More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and Tong Guan sent someone to deliver an urgent letter.
The letter said that Fang La's army was in decline and he was afraid that he would rush south back to Muzhou in the near future. He hoped that he could help intercept it.
Zhao Tong calculated in his mind that there were actually two ways to return to Muzhou from Suzhou, taking the Huzhou line or the Hangzhou line.
The two roads are parallel, and you can reach Muzhou either way.
And even if Fang La is defeated and only half of the original 400,000 army is left, there will still be about 200,000 people. He only has more than 30,000 people. How can he intercept them?
It's definitely impossible to intercept, but it's okay to ambush and take advantage.
But we can't deploy all the troops on both lines. There are more than 30,000 people in Hangzhou. If we divide them into two lines, it will not be an ambush, but a court of death.
Normally, he was in Hangzhou, and Hangzhou had more troops than Huzhou. Fang La would definitely bypass Hangzhou and go to Huzhou, but this was just a common guess.
Fang La is a hero. If he had the same idea as ordinary people in everything, he would not be able to become the leader of the Ming Cult or the Holy Emperor.
Zhao Tong got up and went to look for Zhu Xiuniang. Zhu Xiuniang was painting in the room. She painted a picture of the tide in Qiantang. Her brushwork was not very delicate. She walked a lot of majestic roads, but she was quite skillful. The white waves on the picture were overwhelming. , magnificent.
After looking at the painting for a while, Zhao Tao touched his chin and said with a smile: "Xiu Niang, your chance for revenge has come!"
Zhu Xiuniang stopped writing and looked at him, her eyes cold and silent.
Zhao Tong said: "Fang La is about to be defeated. I and Tong Guan have decided that he will return to Muzhou to manage eastern Zhejiang. However, there are two ways to return to Muzhou from Suzhou, one is through Huzhou and the other is through Hangzhou. I plan to Ambush him and kill him in one fell swoop!”
Seeing his proud look, Zhu Xiuniang said in a calm tone: "Is Fang La so easy to kill?"
Zhao Tong thought for a while: "If Wang Qing's rebellion last year is delayed like last year, he may become a big threat. Fang La is far beyond Wang Qing's ability. By then, let alone killing him, even if he is defeated, he will have to pay a huge price."
Zhu Xiuniang moved her eyebrows and continued to hold the pen. Above the huge tide, there was immediately a water bird fighting with the tide. It was graceful and graceful, fearless of death, and danced gracefully in the wind and waves.
Zhao Tong glanced at the bird and said: "However, this time the officials were wise and quickly integrated several groups of people for the expedition, and with the Western Army as the main force, they will definitely defeat the rebels as quickly as possible. Fang La right now is not counted. Hard to kill.”
Zhu Xiuniang said coldly: "Then I wish the prince a good start and success!"
Zhao Tong said dissatisfied: "Obviously I am avenging you, Xiu Niang, why are you so sinister and weird?"
Zhu Xiuniang didn't say anything and started to write the inscription in wild cursive. The corner of Zhao Tao's mouth twitched as he was using wild cursive. This was a sign of contempt for authority.
He said slowly: "Although this is a good time to kill Fang La, there are few soldiers in Hangzhou, so we can only ambush one of them. I don't know whether it is better to ambush Huzhou or Hangzhou..."
Zhu Xiuniang's movements paused slightly when she heard this, then she put down her pen and thought: "Of course it's an ambush in Huzhou. The thief chief Fang La must know that the prince has troops in Hangzhou, so how can he come here?"
Zhao Tong nodded and said: "I see, I didn't expect that."
Zhu Xiuniang continued: "Your Majesty can send generals and troops to ambush on the Huzhou Road, and I will wait for the good news in Hangzhou!"
Zhao Tong said: "Xiu Niang is really insightful. I was hesitant at first, but Xiu Niang reminded me that Fang La will definitely avoid places with many soldiers when he flees. There are only a few thousand soldiers in Huzhou, so he will definitely go to Huzhou. "
Zhu Xiuniang nodded without looking at Zhao Tong, just playing with the scroll.
A smile appeared on Zhao Tong's lips, and he suddenly stepped forward and picked up Zhu Xiuniang.
Zhu Xiuniang immediately exclaimed: "Zhao Tong, what are you going to do during the day?!"
Zhao Tong didn't say anything, walked to the couch and put her down gently, then reached out to untie the curtain...
It was not until evening that Zhao Tong walked out of the room, and then went to the government office in front of the mansion to summon Yao Pingzhong, Zhe Kecun, Du Bo and Zhang Xian.
