(Brothers’ red tickets are really awesome, the third update is here, keep asking for red tickets)
The others retreated. Except for Chen Zishou and Zhou Zhizheng, everyone else in the hall, such as Tang Shide, were Huang Binghao's trusted aides.
Huang Binghao said impatiently: "Luo Xiancheng, Shewenzhuang has openly used troops in Nanyang and Xinyang in the north. How do Zhizheng and Zishou view this?"
Zhou Zhizheng was startled, thinking that this moment had finally come. He raised his head and glanced at Chen Zishou. Not only was he not surprised, but he also had excitement in his eyes, as if he was waiting for this moment.
Zhou Zhizheng pretended to be surprised and said: "Ah, is the news true or false?"
"There is no doubt about it!" Huang Binghao said, "I can trust it. I saw the Suizhou soldiers and horses gathering at Yindian before they came south to report the news - the She family did not deceive me in this matter!"
Sure enough, we have a secret agreement with the She family.
Although Zhou Zhizheng did not lead the army, he had long held important positions such as the general magistrate of Jiangzhou Prefecture and the censor of Jiangzhou. Later, he was in charge of military camps in Yuanzhou and other affairs. He had the highest prestige among military and civil servants in Yuanzhou. In addition, the Zhou family in Jiangzhou
Zhou is also a big family. Some of the middle-level generals in the original Jiangzhou Army and now Yuanzhou Army are from the Zhou family, and they regard Zhou Zhizheng as their leader.
Huang Binghao and Chen Zhishou were unable to completely control Yuanzhou's army without getting rid of Zhou Zhizheng.
However, in his early days, Zhou Zhizheng served as the general magistrate of Jiangzhou Prefecture and the censor of Jiangzhou School. He himself was ordered by the court to restrict Huang Binghao, and the relationship was not harmonious. Therefore, after Huang Binghao took over the power, Zhou Zhizheng was always ostracized by Huang Binghao.
Outside the circle of confidants, there is no opportunity to participate in secret affairs.
This time Huang Binghao was asked to stay. Zhou Zhizheng could vaguely guess that Huang Binghao was going to show his last trump card and pull more people on board his ship.
Feeling the pressure from Huang Binghao's gaze, Zhou Zhizheng knew that he could not trust Huang Binghao at this time. At least, he had no idea about any secret agreement between Huang Binghao and Shewen Village.
The only people Huang Binghao really trusted were the generals in the army whom he single-handedly promoted, such as Chen Zishou and Zhang Xiongshan, and the few private officials who had been following him for a long time.
Of course, Yuanzhou's army is not monolithic, and Huang Binghao cannot be said to have the power of life and death over everyone. Quite a few generals are afraid of confronting Huaidong.
Huang Binghao really had to make up his mind to fight against the seemingly invincible Huaidong, and win over some hesitant and neutral officials and generals to ensure that the situation in Yuanzhou was under his control.
Zhou Zhizhengneng knew Huang Binghao's state of mind, so he knew that his sharp eagle-eyed gaze at this time was not so much a suspicion of him as a final test of him.
In addition to Huang Binghao who stared at Zhou Zhizheng, Chen Zishou, Tang Shide and others also stared at Zhou Zhizheng.
Zhou Zhizheng frowned and thought for a moment, then took a long breath and said: "The She family and the Changle army, after Yanhu, are using troops together to attack Nanyang and Xinyang. It is hard to say that Xinyang will not be spared. Although Huaidong is said to be invincible, it is also
There was no time to stop the Northern Yan army from going south..."
"That's not certain," Huang Binghao's aide Tang Shide said with a smile, "if Donghaihu can make a decisive decision and quickly gather the soldiers and horses from Yuzhang, Jiangzhou, and Luzhou to the south of Qichun, and fight with Deng Yu,
The Chizhou army led by Yue Zhi joined forces and marched north along the Han River to attack Luo Wei. After Luo Wei, Nanyang might be able to breathe a sigh of relief."
The Huaidong Army's elite infantry in Yuzhang, Jiangzhou, and Luzhou combined totaled nearly 60,000, and there were nearly 20,000 naval troops in Jiangzhou. Together with the Chizhou Army, there were 110,000 soldiers and horses, plus
Hu Wenmu's troops in Jingzhou had a strength of 160,000 to 70,000.
If Huaidong can forcibly break through the She family's defense lines in Qichun and Hanlu regardless of casualties, and the Liang brothers can hold on for another ten or eight days in Nanyang, Huaidong may not have the opportunity to prevent She Luo and Yanhu from joining forces.
