If you smell it carefully, you will find that it comes from the sand table. A lot of pigments were used to make this sand table, especially blue azurite.
"Everyone, please take a look at this map first."
Jiang Fan raised a hand and led everyone to a larger sand table and introduced it.
"According to the information from the Public Opinion Department, Jia Sidao is now stationed here... Wuhu County, Taiping Prefecture."
This was the first time Lu Wenhuan saw the operation of Li Xia's intelligence agency with his own eyes, and he had doubts about the accuracy of the intelligence.
Looking at it carefully, at least the terrain on the sand table is very accurate. If someone didn't know Jiangnan very well, I might not be able to create it. I think it must be the credit of surrender ministers such as Shi Jun, Qin Jiushao, Wang Yinglin, etc.
Jiang Fan picked up a wooden-carved building boat and placed it on the sand table, saying: "The Yangtze River turned a big bend here. Originally from west to east, it turned from south to north. This bay is called 'Dalong Bay'.
The Song army deployed its defenses at Dalong Bay." Egg
Shi Jun stepped forward and pointed, saying: "On the south bank of Dalong Bay are the Zhang River and the Qingyi River. The water network is densely covered, which facilitates the transportation of baggage. Especially here, there is a large lake at the mouth of the Zhang River where it merges into the Yangtze River, which has been opened up
It is a port and is called Lu Port. The ships of the Song Dynasty are anchored here, so they can deploy their troops and occupy the advantageous location."
While he was talking, Jiang Fan had already arranged warships with flags of the Song Army, and the section of the blue Yangtze River was densely blocked.
Lu Wenhuan wanted to ask but before he opened his mouth, other generals already asked: "Is the news accurate?"
Jiang Fan said: "Based on the intelligence source, it's accurate."
"Does the Song Army intend to reinforce Ezhou and other important towns along the way?"
"Then I don't know." Jiang Fan responded.
Lu Wenhuan couldn't help but think that the Public Opinion Department was not omnipotent. It should have several sources of intelligence and then use these intelligence to speculate on the situation.
If Jia Sidao really doesn't support Jiujiang, what will Lu Shikui do...
Just as I was thinking of this, I suddenly heard someone whisper a reminder.
"Mr. Lu?"
Lu Wenhuan came to his senses and found Jiang Fan looking at him.
"From Jiangling to the lower reaches, the situation of the Song Army's states and counties will be introduced by Lu Xianggong, how about it?"
"Dare you disobey me?"
Lu Wenhuan was very polite. He took two steps forward and twirled his long beard. He was filled with emotions and didn't know where to start.
The ministers in the palace did not urge him, and Li Xia even sat down by the imperial desk and looked through a few letters.
Finally, Lu Wenhuan turned to Li Xia and saluted: "Your Majesty, along this section of the Yangtze River, there are mostly descendants of the Lu family and old tribes. When I surrendered, a letter was sent to the states and counties. I guess the states and counties have already surrendered in anticipation of the wind?"
"No."
Li Xia put down the letter in his hand, stood up, and said, "Lv Qing wants to say that if I treat the Lu family more favorably, these people will definitely surrender? It's my fault that they don't surrender now."
"I don't dare! I have no such intention!"
Lu Wenhuan didn't expect Li Xia to be so direct. He was shocked and quickly apologized.
"It doesn't matter, I'm not afraid of being offended. Lu Qing doesn't need to be timid, but there's no need to beat around the bush, let's talk openly. Lu Shikui is reluctant to part with the wealth that is 'full of treasures' and doesn't listen to you. Master Wang has to attack Jiujiang. You
Are you willing to give me some advice?" Egg
"minister……"
Maybe Lu Wende would be used to Li Xia's way of speaking here. Lu Wenhuan, on the other hand, has been a Song minister for a long time and hasn't reacted yet.
But the situation in front of him did not allow him to refuse.
"I obey the decree."
Lu Wenhuan finally understood what he meant by "being aware of the important military affairs of Zhongshu Province", which meant that he was not qualified to take care of ordinary state affairs, and he had to provide Li Xia with detailed information on anything Li Xia said was an important military matter.
