Nanjing City, overseeing the Kingdom of Dingwang Palace.
A military meeting in front of the imperial court that conforms to the standard of "original monarch and original minister" is underway.
A total of six people participated in this military meeting, including two kings, one concubine and three middle halls. The two kings are Zhu Cijiong, the king of the supervisory state, and Geng Jingzhong, the king of the east. The first concubine is Shang Shuying, the princess of the north. The three middle halls are Li Zhongtang, Lu Zhongtang, and Chen Zhongtang.
The reason why Shang Shuying came forward for such a military discussion was because Liu Jinzhong's territory was on the north bank of the Yangtze River, and it would take a lot of time to cross the river. He was afraid of delaying the military situation - the military situation in Jiangbei is very tense now. Liu Jinzhong and King Liu Bei's army previously captured Jiangpu and Liuhe belonging to Yingtian Prefecture, and recently captured the city of Chuzhou and Quanjiao belonging to Chuzhou. Because they paid so much (he had a big benefactor behind him!), they were attracted Many athletes from Huaixi came to join him, and the situation was great. However, it also lured Prince Kang Jieshu, the Minister of Management of the Jiangxi Camp from the Qing Dynasty, to Hezhou next door.
Jieshu has done quite well in Jiangxi in the past two years. Li Zicheng was unable to defeat Jiujiang any time he fought. The terrain of Jiujiang is very dangerous, with the Yangtze River in the north, Gantang Lake and Longkai River in the west, and Old Stork Pond and Baishui Port in the east. And the vast Poyang Lake! There is no "jianghu" in the south, but there is Mount Lu.
Anyway, the southeast, northwest, and south are all dangerous places, and it is very difficult to advance troops anywhere. Moreover, Jieshu went to his post with a batch of red cannons that Nan Huairen helped cast, so he built a fort in the west of Jiujiang City and erected the cannons to block the river.
Li Zicheng relied on his powerful naval force and tried to attack Jieshu's fort blockade. However, they all failed and many warships were seized by Jieshu's Jiangxi navy.
Not long ago, Li Zicheng and Wu Sangui had serious friction in Huguang, and almost went to war. Although after Li Fuchen resolved the fight, the two sides temporarily maintained peace and reached a "land exchange agreement", but the two almost went to war. How can it be so easy to change lands between different forces? Both sides must be wary of their opponents taking advantage of land swap opportunities to cheat. Therefore, Li Fuchen had to be busy supervising the land delivery and was also responsible for "maintenance".
The soldiers of these three families could not be spared for a while. The pressure on the Qing army in Jiangxi suddenly eased, and Jieshu had the remaining strength to move troops eastward to support the southeastern battlefield where the situation was not good.
As soon as Jieshu arrived in Hezhou near Nanjing, Liu Jinzhong did not dare to leave Jiangbei. He had to sit in the Jiangpu camp, ready to lead his army to fight Jieshu at any time!
Fortunately, he had recently married a widow with a "rich dowry" as a house filler. She was Shang Kexi's daughter, and Shang Shuying, the wife of Duke Xushun, was a good match.
This Shang Shuying had been "sold" by Liu Jinzhong during the Battle of Guangzhou, and this Shang Shuying was a fierce temperament. After getting angry, she cursed Liu Jinzhong, which made Liu Jinzhong angry and almost killed him. But Liu Jinzhong couldn't bear to think about it - if he killed her, he would not only lose a good bed partner, but he would also become enemies with the five assistants in Duke Xushun's mansion. So he and she came to Guangzhou to fight with Chaozhou, and finally got married in Nanjing with the help of Dongwang Geng Jingzhong. The five assistant collars that originally belonged to Duke Xushun Shen Rui (nephew of Shang Shuying's deceased husband) somehow became Shang Shuying's dowry, and all belonged to Liu Jinzhong. There are hundreds of cavalry among these five sergeants! For Liu Jinzhong, who had been living in the south where it was difficult to get war horses for more than 20 years, and now became the king of the north and guarded the north of the Yangtze River, this marriage was a win-win!
I don’t know if it’s because it feels so good to win and win true love, or if Shang Shuying can really help. Anyway, Liu Jinzhong, the Northern King, really trusts Shang Shuying. He didn’t have time to come to Yingtianfu City, so he asked Shang Shuying. Shuying crossed the river to Yingtianfu City to participate in the military meeting on his behalf.
