to Luo Xiancheng. If Luo Xiancheng had no objection, he quickly sent it to Chaishan with a private seal.
Wei Zhang relied on his scholarly background and liked to drop his book bag. He even explained it while reading the letter. It took him a long time to make Luo Xiancheng understand that what he wrote in the letter was basically the same as his instructions. He said: "You sour scholars just like to show off - by the way, you don't want to show off anymore."
Add a few words to the letter and ask Wang Xiang what to do if there is a food shortage in Suizhou? Can we add more?"
Suizhou was governed by King Xiang, and the military food was relatively loose. Luo Xiancheng, an acquaintance of Wei Zhang, said that Suizhou's food supply was tight, and the She family was included in this.
Between the Huaishan Mountain and the Han River, the remnants of the She family and Suizhou soldiers and horses combined will number 300,000, and the number of Dingkou here is less than 700,000.
Once Yanhu failed to successfully capture Nanyang, and Jinghu gradually strengthened the defenses on the south bank of the Han River, the Chizhou Army, forced by Huaidong, slowly advanced northward, compressing the living space between Huaishan and the Han River, relying only on Suizhou and Xiangfan
As well as the grain production in the eastern Hubei region in the south, it is simply unable to sustain the long-term consumption of 300,000 soldiers and horses.
At this time, the She family was still secretly communicating with the state. Once the south and west were surrendered to the Chizhou Army and the Jinghu Army blocked it tightly, would the She family turn their backs and annex Suizhou in order to save the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians?
, is it really hard to say?
Wei Zhang didn't say much, and immediately revised the letter in front of Luo Xiancheng in front of the palace.
Luo Xiancheng touched his fat chin and asked Wei Zhang: "Tell me, are there any advantages or disadvantages to joining forces with the She family?"
Wei Zhang almost cried. He had been waiting for Luo Xiancheng all day long, writing and doing internal history. For such an important matter, Luo Xiancheng didn't even think of asking him what he meant until today, which made him feel really embarrassed.
Although there was resentment in his heart, Wei Zhang did not show it and said calmly: "Whether we join forces with the She family or not, it will not be bad for King Luo."
"Why isn't it bad?" Luo Xiancheng asked.
"Chen Zhihu defeated the army in the river in Ruyang," Wei Zhang said. "It seems to be beneficial to Beiyan, but in fact it is not. Wei Zhang thought that he would only benefit the King of Luo."
"Oh?" Luo Xiancheng looked at Wei Zhang doubtfully.
"If Liang Chengyi is asked to lead the soldiers and horses in the river to retreat to Nanyang, the Nanyang garrison is as high as 70,000. The Northern Yan will not dare to attack suddenly, and the She family and King Luo will not be able to do much in the south. Now that Liang Chengyi has been defeated in Ruyang,
There are less than 40,000 soldiers guarding Nanyang, and the loss of Ruyang will also affect the situation. They are panicked and their morale is difficult to boost. At this time, King Luo helps Northern Yan, and Nanyang is easy to fall. King Luo helps Huaidong, and Nanyang is easy to consolidate, and the She family is easy to suppress.
.If Huaidong and Beiyan want to win in the conflict between the north and the south, don’t they all ask for you, King Luo?”
Luo Xiancheng laughed loudly when he thought that he had become important at this time, pointed at Wei Zhang and said: "The analysis is reasonable, the analysis is reasonable. I didn't expect you to be such a talented person next to me.
, why didn’t you see it before?”
Wei Zhang was very nervous, fearing that Luo Xiancheng would become suspicious, so he pretended to be calm and said: "In the past, King Luo asked Wei Zhang to draft letters, and Wei Zhang would draft letters without daring to go beyond..." He was also surprised that Hu Zongguo asked him to
Why are you saying this in front of Luo Xiancheng? Aren't you afraid that Luo Xiancheng will fall to Huaidong?
The situation is also as Wei Zhang said just now. If Luo Xiancheng is determined to surrender to Huaidong, Nanyang soldiers and horses will not have to worry about the back and flank, and the military morale will be easy to defend. There are reinforcements in Luzhou, and there will be no big problem in defending Nanyang in the short term; in addition, Suizhou
With their cooperation, Huaidong will have an easy time wiping out the remnants of the She family.
Hu Zongguo, on behalf of Shewenzhuang, came to Suizhou this time to propose a joint force plan. The key points were three points: First, Chen Hansan and Yang Xiong led the water infantry to guard the Qichun and Hanjin front lines, using the city, the danger of mountains and rivers, and dragging down the enemy.
The Chizhou Army and the Jinghu Army marched north; secondly, the Changle Army gave way to Xiangfan and asked the main force of the She family troops to station, so that they could attack Nanyang with the Yanhu army coming from the north; thirdly, the Changle Army left Suizhou.
, from the valley road between Tongbai Mountain and Huaishan Mountain, attack Xinyang from the north, cut off Huaidong's channel from Luzhou to Nanyang, and restrain Huaixi's soldiers and horses in Xinyang to the east of Tongbai Mountain.
Although Huaidong responded very quickly, allowing the Chizhou Army to cross the river to the north to contain the remnants of the She family from the south, 30,000 Huaidong Army elites had already entered Luzhou, and were ready to go to the northern foot of Huaishan Mountain to rescue Nanyang at any time -
-However, as long as the Beiyan army can advance to the north of Nanyang as quickly as possible, and the Huaidong army still has an elite force that is restrained in the hinterland of Jiangxi and cannot be mobilized, according to the plan proposed by Hu Zongguo, the chance of victory is very high.