Flowers bloom and fall in spring and summer, and dreams come and go in autumn and winter. Preparations for this war have begun in the first half of the year. I remember that during the first battle of Changde, the weather was so hot that people panicked. Now, it is gradually entering early winter in Yijing. What a good time. Months of battles, big and small, cost huge amounts of casualties, and it seems that the final moment has come to decide the outcome.
Xue Lu, Marquis of Wuyang, was sitting in the old yamen house. He was pondering over several official documents with his staff and confidants, one of which was an official document from the Ministry of War. Hu Ying, who had just become the right minister of the Ministry of War and the governor of Huguang, brought it to him. "It happened that Lu Shangshu came directly from Yangzhou to Changde City." "Please search Piaotian Literature, the novels are better and updated faster!"
It was raining lightly outside, and the weather was a bit cold. The most uncomfortable thing when winter comes in the south is the rain. Usually it doesn't rain heavily, but it's enough to make the roads muddy. It doesn't hurt to stay in the city.
The Ministry of War's article seemed to be ambiguous. It believed that the early strategy was a good strategy to maximize strengths and avoid weaknesses according to local conditions. However, in view of the leakage of military planes, the governor of Huguang could respond in a timely manner. When Hu Ying came to Changde City for the first time, he also praised the Huguang officers and soldiers. The progress made, including the capture of Changde and other important towns despite mutual losses on both sides, is credited to the soldiers; Hu Ying is now an official in the Ministry of War, and what he said should be the Ministry of War's positive attitude towards the Huguang War.
Xue Lu's expression seemed confident, and he should still be very optimistic about the situation. His staff also commented: "The rebels suffered heavy losses in the battle of Changsha, and the Changde City defenders were completely wiped out, and the military supplies in the city were all gone." We have suffered heavy losses, and now we have lost Changde, and we have retreated to the poor difāng of Chenzhou, where we have no food, no land, no land. Our army has taken advantage of the situation, and pacifying Huguang is just a matter of time."
The staff then lowered his voice: "Shilang Hu replaced Yu Futai. It is obvious that this person does not know the military affairs, and he has just arrived in Huguang and does not know the situation. He relies on the Marquis for everything. Although Shilang Hu is named the Third Division of Huguang, he is not After the war, both the government and the public should be happy, and the greatest credit belongs to you, Lord Marquis."
Xue Lu heard this and said that it was a good thing that Yu Qian was caught... he could monopolize the great achievements, and immediately felt that it was not appropriate. Although there were no outsiders present, he still said: "The strategy proposed by Yu Futai before, although I also I didn’t quite agree, but then I thought about it and it was appropriate. Yu Futai has a lot of insights into military affairs. Tèbié is a way to use the terrain to deal with the rebel firearm array. It is really a way to learn lessons and use our strengths and avoid weaknesses. We are the ones who lead the troops, so good How can you not understand the method?"
The staff member said: "However... Yu Futai Yijing was captured by the rebels. I'm afraid the great success will not be his turn."
Xue Lu did not comment, and reminded the generals seriously: "In the future, when you see Mr. Hu, you must not be contemptuous and disrespectful in etiquette. After we go to war, Mr. Hu will make military and political arrangements, and all parties must rely on Mr. Hu for coordination. .”
"Yes, yes, I will obey the Marquis's instructions."
Another general asked impatiently: "When will we go to war?"
Xue Lu looked at the light rain outside the door and said: "We will prepare to leave when the rain stops. We can't wait any longer. I think the rebels dare not come to attack Changde City. They can only go to Baoqing Mansion to eat."
Xue Lu made this judgment not out of thin air. Indeed, there have been many signs recently.
Let’s just talk about the letter from the Baoqing prefect that the Huguang Chief Envoy Department received a few days ago. It said that the local government had encountered a blatant attack. The letter sealed by the Rebel Council clearly requested the Baoqing government to open the border and not obstruct the border crossings.
The officials will not be lenient if they don't transport supplies, otherwise they will capture Baoqing Mansion; Baoqing Mansion is close to the area where rebels are active, and the officials are naturally panic-stricken. Maybe they turned a blind eye to some things before, but this time
After being exposed publicly and with documentary evidence, the magistrate did not dare to hide it, otherwise he would be blamed for colluding with the rebels, so he reported it to the top.
In addition, the detailed work of the army found that a lot of wood was transported downstream on the river in the southeast of Chenzhou, and the direction was Baoqing Prefecture in the southeast. Xue Lu was rich in jinggyàn when he marched and fought, and he believed that these wood were for military use prepared by the rebels in advance.
The materials are mainly prepared for the construction of camps later. Chenzhou Prefecture and Baoqing Prefecture are bordered, but the administrative cities are 700 miles apart. If the rebels want to attack Baoqing City, they will definitely need to consider building larger camps to prepare supplies.
purpose.
There are various signs that the rebels can no longer survive in Chenzhou, and they will abandon their old nest and open up new territories. As for the Shime world structure that Yu Qian explained before, Xue Lu thinks that the rebels are not willing to wander around and wait for the truth.
Spectrum... This rebellion must be won first. The rebels are going to starve to death in Chenzhou. If they don't attack the weaker Baoqing Mansion, why do they have to risk their lives to fight against an army of 50,000 or 60,000 people?
The ruguo rebels fled south, and Xue Lu slowly followed with his army. They recovered an empty city, but lost another city, and no gains were made. Wouldn't it be suffocating to fight this battle?
After Xue Lu discussed with the generals, he decided on the next battle plan.
