It's just that at this moment, everyone's eyes are on Fang La. As the leader of Manichaeism, no matter what the opinions of Lou Minzhong, Lu Shinang or Li Tianrun are, it all depends on Fang La's decision in the end.
Fang La, who was in deep thought, swept his gaze across the crowd, and finally said slowly: "Avoid Jiaxing City. As long as Chu Yi's troops don't take the initiative to attack our Manichaean troops, we, the Manichaeans, will stay away from them."
Hearing what Fang La said, Li Tianrun and others breathed a sigh of relief. Although it felt aggrieved to retreat from Chu Yi, it was better than losing their lives.
Lu Shinang, Lou Minzhong and others had sad expressions on their faces, looking at Fang La with a bit of disappointment in their eyes, obviously very disappointed with Fang La's decision.
Seeing the reactions of Lou Minzhong and others, Fang La sighed secretly in his heart, didn't he want to take down Jiaxing City? It is because of the existence of Jiaxing City that the connection between Hangzhou City and Suzhou City is not so stable.
If possible, he would definitely take Jiaxing City without hesitation.
Regarding the issue of Chu Yi's subordinates, Fang La made a decision. No matter how disappointed Lou Minzhong and others were, it was hard to say anything. After all, as subordinates, it was hard for them to force Fang La to change his mind, right?
Lu Shinang took a step forward and said: "We, the Manichaeans, are willing to retreat from Chu Yi's troops, but the approaching army of the imperial court, please make up your mind on how we should deal with it."
Needless to say, the imperial army mentioned by Lu Shinang was under Zhang Shuye's command.
As the governor of Pingnan, Zhang Shuye led the imperial army this time. It can be said that he mobilized a large number of troops. Together with the auxiliary local Xiang army and the like, the total number may not be less than 100,000.
It can be said that the imperial court mobilized troops and mobilized people in this way, which can be said to be a sensation in the world, not to mention the Manichaeans who have been watching every move of the imperial court.
Just when the court was making a decision, Manichaeism's spies lurking in the capital had already sent out the news. By the time Zhang Shuye sent out troops, the Manichaeism in Jiangnan had already obtained the news early.
Got the news.
Regarding how to deal with Zhang Shuye's troops, in fact, the senior leaders of Manichaeism have discussed it more than once or twice. Facing Zhang Shuye's troops, there are not many differences among the senior Manichaeans.
The unanimous opinion is to rise up and fight.
Chu Yi's subordinates just stayed in Jiaxing City and ignored some of the actions of Manichaeism, which made Manichaeism vaguely aware of something.
Combined with the rumors of discord between Chu Yi and Zhao Ji in the capital, Fang La and others had a vague feeling that Chu Yi's actions had a vague meaning of encouraging the invaders to respect themselves. At the same time, when Fang La and others realized this, they felt inexplicably.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
But Zhang Shuye's department is different. Zhang Shuye's attitude towards local bandits in Qingzhou is very tough. This has been the case since Zhang Shuye almost eradicated the bandits in Qingzhou during his tenure as the prefect of Qingzhou.
You can tell one thing or two just by looking at it.
Therefore, Chu Yi's subordinates were self-respecting and ignored them, but Zhang Shuye's visit showed that he was not a good person.
At this moment, Lou Minzhong and Lu Shinang once again mentioned the affairs of Zhang Shuye's men in Jiangnan. Fang La stared at Lou Minzhong with a flash of light in his eyes and said, "Where have Zhang Shuye's men arrived now?"
Lou Minzhong said immediately: "According to the news from yesterday, Zhang Shuye's troops have arrived in Nanjing. They can approach the outskirts of Suzhou in half a month at most. We don't have much time left."
Fang La nodded slightly and said: "Zhang Shuye's troops rushed straight to Suzhou without stopping. He originally wanted to break the siege of Suzhou, but he probably didn't expect that my Manichaeans captured Suzhou City before him. He just didn't know where he was.
If Suzhou falls, what choice will Zhang Shuye make?"
Stroking his beard, Lu Shinang, as one of Fang La's think tanks, said to Fang La with a confident look: "Your Majesty, judging from my subordinates, if Zhang Shuye learns of the news of the fall of Suzhou, he is most likely to turn
In the direction of Yangzhou, and then with Zhenjiang as the frontline, we can completely encircle and suppress our various people in Jiangnan step by step."
