From Yingyu Village to Wuling City, the Yuanshui River has seven hundred miles of twists and turns, but the autumn water is in full bloom, and sailing boats are flowing along the river, even if they are afraid of hitting the mountain wall at night. Three days later, Zhao Zhixian and Tan Yuliang followed them
The wives and children who had taken root in Qianyang over the years and dozens of military attachés from Tanzhou also entered Wuling County in Langzhou by boat.
Langzhou is under the jurisdiction of Tanzhou Jiedu Envoy Office.
Zhao Zhixian and Tan Yuliang were not happy to return home, and the military attachés who were released from Tanzhou as children also did not feel relaxed at all.
From a distance, I saw a newly built wooden sentry tower on a cliff near the water on the west bank of Yuanshui River. There were several military generals inside looking towards this side. The stern worker at the helm and two sailors handling the sail docked the black-topped sailboat on the river beach.
Facing Zhao Zhixian, Tan Yuliang cupped his hands and said, "Master Zhao, Mr. Tan, I'm just saying goodbye!"
There are only three people on the other side. Zhao Zhixian and Tan Yuliang can certainly detain them, but what is the use of doing so?
They disembarked in a hurry, dragged their sons and daughters to the sentry tower, and after revealing their identities, they found an open space and waited for sentry cavalry to be sent to Wuling to report the news. After waiting for more than an hour, a group of cavalry came along the river bank.
Come at a gallop.
The visitor didn't say anything else, but just urged Zhao Zhixian and Tan Yuliang to follow them.
Zhao Zhixian and Tan Yuliang left their wives, children and other released military attachés behind, and rushed to Wuling City only after dark.
Wuling County is located at the northeastern foothills of the Wuling Mountains. To the east is the intersection of the west bank of Dongting Lake and the Yangtze River, covering a wide area of 20 to 30 miles of plains and hilly areas.
In other words, Wuling County is actually located on the southwest edge of the entire Dongting Lake Plain and surrounding hilly areas.
For a long time, the Hakka forces in Chenxu and other states have been weak. Although the native Shanyue barbarians are fierce and good at fighting, the relatively scattered forces have not united into a group and are not enough to send troops to invade the Central Plains north.
Therefore, Wuling County has never been the focus of Tanzhou's external defense. It has only had a small number of garrison troops for a long time. It is even worse than directly penetrating into Chenzhou. Xuzhou has more elite troops.
However, when Zhao Zhixian and Tan Yuliang entered Wuling City, they saw that there were obviously more soldiers and horses in Wuling City than usual.
Zhao Zhixian and Tan Yuliang were taken to the back house of the county government. At this time, they recognized them from the gorgeous uniforms worn by the guards inside and outside the courtyard as the personal guards around the Crown Prince Ma Xun. The two looked at each other and said, "The Crown Prince has already been here."
Guess there are changes in Xuzhou?"
Zhao Zhixian and Tan Yuliang had no chance to send messengers until Zhongfang City was captured.
Of course, even if they don't have the chance to send a messenger, Yanji Village will send someone back to Tanzhou to send a message if they notice something is wrong with Yingyu Village. However, if the Crown Prince learns about the incident in Zhongfang City and then leaves for Wuling County, he may still be there at this time.
on the way.
Zhao Zhixian and Tan Yuliang walked into the lobby and saw that in addition to the prince Ma Xun, the new Langzhou governor Ma Yuanheng, the military commander Ma Rong and the prince's advisers Wen Ruilin and Mr. Wen were all there.
Feeling the murderous look in the Crown Prince's eyes, Zhao Zhixian and Tan Yuliang felt a chill in their heads. They also knew that the news of the fall of Yingyu Village had reached the Crown Prince's ears through the messenger from Yanji Village.
"Idiot, idiot! More than a thousand elite soldiers failed to defend Yingyu Village. What do you do for food? Is it possible that the Han family and his son have the ability to spread beans into soldiers in Xuzhou?" Ma Xun could no longer control it.
The resident roared towards Zhao Zhixian and Tan Yuliang.
Yanming Village is separated from Yingyu Village by the Zhongfang Mountains, which are thirty to forty miles deep, with steep peaks and dense forests. Geographically, it still belongs to Xupu County, Chenzhou. Even though it is known that the Han family and his son attacked Yingyu Village and captured Yingyu Village.
village, but I don’t know the specific details.
