Chapter 280 The Sword Points at Japan (2) The Army Gathers
The imperial edict was issued and the cabinet order was passed. All the southwestern provinces involved in the pacification of Bozhou had a clear attitude and purpose. The new governor of Guizhou, Guo Zizhang, mobilized Han people day and night. Troops from all over the country guarded the city and garrisoned Nanchuan, Hejiang, Luzhou and other places.
As the sound gradually increased, Bozhou's army hesitated to advance, not knowing where to attack.
Although Song Liangzuo was still the governor of Sichuan, because he was ordered by imperial decree to be the governor of Sichuan, Guizhou, and Guangzhou, the officials in each province also carried a sedan chair and called him "governor" instead. However, his governor was different from other governors of the Ming Dynasty. He was obviously the real governor.
The temporary duties should be removed as soon as the work is completed, but this does not interfere with the Chinese people's traditional habit of always addressing people by their highest official title.
The interim governor Song Liangzuo met with Guo Zizhang in Chongqing and discussed with the latter: "I heard that Yang Yinglong had no real objection at first, and the court could still tolerate his rampant behavior in Bozhou. Now the situation has changed, and the court has just conquered Mongolia.
The Yuan Dynasty fell into the Korean battlefield again, but Yang Yinglong never received any favor from the court, and finally he was riding a tiger with difficulty, so he united with other seedlings and was willing to take risks.
But even so, I expect that they still hope that I will continue to behave as before, so although they are causing trouble, they do not dare to go deep. However, our armies have not yet been fully assembled, especially in Bozhou and the surrounding areas. The transportation is very inconvenient, and the military food and material reserves are quite difficult, so we cannot
Easily start a fight with Yang Yinglong.
I think we can temporarily delay the war and convey the imperial court's intention to appease Yang Yinglong. Yang Yinglong will definitely be tempted. During repeated discussions, we can wait for the arrival of reinforcements and supplies from all walks of life, and complete the full-line combat readiness before launching a thunderous strike to avoid war.
Delay is a waste of money and resources.”
Guo Zizhang said: "If you implement this strategy, you can only use it to control the army. If it is done in the name of the two provinces of Guizhou and Shu, Yang Yinglong will never believe it. And I heard that there seems to be a counselor around Yang Yinglong, named Sun Shitai, who is quite knowledgeable in strategy.
He also often went to Beijing to handle matters and acted as Yinglong's think tank.
If the army-making plan can temporarily deceive this person, it can also deceive Yang Yinglong. However, this matter can easily cause misunderstandings. Please make the army-making secret report to the emperor and the Nanning Marquis first. In this way, even if someone in the court uses this to impeach, the emperor will not
He will definitely stay in the center without attacking, and the Marquis of Nanning will also mediate and coordinate the army in the DPRK, so that it will not affect the frontline deployment." Song Liangzuo agreed.
A few days later, Liangzuo of the Song Dynasty issued official documents to accuse the soldiers of Guizhou and Shu provinces for being as fearful of the enemy as tigers and unable to fight, and also questioned the grievances between Guizhou, Shu and Bozhou. At the same time, he inspected various places, strictly strengthened the army, and strengthened the army.
He issued an official document of appeasement to Bozhou and expressed his willingness to clear the grievances of Yang Kedong.
Yang Yinglong really couldn't decide on this, so he asked Sun Shitai, who said: "As far as the students know, the imperial court has never made any move to recruit enemies and make peace with the enemy since the founding of the country. From this point of view, Song Liangzuo's move is really strange. But now.
Song Liangzuo did not just say something unfounded, but used official documents to appease him. This shows that he was definitely not good at making opinions, and it should be the imperial court's intention.
Will the imperial court really be willing to recruit him? Students think it is possible. Our Bozhou Army has won many battles. I heard that the elite of the imperial court's eastward expedition to Korea also suffered a lot of setbacks. Li Rusong has returned to Liaodong not long ago, and it is said that he recently wanted to transfer to Liaodong.
It's Ma Gui...
Dongli and Xima are the two strongest generals on the nine sides. Taking turns to fight in Korea, it can be seen that the war to aid Korea is not going well. The imperial court is already beyond its power to Bozhou. From this, it is reasonable to infer that the imperial court is appeasement of Bozhou.
sense.
Of course, these alone should not be taken lightly. In my opinion, the head of the family can continue to exchange letters with Song Liangzuo to discuss recruiting matters. During this period, it is necessary to observe the movements of the Ming army to distinguish the authenticity. If the imperial court's peace negotiation is true, Bozhou will also
We can turn the crisis into safety. On the contrary, we can also take advantage of this period to strengthen our troops and prepare for war with all our strength."
