"These old rivals of mine are all getting together again this time!"
Han Qian flipped through the latest letters and newspapers sent back from Jinling, smiled, put the ink pen on a pile of documents, stretched out and said to Xi Yin.
"If Shen Yang and Yang En can continue to control the Chu court, the relationship between Liang and Chu may be able to ease for a few years, but they are old after all. And Shen Yang has dominated the phase for more than fifteen years. This is only three or five cases in the previous dynasty. Even without Yang Zhitang, Huang Hua, Yang Yuanyan and others fanning the flames behind his back, he would still be on pins and needles if he continued to stay in love, right?" Xi Lin knelt down on the side of the long desk, sorted out the documents for Han Qian, and said, "However, in the south, With your little lover here, she will never let Shen Yang and Yang En leave the court easily; and Emperor Taihe of Chu has begun to have his own opinions, and he should trust Shen Yang and Yang En more. I think Shen Yang, Yang En may still be able to stay in the DPRK for two or three years, and he won't be forced to resign this year..."
"What is my little lover?" Han Qian asked with a smile.
"For such a precious clock, when Luoyang College barely managed to control the deviation to one-eighth of a quarter, you couldn't wait to send it to Jinling to present the treasure. You really miss me!" Xi Rong said.
"Don't I miss you anymore?" Han Qian stretched out his hand to hug Xi Rong into his arms.
Xi Rong stepped aside and glared at Han Qian angrily: "You're not looking anywhere, so what are you doing blindly?"
Nowadays, only when she accompanies Han Qian out of Luoyang to inspect military and political affairs and avoids the eyes of Zhao Ting'er and Wang Jun, can she be gentle with Han Qian, but she rarely sleeps next to Han Qian; even less so in Shangyang Garden. Even if Han Qian gets to meet her, he doesn't want to get any canonization.
Han Qian sat Xi Er across from the imperial court and smiled helplessly. Returning to the topic just now, he had long noticed the rumors of ulterior motives gradually spreading in Jinling City. Combined with the latest information coming today, Jinling City's The situation is indeed worrying, he said:
"The blood of young people is the easiest to be exploited. Sima Tan offered Xu Si's territory to surrender to Chu. With such a great temptation, few people in the Chu court could not be tempted. However, Sima Tan must see Yang Zhitang return to the center before he would feel at ease to surrender. Emperor Chu was young Shen Yang and Yang En were so angry that they wanted to expand the territory of Da Chu. If they didn't stand up and dissuade them, they wouldn't necessarily need Yang Yuanyan, Huang Hua, and Yang Zhitang to be the first to see what they were doing behind the scenes. Shen Yang, Yang En and the others are impatient and displeased, perhaps because of the young man they have trained."
"Young and frivolous, maybe you really only focus on Daliang as an enemy, but you don't see the danger and murderous intention around you - Shen Yang, if Yang En also realizes this, maybe he will be discouraged? However, in this way, Come on, isn't your little lover in even greater trouble, unable to even control his own son?" Xi Rong asked.
"Perhaps this can make the final problem easier?" Han Qian said with a hint of uncertainty.
At this time, Qin Wen walked in and reported that Wang Che and the officials from the General Staff Office had brought the Shouzhou Army information that had been reorganized recently to Lingyun Pavilion, and asked Han Qian if he wanted to read it now.
"Li Zhigao, Tian Cheng, and Guo Que are all in the Staff Office?" Han Qian asked.
"I'm here all the time." Qin Wen said.
"Then send people to find them all," Han Qian said.
Qin Wen went to the General Staff Office to summon Li Zhigao and Tian Cheng, but Guo Que came to see him. Wang Che took the officials and first moved a large pile of information into the main hall.
Wang Che, Yin Peng and others will report the information involved in these materials to Han Qian at any time, but every once in a while, Han Qian always has the habit of personally reviewing the information for a period of time in order to see if there is any new information.
Discover.
"Xu Mingzhen has been bedridden for several months. Xu Jin and Zhao Mingting led 3,000 cavalry in Bianliang, but they did nothing. What's going on in Songzhou?" Han Qian asked Wang Zhe while flipping through the documents.
"Xu Mingzhen is suffering from a serious illness. This news has been confirmed repeatedly. His son Xu Sizhao is currently handling the affairs of the Shouzhou Army in Songzhou. There is also news from inside that the reason why Xu Mingzhen sent Xu Jin and Zhao Mingting to Bianliang for reinforcements is because
There should be precautions..." Wang Che said.
