Chapter five hundred and thirty eight crossing the river
The first wife died of illness, and Su Hongyu was the only concubine Li Zhigao took into his house. Even in the difficult times, Su Hongyu crossed the river to visit her husband Li Zhigao in the Chaozhou camp, and others could not say anything.
Yao Xishui and Ye Feiying pretended to be Su Hongyu's maids, sitting in a tightly packed carriage. They opened the curtain to see in the heavily guarded military camp. Thousands of civilians were working non-stop to collect the war equipment and supplies stored in the camp.
transported forward.
Duke Li Pu of Chang State entered the Chaozhou camp yesterday with an edict. His Majesty and all the princes in the court unanimously decided to capture Chaozhou City before Liang Jun crossed the Huaihe River and block the passage of the Louchuan Army and Navy warships from entering the Yangtze River. Chaozhou
The generals in the camp were acting according to orders at this time and were actively making preparations for the general attack, as they should be.
Yao Xishui, Su Hongyu and the others were secretly shocked when they saw it.
Seventy-eight thousand elite imperial troops and soldiers from various states were stationed outside Chaozhou City, besieging the city and storming the city. These were two completely different war situations.
Based on the peripheral forts and trenches, Chaozhou City was besieged without attack. At this time, even if a large number of enemy reinforcements rushed from the periphery, the North Bank Forbidden Army could still calmly deploy troops, intercept and defend, or escape far away.
.
After all, no matter how slow the Forbidden Army's scouts are, they can still maintain effective surveillance of the area thirty to fifty miles outside. At such a close distance, it will take half a day for the cavalry to advance at full speed, which means that the siege troops can at least half a day.
Make deployment adjustments.
No matter how bad the situation is, they may not necessarily lose if they occupy the outer fortresses and trenches and confront the enemy.
Once a strong attack on Chaozhou City is launched, a large amount of supplies, soldiers and horses will be transferred directly to Chaozhou City. At this time, when a large number of enemy reinforcements are coming from the flank, the deployment of troops and generals will be much more chaotic.
At this time, the reverse situation is much more dangerous for them.
Not to mention that the enemy cavalry launches sneak attacks at night or in extreme weather such as rain and snow, creating horrific chaos. Even if the soldiers and horses under the city can be withdrawn to the camp in the rear in time, a large amount of supplies and war equipment will inevitably be lost.
Fall into the enemy's hands.
Their rear camp is in short supply of supplies and weapons. Once they are surrounded by enemy forces, will they be able to support the Forbidden Army on the south bank to come for reinforcements?
Even if the Forbidden Army on the south bank ignored the warship blockade of the Lou Chuan Army and forcibly crossed the Yangtze River to reinforce the north bank, Emperor Zhu Yu of the Liang Dynasty mobilized the country and sent more troops across the Huai River to engage in a decisive battle. How much chance would they have of winning?
"Why did Madam cross the river to visit General Li at this time?"
While he was startled and hesitant, he heard a familiar voice coming from the front of the carriage. Yao Xishui opened a few more curtains and caught a glimpse of Wen Ruilin standing in front of the carriage wearing a blue robe, bowing and greeting him.
Yao Xishui and Ye Feiying retreated to the corner of the carriage. Su Hongyu then opened the curtain in front of the carriage, leaned forward and said, "It's Mr. Wen - the current situation is critical, I have been in a state of mind these days.
I am restless, having nightmares for days, having trouble sleeping and eating. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help but come across the river to visit my husband. Are my husband and father-in-law in the camp at this time?”
"General Li has gone to the front line to supervise the battle. I have just returned to the camp with the Duke," Wen Ruilin said.
"When I take a break, I will go and pay my respects to my father-in-law." Su Hongyu said.
Li Zhigao is Li Pu's adopted son, and Su Hongyu is naturally Li Pu's adopted son and concubine. It is a necessary etiquette to get out of the car to say hello, otherwise the flaws will be exposed.
Wen Ruilin looked at the carriage suspiciously and stepped out of the way to watch Su Hongyu ride to Li Zhigao's living tent.
Yao Xishui opened a corner of the car curtain and continued to peek at Wen Ruilin's reaction standing on the side of the road. It was really hard to imagine that he was Liang Guo's secret room, but Han Qian's words made it difficult for them to doubt this.
