Han Qian did not directly discuss the arrangement of the secret decree, but asked Zheng Hui:
"Will Your Highness go to Ezhou at this time?"
"When we left Jinling, His Highness had not yet set out, but His Majesty had already drafted a decree to appoint His Highness the Ezhou Military Envoy, and granted Changhou Li Pu the post of deputy envoy to Ezhou. We were delayed for a month on the road, and His Highness should have arrived in Ezhou to take up his post.
"Yes," Zheng Hui said, "I believe it won't be long before His Highness will send someone to Xuzhou to summon you, but Xuzhou cannot wait for Your Highness to summon you before taking any action."
Only by upgrading the Ezhou Governor's Office to the Jiedu Envoy Office can we openly and honestly dispatch money, food, troops and horses from surrounding Huangzhou, Jiangzhou and other places to make final preparations for the reduction of the vassal state.
At present, Tanzhou has tightened the blockade of Dongting Lake and Yuanjiang waterways and key passes, making it even more inconvenient for messengers to travel, and news from Xuzhou has become more blocked and delayed.
Han Qian looked at his father Han Daoxun and said, "Father, what do you think?"
"I have already sent orders to the main officials from Tanyang, Langxi and other counties to Qianyang. After the imperial edict is announced, you will lead your troops to escort Mr. Zheng to Chenzhou to take up his post as soon as possible." Han Daoxun said directly without any hesitation.
Han Qian believed that after Zheng Hui arrived at Qianyang City yesterday, he had a clear understanding of the situation in Chenzhou and Chenzhou at this time.
He led the soldiers and horses of Xuzhou to escort Zheng Hui to Chenzhou to take up his post, which was actually a formal use of troops against the native-born forces in Chenzhou.
However, seeing that his father was so decisive, Han Qian had no excuse to delay, so he said: "In addition to the 800 Shuiying generals left to guard Qianyang City, there are also 3,000 elite soldiers on standby in Longya Mountain. Everything will be obeyed."
Father, Mr. Zheng, Mr. Zhang will carry out your orders."
Seeing Han Daoxun, Han Qian and his son had no intention of delaying. Zheng Hui relaxed a little, saluted Han Daoxun and said: "Whether the millions of people in the southwest of Da Chu can avoid the disaster of rebellion depends entirely on Master Han's plan."
"Lord Zheng, you are exaggerating. You and I are ministers of Chu, and we should work hard for the great Chu State." Han Daoxun said.
It took a certain amount of time for the officials from various counties to rush to Qianyang City. Han Daoxun first summoned the officials in Qianyang City to meet with Zheng Hui and announce the secret decree. This was actually the final mobilization before dispatching troops.
Zheng Hui could be accompanied by his father and military supervisors Zhang Ping and Xue Ruogu. Han Qian didn't get much rest at night. After lunch, he returned to the east courtyard to take a breather.
"After all, Emperor Tianyou still doesn't trust Xuzhou. Zheng Hui came here with a secret decree. He really wants to force Xuzhou to send troops first. Then Jinling will officially issue an order to reduce the vassal status of Tanzhou!" Xi Yi came back with Han Qian.
A woman disguised as a man stood beside Han Qian and kept silent. However, when she returned to the east courtyard and saw Han Qian frowning slightly, she knew that he was also dissatisfied.
"After the third prince commanded tens of thousands of soldiers and horses and marched west from Ezhou to besiege Yuezhou, if Xuzhou makes another move, Chenzhou will be easy to attack. If Xuzhou sends troops first and enters the small territory of Chenzhou, I'm afraid everything will be broken.
These are all tough nuts to crack!" Feng Liao subconsciously lowered his voice and said, he hoped that Han Qian could see the situation clearly and delay Xuzhou's dispatch of troops.
"The imperial court first reduced the vassal state and sent troops from Ezhou to besiege Yuezhou. This would greatly deter the native forces in Chenzhou, thus greatly reducing the pressure on Xuzhou soldiers and horses to move north along the Yuanjiang River. It might even directly recruit and surrender some Fans who were not determined to resist.
