Guo Song received an urgent report from Luoyang at dusk, and Qiu Jingzhong kidnapped Prince Zhu Sui to rebel.
Guo Song immediately summoned the left and right prime ministers and ministers of the Ministry of War to discuss countermeasures.
In fact, Guo Song had already understood the opponent's plan, and with Yang Mi as an insider, at least there were no secrets on Liu Feng's end.
"Where does your Highness think Qiu Jingzhong will retreat to?" Zhang Qiu'an, Minister of War, asked.
Guo Song pondered for a while and said: "Zhu Sui once told Liu Feng that Luo Shengwang, the governor of Songzhou, Zhou Jian, the governor of Xuzhou, and Wang Qilian, the governor of Bozhou, all support him. I estimate that Qiu Jingzhong's 80,000 troops will withdraw to these three states.
These three states are the foundation to fight against Zhu Si!"
Du You laughed, "If we really retreat to these three states, civil war will inevitably break out!"
"Why is this?" Zhang Qiu'an asked puzzledly.
"It's very simple. Songzhou is the largest grain-producing state in the Zhusi Dynasty, the second largest state is Xuzhou, Henan Prefecture where Luoyang is located ranks third, and Bozhou is the largest iron-producing place in the Zhusi Dynasty. These three states
A large strategic state was occupied by Qiu Jingzhong, how could Zhu Si not hesitate?"
Guo Song smiled and nodded, "What Xiangguo Du said is absolutely right. These three states are very important to Zhu Si. Zhu Si will never tolerate it. Civil war will break out soon. I asked three people to come and discuss it.
I just want to see what role we can play in this civil war?"
Pan Liao asked: "First of all, what are your principles, Your Highness?"
Guo Song said calmly: "Watching the excitement is not afraid of big troubles. I hope their civil war will be more intense, the military losses will be heavier, and it will last longer until Zhu Si completely collapses."
Du You pondered for a moment and said: "In terms of military strength, Qiu Jingzhong is no match for Zhu Si's army. Unless we help him a little, this civil war will not last long."
Guo Song nodded and smiled: "If necessary, we can indeed help him. We have captured a large number of Qi's soldiers and armor, which are of relatively poor quality. They can be used to support Qiu Jingzhong. If Qiu Jingzhong is unfavorable on the battlefield, we can even pretend to be Qiu Jingzhong."
Of course, I can't give Qiu Jingzhong to Qiu Jingzhong in vain, I want to capture Bozhou!"
"Why does Your Highness want to capture Bozhou?" Pan Liao asked in confusion.
Guo Song pondered for a moment and said with some concern: "I think we may have to be prepared to accept large-scale refugees."
Pan Liao and Du You looked at each other. This was actually what they were worried about.
"Let's go look at the sand table diagram!"
Guo Song took the three people to the staff room, where a map of the Central Plains territory had been put together.
Guo Song picked up the wooden pole, pointed at Songzhou and said: "If I am not mistaken, once a war breaks out, the battlefield will mainly be in Songzhou. In order to avoid the war, the people of Songzhou will inevitably flee with their whole families. I thought about it, like Chu Qiu
, the people in Shanfu, Yucheng, and Dangshan counties will flee to Yanzhou in the north, while the people in Songcheng, Gushu, Zhecheng, and Xiayi counties will flee to Bozhou in the south. This is why I want to capture Bozhou.
, establish a refugee camp in Bozhou."
Zhang Qiu'an pondered for a long time. He pointed at Sizhou with a wooden pole and said: "Your Highness, if Qiu Jingzhong's army captures Xuzhou, Sizhou will basically be out of Zhu Si's control. Should we take advantage of the situation and capture Sizhou, so that the area north of the Huaihe River
It’s like one piece.”
Guo Song nodded, "If they fight in Songzhou, we will not only capture Sizhou, but also Chenzhou. We can also assure Zhu Si that we will not participate in their civil war, so that he can rest assured to annihilate Qiu Jingzhong.
"
"Your Highness, the meaning of this humble position is that we should take it now and stop Qiu Jingzhong's spying on Sizhou in time."
Guo Song readily agreed, "What you said makes sense, I will inform Li Bing right away!"
...........
Qiu Jingzhong's army left Luoyang and marched southward. They marched along the borders of Henan Prefecture, Zhengzhou, Bianzhou, Chenzhou, and Xuzhou. Although there were scattered troops stationed in these states, they also received orders from Zhu Si to intercept Qiu Jingzhong's army.
will.
However, the garrison troops in this state were all afraid of Chou Jingzhong's 80,000-strong army. In addition, Chou Jingzhong's army marched along the border area where no one was concerned. The garrison troops in each state were pushing the blame with each other and no one was willing to stop them. As a result, Chou Jingzhong's army marched very smoothly. Four days later,
Eighty thousand troops entered Songzhou.
