Chapter 247 Before the war, everyone has his own plans
Chapter 247 Before the war, everyone has his own plans
King Rong Zhu Youshu was the first vassal king. As the thirteenth son of Zhu Jianshen, he was granted the title of King Rong from the fourth year of Hongzhi to the third year of Zhengde.
Today, Prince Rong has six sons, and he himself is just forty years old.
The impression of Prince Rong in the court is that he looks like a high emperor, but lives in a country that is a bit arrogant.
He looks like Zhu Yuanzhang, and he was also quite arrogant after becoming a vassal.
During the march, Luo An kept thinking about this information, and then said to Ban Zhongwen: "Prince Rong is most likely to have rebelled. If not, news will come out from the Jinyi Colonel in Changde Mansion."
Ban Zhongwen only led 300 people to follow Luo An south. Hearing this, he couldn't help but ask: "How can we see it?"
Without the support of Chang Dewei, how could King Rong dare to rebel without a bodyguard?
The strength of Changde Guards is more than ten times that of this side.
"In the past, Prince Rong's country was going through many twists and turns. The prince in Beijing had an annual salary of 3,000 dan, while the prince of the feudal lord had an annual salary of 10,000 dan. Prince Rong was the thirteenth son of Xianmiao and was not destined for the throne. Naturally, he wanted to vassal early, but he could delay it for several years. On the vassal road, King Rong tied up officials, demanded property, carried private salt, hindered merchants, and had an obvious intention to amass property. After His Majesty succeeded to the throne, he repeatedly invited the royal family to pay taxes on rivers in Yuanjiang Port, Tianxin, Tuanping and other places. .”
After Luo An finished speaking, he looked at Ban Zhongwen: "When we arrive at Jianshui Realm, we will set up camp and let the Changde guards throw rat-proof weapons first. It only takes five or six days for the Jiuxi guards to arrive."
Since the "arrogant" Prince Rong places such great importance on interests, it is very unlikely that he will understand justice as well as Prince Huayang.
Changde Prefecture was a small prefecture, with only four counties under its rule. Under the influence of the profit-oriented King Rong and Changde Guards, Changde Prefecture was easily controlled.
He is not an appointed military commander, but he has been given a command by the emperor. Ban Zhongwen is only a member of the Qianhu family, and besides, he is the commander of the Jinyi Guards! One of the people your Majesty trusts the most!
Ban Zhongwen excitedly chose to act on the order.
From Lizhou to Changde Prefecture and Yuezhou Prefecture, the distance to Jianshui is less than eighty miles.
It was already the third day of August when Luo An and Ban Zhongwen led their troops to the south of Dafu Mountain and to the north bank of Jianshui River.
Now, the food, salary, and military supplies for these more than 300 people are all transferred through Linli behind them.
This place is already within Cili County of Yuezhou Prefecture, but its location is closer to Lizhou and Wuling County.
Go southeast along the river and follow the water to reach Wuling County, where Changde Prefecture is located.
"Commander Luo, send an advance sentry across the river to investigate?"
"No need!" Luo An came here to suppress people based on his status. "Now His Majesty's decree has not yet arrived. Who will command the various armies and who will supervise them has not yet been decided. However, I have been given a token by the commander. Those who see the order and listen to it, Only then can you be called loyal! Zhou Long, take this command order to Wuling County and announce that Commander Chang Dewei is here to listen to orders and report military information!"
If you don't come, prepare to fight.
If you don't come, let Changde Guard know that the commander of Jinyi Guard has arrived in the north of Changde Mansion in person.
But for Zhou Long, this is a very risky job.
But Zhou Long just clasped his fists and knelt down on one knee: "I accept my order from my humble position!"
He is a man with a quick mind. After this journey, couldn't he see whether Changde Mansion and Changde Guard were rebelling or not?
On the western front of Dongting Lake, Luo An is in action.
Outside of Baling County under Yuezhou Prefecture, Gu Shilong finally led the guards of Wuchang Prefecture and the Mianyang Guards who went south via Honghu Lake to arrive in Baling County one after another.
It has been a long time since the people of Baling County saw tens of thousands of troops gather together.
The army stretched from the east of Baling County to Tumen Town on the west side of Longjiao Mountain. People were eating horses and chewing horses. The magistrates of Yuezhou and Baling County were arranging the transshipment of grain and grass, while also appeasing the people who were facing drought and war disasters.
