The ministers all dispersed, and Zhao Gou left Xu Xiantu behind.
Zhao Gou said worriedly: "Is it really necessary to fight Zhang Jun?"
Xu Xiantu said calmly: "Your Majesty, don't worry, Zhang Jun is just the bigger Liu Guangshi. He has a shady reputation and will definitely be defeated. He always thinks that Chen Qing can separate the regime, and he can also separate the regime. In fact, there is no such thing."
That’s not the case.”
"Why isn't it the same thing?"
"Your Majesty, Chen Qing occupies Sichuan and Shaanxi, which is too far away from the imperial court. First of all, the threat to the imperial court is very small, and you can even ignore him. Secondly, Chen Qing's expansion is almost all taken from the hands of the Jin Kingdom. His military discipline is good and he never disturbs the people.
, so in the minds of the people of the world, the Western Army belongs to the army of justice.
The most important point is the third point. Chen Qing has a bottom line and abides by the rules. Jinghu South Road was exchanged with the imperial court. Even if he recently occupied Jinghu North Road, he tried every means to find an excuse. It was Zhang Jun who sent troops first, then he sent troops, and the imperial court had no choice.
You can talk.
And last time he led an army of 100,000 to Lin'an. With his military strength at the time, he could have captured Lin'an, but he did not do so. He accepted His Highness's canonization and left normally. So he is also very hateful, but His Majesty also
I have to admit that he and Zhang Jun are still different."
Zhao Gou stood in front of the window with his hands behind his hands, staring into the distance, and said slowly for a long time: "What I am really worried about is Chen Qing. His methods are very high. If Chen Qing supports Zhang Jun behind his back, he uses Zhang Jun as a tool to weaken the imperial court."
, even subverting the imperial court, and he comes out to attack Zhang Jun again, what should I do?"
This is what Zhao Gou is most worried about. With Chen Qing's shrewdness and skill, how could he be absent during Zhang Jun's rebellion? Wouldn't Zhang Jun's seizure of the imperial warship have the shadow of Chen Qing's warship?
Due to the asymmetry of intelligence, both Zhao Gou and the imperial court believed that Zhang Jun planned and implemented the seizure of the imperial warships, and that the Western Army provided surface assistance. After all, it was Zhang Jun who dispatched a hundred thousand troops, and it was Zhang Jun's army that fought against the imperial navy.
It was Zhang Jun who finally got hundreds of warships. Without communication channels, Zhang Jun had to take the blame.
Xu Xiantu could not answer this question. Of course he knew that the emperor was right. Based on his understanding of Chen Qing, Chen Qing must have participated in the confrontation between Zhang Jun and the court. Xu Xiantu even suspected that the entire incident was planned by Chen Qing. Otherwise,
How could it be that not long after the Western Army captured Shandong Road, a crisis occurred between Zhang Jun and the imperial court?
Of course, Xu Xiantu also knew that the root of the crisis between Zhang Jun and the court was that Zhang Jun refused to send troops to the Central Plains according to the imperial order, which offended the emperor and Qin Hui, so he began to trouble Zhang Jun and investigate his problems.
"Why, Aiqing can't answer?" Zhao Gou looked back at Xu Xiantu.
Xu Xiantu smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid the minister's answer will not satisfy His Majesty."
"It doesn't matter, just tell the truth."
"Your Majesty, it is impossible for Chen Qing to stay out of the matter, but there is no telling whether he will support Zhang Jun."
"Under what circumstances would he not support Zhang Jun?" Zhao Gou asked.
Xu Xiantu bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I have been emphasizing 'great justice', which is very important. If Zhang Jun loses his morality and is cast aside by the world, then Chen Qing will definitely denounce Zhang Jun. Over the years, Chen Qing has attached great importance to morality and reputation.
, he will never bear the reputation of supporting the rebels. Even if he secretly supports Zhang Jun at first, he will stop supporting Zhang Jun in time because Zhang Jun loses his morality."
Zhao Gou nodded, what Xu Xiantu said made sense. In fact, he was afraid that Chen Qing would openly support Zhang Jun and send troops to cooperate with Zhang Jun's army. But if it was secret support, such as supporting some money and food, Zhao Gou would be disappointed.
Not very worried.
Zhao Zaozhao thought for a while and asked: "If we want to fight Zhang Jun, who does Ai Qing think is the better general?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I recommend Han Shizhong. He is senior, has a high status, and is experienced enough to lead an army against Zhang Jun."
