Before Cao Wenzhao joined the battle group, he saw the Denglai Navy and Liaodong arguing. Feng Ziying also found it a bit funny.
Everyone wants to take credit, and everyone wants to seize the greatest credit and benefits, but Feng Ziying doesn't think this is a bad thing, and her increased momentum and confidence means that this battle is not much different.
But there is some truth to what Mao Wenlong said. Even if Huaiyang Town may indeed be corrupted, it is impossible for Chen Jixian's 10,000 pro-army troops to have no fighting capacity and will to fight. They know that if Chen Jixian is defeated, they will have no good results.
Therefore, Chen Jixian's pro-army must be completely eliminated before we can talk about taking over a complete Yangzhou, and the situation in Yangzhou must be solved and controlled in a relatively short period of time.
"Okay, there is no need to argue about this matter anymore. A reasonable and complete plan will naturally come out during the discussion." Feng Ziying waved her hand: "Is there no problem here in Haizhou?"
Neither Cao Wenzhao nor Shen Yourong interrupted. The two old foxes knew that it was useless to argue now. They would have to wait until the intelligence from Yangzhou came back before they could make countermeasures.
"Don't worry, sir. We will also arrange people along the important roads to prevent the news from leaking." Hou Chengzu was quite meticulous in his work.
"Very good, that's almost it. The news from the Ministry of War's Staff Division should be back soon. Long Jinwei's people have arrived before, and I also have people over there in Yangzhou. When we gather together, we can almost make a rough judgment." Feng Ziying stopped, "But no matter what the situation is, solving Yangzhou first is the first priority. Mr. Sun's speed is too slow, because considering that he needs to solve Huai'an first, we can't wait for them, so our There are two goals, first take Yangzhou and then go to Jinling."
Cao Wenzhao asked in a deep voice: "Sir, are we going to take Jinling after taking Yangzhou? What will happen if Wang Ziteng's army marches east from Jiujiang? I'm afraid it's too late in terms of time."
"Yangzhou is going to be conquered in one blow. The only garrison in Jinling is the Guards. But if Wang Ziteng's old Denglai army moves east from Jiujiang, the Denglai Navy can teach them a lesson." Feng Ziying said slowly and calmly: "The Jiangnan Navy has never been completed. , this will be the thing they regret the most.”
Shen Yourong also supported it: "The navy can ensure that Wang Ziteng's army cannot cross Dangtu from the Yangtze River!"
Feng Ziying nodded: "This is just a preliminary idea of mine. If we capture Jinling and Yangzhou, there will basically be no suspense in the Battle of Jiangnan. But in my heart, I hope to resolve this war as bloodlessly as possible. After all, we are all in the Zhou Dynasty." The soldiers are also consuming our great Zhou's food resources."
The intelligence from the Ministry of War was passed back one after another, and people from Long Jinwei also came to summarize the latest intelligence and the situation of some officials. What Feng Ziying valued most was the intelligence Wu Yaoqing got from Yangzhou. , which is the most reliable, intuitive and targeted.
"The situation in Yangzhou is stable. He Jinchang, the prefect of Yangzhou, was hosting a banquet in Guangji Tower the day before yesterday. I also know that Tao Deyu has just married a concubine. Chen Jixian sent someone to the door to congratulate him..."
The news about Long Jinwei basically focused on people, involving the entire Yangzhou Prefecture and the top brass of Huaiyang Town.
"Deputy Commander Lu Ji lost 6,000 taels of silver at Tiangou Casino seven days ago. For this reason, he asked his subordinates to kidnap the son of Huizhou salt merchant Lang Yongbao, the actual controller of Tiangou Casino, through the Yangtze River water bandit Huang Tianlang and his gang. Yes, demanding a ransom of 30,000 taels..."
"Another general, Ji Dequan, got drunk and jealous with Yangzhou Bingdao Zhao Songcheng in Taihe Tower half a month ago, and beat Zhao Songcheng seriously. Zhao Songcheng died of his injuries ten days ago. A censor from the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate is now We are investigating this matter in Yangzhou,...··."
Before Prince Yitada officially ascended the throne, the tacit understanding between the imperial court and Nanjing remained unchanged, and they would wait until Prince Yitada ascended the throne to correct the deviation and return to the original pattern.
A series of various intelligence or news came out from the hundred-household account of Long Jinwei, leaving everyone here speechless. The chaos in Huaiyang Town was really a bit unexpected. The deputy commander and the staff general were just like this. Morality, I am afraid, really has a lot to do with the fact that Huaiyang Town has become the king of the mountain in Yangzhou in the past few years and no one can control it.
However, the news from Wu Yaoqing's side was obviously more targeted.
"In view of the fact that after the new emperor ascended the throne, the town of Huaiyang was moved to Suzhou and Hangzhou, Chen Jixian actually
Some of his troops had begun to move to Suzhou in advance. On the first day of September, Chen Jixian's personal troops and all of Ji De's troops had already departed from Jiangdu and headed from Zhenjiang to Suzhou via the canal. The number of troops was about 3,000. In fact, before that, Probably in July, scattered Huaiyang troops were already dispatched to Suzhou and Hangzhou to select garrison locations. Now it is just a large-scale relocation..."
