On May 6, Wang Zhene led his cavalry to Luoyang City, went to the government office to visit Lu Zongzhi, who was seriously ill, and conveyed Yang Anxuan's greetings. Lu Zongzhi was already dying. He was unconscious and his life was not long.
Lu Guiui escorted Wang Zhene out of the bedroom. Wang Zhene stopped in the corridor and said to Lu Guiui: "My lord asked Yu to tell Xiang Tooth that Luoyang is in a dangerous location. I hope Xiang Tooth can rectify Sizhou's troops while attending to his relatives. We need to To prevent Liu Yu's army from coming, we must also prevent the Wei people from crossing the river. The Wei people are likely to take advantage of the situation and launch an offensive against Pu Ban, and Xiang Tuan may be required to lead the rescue force."
Lu Gui said angrily: "Please rest assured, my lord, I will never shirk my destiny."
The Luoyang navy sent Wang Zhenye to land at Xingyang. Wang Huilong, the prefect of Xingyang, went to the east bank of Sishui River to greet him and asked Wang Zhenye to direct the defense of the Chenggao Pass area. The last time the Wei army broke through the defense line and attacked Xingyang, Yang Anxuan ordered Chenggao Pass to be placed under the jurisdiction of Xingyang County.
Seeing Wang Huilong's sincere attitude, Wang Zhene was indeed asking for advice humbly. He pointed at the embankment with his feather fan and said, "Huilong has been building embankment fortifications at Yumen Ferry in the past two years. Opposite is Chenggao Xiongguan. It is a deep ditch with high fortifications and is easy to defend. It is difficult to attack, it will be very difficult for the Wei army to land and attack from here."
Wang Huilong said humbly: "I was ordered by my lord to build embankments along the river, which can both block the flood and defend the Wei army. However, if the Wei army drives the boat directly into the Sishui River, the river is not deep and they can wade ashore anywhere. The defense line is too long. Hard to defend."
Wang Zhen laughed evilly and said, "Huilong might as well build a dam on the upper reaches of the Sishui River and dig channels to irrigate farmland. If the Wei army comes to attack, it can block the branch canals and store water, flooding the Wei army."
Wang Huilong thought for a moment and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your advice. Building a dam is not a one-time effort. It needs to be done slowly."
Wang Zhen'e said again: "If the Wei army wants to land, they must enter from the Yumen Ferry. During the Three Kingdoms period, Sun Wu used iron ropes to cross the river. Huilong might as well place a few iron ropes secretly at the ferry, and then loosen them and sink them into the water on weekdays. The Wei army arrived and stretched iron ropes across the water to block the Wei army's ships. When the ships were blocked, use slings, giant crossbows and gunpowder to break them."
Wang Huilong bowed and saluted and said, "This is a wonderful idea. Thank you so much, Wang Gong, for teaching me."
Wang Zhen'e shook the feather fan in his hand and said with a thought: "Huilong, my lord ordered Yu to take charge of the staff. He intends to send young generals to the staff for rotation training. When Liu Yu is defeated, Huilong will come to the staff to see if he wants to." look."
Wang Huilong was born in the Wang family of Taiyuan, and paid special attention to the direction of Xiangyang. He had constant correspondence with Shi Xipijiang, the right-hand minister of Yonggong Mansion. Of course he knew that his lord had established a new staff department and ordered Wang Zhene to be in charge.
Two years ago, Wang Huilong asked to marry Xi Pijiang's granddaughter. The relationship between the two became increasingly close. There was no outstanding person among Xi Pijiang's nephews, so he put more effort into cultivating his grandson-in-law.
At that time, almost everyone believed that the Lord established the General Staff because he had removed Wang Zhene from the governor of Beiyong Prefecture, so he set up a position to appease him. The General Staff was just an idle place for retirement.
However, when the lord led his army to fight against Qin and Xia, the General Staff played a huge role. It was even said that generals who had served as staff officers in the General Staff would be assigned priority to serve as chief officers in the army.
In his letter to Wang Huilong, Xi Pijiang mentioned that Shen Wen, the staff officer who accompanied Yang Anxuan on the expedition, was appointed Sima of Feng Yi County after the war because of his outstanding performance, and was promoted from the sixth rank to the fifth rank. There were also many young army staff officers who were promoted. He was sent to the army as a low-ranking general to take charge of a team of more than a thousand people.
When Wang Zhen'e saw that Wang Huilong was silent, he gently shook his feather fan and looked at the surging river, and said nothing. He thought that Wang Huilong thought that the position of counselor was in name only and was not as powerful as the governor of Xingyang.
You must know that Wang Huilong was born in the Wang family of Taiyuan. He was already the governor of a county when he was not yet 30 years old. Yang Anxuan valued him very much. Even if the lord conquered the world in the future, he would use him as a sign to win over the family members. If it were him, he would Think more.
