Chen Jingzhou negotiated many details of the peace talks with Wang Yong in the capital of Shu, and observed that the situation in Shu was becoming increasingly stable. He and Wang Che did not take the southern route directly back to Jinling, but went all the way north into Liangzhou to meet with Li Changfeng, Li Zhigao, and Guo Rong.
, Wen Bo, Tan Yuliang, Guo Que and others met together.
At present, in addition to the newly formed Right Shenwu Army and the Tianping Du led by Tan Yuliang and a thousand guards and cavalry led by Han Donghu, as well as Li Ji and Chai Xun each leading one capital troops, Li Zhigao also leads the main force of the Zuo Longque Army with more than 10,000 troops.
Entering Liangzhou, the Chu army's elite troops in Liangzhou increased to more than 30,000. At the same time, hundreds of ships transported grain and materials between Liang and Xiangzhou.
Currently, the Xiangbei Army and Zuowu Xiang Army's Li Xiu Division are mainly stationed in areas north and west of Hanzhong City such as Mianyang and Baocheng, and are responsible for blocking the exits of Baoxie Road and Chencang Road.
Theoretically, the west flank is also the direction with the greatest military defense pressure.
Although Li Zhigao led his troops into Liangzhou as quickly as possible and took over the leadership of Liangzhou's defense deployment and military and political affairs, although Li Changfeng served as the military envoy and the governor of Liangzhou, he still had to be controlled by Li Zhigao.
However, the main force of the Zuo Longque Army led by Li Zhigao took over the west wing area, which was the most dangerous and difficult location and had heavier defense tasks, leaving others speechless.
As the minister of the Ministry of War, Chen Jingzhou went to Shu as an upright envoy. After returning to Jinling via Liangzhou, he naturally had to rush to Mianyang City to meet Li Zhigao and Li Changfeng to inform them of the peace talks.
However, after Jie Feng Yan reported the specific progress of the peace talks, he and Wang Che followed Guo Rong and Wen Bo back to Hanzhong City.
Wen Bo, Tan Yuliang, and Han Donghu led their troops to guard Hanzhong City and Tangcheng City, and were mainly responsible for blocking the exit of Tangluo Road.
The Tangluo Road leaves the Qinling Mountains in the north at Kouziluo Valley, which is located in Yishou County of Yongzhou. Although Wang Xiaoxian led the Heiyun Army to attack Guanzhong from the Tangluo Road earlier, Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian occupied Qizhou and Fengzhou in Guanzhong at this time.
The soldiers and horses retreated from the west of Yongzhou, and the north entrance of Tangluo Road fell back into the control of Liang Jun. It was relatively peaceful.
At present, the main passes along the Tangshui River on the southern line of the Tangluo Road, such as Tiehezhai, Tangkou Pass and other places, are under the control of the New Right Shenwu Army, and they face the least direct military defense pressure.
Hanzhong City is also a major town that Shu Kingdom has been operating on the northern line in recent years. The city is more than 1,200 steps square and covered with bricks on all sides. There are 15,000 households in the city.
The Han River remained unobstructed, and during the Shu army's northern expedition to Guanzhong, a large amount of grain and fodder was stranded in Liangzhou, so there was no shortage of supplies in Liangzhou due to the large-scale invasion of troops and horses.
Wen Bo, Li Zhigao, Li Changfeng, Li Xiu and others were very strict in running the army, so the city of Hanzhong was deserted except for the streets and alleys. However, when Chen Jingzhou and Wang Che entered the city at dusk, they saw that the city was quite peaceful and there was no panic or chaos.
confusion.
At the same time, Wen Bo also imprisoned the family members of Liangzhou governor Zhao Mengji and his generals in a centralized manner, and strictly prohibited the generals from harassing them.
Chen Jingzhou also reached an agreement with Wang Yong, the new ruler of Shu, regarding the disposal of these family members and more than 4,000 captured soldiers. As part of the peace agreement, after reporting to the Ming court, Cao Gan, who was stationed in Lizhou, would also take over.
Congress paid a portion of the ransom to cover the military expenses of the newly formed Right Shenwu Army and the reward money for generals.
Of course, Chen Jingzhou's purpose of returning home from Liangzhou was not simply to inspect Liangzhou's defense deployment or to reward the generals on behalf of the imperial court. The main reason was that it was more convenient for Hanzhong to contact Yongzhou in Guanzhong.
Not to mention Tangyi's attitude, since the imperial court has now given up on the Northern Expedition to Guanzhong and the strategy of conquering the Hehuai River, the relationship with the Liang Kingdom must undergo a completely new adjustment.
