Although Fang La's Yongle army received the news a little slower than Wang Yue, they still responded quickly.
Fang La first sent people to notify Yang Xiao quickly, hoping that the Jiangzuo Alliance would intercept the Wu Dynasty navy, and then ordered Fang Xifo to prepare for an interception, trying to block the Wu Dynasty army north of the river.
After Liu Xigua received the news, she asked Chen Fan to continue collecting food. She quickly came to Fuzhou to meet Wang Yue.
But what she didn't know was that before she came to Fuzhou, Wang Yue had already met two waves of guests.
The first wave was Lu Hongti. According to Wang Yue's plan, after such a long period of development, the situation of Qingmuzhai in Luliang Mountain was much better, attracting many people to defect to their village, and its power expanded rapidly.
She had contact with Wang Yue's secret guards. When she learned that the leader of the Jiangzuo Alliance was Yang Xiao, he knew that this was Wang Yue's force and had participated in the uprising. Then she hurriedly came all the way to ask Wang Yue.
What's the plan?
The second person who came to see Wang Yue was indeed from the Secret Investigation Department.
The man who came here had a very strange name, Wenren Buer. He came to talk to Yang Xiao about his recruitment under the orders of Mr. Qin.
Mr. Qin didn't know that Wang Yue was here. He just keenly felt that the Jiangzuo Alliance was more difficult to destroy than Fang La's rebel army.
At the same time, he felt that if the Jiangzuo League could be persuaded to surrender to the imperial court, the imperial court would get a powerful navy, tens of thousands of elite soldiers and horses, and most importantly, the huge amount of food from the Jiangzuo League.
The Secret Reconnaissance Department received news that when the Jiangzuo Alliance moved away those wealthy households, the food and grass they raised could feed the 200,000 troops for two to three years. Such a large amount of food could completely support the Northern Expedition.
Yang Xiao was actually very dissatisfied with the recruitment, but he thought that Wang Yue wanted him to be a good person, so he did not refuse immediately and said that he would go back and summon his men to discuss it.
Wenren Buer had known the news for a long time. Jiangzuo League seemed to always summon several people to discuss something. Yang Xiao didn't have the final say alone, so he didn't care much.
Yang Xiao asked several of his subordinates to hold a meeting, but they were discussing how to advance quickly. He immediately found himself meeting Lu Hongti and told Wang Yue the conditions of the Wu Dynasty.
After listening to Yang Xiao's narration, Wang Yue turned the tea cup in his hand and asked with some confusion, "Oh, what conditions is the emperor of the Wu Dynasty going to give?"
He had seen his son-in-law. The emperor of the Wu Dynasty was very good at playing with the emperor's mind, but he didn't learn how to govern the country at all. It was probably because the previous emperor died in a hurry and forgot to teach him.
He guessed in his mind that maybe the emperor of the Wu Dynasty would give him some conditions that would make him happy.
When Yang Xiao saw Wang Yue's calm look, he quickly said, "Then Wenren Buer said that if we can help the Wu Dynasty regain the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun, we can be given a throne."
Wang Yue twitched the corner of his mouth, what kind of nonsense logic is this? He felt that the throne was safer by fighting for it.
It's just that it's not easy to refuse directly at this time. He thought for a while and said in a deep voice, "There's no rush. The emperor of the Wu Dynasty is a weakling. When we defeat General Dong's army that came to suppress the bandits, he will naturally
will give us what we want."
Yang Xiao nodded and said helplessly, "If we cooperate with Prime Minister Qin, it's not impossible. It just doesn't matter what he says."
Wang Yue shrugged. When he watched this drama, Qin Siyuan was the only normal official in the court, and the others were a bit inexplicable.
Especially that Grand Master He, who was already below one person and above ten thousand people in the Wu Dynasty, yet he eagerly helped other emperors to work for a country that had just emerged. It was simply inexplicable.
So he waved his hand, not wanting to discuss this topic, and said very seriously, "The current situation is that Wu Dynasty needs time, we also need time, and even Fang La needs time, so you can just delay it."
Yang Xiao knew the importance and was very honest at this time, so he said very simply, "Yes, I will let those brothers and their ink go there tomorrow."
Wang Yue nodded and said seriously, "Maybe this is Wu Dynasty's delaying strategy. We have to guard against it and let our navy block Hangzhou Bay and not allow Wu Dynasty's navy to go south. If they take the land route,
It will be impossible to destroy Fang La's two to three hundred thousand troops in a year or two, so we have time."
After Yang Xiao heard Wang Yue's words, he couldn't help but act smart and hurriedly went down to issue the order.
…
In fact, Wang Yue guessed it right. His chess friend Qin Lao wanted to hold them back, and then asked General Dong to lead his army through the Northern Navy and take more than 100 warships to Lin'an, the capital of Yongle.
As long as Lin'an is captured and the center blossoms, the bandits in other places will definitely surrender after hearing the news.
It's just that Wang Yue had calculated this point, and his attention was doomed to fail.
When the Northern Navy of the Wu Dynasty went south to Hangzhou Bay, they were ambushed by the Jiangzuo Alliance Navy that had been ambushing them for a long time.