Although the opportunity is slim, it involves the issue of coordinated operations with the Chizhou Army and Jinghu Army, but it is not impossible.
In fact, even if the Chizhou Army and Jinghu Army were left aside, the Huaidong Army alone gathered nearly 80,000 water infantry soldiers from Yuzhang, Jiangzhou, and Luzhou to press them between Qichun and Hanjin. She and Luo would dare to
Will they cooperate with Yanhu to attack Nanyang and Xinyang with all their scruples?
Zhou Zhi slapped his thigh with his hand, as if thinking through a joint, and said sternly to Huang Binghao: "Zhi Zheng, please agree to Huaidong's surrender conditions first, and stay put in Yuanzhou. No matter how the situation develops, it will be beneficial to you!"
Zhou Zhizheng said this, although it was not in line with Huang Binghao's wishes, but it greatly reduced Huang Binghao's doubts about him. Although Zhou Zhizheng's advice was conservative, there was no harm to Huang Binghao.
Huang Binghao's suspicion was greatly reduced, and he withdrew his fierce gaze at Zhou Zhizheng, shook his head and said: "If we agree to Huaidong's conditions, Huaidong will station three to five thousand elites in Xinyu, and they will be able to suffocate us to death in Yuanzhou; less than three to five thousand
Thousands of soldiers and horses will not affect Huaidong's sending troops across the river from Jiangxi to force Xiangsui. Taking ten thousand steps back, after Beiyan captures Nanyang, the next step must be to cross the Han River and send troops to Jingzhou. Even if Huaidong cannot protect Nanyang
, we must also protect Jingzhou. If Huaidong is required to mobilize its main troops to the north bank as quickly as possible, even if Sheluo cooperates with Beiyan to capture Nanyang, it will be difficult to quickly use troops against Jingzhou."
Huang Binghao had the power at this time, and naturally he also had extraordinary insights.
The general trend of the world in front of us is already the two heroes Huaidong and Yanhu are competing for each other.
If Yanhu wanted to gain a strategic advantage over Huaidong, with the cooperation of the Sheluo family, even if they successfully captured Nanyang and Xiangyang, it would still be far from enough.
Jingzhou is also the key point for controlling the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Only by crossing the Han River in one go and capturing Jingzhou can Yanhu gain a strategic advantage over Huaidong in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
Although Hu Wenmu's Jinghu Army currently has 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers and horses, in the early stage, the remnants of the Sheluo family were scattered in Jiangxia, Ezhou, Jingzhou and other places. As long as Yanhu can quickly defeat the Sheluo family with the cooperation of the Sheluo family,
By opening the Nanyang Passage, gathering tens of thousands or more troops, and storming the city of Jingzhou with thunderous force, we can defeat Jingzhou in one fell swoop, and then completely control the Jingxiang area and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
But as long as Huaidong responded immediately, without waiting for the fall of Nanyang, it would mobilize 80,000 elites to cross the river between Qichun and Hanjin, and then drive the water camp into the Han River to fight with the She family navy. Even if it was called
If the She and Luo families cooperate with Yanhu to capture Nanyang and open the passage to the south, they will also miss the opportunity to capture Jingzhou in one go.
When the situation has developed to this point, it is hard to say who will win.
Once Huaidong starts a battle with Yanhu in the Jingxiang area, Huang Binghao only has 40,000 troops in Yuanzhou. Especially when the east passage out of Yuanzhou is also blocked by Huaidong, it will be difficult to do anything.
This is not the result Huang Binghao wants.
"According to what you see, how should Yuanzhou respond?" Zhou Zhizheng asked.
Huang Binghao did not answer directly, but asked Chen Zishou: "Zishou, what do you think?"
"We should send troops from Yuanzhou to seize Xinyu and Qingjiang, cut off the Ganjiang River, cut off the communication between Fuzhou, Ganzhou and Henan-Ganxi, and contain Huaidong's troops in the hinterland of Jiangxi so that they cannot be mobilized to cross the river and go north to join the war.
Even if Bei Yan conquers the world in the future, you still have to be crowned king with a different surname..." Chen Zishou said.
Is this the secret agreement between Huang Binghao and She Wenzhuang? When it was time to reveal all the trump cards, he really couldn't get rid of greed. Zhou Zhizheng thought to himself, but he quickly refuted Chen Zishou, saying: "That's inappropriate.