So today's military meeting is to sit in the Dingwang hall, with the East King and the Beiwang Queen (concubine) sitting on the left, and the three main halls sitting on the right. In short, everyone has a place to sit, and at first glance, they are quite equal, the standard original monarch and original minister!
However, the Eastern King Geng Jingzhong is still not used to this kind of scene where the three people in black gauze python robes sitting across from each other in the middle hall are sitting still and looking at him. It looks like three halls interrogating!
No, we cannot let these three naves stay in Nanjing. We have to find a way to get one or two out!
Having made up his mind, King Geng Jingzhong did not hide it, coughed, and then went straight to the point: "Li Zhongtang, Lu Zhongtang, Chen Zhongtang, I have received news that Prince An Yue Le of Tatar has already Ordered the recruitment of Tuanlian civil servants from seven prefectures including Songjiang, Jiaxing, Taicang, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Tongzhou, and Huzhou. A total of 150,000 people will be recruited. The deadline is to recruit all of them to Jiangdong camp before the first day of next month. It seems that Yue Le A fierce attack on Nanjing will soon begin!"
"Don't be afraid," Prince Zhu was confident. He waved his hand and said with a smile, "Nanjing city has high walls and strong defenses. There are already hundreds of thousands of defenders. What can Yue Le, even with an army of 200,000, do to me?"
Yue Le had launched several exploratory attacks before, but the Nanjing city wall was not even touched. Of course Prince Zhu was full of confidence!
And when Yue Le was at his wits' end in Nanjing City, the three main halls in Nanjing City had already pulled out more than 100,000 people's groups. Although the combat effectiveness of these people's groups was questionable, their numbers were sufficient!
If you stand on the wall, Yue Le's people won't be able to get through. What's there to be afraid of?
"His Royal Highness the Governor is wrong," Geng Jingzhong said worriedly, "What we are currently guarding is mainly the inner city of Nanjing, while the outer city of Nanjing only has the part sandwiched between the two waterways of the Qinhuai River in the west. In our hands Inside. And a large section of the northeast corner of the Nanjing City Wall is in the hands of Yue Le. If he is willing, he can march along the Nanjing Outer City and capture the northeast, east, south, and southwest of the Nanjing Outer City, and take all the cities. All the gates were blocked. Then, defenses were deployed along the northwest of Nanjing's outer city, focusing on blocking the Jiangdong Bridge.
Yue Le has mobilized so many troops now, and nine out of ten he wants to do this! Once he succeeds, the city of Nanjing will be surrounded! When the navy from Jiangbei Daying and the navy from Jiangxi Daying block the upstream and downstream rivers in Nanjing, hundreds of thousands of us may be trapped and die in Nanjing! "
Yo! This script is familiar!
Li Zhongshan and Li Dazhongtang turned to look at Prince Zhu. This man already looked a little scared. He was probably also afraid of becoming Master Hong, right?
"Dong Wang, I wonder if you have any magic tricks to defeat the enemy?" Prince Zhu asked hurriedly.
"Yes!" Geng Jingzhong said with confidence, "Supervising the country, I suggest that we can attack the south from the north. Let the King of the North lead the army from Jiangbei to Gaojiayan and attract the Tatars from Jiangxi, Jiangbei and part of the Jiangdong camp. The troops marched north. Then Li Zhongtang and Lu Zhongtang led their regiments to attack southward and went straight to Liyang, where the Jiangnan camp was stationed. I ordered Zeng Yangxing to send troops to Guangde, and then turned to Liyang, and cooperated with the two Zhongtangs to defeat Liyang in one fell swoop. The Jiangnan Camp. As long as the Jiangnan Camp is broken, you will be free to come and go around Taihu Lake. Yue Le will definitely retreat when the time comes! Once Yue Le retreats, the siege of Nanjing will be lifted."
"Hahaha!" Li Zhongshan couldn't help laughing before Geng Jingzhong finished his words - this plan sounds similar to that of King Yang Dong in history, right? After the Jiangnan camp is defeated and the Jiangdong camp is forced to retreat, isn't it time to force the Long Live seal?
"Li Zhongtang, why are you laughing?" Geng Jingzhong asked calmly.
Li Zhongshan said with a smile: "The official laughed at the prince for being too cautious and not very liberal!"
Geng Jingzhong glared at Li Zhongshan, "Li Zhongtang, you are known as Lu Bu, a small laborer. You must know how to use troops, right? Tell me, how do you plan to deal with Yue Le's army?"
