After Zhang Yangquan went to Zhongshu Province to hold a spring plowing meeting with civil servants, he returned to the study and found that Geng Si and Fu Youde had been waiting for a long time.
"Your Majesty, Liang Rong has sent back the first news!" Fu Youde said.
Zhang Yangquan was stunned for a moment, walked to the desk and sat down, frowning and said: "Did you come into contact with him so soon?"
Geng Si said: "Your Majesty, Liang Rong has fully gained Chen Youliang's trust. Recently, Chen Youliang called him to the palace almost every day to inquire about our army's situation and removed his surveillance. That's why we sent people to contact him!"
Zhang Yangquan stretched out his hand and motioned for the two of them to sit down and talk, saying: "What news did he send back?"
Fu Youde said: "He said he saw Fang Guozhen in Jiangzhou!"
Zhang Yangquan raised his eyebrows: "Fang Guozhen?"
Geng Si cupped his hands and said: "I have neglected my duty. I didn't expect that Fang Guozhen had already colluded with Chen Youliang!"
Zhang Yangquan pondered for a long time and said: "What Fang Guozhen is most afraid of is us. This person is not someone who just waits for death. It is not surprising that he took the initiative to contact Chen Youliang!"
It was precisely because he was on guard against Fang Guozhen that he allowed the wild boar to stay in Wenzhou.
Fu Youde said again: "Your Majesty, the military situation just came from the front line. Chen Youliang finally couldn't bear it anymore and sent his army to attack our military camp!"
Zhang Yangquan's eyes flashed: "Oh? How is the situation?"
Fu Youde laughed and said: "Our army went behind the stronghold to fight against Tianwan's army. Tianwan's army was in low morale and was no match for our army. The two armies fought for a whole morning, but Tianwan's army suffered heavy losses and retreated on its own!"
After a pause, his expression turned serious.
"However, not all Tianwan's army is incompetent. Wang Pu seems to have expected that his side will be defeated, and he ambushed him halfway. As long as our army pursues him, he is likely to suffer a hidden loss!"
"In addition, although the enemy commander Wu Hong is a fool, his deputy commander Hu Yanrui leads the troops well. His left wing troops fought fiercely with General Chang Yuchun's troops for several hours, and they were evenly matched!"
Zhang Yangquan's eyelids twitched and he said, "Is Chang Yuchun leading the cavalry?"
Fu Youde said: "Yes, General Xu Baisheng handed over the left and right cavalry wings to General Chang Yuchun and General Bian Yuanheng respectively."
Zhang Yangquan said solemnly: "The Tianwan Army actually has troops that can compete with our cavalry?"
Fu Youde hurriedly said: "You don't know something. Chen Youliang has a red-armored cavalry, which is the best-equipped unit in the entire army. There are more than 68,000 people in total, all of whom are direct descendants of Chen Youliang from Huangzhou! This is the one commanded by Hu Yanrui.
Red-armored cavalry!"
Zhang Yangquan nodded, looking thoughtful.
Geng Si suddenly said: "Your Majesty, according to reports from my subordinates, Chen Youliang has assembled more than 200,000 troops in the Wuchang area, all of which are troops from Huguang Province!"
Zhang Yangquan was stunned and said: "He can still gather so many people?"
Geng Si said: "He has depleted all the troops in Huguang Province. In addition, Deng Keming's army in Tingzhou is also heading north towards Raozhou!"
"How many troops does Deng Keming have?"
"It was originally 70,000, but we continued to gather troops along the way, and now it has exceeded 100,000!"
Zhang Yangquan took a deep breath. Chen Youliang mobilized his troops on such a large scale. It was obvious that he had given up on spring plowing and was preparing for a life-and-death battle with his own side.
Counting these two groups of troops, Chen Youliang's total military strength is close to 700,000, while Jiangdu's army on the front line only has more than 200,000.
Because Zhang Yangquan has never recruited large-scale troops, Jiangdu's army now only has a total strength of about 500,000.
Excluding the garrison from various places, only 400,000 horses can be mobilized.
The camp in the north of the city has kept more than 100,000 troops to defend Jiangdu Prefecture, and Wenzhou has kept another 700,000 to 80,000 troops to guard against Fang Guozhen.
Therefore, Zhang Yangquan can no longer mobilize more troops to the front line.
Having said that, Zhang Yangquan will not be intimidated by Chen Youliang's military strength.
He has always believed in the strategy of elite troops. The more than 200,000 people in the Jiangdu Army are equipped with complete weapons and equipment, have undergone arduous training, and have sufficient military rations.
Even if Chen Youliang really gathered 700,000 people, Zhang Yangquan didn't think he would lose.
"How are Ming Yuzhen and Ding Pulang doing?" he asked.
Geng Si smiled and said: "Ming Yuzhen did not listen to Chen Youliang's orders and is still attacking Chongqing. There is no news about Ding Pulang yet, but even if he is ordered to return, he will not be able to catch up with this battle!"
Zhang Yangquan let out a sigh of relief.
Ming Yuzhen and Ding Pulang both have more than 100,000 troops. If they also obey Chen Youliang's orders, Tianwan's army will be close to one million troops.