The first thing Gu Shilong said when he arrived here was to tell Geng Yongfeng: "Go to Lizhou and command the Jiuxi Guard, Changde Guard and Lizhou Qianhu Station. I will give you a thousand personal soldiers, and we will go straight across the lake and land at Longyang. 8
Before the Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the lunar month, I will stand on the western front and pull out Yuanjiang and Yiyang counties."
After all, it will be smoother to go north and east via Dongting Lake.
To the west, capture Yuanjiang County in Changde Prefecture and Yiyang County in Changsha Prefecture, capture Xiangyin in the east, and then attack directly on Changsha.
As for the southeast direction... Wang Shouren always knew his troops well and had the authority to quell the rebellion of King Ning in the past. Gu Shilong was not worried about how much trouble King Yi of Jiangxi could cause.
After Jiangxi experienced the Ningwang Rebellion, the local guards were also disrupted and reorganized or awarded rewards. It is not like Huguang where they have formed too strong local interests.
Therefore, if things go well, by the end of August at the latest, Jiangxi soldiers should be able to appear in Huguang, capture Liling, Xiangtan, and Liuyang from Yuanzhou Prefecture, and control the upper reaches of the Xiang River and Liuyang River.
In this way, the encirclement of Changsha Mansion was completed.
Gu Shilong arranged it like this, but Wang Shouren's mansion did not think that the situation in Jiangxi was as simple as he thought.
Prince Yi's mansion is prosperous, with only three generations of people.
Today's King Yi is the first generation of King Yi. After the news about Hengzhou in Changsha reached Jiangxi, the most excited person was none other than Zheng Qianhu of Jianchang Qianhu Office.
He took control of Prince Yi's Mansion without hesitation, but the result surprised him.
"The crime of the last general deserves to be punished by death. Please punish the crime by the governor!" Lu Yunyi of Jianchang Qianhu Office said to Qianhu, "When the last general comes, Prince Yi, Prince Chongren, Prince Jinxi and others will all be dead."
He is not in the fiefdom, and now the general is pursuing it. King Yi is on a hunger strike, and the general does not dare to act rashly."
Wang Shouren did not get angry or show any surprise. He just walked to the bedroom of King Yi Zhu Youbin and said loudly: "Governor Jiangxi Wang Shouren, please see His Royal Highness King Yi."
After the palace door was opened, Wang Shouren saw Zhu Youbin sitting on a chair, wearing a prince's robe but with a pale face.
He was still the prince before he was officially removed from the title. According to the etiquette, Wang Shouren had to bow before him.
Wang Shouren acted according to the etiquette, and then asked: "I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and all the princes are no longer in the fiefdom. Your Highness King Yi, what is the matter?"
Zhu Youbin just sat on it and laughed miserably, and then said angrily: "Since I became a feudal lord, I have been frugal and guarded, quietly studied history, loved the people and valued scholars, and there was no interference. Your Majesty has chosen my grandson to succeed the late emperor. I had known about it in advance.
Today. Now that the rebels regard King Rui as the orthodoxy, how can I be so lucky?"
After a pause, he said sadly: "Your Majesty succeeded to the throne, and all the vassals surrendered. Why are you so jealous and lead to such a situation?"
He was expressing his "doubts" about the emperor, but Wang Shouren could not reply on Zhu Houcong's behalf.
"Prince Rui is young. How could he have done such a treasonous and unethical act if he had not been kidnapped? His Highness King Yi heard the news and before I sent the military order, His Highness King Yi, if he knew what was right, should justly tell the world and denounce the traitor of the rebellious king Jian Jun. Now. Now. His Highness secretly ordered the prince and the princes to abscond, this is a big mistake!"
"I benefited the vassal by receiving the Xiaomiao Temple. The late emperor was very kind and gave me some fertile land. I, the Prince Consort, cleaned up the water and benefited the prince's palace. I did everything I could to help the prince's palace! King Rui granted him the title of vassal. Since your majesty had a plan to lure the snake out of its hole, Wang Dutai is People who know the military, do you think I can still trust your majesty?"
Zhu Youbin spoke angrily, but Wang Shouren sighed: "Whether you believe it or not, your highness, all ministers put loyalty first and act in accordance with orders. Your highness only talked about fertile land, and I also know about the marketing of Guangdong salt in southern Jiangxi." The matter. Your princes, princes and princes are now escaping from their fiefdoms. Does King Yi think this is better?"
