The first to start the battle was actually not Jingzhou or Xuzhou, but Huainan in Yangzhou.
On September 11th, General Xunyang Zhouguang of Shanya, the governor of Jin Dynasty, led more than a thousand men from his tribe into Shaopi by boat, landed on the north bank, and raided Shaofu gardeners who were doing autumn sowing, capturing and killing more than a hundred people.
The tenants fled in all directions until they reached the camp.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuo ordered Zuyue's troops, who had just completed autumn sowing, to go down to Caiji River to reinforce the Tuntian District.
The ancestral vanguard of more than 3,000 people was led by Xu Liu, including nearly 3,000 infantry and about 300 cavalry.
The ancestors originally had almost no cavalry, but many soldiers whose families were trapped in Xuzhou got married and gained a lot of cheap and good children overnight.
This cavalry unit is composed of a group of teenage Huns.
To be honest, the weather is not very good.
There is a saying called "Autumn rains continue." The season that is truly suitable for attacking has not yet arrived, so Zhang Shuo has not made any move, and he has not received a general attack order from Nanyang.
But if you don't fight, someone else will. You have no choice but to fight back first.
On September 12, Zhang Shuo held a military meeting at the prefect's mansion in Shouchun City.
Those who attended the meeting included Zhao Wei, the governor of the Heishao Right Camp, the deputy governor Dong Le, the general Zu Yue of Guangwei, Liang Gong, the leader of the Ping'a Tun Army, Yang Tao, the leader of the Xiquyang Tun Army, and Zhou Mo, the Shaofu Cheng (also the Huainan Yuan Commandery).
), Sun Song, the military governor of the Yangshi Manor, and Yu Jun, the military commander and Shouchun commander.
From the composition of the personnel, it can be seen at a glance that, except for the Hei Shao Right Battalion, the Shaofu gardeners and the ancestral sergeants, the rest are basically armed by wealthy families and are a miscellaneous soldier.
Zhang Shuo was very unhappy at first sight, because he had more experience in leading the imperial army and was used to the higher quality of the imperial army and their style of imposing orders and prohibitions. He was very troubled by the soldiers who could not even keep the camp clean.
But this is the situation, no matter how unwilling you are, you have to lead them to fight.
"Now that the matter has come to this, I won't say anything more." Zhang Shuo asked someone to spread out a map on the table and said, "
Come all over and take a look at the details together."
Liang Gong, Yang Tao and others stood up instantly as if their legs were equipped with springs and came over.
The two chief officers in the right camp of Hei Shao were much more reserved. They stood not too far or too close, so they could hear and see, but they did not appear overly enthusiastic.
Zhou Mo was a scholar and was very reserved.
Sun Song, Yu, and Zu Yue each have their own backgrounds, which are not easy for Zhang Shuo to handle.
Therefore, Li Chong's status is still rising. This guy is used to leading various miscellaneous troops to fight.
However, not long after the founding of the Liang Dynasty, the atmosphere was still good, especially the orders in the army were strict. After all, a group of people still leaned around Zhang Shuo and listened carefully to what he said.
"Ershi Mountain is guarded by naval forces, let's not worry about it for now." Zhang Shuo drew his finger on the picture.
He said: "There is no room for failure in the Wokou camp. General Liang, if I don't send your troops south, you must gather all the best and strong ones and deploy them tightly. Don't leave any autumn sowing behind. Leave it to the old, weak, women and children."
"Yes." Liang Gong immediately agreed, with a very good attitude.
"Huainan Garden in Xiquyang mainly focuses on farming. Although grain has been collected now, the income and expenditure cannot be balanced.
Autumn sowing is especially important." Zhang Shuo said, "I guess the thieves will definitely go north along the old road and attack Chengde.
Don't worry, you guys."
Yang Tao and Zhou Mo were hesitant, but they still agreed.
"General Zu." Zhang Shuo looked at Zu Yue again and said, "Your department has completed the autumn sowing, but the whole army can go south.
We are stationed in the north of Shaopi and west of Lijiang River to guard against raids by thieves and to protect the villagers in completing autumn sowing."
"Yes." Zu Yue cupped his hands and then asked, "Now that we are prepared everywhere, but there is no move to attack south, how can we contain the traitors?"