Zhao Zhixian, Tan Yuliang and others were not released, and Ma Xun and others sent new scouts to go deep into Xuzhou to find out the root cause, but obviously they could not know the inside story better than Zhao Zhixian and Tan Yuliang.
To be honest, Zhao Zhixian and Tan Yuliang didn't understand why the four surnames attacked Yingyu Village at this time. They just told everything they saw, heard, and experienced, and in the end they were cautious.
They expressed their opinions: "The Han family and his son are ambitious and intend to monopolize Xuzhou!"
"My eldest son, don't you still believe in the conspiracy between the Han family and the Chu Emperor to plot Tanzhou?" Wen Ruilin glared at Zhao Zhixian and Tan Yuliang bitterly, and said to the eldest son Ma Xun sincerely.
"The Han family and his son have always been ambitious. This is something we have known for a long time. Otherwise, Han Qian would not have fled to Xuzhou last winter..." Ma Yuanheng frowned and said hesitantly.
Tanzhou had heard rumors very early that Han Qian had fled to Xuzhou with Emperor Tianyou's secret decree in order to help Emperor Tianyou reduce the vassal state of Tanzhou, but this rumor did not attract Tanzhou's attention.
It had only been 14 or 15 years since the founding of the Chu Kingdom, and there was still no support from the people. Moreover, with the case of Feng Wenlan in front of him, like Han Daoxun, Han Qian had the opportunity to separate his country. Who would be willing to bow to Emperor Tianyou?
The other one is the Yingyu Village they control, which is located in the heart of Xuzhou. I don't think the Han family and his son can control the situation in Xuzhou and can only rely on the support of Tanzhou.
No matter how you look at the previous rumors, there is no valid reason.
At this moment, although Zhao Zhixian and Tan Yuliang's statements were very logical, Ma Yuanheng was more or less hesitant, but it was still not certain that the Han family and his son had colluded with Jinling!
"Why did the four surnames attack Yingyu Village? This question is the same as why Han Qian was able to successfully abscond from Xuzhou in the first place. There seems to be no problem, but the answer is there. The prince and the governor can't believe it!"
Wen Ruilin knew that after the fall of Yingyu Village, Tanzhou had no possibility of sending troops to conquer the Han family and his son. However, if Tanzhou did not carry out thorough mobilization and make final preparations, and continued to be deceived by the performance of the Han family and his son,
Then maybe the day lily is really going to be cold.
In his desperation, he ignored his meek attitude and said in an excited tone,
"Han Qian was able to carry so much supplies and his troops fled Jinling. It was not because of his kindness, but because of the deliberate connivance of Emperor Tianyou and Yang Yuanpu. Later, Emperor Tianyou took advantage of the situation and demoted Shen Yang and others to Ezhou, and together with Xuzhou, they attacked Tan
Xuzhou is faintly forming a pincer attack, and then it is aggravating the situation step by step. It seems difficult to understand that the four surnames will attack Yingyu Village this time, but if Han Daoxun asks Zhang Ping to stay in Xuzhou as the military supervisor,
Are you conspiring with the Han family and his son to trick the four surnames into acting recklessly?"
"How did Zhang Ping and the Han family collude?" Ma Yuanheng asked with some confusion.
"If the four surnames, like the governor, believe that the Han family and his son betrayed the imperial court, and Zhang Ping was just a decoration placed by the imperial court in Xuzhou, then when the Han family and his son introduced a new land tax policy, the four surnames secretly contacted Zhang Ping and rebelled against the Han family and his son.
, is it not a matter of course?" Wen Ruilin said.
"The four surnames wanted to rebel against the Han family, so why did they attack Yingyu Village?" someone in the hall asked.
Wen Ruilin said: "Zhang Ping made them believe that the Han family and his son had secretly surrendered to our Tanzhou, and also made them believe that Yingyu Village is easy to attack but Qianyang City is difficult to attack. Doesn't everything have an explanation? And everyone here
, weren’t we all hoping that the Han family and his son would join Tanzhou?”
Wen Ruilin called Ma Yuanheng in an aggressive tone. Ma Rong and others had unhappy faces, but they had no words to refute him. After all, the four surnames who attacked Yingyu Village must have fallen into the trap of the Han family and his son, but they said no
Come up with a more appropriate explanation.
