The Chu Palace was lively for a while in early August, when Emperor Jianwen hosted a banquet for hundreds of officials to honor Zhang Ning. Then the place returned to silence, even quieter than usual; there was a war ahead, and the singing, dancing and feasting in the palace stopped.
, even the horse racing activities that Yao Ji just fell in love with have stopped.
In the front hall of Fengyi Building, several women were sitting under Yao Ji, listening to Xu Wenjun reading a letter from Zhang Ning. Among them were Zhou Niang, Zhang Xiaomei, Gu Chunhan, Peach Blossom Fairy and others.
Individuals, whether they have the status of concubines or relatives, these people have been in this big family for a long time, and they are almost like family members. There is also Bai Fengjiao, who has not yet decided whether to accept the canonization of the Jianwen court.
She is the second concubine of the prince, but since she has not left Wuchang, Yao Ji does not particularly treat her as an outsider; mainly because Bai Fengjiao is wearing a Hanfu, instead of the national costume when she first came here. This detail seems to have hinted at her thoughts.
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On the table are tea, dried fruits, and seasonal fruits and vegetables in August, all served in delicate and exquisite porcelain, mainly blue and white. This is a complete set of porcelain, specially made as a tribute from Jingdezhen last month, and new
Same.
However, everyone just sat and listened to Xu Wenjun read. No one ate while listening, and the food became completely decoration.
Zhang Ning's letter was written entirely in colloquial vernacular, "After several months of preparation and deployment, the officers and soldiers have recently moved very quickly. In less than half a month, the officers and soldiers coming from Huizhou on the South Road have crossed the entire Raozhou Prefecture, seven or eight prefectures and counties."
There was almost no resistance, all of this was expected... The officers and soldiers on the south route detoured northward to the eastern part of Nankang Prefecture. The fall of Duchang meant that the entire east bank of Poyang Lake fell into the hands of the officers and soldiers; we only had the lake left on the east bank.
Kou County, dare not give up this place to defend Dongting Lake. By guarding the mouth of the lake, the government, army and navy transferred from the Yangtze River will not be able to enter Dongting Lake...
But the current situation is not good. Yu Qian took back the navy that the King of Han surrendered, and also recruited and expanded some warships and sailors. However, Xu Zixin, who followed me to Jiangxi, said that our navy is difficult to defeat the official navy.
When fighting in places near the lake, the wind and waves are not strong and you cannot rely on sails; and the army's wheeled boats clearly have a maneuverability advantage in the inner lake. However, mother and concubine need not worry too much. Our army's land warfare weapons are very sophisticated and can make up for the shortcomings on the water. Wait.
There is new progress in the war ahead, so I will write back again; the Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, and now I just hope to win as soon as possible and go home to be reunited with my mother and others..."
Zhang Ning's family letter mainly talks about military affairs, but this is also what the female relatives are most concerned about. Women don't know much about military matters, including the most capable Yao Ji, who doesn't know much about marching and fighting, and has no great interest;
But this kind of thing is precisely related to the fate and vital interests of everyone, and it is inevitable to be very concerned about the results. Women with a little status in the Ming Dynasty were obviously vassals of men. They could not work, and were not even as good as women from common people's families. Common people's women
They can also weave and raise animals and do housework at home. Everything they have is pinned on their men's careers.
Gu Chunhan, who had never been involved in the power scene in Wuchang, also said quietly at this time: "I really hope he can win this battle."
Everyone agreed, and for a moment the women had a rare opportunity to have their minds in one place. Just like Gu Chunhan, although she is beautiful and good at singing and dancing, she should be someone who has enough food and clothing wherever she goes. But except Zhang Ning, who can put her in the same place?
As a family member, we never care about our origins or past life experiences? This is even more true for other people. Although they have different status here, they are still relatives and masters. No one can deal with their fate casually.
…
In Jiangxi, the first real confrontation came sooner than expected. The location of the confrontation was already very clear, it was Hukou.
The general news from the government and army is that the Jiangbei Battalion is ready to move but there is no obvious move; the South Route Army is in Duchang and the threat is very close, but it will take some time to join the battle of Hukou in time; it is the Central Route that is really pushing into Hukou.
The army, which advanced by land and water from the Yangtze River, had already pushed its camps into places visible from the walls of Hukou County.
The deployment of the Suzaku Army did not abandon Hukou County, and strengthened the defense a while ago. Zhang Ning transferred 750 people from the Yongding Battalion to station in Hukou County, and 5,000 Han troops were stationed on the east coast; the number of naval troops
More than 8,000 people and more than 200 large and small boats gathered near the estuary of Poyang Lake. The water fortifications were separated on the west bank and on the island of Poyang Lake. Outside Hukou County, there is another fortification near the water, which has the same function.
The first is to support the defense of the county town, and the second is to set up artillery arrays to support water operations with firepower.
On the Jiujiang side, there is also a Zhuque Army fortification near the entrance to the lake. Heavy artillery is also set up to face the narrow entrance of Poyang Lake. The surface of the lake is not narrow, and the water surface spans at least seven or eight miles; the Zhuque Army's
The effective range of long-barreled heavy artillery and projectile mortars is only two miles. Regardless of the vastness of the water area that affects accuracy, there is still a three- to four-mile wide water area in the middle that is completely unreachable from the shore. However, setting up camps on the shore can limit the enemy navy.
When deployed on the water, its role cannot be underestimated.
