Chapter two hundred and seventy third virtuous general Wang Chang
Liu Xiu has always attached great importance to intelligence. Before the Zhutian Army revolted in Chongling and Liu Xiu was still farming at home, he attached great importance to the collection of intelligence.
When the Zhutian Army wanted to form an alliance with the Green Forest Army, how could Liu Xiu not understand and study the main generals of the Green Forest Army?
In his opinion, Wang Kuang and Wang Feng of the New City Army, Chen Mu and Liao Zhan of the Pinglin Army, and even Cheng Dan of the Xiajiang Army, these main generals of the Green Forest Army, were far inferior in terms of character and virtue. Far inferior to Wang Chang.
According to Liu Xiu's speculation on human nature, the only people among the top brass of the Green Forest Army who could keep their word and who were worthy of their own trust were Wang Chang and Wang Yanqing.
After listening to Liu Xiu's analysis, Liu Yan changed his mind and said, "It seems that I have to go to Yiqiu Ju in person!"
If Wang Chang's Xiajiang Army can be brought over, then Wang Kuang's Xinshi Army and Chen Mu's Pinglin Army will have no choice but to join the war with their own side.
The Xinshi Army and the Pinglin Army can ignore the Zhutian Army as an ally, but they must not ignore the Xiajiang Army.
After all, Xinshi, Pinglin, and Xiajiang all belong to the Green Forest Army. If the Xiajiang Army joins the war and Xinshi and Pinglin continue to sit idly by, the Green Forest Army will split from within. Neither Wang Kuang nor Chen Mu can afford to take this risk.
Liu Xiu said: "Brother, I will go with you!"
"No! Ah Xiu, you must stay in Jiyang!" Liu Yan said: "One hundred thousand reckless troops are close at hand and may attack in large numbers at any time. You and I can't both leave Jiyang!" The two brothers must at least stay. One person, guarding the city.
Liu Xiu thought for a moment and finally nodded.
Although he really wanted to follow his eldest brother to Yiqiuju and meet Wang Chang, the leader of the Xiajiang Army, his words made sense. The situation in Jiyang was now precarious and a war was about to break out. Someone really needed to stay here to take charge of the overall situation.
In the evening of the same day, Liu Yan left Jiyang, taking only Liu Jia and Liu Ji with him, and rushed straight to Yiqiu Ju.
Jiyang was indeed not close to Yiqiuju, so Liu Yan and the other two traveled all night. At dawn the next day, they finally arrived at Yiqiuju.
Now, Yiqiuju has almost turned into a large military camp, with soldiers from the Xiajiang Army everywhere inside and outside.
There were more than 5,000 people, which was pitifully small compared with the 100,000 capital troops, but in a small place like Yiqiuju, it still seemed overcrowded.
When they heard that Liu Yan, the leader of the Zhutian Army, had come to Yiqiu Ju, the generals of the Xiajiang Army were all shocked. At present, the main generals of the Xiajiang Army are Wang Chang, Cheng Dan and Zhang Xuan. Among them, Wang Chang is the leader, and Cheng Dan and Zhang Xuan were assistants.
The three of them also discussed whether they should meet Liu Yan and who should meet Liu Yan, and finally decided that Wang Chang should meet Liu Yan.
After all, the Zhutian Army and the Green Forest Army are allies. The commander of the Zhutian Army came in person, and Wang Chang, the commander of the Xiajiang Army, had no reason to avoid it.
Since he decided to meet, there was nothing to hold back. Wang Chang enthusiastically went out to meet Liu Yan in person.
After meeting, Wang Chang burst out laughing, cupped his hands and said, "I heard about General Bo Sheng's fame in the past, but now I can see him. The general is really extraordinary!"
Wang Chang's impression of Liu Yan was not very good, but it was not very bad either.
In fact, their personalities are very similar. They are both generous and loyal. However, there was one thing that made Wang Chang very dissatisfied with Liu Yan.
When the Zhutian Army was at its peak and was winning consecutive battles, the Green Forest Army sent envoys to Liu Yan to seek an alliance between the two armies.
If Liu Yan didn't want to, he could have rejected his side in front of the envoy, but Liu Yan didn't even see his side's envoy, and his attitude was arrogant and rude, which was tantamount to openly slapping the Green Forest Army in the face.
Apart from this incident, Wang Chang's overall impression of Liu Yan is quite good.
