Regarding the war in Shouzhou, Han Lingkun did not want to argue too much.

Shouzhou is the main direction of the southern expedition, and His Majesty is personally in charge. His subordinates Li Chongjin, Wang Yanchao, Si Chao and others are all famous generals in the world.

His brother Zhao Kuangyin also followed Yu Jia southward. With so many elite soldiers and powerful generals, Han Lingkun believed that it was only a matter of time before Shouzhou was captured.

What he wanted to discuss with Zhu Xiu more was what the Zhou army stationed in Sizhou should do next.

After thinking about it for a moment, Han Lingkun said: "Vice Commander Zhu, Sizhou is not far from Yangzhou. All Tang troops in Sizhou have retreated to Tianchang County. If we want to attack Yangzhou, we must first capture Tianchang County. Our two armies total more than 30,000 soldiers."

Ma, I think you can give it a try!"

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "What is General Han's plan?"

Han Lingkun became more energetic, "I have made inquiries and found that there are a small number of Tang troops stationed in Gaoyou. We can go through Gaoyou first and attack in sheep's clothing. The Tianchang Tang troops will definitely come to the rescue, and then our army can ambush halfway or take the opportunity to attack Tianchang County!"

Zhu Xiu thought for a while, "General Han's plan is indeed feasible, but there is something wrong with it!"

Han Lingkun wasn't upset at all, he cupped his fists and said, "I'd like to hear the details!"

Zhu Xiudao: "There is nothing to fear from Tianchang's Tang army, but once our army takes Gaoyou and Tianchang lightly, Yangzhou will be shaken! Our army's goal is Yangzhou, and other small victories are insignificant! Although General Han's strategy is good, there is no time yet!"

Han Lingkun thought for a moment, "I wonder what specific timing Deputy Commander Zhu is referring to?"

Zhu Xiu smiled slightly, cupped his hands in the direction of Shouzhou and said: "Shouzhou is difficult to attack, but in the direction of Chuzhou, Tang army reinforcements led by Huangfu Hui and Yao Feng have already stationed. Downstream of Shouzhou, there is also a Tang army at Tushan that is ready to move.

Your Majesty is a man who knows the military, and it is impossible for him to sit idly by and ignore the Tang troops in Tushan and Chuzhou.

I predict that within a few days, His Majesty will definitely send a capable general to defeat Tushan first, and then defeat the state. Only by defeating the reinforcements of the Tang army first can there be any hope of conquering Shouzhou!

Only by taking Chuzhou first can our army go south to take Yangzhou.

Otherwise, as soon as our army moves, the Tang army will definitely come to save Yangzhou. Even if we capture Yangzhou, we will not be able to stay there for a long time, and we will be in danger of being cut off from our retreat."

Han Lingkun frowned and said: "Tushan is okay, but except for the dangerous location of Qingliu Pass in Pingzhou, two generals Huangfu Hui and Yao Feng claim to have led an army of 150,000 to block the pass, making it easy and indestructible!"

Zhu Xiu said with a smile: "I am just about to report to His Majesty and ask for permission to go to Qingliu Pass to challenge! See if I can find an opportunity to seize Chuzhou in one fell swoop!"

Han Lingkun was startled, his eyes widened and speechless. He almost thought he heard wrongly.

"Vice Admiral Zhu wants to lead 30,000 troops from Sizhou to attack Chuzhou?"

Zhu Xiu raised a finger and said, "It's enough for me to lead 10,000 soldiers and horses! The rest will be led by General Han. When I conquer Qingliu Pass, with the temperament of the enemy general Huangfu Hui, I will definitely order Tianchang Tang's army to rescue him."

, when the time comes, General Han will seize the opportunity to ambush, and you and I will work together to encircle the area for reinforcements!

If we kill Tianchang's Tang army, we won't have to take a long way to attack Gaoyou, and the time has come to capture Yangzhou."

Han Lingkun was stunned and speechless, his face full of laughter and tears.

I bet Vice Admiral Zhu has even thought about the battle arrangements after capturing Qingliu Pass?

But Qingliu Pass is located in a dangerous terrain and has a large army stationed there. How can it be easily taken?

Listening to Zhu Xiu's words, taking Qingliu Pass is as simple as bending down to pick up a piece of grass from the ground.

Han Lingkun sighed bitterly: "I would like to advise Deputy Commander Zhu to think twice! Generals Huangfu Hui and Yao Feng have been in the battle for a long time and should not be underestimated! Besides, the Tang army is said to be 150,000, and the number of combat troops is probably no less than 50,000 or 60,000, let alone one."