Yang Yinglong had no better idea, so he listened to him and wrote to Song Liangzuo. The main idea was that the previous battles with the Ming army were mostly for self-defense, stemming from unwarranted crimes and persecution in the two provinces of Guizhou and Shu. His parents and children died tragically, and he was also afraid of the imperial troops' pressure.
, this is what we have to do.
But if Song Liangzuo can find out the truth about Yang Kedong's death and impeach the emperor about the evil deeds of Guizhou and Shu provinces against Bozhou, then Bozhou will naturally be grateful and willing to accept the offer and plead with the emperor to punish him. He, Yang Yinglong, is willing to demote himself as a citizen
, dispatching laborers and contributing gold and silver to atone for the plundering of urban and rural areas by the military and civilians in Guizhou and Shu provinces.
Song Liangzuo read the letter alone and couldn't help but sneer: "This Yang Yinglong lies a lot, and his tone seems to be respectful, but in fact he is arrogant. He thinks that the road in Bozhou is difficult and dangerous and cannot be used by soldiers. But he doesn't know that the mountain Liu Qi walked on when he was in peace is more dangerous than you in Bozhou. Do you think
The Bozhou Army is invincible in the mountains, but they don’t know that Bozhou is no longer what it was back then, but it still has considerable combat power. The so-called difficulty lies not in the Bozhou Army, but in the supply of our army. When the supply of the imperial army is completed, Bozhou can only sit and wait for destruction.
.”
So Song Liangzuo started the performance mode and immediately wrote back to Yang Yinglong, claiming that he had followed the emperor's order to investigate the matter regarding Yang Kedong's death. As for the actions of the two provinces of Guizhou and Shu, this matter still needs to be discussed by the court, and he will report it immediately.
I believe the emperor will take it seriously.
At the same time, Bozhou cannot be idle. To show his sincerity, he must immediately donate silver, send laborers to repair towns and villages that Bozhou had plundered, and formulate detailed terms for the placement of Bozhou's troops, etc.
In this way, Yang Yinglong and Song Liangzuo continued to write letters for the next three months, and repeatedly discussed the matter of peace and military withdrawal. The relevant military gathering places followed high pragmatic arrangements and used Ming Dynasty Federal Reserve banknotes to attract merchants to come and sell grain.
Send food.
Interestingly, Jinghua's inland river fleet on the Yangtze River waterway also took a share of the pie. It took a number of large and small orders, and the ships shuttled back and forth to earn a share of the profits.
In October, Yang Yinglong held a large banquet to reward the entire army, cooking cattle and slaughtering sheep, drinking and having fun. Yang Zhu, the general of Bozhou, took advantage of his drunkenness and complained to Yang Yinglong that he was only negotiating peace with Song Liangzuo, which made the Bozhou warriors useless, and insisted that Yang Yinglong punish himself.
Three cups of apology.
Sun Shitai, Ma Zhong, and He Tingyu were all startled and tried to persuade them one after another, but Yang Zhu was so drunk that he refused to listen. Fortunately, Yang Yinglong was not angry, but laughed and said: "Brother, what are you talking about? That's nothing."
It's just a show off with Song Liangzuo. Now is the time to prepare for war. Don't let the small lose the big. Soon, I will have to rely on your bravery, brother."
Yang Zhaolong originally disapproved of the war, but recently he heard that the Ming army was stationing grain in the surrounding areas and realized that the war was inevitable. After hearing this, he advised Yang Yinglong: "Brother, with all due respect, since
This battle will happen sooner or later, so why not take advantage of the unprepared Ming army to capture Sichuan first and establish the princely hegemony? If we repeatedly discuss peace with Song Liangzuo like this, I am afraid that the opportunity will be missed, and I always feel uneasy."
Yang Yinglong waved his hand and said: "Do you think Shu is a place that can be easily captured? Although Bozhou has 160,000 troops, Shu is equally difficult and dangerous. Even if the Sichuan soldiers are all weak and mediocre generals, Liu Wei is in Xuzhou
, is he an easy person? Even if Liu Wei and I have an old relationship in the past, and we can't make any efforts this time, it will take at least several months to capture the entire territory of Sichuan. At this time, if the Ming armies of each province split their routes and counterattack, we will
When attacked from both sides, Bozhou will be hard to protect.
Furthermore, Song Liangzuo was a prudent person, and his defenses were tight, so there were few opportunities to take advantage of. Only by establishing a foothold in Bozhou could victory be possible. As Mr. Sun said, if the peace talks are true, we, Bozhou, can turn the crisis into safety; if we conquer Bozhou,
If it is true, then we can now protect the foundation of Boju by consolidating the border defense."
Just as he was talking about this, it was suddenly reported outside that Song Liangzuo had moved to Chongqing, and troops from Guizhou and Huguang had also been assembled one after another. Liu Wei, the commander-in-chief of Sichuan, had also left Xuzhou and led his elite troops to station in Chongqing on standby.
