On the 22nd day of the first month of the second year of Xuande's reign, drums were beating loudly outside Zhu Yong's Chinese army tent in Luxi, and dozens of armored generals lined up to enter the tent. Zhu Yong had completed the early stage of the war against the Miao people.
In preparation, nearly six thousand soldiers sharpened their swords and horses, preparing to advance eastward.
Zhu Yong is bound to win this battle. With his 6,000 men in Luxi, plus the defenders in Chenzhou City, and the more than 2,000 troops from Longtou Temple, the actual number of people involved in the attack and defense of this battle is nearly 10,000.
The number of troops is not less than that of the Miao rebels. However, the official army has high armor and equipment, excellent weapons, and is equipped with a large number of heavy weapons and firearms. Its combat effectiveness is obviously higher than that of the Shaomin rebels who just emerged from the remote mountains and lacked food and clothing.
The equipment and perfect organizational system of the official army have basically made up for the disadvantages of insufficient training of guardsmen and high desertion rate, resulting in a reduction in the number of mobilizable troops in various places.
Zhu Yong asked someone to hang a large picture in the center. Although the drawing was relatively crude, it was enough for his method of deploying troops. After many days of discussions with his staff and generals, he had formulated a plan.
A battle plan, summon the generals today to start mobilizing troops, and the plan has been written into an official document and submitted to the Ministry of War.
Roughly speaking, the troops were first divided into six routes from north to south, approaching eastward to drive away the Miao people. If the Miao people gathered various troops in Chenzhou, the official army also mobilized six routes of troops to fight head-on with the Miao people. In Chenzhou, where the terrain was relatively flat,
On the battlefield, Zhu Yong was 100% sure of defeating the Miao army head-on. If the Miao people were unwilling to fight decisively, they would be divided and dispersed and squeezed eastwards. To the east was the Dongting Lake area, where Han Chinese towns were densely populated, and the Miao army moved further towards that direction.
Running too far would be a dead end; perhaps they would have to break up and run back to the west, which would inevitably result in the loss of most of the troops. Such a result was exactly what Zhu Yong expected.
The sound of the drums stopped, and dozens of military generals were already standing on both sides of the tent. When Zhu Yong walked up to the official position in a grand manner, all the generals knelt down on one knee and clasped their fists to pay homage to Duke Cheng. Zhu Yong said, "Excuse me."
Sitting on the general's seat with his head held high, his face was glowing and he was in good spirits. The generals all felt the belief that the general Zhu Yong would win, and everyone's morale was high.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, the eunuch Cao Shan hurried in, followed by a eunuch he had never seen before. The new eunuch was ugly, with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, and his left and right eyes were of different sizes, which was very ugly.
When Zhu Yong saw him, he had a bad premonition in his heart. This eunuch seemed to be someone who was close to Wang Gou'er, the censor of ceremonies. Why did he come to Huguang?
Cao Shan bowed his hands in a slight salute, then walked up to Zhu Yong, bowed his head and whispered a few words beside him. Zhu Yong's face was worried, but he still stood up and said: "Generals, please wait for a moment, I will be back soon."
Then he and his confidants and two eunuchs who were standing on one side lifted the curtain and went to the back. The generals looked at each other and had no choice but to wait.
Behind the big tent, Cao Shan introduced the new ugly eunuch to Zhu Yong: "This is the eunuch Wang Zhen, the eunuch of the ceremonial department." Wang Zhen had an ugly face, but his etiquette was not bad.
"It turns out to be the prince. I should have met him when I was in the capital." Zhu Yong's words were not entirely polite. He had seen ugly people before, but it is easy to leave an impression when he is so ugly.
Wang Zhendao: "When Duke Cheng Guo raised his tent, was he preparing to send out troops to fight the Miao people? Fortunately, I came quickly. If it had been a day or two too late and waited until Duke Cheng Guo's clear instructions were sent out, wouldn't it be a big deal?"
