From Zhang Jun's point of view, the bandit army that suddenly came out and changed the situation of the battle was very evil.
After Li Dao's entire army was wiped out, the bandit army actually went directly north to attack Yichun County, so that the unsuspecting Tian Shizhong was defeated and died.
Then this bandit army destroyed the grain and all military supplies of the main force of Wu Gong's troops, putting Wu Gong's troops in a dilemma.
Wu Gong directly said that he could not continue this battle. Without food and supplies, he would not be able to continue the battle anyway.
By the way, Wu Gong did not forget to give Qi Fang eye drops, saying that Qi Fang was unwilling to use his own military rations to help Wu Gong, so Wu Gong had no choice but to return to the Ezhou garrison to avoid total loss of the army.
The results obtained this time are extremely limited. I hope that the court will not blame Tian Shizhong and Li Dao for the sake of their death in the battle, so as to avoid chilling the hearts of the soldiers.
If you want severe punishment, then punish Qi Fang severely.
After reading Wu Gong's battle report, Zhang Jun's heart dropped.
I thought it was just a simple counterinsurgency war, but I didn't expect that not only did I lose an army, but I also lost the commander of the battle. The court lost troops and generals, and suffered heavy losses. I don't know how long it will take to make up for it...
At present, the imperial court had lost the entire Jianghuai War Zone army due to the Ming and Song Dynasty wars. It thought that the main force in the Jinghu War Zone was still there and could still fight and easily put down the rebellion. However, they unexpectedly suffered a major defeat.
Tian Shizhong, who longed for retirement, died.
It was very unlucky to die at the hands of the rebel army.
It seems that this bandit army is not a simple bandit army. It is not weak in combat effectiveness. It has a greater perspective on the overall situation. It can find opportunities to reverse the situation of the war from a disadvantageous situation. It must not be taken lightly.
They underestimated the enemy, and it was because they underestimated the enemy that all this happened.
Zhang Jun was very upset. While notifying Emperor Zhao of the matter, he ordered an investigation into the matter, and then prepared to deal with the aftermath of the war.
He expected that the failure of this war would inevitably bring him a huge crisis of credibility and power.
Sure enough, because before the war everyone believed that this was a war that was bound to win, the news that the war had not been won caused an uproar throughout the country.
In particular, the fact that coach Tian Shizhong was unexpectedly attacked and killed by the rebels caused an uproar in the government and the public. Everyone was asking how this war was fought.
The courtiers chased the Privy Council led by Zhang Jun in the court to ask how Zhang Jun planned and fought, how the Privy Council employed people, and how they directed it. They were actually defeated by a group of rioters and defeated an army of 20,000 people and lost their commander. ?
It is true that the direct responsibility for the failure of this war does not belong to the Privy Council, because Zhang Jun delegated power to Tian Shizhong and let Tian Shizhong command the battle, but the Privy Council, as the existence that led this war, must be responsible for this.
It is the Privy Council that chooses.
It was also the Privy Council who deliberated on the tactical planning route.
It is the Privy Council that is responsible for logistics and supply.
The entire war was directly led by the Privy Council. If you, the Privy Council, are not responsible, who else can be responsible?
In other words, Zhang Jun had the foresight to exclude all the senior peace ministers who could threaten his Northern Expedition. Therefore, in terms of power, Zhang Jun was not greatly affected. Despite the impact, the status of Privy Councilor has not been changed.
However, Zhang Jun's actions as a defeated general and the several major defeats he had experienced were brought up for discussion again in the court for the first time.
Quite a few officials began to doubt whether Zhang Jun could fulfill the position of Privy Councilor.
They began to doubt Zhang Jun's military ability again, doubted whether he had improved after so many years, and doubted whether he had reflected on his defeat in Fuping, which destroyed most of the Southern Song Dynasty's family fortune.
Of course Zhang Jun felt very embarrassed about this. How could he not reflect on the defeat of Fuping?
He reflects every moment.
It's just that he underestimated the enemy in this war. He put all his energy into rebuilding the Jianghuai War Zone and actually ignored this war. He felt that it was not difficult at all to put down a small uprising.
Some officials in the court impeached Zhang Jun, believing that Zhang Jun was guilty and should not continue to serve as military chief. Instead, another virtuous minister should be selected as military chief.
Zhang Jun was impeached, so he appealed to the emperor and resigned according to the procedures.
