In the early morning of the next day, Wang Fu was still worried about the civil uprising in the south of the Yangtze River. Tong Guan and Cai You had made an appointment with Captain Gao Qiu. The three of them came to the Prime Minister's Mansion together to discuss with Wang Fu the conquest of Liangshan. The matter of thieves and bandits.
Wang Fuxiang asked the three of them to sit down.
Tong Guan said to Wang Fu: "The Privy Council will issue an order to mobilize troops and horses across the country. After the recruitment order is issued, 500,000 troops and horses will be mobilized from all over the country. The top priority now is to formulate a specific plan to suppress the Liangshan bandits. To ensure that the conquest army will be victorious, succeed immediately, and return in triumph."
Hearing this, Gao Qiu said: "Privy Tong is too cautious, there is no need to be so cumbersome. In my opinion, just select the best soldiers and generals, and attack in one go. It's just a mere Liangshan! It doesn't matter if you can stop it!" The imperial court's superior troops and horses will conquer it?"
Cai You also said: "What Lieutenant Gao said is absolutely true. In the past, the local Xiang army took the main responsibility for the conquest of Liangshan, so that the work was in vain, which encouraged the arrogance of the Liangshan bandits and made them think they were strong; Now, we have organized the Imperial Imperial Army, Royal Forest Army, Imperial Guards, and elite troops for the northwest battle to just rush in and fight hard. The Liangshan bandits are a ragtag group of people, and it will be difficult to resist the imperial army. Once the Liangshan mountain stronghold is broken, they will be killed. Stay and burn his stronghold to the ground."
Among these people, Tong Guan knows something about military affairs after all. After listening to Gao Qiu and Cai You's words, Tong Guan pondered for a moment, shook his head and said: "Liangshan has a complicated terrain, and there are many rivers and lakes around it. Conquering Liangshan is not an easy task, so we should treat it with caution. In my opinion, it is not as good as Lieutenant Gao and Supervisor Cai led the troops to attack Liangshan at the same time. The horse and infantry troops formed a camp step by step and advanced gradually. The navy burst out in thousands of boats and rushed directly to the golden beach to attack Liangshan Dazhai. I commanded the backup army to surround Liangshan from all sides. Prevent him from breaking out and escaping. Prime Minister Wang is responsible for strategic material coordination and must coordinate a thousand ships and more than 5,000 sailors to ensure the effective conduct of the war."
Wang Fu, who had not spoken for a long time, heard this and said: "What Privy Council Tong said is absolutely true. However, the current situation is that the imperial court is preparing to send troops to the Khitan, and the strategic material needs are huge. All things should be considered. What I mean is to collect materials from the nearest place, Jiangnan. Not a single soldier is mobilized, and nothing is conquered; the reason for this is to meet the needs of the subsequent war with the Khitan. As for the 1,000 ships and more than 5,000 sailors, Zhang Shuye, the prefect of Jeju, was ordered to be responsible for mobilizing them. .”
The real reason why Wang Fu said this was that he was afraid that Tong Guan and others would mobilize soldiers and materials from Jiangnan and expose the situation of Fangla's uprising.
Tong Guan didn't know what was going on and said, "We, Taiwei Gao, and Xuexian Cai are only responsible for the war. The prime minister is responsible for the food and grass matters. As for how to raise food and grass, we don't care at all, as long as the food and grass are supplied for the war. As for the soldiers and horses in the south of the Yangtze River, We don’t need to mobilize them for the time being. This time, troops and horses in Liangshan will be mobilized mainly from the surrounding areas of the capital and the northwest border."
Wang Fu said: "This is the best! I will never delay Privy Tong and Lieutenant Gao's military needs."
Tong Guandao: "Okay! Let's settle it like this. After the elite troops from the northwest arrive, they will use troops against Liangshan to wipe out the Liangshan bandits."
After several people discussed it, they said goodbye to Wang Fu, left Wang Fu's prime minister's house, and went back to their respective houses to prepare.
Besides, Song Jiang on Liangshan Mountain has been paying attention to the situation in the court since he let Zhao Liangsi go. He wants to know if Zhao Liangsi has sent Jin back? If Zhao Liangsi had sent Jin back, would he have informed Emperor Huizong of Liangshan's willingness to accept the imperial court's offer of peace?
In order to grasp this situation, Song Jiang sent Dai Zong, the magical Taibao, to Bianjing from time to time to inquire about the situation.
Dai Zong made several trips to Bianjing and found out that Zhao Liangsi's envoy Jin had not yet returned to the court. Dai Zong reported the situation to Song Jiang. Although Song Jiang was anxious, he had no other choice but to wait patiently.
