Ma Shiying sat high on the throne, with all the generals below him. Zhou Yuji, Huang Degong and the earl were with them, so they stood at the front.
It was the first time that Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu participated in discussions on military affairs for suppressing bandits as officers and soldiers. The two of them looked at each other and always felt a little strange.
At this time, I listened to Ma Shiying's introduction, mainly explaining the news received so far to the newcomer Zhou Yuji.
"Master Sun is currently in charge of Xiangyang Prefecture, and his troops are deployed on the front lines of Xunyang Prefecture, Xiangyang Prefecture and De'an Prefecture, maintaining the push to the south." Ma Shiying said, "According to the latest military intelligence report, the governor of the three sides, Mr. Du, has led
The soldiers defeated Zuo Liangyu's rebels who entered Sichuan. Not only did they capture Zuo Liangyu alive, they also sent the navy and part of the army out of Sichuan to wait for Master Sun's control!"
Then, after a pause, he continued: "As for our side, we are mainly based on Fengyang Prefecture, covering Runing Prefecture in Henan to the west, and stationed in Chuzhou in the southeast. We have formed an encirclement and suppression situation against the bandits in Huguang area!"
Having said this, he looked at Huang Degong and ordered him: "Tell me about the situation of the bandits!"
"General, I obey!" After hearing this, Huang Degong responded immediately, then looked at Zhou Yuji and said, "The bandits under the Eight Great Kings were originally entrenched in the north of Huguang, but the bandits under King Chuang went south under Master Sun's troops.
There was a conflict with the bandits of the Eight Great Kings. Now the bandits of King Chuang have occupied the three prefectures of Jingzhou Prefecture, Chengtian Prefecture, and Yuezhou Prefecture. However, the bandits of the Eight Great Kings have retreated to the southeast and currently occupy Wuchang Prefecture.
Huangzhou Prefecture, as well as Luzhou Prefecture and Anqing Prefecture in southern Zhili. There are also unconfirmed reports that there are traces of bandits in Changsha Prefecture, including the area further south, and in parts of Jiangxi, and they seem to be continuing to flee south."
Having said this, he paused and then introduced: "The thieves under King Chuang's command are mainly cavalry and infantry, with almost no navy. However, relatively speaking, there are more cavalry, about 40,000.
The force is relatively stronger, but facing Master Sun's side. Our side is dominated by the bandits of the Eight Kings and has many naval forces. The waterways in the south of the Yangtze River are crisscrossed, making it difficult to encircle and suppress!"
When he was done talking, he hugged Ma Shiying and stepped back.
When Zhou Yuji saw him, he stepped out of the queue and said: "When I left the capital, Your Majesty had already told me that the thieves under the Eight Kings' subordinates were mainly focused on attacking people's hearts. This matter was left to Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu."
If it doesn’t work and refuses to surrender, then there’s no need to try to recruit him!”
Hearing this, Ma Shiying and the generals present could not help but turn their heads to look at Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu.
At this time, they already knew that these two people's original names were Zhang Dingguo and Zhang Wenxiu, and they were two of the four adopted sons of the Eight Great Kings. Unexpectedly, they were now colleagues. It was really unpredictable!
Thinking about this, Ma Shiying asked: "Are you two sure about recruiting people?"
After hearing this, Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu both came out, and then Li Dingguo reported to Ma Shiying: "Sir, if they are the old troops of the two last generals, there is a 70% to 80% certainty that they can be recruited. For the others, they should only be 50% to 50%.
number."
This confidence is already very high. However, Ma Shiying is not surprised, because these two people are two of the four pillars of the bandits under the Eight Kings. They all surrendered to the court and accepted the recruitment. After word spread, the military morale of the bandits was greatly affected.
The impact on morale must be great, there is no doubt about it.
Liu Wenxiu also followed up and said: "I am afraid that the old subordinates know nothing about the last general and the two others. However, once the news is spread back, the Eight Kings will definitely attack the old subordinates of the last general and the two. Not to mention breaking them up, there may even be some brothers.
They will also be poisoned. Therefore, the sooner you recruit people, the better!"
It can be said that what happened between the two of them was really a coincidence and very unexpected.
Liu Wenxiu went to lure the Fifth Gezuo Battalion on Zhang Xianzhong's order. As a result, he happened to encounter Yuan Zhuangfei who was recruiting An Gezuo Fifth Battalion and treated him as a meeting gift.
Li Dingguo was even more outrageous. He ran to inquire about the news, but was bumped into by Liu Wenxiu.
In this war-torn era, news was delivered slowly, especially for Liu Wenxiu and Li Dingguo. For most people, they had no idea who they were. Among the military generals in the imperial court, their reputations were not prominent.
If he is not an official at the rank of commander-in-chief, he will naturally attract less attention.
It's been about half a year, and Zhang Xianzhong hasn't received any news, which is normal.
However, as Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu followed Zhou Yuji to lead the troops south, news about them would spread over time.
Therefore, they had agreed before that as soon as they arrived in Jiangnan, they would start recruiting people as soon as possible.
If it was brought up at this time, Ma Shiying could understand it.
Although local rectification is still in progress and military guarding is still needed. However, there is no problem in using some troops.