Ten thousand troops and horses, even if you and I lead 30,000 troops and horses together, I am afraid it will be difficult to capture Qingliu Pass."

Zhu Xiu waved his hand: "Don't worry, General Han. Except for the Zhou Tang Army, which has at most 30,000 to 40,000 people, the rest are civilians and there is nothing to fear! I have already asked Wu Desi to find out about this."

"Alas~ Even if there are only 30,000 or 40,000 people, they are still several times more powerful than our enemies!" Han Lingkun still shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Zhu Xiu picked up the feather fan placed on the table and shook it gently: "It doesn't matter. Although the Tang army is large, it is not enough. It is not a problem for one of our Zhou soldiers to be ten! Huangfu Hui, Yao Feng and the like are just local chickens and dogs, and it is difficult to get in."

My eyes!"

Han Lingkun was speechless, wondering whether Zhu Xiu was arrogant or confident.

"Deputy Commander Zhu really wants to go?"

Zhu Xiu nodded: "The letter of invitation has been written and will be sent to Shouzhou as soon as possible after being discussed with General Han."

Han Lingkun hesitated and said: "As a deputy envoy to recruit, if Deputy Commander Zhu insists on carrying out this plan, it will be difficult for me to stop him. However, the more than 10,000 troops and horses brought by Han were all newly recruited by the front department last year.

With less than a year of training, I'm afraid it will be difficult to carry out this combat mission..."

The way Han Lingkun was hesitating, Zhu Xiu knew what he was thinking at a glance, and said with a smile: "This time, I will only take 10,000 infantry of the Huai Army, and another 1,000 mules and horses to carry twenty days of grain and grass, and the rest of the soldiers and horses

Stay in Sizhou, leave it to General Han to command, and act according to the plan!"

Han Lingkun looked at him, feeling a little ashamed and a little worried. He cupped his fists and said, "Please take care of yourself, Vice Admiral Zhu! If the opportunity to fight is not revealed, don't force it! The general and his army will always be ready to respond!"

"General Lao Han is responsible for Sizhou's military affairs!" Zhu Xiu smiled heartily.

Han Lingkun was obviously not optimistic that he could win Qingliu Pass or even Chuzhou. Of course, he was not willing to use the more than 10,000 imperial guards to carry out this seemingly impossible mission.

In fact, Zhu Xiu had no intention of using his Imperial Guards. He had formed an army to suppress the Huaihe River for four years and trained non-stop in the cold and summer. Wasn't it just to prepare for the Huainan War?

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Historically, Chuzhou was also the place where Zhao Kuangyin shined.