A month later, Song Jiang became impatient again and sent Dai Zong to Bianjing again to inquire about the situation of the imperial court.
At this time, the soldiers and horses recruited by Tong Guan had gathered on the outskirts of Bianjing and were preparing to go out to destroy Liangshan.
Dai Zong came to Bianjing and found out that Zhao Liangsi had sent Jin back and that the imperial court had mobilized more than 500,000 soldiers and horses from all over the world to prepare for the attack on Khitan. To Dai Zong's surprise, the imperial court planned to mobilize more than 500,000 soldiers and horses from all over the world. One hundred thousand troops were mobilized, commanded by Lieutenant Gao Qiu and supervised by Bachelor Cai You, to conquer Liangshan as a practical drill before using troops against Khitan.
After inquiring about this situation, Dai Zong did not dare to delay. He tied vests on his legs, started practicing Fengxing Dharma, and rushed back to Liangshan Village in half a day.
Dai Zong rushed into the lobby, looked at Song Jiang who was sitting in the first place, and Lu Junyi and Wu Yong sitting on both sides, and shouted loudly: "Brothers of the three principals! Something bad is going to happen!"
When Song Jiang saw this, he was startled, straightened up, and asked urgently: "Brother Dai Zong, what's wrong? Please report it quickly."
When some leaders sitting on both sides of the hall saw this, they were also shocked and looked at Dai Zong blankly.
Dai Zong reported loudly: "Brother Gongming, brother Lu Yuanwai, brother Military Advisor, Zhao Liangsi, whom we let go a while ago, has sent Jin back to the court. The court has mobilized 500,000 troops and horses to prepare for the expedition against Khitan. Now, they are mobilized. Five hundred thousand troops and horses have been assembled on the outskirts of Tokyo and are ready to go."
Hearing this, Song Jiang said: "This is a good thing! The imperial court has important matters, and it has just been thought of recruiting me and others. You can find out whether Zhao Liangsi has reported Liangshan's wish to recruit people to the emperor."
"What's so good! Brother Gongming!" Dai Zong shouted: "It's not clear whether Zhao Liangsi reported Liangshan's wish to recruit peace to the Holy One, but I have found out clearly that the imperial court selected another from the 500,000 soldiers and horses mobilized. We have sent out one hundred thousand elite soldiers and generals, under the command of Lieutenant Gao Qiu, to conquer Liangshan in a few days."
When Song Jiang heard this, he stood up from his chair in shock, trembling all over.
Seeing this, Wu Yong on the side comforted Song Jiang and said: "Brother, don't panic. The soldiers will stop him, and the water will cover him. We will just find a way to resist him."
Song Jiang said tremblingly: "It's easier said than done! It's easier said than done! That's a hundred thousand elite soldiers. How can our small country in Liangshan withstand the conquest of a hundred thousand troops from the imperial court?!"
When the other heroes heard this, they all looked at each other.
Lin Chong, who was sitting in the fourth position below the lobby, heard this and jumped up and shouted: "Very good!"
Song Jiang glared at Lin Chong and shouted: "What's so good?! The instructor is so confused. Do you hope that Lieutenant Gao will wipe out our Liangshan?!"
Lin Chong bowed to Song Jiang and said: "Brother, sir, it's not Gao Qiu who wants to wipe out our Liangshan, it's Liangshan that wants to cut Gao Qiu into pieces with a thousand knives! Brother, I'm here, Gao Qiu is here. , you just leave it to me, Lin Chong, I won’t let that guy go back alive!”
Hearing this, Song Jiang felt a little relieved, then rolled his eyes and began to think deeply. Song Jiang pondered for a while, and then said to Lin Chong: "Coach Lin, how to deal with Captain Gao coming this time depends entirely on the military advisor and me. To say the least, even if our Liangshan can withstand the imperial army, we must not harm Gao." Taiwei, we are still waiting for the imperial edict!"
When Li Kui, who was sitting in the distance, heard this, he kicked over the table in front of the seat, jumped up, and shouted loudly: "It's another invitation! It's an invitation! It's my bird! Let's eat big chunks of meat. If you are not good at drinking wine, why should you be recruited by the imperial court?! Isn’t this so idle? If that guy Gao Qiu comes, all I can do is kill him, and Tieniu, my assistant coach, can lend a helping hand.”
When Song Jiang saw this, he flew into a rage and scolded Li Kui sternly: "Clumsy! You nigger! Are you doing your old habits again? Believe it or not, I'll cut off your black head?!"
Seeing that Song Jiang was angry, Li Kui quickly shrank his head and muttered: "This guy like Tieniu still keeps eating meat and drinking wine!"