While Wang Chang was sizing up Liu Yan, Liu Yan was also sizing up Wang Chang.
Wang Chang's appearance is very ordinary, not ugly, but definitely not good-looking either.
The tips of his eyebrows and the corners of his eyes are raised upward, which is a typical eyebrow and eyelid erectness, while the corners of his mouth are curved downward.
Even when he is smiling, he gives off a sense of oppression. All in all, he has a serious face, not angry but powerful.
Wang Chang is indeed not a kind person. When he was in his hometown in Hu County, his younger brother was injured. When Wang Chang found out, he directly killed the other person and then fled his hometown. It was in the process of running away. , he joined the Green Forest Army.
It can also be seen from this that the folk customs in the Han Dynasty were still very tough. Even ordinary civilians would kill everyone and run away at every turn. People like the Liu clan, who had a certain foundation, would fight with officials if they disagreed. Up.
Liu Yan and Wang Chang exchanged polite greetings, and then walked into the Xiajiang Army's camp.
Liu Yan had been to the camps of the Xinshi Army and the Pinglin Army before, and had a very average impression of the military management of the two armies. But this time when he entered the Xiajiang Army camp, he felt that it was obviously different from the Pinglin Army and the Xinshi Army.
First of all, the tents in the camp are set up in a very standardized manner, rows and columns, neatly and orderly.
Moreover, the four camps in the east, west, north and south are clearly separated. Even in the camp, obstacles consisting of horseback horses and earth walls can be encountered from time to time. This is used to prevent the enemy from stealing the camp.
Secondly, there were almost no idle soldiers in the military camp, let alone those playing and playing.
In the huge military camp, there are soldiers practicing in various military fields. Occasionally, you can see large groups of soldiers running circles around the camp with heavy loads.
Compared with the Xinshi Army and the Pinglin Army, the Xiajiang Army is more like a well-trained, capable and combat-ready regular army, and the conditions of the Xiajiang Army are significantly better than those of the Xinshi and Pinglin Armies.
It can also be seen from this point that Wang Chang is very far-sighted. He did not mix with the Xinshi Army and the Pinglin Army, but went to Nanjun to seek development. It was a very correct choice.
In the past, Liu Yan didn't know much about Wang Chang, but Liu Xiu said that Wang Chang's character and virtue were stronger than Wang Kuang, Chen Mu and others.
Now that he saw with his own eyes the Xiajiang Army under Wang Chang's rule, he had a deeper understanding of Wang Chang.
He could not yet tell whether Wang Chang was good at leading troops in battle, but Wang Chang was definitely a general who was good at running an army.
Entering the Zhongjun tent, Wang Chang took the initiative to invite Liu Yan to take a seat, but Liu Yan was self-aware and quickly refused. The two of them were polite for a while before the guests and hosts took their seats.
Liu Yan asked: "I heard that General Wang has been in Nanjun. I wonder why he suddenly entered Nanyang this time?"
Nanyang, Nanjun, Jiangxia, Lingling, Guiyang, Wuling, Changsha, Zhangling and Nanxiang are the famous nine counties of Jingxiang.
The Xiajiang Army led by Wang Chang and Cheng Dan never developed in Nanyang, but wandered around Nanjun.
The development of Xiajiang Army in Nanjun was not smooth sailing, and it also attracted great attention from the imperial court.
Wang Mang once sent two generals, Yan You and Chen Mao, to lead the capital army into Nanjun and defeated the Xiajiang army. This defeat almost cost Wang Chang and Cheng Dan their lives.
However, before Liu Yan left, Wang Chang solemnly promised that he would lead the Xiajiang Army to Jiyang and join forces with the Zhutian Army to fight against the Mang Army.
Wang Chang decided to lead his army to participate in the Battle of Jiyang, which surprised Cheng Dan and Zhang Xuan. They also wondered what kind of confusing medicine Liu Yan gave Wang Chang.
The two found Wang Chang and asked him why he wanted to defend Jiyang with the Zhutian Army.
We only have 5,000 people, and the Zhutian Army only has 5,000 or 6,000 people. Taken together, the number is over 10,000. Adding Ping Lin and the 30,000 people from the Xinshi Second Army, the total is less than 50,000. How can it be? The opponent of a hundred thousand reckless troops?
Furthermore, if so many people defend Jiyang, how many days can they sustain themselves with the food and grass in the city? Isn’t this self-destruction?