Zhu Yong frowned and asked: "How do you say this? How bad is it?"
Wang Zhendao: "Isn't it clear that the emperor sent Eunuch Cao to accompany the army? Duke Cheng is fighting in Huguang this time. He is mainly dealing with the Jianwen rebellious party, followed by the Miao rebellion. Isn't it easy to distinguish the priorities? Why is it happening now?
In such a situation, the Jianwen rebellious party occupied three states and counties, and arrogantly displayed their troops in the state and county government offices; while a large number of Duke Guo's troops were actually here among the Miao people, why is this?"
Although Zhu Yong didn't want to yell at the eunuch, he looked down on him from the bottom of his heart. When he heard Wang Zhen questioning him, he felt very unhappy. However, considering that he might be speaking on behalf of the emperor, Zhu Yong swallowed it.
, and explained in good words: "The rebels only have a few hundred soldiers. I have sent Deputy General Qin Yousheng to mobilize the guards of Yuezhou Prefecture to attack; and Chenzhou Prefecture is surrounded by Miao troops. As a person, I
The commander-in-chief had no choice but to save him, and besides, I have asked someone to write an official document and submit the entire plan details to the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion and the Ministry of War."
"When did you report the matter? If Eunuch Cao had not reported this matter in time, the emperor would not have known the situation in Huguang. If he had waited for Duke Cheng to fight the Miao people, how long would the battle last? Is it possible to just sit back and watch the chaos?
Is the party growing?" Wang Zhen said in a bad tone.
When Zhu Yong heard this, he knew that Cao Shan had made a report a long time ago, and looked at this guy angrily. He thought that Cao Shan, a fat and white eunuch, was more pleasing to the eye than the other eunuchs, but he didn't expect that he was also like a crow in the world.
Hei Cao Shan was glared at, but he didn't defend himself, but looked at him apologetically... which made Duke Cheng feel relieved for a moment.
Duke Cheng's opinion of Wang Zhen was getting worse and worse. He was usually very polite to the civil servants and eunuchs of the dynasty, but that didn't mean that those who were the Duke of his country were inferior to those people. He immediately said
Asked: "What is the emperor's decree? Does the prince have an imperial edict?"
After hearing this, Wang Zhen sneered and said in a low voice: "Gong Cheng has just said that Chenzhou Mansion has to be rescued when it is surrounded. If the troops are withdrawn from Luxi, the officials and people of Chenzhou Mansion will have to scold someone to vent their anger... Could it be that Cheng
What do you mean by the Duke, the emperor must bear this infamy?"
Zhu Yong suddenly stopped talking. Unexpectedly, the ugly eunuch opened his mouth so well that he was dumbfounded and speechless. He didn't know that Wang Zhen was a student before he was castrated and entered the palace. He only had a literary talent.
Tongue, perhaps more experienced than Duke Cheng, who has experienced hundreds of battles, is specialized in the art.
When Wang Zhen said this, Zhu Yong could no longer ask him for an imperial edict. They didn't even have an oral edict, so that's what it meant. You can do whatever you want.
Not only was Zhu Yong helpless, but the literary staff next to him were also at a loss. To put it bluntly, it meant this: Duke Cheng Guo had to give up the fat in his mouth and go north to fight "mosquitoes"; and he had a reputation of not saving his life.
You have to take it on yourself, or find someone else to take the blame. Anyway, it can't be the emperor's will... The problem is, the military power is in Zhu Yong's hands, and if the troops want to withdraw, where can they find someone to take the blame?
Wang Zhendao: "When Duke Cheng Guo took over the post of Chief Military Officer of Wuling, he already knew what the priorities were. Now that it has become like this, you can handle it. You are the pillar of the country that the emperor trusts and reuses. You should have been there long ago."
You understand the importance of it... Since you are a sensible person, we don’t want to say more."
