After these years of tempering, Xi Shepeng is no longer just the reckless warrior who only knew how to grab a sword and fight in bloody battles. He is also very clear about the purpose of his father's repeated warnings to "be careful" before leading his troops into Chenzhong.
location.
To be honest, the only one that can restrain Xuzhou's ambitions now is the imperial court, but the imperial court obviously does not want any unrest to easily occur in the southwest.
This is also the key reason why Fu Gengwen would prefer Xuzhou to speak without obtaining direct evidence.
If an unrest breaks out in Guangde Mansion, which is less than 200 miles away from Jinling, the shock will be great, but it can be said that it is easy to assemble elite forbidden troops nearby to suppress it.
Regardless of Han Qian's reputation in Dachu, and regardless of how unpredictable Han Qian's military strategies are, the trouble and complexity of simply suppressing the unrest in the southwest are enough to make countless people grow old.
Why did the central dynasty choose to establish Jizhou in the southwest for thousands of years? Why did they grant key official positions such as governor and county magistrate to local tribal leaders and allow them to be hereditary?
Isn’t all this beyond our reach?
In the past, when turmoil occurred in the southwest, even if the leader of the riot succeeded, as long as it did not threaten the Jingzhizhou (Zhengzhou) directly under the imperial court, most of the time the imperial court would recognize it afterwards and would never send troops to suppress or suppress it?
Isn’t all this beyond our reach?
Over the past one thousand years, there have only been a few limited campaigns, all of which occurred when the central dynasty's military preparedness was at its peak.
To be honest, Xi Shepeng also knew in his heart that the reason why Chenzhou was currently supported by His Majesty and most of the Chu court officials was mainly because too many people were afraid of Han Qian personally.
Otherwise, if Da Chu's current internal and external troubles have not been resolved, Da Chu will choose to stand by and watch if the Jisi Prefectures in the southwest are defeated.
Of course, there are too many factors involved and they are too complicated, which also determines that the court's support for Chenzhou is limited.
To put it another way, if Han Qian really wanted to launch a large-scale war and directly send troops to annex Chenzhou, Sizhou, and Yezhou to establish a vassal state, would Emperor Yanyou and his court officials definitely be determined to send troops to suppress it?
In any case, Han Qian's separatist rule in the southwest posed a smaller threat to the Chu court and Emperor Yanyou personally than Han Qian directly causing trouble in Guangde Mansion, the heart of Chu.
When Da Chu failed to solve internal and external troubles, if Han Qian really wanted to take risks, Emperor Yanyou might really hold his nose and admit it first.
Although the temporary camp was only more than thirty miles away from Chenyang City, it was within Chenzhong County after all. Xi Shepeng tossed and turned in the big tent, not sleeping well all night, and not sure how to make the right decision.
Rules?
Sometimes rules cannot be changed.
As soon as the white fish belly appeared on the horizon, he stood up, walked to the river embankment, and stared upstream and downstream, worried that hundreds of warships would come from the depths of the mist to kill them by surprise.
According to the rules, ordinary boats can enter and exit Chenshui at will, and they must wait until the destination dock to report.
However, even if there is an edict, Chenzhou's armed warships must notify Xuzhou in advance if they want to enter.
Whether to transfer a batch of ferries from Chenyang or wait for Han Qian's arrangements, Xi Shepeng could only send someone to see his father overnight. His eldest brother Xi She asked for advice, but he couldn't make any decision.
When Xi Ying sent people over, he could only say that he would consult Han Qian first before making a decision. Now that the court has An Xiang, Fu Gengwen and others in Xuzhou, I believe Han Qian would not dare to be too blatant.
Xi Shepeng waited until daylight and saw that there was no movement on the south bank, so he hired a local awning boat and took several guards across Chenshui, entered Chenzhong City, and entered the posthouse to find Anxiang and Fu.
Geng Wen and Yang Hu asked about the specific arrangements.