"In the prefectures and counties along the Yangtze River, Wang Yi of Hanyang, Zhang Yanran of Ezhou, Cheng Pengfei of Huangzhou, Guan Jingmo of Qizhou and others did not care. The various prefectures received the surrender letter from the ministers but have not surrendered yet. It is just a matter of luck and they are just waiting and watching...
…”
"What do you mean?" Egg
"Among them, there may be three or five people who refuse to surrender in the name of loyalty, but most of them want to wait and see if His Majesty can treat them favorably and retain their family property and official titles. As soon as the king's troops arrived, I thought that they would not dare to fight to the death.
."
Lu Wenhuan had no way to be clever in front of Li Xia, so he simply told the truth.
He no longer had the idea of fighting for the interests of Lu's children and generals, but instead sold them to win Li Xia's trust.
Of course I feel unhappy if I do this, but it will get over if I endure it.
He even walked to the sand table, pulled down all the small flags of the Song Army planted along the way from Jiangling to Jiujiang, and then picked up the warships of the Tang Army and waved them up the Yangtze River.
"According to my deductions, if all the states and counties look forward to the wind and surrender, the king's division's military strength should not decrease but increase."
I have to say that this kind of deduction is too smooth and makes people feel a little comfortable, especially compared to the previous difficult and dangerous battles.
"Therefore, before Master Wang arrives in Jiujiang, although he may encounter some stubborn resisters, there should be no tough battle. As for Jiujiang..."
A moment's pause.
After Lu Wenhuan hesitated, he decided to sell Lu Shikui as well.
"His Majesty once conquered Ezhou, and the Lu family knew that Jinghu was no longer stable. After my brother passed away, the Song Dynasty appointed Lu Shikui to promote Jiangzhou to rejuvenate the country and establish envoys along the river, so he moved all his family property to Jiujiang..."
At this point, there was something that Lu Wenhuan didn't dare to mention, but Li Xia said it bluntly.
"I once went to Lu's house in Xisaishan and confiscated the Lu family's property. It is indeed a wealthy country. Now there is still wealth in Jiujiang that Lu Shikui can't bear to abandon?"
"Your Majesty, it's hard to say for the time being whether you will give up or not." Lu Wenhuan held his hands to Li Xia and said, "Lü Shikui didn't surrender before, so he must have hoped for Jia Sidao. Now Jia Sidao is stationed downstream and does not support Jiujiang.
, I don’t know how he will decide. If he doesn’t surrender, it’s just a matter of fighting or fleeing. If he escapes, he can go east to join Jia Sidao, or he can take his family’s wealth and go south. As for fighting..." Egg
Jiang Fan said: "Does he dare to fight?"
Lu Wenhuan faced Li Xia and said in a very sincere tone: "I am bold, Jiujiang relies on the Yangtze River to the north, Lushan Mountain to the south, Poyang Lake to the east, Sai Lake and Bali Lake to the west. Without a strong navy, I am afraid it will be difficult to conquer... Of course
, Wang Shi is coming eastward, and sooner or later he will be able to break the city, but I dare not say for sure how long it will take."
This is again the situation when Gao Changshou besieged Xiangyang City. Lu Shikui may not resist to the end, but he may take advantage of Jiujiang's unique geographical location to defend for a period of time in order to negotiate terms with the Tang army.
Shi Jun then said: "How about Lu Gong and I's deduction?"
"Historian please."
Everyone became interested and stepped aside, surrounding Shi Jun and Lu Wenhuan.
Shi Jun first played the chess game and talked eloquently: "When Master Wang arrives, he will first go down to Poyang Lake and then take the infantry to Mount Lu."
Lu Wenhuan plays the game from Lu Shikui's point of view.
In Xiangyang, he was captured by Gao Changshou, and today was an opportunity for him to regain his face.
Even if Lu Shikui loses on the real battlefield, it doesn't matter. But in the sand table deduction, he, Lu Wenhuan, must win.