However, Wang Zhene is very confident. If this trend continues, the General Staff will inevitably become independent from the army, and the position of military advisor will return to the army. Judging from the future of development, Wang Huilong's appointment in the General Staff will be better than being the governor of Xingyang. .
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. After Liu Yu is driven away, Yuhui will ask your lord to join the staff and study with Your Majesty." Wang Huilong dressed and bowed to Wang Zhen'e.
After learning that the General Staff played an important role in the war against Xia, Wang Huilong discussed the possibility of joining the General Staff with Xi Pijiang.
Xi Pijiang’s analysis of Wang Huilong: Wang suppressed evil for four times
Four times out of ten, the people in positions such as left, right and right in the staff department are all in their forties or fifties, and some are even in their sixties. Although the lord still appoints Wang Zhen'e, Wang Zhen'e will not stay in the position of head of the staff for a long time. If Wang Huilong can join the staff, he is likely to take over Wang Zhen'e's position in the future.
Wang Huilong discussed the pros and cons with Wang Qiang many times. Wang Qiang believed that rashly going to the staff headquarters might not be taken seriously by the master. If he could make great achievements and return to the staff headquarters, the master would most likely let him take over the aging Gao Changqing and become the commander-in-chief. The right minister of the staff department is very steady.
Today, Prime Minister Wang Zhenxi invited Wang Huilong to serve in the General Staff Department. Wang Huilong agreed immediately without any hesitation.
Wang Zhene laughed and said, "Okay, Huilong is in his prime, my lord has great trust, and his future success will never be inferior to that of Fool."
"I hope the prince will cultivate more of them."
Wang Zhene nodded repeatedly and said, "Don't worry Huilong, come to the staff department, Yuding will give you our fullest help."
Wang Huilong was willing to give up his position as the governor of Xingyang and join the staff department, which at least showed his intention to get closer to him. The children of the aristocratic family valued love and face more, and Wang Zhene was willing to regard Wang Huilong as his successor.
After what happened with Wang Zun and Wang Hong, Wang Zhene knew that the relationship between him and Yang Anxuan would never be the same again. He was getting older and wanted to find a way out for himself.
The cronies he had secretly cultivated in the army in the past lost confidence in Wang Zhene because of Li Qiang's incident, and the Lord would be particularly concerned about his involvement in military affairs. There is no outstanding person among the brothers, and the nephews are still young and need the support of capable people. Wang Huilong is the most suitable candidate in front of him.
The two hit it off and talked happily. A smart person doesn't need to explain everything clearly, but can only see and get along with each other.
The military situation was so strong that Wang Zhene did not dare to delay any longer. He took his Qingqi and continued on the next day, approaching three hundred miles in one day. He arrived at Ningling (today's Ningling, Henan Province) three days later and left Suiyang (today's Shangqiu, Henan Province). Less than a hundred miles.
Suiyang City is located in the north of Suishui River. The mountain yin is yin and the north of water is yang, so it is named Suiyang. During the Qin Dynasty, a city was built here. Liu Wu, the second son of Emperor Wen of the Later Han Dynasty, Liu Heng, was granted the title of King of Liang and Suiyang was made the capital of the Liang Kingdom.
Liu Wu was the youngest son of Empress Dowager Dou. He was very favored and received countless rewards. Liu Wu carried out extensive construction work in Suiyang City, built palaces, and built overhead passages that connected the palace and the platform for more than 30 miles.
Due to the siltation of the Yellow River, new cities were built on top of the old city with taller and thicker city walls, forming a "city upon city" situation. The city wall of Suiyang is "37 miles square and has 24 gates". The city is more than three feet high, the foundation is seven feet thick, and the city wall is also more than three feet wide. The Sui River is used as a moat. The entire Suiyang city is majestic and impregnable.
There were 4,000 county troops in Suiyang City. After Liu Yu captured Xiayi, Mao Xiuzhi guessed that his next target was Suiyang and sent 3,000 reinforcements to enter the city before Liu Yu arrived. .z.
Before the arrival of Liu Yu's army, Xu Chong, the prefect of Liang County, fortified the walls and cleared the country, and moved the people outside the city into the city. There were nearly 300,000 people in the city, and more than 200,000 grains and grains were stored. The city was strong and the pond was solid, and there was no fear of the arrival of Liu Yu's army. .
After arriving in Xiangyi, Wang Zhene sent a reconnaissance cavalry to Suiyang to inquire about the news. He learned that Liu Yu's army had been besieging Suiyang for more than ten days and had launched eight sieges. Suiyang City was tightly defended and Liu Yu's army could not even attack the city wall. Not climbed. The scouts rode into Suiyang City to deliver a message to Prefect Xu. Xu Chong learned that Wang Zhen'e had led reinforcements to Ningling, and he became more secure in defending the city.