Zhu Xiu is naturally not as powerful as Zhao Dayong, but after crossing the river with Zhao Dayong and meeting Huangfu Hui and Yao Feng, he still has some confidence.

~~~

A few days later, in the southwest of Shouchun City, the Zhou army camped in the imperial tent, and Chai Rong received a report from Sizhou.

After reading the report sent by Zhu Xiu, Chai Rong pondered for a moment, walked out of the imperial tent, walked to a high slope, and overlooked Shouchun City in the distance.

In the distance, there was a faint cry of killing.

More than a dozen trebuchets lined up outside the city and bombarded the west tower of Shouchun City indiscriminately.

No less than a hundred were used to make the black fire thunder from the altar alone. Most of the city towers were burned down, and the entire city wall was burned black and filled with gunpowder smoke. However, the Tang army still held on tenaciously.

Chai Rong led the civilians to attack the city for the first time. After half a month, there were heavy casualties. However, apart from burning down the Shouchun West Tower and smashing several gaps in the crenellations of the city wall, there was no other progress.

Li Chongjin and Wang Yanchao organized several suicide squads to climb the city and personally led their troops to set up ladders and rush up to the city tower. However, they were forced back by the overwhelming Tang army.

Under the city, there were piles of corpses, most of them were Zhou soldiers and civilians.

Chai Rong sighed as he recalled the debate between Zhu Xiu and Wang Pu that day.

Zhu Xiu's prediction was good. Although the Southern Tang court was in a state of decay, there were still capable people in the army, and the Southern Tang army was not without merit.

At least the Shouchun in front of him, including the guard Liu Renzhan and the Qing Huai army under his command, let Chai Rong see what it means to be a hard nut to crack.

Chai Rong realized that the siege of Shouchun could no longer be carried out by force, otherwise it would only be in vain to damage the lives of Zhou army officers and civilians.

"Shi Shouxin, go and deliver the order for Li Chongjin to withdraw his troops and return to the camp!" Chai Rong sighed.

Standing behind him, Shi Shouxin cupped his fists and accepted the order, then strode away.

Zhao Kuangyin, who was accompanying the bodyguard, took a step forward and said softly: "Your Majesty, Shouchun is difficult to attack. It is better to besiege and not attack. When the food and grass in the city are exhausted, the morale of the Tang army will naturally collapse. The Tang army in Tushan and Chuzhou has made changes, and it is still necessary to do so early."

Be prepared."

Chai Rong smiled and said: "You went with Zhu Xiuxiang. Yes, I also have the same intention. We cannot be dragged down by Shouchun City. Tushan and Chuzhou are the two major positions of the Tang Army. Only by conquering these two places, our army can

Only then can we go straight to the hinterland of Huainan!"

After a pause, Chai Rongdan said: "It's a pity that Si Chao led his troops south to capture Shengtang County (Liu'an, Anhui), Wang Yanchao marched west to Guangzhou, and Li Chong marched to attack Shouzhou. If he wanted to capture Tushan, he would have to send his consort.

..."

Zhao Kuangyin blushed, clasped his fists and said: "Why do you need to work for the prince? The general is willing to go to Tushan!"

Chai Rong looked at him with a smile, "Although you showed your skills in Bagongyuan, you have never led an army alone. This time when you go to Tushan, you will inevitably encounter a fierce battle. I can't divide our troops too much here. What about it? Do you still have the confidence to go?

?”

Zhao Kuangyin puffed up his chest and said proudly: "The general will only bring five thousand soldiers and horses, and it is your majesty's duty to wipe out the Tushan Tang army! The general is willing to issue a military order. If he loses, he is willing to be punished!"

Chai Rong put his hands on his hands and laughed: "How magnificent! I will give you five thousand elite soldiers and send troops to Tushan immediately!"

Zhao Kuangyin added: "After the general wins Tushan, he should go straight to Qingliu Pass in Chuzhou. Even if he cannot win, he must block the Tang army so that the Tang army has no chance to rush to help Shouzhou!"

Chai Rong said with a smile: "You just go to Tushan and don't worry about Chuzhou. Zhu Xiu asked for an order to send troops to clear Liuguan. After thinking about it, I agreed and asked him and Han Lingkun to deal with Huangfu Hui and Yao Feng, so as not to

They are stationed in Sizhou doing nothing."

"The last general takes orders!" Zhao Kuangyin did not insist. Tushan's Tang army was able to hold on to ten or twenty thousand men, while Chuzhou's side claimed one hundred and fifty thousand. He just said it casually, showing that he was not afraid of powerful enemies and dared to fight to the death.

I still feel guilty if I really want him to go and defeat Chuzhou now.

~~~

At the end of February, Zhu Xiu received Chai Rong's permission, ordered his troops and horses, and took Shi Xiangwen, Mi Xin, and Tian Chong with him to march towards Qingliu Pass.

Han Lingkun led the rest of the Zhou army to continue to sit in Sizhou, and sent out many detective horses to listen for the Tang army's movements in the direction of Tianchang, Yangzhou, and Chuzhou. He always paid attention to the news of Zhu Xiu's departure and was ready to rescue him at any time.

Going to attack Qingliu Pass, Han Lingkun was even more nervous than Zhu Xiu.

The straight-line distance between Sizhou and Qingliuguan was less than 160 miles. Zhu Xiu marched at a slow speed and walked for eight days before arriving.

Previously, Li Chongjin defeated Liu Yanzhen's more than 30,000 Tang army in Zhengyang with 20,000 Zhou troops. Liu Yanzhen was also beheaded in the battle. The Tang army alone had more than 10,000 dead in the battle. The corpses stretched for thirty miles. This battle was fought in Huainan.

The soldiers and civilians were terrified.

After that, the Tang army rarely dared to take the initiative to attack, and most of them retreated to the city.

In Qingliu Pass, Generals Huangfu Hui and Yao Feng were also worried about the strong combat power of the Zhou army. They learned that the Tang army was heading south from Sizhou a few days in advance. They hurriedly gathered a small group of cavalry along the way and prepared to retreat and defend.
To be continued...