Village,"
Han Qian stared at the bodhi tree in the yard and said calmly,
"However, Zheng Hui and I guard Xichuan together, and we also serve in the county prince's palace together. He has also been involved in the plot to reduce the vassal state of Tanzhou from the beginning, and we have a close relationship. But you saw that he was nervous just now.
From the look on my face, I know that few people in Jinling really trust me and my son. At present, it seems that if Xuzhou does not send troops, it will be difficult for Jinling to make up its mind to reduce the vassal state!"
"Even if Xuzhou wants to send troops first, your Excellency should advise the defense envoy to personally lead the troops into Chenzhou." Feng Liao added.
"You didn't understand the edict after all." Han Qian smiled slightly and said.
Feng Liao wanted to think about how he could not understand the secret decree. God Blessed Emperor ordered Xuzhou soldiers and horses to escort Zheng Hui to Chenzhou to take up his post. If Han Daoxun, as the defense envoy, did not go out personally, but Han Qian, the military supervisor Zhang Ping and others would lead the army.
Escorting Zheng Hui to the north, who is the commander in chief?
Han Daoxun did not take action, and Zheng Hui, as deputy defense envoy and governor of Chenzhou, had a higher status than Zhang Ping, the supervisor of the army, and Han Qian, the military envoy.
Feng Liao was worried that Zheng Hui might make a noise and seize the throne, so he suggested this to Han Qian.
Feng Liao was about to persuade Han Qian a few more words, but a thought flashed through his mind, and he finally figured out why Han Qian said he didn't understand the secret decree.
It’s true that he didn’t understand the secret decree!
The actual meaning revealed by Emperor Tianyou in the secret edict was that Zheng Hui should take control of the military and be the chief general leading the troops northward.
This is also the meaning of sending Zheng Hui here.
Otherwise, Zheng Hui, who is able to act independently and has rich experience in commanding troops, does not need to be in Ezhou, but he is asked to take such a big risk to come to Xuzhou. Isn't this because he is full?
If we only need one person to replace Wang Liang as the governor of Chenzhou, and nominally control the governance of Chenzhou, there will be a large number of middle- and high-level civil servants in the court who will not matter if they die.
Feng Liao suddenly realized that when Zheng Hui set out from Jinling, Emperor Tianyou could not confirm the attitude of the Han family and his son, so he left some room for ambiguity in the words when drafting the edict.
"No wonder the defense envoy agreed so simply. It turns out that the defense envoy has long understood the true intention of Emperor Tianyou!" Feng Liao said with emotion, "But you don't really want to hand over the three thousand soldiers, right?"
Understanding the true meaning of Emperor Tianyou is one thing, but in Feng Liao's view, the Han family and his son are trying their best to cooperate with Ezhou to attack Tanzhou this time. They are loyal to Dachu, and there is absolutely no need to keep it in their hands.
Hand over the three thousand elites you gathered.
As long as the Han family father and son can firmly control these three thousand elites, even if the third prince fails to seize the rightful son in the future, both father and son will be loyal ministers and good generals of Da Chu; otherwise, just like his Feng family,
No matter how careful he is, he still can't escape the accusation of treason.
Han Qian glanced at Feng Liao and thought that Feng Liao had extraordinary eyesight, but he failed to see through his father. All his father thought about was to reduce the power of the wealthy and powerful princes, so that all the wealth and soldiers could be used for the country and the people's livelihood.
How can you have the intention to become a prince by yourself?
However, fortunately, God Blessed Emperor can burp at any time. Even if he hands over the military power, in such a short period of time, no one should be able to weaken his influence on the three thousand soldiers.
As long as Tian Cheng, Gao Shao, Lin Haizheng, Xi Chang, Feng Xuan, Feng Zhang and other generals will not be so easily won over, this also means that after the death of Emperor Tianyou, he can use his military power at any time as long as he needs it.
Take it back.