"Eastern King," Li Zhongshan said with a smile, "your claim is that the north will attack the south, and it is actually quite good to surround Wei and rescue Zhao. But you should be more courageous! Why did you ask King Liu Bei to go to Gaojiayan? Do you want to burst the embankment and flood the north of the Yangtze River?" Do you really think Anwang Yuele cares about this?"
"He doesn't care?" Geng Jingzhong asked with a frown.
"Of course I don't care!" Li Zhongshan snorted, "For him, breaking Nanjing and taking down our prisoner and king are the most important things! Will Jiangbei be flooded? Haha, isn't there Jiangbei University? Can Yingying and Jiangxi Camp take responsibility? Taking a step back, what if some people drowned? How many people did they kill when they entered the pass to conquer the world? Just Guangzhou alone killed hundreds of thousands, right?"
When he said this, he looked at Geng Jingzhong and Shang Shuying coldly. It was their fathers who led the army to massacre Guangzhou back then!
Shang Shuying snorted and looked at Li Zhongshan fiercely with her big eyes. Her bulging chest rose and fell rapidly. Although she didn't look as "broad" as Yang Xiaohuan, it was not much different.
Geng Jingzhong was also a little annoyed, but he couldn't defend the dead old guy Geng Jimao, so he could only stare and get angry.
Prince Zhu had no choice but to smooth things over, "Li Zhongtang, the chief culprit of the Guangzhou gang is no longer alive, so don't mention this matter at the military meeting. If you have any way to defeat the enemy, just say it quickly!" "
Geng Jingzhong also said: "Yes, if you have any clever ideas, just tell me!"
"There is no clever plan," Li Zhongshan said with a smile, "Xiaguan's idea is that since we are already at the Huaihe River, why not go one step further, cross the Huaihei River and go north, and go north to the Central Plains!"
"What? Northern Expedition to the Central Plains?"
"Now? How many troops will be sent for the Northern Expedition?"
Both Geng Jingzhong and Shang Shuying couldn't believe their ears.
Lu San said with a smile: "It's now! Now in the Northern Expedition, Yue Le and Jieshu must have been caught by surprise. If they knew that our army had crossed the Huaihe River, they would be panicked and would probably lead their elites to pursue them. At that time, we can either wait for an opportunity to annihilate the enemy, or We can avoid its sharp edge, turn around and go south, then attack the Jiangbei camp, seize Yangzhou City, and finally cross the river to attack the Jiangdong camp and the Jiangnan camp, and we should be able to win a complete victory!"
Chen Yonghua nodded and said: "Dongwang, I have discussed with Li Zhongtang and Lu Zhongtang that as long as the prince leads the 10,000 elite soldiers from Nanjing City and the 10,000 troops from the North King of Jiangbei, we can cross the Huaihe River north together." Is the Central Plains shocked?"
"What?" Geng Jingzhong was shocked, "You, you want me and the King of the North to lead the troops north together? Then Nanjing."
"Wouldn't it be enough for the three of us in Nanjing?" When Li Zhongshan spoke, his expression was slightly cold. He just smiled through gritted teeth and looked at Geng Jingzhong quietly.
Geng Jingzhong had always coaxed him to go north. They must have wanted to compete with him for control of the Third Prince Zhu, right?
Only by holding the emperor hostage can the princes be controlled!
A flash of ashen flashed across Geng Jingzhong's face, and then he calmed down again. He picked up the tea cup on the coffee table and took a sip, spitting out some tea powder.
"Li Zhongtang, you have made your own plan. If you don't go by yourself, you coax King Bei and I to go. Do you want to take advantage of King Bei and me to be away so that you can do big things in Nanjing? If you are really sure, you might as well go by yourself. Northern Expedition!”
Li Zhongshan smiled faintly and bowed his hands: "Since the prince has given you such an order, if you have anything else to say to me, just go. I will lead an army of 15,000 across the river and join King Liu Bei's 10,000 people, for a total of 20,000." Five thousand troops are going on the Northern Expedition, okay?"
Geng Jingzhong slapped his thigh: "That's right! I'm here in Nanjing, so just relax, and everything will be fine."
Li Zhongshan just nodded and looked at Geng Jingzhong with an overjoyed look on his face. This time the Northern Expedition of the Nanjing Imperial Court was finally decided.