"No need to say more!" Zhu Youbin seemed to have broken the jar in half, "Now when Wang Dutai comes in person, I can only ask Wang Dutai: Do you still want to escort me to the capital for congratulations, or do you want to capture me and bring me to the capital for questioning!"
Wang Shouren took a deep look at him.
Even if the six-year-old King Rui came from the Yiwang lineage, how could he dare to make such a decision?
He received the news faster than he could pass the military order to Jianchang Qianhu Office, and he could also arrange for his sons and grandsons to quietly escape from Jianchang Mansion. Naturally, Wang Shouren had made preparations for these things before arriving in Jiangxi.
Wang Shouren arranged for Lu Yunyi to send people to continue to "escort" Zhu Youbin to Beijing. After that, he called an internal minister: "If the thousands of households in Jianchang don't know, the Jinyiwei and the inner factory must know. How to contact them, and tell the governor the news as soon as possible. Now, Jiangxi The situation is more important than Huguang!"
The contact person arranged by the Jiangxi garrison eunuch only felt that Governor Wang's expression was very serious.
After the eunuch left, Wang Shouren's disciple Chen Jiuchuan asked: "Sir, why do you say that the situation in Jiangxi is more important than that in Huguang?"
In his opinion, King Yi was just in a dilemma and was so desperate that he would rather dismiss his children and retain some blood.
Wang Shouren frowned as he looked at the map he brought over and said, "With the Huang Ming Ji, the Guangdong salt market in southern Jiangxi is now cut off. Zhejiang has the Huang Ming Ji semicolon, but what about Fujian?"
He looked at a location on the map, which was Desheng Pass at the junction of Jianchang Prefecture and Fujian Province.
Then, his eyes moved to Ganzhou Prefecture, which has the largest jurisdiction in Jiangxi, and Ji'an Prefecture, which borders Hengzhou Prefecture to the west.
After a while, he closed his eyes and sighed: "This battle will not be easy to fight. If what I expected is correct, the Changsha Guards will abandon Changsha and enter Hengzhou, defend according to Hengshan Mountain, and capture Huguang, Chenzhou, and Jiangxi." With the three prefectures of Nan'an, Ji'an, and Ganzhou, as well as the prefectures in the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian as the defense line, the imperial army would have to use the tax-rich areas of Huguang, Jiangxi, Nanzhili, and Zhejiang as its food and salary rear to fight for years. This was the plan of the rebels. Just drag them down first and wait until they sit on the shore and watch the fire, and more and more people will surrender to the enemy."
After thinking about it for a while, Chen Jiuchuan changed his color slightly: "These tax-rich areas are now suffering serious disasters."
It would be a big trouble if the grain and grass transshipment area behind the king's army had to provide disaster relief and also ensure the needs of the soldiers in the high mountains.
"Transmit my military order to move to Ganzhou. Go to Yuanzhou Mansion to order General Zhang not to wait for the governor. The Nanchang Guards will enter Changsha Mansion in Huguang to listen to the orders of Marquis Zhenyuan. General Zhang will lead the Yuanzhou Guards south to capture Ji'an."
Since it was Prince Rui of Hengzhou Prefecture who was granted the title of orthodoxy, would Zhu Jianjun not consider keeping him under firm control?
Now, it depends on what roles Zhu Jianjun and Zhu Youbin played behind this rebellion.
The only thing that must be prevented is that the rebels cannot use the high mountains of Huguang, Jiangxi, and Fujian to drag the imperial court into a protracted counterinsurgency.
At Jianshuijie, south of Lizhou, Huguang, Zhou Long returned soon.
He didn't bother to drink some water. When he came to Luo An, he knelt down on one knee and returned to his life: "It's bad! Command, the entire palace of Prince Rong was burned. Changde just experienced a great chaos. It is said that Changde's army suppressed the rebellion. The whole family of King Rong was executed on the spot. After burning, killing and looting, the Changde Guards moved towards Anhua County, Changsha Prefecture."
Luo An's expression suddenly changed and he stepped forward and asked, "What's the situation in Changde Mansion now?"
"... Wealthy officials, gentry, and common people are the victims of plunder. Your Majesty, Chang Dewei went to Changsha Mansion after plundering money and food in the name of suppressing rebellion. Was King Rong really burned or..."
