Chen Qing's fleet arrived in Huzhou, and the ship was anchored in Taihu Lake. Chen Qingze personally led an army of 100,000 to Deqing County. This time to besiege Lin'an, Chen Qing mobilized an army of nearly 400,000. This was actually more of a deterrent.
Let everyone clearly see the comparison of strength.
Deqing County is only more than a hundred miles away from Lin'an, and is connected by the canal and Guantang River, making it very convenient to transport grain and supplies.
Yang Zaixing, the northern commander stationed in Jiaxing, rushed to Deqing County to meet King Yong that day and presented a letter from Lu Gang to Chen Qing.
In the tent, Chen Qing read the letter and said with a smile: "This Zhu Shengfei is really considerate. He actually recommended Wei Tong to take charge of the military. The last remaining army of the imperial court will surely be lost in his hands."
Yang Zaixing also said: "The humble position is in favor of Special Envoy Lu's idea. First, divide the enemy army into pieces and remove Liu Qi, leaving only Yang Yizhong, an experienced general. Then he alienates Yang Yizhong and adds our 400,000 troops."
When the army approaches the city, I believe that the opponent's army will soon fall apart."
Chen Qing nodded, "Shock is necessary, and more importantly, a balance of strength and softness is needed to get the results I want."
Yang Zaixing was silent for a moment and couldn't help but said: "Your Highness, we went south all the way and felt the warm support of the people. In fact, I feel that destroying them directly will not have much impact."
Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "Of course it won't have any impact now, but it may not matter in a few decades, so what I consider is to use the minimum cost to obtain the maximum benefit. This is why I support Empress Dowager Wei's ascension to the throne.
, Speaking of which, the Song Dynasty was not destroyed in my hands. With Empress Dowager Wei taking the blame for me, why not do it, so my army did not enter Lin'an Mansion to create opportunities for her."
Yang Zaixing felt ashamed and said, "Your Highness is far-sighted and far-sighted. Not a humble soldier like me can take this into account."
Chen Qing patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "A soldier has a soldier's duty. The highest duty of a soldier is to obey the commander's orders and to be able to carry out the orders unswervingly. If he can do these two things, he is a qualified soldier."
Yang Zaixing sighed and said: "Actually, Beizhi also suffered old wounds when he attacked Xixia, and he also suffered injuries when he attacked Luoyang. In fact, Beizhi's greatest wish is to completely annihilate the Hulu. I will have no regrets in this life."
Chen Qing nodded, "The day is coming soon. I might as well reveal a plan to you. I am considering attacking Liaodong in the spring of next year at the latest."
"Are you preparing for next year?"
"That's right. It takes a year to prepare for next year, and the year after that will be when we are completely proud."
After Yang Zaixing left, Chen Qing immediately gave Liu Qiong the order to pretend to cross the Qiantang River to create an opportunity for Wei Tong.
The next morning, Wei Tong received news from the scouts that Liu Qiong's army stationed in Xiaoshan began to move north. There were already leading troops preparing to build a pontoon bridge on the Qiantang River.
Wei Tong was shocked and hurriedly called Sima Chun for discussion. Sima Chun read the military report and said with a smile: "God is really helping the commander-in-chief. The commander-in-chief can order Liu Qi to lead his troops to stop the Western Army from crossing the river."
"I'm afraid he won't listen to my orders!"
"He will definitely not listen to the commander-in-chief's military orders. The commander-in-chief can report it to the Queen Mother. You can say this to the Queen Mother."
Wei Tong nodded repeatedly, "This is a good idea!"
He immediately ordered: "Go and summon General Liu Qi to see me!"
Not long after, Liu Qi walked over quickly. Liu Qi had an upright character and hated Wei Tong, who was ignorant and notorious. In addition, his backer Zhang Jun was dismissed by the Queen Mother Wei, which made him very dissatisfied with the Queen Mother Wei.