Although Zhang Yangquan doesn't care about these numbers, the soldiers below are very fond of them.
If you see that the enemy has more than a million troops, you will unconsciously feel fearful in your heart, and this battle may cause greater casualties.
In the blink of an eye, another month has passed, March is full of spring, the spring breeze is blowing in the willows, and everything is revived and full of vitality.
In the past month, Jiangdu Army still held firm and refused to attack, concentrating on using rumors and money to divide the Tianwan Army.
Chen Youliang finally responded.
He divided the army on the front line into three.
The main force of the Chinese army was all concentrated in Xiangcun, totaling about 200,000, and the commander was replaced by Kangtai.
The remaining two armies were stationed in Dexing and Fuliang respectively, one was Wang Pu's army and the other was Hu Yanrui's army, each with 70,000 to 80,000 troops.
Zhang Yangquan also understood that Chen Youliang wanted to save Wang Pu and Hu Yanrui's troops first.
What Hu Yanrui has in his hands is Chen Youliang's most direct elite, the red-armored cavalry. They are loyal to Chen Youliang and are not affected by rumors. Internal divisions are also difficult.
Wang Pu's troops were all Ni Wenjun's men. Although these people were not loyal to Xu Shouhui, they were not so loyal to Chen Youliang.
They didn't pay much attention to the rumors. In addition, Wang Pu was very good at running the army, so the influence of rumors on this team was very limited.
Chen Youliang separated these two groups separately, which indeed prevented these two groups from being disturbed by rumors again.
However, the remaining Chinese troops were helpless. Most of these people were those who followed Xu Shouhui in the uprising.
Deep down in their hearts, they are still loyal to Xu Shouhui. Although they dare not resist Chen Youliang, they are extremely susceptible to rumors.
Chen Youliang also sent a large number of civilian officials to the Chinese Army to try to quell the rumors, but unfortunately it had no effect at all.
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Now Xiangcun's Tianwan Army is in chaos, with no fighting spirit, and the inside has been penetrated into a sieve. Geng Si can even know what the coach eats every day.
At the same time, the troops from Wuchang have gathered and are marching towards Jiangzhou, and the troops from Tingzhou have also arrived at Longxing Road.
Zhang Yangquan felt that the time was ripe. If Chen Youliang's reinforcements were allowed to join the frontline troops, it would not be a good thing to gather too many troops.
After discussing with Liu Bowen and Fu Youde, he issued an order to the front line, asking Xu Baisheng to march immediately to eliminate Tianwan's army in Xiangcun.
After conveying the attack order, Zhang Yangquan suddenly found himself feeling anxious, which he had never felt before.
As time goes by, this anxiety becomes more and more intense.
He couldn't help but wonder, is there something wrong that he didn't notice, and that's why he felt uneasy?
That night, he couldn't feel the taste of the food. After eating two mouthfuls, he went to the study and asked his bodyguard whether the latest military information had been received from the Military Intelligence Agency.
After getting a negative answer, he silently walked to the wall, opened the map, and stared at the map for a moment, with thoughts and thoughts in his heart.
Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind.
"Husband."
Turning around, he saw Qin Lingjun and Shen Qianqian standing behind him, their eyes full of concern.
Zhang Yangquan forced a smile and said, "Why are you here?" He walked to the chair and sat down.
Qin Lingjun walked up behind him, rubbed his temples, and said softly: "Husband, I know you are worried about the situation on the front line, but you should trust the soldiers on the front line!"
Zhang Yangquan sighed and said: "I don't know why. When they went to fight in the past, I have never been so worried as now. Do you think this is some kind of omen?"
Shen Qianqian squatted in front of him, raised his head and said with a smile: "My lord, you are going too far, and your heart is in confusion!"
Zhang Yangquan frowned and said: "Which battle in the past did I not care about? Why does this battle alone make me scared?"
Shen Qianqian thought for a while and said: "If you were compared to a gambler, then every time you bet was part of the chips, thinking that even if you lose, there is still a way out."
"It's different this time. You put all the weight on it, so you're worried that if you lose this fight, you'll have nothing!"
Zhang Yangquan was stunned for a long time and had to admit that Shen Qianqian's analysis made some sense.
He knows that he is the kind of person who likes to leave a way out, so every time he fights, he must divide his troops to attack. Even if the journey is not smooth, there are other ways to avoid total defeat.
This time, it was all accomplished in one battle.
If we lose this battle, it will be difficult to compete with Cheonwan's army with the hundreds of thousands of troops left in our hands.
Perhaps it was this kind of worry that made him unable to feel at peace.
Of course, there have been situations like this before where he gave it a go, but at that time he was personally involved in the battle and had no time to think about it.
This time, I can only wait silently for news. This kind of waiting is really uncomfortable.
Just as he was thinking about it, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps and Yang Sanqiang quickly entered the study with a happy face.
"Your Majesty, General Geng and Marshal Fu would like to see you!"
Zhang Yangquan saw his expression and asked: "Three shots, are there any results on the front line?"
Yang Sanqiang said happily: "Your Majesty, a great victory on the front line! Our army defeated Tianwan's army in Xiangcun!"