The remaining troops of the South Route Army were ordered to march from Changsha to Baoqing Prefecture in advance. Changsha is closer to the south than the rebels, so reinforcements should arrive in advance. Civilians were recruited from Hengzhou and Yongzhou to transport grain and fodder materials to Baoqing Prefecture to prepare for the army, and they were also mobilized from city defense
Replenish the troops of Baoqing Prefecture.
The main force of the North Route Army marched westward from Changde City along the Yuan River, approaching Chenzhou and occupying the mountainous terrain to encourage the rebels to move. As a result, it would be very difficult for the rebels to capture Baoqing Mansion. They did not want to sit back and wait for death, nor did they want to go east.
For the main force of the attacking army, the only way out is Baojing Prefecture to the west. Baojing Prefecture is located in a mountainous area, making it difficult to govern and collect money and food. Moreover, there are many ethnic minority chieftains in the area, so the rebels have had many troubles and dead ends.
Xue Lu had to inform the governor of the planned arrangement before it could be implemented, because it involved allocating grain and troops from various prefectures, and it was more convenient to use the authority of the governor.
There are several houses outside the Changde Mansion Office, which are the residences used by the difāng government to entertain Shangguan officials. There are six departments, including those from the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and three provincial departments. The officials above send people down for business.
There is a difāng with free food and accommodation, which has similar functions to a guest house and has high standards. After Hu Ying arrived in Changde City, he stayed at the Ministry of War Hotel. He was very well-behaved when he first arrived and never did anything that violated the law.
Xue Lu reported Ziji's battle plan to Hu Ying and went to the hotel to meet him.
Hu Ying looked older again, and the hair exposed on both sides of the bun on her head was all gray. This rumored bureaucrat who knew nothing about military affairs actually sat there and looked at it carefully after receiving the battle strategy... Xue
Lu originally thought that he would just give it a seal and say a few polite words.
After he became the governor of Huguang, some people in Hu Ying secretly believed that he was here to pick up the slack. He didn't know anything and didn't have to do too much, just waiting to get the credit. But Hu Ying knew in his heart that there were risks in fighting a war, so just sit back and wait.
There is a huge gap between benefits and waiting to be punished... What's more, he thinks there is no point in taking credit for Ziji?
After being excluded from that circle after the death of Emperor Yongle, Hu Yingyijing felt that there was no hope of entering the center of power, and age was not forgiving. It would be difficult to have such an opportunity again. After decades of officialdom and three dynasties, he had seen too many ups and downs.
, Ziji's situation has long been understood. His official career has basically come to an end now. He originally thought of retiring and returning to his hometown, but after a lifetime, he is still a minister. It is not bad to be mediocre and then serve as a senior official; a
The bureaucrat suddenly retired to his hometown, and he felt that Ziji would age faster.
Hu Ying read the strategy almost word for word, raised her head and said, "I don't want to object to Marquis Wuyang's strategy, but I just want to say a few words to remind Marquis Wuyang."
Xue Lu said politely: "If Futai has something to say, speak frankly." Maybe he meant to fart as he wished.
"The strategy written by my predecessor Yu Shilang in his memorial was to advance slowly and look for opportunities to annihilate the remaining bandits; if there is no guarantee of complete victory, do not rush to fight, just to prevent the bandits from gaining strength again. Although Wuyang Hou's strategy is somewhat different from the previous one.
They are similar, but upon closer inspection they appear aggressive and eager for success..."
Xue Lu interrupted Hu Ying somewhat unceremoniously: "Sir Hu, the soldiers are fought step by step with real swords and real spears. Why are you so eager for success?"
Hu Ying was stunned for a moment, but she still said calmly: "I'm sorry for the inappropriate choice of words, but I think the strategy of this battle is indeed different from the description in the memorial sent by Yu Shilang to the Ministry of War. Marquis Wuyang wants to mobilize troops to Baoqing Mansion.
, and we are about to advance into Chenzhou, just like Go, this is a situation of intense pursuit and fierce fighting."
Hearing this, Xue Lu almost laughed: "There is a difference between a game of chess and a battle formation."
"I told you beforehand that I did not want to reject Wuyang Hou's strategy." He glanced at the seal on the case, but did not seal it. "I will use the seal tomorrow and send someone to Wuyang Hou's house."
Xue Lu looked at the sky outside again: "We will send out troops when the rain stops. We must not miss the opportunity. I hope Futai will make a decision as soon as possible."
Hu Ying said: "I have to ask someone to make a copy and send it to the Ministry of War, along with a memorial. This is just a routine matter. It doesn't cost much. It can be done tomorrow."
Xue Lu said: "Don't worry about pacifying Taiwan. Now is a great opportunity to pacify Huguang. The Ministry of War will not object... Think about it, tens of thousands of people are here, how much food and silver are spent every month, Huguang is
Everyone outside the country is transferring money to this place, no one in the court is willing to delay for no reason, and hundreds of thousands of people in Yangzhou also want money."
"What you say makes sense, what you say makes sense." Hu Ying nodded and did not argue with Xue Lu.
After Xue Lu left, he asked a scribe to make a copy of the strategy, and then started writing memorials. Hu Ying was very familiar with this kind of memorials. After pondering for a while, he described today's answers and recorded them first.
The opinion, which warned the commander-in-chief Wu Yanghou to march cautiously and so on. The substantive content is almost unknown, but in the event of a defeat in the war, this memorial will be strong evidence to reduce his guilt; ruguo won, of course it is fair to say so
There is no harm, the battle has been won, who cares about the arguments before the war?