Chapter 93: The Jiedushi of the Eastern Han Dynasty
Chuang Jun's meeting was not held in the spacious meeting hall, but in the back garden of Jingzhou Government Office. Several chairs were placed in a hexagonal pavilion surrounded by water on three sides. Everyone sat together, seemingly admiring The early summer scenery with pink flowers reflecting the water and green willows swaying in the wind.
While the generals were planning how to deal with Geliyan He Yilong and Lao Huihui Ma Shouying, Yan Xin and Xiao Weisong also sent over the war situation in Wuchang:
Zhang Xianzhong's crossing of the river at Tuanfeng Town and Parrot Island went smoothly, but Wuchang, an important Jianghan town in the Ming Dynasty, was in danger. At that time, Wuchang was in chaos, and Ding Qirui's 20,000 soldiers and horses were seriously short of food and pay, and their livelihood was precarious.
The king of Chu who was entrusted here has accumulated huge wealth through his life. The only hope for the civil and military officials left in the provincial capital is to hope that King Zhu Huakui of Chu will spend money to raise troops and fortify them. Governor Ding, as well as those from Huguang Officials from the Chief Envoy, the Inspection Envoy and the Capital Command Envoy gathered at the palace, knelt in front of Zhu Huakui and asked him to lend him hundreds of thousands of taels of silver as military pay.
He Fengsheng, the former academician at home, also met with Zhu Huakui to discuss the payment. However, Zhu Huakui asked someone to bring out a gold-covered chair given to the King of Chu when he was enfeoffing the various disciples during the Hongwu period, and said: "This can help the army, he has no one." !”
Li Laiheng asked curiously: "The name He Fengsheng seems familiar. Who is he?"
Xiao Weisong, the chief storekeeper of Kendeji who is familiar with the situation in Huguang, said: "He is from Jiangxia and a Wanli Jinshi. When Wei Zhongxian's shrine was built in Huguang, Wei Gong heard that the Shangliang inscriptions were written by He Fengsheng, and he happily came to express his thanks in person. He Fengsheng said that this was It is a bad habit for others to write in his name. Wei Gong was so angry that he was dismissed from his post the next day."
"It seems like this person still has some backbone."
Xiao Weisong went on to say: "He resumed his official position only after Chongzhen came to the throne. Later he was promoted very quickly. He served as the Minister of Rites, the assistant minister of the cabinet, the crown prince's Taibao, and the bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion. He was known as He Xiangguo. It is said that he was relatively honest as an official. After retiring and returning to his hometown, when he returned to Wuchang, his prestige was not much lower than that of Ding Qirui."
Li Guo nodded and said: "It turns out he is a high official. The strange words sound very familiar to me. Wang Chen probably mentioned it to me."
Li Laiheng also smiled and said: "The presence of Ding Qirui and He Fengsheng in Wuchang has caused some trouble for the Eight Kings. But I think the King of Chu will eliminate all these troubles."
"Jie Shuai is right. The King of Chu is like the King Fu of Luoyang. He is a money-hungry owner. After hearing what Ding Qirui and He Fengsheng asked him to pay, he said nothing, and later he closed his eyes and fell asleep. He Fengsheng is an honest man. However, Ding Qirui was very skillful. When Commander Ding left the palace, he no longer restrained his subordinates, so the soldiers robbed and looted everywhere. The people in Wuchang were in panic and terror."
Gu Junen, who was attending the military meeting together, clapped his hands and sighed: "Zhu Hubeard is ignorant. This is because evil people have their own troubles, but the people of Wuchang have suffered a lot for nothing."
Xiao Weisong continued: "Wuchang is located at the mouth of the Han River. The river is vast and the waves are high and violent. The city of Wuchang is built against the Snake Mountain. It commands a high position and controls the river. The situation is very dangerous. The so-called natural chasm is the most severe. When Zhang Xianzhong was crossing the river, , the north wind blew strongly, the waves in the river were rough, and each boat in Xiying carried too many soldiers, so capsizing accidents occurred one after another before they reached the center of the river. However, the King of Chu and Ding Qirui intrigued each other and just sat back and watched Zhang Xianzhong cross the river. When Xiying began to attack Wuchang Mansion, Zhu Huzi panicked and began to beg He Fengsheng for help."
"He Fengsheng first asked for a sum of money for Ding Qirui, and then recruited stragglers who had fled from Xiangyang and Chengtian, and appointed the Chu Mansion Chief Xu Xueyan to lead them, known as the Chu Mansion's new soldiers. This army teamed up with Ding Qirui to fight for the eight kings.
It has added a lot of trouble, so the Western Camp has not been able to capture the city of Wuchang so far, and there is a shortage of food, so it has to divide its troops and attack other areas to collect summer grain for military needs."
Li Zicheng provided seeds and cattle for poor farmers in Henan to resume production, and also used the confiscated land of the Ming Dynasty clan and some bureaucratic evil gentry as well as ownerless wasteland to establish farming to meet part of the military needs.
Not to mention Li Laiheng in Huguang, he has established a strong material foundation through the implementation of the camp system.
In comparison, Zhang Xianzhong's material foundation was far behind that of Chuang's army. Up to now, he still needs to collect military supplies through methods involving plunder and grain hunting.