"Your Majesty has not yet issued the order, it is important to complete the autumn sowing." Zhang Shuo waved his hand and said: "Except for the Hei Shaoyou camp, all the ministries are farmers and soldiers. If we don't autumn sow, what will happen next year? After winter, a group of Hebei soldiers will go south.
, then you can flex your muscles.”
Only then did Zu Yue feel relieved and secretly thought that Zhang Shuo's nickname of "Tuntian General" was indeed correct. All he could think of was "Tuntian" and "Qiubang".
However, this kind of person is very persistent in Shouchun. If Shan Yanlin doesn't have any clever tricks, it will be really difficult to drive him away.
****
On September 15th, on the north bank of the Huai River, a heavy rain came unexpectedly, knocking out a few new chrysanthemums.
Li Chong climbed to the top of Xiapi City and looked south with the prefect Miao Kai.
"In the past two years, the people of Wu seem to have become depressed, and they don't even come to fetch Xiapi." Li Chong looked at the turbid river water surrounding Xiapi and said with a smile: "I remember that before Yu Yuangui left, Xiapi had been fiercely fought for several times.
back,
Many soldiers were killed or wounded."
"Captain, are Yu Yuangui still in trouble?" Miao Kai asked.
He was very familiar with Li Chong.
Born in the Miao family of Lanling, the family is well-known for literature. I am also full of knowledge, but I am more down-to-earth.
He did not discriminate against people of lower origin, and got along well with Li Chong, and was recommended by him as the governor of Xiapi.
Currently, about half of the 3,000 soldiers guarding Xia Pi are members of the Miao family, which has strong cohesion.
"I have been away from the center for a long time, and many things are unclear." Li Chong said, "It has been twenty-seven months, and now I don't know if I have been appointed to an official position."
At this point, I sighed a little.
Jia Ci died, but he couldn't go home to observe filial piety. Although the emperor promoted him, he still felt a little melancholy after all.
Moreover, this kind of thing will always be criticized. In the long run, it will be detrimental to the future, especially for an upstart with a shallow foundation like him.
But he was satisfied. Not everyone could be General Zhendong. As the first generation founder of the family, it would be perfect if he could end his career with this position. The rest would have to be worked hard by his descendants.
"The autumn rains are continuous and the rivers are swollen. Does the governor want to march south?" Miao Kai asked, wiping the rainwater that hit his face.
"You don't know if we are going south or not?" Li Chong gave him a dissatisfied look.
Miao Kai laughed and said: "Going down the Si River, the farther south you go, the more muddy land you get. At the end of the Han Dynasty, Chen Deng occupied Guangling.
This suppressed the Sun family and made it difficult for them to make progress."
"The general's flag with the word 'Chen' on the top of Beiling City is from the Chen Deng ethnic group?" Li Zhong asked.
"That's right." Miao Kai said: "The Tu tribe is no longer the head of the county. Most of the tribe members live in Huaipu."
"Where is the Chen Jiajun in Linhuai?" Li Chong asked again.
"That's a member of the Chen family in Dongyang, after the great Sima Chen Qian." Miao Kai said, "Yongjia is in chaos.
The Chen clan fled back to their hometown from Luoyang and Gaoping, and Sima Rui always relied on him."
"Possibly appeasement?" Li Chong sighed and said, "I have finally understood it after years of guarding Xuzhou.
From Xiapi to the south to Linhuai, Huailing, and Guangling, whoever attacks will suffer losses. It means that the navy has the advantage.
You also have to go ashore, it’s much easier to defend than to attack.”
Miao Kai laughed again and said: "The words of Duke Ming are perfect. During the Three Kingdoms period, most of Guangling was in the hands of Cao Wei, and Sun Wu could only get dozens of miles north of the Yangtze River. However, in the end, neither the Wei nor the Jin dynasties went south from here. This place is indeed
Whoever attacks will suffer. As for appeasing them one by one."
At this point, Miao Kai rolled his eyes and said, "I heard that Jianyou Sima Rui has been ill for a long time. If he dies of illness, there may be a good opportunity to recruit him."
"Huh?" Li Chong looked at him with interest.