Chen Jingzhou went to Hanzhong and met with the envoys sent by Emperor Zhu Yu of the Liang Dynasty. He formed a preliminary intention and then reported it to the court. This was more justified than Tangyi hiding behind the scenes and promoting everything.
This is also the main reason why Wang Che, who has been mainly responsible for intelligence gathering in the Central Plains and Heshuo areas for more than a year, accompanied Chen Jingzhou to Shu this time.
When Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiao arrived at this time, neither of them launched a fierce counterattack against Liangzhou, and the situation between them and the Guanzhong Liang army that occupied Yongzhou and Huazhou had completely calmed down.
The fall of Taiyuan Prefecture so easily caused Heshuo, Hedong and other places to fall into the hands of the Mongolians in just over a year. Even the court of Da Chu, many courtiers began to consider whether they would condone the situation in the Central Plains.
If the chaos continues, it is very likely that the Mongols, the fishermen, will eventually benefit, not to mention the Guanzhong Liang Army and the Shu Army led by Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian in the deep whirlpool.
Since there is no hope of easily capturing Liangzhou, it is not unimaginable for Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian to stand still in Qizhou and Fengzhou.
Wen Bo, Tan Yuliang and others were stationed in Hanzhong City and Tangcheng, responsible for blocking the Tangluo Road. There was also the possibility of sending troops from the Tangluo Road to reinforce Guanzhong in an emergency.
Of course, to determine what to do next, we still need to communicate with Emperor Liang Zhu Yu’s people first.
Chen Jingzhou followed Guo Rong and Wen Bo into Hanzhong City. That night, a dozen people disguised themselves as woodcutters and medicine farmers and entered the city from the north gate under the cover of darkness. Wang Che personally greeted them at the city gate and walked all the way to the state government office.
In the right Shenwu Army tent, I met with Guo Rong, Chen Jingzhou, Wen Bo and others who had made an appointment more than half a month ago.
The leaders were Shen Peng and Zhao Ci, who helped successfully kidnap the Wen clan members and left East Lake.
Shen Peng and Zhao Ci sneaked into Yongzhou several years ago. It had only been April or May and they were already very haggard.
Wen Bo and Shen Peng have known each other for a long time, but at this time they are each serving their own purposes. They cannot be too eager to meet each other this time, otherwise it will inevitably be a bit embarrassing.
As the minister of the Ministry of War and an envoy representing the imperial court, Chen Jingzhou naturally sat behind the central bench. Guo Rong, Wen Bo, Tan Yuliang, Han Donghu, Shen Peng and others sat on the left and right after the bench. The guards all left the hall and were on guard.
Half of the secrets discussed here are leaked.
In the hall, dozens of Xuzhou's newly-made glazed oil lamps lit up as brightly as day, but when talking about Yongzhou's situation at this time, the atmosphere was inevitably quite depressing.
Although the Battle of Hejin was brilliant, Liang Jun was surrounded on three sides and won the battle with many casualties. However, the dangerous land to the north of Yongzhou was all in the hands of the enemy, and there was a shortage of wounds, medicine and other supplies. The difficulties he faced were not the same.
There has been no fundamental improvement.
Shen Peng also said without hesitation: "Shi Jizu's defeat and death was not a bad thing for the Mongols. Even when Shi Jizu led his troops into Hejin, his position was too advanced. Our emperor suspected that Wu Su Dashi had the intention of killing someone with a borrowed knife, so he decided to lead his troops to kill him.
When they entered Hejin, they first severely damaged Shi Jizu's troops. The subsequent development of the war also verified the Mongols' intention to use Shi Jizu's troops as bait. However, they did not expect that our Liang army would move so quickly and decisively, and the soldiers and horses they encircled could not be cut off.
Our retreat..."
Guo Rong and Chen Jingzhou looked at each other. Of course they could understand that Shi Jizu's defeat actually meant that the power of the Jin clan had been completely defeated. It could also be said to be the biggest obstacle for the Mongol people to digest Hedong, Heshuo, Taiyuan, Shangdang and other places.
That was eliminated.
Otherwise, on the one hand, the Mongols would have to use Shi Jizu, Wang Yuankui, Tian Weiye and other surrendered troops to rush into the formation. On the other hand, they would inevitably worry that the three former Jin surrendered generals, Shi Jizu, Wang Yuankui and Tian Weiye, might be twisted into one force.
One cannot ignore Shi Jizu's reputation as the crown prince of Jin among the subjects of Jin's subjugation.
Shi Jizu surrendered to the Mongols and led his troops to attack Taiyuan Prefecture. This may even be regarded as a helpless move by the subjugated subjects of Jin.