…………
…………
Zheng Hui stayed in Qianyang City for two days. After meeting with the officials of Xuzhou and informing the court of the new Ezhou Jiedu Envoy Office, Wuling Defense Envoy Office and the plan to reduce the vassalage of Tanzhou, he followed Han on the third day.
Qian and Zhang Ping, the supervisor of the army, rushed to Longya City by boat.
After arriving at Longya City, Han Qian immediately summoned Tian Cheng, Gao Shao, Lin Haizheng and others to hand over the command of the three battalions of elite soldiers to Zheng Hui, who would serve as the chief general and be fully responsible for sending troops to conquer Chenzhou.
thing.
Entering the village hall, Han Qian insisted that Zheng Hui sit in the central office and take charge of the case, and said: "Han Qian's ability to lead and manage the army is really weak. Fortunately, Tiancheng, Gao Shao and others helped me during these days, and I was able to barely survive.
Afterwards, Lord Zheng took over all this, and Han Qian could feel a lot more relaxed. However, Han Qian is good at calculations, and he also likes to study the skills of camp craftsmen. He may be able to take care of Lord Zheng in matters such as logistics and transportation..."
What Han Qian meant by this was to hand over the command, and he would only be responsible for logistics, transportation and other matters.
Zheng Hui was no stranger to Tian Cheng, Gao Shao, and Lin Haizheng. Even if he didn't have much contact with Xi Chang, Feng Xuan, and Feng Zhang, he knew that they had served under Han Qian during the Xichuan Defense War. None of them seemed familiar with it.
Although he was happy that Han Qian would hand over the command, he remained calm and waited to see Han Qian's arrangements first.
From the bottom of his heart, Zheng Hui did not want to compete for the military power of the three battalions of elite soldiers from the Han family and his son, and he did not want to antagonize Han Daoxun, especially Han Qian, but he also did not want to violate the will of Emperor Tianyou.
After all, even he was worried about Han Daoxun, and how loyal Han Qian and his son were to Da Chu.
Before he took over the military power from Han Daoxun, Han Qian and his son, even if Han Daoxun and Han Qian led their troops into Chenzhou, they could not completely dispel the imperial court's concerns about him and his son.
After all, who knows whether the Han family and his son took the opportunity to annex Chenzhou?
After the Han family and his son annexed Chenzhou, they suddenly imprisoned all the officials sent by Jinling as a condition for peace with Tanzhou. Then the imperial court's plan to reduce the vassalage of Tanzhou became a joke?
In the past few decades, there have been many vassals in the Central Plains, and there have been too many intrigues. It is by no means easy to gain a little trust from each other.
Of course, the Han family and his son were indeed loyal to Da Chu and had no different ambitions. If they could successfully cut off the vassalage of Tanzhou this time, Zheng Hui believed that the imperial court would certainly not miss out on granting official titles and honors to the Han family and his son.
Han Qian seemed to have guessed what Zheng Hui was thinking, and continued: "Master Yuan and Zheng Zhicheng only led more than 20 people to escort Master Zheng into Xuzhou. If they want to attack the city and move the stronghold, it will be difficult to protect Zheng with this small manpower."
For your personal safety, please Sir Zheng first select a group of elite soldiers from the third battalion to form a personal guard battalion..."
As deputy defense envoy, Zheng Hui is already at the level of deputy commander of the army and deputy capital commander.
Even if he does not have enough troops around him, he can still select a personal guard battalion of 500 people from ordinary generals to guard the safety, carry out the military orders issued by him, and correct the violations of law and discipline in the army.
Of course, there are only 3,600 armored soldiers gathered in Longya City. The size of the guard camp around Zheng Hui should not be too large. Three hundred people is enough, but this will also fully reflect Zheng Hui's status as the commander-in-chief.
Hearing what Han Qian said, let alone Feng Liao, Tian Cheng, Gao Shao, Lin Haizheng and others were secretly shocked. Han Qian wanted them to completely obey Zheng Hui's orders!