Yang Jian, Shen Yang, and Zheng Hui all advocated advancing to the city to stabilize the situation in Tanzhou, and then prepare for the next stage of the offensive against Shaozhou and Hengzhou as soon as possible.
Next, Guo Liang took the lead in the Marriage Affairs Office. More than a thousand cavalry guards from the tent house entered the city and first settled in the former Tanzhou Jiedu Envoy Office to investigate potential safety hazards. The others first accompanied the third prince and the Shu envoy Changxiang Hou Wang Yong. Climb Yuelu Mountain to worship and formally enter the city in the afternoon.
Although the Ma family ruled Xiangtan for more than a hundred years, during the Ma family's civil strife, Tanzhou City experienced a military disaster. Hundreds of thousands of houses were destroyed by the war, and countless civilians in the city were injured. Ma Yin had no choice but to ask Emperor Tianyou to send troops. Tanzhou's name It has been nearly ten years since Shang Nei attached Da Chu.
The aristocratic clans and common people in Tanzhou have more or less formed a certain sense of identity and belonging to Da Chu. This time the Ma family raised a rebel flag to seek separatism, which was not popular among the people.
In several tough battles, the casualties were mainly direct soldiers and horses controlled by the Ma family for many years. The combat effectiveness of the rural soldiers was extremely weak. Even after Ma Yin proclaimed himself Queen of Hunan, many officials in Tanzhou abandoned their seals and fled into the mountains.
The Tanzhou rebellion was almost quickly put down within half a year, which was also particularly beneficial to the popular support.
As the setting sun slanted down, Han Qian followed the third prince into the city.
The streets leading into the city to the Jiedushi Mansion were already crowded with civilians watching the excitement. Most of the civilians showed no fear in their eyes. Instead, they felt a sense of relief and relief that the war could be calmed down so quickly.
Changxiang Marquis Wang Yong and the pseudo-boys around him attracted a lot of attention, but the third prince Yang Yuanpu was undoubtedly the most eye-catching. He did not take a more closely protected carriage and insisted on riding into the city. Under the attention of all the people, he passed through Pave the stone street and enter the magnificent Jiedushi Mansion (Prince Xiang's Mansion).
The Ma family divided the Dongting Lake and Xiangjiang areas, and at most ruled twelve states in the Dongting Lake, Xiangjiang and Yuanjiang river basins. The Jiedushi Mansion, where several generations of the Ma family lived and continued to expand, was also magnificent in scale and extremely magnificent.
Even though some of the buildings were destroyed by civil strife during the Jiedushi period, they have been repaired and restored to their original appearance ten years later.
Tanzhou Jiedushi Mansion covers an area of about four to five hundred acres, which is even larger than Longya City.
There are three main halls built in front of the Jiedushi Mansion, which are where Ma Yin discusses affairs and handles military and political affairs. There are more than a thousand houses in the inner palace, with rows of pavilions and pavilions. There is also a building covering an area of more than 100 acres, named The hillock circle of Lion Rock has been turned into a private amusement park in the mansion, which is several times larger than the Linjiang County Prince's Mansion in Jinling City.
The Tanzhou Jiedushi Mansion also had a long tradition of using eunuchs to serve privately.
After Xinchang Marquis Li Pu led his troops into the city, in addition to taking into custody more than 4,000 captured soldiers and the children of the Ma clan who had not had time to flee south, more than 3,000 female dependents were taken into custody. In addition, more than 2,000 eunuchs and maidens used by the Jiedushi Mansion were also taken into custody. people.
If the hundreds of civil and military officers, generals, and their dependents, as well as their family members and slaves, who were entrusted by Ma Yin in Tanzhou City were included in the statistics, they might account for nearly half of Tanzhou's population.
For the convenience of bodyguards and discussions, Han Qian, Shen Yang, Zhang Ping, and Shu envoy Changxiang Marquis Wang Yong also temporarily stayed with the third prince in the Jiedushi Mansion.
The miscellaneous people had been sent to prisoner-of-war camps long ago, and the guards inside and outside the Jiedushi Mansion were replaced by guards from the Prince's Mansion, making the huge Jiedushi Mansion look much empty.
After Han Qian and others moved into the Jiedushi Mansion in Tanzhou, the main rebels such as Ma Yin, Ma Xun and his son were also imprisoned directly in the dungeon of the Jiedushi Mansion.
In order to prevent people loyal to the Ma family from lurking in the city to assassinate or kidnap Ma Yin, Ma Xun and his son, Han Qian did not take a breath and personally sent the elite scouts that Jinyun Tower could still organize to
Deployed near the dungeon to make up for the lack of guards in the Marriage Office and the Tent House.
The dungeon is located in the northwest corner of the Jiedushi Mansion. It looks like an inconspicuous small courtyard, but it is heavily guarded.
Going around a rockery, you will find the very inconspicuous entrance to the dungeon.
The terrain in Tanzhou City is flat, and the dungeon dug several meters underground appears to be extremely dank. The walls are mottled with old bloodstains, filling the dungeon with a pungent smell of blood.
Various instruments of torture were placed there.