Wang told him to stay in Jiangning. After all, Jiangning was a dangerous place and he was worried that no one would be there to watch over him.
Looking at several people, Zhao Tao said: "Tong Guan's letter says that Fang La is about to be defeated and may return to Muzhou."
Several people looked at each other, and then looked at Zhao Tong together.
Zhao Tong picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, and continued: "There are two ways back to Suzhou, one is Huzhou and the other is Hangzhou. Now there are few soldiers. If you want to ambush the opponent, you can only choose one of them."
The four people all frowned when they heard this, and they all made a mental calculation. Hangzhou is the capital of western Zhejiang, and at least 10,000 troops must be left to defend the city. Then only more than 20,000 troops can be sent out. It is indeed impossible to divide the troops.
Zhao Tong said: "I think... we should ambush you in Hangzhou!"
"Ah?" Several people couldn't help but exclaimed after hearing this. This was unreasonable. Anyone would choose to ambush on Huzhou Road in this situation.
"Your Majesty, why did you attack Hangzhou?" Zhang Xian said cautiously: "Fang Baihua's defeated army should join Fang La. How could Fang La come here again when he knows that Your Majesty is leading his troops in Hangzhou?"
Zhao Tong shook his head: "How could Fang La not be prepared for an ambush on the road when he returned to Muzhou? Since he guessed that there would be an ambush, then according to common sense, the ambush would definitely be on the front line of Huzhou where there are few soldiers. How could Fang La not think of this?"
Zhang Xian: "This..."
Zhao Tong said: "As long as Fang La's brain is not broken, he will think of this. How can he be willing to go to Huzhou again?"
Zhe Kecun said: "What the prince said makes sense!"
Zhao Tong added: "So there is a 90% chance that Fang La will come to Hangzhou!"
Yao Pingzhong said: "That's right. Fang La is not stupid. Since everyone knows that Huzhou has few soldiers and knows where he might go, we will definitely go there to ambush. How can he still go to Huzhou!"
Zhao Tong said: "So he went to Hangzhou. If we really sent most of our troops to Huzhou to ambush, he might not only go to Hangzhou, but also very likely...capture Hangzhou!"
Du Bo took a breath when he heard this: "How can this Fang La be so bold? The Western Army is still chasing behind him, so he dares to attack Hangzhou?"
Zhao Tong narrowed his eyes and said: "It's not impossible. If he knew that the Hangzhou army had been sent to Huzhou to ambush, and there were few soldiers in the city at the moment, even if it were me, I would have the idea of attacking Hangzhou. After all, Shezhou and Muzhou below it, There are also several prefectures on Zhejiang East Road that are still in his hands. Hangzhou is located in front of these prefectures and is like a gateway. The city has high walls and can be attacked, retreated or defended. For the current situation, it is considered a strategic location. Got it!"
Zhe Kecun said: "Your Majesty, if Fang La goes to Hangzhou, it will not just be a walk, but he will probably want to go to Hangzhou again!"
Yao Pingzhong scratched his head and said: "If he defeated more than ten or two hundred thousand troops, and the city of Hangzhou was not as strong as Jiangning when Fang Qifu attacked at that time, with sixty or seventy thousand people defending it, then under Fang La's strong attack, it would really be possible to break the city in a short time! "
Zhang Xian said from the side: "Even if we don't send out the ambush troops, we don't have 60,000 to 70,000 people. If we really send people to ambush in Huzhou, there will only be more than 10,000 people left in the city."
Du Bo frowned: "More than 10,000 people are defending the city. Each side of the four-sided city wall can only be defended by 3,000 people at most. Hangzhou is so big, and there is not much to spread out. If Fang La's 200,000-strong army attacks... it will be short-lived." Time is broken, are you afraid that it will be broken in the blink of an eye?"
Zhe Kecun said: "Not only that, but we also need to send additional manpower to the city gates. Even if we don't count the water gate, there are still thirteen of the eighteen city gates. How to arrange it? What's more, the soldiers also have to rest. If Privy Tong can't catch up, what's the point? Aren’t these soldiers going to be divided into two squads?”
As soon as he said this, everyone stopped talking and looked at Zhao Tong.
Zhao Tong smiled and said: "So once Fang La concludes that we are ambushing in Huzhou, he will definitely attack Hangzhou. After taking Hangzhou, he will be connected with the state capitals behind him, taking care of each other, and can attack and defend. The battle situation will enter a confrontation."
Zhe Kecun said: "Your Majesty, let's set up an ambush in Hangzhou and wait for Fang La to get in!"