"This is not surprising." Han Qian said.
"However, there are still some secret discussions among the generals of the Shouzhou Army, saying that after Xu Mingzhen died of illness, if Xu Jin took charge of the military power of the Shouzhou Army, it would be able to remove the obstacles to returning to the Chu court."
Wang Che said, "The ministers suspected Xu Jin. Even though Zhao Mingting was sent to Bianliang for reinforcements, these small actions in Songzhou were actually carried out by them secretly..."
Han Qian shook his head and smiled, sighing: "They are all smart people! It is true that even though Xu Jin, Zhao Mingting and others were on the list of rebels that year, in any case, Xu Hui, Xu Mingzhen and others are the culprits who must be punished.
The main culprit.”
"Since both Duke Wen and Mr. Wen were pardoned by the Chu court and finally reused in their service, in the eyes of many generals in the Shouzhou Army, as long as Xu Mingzhen died of illness, it was not Xu Sizhao who succeeded Xu Jin and Zhao Mingting
They all rejoined Chu Ting. They should all have the opportunity to repent in Chu Ting and even redeem their past with merit," Wang Che said. "And more importantly, under Xu Mingzhen, although Xu Jin is an adopted son,
, but his ability and reputation are stronger than those of his legitimate son Xu Sizhao - at least under the current situation, Xu Sizhao is not a successor who can reassure Zhao Mingting, Xu Jin and other Shouzhou Army generals; what cannot be confirmed now is that Xu Jin
, has Zhao Mingting secretly contacted people from Prince Xin’s Palace or Prince Shou’s Palace..."
…………
…………
Li Zhigao, Tian Cheng, and Guo Que quickly received the imperial edict and rushed to Lingyun Pavilion.
After rubbing his hands and walking into Lingyun Pavilion, Tian Cheng saluted, sat down behind the long desk, and said, "It's getting colder than before. The generals besieging Jincheng are going to have a hard time!"
"This morning when I opened the window and saw the hoarfrost in the garden, I realized that the weather was really getting colder," Han Qian said.
Feng Yi completed his mission to Shu and rushed from Liangzhou to Jinling. Kong Xirong, Han Donghu, and Li Xiu led three groups of troops and successfully captured Yangcheng to the west of Zezhou and many pass cities in Taihangxing to the south.
After the stronghold was captured, the troops advanced to the gates of Jincheng City, Zezhou Prefecture.
At present, in addition to Kong Xirong, Han Donghu led 60,000 troops to attack Jincheng from the north and south, and controlled Taihangxing and Qin
Outside the passes in the water valley, Li Xiu led the Taiyue Army to sweep across the areas north of Zezhou and southern Luzhou.
Regardless of whether we are the enemy or we, fighting fiercely in the ice and snow is extremely difficult.
However, what Daliang needs to be vigilant most is not that tens of thousands of generals insist on fighting in the ice and snow, but that they must keep an eye on the situation on the southern front, which may undergo subtle changes at any time.
On the northern front, there are generals such as Wen Bo, Kong Xirong, Han Dong, and Li Xiu who are responsible for the operations and defense of Taiyuan and southern Shanxi. The situation is relatively clear. There is nothing worth worrying about in Luoyang. On the contrary, the south is
The seemingly calm water surface is full of too many strange variables.
Now that the Shu army has finally been stabilized, the city of Jinling is in turmoil again, and the situation is no longer secretly dominated by them.
Han Qian couldn't wait to send Feng Yi to Jinling, but he might not be able to play a big role.
At present, the Mongolian army is still continuously recruiting troops and horses from Taiyuan, Heshuo, Yanyun, and even from the Bohai Sea to fill Luzhou City in the northern part of southern Shanxi; in addition to being the link between Taiyuan, Heshuo and Hanoi, the strategic position of the southern Shanxi area cannot be ignored
In addition, Han Qian also believed that the Mongolian army must have noticed that the atmosphere within the Chu court was undergoing subtle changes.
In fact, except for the variable Shouzhou Army, the Sima family's situation of surrendering Xusi's land to Chu Ting has basically become clear.
No matter how great the advantage Daliang has on the navy warships, if the relationship between Liang and Chu turns sour, Huainan Province can only rely on the existing 30,000 garrison troops to fight against the siege of nearly 200,000 Chu troops on three sides.
The Chu army would not be the first to rebel and take action. They were more or less blindly confident and arrogant.