Songzhou was the first grain-producing state of the Zhu Si Dynasty, with thousands of miles of fertile fields, numerous rivers, and abundant water resources. Because of Songzhou's important strategic position, Zhu Si sent 10,000 troops to garrison Songzhou, and they were stationed in Songcheng County.
However, these 10,000 troops are scattered troops. The so-called scattered troops are the non-direct armies other than the four main armies of the Tiger Guard, the Flying Bear Guard, the Leopard Guard and the Qianniu Guard. There are about 120,000 troops stationed in various states.
, Xuzhou and Sizhou have the largest number of troops, each with 20,000 people, and other states have 10,000 or several thousand troops stationed in each.
The scattered army is the lowest level of the army. It has poor equipment, low pay, poor quality of soldiers, and low combat effectiveness. Against ordinary people, they are like wolves and tigers, but against the regular army, they are just a bunch of mobs.
It was already June, and the weather was very hot. The wheat had just been harvested and had not had time to be transported to Luoyang. Qiu Jingzhong led an army of 80,000 to march day and night. However, when they entered Songzhou, the army also began to march during the day. In the afternoon, the army reached a distance of
On the official road about ten miles away in Songcheng County.
A spy had discovered it early and reported the news to Ji Da, the governor of Songzhou. Ji Da also received the emperor's order to intercept Qiu Jingzhong's army. How could he dare to intercept it? He hoped that the Feixiong Army would also come from the border like other states.
In the past, he also pretended not to notice.
But contrary to expectations, Qiu Jingzhong's 80,000-strong army came to Songcheng County. This news scared Ji Da to the point where his legs went weak.
He knows very well the level of his 10,000-strong army. Everyone is an expert in food, drink, whoring, and gambling. When it comes to fighting, it is estimated that no one is willing to go to the battlefield.
He immediately summoned his generals to discuss countermeasures. Sure enough, when everyone heard that the Flying Bear Army was about to reach Song City, they immediately became upset and demanded an immediate withdrawal.
"General, it's not that our brothers are unwilling to work hard. Look at our equipment. We don't even have leather armor. We have broken knives and guns that are hundreds of years old. Our treatment is even worse than that of pigs and dogs. Once we go to the battlefield, we are guaranteed to run cleanly.
, no soldier is stupid enough to risk his life, it is only right to evacuate to Xuzhou quickly!"
"General, why don't you surrender? There are [新biquge www.xxbiquge.vip] 80,000 people! Let the brothers fight eight at a time, and no one will be able to do anything."
There was a commotion in the lobby, and Jida shouted: "Quiet!"
Only then did dozens of generals calm down, and Ji Da said: "We must withdraw our troops. The key is where to withdraw? I think so! There are already 20,000 troops in Xuzhou, and we used to be concubines.
Why don't we withdraw from Bozhou? There are only 5,000 troops in Bozhou. After we go there, we can be a little tougher. What do you think?"
Everyone agreed, and Jida immediately ordered, "Send an order to the entire army to abandon the city and retreat southward immediately!"
The 10,000-strong army retreated southward in panic as if their buttocks were on fire. When they heard that there was going to be a war, the soldiers ran faster than rabbits.
Not long after the 10,000 scattered troops withdrew southward, Feixiong's troops approached the city. The governor Luo Shengwang led his officials out of the city to welcome the arrival of His Royal Highness.
.........
Sizhou is currently the southernmost territory of the Zhu Si Dynasty. There are 20,000 scattered troops stationed along the Huaihe River. The 20,000 troops are not treated better because they are border troops. The 20,000 troops are all wearing cloth armor. This kind of
The cloth armor is either a standard cloth armor that has been repeatedly soaked in oil and dried in the sun, or a cloth armor that is simply cut from coarse cloth. It cannot block the penetration of a bow and arrow from a hundred steps away, and it has no appearance.
Of course, the treatment is also the worst, with only 300 Wen per month. The only advantage is that you can eat enough, three times a day. Many farmers work hard and don't have enough to eat. They are all looking for
Come to serve as a soldier at this point.
In the past two days, the troops stationed in Sizhou have been in a state of tension. They heard the news from Songzhou and Xuzhou. Songzhou has been occupied by the rebel Qiu Jingzhong. It is said that the defenders of Xuzhou have also surrendered. So what's the next step?
Will Qiu Jingzhong's army come to Sizhou? If so, what should they do?
Just when the Sizhou defenders were paying attention to the situation in Xuzhou in the north, they did not know that behind them, an army of 30,000 cavalry had silently entered Chuzhou from Haizhou and headed towards the south bank of the Huaihe River.
The enemy camp came to attack.
This army was exactly the 30,000 troops commanded by Yang Meng. Yang Meng received orders from Li Bing to seize Sizhou as quickly as possible.
Although Yang Meng was powerful and rough in appearance, he was very delicate. He took advantage of the Huaihe River navy to build a pontoon bridge to the south bank of the Huaihe River, entered Chuzhou, and then walked west along the south bank to the camp in Linhuai County.
When there were still twenty miles left, he stopped moving forward and waited patiently for the arrival of the navy.