Zhou Long shook his head.
Luo An gritted his teeth and cursed: "Traitor!"
If he was really "executed on the spot" and his whole house was burned, then the emperor's hostility towards the feudal princes could not be more obvious.
Chang Dewei carried out plunder in the name of suppressing the rebel army, which not only gained money and food, but also ruined the reputation of the king's army. Later, he was "persuaded to surrender" by the rebels, which greatly increased the momentum of the rebels.
He looked at Ban Zhongwen: "Has anyone contacted you before and how to proceed?"
Ban Zhongwen was shocked: "Absolutely not!"
Luo An frowned: Isn't the King of Huayang County worthy of being fought over by the rebels?
But there can be no delay now, Changde Mansion must be paralyzed.
"Hurry up and report to Wuchang Mansion and ask Sun Getai to make a decision. If the matter is urgent, please go and ask Sheng Zhizhou to bring two powerful officials to Changde to temporarily handle government affairs and rescue the people."
Among the rebels, there are also experts who are taking advantage of the time lag between the orders from the imperial court to disrupt the situation on the front line.
At this time, outside Yiyang County in Changsha Prefecture, the Changsha Guards, with 500 elite soldiers as the backbone, "recruited" 3,000 local warriors and many civilians, were preparing to attack Yuanjiang County in Changde Prefecture first.
Logically speaking, when the news came out, Chang Dewei should at least stay here for a while.
There is no room for two tigers in one mountain. When Tang Peiyu and Zhu Jianjun planned the uprising, he was not prepared to take Chang Dewei with him first.
When the message was issued, priorities were divided, forcing each other with military force, and luring each other with interests. Changde Guards used the land of four counties to practice lazily, and how to maintain it with the interests of the land of Changsha, and it had been planned for a long time. The Changsha Guard generals and soldiers competed with each other.
However, what Tang Peiyu saw was a Yuanjiang County town with thick smoke rising from many places.
Outside Anhua County in the southwest, the commander of the Changde Guards had bloodthirsty eyes and said indifferently: "Persuade to surrender!"
At this moment, his identity is still the general of the "counter-rebel army".
Soldiers are very quick, and as long as he is decisive along the way, nothing can stop him.
As for plundering and looting, how could we care so much during the rebellion?
If he can pass through Baoqing Mansion and enter Hengzhou Mansion from the west to join Puzitong, now that he has the perfect cover of Prince Rui, what kind of King Ji is needed, or someone with a weak brain like Tang Peiyu?
No matter how chaotic the imperial court is, the strength of all the guards in the world is there.
When they arrived at Hengzhou Prefecture, they combined two guards or even more elite troops, and fought for a long time in the high mountains at the junction of Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong before they could really succeed.
Changsha Mansion, what a good cover to consume the court's attention, money and food.
In the eyes of Fu Rongzhong, the prefect of Changsha, and Tang Peiyu, the commander of the Changsha Guards, Anhua County is not a place that must be defended. After all, there is Ningxiang County to the west of Changsha as a barrier.
Under the banner of "Zhan", the commander of the Changde Guard, Zhan Huabi, his cronies, escorted by several people holding shields, arrived a hundred steps away from the city gate. They raised their heads and shouted: "Changde Guard joins Jiuxi Guard, Yongding Guard, Lizhou Guard.
The 20,000 troops from Qianhusuo are ordered to put down the rebellion! Listen to the city guards and quickly open the city and surrender to avoid death!"
Looking from the city wall, at the foot of Xiamei Mountain in the west of Anhua County, there is indeed an army that can't be seen to the end.
There are thousands of people, and there is no limit as far as the eye can see. There are more than 10,000 people, and there is no limit.
Changde Guard did not have so many soldiers, but Zhan Huabi had already recruited and surrendered many "rogue bandits".
Now, some unemployed refugees and civilians who were brought here are still pretending to be cutting wood at the foot of Xiamei Mountain to build ladders to climb the city.
Standing on the city wall, a deputy Qianhu of the Changsha Guards could see large carts being rolled out from the military formation, and he didn't know whether the carts they pulled were big muskets.
He thought that he only brought five hundred people here, gritted his teeth and said: "Abandon the city! They only surrounded the west side and have no determination to fight to the death here. Return to Ningxiang and report to the prince as soon as possible.