At this time, they could not even rule out the possibility that Yang Zhitang and Yang Yuanyan might conspire to send troops to attack Huaixi; their lack of troops stationed in Huaixi would also be a direct inducement for Yang Zhitang and Yang Yuanyan to take action.
"Zhang Xian and others advocated in Jinling that Emperor Yanyou led his army to win the great victory in Xichuan at the age of fourteen. Their intention was quite obvious."
Li Zhigao muttered in response to the latest news report,
"If only the Empress Dowager Changxin was left behind to rule the court, no matter what Yang Zhitang and Yang Yuanyan did, the Empress Dowager Changxin would have been able to wait until four years before asking the Emperor to rule in person, but what happened back then
The Empress Dowager Changxin and the Empress Dowager Mingcheng had two palaces, and the legacy was truly reflected at this time. Once the Chu Emperor was young and energetic, was instigated by others, and had a conflict with the Empress Dowager Changxin, the Empress Dowager Mingcheng would become Yang Zhitang, and Yang Yuanyan would promote
The most critical move in the development of the situation!"
"So, it is still possible for Yang Zhitang and Yang Yuanyan to bypass Chu Ting, use the troops and horses they directly control without permission to risk attacking Huaixi, and then take advantage of Chu Emperor's youth and vigour, to fight against the Queen Mother Changxin, Shen Yang, and Yang En
And others' censure, thereby dragging the entire Chu army into the war?" Tian Cheng frowned and asked with a hint of uncertainty.
Han Qian nodded. The intelligence gathered from many sources now points to this possibility, and they must take precautions in this direction now.
At present, Yang Yuanyan directly controls 30,000 elites from his direct lineage in Chuzhou. The soldiers and horses of Prince Shou's family are mainly stationed in Yangzhou and Runzhou, with 20,000 soldiers and horses. In addition, there are more than 15,000 elites led by Zhao Zhen stationed in Suizhou.
Soldiers and horses.
This is Yang Zhitang, and Yang Yuanyan directly controls more than 60,000 troops.
If we take into account that Sima Tan's Xu Si army is likely to risk participating in their plan, then they have a great advantage over Daliang's garrison in Huaixi.
However, Han Qian believed that Yang Zhitang and Yang Yuanyan had suffered so much from his subordinates over the years. He should not blindly think that they would be able to completely capture Zhunxi in the shortest time, nor should he be so blind as to think that they would only
With their direct troops and horses, after attacking Huaixi, they can resist Daliang from sending elite troops from western Henan and Yongzhou to reinforce Huaixi.
Therefore, even if Yang Zhitang and Yang Yuanyan would take the risk of bypassing the center of the Chu court at first, they would inevitably find a way to drag the Chu state into the war against Daliang.
Only in this way can they have enough confidence to capture the entire Huaixi and defend the front line of the Huaihe River.
After they used their troops without permission, the young and energetic Chu Emperor Yang Bin would most likely be the key to whether they could successfully drag the entire Chu country and the entire Chu army into the war.
"Based on Yang Zhitang's caution, he might have to persuade Gu Zhilong to participate in their plan before he dares to take such risks," Wang Che said. "There are two things we can't confirm right now. One is whether Xu Jin and Zhao Mingting were secretly involved.
Send someone to contact Yang Zhitang and Yang Yuanyan? If so, this will also be a factor that contributes to Yang Zhitang and his group's adventure. Another factor is whether Gu Zhilong himself also has the idea of taking risks. At present, our hidden stakes are not sure... and
On the other hand, we may be able to make a fuss about Xu Jin and Gu Zhilong to dissuade Yang Zhitang and Yang Yuanyan from taking risks."
If Xu Jin could be persuaded, Zhao Mingting would seize the Shouzhou army and surrender to Liang after Xu Mingzhen died of illness, instead of surrendering to Chu. This would directly change the situation on the southern front and would certainly shock Yang Zhitang and Yang Yuanyan;
At the same time, it can make Gu Zhilong draw a clear line with Yang Zhitang and Yang Yuanyan and become the main peace faction supporting the Empress Dowager Changxin, which can further weaken the confidence of Yang Zhitang and Yang Yuanyan in taking risks.
"Do you think Xu Jin and Zhao Mingting might be willing to hand over their military power and become rich men happily?" Han Qian looked at Li Zhigao and Tian Cheng asked.
Li Zhigao and Tian Cheng both shook their heads and said that Wang Che sent people to secretly lobby Xu Jin. Zhao Mingting's idea was good, but the possibility was not high.