Guan Sheng, Hu Yanjun, Dong Ping, Hua Rong, Qin Ming and others laughed when they saw this.
Wu Song, who was sitting in the middle, stood up and said, "Why are you laughing? A great hero, a man who travels the world with a sword and a happy life, why should he be accepted by his court?!"
Song Jiang was timid and confused Wu Song, pretending not to hear what Wu Song said.
Lin Chong, Lu Zhishen and others all had displeasure on their faces.
Wu Yong looked around and said: "Brothers, please be patient. As far as the current situation is concerned, whether to recruit people or not is a matter for later. The top priority is to defeat Captain Gao's campaign. The current situation is that, If you can defeat Taiwei Gao's attack, you can hope for peace; if you can't defeat Gao Taiwei's attack, your life is at stake, so how can you hope for peace?!"
The leaders were unhappy when they heard this, and Song Jiang was even more frightened.
Seeing this, Wu Yong turned to Song Jiang and said: "Brother Gongming is worry-free. We have heard a lot about the soldiers and horses of the imperial court. Even the elite soldiers from the northwest are not that terrible. I think that the generals of the imperial court have made many achievements, but there was no one else at the beginning. Opponents, this only makes them look heroic. Now, if we are such good brothers, especially Coach Lin and Wu Dutou, who are like wolves and tigers, how can we beat tigers? How much does it matter to a high lieutenant? !”
When Wu Song heard Wu Yong praising him, he couldn't help but feel proud again, and said heroically: "What the military advisor brother said is absolutely true. I can deal with the ten generals of his court by myself!"
Wu Yong smiled and continued to persuade Song Jiang: "My dear friend, just look at me. I will definitely surprise Gao Taiwei and the generals of the imperial court."
Song Jiang said: "It's easier said than done. How can the military advisor scare him?"
Wu Yong said: "He came after a long journey. I divided my troops and defeated him several times in a row. By the time he reached Dazhai, he was already exhausted. I am absolutely sure to thwart his advance."
Song Jiang was overjoyed when he heard this and asked, "How to arrange the troops?"
Wu Yong said: "First send Zhang Qing, who has no feather arrows, and Dong Ping, the two-gun general. These two will set up an ambush on the road and fight him for a while."
Song Jiang said it was good, so he sent two generals, Dong Ping and Zhang Qing, each with a thousand horse troops, out of the mountain stronghold, to ambush on the road from Jizhou to Liangshan, waiting for the arrival of the imperial army, and intercepted and killed them.
Zhang Qing and Dong Ping stood up and left their seats, loudly replying: "Follow the order!"
Song Jiang asked Wu Yongdao again: "Who will Dong Ping and Zhang Qing send out next?"
Wu Yong said: "Chaihua, monk Lu Zhishen, and traveler Wusong are in the second formation."
Song Jiang then sent two generals, Lu Zhishen and Wu Song, with a thousand troops each to ambush Zhang Qing and Dong Ping fifty miles behind.
Lu Zhishen and Wu Song replied loudly: "Follow the order!"
Song Jiang asked: "Who will be sent to the third formation?"
Wu Yong said: "Xiao Li Guanghua Rong, Thunderbolt Fire Qin Ming."
Song Jiang then sent Hua Rong and Qin Ming each with a thousand troops to ambush Lu Zhishen and Wu Song fifty miles behind.
Hua Rong and Qin Ming replied loudly: "Follow the order!"
"Where's the fourth formation?" Song Jiang asked again.
Wu Yong said: "After the first three battles are fought, Captain Gao's soldiers and horses can reach the water stronghold. They must use the mobilized boats. They can send the Ruan brothers, Li Jun, Zhang Shun and other water army leaders out to the battle."
Song Jiang then arranged for the Ruan brothers, Li Jun and Zhang Shun to prepare boats and ambush in the reeds at the water moor. After waiting for Captain Gao to enter the water moor, he rocked the boat and fought out.
The Ruan brothers, Li Jun, Zhang Shun and others stood up and loudly replied: "Follow the order!"
Song Jiang looked at Wu Yong and then asked: "Where is the fifth formation?"
Wu Yong said: "If there is a fifth formation, Coach Lin and General Guan will naturally be needed. If Gao Qiu is asked to attack in front of Dazhai, the future will be worrying, so we have to send Coach Lin to take his life."
Song Jiang was shocked and said: "Isn't it better to do this? The future of our brothers is important. We must protect the life of Lieutenant Gao so that the imperial court can order peace."
Wu Yong said: "Brother Gongming, I just said that if we win, we will recruit security; if we lose, there is no hope of recruiting security. Let's take care of the present first."