Together with Fu Sima, Changde Guard, Jiuxi Guard, and Yongding Guard, they all came so quickly, and the main force is from the west!"
Seeing that the guard general fled in a hurry with the magistrate and others, the remaining "township braves" in Anhua County looked at each other and had no choice but to discuss opening the city gate to welcome the king's division into the city. At the same time, they were thinking about how to make up a reason to explain that they and others were helpless.
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Zhan Huabi had no intention of pursuing that group of rebels. Instead, he gave an evil smile and ordered: "Enter the city to track down the spies, the sooner the better!"
He only wants to leave trouble here and plunder money and food.
When we arrived at Baoqing Mansion, in the name of "the decree", Baoqing Guards never obeyed?
It doesn't matter if you don't obey. The heads of the generals and others will be chopped off, and the remaining officers and soldiers can see real gold and silver treasures with their eyes.
If you are not brave enough, you can also have Pu Zitong attack from the east of Hengzhou Prefecture.
There was a sudden uproar in Anhua County, and the hunt for spies soon evolved into a real robbery.
Soldiers without restraint are no different than bandits.
Geng Yongfeng had just landed from Longyang. He met the other Jinyi captains under Luo An's command and also learned about the situation in Changde Mansion.
Geng Yongfeng looked at the direction in which Tang Peiyu was rapidly retreating from Yiyang County, with a gloomy expression on his face.
Before August 15th, it will be easy to capture Yuanjiang and Yiyang.
But what's the use?
The west and north of Changde Prefecture and Changsha Prefecture must be in a mess, with endless consequences.
Seeing Sheng Wenyi comforting the refugees with uncontrollable joy, Geng Yongfeng did not dare to say anything.
For the sake of the new law and the sake of Ming Dynasty, His Majesty and the court are ready to pay some price.
But now that the price is clearly shown in front of Geng Yongfeng's eyes, he is finally a little bit intolerable.
"Go to Yiyang County first!"
Under his command, there are 300 Jinyiwei captains, 300 elite soldiers from Lizhou Qianhu Station, and 1,000 personal soldiers brought by himself. Tang Peiyu quickly returned to Changsha to aid. It is conceivable that Xiangyin on the eastern front is even less likely to resist.
A real army led by Gu Shilong himself.
But the situation within the rebels is more complicated than they imagined.
In Changsha Mansion, Zhu Jianjun shouted angrily: "Why didn't Pu Zitong take him north to Changsha as promised to boost his morale and fight the enemy in the north for a while?"
The man Zhu Jianjun refers to is the six-year-old King Rui with a yellow robe.
Seeing that Tang Peiyu couldn't speak, Zhu Jianjun became furious: "Didn't you say that since he is your old general, he must obey your orders?"
In Hengzhou City, Pu Zitong was overjoyed after reading a letter: "Good! Good! Good!"
The Thousand Households of Guang'an also surrendered, and Chenzhou, Youxian County in the southeast of Changsha Prefecture, and Chaling Prefecture all came to him.
Just waiting to work with Zhan Huabi to capture Baoqing Mansion and Yongzhou Mansion, and combine the power of all the guards, the foundation has been completed.
If Tang Peiyu was defeated and fled south, he could only be made a general.
With "legitimacy" in hand, why do you want King Ji to dominate you? Wouldn't it be better to have a biological father?
He swaggered straight to the back house of the prince's palace and came to Xia's bedroom: "The Queen Mother, there will be great news to report in the end."
After saying that, he pushed the door open directly and entered without waiting for the call.
Seeing the frightened and weak Xia, Pu Zitong showed a proud smile on his lips.
Now that the emperor is digging his own foundation, this great country will naturally be won by those with strong soldiers and horses in the future.
Although it is just the beginning now, Pu Zitong believes in his future.
Wasn't Taizu just a pauper at that time?
Since you believe it, there is no need to worry.
Seeing him approaching, Xia could only keep retreating with tears in her eyes.
Many people are bearing the price of Zhu Houcong's decision.
It’s August 15th, the Mid-Autumn Festival.
His edict has been sent out for fourteen days and must have reached the southern provinces.
Now, he stood in the Fengxian Hall and looked at the gods and portraits of the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty.
To the north of Changsha Prefecture, Gu Shilong also looked at the city wall of Changsha Prefecture from afar.
The real first battle in countering the rebellion is to attack Changsha.