Yes, Wen Ruilin did fall into the hands of Han Qian first when he was in Wuling City.
Wen Ruilin initially proposed to Han Qian a strategy to fall into Tanzhou quickly, but Han Qian refused, so Li Chong found the opportunity to leave the city overnight and notify Li Pu to rush to Wuling Mansion to pick up Wen Ruilin for their use.
She, Chun Shisanniang and Zhang Ping were in Wuling City at that time.
It's just that they initially suspected that Han Qian didn't accept Wen Ruilin's strategy and had some conspiracy to harm Li Pu. Later, when they saw that Wen Ruilin had successfully persuaded Gao Long and Miao Yong to join him, they took advantage of it as quickly as possible.
When they went to Tanzhou, they naturally concluded that Han Qian was afraid that his achievements would shock the master, so they had no choice but to give up Wen Ruilin.
She never thought that Han Qian's plan was much more sinister and deeper than they imagined, and that he even involved the Changguo Duke's mansion at this time.
If Wen Ruilin is Liang Jian, wouldn't Gao Long and Miao Yong become less reliable?
Did Chen Mingsheng and Li Chong capture Zhongli City with the help of Gao Long?
Thinking of this, Yao Xishui became more and more frightened as he thought about it. A chill ran down his spine. He wished he could see his elder brother and tell him the truth.
…………
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After it got dark, Li Zhigao returned to the rear camp from the offensive position under Chaozhou City. However, he also realized that Su Hongyu must have something important to do so he crossed the river at this juncture. However, the military affairs were heavy on his shoulders and he could not escape.
Li Zhigao's living tent was a temporary requisition of a large rural house with three front and rear entrances plus east and west courtyards, several courtyards, and dozens of houses.
Li Zhigao's command office was also located here. There were dozens of scribes, under the command of the Army Sima, the Chief Secretary and the Cao Cao and the army, to assist Li Zhigao in handling various complicated affairs, directing troops and horses, and mobilizing food and fodder - Li Pu carried the edict.
He came here and had the responsibility of supervising the army, but he was temporarily living elsewhere and had no way to directly interfere with the combat command of the offensive front line.
The backyard where Li Zhigao lived was relatively small. He was in the army and did not use maids. However, Su Hongyu and other maids lived in it, and the guards who were previously in charge here moved outside.
Li Zhigao and his direct line of guards guarded the outside of the courtyard, and only Deng Tai, the pro-military capital Yuhou, entered the inner chamber.
Seeing that Yao Xishui was there, he didn't feel particularly shocked, and Jia Pao didn't understand either. Instead, he sat down with a gloomy face and asked in a low voice: "What on earth happened to ask you to cross the river at this time?"
"Han Qian is in Jinling, and his words and words are coming from the secret room of the Liang Kingdom..." Yao Xishui quickly told Li Zhigao the circumstances of Han Qian breaking into the general's mansion to meet them.
Deng Tai stood stunned on the spot. He was fearless in the face of bloody battles on the battlefield. At this moment, he felt a chill running from his buttocks to his head. For a long time, he didn't know what to say.
"The defenders have been surrounded for half a year, but their morale has not collapsed and their fighting spirit is still resilient. It seems that the truth should be like this; and only in this way can many other things make sense!" Li Zhigao also took a breath and looked solemn.
Sit with your hands on the desk.
He felt that it was too rash to attack Hongzepu with the main force of the Five Tooth Army Navy, but Yang Yuanpu directly controlled the execution of the Privy Council, and a few people's advice could not stop it.
When the main force of the navy was severely damaged in Hongzepu, considering that the rebel navy might enter the Yangtze River waterway at any time and threaten Jinling and the hinterland of the Yangtze River, it was necessary to urgently mobilize the Xuzhou water camp to advance eastward, or to capture it before Liang Jun's large-scale southward advance.
Chaozhou City is the two most urgent choices.
Except for Yang En, Yang Yuanpu and other princes in the court directly excluded the matter of moving Xuzhou Shuiying eastwards.