In their opinion, even if they want to send someone to contact Xu Jin and Zhao Mingting, they can directly send messengers to Han Yuanqi and Zhao Wuji who are stationed in western Henan, but it is not appropriate to expose the high-level secret agents who have been lurking in Songzhou over the years.
"Is it necessary now for the Second Central Bank Army to shrink from the south of Jincheng to the south?" Li Zhigao asked.
Gao Shao, Yang Qin, and Lin Haizheng are currently stationed in Huainan Province. Although they have fully raised their alerts, they cannot change the fact that there are only 30,000 troops stationed in Huainan Province, and even if there is an emergency expansion of troops, there will only be 50,000 troops available.
.
Han Yuanqi and Zhao Wuji had more troops in western Henan, but in the southwestern part of Henan they had to defend Dengzhou Prefecture, Yunyang Prefecture, and Junzhou Prefecture, and in the east they had to resist the Dongliang Army Zhu Rang, Liang Ren's troops, and Xu Mingzhen.
The Shouzhou Army can only be mobilized if necessary.
More than 10,000 troops went to reinforce Huainan Province.
However, at this time, if Han Donghu's second central battalion is to be prepared to go south to reinforce Huainan at any time, it will inevitably slow down its offensive against Jincheng, which will directly affect the war arrangements for southern Shanxi.
To put it bluntly, this is also the natural disadvantage of Daliang being among the best in the world and facing enemies on all sides.
If they directly transfer tens of thousands of elites to the south now, they can force Yang Yuanyan and Yang Zhitang to give up their risky behavior, but the Mongolian army in the north will also have a chance to breathe. If the situation continues, the Dongliang Army and the Shu Army will
There may be reversals.
Han Qian pondered for a long time: "Look, can you see if Lin Haizheng can be transferred to Henan as deputy envoy of economic strategy and command of the military capital of Henan camp, and Zhao Wuji can be transferred to Huainan as deputy envoy of economic strategy and commander of the military capital of Huainan camp. At the same time, Cao Ba and Li
The elite troops of the two Qi troops exchanged defenses with the Chuzhou garrison..."
"Is it too risky?" Li Zhigao couldn't help but asked worriedly.
In the past six or seven years, the war in Daliang has been mainly concentrated on the northern front. Even if the troops and horses are of the same size, the soldiers and horses on the northern front are superior to the soldiers and horses on the southern front in terms of physical fitness, training, combat experience and even equipment level.
Use Zhao Wuji and Lin Haizheng to exchange, and at the same time exchange the most elite Cao Ba and Li Qi brigades of infantry and cavalry with the Tuzhou defenders. The combat effectiveness of the Chuzhou defenders will be greatly improved, but the infantry, cavalry, and naval forces on the east line of Huainan will be strengthened
Later, coupled with a reserve brigade stationed in southern Chuzhou, the total strength was only about 17,000 or so.
To the east of Chuzhou, Yang Yuanyan led 30,000 troops stationed in Chuzhou, and Prince Shou's Mansion stationed 10,000 troops in Yangzhou. On the northeast side of Chuzhou, across Hongzepu, was Sima's Xu Si Army. The size of the troops that could be mobilized
There are more than 60,000 people.
Although Daliang has made every effort to develop the craftsmanship in Heluo, Dengjun and other places in recent years. After the middle of the year, a large number of engineers were dispatched to Yong, Qi and other places, and Yongzhou College also started to prepare for the construction, but Huainan is still the important manufacturing town of Daliang
.
Among them, the coal and iron output of Wujianshan in the west of Chuzhou Prefecture accounts for more than one-third of the entire coal and iron mining and smelting scale of Daliang; the shipbuilding yard of Donghu and Shouchun accounts for 70% of the shipbuilding industry of Daliang; East Lake,
The textile industry in the two prefectures of Chaozhou accounts for half of Daliang...
Generally speaking, even if the battle plan against Shannan is abandoned halfway, we should first ensure that the Huainan front line is flawless, and even try our best to ensure that the enemy troops are blocked on the periphery and cannot have the opportunity to enter the depths of Huainan to wreak havoc.
"If you are worried that it is too risky, let Lu Ze lead the first imperial guard and the second capital cavalry with a hundred spring-armed chariots and crossbows, and temporarily return them to the Huainan marching army to focus on strengthening the defense of Chuzhou's front line. In addition,
Besides, we can't reinforce more troops and horses to the southern front. With Yang Zhitang's courage, if I send too many elite troops to Huainan, he may have to withdraw again..." Han Qian stretched his waist and said.