Zhao Tong nodded, took a sip of tea, thought for a moment and said, "I have a clever plan here that can make Fang La fall into a trap."
Several people asked: "My lord, what is your clever plan?"
Zhao Tong said: "Have you ever heard of three points?"
All four of them nodded, and Yao Pingzhong said: "It's easy for the army to talk about this!"
Zhe Kecun also said: "Every soldier is familiar with it."
Zhao Tong smiled and said: "Zhuge Wuhou has a plan, I think I might as well borrow it and use it..."
Several people were puzzled. Zhao Tong wrote a few words on the paper and then showed it to the four of them.
The four of them were all stunned when they looked at it. Zhe Kecun was the first to react and hurriedly stood up and saluted: "Your Majesty is well versed in the art of virtuality and reality, Kecun admires him!"
Zhao Tong gently put the paper on the case: "You should study the specific plan and prepare it now."
The four of them stood up to say goodbye. After a while, Zhao Tong also stood up and walked out of the door. At this time, the sky was full of stars and moon, which seemed to indicate good weather tomorrow...
On the afternoon of the next day, Tong Guan's secret letter came again. The letter said that tens of thousands of Fang La's troops had been killed in the recent battle. Fang La's army had retreated fifty miles from Suzhou and would probably retreat south soon.
Zhao Tong asked the person who sent the message and learned that it happened at noon yesterday. Suzhou was not far from Hangzhou, only more than three hundred miles. If Fang La decided to retreat, the leading cavalry scouts would probably have approached Hangzhou.
If Fang La's troops move in a hurry, they will arrive in Hangzhou at the earliest tomorrow or the day after tomorrow at the latest.
Zhao Tong then recruited several people to discuss matters and inquired about the arrangement. Several people told them about the ambushes and traps outside the city and inside the city.
After hearing this, Zhao Tong shook his head and said, "Not enough!"
Several people asked hurriedly, and Zhao Tong said: "Come over here..."
The next morning, at the Dongtai Gate, the main gate of the East City of Hangzhou, the suspension bridge was flat and the city gate was wide open. There were no soldiers guarding it. Only ordinary people in groups were pouring water on the road and sweeping dust with bamboo brooms.
There were not many soldiers visible on the top of the city. In front of the city tower, Zhao Tong was wearing a snow-white long-sleeved robe, sitting expressionlessly behind a Yao Qin.
The tail of the piano is burnt black, which is the burnt tail. Next to it is incense and green smoke. Two children are waiting on the left and right, one holding a fly whisk and the other a handful of wishful thinking. The forehead is dotted with cinnabar to enlighten the mind. The lips are red and the teeth are white. They are carved from jade and powder.
Zhao Tong gently plucked the strings with his fingers, and the Yao Qin suddenly made a clear and sweet sound. Because it was at a high place, it could be heard far away.
Zhao Tong suddenly showed a smile and said loudly to the city: "Master Fang, why don't you leave Tokyo?"
No one responded to him, and there was no one else in the city except a few old men cleaning up in front of the door.
He regained his expressionless face in a blink of an eye, and continued to sit. After a while, his fingers plucked the strings again, and a smile appeared on his face. He said loudly to the city: "Master Fang, why don't you say goodbye to Tokyo?"
There was still no response from the city, not even a bird flew over.
After another long while, Zhao Tong repeated his previous expressions and movements again, "Master Fang, why don't you leave Tokyo?"
There was still no answer outside the city, and Zhao Tong did not move, just repeating his actions and words until the sun went down in the evening.
Seeing that it was getting late, he slowly stood up holding the piano stand. After sitting for a day, his body was numb.
The children on both sides fell to the ground, flattened their mouths, and almost cried.
Seeing this, Zhao Tong smiled and scolded: "You're a worthless thing, but I never move. You two sit and rest every half an hour. How can you be so tired?"
A child touched his belly and muttered: "Your Majesty, I'm hungry..."
Zhao Tong shook his head: "Follow me to eat and drink, and each of you will have a roast chicken." After that, he walked towards the city steps.
The two children's eyes lit up when they heard this, and they hurriedly got up and followed closely...
Early the next morning, Zhao Tong sat at the head of the city again, repeating yesterday's words and actions from time to time, but there was no movement outside the city.
The morning passed in a blink of an eye, and it was peaceful and peaceful outside the city. No changes could be seen. However, shortly after the sun reached due south, visible to the naked eye, billowing smoke and dust rose up on the official road in the northeast. It turned out to be a cavalry team, and no one knew what was behind it. How many troops did he bring with him and headed straight to the city...