After Xiangyang was conquered, Chen Xin, who was officially appointed as the military envoy to Jingxiang, picked up a bowl of tea and said calmly: "Zhang Xianzhong failed to capture Wuchang. It seems that he must welcome foreign aid. If we can see the truth, we will always return to the second camp to give him a gift."
Leave the country and let these two heroes help Zhang Xianzhong capture Wuchang. The eight kings already support it with both hands."
"This is also a way." Li Laiheng looked at Chen Xin and asked, "But the Gehui have already occupied Chengtian, so why do they have to give up the great territory they have occupied to do long-term work for Zhang Xianzhong?"
After hearing Chen Xin's words, Marching Sima Gu Junen's eyes suddenly lit up. He immediately made a plan and said: "As long as we create a situation to encircle Chengtian, Ge and Hui will definitely escape from Chengtian before the army encircles them if they don't want to die together."
And the only place they can go to is probably Wuchang. In this way, the invading army will not have to affect their reputation by excluding friendly forces, and they can take back Chengtian Mansion, and they can also keep the leather and return to the Second Battalion to contain Hunan."
Chen Xin smiled slightly and added: "Ge, Hui Ruo and Zhang Xianzhong's joint venture may appear to have strengthened Xiying's strength, but in fact it has also added a new trouble and burden to Zhang Xianzhong. In the long run, this will
This will prevent Xiying from being in trouble with the Chuang Army in Huguang."
Li Laiheng and Li Guo, father and son, looked at each other. Both of them were amazed at the method proposed by Chen Xin and Gu Junen. This plan was indeed more suitable than Li Guo's method of courtesy first and then fighting. If it goes well, there would probably be no need to let the Chuang army and the revolutionaries go.
If we go back to the two camps and quarrel, we can successfully solve this problem.
"It's just..." Gao Yigong, who had been appointed as the military governor of Wuyue, asked again, "Let Ge, Hui and Zhang Xianzhong join forces, so the Xiying will definitely capture Wuchang. Wuchang is the capital of Huguang, and the Xiying occupies Wuchang
, Isn’t this trouble even bigger than the Gehui occupation of Chengtian?”
Li Laiheng didn't care about this, not only because he knew that later generations of Zhang Xianzhong would voluntarily abandon the history of Wuchang, but also because Hunan and Jiangxi are now very empty.
Li Laiheng explained for Gao Yigong: "Xiangyang is located upstream of Wuchang. If Zhang Xianzhong had the ambition to build a business, he would never choose to open a mansion in Wuchang, where he would be under the influence of the army and put himself in a disadvantageous position.
Above. I had killed most of the Yuan soldiers in Hunan in Yiling a few years ago, and there were very few defenders in Jiangxi. If Zhang Xianzhong was not stupid, he would definitely go south after conquering Wuchang and seizing the property and savings of the Prince of Chu.
Hunan and Jiangxi, avoid being in the downstream position of the invading army."
Li Guo also agreed with Li Laiheng's analysis. After careful consideration, he thought that although the Chuang army was now full-fledged and had strong soldiers and horses, if they resolutely used force to drive away Ge, return to the two camps and forcibly take back the territory of Chengtian Mansion.
For Li Zicheng, who is unifying military orders in Kaifeng and strengthening centralization, it will inevitably have a great adverse impact. It will also cause panic among the rebel generals who are not directly related to the Chuang Army, especially Cao Cao, who has recently become closer to the Chuang Army.
Camp felt uneasy.
Yuan Shizhong's defection some time ago had a profound impact on the rebel army. Li Zicheng had to strengthen Luo Rucai's support. Fortunately, the direct line of the Chuang army had a huge advantage in size and strength compared to Cao Ying.
After Yuan Shizhong's defection, Luo Rucai was alone in Henan. He lacked foreign aid and allies, so he could only accept the benefits offered by Li Zicheng, which reduced the independence of Cao Ying.
This is also thanks to Li Laiheng's management of leaving the 5th Gezuo Battalion in Huguang. Li Laiheng left the 5th Gezuo Battalion in Huguang. Although it weakened the strength of the Henan Army, it also caused Luo Rucai to lose a foreign aid that he should have had.
Enhanced the purity of the Central Plains Breaking Army in terms of factions and deconstruction.
Now that Li Zicheng has initially settled in Henan, Li Laiheng has swept through the eastern part of the Han Dynasty with a furious advance. The strength of the Breaking Army has been greatly strengthened, and they no longer need to fight together with the 5th Battalion of the Revolutionary Army. Dissident elements like the Revolutionary Army and the Hui Army will push them to
Zhang Xianzhong is the most harmonious solution.
After both Li Guo and Li Laiheng agreed with this proposal, they began to deploy their troops: Gao Yigong supervised ten thousand troops, pressing from Dahongshan to the Xianling Guard line; Liu Xiyao and Lin Chengcheng led the newly recruited Zuozhen Navy, from Xiangyang along the
The Han River went south and entered the Lexian Bridge line to control the ferry at Chengtian Mansion; Ma Bao led 3,000 cavalrymen from Yingcheng and detoured to the Jingling area to threaten the retreat of the Revolution; Li Guo and Li Laiheng led the
The main force of the invading army marched towards Chengtian from the Jingmen and Jingzhou lines respectively, forming an outflanking trend.