Today's imperial court is gradually becoming more civilized and weak in military affairs. Civil servants in high positions are becoming more and more powerful, and even the nobles are almost excluded from positions of real power. Likewise, as the head of the civil and military affairs along the way, the actual status of the pacifier envoy was above that of the chief military officer Jiedushi along the way, and the pacifier envoy was subject to the control of the pacifier envoy. Even a fourth-grade military officer has the right to interfere with the affairs of the Jiedushi Division.
Similarly, the prefect of a prefecture has the right to control the military envoys of the same prefecture. Civilian officials can interfere with the military affairs of military attachés, but if military attachés interfere in civilian affairs, there may be an uproar. Even if the prince is determined to protect himself, he may not be able to protect himself. So Ouyang Shan didn't bother to pay attention to the affairs of Ning Guo Mansion. After taking in the rebel prisoners, he ignored the rest.
Only after Cao Rui arrived did he know why this happened in Ningguo Mansion. It turned out that after Zheng Tong left with most of the rebels, the thousand troops and horses he left behind continued to loot everywhere by taking advantage of the opportunity of hunting down so-called deserters in Ningguo Mansion. The gentry of Ningguo Mansion, who bore the brunt and became the biggest victims, were also being extorted all day long and were led by the prefect who could not bear it anymore.
Organize the villagers to take advantage of the opportunity of those guys to divide their troops and plunder everywhere. With a hoe, shovel and carrying pole, the rebels in small groups were either beaten to death, buried alive, or captured alive. The military attaché left behind by Zheng Tong was made drunk by a group of civil servants organized by the prefect, and they were killed together with the two hundred rebels around him. By the time Ouyang Shan arrived, everything was over.
As the rebels who stayed in Ningguofu were eliminated, the king of Guilin held great hope that the rebel army that went straight to Jiangning would be wiped out. As the direct descendants of the Guilin County Prince, one out of ten of the 200,000 soldiers and horses were lost in one fell swoop. The biggest loss was that some of the most outstanding military attachés under his command were killed in battle or captured. What he valued most was to prepare a group of civil servants for the founding of the country.
They were all taken as prisoners, and Huang Qiong ordered them all to be escorted to the capital. After receiving the news, the king of Guilin was so angry that he almost didn't sleep all night. Although great progress has been made on all three fronts, the three important towns of Nanchang Prefecture, Ruizhou Prefecture, and Changsha could not be conquered for a long time. After being strengthened by twenty cannons of 3,000 to 5,000 kilograms each, they took advantage of their strength and finally defeated them after several hard battles. Or capture them all.
On Jiangnan West Road, you have entered Jiujiang Prefecture, and on Huguang South Road, you have entered Yueyang Prefecture. Although the two Zhejiang provinces made little progress and were still blocked in Quzhou Prefecture, they captured Jinhua Prefecture. However, these developments still made the Guilin County King feel that they could not make up for the losses on Jiangnan East Road. What worries him even more is that although the city walls of Nanchang Mansion were blown down, the defenders were almost completely intact and retreated north to Jiujiang Mansion.
Although he said he was stationed in Nanchang Mansion, the entire Nanchang Mansion was almost empty. Not to mention ordnance, even grain and grass were not left behind. The same was true for Ruizhou Mansion. The defenders could not withstand the bombardment of the artillery, but they withdrew almost completely. Even the defenders from the two places were working together to ambush the pursuing team in Jianchang Mansion. The vanguard of 1,500 people was completely destroyed on the south bank of Xiushui.
That damn Zhao Wushu was so expert in what he did and acted in such a sophisticated manner. If he hadn't mobilized so many cannons, he would have destroyed the city wall of Nanchang Mansion. I'm afraid it's still unclear who will win in Nanchang Mansion now. But even so, this guy still escaped unscathed and took away almost all the belongings of Nanchang Mansion. All he got was an empty city.