After all, the Right Shenwu Army has already captured Zhongli City and is wedged into the mouth of the Huaihe River where it flows into Hongzepu. No matter how you look at it, there is a great chance to capture Chaozhou City, which has been besieged for more than half a year.
Most of the generals in the Chaozhou camp also supported the court's decision.
Chaozhou City has been besieged for more than half a year. How many people are willing to give up halfway and withdraw from Chaozhou City at this time?
Li Zhigao had not considered resisting the decree, but he felt extremely awkward.
Wen Ruilin was a traitor to Liang, and Gao Long, who had been persuaded by Wen Ruilin to defect to him, had become unreliable. Li Zhigao saw the light of day and did not hesitate to conclude that this was the case.
Li Zhigao then asked Yao Xishui: "Does Han Qian have any countermeasures?"
"Han Qian took away the edict from the Queen Mother last night, and Xuzhou Water Camp will enter the Yangtze River Waterway at any time..." Yao Xishui said.
"Han Qian has such a sinister plan and is so ruthless that he can sit back and watch the destruction of the Chu Navy. How could he easily hand over the order to mobilize troops into the hands of such a treacherous person?" Before Yao Xishui could finish his words, Deng Tai eagerly interjected and asked.
road.
He was still secretly frightened by Han Qian's plot, and subconsciously wanted to cooperate with such traitors. Wouldn't that mean seeking the skin of a tiger?
"It's useless to say this at this time,"
Yao Xishui was about to explain that this was his wife's decision, but Li Zhigao directly signaled Deng Tai not to dwell on this issue any longer. Is there anything about what they secretly planned that was more glorious than Han Qian's?
He asked Yao Xishui again,
"Although there are water camps in Xuzhou, there are not many soldiers and horses to help the Queen Mother fight for power with Your Majesty. He must have known about our secret relationship and asked you to come here with the Queen Mother's hand. He wants us to cooperate with him and resolve the current situation.
crisis?"
Seeing that her eldest brother could roughly guess many details that would follow just by hearing this, Yao Xishui was also very excited. She secretly felt that with her eldest brother here and the Queen Mother under their control, she might not be really afraid of Han Qian.
He took out the edict from his sleeve and said:
"Han Qian may not know our background, but he noticed that my eldest brother has secret contact with us. The Queen Mother has a secret edict here, and my eldest brother can take advantage of it..."
Li Zhigao took the edict and spread it out to read carefully.
There is a big difference whether there is an edict from the Queen Mother or not.
Without an edict from the Queen Mother, he delayed attacking the city. His adoptive father, Li Pu, was the first to refuse, let alone persuade the generals other than Deng Tai to accompany him to disobey Emperor Yanyou's imperial edict - and even if he could persuade the generals,
Will they risk their lives and property to follow him and withdraw their troops to survive the immediate crisis, but will they be able to escape the crime of Emperor Yanyou's disobedience to them afterwards?
You must know that once he leads the main force of the imperial army on the north bank to give up the storming of Chaozhou City, or even withdraw directly to Shuzhou, Liang Jun will also adjust his deployment accordingly, and may even give up crossing the Huaihe River.
When the time comes, they will not only disobey the order, but also act "cowardly" and miss the opportunity to regain Chaozhou City. If all the crimes are added up, their heads will not be chopped off even if they are all together.
And with the Queen Mother's order, he only had to convince more generals to follow the Queen Mother's order and act with him.
As for whether Emperor Yanyou would be mad, he couldn't care so much at this time; and the matter of "the concubine's title to govern the government" has not been abolished, and they acted under the empress dowager's orders, at least on the surface, they could not be held accountable for resisting the order.
The sin of disobedience.
In this way, at least the generals below do not need to bear much pressure, and the generals at the bottom will not cause fatal chaos.
Of course, even if there is an edict issued by the Queen Mother, there are great considerations in how to persuade the generals to obey the edict, who should start first, and how to make his adoptive father Li Pu surrender and obey the edict.
Li Zhigao took the edict in hand, sat in front of the case, and thought about it carefully.
"Yang En was firmly opposed to siege the city. He even made a scene in the court and was driven away by Yang Yuanpu. He also vomited blood and fainted in front of the Changchun Palace. He was firmly opposed to risking the siege. Should we come over to him?" Yao Xishui suggested.