Lou Minzhong nodded and said: "Yes, if Suzhou falls, Zhang Shuye will definitely not run towards Suzhou. As Brother Lu said, Zhang Shuye will only turn to Yangzhou."
Fang La nodded with satisfaction and said: "The two important towns of Suzhou and Hangzhou have fallen into our hands. It can be said that one-third of the land in the south of the Yangtze River has fallen into our hands. Zhang Shuye will definitely not take the risk. The biggest
The best possibility is to use Yangzhou as the rear and carry out a steady attack on us."
While the Manichaean high-level officials here were judging what kind of reaction Zhang Shuye might make next, under Zhang Shuye's urging, the imperial army had already passed Nanjing and was heading towards Suzhou City just as the Manichaeans had said.
And go.
On this day, the army was setting up camp outside a town, and they saw a group of fast horses rushing towards them. Everyone who saw that group of fast horses felt nervous.
In the handsome tent that had just been set up, Zhang Shuye was asking his generals about the camp arrangements. After all, they had now entered the land of Jiangnan and even entered the scope of activities of Manichaeism. Although Zhang Shuye had spilled the beans.
Hundreds of elite spies spread the search area to a radius of more than ten miles, but Zhang Shuye was very cautious about the camp.
After all, if there is an attack at night, the camp is the biggest support. If the camp cannot be established well, then what troops will be brought and what battle will be fought?
A burst of hurried footsteps sounded outside the commander's tent. Zhang Bofen, Zhang Zhongxiong, who was wearing armor, could not help but frown.
Zhang Bofen strode out of the commander's tent, looked at the people outside the tent and shouted in a deep voice: "You are in such a hurry, why do you want to see the commander-in-chief?"
The foreheads of several envoys were covered with beads of sweat. At this moment, they glanced at Zhang Bofen. One of the leaders stepped forward and saluted Zhang Bofen and said: "General, please report to Marshal Ming if you have any urgent military information."
At this moment, Zhang Shuye's voice came from the handsome tent: "Invite them in."
Zhang Bo opened his arms and stood up, and several envoys walked into the commander's tent. When they saw Zhang Shuye sitting there, several people came up and bowed respectfully and said, "I have met the Governor of Pingnan."
Zhang Shuye waved his hands and said: "You guys don't have to be polite. I just heard from some of you that there is an urgent military situation. I wonder what the military situation is?"
The leader quickly took out a secret letter from his arms and presented it to Zhang Bofen and said: "The military report is here, the governor will know it as soon as he sees it."
Zhang Shuye took the military report. When he saw the contents of the military report, Zhang Shuye couldn't help but frown, with a bit of anger in his expression. He slammed the table and said: "Pang Wending is really
It’s rubbish, a place as important as Suzhou can be captured by Manichaean rebels.”
You can see how angry Zhang Shuye is in his heart. You must know that Zhang Shuye has already made plans for this expedition. The situation in the south of the Yangtze River has not become uncontrollable, especially Chu Yi.
The war suppressed the rise of Manichaeism. Otherwise, most of Jiangnan would have been corrupted by it.
Of the major cities in the south of the Yangtze River, such as Nanjing, Suzhou, Yangzhou, Hangzhou and other places, only Hangzhou was lost. As long as he could lead his army to Suzhou, then go down the Grand Canal and face the Manichaeans entrenched in Hangzhou.
The rebels have an overwhelming advantage.
But the premise is that Suzhou City, an important town in the south of the Yangtze River, must be in the hands of the imperial court. Pang Wending is the prefect of Suzhou City. It can be said that whether the entire Suzhou City can be defended depends entirely on Pang Wending's ability.
Almost all the court troops around Suzhou City retreated into Suzhou City when the Manichaeans raised their troops. Therefore, the strength of the imperial court in Suzhou City was not bad at all. Otherwise, it would not have been able to persist under the siege of the Manichaeans.
It's been so long.
But if you defend it for a long time, you will lose it. Suzhou City was finally broken by Manichaeism, and Pang Wending escaped from Suzhou City.