Before he thought about it, it was Zhao Wushu who made the first move. As a deputy envoy of Jiedu, he actually locked up the envoy whom he had bribed with a lot of money and escorted him to Beijing in advance. Almost all of the secret moves he deployed on Jiangnan West Road fell short. Even with that guy's intention, it was really audacious. Despite his young age, this person is so experienced in military tactics and actions.
After that, with a group of garbage-like guards, he was still able to fight like this. If he had been given elite soldiers from the four battalions, I am afraid that he would be even more distressed now. Sure enough, he was able to penetrate the main eye in the capital. His ability was extraordinary. If he had such a general in his hands, he wouldn't be so worried about having no generals to use. It's really a terrible future.
After sighing with emotion, I remembered that Zhang Gongming is still missing. He must have either been captured and taken to Beijing, or he may have been killed. The prince of Guilin County felt another wave of physical pain. Although he is still far from success now, Zhang Gongming has already been designated by him as a well-deserved candidate for prime minister after the founding of the country. There is also a candidate who he selected as Minister of Household Affairs, but he is also missing.
The losses this time were not just 20,000 elite soldiers. Thinking of this, I still didn't know that in the Battle of Moling Pass, the two battalions of elite soldiers from the south had already participated in the battle. The King of Guilin, who thought that Zheng Tong was defeated by a group of Jiangnan East Route Guards who were inferior to trash in his eyes, was gnashing his teeth with hatred that he single-handedly selected the candidate to lead the army. That stupid pig behaved like this when faced with a bunch of trash.
Not only was his own head hung on top of the city of Jiangning Mansion, but the entire 20,000 elite army was destroyed due to exhaustion. The whereabouts of the group of civil servants he had painstakingly selected were all missing. He really deserved to die. But now that the matter has come to this, there is no use regretting it. Although he has already ordered a large number of soldiers to be recruited in the areas controlled by Fujian Road, Jiangnan West Road, and Huguang South Road, at least 100,000 young men are being recruited.
But these young men need a long time to train. Otherwise, not only will it be impossible to make up for the battle losses, but it will even drag down other people on the battlefield. Thinking of this, Prince Guilin felt another headache. Those are the most elite soldiers in his hands.
Thinking of this, I also thought of the military attache sent to Jiangnan by the lord of the capital. Together with the soldiers he transferred, they not only conducted large-scale training of the guards, but also continued to conduct group training. All three armies reported that even if the regiments they encountered were poorly equipped, their combat power generally exceeded that of the state guards. The Prince of Guilin sighed again, he really underestimated that person.
I have always considered myself to be the most talented person in the world. But now the King of Guilin found that he still underestimated the enemy. Faced with the various tricks of his son-in-law, he felt that his hands were tied and he was like a tiger eating the sky and being unable to eat anything. At first, I thought that this person might be my biggest opponent, but now that I see this judgment, I still underestimate the enemy a little too much.
After pondering for a long time, he was eager to change the entire current situation. Although he captured the Jiangnan East-West Road and the Guilin County Prince of Jiangning Mansion, he decided to change the original plan of outflanking Jiangning with two wings. Abandon the march in the direction of the two Zhejiang Roads and concentrate all troops on the Jiangnan West Road battlefield. Strive to seize Jiangning Mansion and the entire Jiangnan East Road in the shortest possible time.
He also urged the advance speed of Huguang South Road to cross the river as soon as possible and go north to seize Wuchang Mansion and control the entire Huguang North and South Road. As long as Jiangning Mansion and Wuchang Mansion are in control, controlling the entire river and driving a wedge north of the Yangtze River, will they truly have the capital to seize the world. Especially after taking down Huguang North Road, the hateful Fan family that didn't listen to him should disappear completely.
At that time, there will be Bei Liao in the north, and the river in the south will be controlled by itself, cutting off the entire imperial court's water transport channel to Beijing. Let's see how long that guy in Jingzhao Mansion can hold on. What's the Four Camps, what's the Xijing Camp, it's nothing without food and salary? In less than half a year, they will probably be in chaos themselves. If you don't have food, you can't gather troops; if you don't have money, you can't raise troops. Without food and salary, those so-called elites will be their own sooner or later.