He mustered up his energy, picked up a war chess piece and placed it, and pushed aside the one that Shi Jun had just put on the table.
"Lü Shikui grew up in the army since he was a child. He is skilled in military skills. He will not neglect the defense of Poyang Lake. He should control Wang Da's navy garrison here from the military capital of Wuding."
Fearing that he could not convince the ministers, Lu Wenhuan also gave detailed information about Wu Dingjun and Wang Da, and then continued to arrange his troops.
"At the same time, the capital controlled Gaobang Xiantun's troops on the peaks of Lushan Mountain, occupying high places, and used stone cannons and firearms to help defend lakes and cities..." Egg
As he spoke, Lu Wenhuan stared at Shi Jun's face, slowly stretched out his hand, and took away a warship that Shi Jun had just pushed over.
Shi Jun glanced at Li Xia, and when he saw that Li Xia had no objection, his expression became solemn.
The sand table deduction continued. As the two people talked, the small flags on the sand table kept changing, and ships kept being taken down.
From time to time, ministers would question Lu Wenhuan.
"How can Lu Shikui have such strength?!"
"As Wang's division attacks all the way, troops from the upper reaches will naturally withdraw to Jiujiang."
Lu Wenhuan has never mentioned this possibility before.
That is to say, when he started to deduce, in order to save face, he would work hard to come up with these details that were originally ignored.
Emperor Tian paid off his hard work. Finally, after looking at the map for a long time, Shi Jun shook his head and sighed: "I failed to capture Jiujiang City in one year... I lost."
Many people in the palace were dissatisfied and turned to Li Xia.
"Your Majesty, Lu Wenhuan must be trying to be cunning."
"Strategically, Lu Qing is not wrong." Li Xia said.
He just stood aside and looked at it very seriously, thinking that Lu Wenhuan's entire strategy was indeed achievable.
Of course, how about Lu Shikui’s commanding ability is another matter.
The ministers could naturally think of this, and someone immediately said: "I don't think Jiujiang City can be defended for a year. After all, it is Lu Shikui who defends the city, not Lu Xianggong."
Lu Wenhuan quickly said modestly: "It's just a deduction, it can't be counted."
"..."
After everyone discussed for a while, they noticed that Li Xia, Han Qi'an, Jiang Fan and others had gathered around the table at the side of the hall, watching the clerks organize the sand table deduction.
"There is another person Gao Changshou needs to pay more attention to, the real grandson of Qian Zhen, the governor of Jiangzhou. According to what I just said, this person is a very important figure when guarding the city of Jiangzhou..."
The entire strategic discussion still needs to be sorted out.
But the imperial edict that will be delivered to the Yangtze River battlefield has already begun to get a glimpse. Li Xia did not command the battlefield from a distance, but handed over as much information as possible.
Seeing this scene, Lu Wenhuan knew that Lu Shikui would not be able to hold on for a year, but he didn't know how long it would take.
The key is that he still doesn't know how much trust he has gained from Li Xia.
~~
On this day, the navy of the Tang Army had been reorganized in Jiangling and moved down the river.
Just three days later, Quanzhi Hanyang's army, Wang Yi, surrendered to the city.
Afterwards, as Lu Wenhuan said, all the states and counties watched the wind and descended.
On the seventh day of April, when Song Jinghu and Sichuan Xuanfu envoys Quan knew about Ezhou affairs, Zhang Yanran surrendered to the city;
On the ninth day of the lunar month, Cheng Pengfei, the governor of Huangzhou, led his army to attack Gao Changshou, but was defeated and fled. On the eleventh day, he surrendered to the city with the prefect Chen Yi;
On the 13th, Qizhou surrendered...
The Song Army's defense line on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River collapsed faster than anyone expected.
Less than half a month after the expedition, Gao Changshou had arrived at Jiujiang City.
This was a place that Li Xia had not reached the last time he attacked the Song Dynasty, and the Tang army's ships and troops had more than doubled compared to when they left Jiangling.