Chapter 31: Seeking Shuzhou and Jinling Night Talk
The battle is advancing too fast.
It was so fast that Luo Youdu was a little worried.
Luo Youdu's biggest advantage as a time traveler is his foresight. He knew that the Southern Tang Dynasty was not that weak. Historically, the Southern Tang Dynasty was also passive at the beginning, but after recovering, for a period of time, it even managed to fight the Zhou army.
There is a return.
Now because of his appearance, the situation has changed drastically, and he can no longer judge the trend of the war situation based on the specious impressions in his memory.
Losing this biggest advantage, Luo Youdu decided not to be radical anymore, and put aside his thoughts of competing with Zhao Kuangyin for a while to sit back and observe the situation, and see the direction clearly before taking action.
He needs a steady hand.
Luo Youdu took out the map from his arms, spread it on the tower, and said: "Guohua, look. This is the topographic map of Huainan. Judging from the current situation, the entire Huainan can be divided into four war zones."
He pointed at Shouzhou and said: "The main battlefield is in Shouzhou, and this is the core. No matter what the fighting is like on all sides, the winner will be in Shouzhou. Therefore, the official family leads the strongest combat force under the guard, the Qinjunsi
The chief, Shixiang Li, and the chief of the front department, Li Du, were responsible for gnawing the hardest bones."
"Then there are three war zones: Huainan West Road, Huainan Middle Road, and Huainan East Road."
He said that this divided the long and flat Huainan into three places on the map.
"Among them, Huainan West Road is currently headed by Si Chaosi's security inspection envoy, Qizangzhen Qi Liuzhao's envoy, and Li Fuli's commander, while Huainan East Road is headed by Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Zhizhou, Guo Lingtu, Guo's governor, and Zhao Hongyin, Zhao Du.
.”
"And we are responsible for guarding Luzhou and Hezhou along Huainan Middle Road."
Cao Bin looked at the map and said: "So Sir, we want to capture Shuzhou. If we don't capture Shuzhou, Hezhou will be difficult to defend."
Luo Youdu smiled and said: "Yes, the response is fast enough. Zhongxun is even worse than you in this regard. Luzhou and Hezhou are separated by Chaohu Lake. As long as the navy of the Southern Tang Dynasty controls Chaohu Lake, they can cut off Luzhou and Hezhou.
The connection with the state. We only have one troop on Huainan Middle Road. Once the connection with the state is cut off, it will be in danger."
When Cao Bin heard the compliment, he felt a little happy in his heart.
Luo Youdu patted Cao Bin on the shoulder, indicating that he would rely on him next.
The geographical location of Luzhou is not important, but the existence of Hezhou can threaten Jinling, the capital of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and will inevitably be attacked.
Shuzhou is located at the southeastern foothills of the Dabie Mountains and on the north bank of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It forms a large triangle when connected with Luzhou and Hezhou.
This triangle just happens to wrap up Chaohu Lake.
As long as Shuzhou is captured, it is equivalent to controlling the Chaohu Lake system.
In this way, he did not have to worry about the enemy occupying Chaohu Lake and cutting off the communication between Luzhou and Hezhou. He could also use the Chaohu Lake water system to provide support back and forth among the three states.
Unless the Southern Tang Dynasty chose to attack the middle road of Huainan in a large scale, the three states of Lu, He, and Shu would be enough to withstand a strong attack of less than 50,000 soldiers.
Of course, the key premise for all this is that he wants to capture Shuzhou.
The troops he has at hand are not very sufficient, only sixteen thousand.
Among them, Guo Rong gave 10,000 troops, Zhang Xiong's 1,500 new troops and 500 troops surrendered, and Wu Han's Hezhou surrendered 4,000 troops.
Luo Youdu could only give Cao Bin two thousand troops and horses.
Before he captured Shuzhou, Hezhou was the most dangerous.
But as long as Shuzhou is captured, a solid foundation can be established around Chaohu Lake, the battle situation in the middle of Huainan Road can be stabilized, and naval forces can be trained on Chaohu Lake to make up for the shortcomings of the Zhou army's naval forces.
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Jinling.
After Luo Youdu captured Hezhou, Li Jing felt sleepless and uneasy.