Fang La was impatient at the moment and his expression was not good-looking because he did not follow General Lu's plan that day and went north to attack Jiangning and defend the natural dangers of the Yangtze River. As a result, he has repeatedly failed now.
Not only did Suzhou not be captured, but Huzhou and Hangzhou were also lost. They were forced to retreat south, and abandoned Xiuzhou, which had already been captured.
As for Fang Qifu, the entire army was dispersed and no one was missing.
Fang La had no choice but to comfort himself. After returning to Muzhou, he would regroup and start all over again. This time he would not attack Suzhou, but go to the three towns of Jiangning and Ningbo to seize the Yangtze River natural insurance.
General Lu once again offered advice, saying that on the way back, he could take the opportunity to retake Hangzhou and form the northern gateway, temporarily posing a confrontation with the Song army.
As soon as Fang La heard that it made sense, he went straight to Hangzhou without hesitation.
And Huzhou didn't give up. He listened to General Lu's arrangements and sent quick horse scouts to investigate first. If there were indeed signs of an ambush, then they would directly attack Hangzhou!
But now that the army was approaching the city of Hangzhou, he became a little confused.
The scouts from the front came to report that the Dongtaimen suspension bridge in Hangzhou had been lowered, the city gates were wide open, and there were no soldiers guarding them. I don’t know what the reason was.
He took Wang Laofu, Lu Jiang, Deng Yuanjue, Pang Wanchun, Zhou Jingbao and others to watch in front of the battle.
As expected, the city gate was wide open and there were no soldiers guarding it, so I couldn't help but feel extremely suspicious.
At this moment, I heard a voice from far away from the top of the city, full of energy: "Master Fang, why don't you say goodbye to Tokyo?"
Fang La looked up and saw smoke curling up on the city, and a faint figure in white clothes, playing the strings of a piano, looking at him.
"Zhao Tao?" Even though it had been a long time, Fang La still recognized at a glance that it was King Qin of the Song Dynasty who had fought with him in Tokyo.
He immediately frowned, looked at the people below the city who were splashing water and sweeping dust, and then looked at the city above, and couldn't help but take a deep breath.
At this time, all the generals also looked puzzled. Pang Wanchun said: "Could it be that you are talking about the empty city strategy within three miles?"
Deng Yuanjue also said: "I heard from Baihua Girl that she was deceived by this King of Birds in Hangzhou. He didn't have many troops, but he set up a camp of 100,000 people, so that Baihua Girl didn't dare to go out of the city to confront the enemy. In the end, he used tricks to surrender. It was only in ancient times that the city of Hangzhou was lost."
Zhou Jingbao said: "That's it. According to the military advisor, Hangzhou is very likely to send troops to Huzhou to intercept our holy army. He doesn't have many troops to begin with, and I'm afraid there aren't many people to defend the city at the moment, so he devised an empty city strategy!"
Fang La pondered and said: "This man actually imitated Zhuge Kongming's empty city strategy... Military advisor, what do you think of this matter?"
General Lu had a complex look on his face. He heard the melodious sound of the piano playing on the city wall. It was an ancient song called "Hundred Birds Pay Attendance to the Phoenix". He played it brilliantly and was in the style of everyone.
Then he frowned and said, "Wait a little longer..."
Zhou Jingbao said: "Zhuge Kongming used the empty city strategy to scare Sima Yi away, but he couldn't scare us away. I think it's better to rush into the city, capture this little Zhao Tao, skin him with cramps, and cut him into pieces with a thousand knives!"
General Lu was silent when he heard the words, and Fang La's expression became solemn when he saw that he was silent.
At this moment, a fast horse suddenly ran up from behind. The man on the horse, carrying a command flag and covered with dust, arrived in the blink of an eye.
General Lu saw the man's expression of joy behind him and hurriedly turned his horse's head to the side and asked, "How's the investigation going?"
The man gasped and replied: "Shenggong, military advisor, as expected, there is indeed an ambush by the Song army in Huzhou!"
Hearing this, General Lu looked at Fang La: "Shenggong, the Hangzhou soldiers did go to Huzhou to ambush. At this moment, Hangzhou... I'm afraid it's really an empty city!"
Fang La's face immediately showed a touch of relief, he raised his head and glanced at Zhao Tong on the city, and coldly snorted: "Pass my military order and charge into the city!"
Following his order, the army behind him immediately started to rush towards the city of Hangzhou...
(End of chapter)