"The Wu people still have seven or eight cities in Huaibei, with Beiling and Huaipu as the two most important cities." Miao Kai said: "These Huaibei fortresses have been struggling for many years and are miserable. If the Wu people are strong and go north repeatedly,
He might still be able to persevere. Now that the Wu people are switching from offense to defense in Xuzhou, it will become increasingly difficult to defend Huaibei. If Sima Rui dies,
People's hearts must be in turmoil, and there may be opportunities to take advantage of them."
"That makes sense." Li Jian nodded.
"If Ming Gong sent a large number of troops to go south, besieged one or two cities, and then persuaded them to surrender, they might be able to win." Miao Kai said: "In this way, not only will we gain something, but we will also restrain the Wu soldiers and give an account to the emperor.
,
It can be said to be good.”
After that, he added: "In Xuzhou, we must not be impatient and just weaken the Wu people little by little. As long as we do not cross the Huaihe River and go south, Zhuge Daoming may not be willing to fight to the death with Duke Ming."
"This battle will ultimately depend on Jingzhou." Li Chong said with a smile, "Zhang Chuhou and I are just making excuses with Wu Ren."
"Ming Gong, but I don't know who is the commander-in-chief of the Jingzhou expedition?"
Li Chong stared into the distance and said: "General Zuo Xiao Cavalry Guard, King Shen of Julu County."
****
On September 20th, Nanyang finally cleared up.
Le Kai rode a white horse out of the south gate of Wancheng.
"See the Governor." From the south gate outwards, hundreds of officials, large and small, sang in unison.
For some reason, Lucai suddenly shuddered.
He has been in Wancheng for many years, commanding the five counties in northern Jing Dynasty and fighting against the Jin people. Although his power is great, it will inevitably lead to attacks by others.
Fortunately, the leader of Feixiongchai has always trusted Le Kai and comforted him many times. Le Kai finally felt at ease with this person. Once he has been at ease for a long time, it is easy to see himself clearly.
The Ye, Zong, Liu, Fan, Yu and other families who once kept pace with each other now all obey the Le family:
The once unruly masters of Guanxiwu Fort now look up to Le Shi's lead:
After the emperor no longer served as the governor of Mianbei, everything was decided by Le's family, and all officials, big and small, were appointed by Le's family.
After years of war, many generals were promoted by Leshi;
The number of customers in Le's farm and house increased day by day, and the fire in Yongraoye kept burning all night long, making all kinds of fine instruments for Le's use;
There are hundreds of concubines in Lekai Mansion, and the official power is unfathomable.
But suddenly, the emperor was about to tour the south, and Lucai actually felt a little panicked.
"Alas!" He didn't know what he was sighing. He just subconsciously turned over and dismounted, threw the reins into the hands of the soldiers, and said, "The white horse is too eye-catching. Let's get another one."
The soldiers were stunned at first, and then obeyed.
Le Kai stepped forward and looked at the various barbarian soldiers camped in the distance. He suddenly remembered an old saying:
If you are full, you will suffer losses, but if you are modest, you will benefit.
People really need to be more humble.
The emperor can recruit tens of thousands of barbarians at one go. Who can match this prestige?
Thinking of this, he summoned another person and said, "Go and clear out all the old Yang residences. The Le clan will move to other manors for the time being."
"I will make a new copy of the genealogy of the powerful people in Jingzhou counties. I want to review it carefully."
"The leaders of the five counties who met the emperor..." Zhi Le Kai said for a long time, "All the Le family's children have been withdrawn, and the list has been rewritten."
"All the trapped troops were transferred to the new fields, leaving no one behind."
"Select some decent-looking clan girls and send them to Yang. The emperor is working hard on his southern tour, how can he not have women to comfort him at night?"
"I'll give you another warning. Tao Kan may send troops north to seize the enemy first. If you encounter the enemy, you are not allowed to hold back any force. Anyone who acts cunning will be dismissed directly."
"Prepare an extra million dendrobium rations for the army. If you don't have enough, we can borrow a batch first and pay it back after next summer's harvest."
Orders were issued like a stream of water, and his followers came back and forth, constantly delivering orders.
After seeing the messengers mounting their horses and leaving, Lucky finally put down his snack.
"Where has the Emperor gone?" he asked.
Chapter completed!