On the beach on the west bank of Hukou, a group of people were standing there. The person standing in the front and middle was Zhang Ning. Surrounded by him were Yu Qian, Wei Bin and other senior officials, as well as a young official, Xu Zixin, and several of his staff and scribes.
.Xu Zixin used to be an official in Yuezhou Prefecture and managed the shipyard. He was familiar with ships and water conditions, and he also had staff who knew water warfare. Now he came back to serve as Zhang Ning's military advisor.
Everyone looked around on the water's edge and saw boats everywhere on the lake and the Yangtze River. The boats on the river were all owned by the navy of the navy. The navy of the Huguang Army only wanted to protect Poyang Lake and did not expect to compete with the navy on the river.
; and the ships on the Hukou side are all kinds of warships of the Huguang Army, mainly the navy that the King of Han surrendered to, and some of them are the navy that Yu Qian prepared to expand after he became the governor of Jiangxi.
Zhang Ning lowered his head and stamped on the gray-black soil on the ground. It was very hard and cracked. The color of the ground was completely different from the soil on the shore. It looked like mud from the lake. It was exposed after the water line dropped.
Made by sun-drying.
The weather is particularly good these days. It has been sunny for a long time. The autumn sunshine is not too strong but also very warm. Coupled with the moist and cool breeze blowing from the water, the body feels very comfortable. Zhang Ning did not ask in public whether the weather was good for him.
Water fighting is not beneficial.
He knows nothing about water battles in rivers and lakes. The Suzaku Army has only been established for a few years and has always focused on land wars. Land battles in the interior are indeed the key to victory or defeat. But at such a river and lake pass, the role of water battles is less.
Zi became important, their development time was too short, and the Suzaku Army and Navy were not good enough, which was actually a weakness.
However, Zhang Ning is a self-aware person. He knows that he is not good at this, so Xu Zixin is inseparable from him and always asks the military advisor around him for everything.
After everyone watched for a long time, Wei Bin suddenly said: "Hukou County on the other side can't hold it. It's useless to send so many troops and transfer so much food. Once the water is cut off, the city will be isolated."
Yu Qian said calmly: "The purpose of guarding Hukou County is to be cut off from the water. Otherwise, all the land on the east coast will be lost. What's the point of guarding a county? I assert that the army will not attack Hukou County in the first battle. The navy will directly attack Hukou County."
Invasion on the river."
Zhang Ning remained silent, but fortunately the two of them argued back and forth for a few words and let it go. He was in a very unhappy mood now because he didn't have much confidence in not repaying the war of words at the lake.
He kept clearing up the "logical relationship" of this series of deployments in his mind: as long as the navy can still control the lake surface to resist the official river boats from entering Poyang Lake, our own army can reinforce Hukou City from the water and provide supplies and military supplies. Hukou
The city is not considered an isolated city; as long as Hukou City and the fortification camps on the other side still exist, they can support water defense... and the main force of the Suzaku Army will never dare to go to the other side. If it is surrounded, there will be nowhere to run.
It still has to be in Jiujiang City.
But if Poyang Lake changes hands, south of Jiujiang, the hundreds of miles of Poyang Lake's waterfront will not be able to prevent the army from crossing the water and directly advancing towards Jiujiang. Jiujiang City, a strategic location, will lose both rivers and lakes.
Understand the significance of the important place; if you stick here, you may be attacked by the officers and soldiers coming from the north of the Yangtze River, and fall into a situation of siege... At that point, it is better not to defend Jiujiang. Failure to defend Jiujiang City means that the entire Jiangxi will be lost; strategic
The depth was further compressed to Huguang, and the enemy on all sides became more and more trapped.
At this point in the game, the key to the entire campaign was the battle at Hukou; but the battle at Hukou was precisely the weakness of the Suzaku Army, and it was also the link where Zhang Ning was least confident. He had to be very depressed.
At this moment, Zhang Ning temporarily issued an order: "Immediately send someone to inform the entire navy. The land and sea officers and soldiers of the Jiujiang Army (the army surrendered by the King of Han) will be treated equally by the court. The military pay will be the same as that of the Yongding Camp, rewards for meritorious service, and pensions for those killed and disabled in battle."
Same thing."
After hearing this, Wei Bin and other generals muttered a few words, seeming a little dissatisfied. Zhang Ning's decision at this time was also very hasty, but he ignored the generals of Yongding Camp.
Yu Qian was the governor of Jiangxi before. In order to keep Jiujiang City, he had no choice but to dare to give up the east line of Poyang Lake; but now he dare not say that he should give up Poyang Lake and still agrees to increase the number of troops in Hukou City... But is this really useful?
When Zhang Ning turned to look at Yu Qian, he happened to be looking over, and the two of them looked at each other. Yu Qian had a serious face, with almost no expression and no clue. But Zhang Ning suddenly had an intuition.
, he seemed to have something to say, so Zhang Ning asked casually: "What are Ting Yi's considerations?"
Yu Qian said: "I think that the prince's decision just now is very good. The naval battle is of great importance. Most of the naval forces are subordinates of the Jiujiang Army. The prince's favor will definitely boost morale."
Zhang Ning nodded and said nothing more. He was wondering in his mind: Did Yu Qian also think of giving up Jiangxi altogether? This place is indeed very important, but the problem is that it is difficult to hold on. No one has any reliable method for so long... He doesn't
Dare I suggest, perhaps considering that this place is indeed of great importance?