Thinking of this, the King of Guilin County turned his head and ordered the counselors around him: "Give orders to those on Huguang South Road to speed up. Since Changsha Mansion has been captured, seize the time to cross the river and capture Wuchang Mansion. In addition, , let them collect 100,000 stones of grain and grass to store in Changsha Mansion, and then recruit 30,000 soldiers. As for Yueyang Mansion, if they can't take it for a while, they will divide their troops and surround them first."
"If Wuchang Prefecture can be successfully captured, it doesn't matter if there is only one Yueyang Prefecture left. They will surrender. Remember, the only thing they need is Wuchang Prefecture, not Yueyang Prefecture. The importance of a Wuchang Prefecture is even greater than that of Yueyang Prefecture. The entire Huguang South Road cannot be taken against Wuchang Mansion, even if we capture the entire Huguang South Road, it will be useless. Tell them that within three months at most, I will be stationed in Wuchang Mansion."
After hearing the words of the Guilin County Prince, the counselors looked at each other. One of them said: "Your Majesty, there is something wrong with this matter. In that way, our front line is too long. The place where the Yueyang Prefecture controls the river and the lake is not only the main grain producing area on Huguang South Road, but also located in Huguang The junction of the North and South Roads. As long as the officers and soldiers hold Yueyang Mansion, our army going north will be like a thorn in the back."
"If we don't take Yueyang Prefecture first and go directly north to Wuchang Prefecture, our army's retreat may be cut off at any time. If our army fails to take Wuchang Prefecture for a long time, our army's food route will be cut off by the army. Your Majesty, this time In Jiangning Mansion, we have already suffered a big loss from the invasion of the lone army. If we underestimate the enemy again this time and rush in, leaving such a large army behind us, will we be attacked again and again?"
At the counselor's answer, the King of Guilin smiled lightly and said: "The imperial court is in Huguang, but there are no capable generals. Only the one in Changsha Mansion can fight, and the others are just some wine bags and rice bags. Besides, the four major Two of the battalions have already moved south to Jianghuai, and as long as our army increases pressure on Jiangnan West Road, it will also focus its main energy on Jiangnan West Road."
"Compared with Wuchang Prefecture, the imperial court values Jiangning Prefecture more. In order to protect Jiangning Prefecture, even if the two camps heading south cross the Yangtze River, their main targets will be on Jiangnan West Road. We are unable to divide our troops into Huguang. According to the news from the capital, the other two have already gone north to deal with Beiliao on the Kou border. Now that our army has entered Huguang North Road, the imperial court has no troops to deal with."
"Without the elite soldiers of the four major battalions, what can we do with those losers on Huguang North Road and those garbage-like guardsmen to resist our army on the West Road? As long as we can capture Wuchang Prefecture, we have strangled the river, and that's it. It is equivalent to controlling Jiangling Mansion. Wuchang and Jiangling are in our hands, which means that the two rivers are in our hands. It is equivalent to controlling the world's financial and food sources. "
"Without Jiangnan and the two rivers, it means that 75% of the world's tax revenue has been reduced. And without these wealth, only a few taxes in Hebei, Shandong, Shaanxi, and Shanxi are left. Gukanjing When the time comes, how will the so-called imperial court pay salaries to the officials and pay the so-called officers and soldiers? Without these salaries, the so-called imperial court will collapse without further fighting."
"What's more, this time Bei Liao sent troops from all over the country to go south. I heard that this time Bei Liao even recruited those Jurchens who eat the flesh and blood of beasts in the white mountains and black waters. Not only were there more than 200,000 Khitan The cavalry has also been organized into tens of thousands of Han troops and Bohai navy. As long as Beiliao takes over the Hebei and Shanxi 2nd Routes, they are even more overwhelmed with themselves, will they still have the thought to take care of Huguang?"