Although the insightful people of the Southern Tang Dynasty told Li Jing not to panic and pointed out the key to him.
Da Zhou did not have a navy, and without a navy, logistics could not be guaranteed.
Crossing the Yangtze River is tantamount to self-destruction, not to mention that the advantage in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River is still there, so even if Zhou Dynasty had a navy, it would be useless.
The Southern Tang Dynasty could easily cut off the Zhou Dynasty's logistics by taking advantage of its upstream advantages.
The advantage in water warfare upstream cannot be reversed by relying on the strength of the soldiers.
But Li Jing could neither listen nor sit still. She always felt uneasy inside. After thinking about it, she called Zhou Zong to the palace to chat and relieve the pressure.
Zhou Zong entered the palace.
The two of them have a common topic and are like close friends. They don't have much etiquette between monarch and minister in private.
"Situ, the Jianghuai War has been defeated one after another. Jinling is very dangerous. How about moving to Hongzhou?"
Zhou Zong's face suddenly changed and he said: "Your Majesty, no, your Majesty is the most courageous in the army. If you retreat, the Huainan soldiers will be greatly affected, and it will be even harder to win."
Li Jing said angrily: "I am in Jinling, they can win? What about the King of Qi? Twenty thousand troops crossed the river, and within half a day, they were driven back. It is a shame and a big humiliation... If it were not for the unlucky change of commander before the battle, I would have waited for him immediately
Replace him."
Zhou Zong understood Li Jing's temperament and did not speak.
Li Jing calmed down for a while and said: "I have no intention of reprimanding Situ, but I am really upset because of my continuous defeats."
Zhou Zong said with a smile: "Old minister, I naturally understand your Majesty's mood. I just regret that I am too old to wear armor, otherwise I will fight to the death for Your Majesty."
Li Jing felt relieved in his heart: "Situ is still the most loyal..." He paused and said: "By the way, I heard that Situ has a deep connection with Luo Youdu, who is under Guo Thief?"
Zhou Zong's face instantly turned pale, and he knelt down and said, "I really don't know that when Liezu was hiding in his residence, I was with Brother Luo. But later he was ostracized by Song Gong and cut off contact with him. So, is Luo Youdu actually Brother Luo?"
Son, I really don’t know.”
"Get up, get up!"
Li Jing stood up and helped him up, saying: "I don't doubt Situ's intentions at all, I just envy the Guo thief for having so many capable people. One Luo Youdu and the other Zhao Kuangyin do whatever they want in Huainan, and no one can stop them. It's really disgusting. If Luo Youdu
If he is really related to Situ, it is better to recruit him by writing a book. If he is willing to return to the Tang Dynasty, I should treat him with the same respect as Emperor Zhaolie treated Prime Minister Zhuge, and I will not treat him half unfairly. Besides, he has a marriage contract with my concubine, so I will recruit him.
It can be a beautiful thing."
Zhou Zong's mouth was bitter, and in his heart he greeted all the eighteen generations of Song Qiqiu's ancestors. He cried sadly in his heart: I have delayed marrying my daughter because I want to marry my daughter into the royal family. How come your majesty doesn't understand the old minister.
He couldn't refuse outright, so he could only say: "If he is really Brother Luo's son, I am willing to give it a try."
After a pause, he said: "The veteran thinks that our country in the Tang Dynasty is not without talents, but it is just that we have not been fighting for a long time and have not noticed it. The veteran thinks that the people who are still willing to ask for orders to fight despite the current situation are so bad must have great wisdom and courage, and can be of great use."
When Li Jing heard what Zhou Zong said, he suddenly thought of a person and said: "When Situ said this, I really thought of one person. He is Li Shouzhen's subordinate. In the past, Guo Wei conquered Li Shouzhen, and he was ordered to come to our court to ask for help. However, Li Shouzhen was defeated.
It was too fast, and the news of destruction came before I decided whether to send troops."
"For this reason, he stayed in our Tang Dynasty. I didn't dare to use him much, so I gave him an official position and asked him to stay in our court. When the Huainan war started, he repeatedly asked for war, but I never gave him permission. Now that I think about it, this person may
What do you call someone who can really defeat the enemy and win? It seems like the person named Zhu..."