Li Guo did not answer directly, but asked Li Laiheng to lead the army to the area of Chushan Town to rest. When everyone had entered the camp to rest, Li Guo took out the appointment document that Li Zicheng had given him and said:
"Because Huguang covers a very large area, and you will have important responsibilities when you come to Heng, Military Advisor Niu suggested dividing the three Chu regions and setting up three Jiedu envoys to administer them separately."
Li Laiheng's expression remained unchanged, but his hands were firmly pressed on the table. He bit his lip and asked, "Mr. Wang Chen is the military envoy of Jingxiang, so what are the arrangements for the two other military envoys?"
"The general knows that you have worked hard and achieved great results. Except for the Jingxiang Jiedushi who is used to reward the king's ministers, there are two remaining Jiedushi..." Li Guo saw that Li Laiheng looked a little nervous, so he quickly replied, "The remaining two are
Although Military Advisor Niu intends to appoint Yuan Zongdi and Shuangxi as military governors, the Generalissimo believes that the Central Plains cannot get rid of them, so he decided to ask you to recommend candidates yourself."
"ah!"
Li Laiheng was feeling anxious because his Huguang territory seemed to be split up by Li Zicheng soon. At this time, he heard from Li Guo that Li Zicheng had ignored all opinions and still let him arrange the candidates for the two Jiedushi.
I feel comforted, but also have to admire Li Zicheng's trustworthiness in employing people.
Li Guo then explained: "The Jingxiang Jiedu Envoy... The jurisdiction of the Jingxiang Jiedu Envoy is the four prefectures of Xiangyang, Yunyang, Chengtian and Jingzhou that have not yet been conquered by the Huguang Army. The other two Jiedu Envoys,
One is called the Handong Jiedushi, and has jurisdiction over De'an Prefecture and Huangzhou Prefecture; the other is called Wuyue Jiedushi, and has jurisdiction over Wuchang Prefecture, Hanyang Prefecture, and Yuezhou Prefecture."
"I see."
Li Laiheng rolled his eyes. This plan to split Huguang should have come from Niu Jinxing. Niu Kaiqing's abacus was good. Xiangyang, Chengtian, and Jingzhou are already in the army's pocket. This is the biggest piece of land.
The meat was obviously meant to be eaten directly by Li Guo and Chen Xin.
As for the Han Dong Jiedu Envoy, he only had jurisdiction over De'an and Huangzhou. These two prefectures were originally the base areas that Li Laiheng had visited for more than half a year, so it was reasonable for him to arrange the candidates himself.
As for Wuyue Jiedushi, Wuchang Prefecture is the capital of Huguang Province. Now not only are Ding Qirui's 20,000 soldiers and horses entrenched in Wuchang, but Zhang Xianzhong also regards Wuchang as his meal, and the invading army may not be able to get it!
Therefore, Niu Jinxing's arrangement was actually to acquiesce in Li Laiheng's territory in Handong in exchange for him giving up the four Jingxiang mansions within easy reach to Li Guo and Chen Xilai to occupy.
Li Laiheng couldn't help but hum in his heart, but Niu Qidong probably really didn't expect that Li Guo treated him like his own son, and Chen Xin had been exchanging letters with him for a long time, and was very supportive of him, right?
"Well, this is Qi Weng's work, right? I think it's very suitable." Li Laiheng smiled and replied without any pressure, "Lao Bai worked hard in Suizhou, and most of the good situation in Huguang is due to his hard work.
.Lao Bai is the most familiar with the situation in Handong. If I were asked to recommend a candidate, I would certainly recommend Lao Bai to be the military governor of Handong..."
Li Laiheng continued: "What Wu Yue said...the Wuchang area is now very strong in the army and the Western Camp, and it needs someone with both civil and military skills and an overall perspective to take charge. Hey, it seems that in addition to the eldest brother Yi Gong, there are also
There is no other suitable candidate."
Seeing that Li Laiheng was so willing to accept the arrangements of the Generalissimo, Li Guo was completely relieved, and then changed the topic to Chengtian and asked:
"You only mentioned Lao Ge and Lao Hui. It seems that the three battalions Zuo, Zhi and Lin get along well with the Chuang army?"
Li Laiheng hummed and replied: "King Zuo Jin has too high a position and is inevitably a little arrogant. However, this time in the Battle of Suizhou, he mishandled the situation, and his prestige was somewhat damaged, and his posture was no longer as high as before. Liu Xiyao and Lin Chengcheng
Of these two people, Lin Ying is very weak and has already surrendered. Liu Xiyao is smart and capable, and is particularly good at commanding water battles. I am now trying my best to win over him."
After Li Laiheng finished talking about Zuo, Zhi, and Lin, he began to introduce the situation of Chengtian Mansion:
"Ge Liyan and Lao Huihui...the two battalions are very strong, with a total of more than 20,000 people. After taking Chengtian Mansion this time, as far as I know, they are recruiting troops every day, and their strength has been increased to more than 20,000 people."
. He also set up his own official office in Chengtian Mansion, which obviously means separatist rule."
"That's it. But don't worry, Lai Heng. The generalissimo ordered me to lead 30,000 troops southward. In addition to collecting Jingxiang, he also asked me to help you resolve the revolution and return to the second camp."
With the support of Li Guo's 30,000 reinforcements, Li Laiheng was indeed more confident. But the problem he was most worried about now was that after Niu Jinxing split up Huguang, he would no longer serve as the military governor. Li Guo also said that the generalissimo had no regard for him.
There is a heavy responsibility. What is this heavy responsibility?
"Father, you said that the Generalissimo had other plans for me and entrusted me with an important task. What is this important task?"