When Yang Yinglong heard this, he was furious: "Shameless old thief, you really defrauded me!" He ordered the repair of the Bozhou Pass Fortress to be stepped up, and even threatened to invade Sichuan. Song Liangzuo heard in Chongqing that Yang Yinglong wanted to spy on Shu. Although he thought it was unlikely, he still wanted to invade Sichuan.
Not daring to take it lightly, he also deployed troops to cut off the Miao passage between Bozhou and Shu, occupied the important road from Bozhou to Guizhou, and Huguang, and gathered troops to set up defenses.
At this time, Liu Wei had indeed led troops to Chongqing, but because Liu Wei had spent several years in Guizhou to pacify the Jiu Si Man and the Du Zhang Man, he did have an old relationship with Yang Yinglong, and even had a close relationship. As a result, officials in the army and the two provinces
There were many discussions among them.
Liu Wei himself had heard about this, so he felt unhappy. He scolded and whipped some of the people in the army who were whispering among themselves, and who were talking privately. He was in a very bad mood.
When Song Liangzuo learned that Liu Wei was coming, he invited him into the study room in the backyard and said: "General, because of his contribution to the Burma expedition, he was promoted to governor and general magistrate. He has been a commander for generations. Now he is appointed as the commander-in-chief of Sichuan. It is really gratifying and congratulatory. General Liu is working day and night."
The admiral has come to supervise the war, so I can pacify Bozhou without any worries."
After Liu Wei heard this compliment, he felt much better and said politely: "I'm overly rewarded for making an army. The last general has made a small contribution and has been generously rewarded by the court. He feels guilty. He often thinks that he can only do more meritorious deeds so as not to disgrace his family. Therefore, the last general
I came here to quell the rebellion, how dare I slack off at all? Everything depends on the command of the commander of the army. I wonder if there will be any secret orders given by the commander of the commander of the army?"
Song Liangzuo suddenly changed his expression: "You haven't slacked off at all? Mr. Liu, after the imperial court ordered you to conquer Bozhou, you stayed still and refused to mobilize troops. You used various excuses to shirk it, and even said there was an epidemic in the army!
There was talk of official impeachment in the court, and they wanted to transfer you to Nanjing Youfu Qian Shu, but you actually threatened to resign! Do you think there is no one in the Ming Dynasty, but you, Liu Wei? Do you think you have an old relationship with the Nanning Marquis, so the emperor will not
If I kill you, will I not kill you?
Listen, I have Shang Fangjian in my hands this time, so what if I kill you! The Marquis is far away in the capital, how can he save you in front of the Chongqing army? What is the use of keeping a domineering general? Since it is of no use to the country, our headquarters
I can behead you right now!"
Liu Wei was shocked and said hurriedly: "Control the army and calm down. The epidemic in the army is real. The reason why the advance is slow is because the Marquis asked the general to reserve grain and grass for half a year before the war and carry it with the army. The general only has some old grain trucks on hand, so
We had to wait for the new wire wheel car to be sent by the Marquis before we could go on the road.
As for resigning, I just hate those people for inexplicably setting up the trap. This matter is because I am arrogant. I am aware of the crime, but I will never have second thoughts about the court and the emperor, and I will not dare to obey the instructions of the Marquis.
If you are slacking off, ask the military to show you clearly."
Song Liangzuo was originally a member of the Shi school, and he was only worried that Liu Wei would be arrogant and domineering and disobey orders because of his relationship with Gao Pragmatic. Now that he had given in, everything would be easier to deal with.
So Song Liangzuo nodded and said: "What you said is quite honest. To tell you the truth, I think you are a good general and can be of great use in pacifying Bozhou, so I strongly recommend you and insist on retaining you. If you can perform meritorious service this time, I hope you can atone for your sins."
You can take care of yourself." Liu Wei probably understood what he meant, but he could only thank him.
Song Liangzuo asked again: "General Liu has a long-standing reputation, and his troops have long been known as elites. He shows his skills in the mountains and dense forests, especially for surrendering to the Japanese. Even the Marquis has praised you many times. Therefore, this time I will pacify Bozhou, Liu Wei."
It's indeed crucial.
But... officials from the two provinces advised me not to reuse you this time, just because you and Yang Yinglong have an old relationship. It is said that in the early years, we were even as close as brothers and had close contacts. People in the army were suspicious of this, and some even suspected that you would be on the battlefield.
Is it possible that he defected and returned to Yang Yinglong's command?"
When Liu Wei heard this, he was so frightened that his hair stood on end. He knelt down and cried out: "Zhijun is aware of the situation, and the general's accusation is true. The general knew Yang Yinglong in his early years, and they fought side by side many times when they pacified the Jiu Si Man and the Zhang Du Man.