…”
"What's wrong?" Chen Zishou looked at Zhou Zhizheng, with a fierce look in his eyes. Maybe it was the greed in his heart that made him act like this.
Huang Binghao, Tang Shide and others were also keeping an eye on Zhou Zhizheng. It seemed that if Zhou Zhizheng talked about surrendering to Huaidong at this time, they would be the first to tie him up and take him to the war flag.
Zhou Zhizheng also had cold sweat breaking out on his back. He forced himself to stay calm and ignored Chen Zishou. He directly said to Huang Binghao: "The two heroes of Yan and Huai are fighting. How can you know for sure that Huaidong will be defeated and the Yan army will win quickly? What if?
The Yan army is slightly delayed along the Han River and cannot capture Jingzhou in one go. We, Yuanzhou, will be at a loss to advance and retreat..."
Huang Binghao's face softened when he saw that Zhou Zhizheng was only worried about the power of Huaidong, but did not have Huaidong in mind. What Zhou Zhizheng said was also what he was worried about.
Tang Shide asked from the side: "We can't stand still in Yuanzhou. It would be risky to attack Qingjiang at this time. According to Master Zhou's opinion, how should we deal with it?"
Zhou Zhizheng said without hesitation: "Just take Xinyu! Although Lin Fu issued an ultimatum, I, Yuanzhou, never responded. The last time Yuanzhou sent an envoy to Yuzhang, he also insisted on taking Xinyu - this time
At that time, we sent troops to seize Xinyu, although it would offend Huaidong, but as far as we are concerned, we have not broken our promises or broken our promises. Xinyu is the gateway to the east of Yuanzhou. If you get Xinyu, you will have roads extending in all directions, you can go to southern Ganxi and Ganxi.
To the north, we can go to western Jiangxi. At this time, we don’t even need to declare war, and we can contain Huaidong’s soldiers and horses in the hinterland of Jiangxi, unable to advance or retreat. In the future, Huaidong will first have to deal with the threat from the northern front. Most of them can tolerate Yuanzhou, but they can’t advance or retreat from the Qing Dynasty.
Jiangcheng and Huaidong's reaction will definitely be much stronger, what do you think, sir?"
"Great kindness!" Huang Binghao's suspicion disappeared at this time. He patted Zhou Zhizheng on the shoulder and praised him for his good advice. He then asked Tang Shide, "Mr. Tang, what do you think of what Zhizheng said?"
"Great kindness," Tang Shide was Huang Binghao's chief aide. Zhou Zhizheng could make such a judgment, which made him feel a little jealous. If Huang Binghao trusted Zhou Zhizheng more, it would definitely affect his status in Huang Binghao's heart, but he still spoke out at this time.
Praise Zhou Zhizheng.
Huang Binghao laughed loudly and said: "It is said that Mr. Zhou is the head of the civil servants in Jiangzhou. He is truly well-deserved..."
At this time, Huang Binghao was sure that Nanyang would definitely be captured by Yanhu, but in the future confrontation between Huaidong and Yanhu at Jinghu, it was still too early to make a judgment at this time - Huang Binghao would not immediately surrender himself.
Forced into a desperate situation with Huaidong.
At this point in the discussion, the final disagreement is whether Xinyu should stay or go.
Huang Binghao sent troops to seize Xinyu first. Although he violated the line a little, it was not a serious breach. After all, Xinyu belonged to Yuanzhou Prefecture, and neither side had sent troops to station in Xinyu since May.
Huang Binghao, Chen Zishou, and Tang Shide had been speculating on this matter for several months, and finally judged that the bottom line that Huaidong could bear was not to lose Qingjiang City but not to fight for New Chongqing City.
The Yan and Hu armies, with the cooperation of the Sheluo family, pushed towards the north bank of the Yangtze River. Even if they could not capture Jingzhou in one fell swoop, they would pose a great threat to Huaidong's troops in Jiangzhou.
Although Huaidong would be angry at Yuanzhou for taking Xinyu without telling him, he would probably be able to bear with Yuanzhou and adopt a policy of appeasement. After all, for Huaidong, it would be necessary to quickly transfer the main force to the north at this time and stabilize the northern front first.
for important.
However, Qingjiang City, located in the middle reaches of the Gan River, is related to the connection and communication between southern Ganxi, western Ganxi and northern Gansu. Yuanzhou's soldiers and horses attacked Qingjiang City, which meant that Jiangxi County was fragmented. In this case, except for Luzhou in Huaidong,
Except for Jiangzhou and Qingjiang, which are more important than Qingjiang, other areas can be temporarily abandoned, and Yuanzhou must be pacified first.