Due to the gap in weapons and being ambushed, the navy of the Wu Dynasty was no match for the navy of the Jiangzuo Alliance. Except for General Dong, who was desperately escorted by the naval commander, he fled back to Yangzhou with thousands of soldiers. The rest of the army
annihilated.
In this battle alone, the Jiangzuo Alliance navy captured hundreds of warships and 70,000 to 80,000 troops.
It's not that these soldiers and horses are useless, but they are actually soldiers from the north. Their combat effectiveness on the warship was reduced by half, and they were overwhelmed by the overwhelming bows and crossbows. They had no other choice but to surrender.
As the saying goes, good fortune never comes in pairs, and misfortune never comes alone. The war in the south is not going well, but the war in the north is even more mysterious.
News from the north has also spread to all parts of the Wu Dynasty. It was heard that a hundred thousand troops were beaten to pieces and abandoned their armor. Only the commander escaped. The whole Wu Dynasty was frightened, and people everywhere were confused.
In fact, Wang Yue helped Qin Siyuan, and the war between the two sides failed at the same time, which frightened the emperor Zhou Zhe, who only knew how to play political games.
At this time, the emperor had no time to play political games. He now felt that he was in danger of destroying the country, so he favored Qin Siyuan in the balance of the court.
Qin Siyuan did not expect Jiangzuo Alliance to be so powerful. He could see through his delaying tactics at a glance and broke their intention of a quick victory.
Therefore, Qin Siyuan at this time did not agree with the Northern Expedition. After all, the defeat of two consecutive wars would definitely make people with ulterior motives see the emptiness of the Wu Dynasty. It was better to stabilize the Wu Dynasty at this time.
As for missing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take back the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun, he could only accept his fate.
You know, it was his dream to take back the Sixteenth State of Yanyun, and it was also the late emperor's expectation for him. Unexpectedly, the opportunity was right in front of him, but he lost it just like that.
So when he was in court, after Qin Siyuan stated his plan to stop the Northern Expedition and go all out to wipe out the rebels, he immediately felt that he was old and really had the idea of retiring and returning home.
The emperor saw Qin Siyuan's decadence, but he didn't think too much. In his opinion, the Wu Dynasty had many soldiers and generals, and the loss of two to three hundred thousand was nothing at all. It was far less important than stabilizing the court.
But how did he know that this time he lost two to three hundred thousand, but the elite of the Wu Dynasty, especially General Dong, was injured, and the Wu Dynasty had no available troops.
What's even more funny is that when Qin Siyuan wanted to retire and return to his hometown again, the emperor only made a show of trying to persuade him to stay, and he couldn't wait to agree.
…
In fact, just as Qin Siyuan thought, many self-righteous people also saw the weakness of the Wu Dynasty. Before the court could send another army to Jiangnan to quell the rebellion, instability appeared in all directions.
Banditry also became more and more rampant, transportation in various states and counties was almost cut off, and the Wu Dynasty was in danger for a while.
The most serious one was Liangshan. They suddenly came out of Shuibo Liangshan and captured a county below Daming Prefecture. Their reputation was very loud for a while, attracting countless bandits to defect to them.
Compared with Jiangnan, Liangshan was right in front of us. Therefore, when it came to Jiangnan, the court had to discuss how to pacify Liangshan before they could figure out who to send troops to lead south.
Qin Siyuan left, and the others were very disappointed with the emperor. They basically lowered their heads and remained silent. The emperor could only look at Mr. Qin and Grand Master He who had squeezed away.
Grand Master He was also a man who loved playing politics. He had a way out, so he said nonchalantly, "We can go to Zhao'an in Liangshan, give them an official position, and let them lead Liangshan's soldiers and horses south to attack Fang La."
After Master He finished speaking, many people immediately agreed. They felt that Master He was a match for Zhuge, and he was really unparalleled in his tactics.
The emperor saw that Grand Master He was almost the only one in charge in the court, and immediately felt a little uncomfortable. When he saw that Grand Master He suggested recruiting troops, he immediately looked at Grand Master He's rival Li Gang.
Li Gang originally didn't want to come out to answer, but he was a loyal and patriotic person, and he didn't want to embarrass the emperor.
He saw that the emperor wanted to fight. He felt that it was rare for the emperor to have such an idea, so he hurriedly said, "I think it is better to fight. After losing more than 200,000 elites, other troops did not know their strength, so they rashly sent them
In the south, if we are killed and defeated again, the situation will be even more ugly. It just so happens that Shuibo Liangshan is relatively small, and we can select the soldiers we can fight through a battle."
Master He glanced at Li Gang with some surprise. He was really afraid that if Li Gang agreed with his idea, the emperor would not be able to tolerate him and would drive him away just like Qin Siyuan.
The emperor was very satisfied with Li Gang's reaction and immediately decided to send troops to attack Shuibo Liangshan. As for the south, he ordered the counties and counties to guard and wait for the arrival of the imperial army.