But at that time Yang Yinglong was extremely deferential to the court, and the general thought he was a loyal minister, so he called him brother.
But now Yang Yinglong's record of betrayal and treason is obvious. The father and son of the last generation have fought for the country, how can they be associated with this generation again! People are fearful, and the last general is always worried about being impeached. He refuses to defend himself, suffers unjust injustice, and brings humiliation to his family.
Please keep an eye on it!"
Song Liangzuo helped Liu Wei up and said comfortingly: "Speaking of your father, Liu Gong, the governor, in the past, he, Qi, Yu and other famous generals repeatedly defeated Japanese pirates, made outstanding achievements, and controlled the north and south of the Yangtze River. Later, he entered Shu Guiping Jiu Si, and controlled the barbarians.
, use troops like a god, and his fame moves the world.
I think the Commander-in-Chief Liu Gong has been loyal and brave all his life, how could he give birth to a rebellious son! The emperor is very aware of everything, how could he be deceived by villains and make the country's good generals suffer injustice?
Ah, I remember when we were pacifying the Jiusi barbarians, Liu Zongrong, you were there, right? By the way, you were only thirteen or fourteen years old at the time, but you were extremely brave. You climbed the city tower for the first time, captured the barbarian leader Ada, and beheaded Asan.
, he was able to achieve his first military success at a young age, which is admirable. How could I listen to rumors?
Since then, Liu Zongrong has fought Japanese pirates, defeated Luoxiong, and conquered Burma. He has worked hard and achieved great results. I hope you will go all out to defeat the chief again this time, so as not to weaken your father's majesty and live up to the trust of the emperor and the marquis.
"
What else could Liu Wei say, and naturally he expressed his willingness to serve to the death. Song Liangzuo also promised to go to court immediately to clarify Liu Wei's rumors and petition to entrust Liu Wei with autocratic power. Then he asked Liu Wei what he knew about Bozhou's military strength.
.
After thanking Liu Wei, he replied: "The Bozhou Army has lived in the mountains in the southwest for a long time. They are good at firing crossbows, hunting for food in the mountains, marching with a roar, good at shooting arrows, and walking over mountains and ridges as if they were on the ground. In addition, the military laws of Bozhou are strict, and they go into battle
You must fight to the death without fear, and if you show any timidity, you will be killed without mercy.
Because of this, every time the Bozhou Army faces a battle, its soldiers often die in battle, and it is rare for them to escape after being defeated. It can be said that they are extremely brave. In addition, the seedlings they control are also good at guerrilla warfare in the mountains, and some of their secret skills are quite unpredictable.
.
However, according to the last general's observation, the Bozhou Army is now not as good as before. Although its fighting methods are still the same, its fighting spirit is gradually declining. Even though it is still a strong force, it can no longer be called a tiger and wolf army. In the past few decades, the wars Bozhou has encountered are nothing but bullying of the weak.
If there really is a war, we will definitely be defeated."
Song Liangzuo was overjoyed and praised Liu Wei profusely. He immediately entrusted him with important tasks and sent him out of the government. Then Song Liangzuo issued a notice to clarify Liu Wei's rumors. Then he invited Tan Xisi, the governor of Pianyuan, and Guo Zizhang, the governor of Guizhou, to inspect the garrison camps in various places and strictly manage the army.
, punish corruption in the military, deploy military rations, and step up efforts to urge reinforcements from various places to speed up the pace.
In November, Yang Yinglong burned the rotten bridge on the east slope, and the Chu-Guizhou road was blocked. Huangping and Longquan were in emergency. The Bozhou army regained control of the partial bridge and marched out to plunder Xinglong and Zhenyuan. Song Liangzuo sent more than 10,000 troops to guard dangerous places in various places, and ordered Qian general Tong Yuanzhen to support his troops.
Tongren, deter Bozhou.
At this time, the main force of the Ming army was gathered. Ma Lin and Dong Yiyuan, who were transferred from Jiubian to the south, all arrived. The Sichuan army general Liu Wei, the general Ma Zhen, the general Ma Kongying, the general Zhou Guozhu, the general Wu Guang, the guerrilla Xu Shiwei, and the deputy general Cao
Bin, staff general Wu Wenjie, Shizhu Xuanfu envoy Ma Qiancheng, Qian army commander Tong Yuanzhen, staff general Zhu Heling, commander Li Yingxiang, Huguang army Deng Zilong, etc., plus the four towns of Yanning, Henan, Shandong, Yunnan, Guangdong and Guangxi.
Lu Ban Army reinforcements, known as an army of 500,000 people.
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PS: This chapter is an hour late, but it still counts as yesterday. Another sad news is that it is reported that the school will most likely continue to "suspend classes and continue learning" this week after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday, and the beast is expected to continue online classes at home.