He was in a state of confusion and had vaguely guessed that he was likely to be transferred out of Huguang. He didn't know whether to go through with it or accept it.
After all, Li Zicheng allowed him to appoint Handong Jiedushi and Wuyue Jiedushi, which had already preserved his business in Huguang.
After Li Guo glanced at Li Laiheng, he asked Chen Xin to bring another appointment document and said:
"Yuan Shizhong, do you know? Recently, the Generalissimo has begun to unify the military orders of various ministries and promulgated a decree in Kaifeng to abolish the separate establishment of each battalion. Even Deputy Marshal Luo, the most powerful man, did not have any objections and directly abolished the establishment of Cao's camp and no longer
We formed an independent army. However, Yuan Shizhong was dissatisfied with the generalissimo's unification of military orders and suddenly led thousands of his troops to rebel and flee eastward before I went south..."
Li Laiheng felt uneasy. He seemed to understand Li Zicheng's plan and couldn't help but ask: "Is this... could it be that the Generalissimo wants me to leave Huguang to deal with Yuan Shizhong."
"Yes." Li Guo replied, "That's right. Yuan Shizhong's army is very strong, and only the commander of the fifth battalion among the invaders can fight with him. But the Central Plains invaders are now facing a decisive battle with Sun Chuanting.
We have no time to spare, and after you eliminated Zuo Liangyu in Suizhou, your reputation shocked China, and you are the best choice to deal with Yuan Shizhong. The Generalissimo intends to use you as the Jianghuai Economic Envoy, with 15,000 troops from Huguang, and then from
I mobilized 15,000 soldiers and horses, and combined the army with 30,000, to pursue Yuan Shizhong and march across Qi, Lu and Huaihe."
"this……"
Li Laiheng rubbed his forehead and finally solved Zuo Liangyu. He was still thinking that he could finally take over Huguang, so why did he want to be a Jianghuai economic envoy immediately?
"But Huguang has not yet been pacified. If I mobilize so many troops at once, I am afraid that the army and even Zhang Xianzhong and He Yilong will counterattack!"
Li Laiheng had not yet made up his mind whether he should obey Li Zicheng's order to pursue Yuan Shizhong, or whether he should try to deceive the matter, so he made a few excuses casually.
Li Guo then said first: "Asking you to do the Jianghuai Economic Envoy's work is not something that can be done immediately. This will definitely have to wait until we have wiped out Huguang, at least after we have stabilized all the territory in the three quarters of Huguang."
"Okay, okay, that's okay, that's right. After the Chuang army consolidates Huguang first, I will definitely accept the generalissimo's order and lead my troops to pursue Yuan Shizhong."
Li Guo's words gave Li Laiheng a good excuse to delay the opportunity, and he immediately began to discuss with Li Guo the matter of taking over Jingxiang. Li Laiheng originally wanted Li Guo and Chen Xi to go to Suizhou to rest first, so he delayed it for a while, but Li Laiheng
If we insist on attacking Xiangyang directly, we cannot give the army a chance to breathe.
Li Laiheng had no good excuse, so he had no choice but to agree.
On the second day of June, Li Laiheng led the 8,000 troops transferred from Suizhou, followed Li Guo's 30,000 troops, and first arrived in Zaoyang, and then attacked Xiangyang.
The defender of Xiangyang was Huang Shu, an old friend of the Chuang army and the chief culprit of the Kaifeng embankment breach. He knew he was outmatched and ran very fast. He fled to Yunyang the day before the Chuang army arrived at Kaifeng city.
The people of Xiangyang suffered from the ravages of the army, and they had always heard about Li Laiheng's good governance in Suizhou. When they heard that the invading army was about to arrive, they burned incense and offered wine to welcome them from afar. Some people even took the initiative to act as guides and led the invading army around.
Pass the place fortified by officers and soldiers, and cross the Han River at the entrance of Baima Cave.
Some people risked their lives to carry guns and cannons for the intruders and assisted the brigade across the beach.
In just one and a half days, the Chuang army easily captured Xiangyang, a famous city in the world. The battle was so easy that Li Laiheng regretted not taking action earlier, and was now in a rather passive situation.
From the evening on the day the Chuang Army occupied Xiangyang to the morning of the fourth day of the lunar month, battalions arrived one after another. Li Guo and Li Laiheng held a meeting on the afternoon of the fourth day of the lunar month and decided to take a short rest and then continue marching southward. At the same time, they occupied Gucheng and Guanghua.
, Yicheng and other counties around Xiangyang.
Ten days later, the rebel army captured Jingmen and arrived in Jingzhou two days later. King Hui of the Ming Dynasty Zhu Changrun, Governor of Pianyuan Chen Ruimo and civil and military officials had fled with them many days ago. The people of Jingzhou burned incense and planted flags to welcome the rebel army into the city.
Jingzhou is densely populated and is a relatively prosperous prefecture in Huguang. The soldiers and horses of the Chuang Army rested in Jingzhou first. Li Guo and Li Laiheng, as well as many other civil and military officials of Huguang Chuang Army who arrived one after another, began to discuss how to deal with He Yilong and
Ma Shouying's method.
Ge Liyan and Lao Huihui were entrenched in Chengtian Mansion, blocking the way for the intruders to continue their march to the south of Huguang.
Li Laiheng believed that with the current strength of the Chuang army, it would be best to directly use a devastating offensive to eliminate the Gehui military group in one fell swoop.
However, Li Guo still insisted on being polite first and then fighting, and tried to use peaceful means to get He Yilong and others to give up Chengtian Mansion. Li Laiheng was reluctant to accept the plan of being polite first and then fighting, but he still insisted that the deployment of force should be carried out at the same time just in case.