Of course, Zhao Hao would not dismiss Zhang Jun because of this defeat, but in order to make a show of blocking Youyou's mouth, he still fined Zhang Jun three months' salary as a warning to others.
But Zhang Jun still has to take charge of the next thing.
The first crusade failed, so we couldn't just stop. There would be a second crusade.
The rebellion must be quelled, otherwise the entire rear area of the Jinghu War Zone will be on fire. If the Ming Kingdom gets the news and intervenes, wouldn't everything be doomed?
However, this wave of Ezhou army suffered losses and could not recover for a while. They could only rely on the Jiujiang army led by Qi Fang to continue their attack.
Zhao Hao somewhat complained about Zhang Jun in his heart, complaining that Zhang Jun was confused when he shouldn't be, making the situation ugly.
Zhang Jun was helpless, but he still allocated money and food support to the Jiujiang army, and then prepared to mobilize the troops from the Chizhou Dutong Division to support them.
The Lin'an Forbidden Army cannot be mobilized. There is only one army in Lin'an right now, and mobilizing it would be too problematic. In the entire Jianghuai War Zone, only the Chizhou Dutong Division's army has been completed and can be mobilized.
It is true that the troops in the transmission area can be mobilized, but the journey is too long, and they are worried that the situation of the rebel army will no longer be able to limit them when they arrive.
The key to dealing with the rebels is to be quick and not give them a chance to develop and grow in power. They must be eliminated at the earliest possible opportunity, the sooner the better.
Just at this time, Qi Fang's command sent a military report, saying that they had conquered Nanchang City and killed Han Wu, the most powerful rebel thief. They asked for rewards from the imperial court and asked the imperial court about their next plans.
Should we stop the advance or continue the fight?
My men are all very tired and can hardly continue fighting.
Qi Fang expresses this specially.
Zhang Jun knows, isn't this just raising prices on the ground?
I just want to ask the court for more things!
Zhang Jun could only continue to increase the allocation of money and grain to Qi Fang's troops and increase the number of rewards to encourage his period, and further ordered Shao Hongyuan, the chief general of the Chizhou Dutong Division, to follow Qi Fang's command and increase his power.
Then he gave Qi Fang more rewards and promised to upgrade his position, increase his title and honors after the counter-rebellion was over.
Then he ordered Qi Fang to lead his troops to continue to conquer the rebels, and strive to wipe out the rebels in one fell swoop without leaving any further trouble.
But in his haste, Zhang Jun forgot the letter of reprimand he had sent to Qi Fang——
There is content in it asking Qi Fang to obey Wu Gong's orders.
The reprimanding document was sent to Nanchang first, and the reward document was sent to Qi Fang for Qi Fang to see. After Qi Fang saw it, Qi Fang was very dissatisfied with Zhang Jun and secretly resented him.
As expected, Zhang Jun was loyal to the Wu family and was very unfriendly to Zhang Jun's old men. In every sense, he was ready to suppress them, Zhang Jun's old men.
Now that the Supreme Emperor has abdicated, and Tian Shizhong, a representative figure, has died again, the power of Zhang Jun's old army in the military has been dealt a heavy blow, and he doesn't know what kind of treatment he will receive next.
After thinking about it, Qi Fang became disheartened.
He felt that his future was slim and Zhang Jun's old team would be eliminated, so he felt quite ready to resign and retire.
If you continue, you won't get any good results from him.
But when he thought about it again, he felt that it was too unwilling to do this. He had worked hard for the Southern Song Dynasty for decades, but he only received such treatment when he arrived?
In order to favor Wu Gong, Zhang Jun actually ignored the facts, scolded him, gave Wu Gong a platform, and asked him to listen to Wu Gong. This was too disrespectful.
Strong dissatisfaction stimulated Qi Fang's heart, and he felt that he had to do something to retaliate against Zhang Jun.
A few days later, he received other documents from the Privy Council, including reward documents, reward documents, and military orders.
The Privy Council ordered Qi Fang to be the commander-in-chief of this crusade, and would mobilize 10,000 people from Shao Hongyuan's command in the Chizhou Dutong Division to support him and follow his orders, allowing him to stabilize the current front, consolidate the current results, and not let the previous The blood of the soldiers was shed in vain.
Give a sweet date a slap?
How can there be such a good thing in the world?
Without the previous letter of reprimand, Qi Fang might have been really moved.
Now……
snort!
What's the best way to get revenge on Zhang Jun?
Qi Fang began to think happily.