After all, Shi Jizu was the upright prince before, but he was usurped by Prince Lu Shi Chengyuan. There was a life-and-death struggle between him and Prince Lu Shi Chengyuan.
This is somewhat different from the surrender of Wang Yuankui and Tian Weiye.
This kind of sentiment grew among the subjugated subjects of the Jin Kingdom, which was of course very detrimental to the Mongols' ability to digest the Jin territory and conquer the Central Plains.
After Shi Jizu's death, although the Mongolians attacked Yongzhou from the north and the offensive in Huazhou was temporarily slowed down, the overall situation was more favorable to the Mongolians.
Of course, Emperor Zhu Yu of the Liang Dynasty saw an opportunity to severely damage an enemy army, but he could not fail to seize it.
Even though they knew that this was to lure the doves and quench their thirst, Guanzhong Liang Jun still needed a hearty victory to slightly boost their sluggish morale and people's hearts.
Shen Peng also admitted without hesitation that the Liang Army in Guanzhong was currently facing a critical situation and had to send people to negotiate peace with Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian, who were also facing a dangerous situation. He even secretly encouraged Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian to attack Qinzhou occupied by the Pingxia people.
Qinzhou is located to the west of Feng and Qi states, and the northern line of Yinping Road is located in the southeastern part of Qinzhou.
Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian captured Qinzhou. On the one hand, they could expand the living space in the west and collect more grain and supplies to barely maintain the consumption of 70,000 soldiers and horses. On the other hand, they could master the method of bypassing Liangzhou and return to Shuzhong.
Yinpingdao.
If they could rely on the entire Guanzhong region, Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian would definitely attack Liangzhou while the Chu army was still on its toes. However, under the current situation, if Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian counterattacked Liangzhou, they would not be able to achieve effective results in two or three months.
They will be in a dilemma, and they will not dare to use troops against Liangzhou easily.
After hearing what Shen Peng said about the extremely complicated situation in Guanzhong, Chen Jingzhou asked hesitantly:
"Is it possible for you to directly recruit Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian to guard Yongzhou, while the main force of the Liang Army can return from the east of Tongguan?"
"Someone in Yongzhou mentioned this matter, but His Majesty hesitated and did not agree. He was mainly worried that Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiao might collude with the Mongol people again." Shen Peng said.
Hearing what Shen Peng said, everyone couldn't help but sigh.
At present, Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiao are in Qizhou and Fengzhou. They are short of food and grass, and their return route is cut off by the Chu army. The morale of the army is unstable and the people are panicked. If they were given a choice, most of them would choose to surrender to the Mongols, but they and the Mongols
But they were separated by Yongzhou occupied by Liang Jun.
Reality forced them to make peace with Liang Jun first.
However, Emperor Zhu Yu of the Liang Dynasty really wanted to recruit Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian to surrender and make them guard Yongzhou. After the Liang army left Tongguan and re-entered the Central Plains, it was really possible that Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian, who had no foundation in the Guanzhong area, would surrender to the Mongols.
Even if this is not necessarily the case, the probability is still 50-50.
This is a risk that no one dares to take lightly.
"Does the Youshenwu Army need to be stationed in Luoyu?" Guo Rong asked.
Luoyu is the exit of Luogu on the northern line of the Tangluo Road. It is located in the south of Yishou County under the jurisdiction of Yongzhou. It was once the seat of Jizhou.
The worst plan Han Qian is currently planning is for Wen Bo and Tan Yuliang to lead their troops north from the Tangluo Road to join the battle in Guanzhong.
However, the Tangluo Road is in disrepair and is narrow, so the supplies that can be transported into Guanzhong are very limited.
Shen Peng shook his head and said: "Even if we don't recruit Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian directly, we will conclude an alliance with them. If the Right Shenwu Army enters Luoyu in the north, and we don't stop it, there is no guarantee that Zhao Mengji, Wang Xiaoxian and the others will not become worse." Sensitive - Liangzhou's military affairs are currently led by Li Zhigao and Li Changfeng. You must have decided to hand over Liangzhou to Li Zhigao a long time ago, right?"
Guo Rong nodded, indicating that Tang Yi had this plan early on.
"Zhao Mengji and Wang Xiaoxian did not dare to attack Liangzhou. The You Shenwu Army has recently withdrawn from Liangzhou, which is what the question says. Can you secretly help us send 5,000 troops to Caizhou?" Shen Peng asked.
Guo Rong, Chen Jingzhou and Wen Bo looked at each other. They didn't expect that Shen Peng, who was appointed by Emperor Liang Zhu Yu, would make such a request. For a moment, he didn't know how to answer.