The forward position for suppressing the Jiangnan rebellion suddenly fell into the hands of the Manichaeans.
Zhang Shuye's previous overall plan completely collapsed due to the fall of Suzhou City. Otherwise, Zhang Shuye would not be so angry.
Not to mention Zhang Shuye, even the generals in the handsome tent couldn't help but have expressions of astonishment on their faces when they heard this.
In the big tent, a figure sat there and moved, with a calm look on his face. He was stroking his gray beard and sighed slightly: "It seems that Manichaeism is not a bunch of rabble.
There are still capable people among the nuns."
After hearing what this man said, Zhang Shuye immediately looked at him and clasped his fists in salute, saying: "Zongtong's judgment is reasonable. It is quite surprising that Manichaeism was able to conquer Suzhou."
Zong Ze was originally the general magistrate of Dengzhou, but not long ago he was almost thrown out of office because he offended a powerful man. Fortunately, Zhang Shuye got the emperor's order and was able to recruit good generals from all over the country to the capital.
Zhang Shuye and Zongze were old friends, so he recruited Zongze into the Pingnan army.
Zongze's talents and military skills are extraordinary. Although his cultivation is not too strong, he is not the kind of person who has no strength. Although he is over sixty years old, he still has a strong character.
The passion to serve the country.
This choice of using Suzhou as the frontline to suppress the Manichean rebellion was agreed upon by Zongze and Zhang Shuye, but they never thought that before they arrived in Suzhou, the city of Suzhou would have already fallen.
After asking the envoys about the current situation of Suzhou Mansion, Zhang Shuye, Zongze and others finally understood in detail how Suzhou fell.
Precisely because Manichaeism could not be conquered for a long time, the originally united court officials in Suzhou City suddenly relaxed. Even because a large number of officials from counties around Suzhou City fled into the city, Suzhou City gathered together.
A large number of officials.
These officials honestly did not cause any trouble when Suzhou City was in danger. However, after a period of time, they seemed to feel that the Manichaean rebels outside the city were just that, and it was impossible to break through Suzhou City.
Therefore, many officials have taken the initiative.
Not only did they deduct the salary of the soldiers who were guarding the city, but even the grain and fodder donated by the gentry in the city were corrupted by these officials, so much so that the soldiers who defended the city couldn't even eat enough.
Under this situation, the morale of the Suzhou City defenders who were originally united can be imagined. Therefore, after General Shi Bao arrived, just in one go, many of the Suzhou City defenders whose morale plummeted dropped.
Because he didn't have enough to eat, he didn't even have the strength to wield the weapons in his hands. In just half a day, Suzhou City was captured.
He waved his hand and ordered his soldiers to take the envoys down to rest. There were not many people in the commander's tent. He heard Zhang Shuye grit his teeth and said: "They really deserve to be killed. These corrupt officials really want money rather than their lives. Let's die."
It’s not a pity.”
Zong Zehu said with a face: "They will die if they die, but they caused the fall of Suzhou City. Pang Wen must be killed, he should be killed."
In Zongze's view, Pang Wending, as the prefect, was at least half responsible for the fall of Suzhou City. As the most powerful person in Suzhou City, nothing that happened in the city could escape Pang Wending's eyes, but this kind of
Under such circumstances, the salaries and grain of the soldiers who defended the city could have been withheld. It is conceivable how this kind of thing could have happened without Pang Wending's acquiescence or even Pang Wending's personal participation.
Venting his anger, Zongze looked at Zhang Shuye and said, "Now that Suzhou City has fallen, our previously agreed upon plan of taking Suzhou Prefecture as the frontline has to be changed."
Zhang Shuye stroked his beard and glanced at the table in front of him. A map was laid out on the table. He pointed to a place on the map and said: "Since Suzhou has fallen, we will divert to Yangzhou and use Yangzhou as our base."
Go to the frontier and wipe out the Manichaean rebels."
Zongze nodded and said: "For the current plan, this is the only way. If Yangzhou loses, the southern half of the Yangtze River will be in danger."
Before he could finish his words, a fierce look flashed across Zongze's eyes, and he looked at Zhang Shuye and said, "Does Ji Zhong dare to give it a try?"
