"Chen Jixian is not a fool, how could he give us Xuzhou obediently? How could he easily withdraw from Xuzhou without creating any obstacles and trouble for us?" Feng Tang knew in his heart, "I'm afraid that he would have given up before he went to Huai'an. Niu Jizong's Xuanfu army quietly entered Xuzhou, and I never expected to take Xuzhou peacefully."
"Then what's your plan?" the staff member gritted his teeth: "Just let these two people perform a double act in front of us?"
"It doesn't matter, follow our rhythm. Every soldier of our Northwest Army is hard-earned. When it's time to go into battle, we must be unambiguous, but when it's time to preserve our strength, we must preserve our strength. Let Liu Baichuan fight against Yuncheng from Shuibao Village Launch an attack, and within three days I will see the flag of the Northwest Army planted on the top of Yuncheng City." Feng Tang said lightly: "Since Niu Jizong's thoughts are all on Xuzhou, shouldn't Dongping Prefecture be left to me? Right? The next step is for Yanzhou and Jining to withdraw as well, right?"
Feng Tang actually did not intend to take over the entire Shandong so urgently, but Sun Chengzong fought too smoothly in the north, and Sun Shaozu retreated steadily. You Shilu also launched a fierce attack in the Gaotang\Yucheng area, and Sun Shaozu was in this area A fierce battle began, but Sun Shaozu finally couldn't resist and fled all the way south. He couldn't even care about Jinan. You Shilu then took advantage of the situation and captured Jinan. Even the Ministry of War took the initiative to ask for credit from You Shilu.
The capture of Jinan was a big event. It meant that the situation in Shandong was finally restored. It also meant that the Southern Army had officially begun to withdraw from the central area of Shandong and could only maintain its presence in the south.
He Huchen and Yang Zhaoji did not neglect either. They attacked from two directions along the canal. Dongchang Fucheng, Boping, Chiping, Yanggu, Shouzhang, Dong'a, and Pingyin counties were all captured one after another by the two of them.
However, in the Anshan Lake area, He Huchen and Yang Zhaoji encountered a fierce counterattack by the Xuanfu army. The two sides fought fiercely on the Anshan Lake line. Later, the Xuanfu army retreated to Dongping Prefecture and used cavalry to harass He Huchen and Yang Zhaoji's rear supplies, forcing Yang Zhaoji to He Huchen had to slow down his offensive, so that the situation gradually came to a stalemate.
Sun Chengzong fought so fiercely on the northern front, and Feng Tang knew that if he continued to exert himself like this, it would definitely be unjustifiable, and the Ministry of War would also become suspicious, so he could only step up his offensive.
He first ordered Liu Baichuan to launch an encirclement operation in Chaocheng, Guancheng, Fan County, and Puzhou in the south of Dongchang Prefecture. However, Niu Jizong saw Feng Tang's purpose and took the initiative to evacuate Puzhou, causing Feng Tang's encirclement offensive to fail. However, the recovery of four prefectures and counties was enough to explain to the court.
Coupled with the successive capture of Caozhou\Caoxian\Dingtao\Chengwu\Shanxian, the outflanking offensive against the Xuanfu army became more obvious. Niu Jizong stood firm on the lines of Yutai\Yuncheng\Juye\Jinxiang, Even at the expense of cavalry, they started a tug-of-war with the cavalry of the Northwest Army on this line. Both sides suffered heavy losses.
Now that Chen Jixian has finally moved south and Niu Jizong has found a new foothold, he may not be so determined to stick to Dongping Prefecture and Jining.
A last-ditch battle and a retreat are two different concepts. Feng Tang's purpose was to capture Dongping Prefecture before He Huchen and Yang Zhaoji's troops. In this way, he and Sun Chengzong were basically evenly matched when it came to conquering Shandong.
While Feng Tang was pondering the letter sent by his son from Yongning Prefecture, the imperial cabinet was also discussing the news brought by Feng Ziying, who had officially entered Shaanxi.
"The situation is very bad." Qi Yongtai looked ugly. The letter in his hand turned around and returned to his hand. He shook it and said in a helpless tone: "It's worse than we imagined. Ziying entered Wu Fort, encountered a melee between three rebel armies. It is said that there are still many rebel armies marching towards Wubao, from Suide, Mizhi, Jiazhou. Qingjian County in the south is estimated to have fallen, but so far Yan'an Prefecture and Xi'an have This news was not reported to the court..."
Ye Xianggao stroked his forehead. There was no good news during this period. He was traveling in the direction of Shandong. Although Sun Chengzong fought smoothly, it was all expected.
Both Niu Jizong and Sun Shaozu lost the will to fight and gradually withdrew southward. The northern part of Shandong Province had basically been recovered. Feng Tang launched an offensive in Yanzhou and Dongchangfu in the east and west of Shandong. However, in order to ensure the safety of the canal in the southeastern part of Shandong, Niu Jizong also fought hard. Stubborn, so little progress has been made.
However, everyone agreed that there would be no major turning point in the situation in Shandong. With the recovery of Dongchang Prefecture and Jinan Prefecture, it meant that Niu Jizong and Sun Shaozu had lost the ability to regain the initiative in the Shandong battlefield, and the court would not allow them. Let’s go back to Jinan Prefecture and Dongchang Prefecture, these are the two most outstanding prefectures in Shandong.
Ye Xianggao even wondered if Feng Tang seemed a little tired. Is it so difficult to conquer Jining? Or was Niu Jizong really fighting for his life?