Taking another step, marching into Qingjiang also means that Yuanzhou's troops and horses will be widely spread. Huang Binghao does not have the confidence to confront the Huaidong Army, so he does not dare to deploy his troops in front of the Huaidong Army. The attack on Xinyu is just in front of the Huaidong Army.
If the Huaidong Army has a head in front of them and Xinyu City can be defended, the troops and horses will be safer.
Huang Binghao's doubts about Zhou Zhizheng were all gone, but when planning big things, Zhou Zhizheng, an important figure, was rarely involved.
Huang Binghao kept Zhou Zhizheng as his advisor from selecting generals, deploying troops, setting off, preparing food and fodder, and monitoring and preparing for the surrender of generals and officials. After all, Zhou Zhizheng's ability in detailed military affairs was unmatched by others.
Zhou Zhi was discussing in Huang Binghao's room all night, and did not return to his house until early in the morning. He washed his face and just returned to the study to sit down when a middle-aged man came in and asked: "Master Zhou, where is Huang Binghao?"
Since I haven't returned home all night, does it mean that Yuanzhou will send troops to march eastward in the near future?"
This middle-aged man was none other than Wu Jingze, the commander of the Huaidong Military Intelligence Department responsible for southern Jiangxi affairs.
In order to recruit Huang Binghao's troops to surrender, Lin Fu adopted two lines: light and dark. On the one hand, he sent envoys to talk to Yuanzhou about the surrender. On the other hand, he had Wu Jingze, whose identity was not exposed, personally sneak into Yuanzhou and persuade Huang Binghao's generals to surrender.
.
In addition to Huang Binghao's fear of purges, he also had a greed for power, which made it difficult for him to give up military power and persuade Huaidong to surrender. However, the difficulty of inducing the surrender of the generals and officials under Huang Binghao was not as high as imagined.
For example, officials and generals such as Zhou Cheng, who was a former official of Jiangzhou Prefecture and joined the army, are openly pro-surrender faction in Yuanzhou's army. For them, even if they worry about being liquidated afterwards, the possibility of losing their lives is still extremely difficult, and following Huang Binghao's path is still extremely difficult.
There is no inevitable benefit in going to the dark side and confronting Huaidong.
However, Huang Binghao was very wary of the surrender faction in Zhoucheng and secretly sent people to monitor him, making it more difficult for him to join the secret core of Yuanzhou Army. After Wu Jingze convinced Zhou Zhizheng to be used by Huaidong, he deliberately asked Zhou Zhizheng to maintain a neutral position in order to
With his status, he could only relax Huang Binghao's vigilance and gain access to the more core military secrets of Yuanzhou Army.
Seeing Wu Jingze coming in dressed as a domestic servant, Zhou Zhizheng regained his composure and said: "Currently, the troops are mainly gathered in Yuanzhou City. Huang Binghao will first send a small number of elites to block the mountain road east of Yuanzhou City to prevent the news from leaking. We are going to Henan.
Zhang Chuanxin must leave immediately. In addition, Yuanzhou will use three days to secretly transfer its troops to Xia Yuan City, and then Chen Zishou will be the main general to send troops to attack Xinyu, take advantage of Xinyu to get a glimpse of the Qingjiang River, and contain Huaidong
Soldiers and horses to cooperate with the battle between Sheluo and Yanhu in Jingxiang... However, in just three days, will it be too late for Yuzhang? It will be too early for Yuzhang to send troops. Chen Zishou will lead his troops to retreat to Yuan
"It is useless to send troops too late. Once Chen Zishou is asked to lead 20,000 soldiers and horses into Xinyu, Huaidong only has more than 10,000 elite troops in Yuzhang, and it will be difficult to attack Xinyu City."
"This is not something we can consider," Wu Jingze said, "This is my single line of communication. Huaidong's hidden line in Yuanzhou, no one knows that Lord Zhou is actually used by Huaidong. Lord Zhou is determined not to reveal his identity, maybe
It will be of great use in the end.”
Zhou Zhizheng nodded, and Wu Jingze immediately realized that Zhou Zhizheng's Piaotian literature might have exposed him. He did not return to Zhou Zhizheng's house, but settled down at the home of a distant relative in Yuanzhou City to wait for the situation to change.