It's not that Zhu Yong didn't understand the emperor's thoughts: What could the Miao people do when they emerged from the mountainous areas in western Huguang and conquer Chenzhou? But there are countless Chenzhous in the world; and the purpose of the Jianwen rebellious party's army was obvious, which was to conquer Chenzhou.
Seize the country. So the importance that Wang Zhen hinted at is nothing more than this.
"Alas." Zhu Yong inadvertently sighed with slight disappointment. Anyone who wants to fight a war to this point will have all their previous efforts wasted. You can imagine the depression in his heart. He said casually, "Although the world is full of wars and disasters, we have not yet encountered any wars."
There is a huge chaos, the rebels only number a few hundred, and they can be wiped out in a blink of an eye, maybe we think too highly of them."
There was a hint of sarcasm in Wang Zhen's tone: "In the eyes of a famous general like you, war is like playing chess, and it is more interesting to meet the opponent in chess. But major national affairs are nothing more than playing chess. Why wait until others are strong enough to meet the opponent in chess before fighting against them?"
A showdown?"
…
Zhu Yong in Huguang had already prepared for a war, but had to stop it; while the main force of the court in Xuzhou was also prepared for a war. The difference was that no one had the power to stop the war here.
According to the suggestion of the British Duke Zhang Fu, the strategy of the imperial army was to capture Huai'an Prefecture first and then Yangzhou.
Many people, relying on the elite combat effectiveness and military superiority of the Beijing camp, suggested that the battles in the two places should be attacked together to save time. However, Emperor Zhu Zhanji rejected most people's suggestions and insisted on ordering all the main forces to attack Huai'an Prefecture.
One place.
Zhu Zhanji was good at following advice, but he was by no means a person who did not have his own opinions. When he was dealing with memorials in the army, he found that someone else had written a letter suggesting the strategy of dividing the two places. He thought this was a waste of his office time, so he asked him to put a lot of money into it.
The time was spent on meaningless nonsense, and now I wrote a reply in a memorial: the official was demoted to three levels.
He just wanted to implement his intentions in this way without clearly explaining his thinking: it would not be good if the emperor's thoughts were revealed to people. He made such a decision based on two considerations: first,
The King of Han invaded Nanjing. This war could no longer be decided quickly, and it was of little significance to divide the troops to save time. Secondly, the Battle of Huai'an was the first large-scale confrontation between the imperial army and the King of Han's army. He not only demanded victory, but also fought a decisive battle.
To gain momentum and gain the upper hand and the initiative in public opinion. War itself is not the purpose, the purpose is another high-level need.
When the famous generals Zhang Fu and others put forward pertinent war strategies, Zhu Zhanji needed to have greater considerations of his own and let those wise war strategies serve him, instead of just following the advice of famous generals on how to win a battle.
Zhu Zhanji flipped through the reports sent by officials from various ministries, and his attention was almost entirely focused on the upcoming battle of Huai'an. However, during the tea break, he relaxed and became distracted, and some chaotic thoughts flashed through his mind, among which
Including the counterinsurgency in Huguang.
At first, he planned to ask the Ministry of War to send people to supervise, but Wang Gou'er pointed out that Chenzhou was besieged and a sudden order to withdraw the troops would cause dissatisfaction among the local officials and people. Zhu Zhanji immediately thought that Wang Gou'er was right and asked him how to get there.
Wang Gouer proposed to send a eunuch to meet secretly, which could achieve the effect without saying it too clearly, and recommended someone.
Slaves like Wang Gou'er are becoming more and more popular. But Zhu Zhanji doesn't trust this eunuch in his heart. If this continues, Wang Gou'er's power among eunuchs will become more and more powerful... Guarding the mausoleum in Fengyang
Haitao, maybe he should find an opportunity to let him out and do some activities; this slave is indeed hated by people, but in terms of qualifications and ability, he is indeed the one who can check and balance Wang Gouer.
At the beginning, Haitao was completely defeated and even committed a heinous crime, but the emperor did not kill him. This is something Wang Gouer has never understood, let alone how this "heinous" person could have a chance to come back...