…
Fang La soon received the report of the battle in Hangzhou Bay. After learning that the Jiangzuo Alliance defeated the imperial court's 100,000 troops for them, he was very happy and felt that this marriage was not in vain.
But apart from gold and silver, he had nothing else to give to the Jiangzuo League, but the Jiangzuo League had more of these things than he did.
Thinking of the Jiangzuo League's desire for population, Fang La immediately made a decision to send all the refugees in the territory to the Jiangzuo League as a thank you for this help.
Of course, Wang Yue did not reject anyone who came from the crowd. He just captured a hundred new warships. Although they are not standard sea ships, they can sail in offshore waters without any problem. With Wang Yue's sea ships escorting them, the sea route is relatively smooth.
safety, which also makes their carrying capacity stronger.
At the same time, Wang Yue took the opportunity to order his army to march west and south. Taking advantage of this gap, he successively attacked Guangnan East Road and Jiangnan West Road.
By the time the imperial army failed to annihilate Liangshan for the first time, the Jiangzuo League's army had overwhelmingly occupied most of the Zhou counties along these two roads, and even occupied part of Jinghu South Road.
During the entire march, except for some key areas that were difficult to attack and required the assistance of secret guards, most areas heard that the Jiangzuo Alliance army was coming. The evil gentry and officials fled after hearing the news, and the local people cheered as if they were welcoming a king.
division.
Therefore, after successive battles, Wang Yue's army not only did not decrease, but its number more than doubled. For a time, the surrounding prefectures and counties closed their city gates tightly and did not dare to open the doors at will.
Fangla's Yongle army finally captured Jiangning, completely occupying Jiangnan East Road and two Zhouxian counties in Zhejiang, and even parts of Huainan East Road.
If General Dong had not led the remnant army in Yangzhou that was defeated after the battle with Wang Yue in Hangzhou Bay, and carried out a desperate resistance on the spot, Yangzhou might have been lost.
Even so, the faces of the entire Wu Dynasty changed. After all, the entire granary was lost. The court became strange for a while, and the emperor who loved to play tricks finally panicked.
Since he couldn't defeat him, the emperor had no choice but to recruit troops. He sent three envoys to Liangshan, Lin'an and Fuzhou respectively to continue discussing the recruitment issue.
However, their recruitment plan was different. Liangshan directly offered several official positions and used them as bargaining chips to start negotiations.
But things are different here between Jiangzuo League and Yongle Dynasty.
What he told the Jiangzuo League was that if joining could quell the Yongle rebels, the leader of the Jiangzuo League would be named King of Wu.
It was the same as what Fang La said, but with the added condition that Fang La, the emperor of the Yongle Dynasty, needed to abdicate.
Yang Xiao sent someone to place the envoy at the inn, and immediately asked Wang Yue for his thoughts. He thought the deal was okay.
In his opinion, the Yongle rebels were just a bunch of weak soldiers and generals. As long as they were killed by the Jiangzuo Alliance army, the Yongle Dynasty would surrender immediately.
If you exchange this for a throne, you can sit in the south of the Yangtze River and watch the Wu Dynasty and Liao and Jin Dynasties fight to the death, and then reap the benefits and have the chance to dominate the world.
Therefore, he said excitedly, "Lord, we have won so much territory, and we just need to digest it. We can indeed agree. After all, a promise is a promise, and we have the final say when to attack."
Wang Yue shook his head helplessly and said very seriously, "I think you'd better not be too optimistic. You all think so. What do you think Fang La's men will think?"
Yang Xiao frowned unconsciously after hearing Wang Yue's words. He thought of Wang Yue's words about Fang La's place where someone should control Fang La. Even if Fang La didn't want to turn against the Jiangzuo Alliance, someone would push him to do so.
.
So, Yang Xiao looked at Wang Yue and said very solemnly, "Sir, I will arrange defense right away."
After Yang Xiao finished speaking, he left. As soon as he left, Lu Hongti walked out. She frowned and said, "Do you suspect someone will attack us behind Fang Wa's back?"
Wang Yue nodded and said seriously, "Yes, once the war starts, it will be impossible to explain clearly."
Lu Hongti thought for a while and then asked the question he wanted to know most, "Master Wang, are you confident about dealing with Jin Liao?"
The reason why Lu Hongti asked this was because after meeting Wang Yue that day, she originally wanted to ask them what to do next in Qingmuzhai, but Wang Yue asked Lu Hongti to look around on Fujian Road.
During this period of time, Wang Yue was busy fighting, but Lu Hongti was really walking around and found that the people on Fujian Road seemed to be more energetic than the people in other places.
The various policies arranged by Wang Yue ensured that everyone in the common people had farmland. Not to mention those common people, even Lu Hongti wanted to bring people from Qingmuzhai to live in southern Fujian.
So after she came back, she came to Wang Yue to discuss countermeasures and asked if she could send someone to help transfer the people of Qingmuzhai.
But when she came back, she was shocked to find that Wang Yue had quietly taken over three more prefectures and counties, more than doubling his territory.
She suddenly felt that one day Wang Yue's territory might expand to Luliang Mountain, so where else would she move?