Feng Yi rushed to the post house earlier than Xi Shepeng. When he saw Xi Shepeng coming in, he warmly greeted him and asked him to join him: "I was just about to find someone to invite General Xidu. It's just the right time for you to come over."
Let’s go to see Mr. An and Mr. Fu together.”
Seeing Xi Shepeng's doubtful and hesitant look, Feng Yi felt funny in his heart. He didn't know what had happened in the past few years, so that this man who was sober and holding broken bones without saying a word, turned out to be like this?
After An Xiang, Fu Gengwen, Yang Hu, and Han Chengmeng were all summoned, Feng Yi formally represented Han Qian and Xuzhou to report the arrangements for the Chenzhou Fanying transit:
"More than a dozen ferries will arrive at the temporary camp of Chenzhou Fanbing before noon. Walking four or five miles eastward, there will be a ferry for the generals to board the ships, and then transport them in batches to the Heilongjin Port in the east and west. Thoughts on this
The civil turmoil in the state, my lord, also called everyone to discuss it for a long time last night. Considering that the civil turmoil in Panlongling is very fierce, and the Sizhou soldiers have been thwarted in many attempts to suppress it, General Xidu will lead his troops there, and there is no guarantee that he will be able to return with victory.
If we are not careful at that time, the war may spread to Xuzhou. After much discussion, my master decided to personally lead a thousand soldiers and horses to escort Mr. Fu, General Shesheng, and the young master to Hujian Pass. When the time comes, Mr. An will also be invited to accompany him.
Be a witness, so that no one will say that I, Xuzhou, have other motives. With the support of Chenzhou, if Sizhou can successfully quell the chaos, it will be good. If it is not possible, I, Xuzhou, have more than a thousand elites stationed on the high chair.
Yu, when the time comes, the young master will say hello again and he will move quickly."
Han Chengmeng sat behind the long desk and remained silent. His status meant that he should not talk much unless he decided to break with the Chao family and openly side with Xuzhou.
Yang Hu and Fu Gengwen glanced at Anji Xiang, then looked at Xishe Peng who had just entered.
"There's nothing wrong with that." Xi Shepeng said thoughtfully.
Regardless of personally leading troops to monitor or intimidate, there is nothing "over the top" in Xuzhou's arrangement.
Besides, if he didn't have the courage to march with the Xuzhou soldiers, he might as well have refused to lead his troops to borrow the road from Chenzhong County in the first place.
"That's all?" Yang Hu stared at Feng Yi and asked.
During his trip to Jinling, he also saw that too many people were suspicious and fearful of Han Qian.
He was also a bit broken now, thinking that instead of guessing and taking precautions, it would be better to let Han Qian's wolf ambition be completely exposed, and then see how Emperor Yanyou and the ministers of Dachu dealt with it.
Otherwise, Sizhou, which is too weak, will be beaten to death by Xuzhou sooner or later.
Xi Shepeng had no objection to the fact that Han Qian personally led troops to escort him. Deep down in his heart, he wished that Han Qian would directly kill Xi Shepeng's men. Yang Hu, who had completely exposed the truth, naturally had no objection even more. He even felt that Xu Shepeng
The little tricks played by the state are a bit too small.
Feng Yi laughed and said that of course it was more than that, and said: "Young Master said before that he was worried that the eight hundred village slaves who stayed in Xuzhou to work would be affected by the riots and their hearts would be deceived and unstable, so he wanted to take them with him.
He returned to Xuzhou and was taken into custody. At that time, the young master was in a hurry to go to Jinling to ask for help and could not take care of this matter. My lord thought about it afterwards and felt that what the young master said was indeed reasonable, so he ordered the eight hundred village slaves to be taken into custody.
Centralize supervision and train people so that they know how to abide by the rules. At present, they should be able to barely use them to form troops. This time, they will be handed over to the young master to take over. I hope it will help to calm down the civil unrest in Sizhou as soon as possible.