Han Qian, Jiang Huo, and Yuan Guowei walked through it personally to confirm that there was no secret passage leading to other places inside the dungeon before returning to the dungeon hall.
Ma Yin, Ma Xun and his son were imprisoned in a cell at the east end of the hall.
Ma Yin was over fifty years old, and his thin cheeks looked extremely old at this moment. His hair on the temples was frosty white, and he looked even more sluggish than Emperor Tianyou, who was ten years older than him.
Ma Xun was still wearing a python dragon robe, but he was filthy, with a bruised nose and swollen face. He also had several stab wounds on his body, which must have been caused when he led his guards to resist Ji Zhongqi's arrest. At this time, he was simply bandaged.
Ma Yin sat in the corner like an old monk in trance, ignoring Han Qian and the others' arrival, while Ma Xun looked over with a sinister look in his eyes, filled with reluctance.
Han Qian smiled and saluted: "Han Qian, the deputy commander of the army in the Longque Army tent, has met Du Yuhou."
These were the first words Han Qian said when he sent his father to Xuzhou for his appointment and met with Ma Xun on the way.
I remember that on the bow deck of the Wuyalou ship Nuoda, Ma Xun was sitting on a high-backed official chair in the middle, with dozens of counselors on the left and right, and his generals standing side by side. How majestic it was!
Han Qian thought that Ma Xun never imagined that one day he would become a prisoner of his subordinates.
A trace of anger and hatred flashed in Ma Xun's eyes, burning like a vicious beast that eats people, but then it dimmed.
"Master Han, are we going to interrogate them now?" Jiang Huo bowed slightly and came over to ask.
Li Pu, the Marquis of Xinchang, captured Tanzhou City and reported to the third prince that the savings of the Jiedushi Mansion were very limited, with less than 30,000 shi of grain and less than 200,000 taels of silk, gold and silverware.
When Li Pu, the Marquis of Xinchang, captured Tanzhou City, the rebels failed to break into the Jiedu Envoy Mansion. Jiang Huo and Yuan Guowei all suspected that Ma Yin, Ma Xun and his son had secrets in other places, and they wanted to torture them and forced them to reveal these secrets.
, as a source of military support for the Longque Army.
According to Jiang Huo and Yuan Guowei, the families of Feng Wenlan and Kong Zhou, the Minister of Household Affairs, were confiscated. Dali Temple and the Prince's Mansion confiscated the farmyard and private collection of the Feng and Kong families, and the discounted price was as high as millions of dollars.
As a local prince, the Ma family has managed Dongting Lake, the Xiangjiang River, and the Ruanjiang River for nearly a hundred years. It is impossible for the Ma family to be worse than the Feng family.
For example, Feng Changyu was just a wealthy native of Xuzhou. After being destroyed by Han Qian, he confiscated more than 60,000 stones of grain and other goods worth 60,000 to 70,000 yuan from Jingyun Village.
Han Qian shook his head. He didn't think the Ma family had anything to hide. Even if they did, it wouldn't be much.
The Ma family experienced civil strife ten years ago, and their vitality was severely damaged. Even if it recovered within ten years, it would still be far from its peak.
The Ma family did not change their extravagant style. Within ten years, they built a large number of palaces, pavilions and pavilions for their own entertainment. The number of eunuchs and maidens raised in the Jiedushi's mansion was nearly 3,000. In order to maintain Tanzhou's semi-independent status, he built a large number of palaces and pavilions in public and private affairs.
He also wanted to pay tribute to the dignitaries in Jinling City.
And Tanzhou still has to maintain a huge army of more than 20,000 elite soldiers all year round. During the Jingxiang War, more than 4,000 soldiers were lost. This rebellion brought Shaozhou and Hengzhou into trouble together, and the military strength expanded sharply to nearly 90,000 people.
The fee is even more huge.
The remaining savings of the Tanzhou Jiedushi government were consistent with Han Qian's judgment beforehand, and he did not want to become a bad person for useless efforts.
Of course, if Jiang Huo and Yuan Guowei wanted to torture the Ma family and his son, Han Qian would never stop them.
In fact, judging from the savings of the Jiedu Envoy, even without Wen Ruilin, Gao Long, Miao Yong and others accelerating the progress of the war to reduce the vassal state, Han Qian and the others would have captured Hanshou, completely controlled the middle and lower reaches of the Yuanjiang River, and would have defeated the rebels.
If the military territory is divided, it will only take two or three months at most, and the rebels will be trapped in a desperate situation of lack of food and pay.
Even if the autumn grain harvest season is coming soon, the Wuling Army and an elite group of Longque Army are stationed in Hanshou, making it extremely convenient to invade the hinterland along the Dongting Lake, which will also make it impossible for the rebels to collect grain from the area.
However, in the eyes of most people, the capture of Baimao City and Tanzhou City were the two most critical battles that determined the victory of the vassal reduction. The Marquis of Xinchang, Li Pu, was naturally the first to succeed, followed by Zheng Hui, Li Zhigao and other generals.