Li Zhigao and Tian Cheng looked at each other, still hesitant.
After regaining Guanzhong, in addition to the first and second central battalions whose duties were to defend the capital from the left and right wings, Han Qian also integrated the first and second guard brigades into the Luoyang Imperial Guard, which was mainly responsible for the garrison of the capital Luoyang City and
The matter of the guards at Shangyang Garden.
Guo Que also commanded the capital of the Imperial Guard. Huo Li and Lu Ze were the commanders of the brigade. The Imperial Guard was organized into six capitals, plus logistics support personnel and the security department. There were only 8,000 troops in total, and only the permanent commanders were the main force.
It is about half of the army, but it is an elite cavalry force formed by drawing elite military attachés and veterans from various ministries.
However, no matter how elite the imperial guards are, there are only more than 2,000 cavalry in both capitals. How much can they strengthen the Chuzhou defense line?
Seeing Li Zhigao, Tian Cheng was quite hesitant. Han Qian leaned forward and said: "You also said that although there are many enemy troops to the east and north of Chuzhou, Yang Yuanyan, Yang Zhitang and Sima Tan dare to use them rashly.
The first batch of troops they mobilize cannot be too large - I am now dispatching Zhao Wuji, Cao Ba, Li Qi, and Lu Ze to Chuzhou. As long as they can severely defeat or even annihilate the first wave of invading enemy troops,
, the situation in Jianghuai will not be out of our control, and it will be possible to avoid an all-out war between Liang and Chu!"
Li Zhigao and Tian Cheng pondered for a long time, and finally nodded in agreement with Han Qian's more or less risky plan.
Xu Si's army seems to be able to mobilize the largest number of troops, but the Sima family has always been a treacherous person. If Xu Si's land is to invade Huainan Province (Huaixi), the Chuzhou army in the south and the Shouzhou army in the west will not easily give it to him.
Using this road, they had to cross Hongzepu, an open area of more than a hundred miles, before they could enter the northern part of Chuzhou or the eastern part of Haozhou.
However, the Sima navy was not strong. If they wanted to send troops to cross Hongzepu, they would have to wait until the soldiers and horses from Chuzhou and Yangzhou entered Chuzhou.
Even if Xu Jin and Zhao Mingting secretly colluded with Yang Zhitang and Yang Yuanyan to seize the military power of Xu Mingzhen, Xu Sizhao and his son, it would take a while for them to launch a mutiny and truly control the Shouzhou Army, and they would not be able to send troops immediately.
The Zuowu Xiang Army under Huang Lu's command was stationed in Chizhou, while Gu Zhilong's Yongjia Army, although nearly 10,000 elite troops were transferred north, were also stationed in Xuanzhou, Runzhou and other places south of the Yangtze River.
These two armies are blocked by the Yangtze River. Even if they participate in the adventure plan led by Yang Zhitang and Yang Yuanyan, they must be the second echelon.
In addition, under the direct control of Yang Zhitang and Yang Yuanyan is the Youwu Xiang Army stationed in Suiyang under the command of Zhao Zhen. However, if the Youwu Xiang Army wants to go north to attack Xinyang Mansion in Huainan, it needs to first conquer Wusheng, which is located between Tongbai Mountain and Huaiyang Mountain.
Pingjing and other passes.
After careful analysis, the Chu army could mobilize a large number of troops and horses outside Huainan. However, Yang Zhitang and Yang Yuanyan wanted to bypass the center of the Chu court. The first wave of forward troops and horses entering Huainan was quite limited. According to the maximum estimate,
In other words, there are 40,000 troops stationed in Chuzhou and Yangzhou.
It would be best if Feng Yi, Wen Ruilin, Han Jianji and others could use diplomatic means in Jinling to prevent Yang Zhitang and Yang Yuanyan from sending troops rashly.
Otherwise, they can use the elite infantry and cavalry, who seem to be at a disadvantage, to lure Yang Zhitang, and Yang Yuan will perform a trick to lure their forward troops to the west of Fanliang Lake and inflict heavy damage.
Even if they want to take advantage of Yang Bin's youthful spirit to compete for the dominance of the Chu court center, their first offensive into Huaixi will not lead to an inspiring victory, but at least let the Chu government and the public see the hope of victory.
, it is possible to suppress the Queen Mother Changxin, and it is possible to drive the seemingly conservative Shen Yang and Yang En out of the court...