Therefore, he made a decision on the spot and immediately collected information from the bandits, especially the locations where Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu's old troops were stationed, before taking action.
……………………
In Tianshou Mansion, that is, in the Daxi Prince's Palace in Wuchang, Daxi King Zhang Xianzhong was angry: "Li Zicheng's mother is bullying others too much. You really think I am made of clay!"
"Your Highness, calm down!" Military Advisor Xu Yixian saw it and quickly advised, "Losing Chengtian Mansion is nothing. I think this is our opportunity!"
When Zhang Xianzhong heard this, he was stunned. He couldn't understand that so much of his territory had been annexed by Li Zicheng, but it turned out to be his opportunity.
Previously, his strength was not as good as Li Zicheng's. Unexpectedly, the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo suddenly left his side. According to the news later, he was recruited by the imperial court!
Moreover, there was no news from his two top generals, Zhang Dingguo and Zhang Wenxiu, which was also a blow to him.
But Li Zicheng's side has annexed Luo Rucai's men, and his power has become stronger.
Therefore, Li Zicheng suddenly invaded his territory from Xiangyang and was so powerful that he captured two mansions in succession. Now even Chengtian Mansion, which is closest to Tianshu Mansion, has been captured by Li Zicheng. He also sent people to tell him that he wanted to join forces with Zhang Xianzhong.
, but considering that Li Zicheng was respected, this really made Zhang Xianzhong angry.
Regardless of whether he, Zhang Xianzhong, would follow Luo Rucai's retreat if he really wanted to do this, I'm afraid it would be difficult to appease his subordinates alone.
After all, if he wants to recognize Li Zicheng as his respecter, then his subordinates will naturally be inferior to Li Zicheng's subordinates. Who would want to subordinate others? After that, will he still be regarded as the King of the West? Can the bunch of generals, prime ministers, etc. below him still be able to do it?
Got it?
However, if Li Zicheng refuses to agree, looking at his attitude, he will really attack Tianshou Mansion.
Zhang Xianzhong thought that he had finally defeated the imperial army, established a foothold in Huguang, established the Daxi Kingdom, divided his subordinates, opened schools to recruit scholars, and established local government offices to govern.
If possible, he doesn't want to be a bandit. He can have his own fixed territory, collect food and wages, collect soldiers, slowly expand outward, and go back to the path of Zhu Yuanzhang. How great!
However, before the imperial army launched a large-scale attack, Li Zicheng came to seize the territory. It's strange that Zhang Xianzhong still can't be angry!
At this time, after hearing Xu Yixian's words, Zhang Xianzhong came to his senses and asked doubtfully: "What does our opportunity mean?"
The territory has shrunk significantly and the troops have been lost, but this is an opportunity? Anyway, Zhang Xianzhong couldn't figure it out.
After Xu Yixian heard this, he quickly explained to Zhang Xianzhong: "Your Highness, Li Zicheng's army has many cavalry, but few navy. However, the several mansions we lost are crisscrossed by waterways, especially large lakes such as Dongting Lake. They are completely ours."
The navy belongs to the world. Once Li Zicheng's troops are dispersed, we attack from the waterway and we will definitely turn defeat into victory!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xianzhong couldn't help but be overjoyed and immediately agreed with Xu Yixian's statement.
He has been operating in Huguang for about two years, and has certainly gained something. The biggest achievement is that he has a large naval force.
If it were in the original history, he would have relied on this huge navy to sail upstream and capture Sichuan.
In Huguang Province, the Yangtze River and its tributaries are very suitable for naval operations.
It shouldn't be too convenient to transport troops, food and other supplies.
And if Li Zicheng wants to own a navy, he can't do it in a short time. Not to mention, he has almost controlled all the ships. What can Li Zicheng use to build a navy?
Therefore, the navy is Zhang Xianzhong's greatest advantage!
While he was thinking about it, he heard Xu Yixian still analyzing for him: "Although Li Zicheng's troops are much larger than ours, many of them are Luo Rucai's original troops. His subordinates estimate that he has killed
After Luo Rucai, there should be no time to appease all these people. Therefore, my subordinates feel that we can also send people to contact Luo Rucai's old department, which will be very profitable!"
Luo Rucai's department originally fought jointly with Zhang Xianzhong's department, but later they parted ways and Luo Rucai went north to find Li Zicheng.
But now, it has been proven that Li Zicheng is a ruthless person. He can kill even Luo Rucai, who is kind to him, let alone others. Once Li Zicheng is offended, who doesn't worry about his life?
From this point of view, at least Zhang Xianzhong did not attack his own people.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xianzhong immediately turned from anger to joy and said to Xu Yixian: "Yes, yes, that makes sense! The navy and Luo Rucai's men are our opportunity!"
Damn it, if you defeat Li Zicheng, kill him, and annex his troops, then you will really be able to secure your position in Huguang and become the real King of the West!
Thinking like this, he immediately asked Xu Yixian: "In the opinion of the military advisor, what should we do next?"
Li Zicheng was aggressive towards him, and although there were many imperial officers and soldiers around, they did not attack and were content with the status quo. Therefore, his eyes were on Li Zicheng!
Xu Yixian listened and did not hesitate. He had obviously thought about it in advance and answered him immediately.