At this time, Xi Faer, who was guarding outside the dungeon, came over to report that the scouts sent to Shaozhou and Hengzhou to spy on intelligence had returned. After the rebel generals Zhao Sheng and Luo Jia learned about the fall of Tanzhou, they entangled 30,000 people.
The soldiers and horses, including tens of thousands of family members and children, fled along the Xiangjiang River to Yongzhou in the south. The third prince convened a military meeting in the Qianya Hall and invited Han Qian and others to come over.
Han Qian, Yuan Guowei, and Jiang Huo hurriedly left the dungeon of the West Courtyard and rushed to the front office hall of the Jiedushi Mansion. Seeing that everyone had not rested, they all rushed there as soon as they learned the latest information about Shao Heng and the two states.
come over.
Han Qian bowed to the third prince and everyone, walked to the empty long desk under Shen Yang and sat down. He saw Wen Ruilin sitting between Chai Jian and Li Chong, and he smiled inwardly. It seemed that Wen Ruilin was still connected.
Having accomplished great feats, he is already regarded as a direct descendant by Marquis Xinchang.
Han Qian asked Shen Yang in a low voice: "Master Shen, everyone knows that the rebels from Shao and Hengzhou have fled south?"
Shen Yang nodded and said, "I just mentioned this."
At this time, Zheng Hui stood up and saluted the third prince and said:
"Shao and Heng's two groups of rebels are threatening tens of thousands of family members and fleeing south. Their speed must be quite slow. We will lead the Shuibu camp southward across the Xiangjiang River and should be able to intercept and annihilate them all in Yongzhou."
Zheng Hui was the main combatant, especially since the battle to reduce the vassal state was fought so smoothly, and the rebels were unable to fight back. There was no reason to let Zhao Sheng go. The Luo and Jia rebels went south to join the Qingyuan Army. He advocated leaving a small number of troops.
The horse is in Tanzhou City, and the other water camp infantry can immediately gather 20,000 elite troops to pursue southward. They should take advantage of the victory to pursue.
The third prince and the Marquis of Xinchang, Li Pu, were also eager to give it a try. They all wanted to take advantage of the victory and pursue it, so as to achieve full general status.
Han Qian sat behind the case and looked towards Shen Yang and Yang Jian.
Yang Jian sat as steady as a rock. It was obvious that he had already figured it out in his heart. If the third prince wanted to send troops to pursue him, the Louchuanjun Shuiying would just send warships to cooperate. There was no need to express any opinions.
Shen Yang's expression was slightly condensed, as if he hadn't thought through some details yet, and seemed worried about the unforeseen risks of sending troops to pursue him immediately.
Of course, for this overnight military meeting, Li Zhigao, Zhou Pan, Zhou Shu, Gao Chengyuan, Zhang Feng, Zhang Han and other major military commanders, as well as accompanying officials such as Chai Jian, Li Chong, Zhang Ping and Wang Lin, all came over.
join.
Now Zheng Hui expressed his position first with great interest. If others agree, that's fine. If they object, they have to think carefully about the wording so that it is not offensive.
Seeing the proud look of Xinchang Hou Li Pu, who seemed to want to speak, Han Qian guessed that he had not thought through some key points, so he coughed lightly, cut off his words, and said with a smile to Zheng Hui: "Master Zheng should stay to assist His Highness.
Tanzhou, Mr. Zheng can no longer take all the military merits of going south to pursue the defectors!"
Zheng Hui was slightly startled. At this time, in the main hall, the only person who could command 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers and horses to pursue them southward was Xinchang Marquis Li Pu.
Yang Jian's status was high enough, but as the commander of the navy, he was not the right person to lead the troops south.
However, what he heard from Han Qian's words was not to fight for the opportunity of Xinchang Hou Li Pu to lead his troops south. After all, Xinchang Hou Li Pu's military achievements at this time were not inferior to his. Han Qian should have suggested that the generals below should have more
An opportunity to express or stand alone.
This will actually reduce the size of the troops used in the southward pursuit.
Luo Jia and Zhao Sheng still have more than 30,000 troops. Although people are panicking, they can gather 20,000 elite troops, so why should they reduce the scale of their troops?
Doesn't this increase the risk of using troops for no reason?
The Marquis of Xinchang, Li Pu, was very good at observing people's opinions. Now that everyone had made great achievements, he was in a good mood. Even if Han Qian did not advise him to lead the army, he was not upset. People should not be too greedy, so he asked Han Qian with a smile:
"Lord Han, do you think that the military merit of pursuing an escaper south should be collected by others?"
"Zhao Sheng and Luo Jianan fled to the south. The prince of Yuzhang County has probably got his revenge in Yuanzhou by now. He should send troops and horses into Hengzhou soon. We will select a general to lead five or six thousand elites and enter Shaozhou first.
It may be more appropriate to discuss the strategy of conquering Yongzhou in the south after His Highness meets with the Prince of Yuzhang County," Han Qian said.
Now there was a good opportunity to pursue Sheng, but Han Qian actually suggested slowing down the pursuit of Zhao Sheng and Luo Jia. Everyone was startled.
How is this anything like Han Qian's past behavior?