"I understand, I'll think about it again!"
Zhao Gou was very dissatisfied with Han Shizhong. This time Zhang Jun seized the ship, but Han Shizhong commanded an army of 30,000 and retreated without a fight, handing over hundreds of warships to Zhang Jun. This made people doubt that he and Zhang Jun were related.
Collusion.
Of course, Zhao Gou also knows that the relationship between Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun has always been at odds, and there will definitely be no collusion. But even if he does not doubt it, Han Shizhong lost the navy he spent millions to build, and Zhao Gou is considering holding him accountable.
How could he be allowed to be the commander-in-chief again?
At this time, Chen Qing's attention has turned to Jianghuai. He received news that Zhang Jun personally led an army to capture Chuzhou and Yangzhou Prefecture. In this way, the entire Jianghuai area south of the Huaihe River and north of the Yangtze River was Zhang Jun's territory.
.
The second news was that Zhang Jun sent troops to occupy the water village at the mouth of Poyang Lake and regarded it as his naval base.
Of the two pieces of news, Chen Qing paid more attention to the latter. From Zhang Jun's occupation of this water village, Chen Qing saw Zhang Jun's ambition. Zhang Jun was no longer willing to just be the king of Jianghuai, and actually had the idea of Jiangnan West Road.
.
"Your Highness, it is inevitable that Zhang Jun wants to seize Jiangnan West Road. It is not surprising at all!"
The one who spoke was Lu Qingshan. Ever since Lu Qingshan was beaten by Chen Qing and awakened by his wife's words, he began to answer his position and regarded himself as a counselor of Prince Yong's Mansion and no longer regarded himself as an aide. He naturally
They will no longer consider for the court and will safeguard their own interests in everything.
In just one month, everyone has noticed his changes, and everyone no longer calls him Ban Xiang. This nickname of Ban Xiang is really a bit sarcastic.
Chen Qing asked with a curious smile: "Why isn't it strange at all?"
Lu Qing smiled bitterly and said: "Hey! In fact, what Your Highness should have thought of is because of financial resources!"
Chen Qing suddenly realized that he should have thought of it. He knew Zhang Jun's situation very well. In the Jianghuai area under Zhang Jun's current rule, apart from Yangzhou, which was slightly better, and Jingxiang, which was slightly better, other places were in devastation.
, even worse than Henan Road, mainly because several battles between the Song Army and the Jin Army broke out in the Jianghuai area. The entire Jianghuai area became a battlefield, and the people were displaced. Coupled with the plague caused after the war, the Jianghuai area was deserted.
Crowded.
At that time, there were millions of Jianghuai people who fled to Guanzhong through Jingxiang and Shangzhou, and there were also millions of Jianghuai people who stayed in Jinghu and Jinghu. After that great escape, Jianghuai's vitality was completely damaged, and there is no trace of it to this day.
After recovery, Jianghuai, which originally had a population of millions, now only has a population of more than 1.2 million.
How can a mere one million people support the supplies and salaries of an army of 200,000? Once the imperial court cuts off the supplies to the Huaixi Army, even if Zhang Jun has some accumulation, it will not be a long-term solution. Of course, Zhang Jun will have to find stable financial resources.
.
The best source of wealth is Jiangnan East Road, which has the largest population, the most abundant grain production, and is the richest place in the world. Unfortunately, it is the core place where the imperial court is located, so don't even think about it. The second place is Jiangnan West Road, where the Poyang Lake District is located.
It was not ravaged by the Jin soldiers. Although there were bandits, they were quelled by the imperial court in time without any loss of vitality. In addition, it received a large number of immigrants from the Central Plains and Jianghuai River, making Jiangnan West Road an important financial source for the imperial court.
With the tens of millions of people in Jiangnan West Road, there is no problem in supporting an army of 200,000.
Therefore, Chen Qing also understood Zhang Jun's strategic intention. I am afraid that his capture of Yangzhou was an illusion. The real purpose was to seize Jiangnan West Road and solve the financial problem. Especially now that he had warships, he began to implement his own strategy.
Although Zhang Jun's performance is mediocre, Zhang Jun is not ambiguous at all when it comes to doing big things. He knows exactly where his shortcomings are and how to solve them.
That's why Zhang Jun so decisively agreed to Wang Jingxiu's return to his hometown. Wang Jingxiu couldn't understand his strategy, so he naturally wouldn't use it again.