Liu Yu soon learned that the reinforcements of the Yong Army had arrived in Ningling City, led by Yang Anxuan's number one adviser Wang Zhene. He had reported a few days ago that Yang Anxuan had returned to Xiangyang City from the land of Qiang and Hu.
It seems that the rapid attack launched by him has come to an end for the time being, and the next step will be a stalemate. However, he seized a lot of territory from Yang Anxuan, and the Yizhou war was even more fruitful. Liu Yu convened civil and military forces to discuss what to do next.
Taiwei Mao Dezu, who joined the army, was the first to speak: "Suiyang City is really difficult to attack. Now that the reinforcements of the Yong Army have arrived, it is better to go south to attack Runyin and Runan, which are weak in force, and join forces with the Wang Governor (Wang Zhongde) Jiangxia soldiers and horses, and cross the Han River from Jiangxia Attack Xiangyang."
Xie Hui shook his head and said: "Otherwise, Zhu Chaoshi will definitely take advantage of the opportunity to come back after the army goes south. The occupied Xiayi, Fengxian and other counties will be recaptured by the Yong army, and even threaten the safety of Pengcheng. Moreover, they will go south to Ruyin and Runan, and there will be important towns along the way. Yong The army is waiting for an opportunity to attack, and it is easy for the enemy to take advantage of it. It is better to rely on Mengxian and Yuxian, and defend Suiyang City, waiting for work.
, surrounded the spot to call for reinforcements. "
"Yes," Fu Liang agreed: "There is a large population in Suiyang City, and it is easy to defend the city, which will consume a lot of money. When there is no food supply in the city after the summer harvest, the morale of the military and the people will be in chaos, and there will be an opportunity to take advantage of it."
The champion general Xiang Mi said solemnly: "It will be very difficult for my lord to capture Suiyang City with less than 20,000 soldiers and horses. I will order Pengcheng to send reinforcements."
Liu Yu secretly smiled bitterly. Liu Muzhi's letter told him that Yangzhou, Xuzhou, Jiangzhou and other places were recruiting soldiers, and the number of young men in the fields had dropped sharply. He was afraid that there would be insufficient manpower to harvest summer grain this year. If tens of thousands of young men were to be recruited to join the army, the grain supply would probably be very high. Rotting in the field.
Wang Xuanmo, who joined the army in the Taiwei Mansion, saw Liu Yu's solemn expression and suggested, "My lord, why don't you select the best men from among the men who accompany the army and recruit them into the army? If there are not enough men, just recruit them from the land you occupy."
Liu Yu was moved. He originally planned to make no mistake in the autumn, but the people in the area were very indifferent to the army, let alone eating pots of pulp to welcome the king's army. Yang Anxuan had governed Yongdi for several years and had won the hearts of the people. The people no longer regarded him as the orthodoxy of the imperial court.
In this case, according to Wang Xuanmo's words, we must collect food from the occupied land. If there is any unrest, we must first forcibly quell it. It will not be too late to pacify Yang Anxuan after he is pacified.
"Sending troops and horses to collect food," Liu Yu coldly said, "The army will return to Meng and Yu counties for the time being to rest and wait for the opportunity."
Everyone took the order, stood up and left. Liu Yu stopped Fu Liang and waited until there were only two people left in the tent. Liu Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Xuanming, go back to the capital and urge Dao He to recruit another 20,000 new troops and send more pill fire. "
Fu Liang agreed, and Liu Yu continued: "When you go to Pengcheng, you can bring King Langya back to the capital."
Fu Liang immediately understood Liu Yu's intentions. During the Northern Expedition, Liu Yu deliberately took the Sima clan headed by King Langya out of the capital. In name, King Langya wanted to go to Luoyang to pay homage to the late emperor's tomb. In fact, he was afraid that Sima Dewen would do something bad in the capital. , and used the excuse to kill Sima Xuanqi and Sima Zhenzhi, who were known to be talented members of the clan.
There was only a stupid emperor in the capital, and all political affairs were in the hands of Liu Mu. At this time, he brought King Langya back to the capital. Liu Yu wanted to go one step further and asked King Langya to put a jade seal on him.
Seeing that Fu Liang understood, Liu Yu continued: "When you see Dao He, ask him to send people to the north to urge the Wei people so that they can send troops to Yanzhou before the end of July."
As a close confidant of Liu Yu, Fu Liang knew that Liu Yu had a secret appointment with Emperor Wei, but if the world knew that Wei Qi's trip south was invited by the lord, the lord might not be able to escape the criticism of the world.
Not wanting to think too much, Fu Liang stood up and said, "Please rest assured, my lord, I will take care of everything."