"How can they grasp the changes in the situation in northern Shaanxi if they are on the front line? Apart from sitting in Xi'an and fighting words, what else have they done?" Li Sancai sneered, "Baishui\Chengcheng is in chaos, even Hancheng is in chaos. If they are going to be lost, I don’t know how Lu Chuan and Sun Yijie can still sit still? Do we really have to wait until Xi’an has fallen before we can take measures? Ziying is blocked while she is still in Wubao, maybe she hasn’t waited yet When he arrived at Xi'an Mansion, the city of Xi'an was lost, which would really become a joke."
He had no favorable impressions of either Lu Chuan or Sun Yijie, and had long suggested that they should be replaced, but he failed to get enough support in the cabinet.
He also had an attitude of being happy to see Feng Ziying go to Shaanxi. If Feng Ziying really had the ability to control the situation in Shaanxi, it would be good. If he could not control the situation in Shaanxi, the situation would be even worse. He could also propose his preferred candidate.
"No, the rebels in Baishui\Chengcheng are not that capable." Fang Congzhe calmed down. He knew where Li Sancai's anger came from, but it was not feasible to replace Lu Chuan and Sun Yijie immediately. This will cause the entire Shaanxi situation to completely collapse. This is the unanimous view of the cabinet. Even Li Sancai is just talking angrily, and the only person he wants to replace is Lu Chuan.
Although the situation in the prefectures in northern Shaanxi is dangerous now, at least the situation in Xi'an, Hanzhong, and Fengxiang in the south is still controllable.
As for the rebels in Baishui\Chengcheng, they were only active in the area next to the Yellow River and did not cross the Tongguan\Yaozhou line. However, Puzhou has indeed been affected recently and needs to be paid attention to.
"Haha, Prime Minister Fang, if we really wait until the rebellion reaches Puzhou, then Tongguan and Yaozhou will not be able to be saved. How can I save Xi'an by then?" Li Sancai continued to sneer.
Li Sancai was full of resentment for being in charge of military affairs.
First of all, he is not good at military affairs. Secondly, everyone knows that military affairs are of great importance. Military affairs, which is a slightly larger matter, are not something that he, a cabinet minister, can specialize in. Moreover, Zhang Huaichang, who has been the censor of Zuodu for many years, has been transferred to another post. An important minister of the Ministry of War, the Minister of War, has great influence in the court. As a minister in charge of military affairs, he really can't be suppressed, but in his position, he has to seek his own affairs. He, Li Sancai, is not the kind of person to mess around, so This cabinet bachelor has always been very angry.
His hometown is Lintong, Shaanxi Province, but he lives in the capital city, so he has always paid close attention to the situation in his hometown.
Seeing that the situation in Shaanxi is becoming more and more serious day by day, rebellions are spreading everywhere, but local officials in Shaanxi are still busy with internal fighting. The feud between the Central Government and the left-wing chief minister Lu Chuan and the inspector-general Sun Yijie have never come up with a decent solution. The solution came, which led to delays in local government affairs. The result was that the rebellion grew and spread to the entire Shaanxi.
Now it was finally possible to get Feng Ziying to take office, but as soon as he entered Shaanxi, he encountered rebel troops sweeping into Yan'an Prefecture, which put him in a dilemma. Looking at Qi Yongtai's anxious face, Li Sancai felt a sense of joy in his heart for no reason.
You deserve it, do you really think that his disciple Feng Ziying has the ability to change the world?
Fortunately, I won a victory in Yongping Mansion and drove away the Inner Khalkha people who had not paid much attention to it. Do you think you are powerful and omnipotent? Now you are in trouble, right?
"The situation in Xi'an Prefecture has not yet reached that point. The most dangerous ones are the three prefectures in the north." Qi Yongtai can be regarded as the person who knows the most about military affairs among the people, but to be honest, his knowledge is very limited.
Among the five ministers in the current DPRK-Chinese cabinet, Li Tingji has been seriously ill during this period and has already submitted his resignation letter.
The remaining four people, Ye Xianggao and Fang Congzhe, are both good at financial affairs and have been involved in the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Household Affairs. Qi Yongtai was born as a minister in the Ministry of Personnel, and is also familiar with the affairs of the Ministry of Rites, and is more familiar with military affairs. Still based on some of Feng Ziying's opinions, Li Sancai was a local official and was very familiar with the affairs of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household Affairs. He especially performed well in the post of Governor of Water Transport, but he was also unfamiliar with military affairs.
However, his statement that Shaanxi is dangerous in the three northern prefectures is unanimously recognized by everyone.
The three prefectures of Yan'an, Qingyang and Pingliang have always been barren, with strong folk customs, bandits and horse bandits emerging in an endless stream, and social security has always been unstable, relying entirely on repression and deterrence by the border troops along the line.
As the Northwest Army entered the Central Plains from the east, the only available troops in the three border and four towns were in Yulin, but the border troops in Yulin town did not dare to move lightly.
There are various signs that Su Nangtaiji, the leader of the eastern Tumut people, must have been attracted by the Chahar people, and there are some signs that he is ready to make a move. In addition, Fengzhou Bailian's tendency to organize his army and practice martial arts is very obvious. Shanxi\Datong The military pressure on the two towns was also increasing. The imperial court even hoped that Yulin Town would reinforce Shanxi Town when necessary, so Yulin Town was running out of available troops.
"What I'm most worried about is that if the chaos in the three prefectures in the north continues to spread and develop, affecting Fengxiang Prefecture and Gongchang Prefecture, especially Fengxiang Prefecture, Xi'an will be really in danger." Qi Yongtai continued: "Look at the map, everyone. You can know that now the three northern prefectures have formed an arc and semi-surrounded Xi'an Prefecture. If Fengxiang Prefecture is also in chaos, then Xi'an Prefecture will hardly be spared."