Just when King Ding Zhu Cijiong thought that today's military meeting had achieved important results, it was time to talk and laugh and finalize the date for dispatching troops. Li Zhongshan suddenly looked at him very seriously, cupped his hands and said in a loud voice: "His Royal Highness Prince Ding!"
Everyone was startled, and Zhu Cijiong asked: "Li Zhongtang, do you have any other tips and tricks to offer?"
Li Zhongshan smiled and said: "Your Majesty, how can I have so many clever plans? I am just the Minister of the Ministry of War, and the King of the North is the king. I and the King of the North send troops together, who should control the three armies?"
Geng Jingzhong and Shang Shuying's face froze when they heard this topic. They immediately knew what Li Zhongshan was going to do?
He wanted to take the opportunity to seize command!
"Then it must be" Prince Zhu San raised his hand and pointed at Li Zhongshan before Geng Jingzhong could speak, "it must be you!"
"In what name do you supervise the division?" Li Zhongshan asked again without waiting for Geng Jingzhong to react.
In any name, he said it all!
I want a "supervisor"!
The Third Prince Zhu was a man of understanding, and he immediately took up the topic and replied: "Of course, in the name of the Minister of War, the Governor of Jiangbei, he will lead the Northern Expedition! In addition, I will give Shang Fang a sword and the right to act expediently and kill first and report later!"
Li Zhongshan turned to look at Geng Jingzhong, who was frowning: "Dongwang, if you have any objections, you can also lead the Northern Expedition in the name of Jiangbei Governor. Nanjing will be watched by me!"
The expressions of both Geng Jingzhong and Shang Shuying changed drastically, while Lu Sanhao and Chen Yonghua did not say a word, but smiled as they watched Li Zhongshan use his words to persuade Geng Jingzhong.
The reputation of Governor Jiangbei is huge! Theoretically, he could supervise the Ming army north of the Yangtze River!
In addition, Li Zhongshan also wanted the right to act expediently and a Shangfang sword that could kill first and then show off. This meant that Jiangbei could do whatever Li Zhongshan did!
He could even seize a base area in Jiangbei and slowly recruit troops. After gathering an army of 100,000, he could go to the Northern Expedition.
But if Geng Jingzhong wanted to give up Nanjing and compete with Li Zhongshan for the Jiangbei governorship, he was unwilling to risk the Northern Expedition and lose control of Nanjing. What a loss!
After much thought, Geng Jingzhong still felt that it was more important to stay in Nanjing and guard the third prince Zhu. So he gritted his teeth and nodded and said: "Li Shikai, then you will be the Minister of War and the Governor of Jiangbei. You can also give Shangfang the sword and the power to do things cheaply!"
As soon as Geng Jingzhong relaxed, the matter was basically settled! He looked at Prince Zhu again and said, "In charge of the supervision of the country, this time I am going north and I have to get an official title to win people's hearts. Can you give me a blank official photo with the seal of the supervision and the official seal?" ?”
Li Zhongshan has some money!
Even if you don't have enough, you can still go to collect donations. Bring hundreds of well-armed tough men to raise funds from wealthy people somewhere in Jiangbei, and do it in a nice and friendly manner. Even if they don't give, you can never rob them.
But to win over local powerful officials, he cannot create it himself - a court must have some rules!
Of course he can appoint officials under his Guangdong Navy Military Envoy Division. But for officials elsewhere, he couldn't just "show up" to anyone. This was too bad of a rule.
So he wanted some official photos that were recognized by Prince Zhu and the officials, so that he could use his official position to win over people.
"Okay!" Prince Zhu San nodded in agreement without saying a word.
The current Nanjing court is still a grass-roots team, and official positions are not valuable at all. Three hundred official photos are enough.
Li Zhongshan smiled and cupped his hands: "Your Majesty, I have the title of Supervisor, the sword to behead first and then the display, and the 300 official photos. The certainty of the Northern Expedition is greatly increased. If two more generals can be transferred from the East Prince's Palace and the North Prince's Palace, this will The expedition to the north across the Yangtze River will be a sure thing."
"General?" Geng Jingzhong frowned and asked, "Who do you want?"
Li Zhongshan pointed at Shang Shuying and said, "I want General Ma Weixingma from the East King's command! I also want Shang Shuying from the North King's Palace."
"What?" Shang Shuying was shocked, "You want me to go out with the army?"
(End of chapter)