If the young master is free now, he will follow Feng Yi to the military camp outside Nancheng and take over these troops..."
Yang Hu's face turned green, and he wanted to jump up and point at Feng Yi's nose to scold him for talking nonsense. It was Han Qian who was holding him back in the first place.
"Previously, there were unsettled wages in Sizhou. The slave soldiers of the eight hundred villages had 600 refined iron spears, 200 straight-spine knives, 400 collars of leather armor, 20 collars of iron armor, and 800 collars of military uniforms.
Eight hundred pairs of boots, two hundred shields, and the food and lodging expenses of the eight hundred village slaves in the past two months are more than enough to offset the work payment. The excess, my adults also said, is Xuzhou's aid to Sizhou.
As long as Mr. Fu mentions it when reporting to the court, it will be enough to let His Majesty and the princes in the court know that Xuzhou has done its best..." Feng Yi said.
Yang Hu's face was ashen. He now not only wanted to take over the 800 village slaves whose hearts were unstable, but also wanted to take over the 800 village slave soldiers who had been initially trained and equipped by Xuzhou.
How can he say not to take over?
Even if the takeover is postponed, according to Feng Yi's wishes, Sizhou still wants to provide money and food to Xuzhou in return as payment for the resettlement of the 800 village slave soldiers?
"If the young master finds it difficult, there is nothing wrong with Xuzhou continuing to supervise these slave soldiers." Feng Yi added.
After hearing what Feng Yi said, Yang Hu hesitated again.
Although he has been traveling around asking for help in the past two months, he still has some understanding of the development of the war in Panlong Ridge.
The eight hundred elite slave soldiers of the stronghold are indeed an extremely valuable supplement to the Sizhou Fanying, which is currently stretched thin.
Han Qian's attitude changed before and after. Perhaps he succumbed to the pressure of His Majesty and the imperial court and gave up his bad intentions towards Sizhou?
Seeing that Yang Hu was undecided, Fu Gengwen asked Feng Yi:
"General Xidu will lead the Chenzhou camp and go with Yang Hu to take over the slave soldiers. There should be no problem, right?"
Fu Gengwen didn't want to intensify the situation, but Anji Xiang couldn't directly intervene in the matter at this time, and he had to understand his responsibilities.
Otherwise, when Huang Hua, Wu Zun, Chen Fan and others officially take office, he won't be able to explain it.
"Of course," Feng Yi said, "If you and the young master have any questions, I will answer them one by one. If there is anything that requires Xuzhou's cooperation, please bring it up."
Feng Yi looked meek, as if Xuzhou had really succumbed to the imperial court's coercion and became extremely cooperative.
Anji Xiang coughed lightly and said to Fu Gengwen: "You, Cheng Meng, and Yang Hu will go to the military camp first to take a look at the situation of the slave soldiers before making a decision."
He didn't understand many situations now, and it was difficult to guess Han Qian's true intentions. He thought that no matter how unscrupulous Han Qian was, there seemed to be no need to encourage the rebels to kill Fu Gengwen, Han Chengmeng, and Yang Hu.
If the Zhai slave soldiers mutinied in Xuzhou, Xuzhou would be responsible for suppressing them. After passing Hujian Pass, Anji Xiang believed that there would be Xishepeng leading the elite Chenzhou Fanying to monitor along the way and suppress these Zhai slaves.
There should be no problem with the soldiers.
Anyway, I first went to see the situation of the slave soldiers in the Eight Hundred Village before talking about anything else.
Besides, he had also heard Yang Hu complain along the way. These eight hundred village slaves were all slaves of the Yang family, and their heads were cooked. It was impossible for Xuzhou to put any nails in them.
What Fu Gengwen was thinking about was to take Han Chengmeng with him to see the situation first. Of course, the matter of Chenzhou Banying soldiers crossing the river was postponed, and Xi Shepeng returned to the north bank first to wait for news.