Wu Yaoqing himself is still in Yangzhou, but the person sent to introduce the situation, Feng Ziying, will also be very familiar with Su Zheng, Wu Yaoqing's right-hand man in intelligence.
"The operation from Yangzhou to Suzhou and Hangzhou is still in progress, but the rules have not yet been determined, but the intensity is increasing. Before I came here, I found that there was another group of about 3,000 people who were boarding the ship. It is estimated that Soon it will go from Zhenjiang to Suzhou via the canal, and we are paying close attention to it..."
Feng Ziying and his party did not expect Chen Jixian to be so anxious, but then they thought about it. Tens of thousands of troops were to be moved to Suzhou and Hangzhou for garrison. Although the garrison locations had been selected long ago, it was obviously not possible to mobilize such a large-scale army overnight. It is safer to arrange a few trips in advance to familiarize yourself with them.
In the past, there were only guards and no military towns in Suzhou and Hangzhou. Now it is equivalent to setting up a new military town. It also needs to contact and coordinate with the local governments of Suzhou and Hangzhou. There are still many things that need to be dealt with.
"So, maybe during the time we are rushing to Yangzhou, there may be quite a lot of troops from Huaiyang Town moving out of the town. Will this bring some chaos to them internally?" Feng Ziying asked in detail: "In addition, Which troops mainly moved to Suzhou and Hangzhou, and how many of Chen Jixian's own troops left?"
Su Zheng immediately replied: "For now, most of Chen Jixian's soldiers are still staying in Yangzhou, and only a small number have left, probably more than a thousand people. In addition, those who have moved to the town are mainly Ji Dequan and Huo Sen, among whom More than 4,000 of Jide's 12,000 people have left, and more than 3,000 of Huosen's 6,000 people have left...·"
All the generals here silently calculated that the Huaiyang army stationed in Jiangdu is about 40,000, but now calculated, more than 9,000 have left. If there are still more people leaving during this period, then in fact, the Huaiyang army Yang Jun's troops stationed in Jiangdu already numbered less than 30,000.
The only regret is that the main force of Chen Jixian's pro-army forces is still stationed in Jiangdu. If we want to capture Yangzhou, we will have to fight a tough battle with this army.
But this tough battle is only relatively speaking. Cao Wenzhao and Mao Wenlong are both gearing up and eager for this battle to come as soon as possible.
"According to our understanding, some Huaiyang troops may continue to go to Suzhou and Hangzhou in the next few days. One of them can be confirmed to be Chen Jixian's personal army general Chen Jipeng who will lead more than 4,000 people to go south, because in the early stage, the troops mainly went to Suzhou , and now we are going to Hangzhou one after another. This is also reliable news conveyed by a secret line within our Huaiyang Army. If possible, we will wait here for two or three days, and the situation may become clearer... ··
After gathering all the information from all aspects, we actually have a rough understanding of the situation in Yangzhou.
At least so far, Chen Jixian has not noticed that this army has entered the territory of South Zhili. Although Haizhou is located in the northeastern corner of South Zhili, it is already within the territory of South Zhili. If everything goes well, within two days You can go straight to the Yangtze River Estuary, and then easily choose any place to land in Songjiang, Suzhou, Changzhou, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, and Yingtianfu (Jinling, Nanjing).
The problems before us now are: first, there are still about 30,000 Huaiyang troops stationed in Yangzhou, among which it is estimated that there are nearly 10,000 Chen Jixian's troops.
Second, when heading from the East China Sea Institute to Yangzhou, Yangzhou may discover anomalies or sense danger and step up vigilance. This possibility is possible. For example, Sun Chengzong leads the Jizhen Army south along the canal. Rather than going by sea, This way, it is easier for rumors to leak over there.
Third, Wang Ziteng's troops in Jiujiang may feel that the situation is not right and head east in advance. However, if they take the land route, it will definitely be too late. By taking the water route, Denglai Navy can calmly respond to the challenge. Of course, Wang Ziteng's troops may take the water route first, and then Choose land to land near Nanjing.
The meeting was held in a lobby in the East China Sea Center. It was a bit crude and shabby, but still spacious. It was originally just a temporary parking place for watermen coming and going. It was very
It is rare for a large army to stop, so this time it is unprecedented.
The problem now is that we still have to wait two days. If we wait two more days, thousands of Huaiyang troops may leave Yangzhou, especially Chen Jixian's personal troops. This will reduce the pressure on our own army to land in Yangzhou, but Likewise, two days is neither long nor short. Once the news leaks out and the Yangzhou authorities are aware of it and are prepared, the threat will increase dramatically.
The entire hall was silent, waiting for Feng Ziying's decision.
"We can't wait any longer. We can't afford the risk that Yangzhou is aware of. Once Chen Jixian is prepared, it will be very difficult for us to fight, and Nanjing will also strengthen its precautions. If Wang Ziteng enters Nanjing before us, we will be very passive. So I decided to start preparing now and head south tonight!"
After just some simple thinking, Feng Ziying made a decision.
Chen Jixian's Huaiyang Army is not what he is worried about. As the generals said and the news coming back from Yangzhou all prove that the combat effectiveness of the Huaiyang Army has been greatly corrupted, there is nothing to worry about. But if Wang Ziteng's Denglai Army takes the lead, Going east into Nanjing and avoiding the battle with the navy on the water will make this battle difficult and the price paid will increase several times.