Hearing Zongze's words, Zhang Shuye was slightly startled and looked at Zongze in surprise.
I heard Zongze say in a low voice: "You and I can think of it, and people who want to come to Manichaeism can also think of it. You said that if people in Manichaeism think that we will go to Yangzhou, but we are
If you don’t change your plan and still head towards Suzhou City..."
A bright light flashed in Zhang Shuye's eyes, he clapped his hands and praised: "Wonderful, Zong Tongpan really woke up the dreamer with his words. Everyone thought we would go to Yangzhou, but we just wanted to go to Suzhou.
, when the time comes, we will definitely be able to catch Suzhou City by surprise, and we are at least half sure that we can recapture Suzhou City."
Zongze smiled and said: "Half hope is worth the risk. Ji Zhong, as the commander of an army, what choice you make is all up to you."
As Zhang Shuye made his decision, on the next day, part of the imperial army changed its route under the banner of blocking out the sky and headed straight for Yangzhou. On the contrary, part of it stayed behind, hiding day and night.
Go straight to Suzhou City.
suzhou city
As a newly captured state city, Manichaeism's control over Suzhou City was more superficial than a complete occupation of Suzhou City.
In order to celebrate the victory over Suzhou City, Fang Mang, the commander-in-chief of the army, ordered a banquet for several days. It can be said that the Manichaean troops celebrated in Suzhou City for several days before they finally settled down.
As one of the most powerful people in the world, Shi Bao's life in Suzhou City was a comfortable one. The water town in the south of the Yangtze River, especially Suzhou City, gathered the beauty of the south of the Yangtze River. The daughter's house here was called
A water spirit.
The words of the Tomb of Heroes of Wenwen Township are true, but within a few days, the senior leaders of Manichaeism were hugging each other and enjoying the happiness.
That night, on the high wall of Suzhou City, a sparse figure was leaning against the wall and yawning incessantly. Some people even slept directly against the wall.
Anyway, there will be no punishment even if you fall asleep. It is conceivable that in this atmosphere, how many people will do their duty and resist there.
There was a faint movement from below the city, a rustle, as if something was approaching. If the soldiers guarding the city could cheer up, they would be able to detect the movement outside the city. Unfortunately, the soldiers guarding the city on top of the city wall
There was no alertness at all.
Several figures appeared silently on the city wall, and the leaders were Zhang Bofen, Han Shizhong and other carefully selected military experts.
With a glance, Zhang Bofen made a gesture to Han Shizhong and others. Soon, on a section of the city wall, more than a dozen city defenders lost their lives quietly.
Ropes were hanging down one by one, and the officers and soldiers below the city were quietly climbing up the ropes, while Han Shizhong and Zhang Bofen were harvesting the lives of the soldiers defending the city on the city wall by virtue of their profound cultivation.
Whether it was Han Shizhong or Zhang Bofen, they were both strong men in the Song Dynasty army. In the huge city of Suzhou, there were probably not many Manichaean generals who could be their opponents. It is conceivable that under such circumstances, if they could still be alarmed
As for the soldiers on the city wall, that would be a strange thing.
However, with so many officers and soldiers, it is impossible for everyone to be able to do so smoothly. One of the officers and soldiers accidentally slipped from the city wall, and the screams of falling to the ground resounded throughout the night, and people were immediately alarmed.
The remaining soldiers guarding the city.
The city defenders woke up from their sleep and shouted loudly, almost as a conditioned reflex. Then someone discovered that the officers and soldiers with torches outside the city couldn't help but scream: "Enemy attack, enemy attack...
…”
Soon, most of the city of Suzhou was alarmed by the movement on the city wall. When Fang Pang, Shi Bao and other high-level Manichaean generals climbed out of the pile of powder, the city gate had opened with a bang, and a large number of officers and soldiers rushed out.
enter.
Before Shi Bao, who was neatly dressed and gathered together with a group of soldiers, had time to figure out what was going on, he was faced with a hail of arrows.
The big knife in his hand danced, and all the arrows that filled the sky were blocked by it. His eyes were focused and he shouted in a deep voice: "How dare you rats steal the city? Your grandpa Shi Bao is here, why don't you dismount and die."