Of course, even if the Han family and his son had conspired with Jinling in advance, it cannot be ruled out that the Han family and his son wanted to get rid of Jinling after gaining power. After all, the situation at this time was too conducive for the Han family and his son to separatize Xuzhou, but Tanzhou was not
We can't take any chances and just sit back and do nothing.
"No matter what, the Han family and his son have to be on guard." Ma Xun said hesitantly.
"It is not enough to just protect the Han family and his son. We also ask the prince to go to Tanzhou immediately to persuade the lord to give up his last illusion about Jinling and take precautions as soon as possible..." Wen Ruilin said.
"Then the Han family and his son will let them go wild?"
After the defeat at Dahongshan, although Ma Xun did not put the blame on Wen Ruilin, he still felt that Wen Ruilin was not good enough. Therefore, Wen Ruilin repeatedly talked about the conspiracy between the Han family and his son and Jinling, and he could not hear it.
Feel bored.
However, since Yingyu Village fell, he was inclined to believe Wen Ruilin's analysis.
And even if the Han family and his son did not conspire with Jinling, thousands of elite soldiers in Tanzhou died at the hands of the Han family and his son, would he be able to endure this?
"The Chu army may gather on a large scale in Ezhou at any time. Before repelling the attack of the Chu army, the crown prince may not be able to directly attack the Han family and his son, but Xuzhou must also be on guard,"
Wen Ruilin said,
"In the past few years, Wang Liang, the governor of Chenzhou, has been the key to preventing the alliance of various surnames in Chenzhou. Currently, the Han family and his son are implementing the new land tax policy in Xuzhou and using tricks to severely defeat the four surnames in Xuzhou. I believe that the influence of the big surnames in Chenzhou will definitely be weakened. If
In the crisis at Mangcaibei, if Wang Liang can be killed at this time and a messenger is sent to Chenzhou, the big surnames in Chenzhou will be able to unite. Even if everything I say is just a guess, this will at least prevent the Han family and his son from
Become a threat to Tanzhou!"
Ma Xun was not an idiot. He pondered for a while and asked Ma Yuanheng, Ma Rong and others: "What do you think?"
"This matter should be taken up sooner rather than later. After the Han family and his son have conquered the four surnames, Chenzhou will be caught off guard if they respond." Ma Rong does not like Wen Ruilin, but it is rare that he has to accept Wen Ruilin's suggestion at this time.
The decisiveness is straightforward.
Even Ma Rong and Ma Yuanheng still found it hard to believe that the Han family and his son were colluding with Jinling, but no matter what, they had to take action to prevent the Han family and his son from annexing Chenzhou again.
Otherwise, if the Han family and his son are allowed to occupy Chenxu Prefecture, then the Han family and his son will no longer be the mediocrity of Tanzhou, but a powerful enemy in the heart of Tanzhou.
"If everything goes as Mr. Wen said, how will Tanzhou cope with this disaster?" As the governor of Langzhou, Ma Yuanheng and Ma Rong will stay and preside over the military affairs of Langzhou, send people to assassinate Wang Liang, the governor of Chenzhou, and target
They must be responsible for every move in Xuzhou, so they cannot go back to Tanzhou. At this time, he suddenly felt unsure and opened his mouth to ask.
"Unite Shu, unite Liang, and devour Shao Heng!" Wen Ruilin said.
After all, Tanzhou is weak. Only the troops of Shu and Liang are pressing down on the border, preventing Jinling from recruiting elite troops from the frontier army. The pressure on Tanzhou will be lighter; and the two countries of Shu and Liang are definitely not willing to see Jinling truly succeed.
Successfully eliminated the vassal state of Tanzhou.
Shaozhou and Hengzhou are located in the Xiangjiang River Basin with Tanzhou. There is no natural geographical barrier and they are integrated. The key areas for Tanzhou to penetrate in recent years are Shaozhou and Hengzhou. At this time, they should directly annex them.
This can be directly converted into the strength that Tanzhou has to fight against the offensive that the Chu army may launch at any time.
Ma Yuanheng and Ma Rong looked at each other. If they really want to make such a big move, the Lord needs to make a decision...