But Zhang Jun advised him to focus on the overall situation and not to ruin his reputation at the last moment.
Liu Qi was almost fifty years old, and he could only endure this bad breath, but he never had a good look towards Wei Tong. Even if Wei Tong asked him to stab his head, he didn't care.
Liu Qi came to the commander's tent, clasped his fists and saluted: "When did the commander come to see me?"
Wei Tong saw the disdainful expression on his face, and the anger in his heart burned. He gritted his teeth and said: "I just got the intelligence from the scouts. Liu Qiong's army is preparing to cross the Qiantang River to the north. His forward army is building a pontoon bridge. I order you to lead the army immediately.
The army goes to the Qiantang River to intercept the Western Army heading north!"
As Wei Tong expected, Liu Qi rebuked him and said: "Interception is a stupid idea. The opponent also has a large army in the west. If the retreat is cut off, wouldn't the entire army be destroyed?"
Wei Tong was speechless, but Sima Chun said from the side: "According to General Liu, any interception is dangerous, but why can other armies successfully intercept it? The key is intelligence. General Liu sent more scouts to keep an eye on the enemy in the west.
, once you find that the enemy is coming to kill you, you can immediately withdraw into the city, how can the whole army be destroyed?"
This statement makes sense and is actually true. What does a scout do? It is for early warning. Who can you blame if you don’t use a scout?
Of course Liu Qi didn't want an excuse to send troops. He added: "Since we know that there will be troops coming from the west and north, what's the point of sending troops to intercept?"
Sima Chun immediately retorted sarcastically: "Since the Lin'an city is incomplete and cannot be defended, why should we defend it? General Liu, what do you think?"
"you--"
Liu Qi glared at Sima Chun fiercely, turned around and stormed away angrily.
Wei Tong felt happy and gave a thumbs up: "Thank you, sir, for making me feel bad!"
Sima Chun said: "Liu Qi just took the opportunity to leave. He doesn't know how to send troops. The commander-in-chief has to go to the Queen Mother and ask the Queen Mother to issue an order to urge him to send troops. He dare not disobey!"
Wei Tong said happily: "I'll go!"
Soon, Wei Tong found Empress Dowager Wei and told him about Liu Qi's disobedience to her military orders and being against her all day long. Empress Dowager Wei also knew that it was difficult for her brother to convince the crowd, and it was normal for military generals to disobey him. She was just about to
She said a few words to comfort her brother, but what Wei Tong said next almost made her furious.
"This Liu Qi drinks with other generals all day long, and often goes to see Zhang Jun. I got some news. They got together to discuss the cause of the emperor's death. They don't believe it was the Xiang family."
Queen Mother Wei's face turned cold, "What do you mean?"
"They said that the Queen Mother is the biggest beneficiary!"
"What!"
Queen Mother Wei stood up and said through gritted teeth, "Are they saying that the Ai family are the murderers?"
Wei Tong didn't dare to see his eldest sister angry, so he lowered his head and said, "There are just rumors, I'm not sure!"
"Who does Liu Qi often hang out with?"
"He often drinks with Yang Yizhong, and sometimes goes to Zhang Jun's house. I actually want to get rid of him with the help of the Western Army. Otherwise, I will never be able to control the military, and my eldest sister's wish will never be realized."
Queen Mother Wei stared at Wei Tong for a long time and said: "If you get rid of Liu Qi, you can take control of the military?"
"Except for Liu Qi, I control 70% of the military power!"
"Where's the remaining 30%?"
"The other 30% comes from Yang Yizhong. He is loyal to the Song Dynasty and has very senior qualifications. I can't control him!"
Empress Dowager Wei took two steps with her hands behind her back. She remembered what Zhu Shengfei said. The civilian officials were not afraid of objections and could just send a few cruel officials to solve the problem. The key was the military, which must firmly hold military power in its own hands.
Thinking of this, Queen Mother Wei immediately said: "The Ai family ordered him to go to war!"