"Okay, you immediately arrange for someone to ask Yang Endu to come over." Li Zhigao said.
Yang En has a special status. Even if everyone knows his position, as long as no one knows about the secret edict, no one will pay attention to him or stop him when he crosses the river. They will all think that crossing the river is just a futile struggle.
However, Yang En's influence in the clan and among the generals in the army is not small.
After he came over, Li Zhigao took out the Queen Mother's secret edict and convinced the generals that many things would be much easier.
"Okay, I'll cross the river and return to Jinling overnight." Yao Xishui said.
"By the way, please don't mention anything about Wen Ruilin to Yang En." Li Zhigao thought of something and specifically told Yao Xishui.
"Why, that Zhuzi can be so cruel as to sit back and watch tens of thousands of navy generals being destroyed, do we still have to protect his reputation?" Yao Xishui asked, this time she wished that people like Yang En would completely stand against Han Qian.
, but did not expect that the eldest brother would cover up for Han Qian.
"Why are you confused? After the crisis is over, who does your Majesty hate the most?" Li Zhigao asked.
Hearing what his elder brother said, Yao Xi was slightly startled before he suddenly understood.
She is really a little too persistent.
The eldest brother was able to command the North Bank Forbidden Army because he was deeply trusted by Yang Yuanpu, but this time they are actually equivalent to a "military remonstrance coup" to help the Queen Mother seize power from Yang Yuanpu!
Yang Yuanpu was most suspicious of Han Qian before, but after this incident, she probably hated her elder brother the most, right?
After the crisis is resolved, they still have to join forces with Han Qian to stabilize the "power" of the Queen Mother first. Whether they will have to break up with each other is also a matter later!
If they want to take advantage of Wen Ruilin's incident to make Han Qian infamous, make it difficult for him to gain a foothold in Jianghuai, and be forced to return to Xuzhou, will the situation really be in their favor?
Of course, if they miss this moment and try to reveal the truth after a while that Han Qian used Wen Ruilin as a ploy to trap the Duke of Chang and watch the main force of the navy be destroyed, it will be unconvincing.
Yao Xishui thought of this and asked Li Zhigao: "What about Wen Ruilin?"
"Deng Tai, you can find an opportunity tomorrow to trick him into leaving the camp and get rid of him," Ci Bu commanded the army. Li Zhigao had been fighting in the north and south for many years. The lives of one or two people were as light as a piece of grass in his eyes. "But be careful," he said.
In order to prevent other spies from Liang Guo lurking in the camp from noticing this."
For a person like Wen Ruilin, it is very likely that the sight of Su Hongyu, Yao Xishui and the others crossing the river has aroused suspicion. If they make any move next, he will see the flaw and find an opportunity to get rid of them directly.
It should buy you more time.
Deng Tai nodded and agreed to the matter, but he thought of something and hesitated and asked:
"The Right Shenwu Army and Chen Mingsheng, Li Chong, Li Xiu, Li Qi, Xu Jing and others are all in Zhongli City. What should we do? Should we send someone to inform them?"
Once they give up the attack on Chaozhou City, even if they are not in a hurry to retreat to Shuzhou for the time being, the battle situation will change drastically. The rebels and Liang Jun will realize that the conspiracy has been exposed, and they will most likely eat away the defenders at this time.
The main force of the Shenwu Army on the right is located in Zhongli City, Yandun Mountain on the south side, and Bieziding.
It's just that they currently confirm that Wen Ruilin is a traitor to Liang, and Gao Long, the deputy commander of the Right Shenwu Army, is also unreliable. If they continue to maintain the offensive against Chaozhou City, they must first use the secret edict to persuade the people far away in 178
Ten miles away, Chen Mingsheng, Li Chong and others were leading the Right Shenwu Army to prepare for a southward retreat. The risk of leaking the secret was too great.
But, do they really want to give up the Right Shenwu Army?
Although they had parted ways with the Duke of Changguo, and Zhang Ping, Chen Ruyi, Anji Xiang and others all followed Yang Yuanpu's orders, there was a time when they were all descendants and old friends of the Shenling Division.
"I can't care about so much anymore. If you want to pursue big things, you must give up something!" Li Zhigao said with a determined expression.
