Dong Tianxing thought for a while, why: "It is difficult to mobilize their troops at this moment. You know, many troops are on the defense line at this time, and no one here in Xiangcheng has extra manpower. .”
"Not all Lingnan soldiers are concentrated here," Feng Kun analyzed: "There are only Huo Zhenyu's men and the two Lingnan battalions that were originally responsible for guarding the Chinese army here in Xiangcheng. If I launch a surprise attack, I am sure to control them. The key is It is to prevent them from sending people out to ask for help and inciting the entire Lingnan Prefecture to rebel. As long as you let the generals and I take action at the same time, we will be foolproof."
Dong Tianxing hesitated: "I'm afraid this requires time to coordinate. Is it too late?"
Feng Kun said: "If it doesn't take more than three days, it should be in time. If you want to ensure that there is no problem, it is best to arrest Huo Zhenyu first and cooperate with military operations. We will use various efforts to ensure that Huo Zhenyu cannot overthrow him!"
Seeing his certainty, Dong Tianxing finally nodded: "Okay, it seems like this is the only way. I can't just watch tens of thousands of Lingnan soldiers go the wrong way. Then I won't be able to explain to the emperor and the court. Yes. General Feng, apart from you and the generals here tonight, who else in Xiangcheng can be on our side?"
Feng Kun thought for a while and responded: "It's best not to alert others. If you are not sure of their position, it will easily cause trouble if exposed in advance. Mr. Dong, the Lingnan side is the biggest hidden danger at the moment. As long as they are restrained, I believe that many people will be swayed." People will understand the situation clearly.”
"What you say makes sense, what you say makes sense." Dong Tianxing agreed: "You should really be cautious about this kind of thing. Let's go ahead and make preparations separately. Let's meet again at my place before noon tomorrow and take a look. Whether the troop mobilization is going smoothly, let’s discuss in detail how to capture Huo Zhenyu.”
Feng Kun nodded slightly: "Okay, just listen to Mr. Dong, I will go back and prepare. Sir, you must be careful and be on alert."
After seeing off Feng Kun, Dong Tianxing called the guard captain. On the one hand, he asked him to strengthen patrols at night to prevent sneak attacks. On the other hand, he quickly sent someone to find Ma Hongjie, saying that he had something important to discuss and had to ask General Ma for midnight. One more trip.
Half an hour later, the marching general manager Ma Hongjie came to the post house in a hurry and curiously asked Dong Tianxing what happened.
Lao Dong first retreated from his men, then deliberately lowered his voice and told the story about Feng Kun. Ma Hongjie was surprised after hearing this. After thinking about it for a moment, he said, "You called me here because you want me to send troops to deal with Huo Zhenyu?"
"No, no, no," Dong Tianxing smiled: "I want to ask General Ma for help, focusing on guarding against Feng Kun."
Ma Hongjie was confused: "Feng Kun? Uh... I don't quite understand."
Dong Tianxing looked outside the window and whispered: "I think the real problem is not Huo Zhenyu, but that guy Feng Kun."
Ma Hongjie was obviously not good at the twists and turns of political struggles, and he couldn't help but wonder: "Does the Imperial Envoy have any evidence for suspecting Feng Kun?"
Dong Tianxing shook his head: "There is no real evidence, just three doubts."
"Oh? I'd like to hear the details."
"First, Feng Kun is obviously not just targeting Huo Zhenyu, but also targeting the entire Lingnan army." Dong Tianxing said patiently: "He hinted to me both inside and outside his words that Huo Zhenyu has the ability to influence the choice of Lingnan soldiers, and then When I think of the possibility of Huo Zhenyu surrendering to the enemy and the possibility of Lingnan's 80,000 troops surrendering to the enemy, I can't help but feel worried and fearful in my heart. This seems very unusual."
Ma Hongjie was not stupid and understood immediately: "Yes, the Lingnan Mansion Army is actually controlled by six Zhechong Captains. It can be said that everyone has different thoughts. Except for the Prince of Anping County, I am afraid no one can unify them. Idea. Even if Huo Zhenyu really wants to defect to the King of Huaiyang, he will not be able to mobilize everyone to participate. However, if Feng Kun's method is followed, it will be tantamount to completely forcing the 80,000-strong army to rebel immediately. "
Dong Tianxing nodded: "That's what I think. This is one, and the other is that Feng Kun didn't belong to the resolute princeling faction before, right?"
Ma Hongjie responded without hesitation: "Yes, he should be considered a neutral. Every time everyone quarreled, he rarely stood up and spoke, and he never showed his leaning towards the prince."
"So his two wonderful performances today are thought-provoking." Dong Tianxing said: "First he helped me out of the siege outside the city, and then came to provide me with important information at night. He was always thinking about the emperor and me, which is better than those sent by the prince. People are still positive. Hey, there must be monsters when things go wrong."
Ma Hongjie secretly thought: Sure enough, Jiang is still very old.
Before he could speak, Dong Tianxing continued: "There is a third doubt, which I shouldn't have mentioned, but I regard General Ma as one of my own, so there is no harm in talking about it."
Ma Hongjie suddenly became interested: "Mr. Dong, what are the doubts that make it so mysterious?"
"General Ma should know Nilin Division, right?" Dong Tianxing asked lightly.
Ma Hongjie smiled ambiguously: "Master Dong, this is just a joke. If you don't know the name of Nilinsi, do you still use it to hang out in Shengtang officialdom?"
Dong Tianxing nodded slightly: "Before I came here, the head of the Nilin Division gave me a volume that records the status of all the generals in Jingxiang and their families."
As soon as he said this, Ma Hongjie's expression suddenly changed slightly. It was hard to tell whether it was surprise, fear, or both. After being stunned for a short time, he quickly coughed to cover up his embarrassment and asked: "Is there anything mentioned about Feng Kun in the volume?"
Dong Tianxing glanced at him meaningfully, and then said calmly: "Two months ago, Feng Kun's wife quietly left the mansion in Ezhou with her children and returned to her hometown."
"Hometown?" Ma Hongjie was stunned: "Where is her hometown?"
"In Yuhang." Dong Tianxing replied.
Ma Hongjie thought about it and suddenly said in shock: "Yu Hang? Isn't that... wasn't it occupied by the Xuanjia Army?"
Dong Tianxing smiled: "Yes, Yuhang is now controlled by the Xuanjia Legion. How can a court general let his wife and children go to the rebels?"
"I understand!" Ma Hongjie slapped his thigh: "Damn it! Feng Kun neither supports the prince nor the King of Huaiyang, he is Xie Guang's man!"
Dong Tianxing said quietly: "Let me correct you, there is no one who knows Xie Guang anymore, because Xie Guang is no longer a living person."
Ma Hongjie was greatly surprised: "What? Xie Guang... is dead?"
Dong Tianxing nodded: "Nilin Division has found out that Xie Guang has been killed by Lao Jianhua, but the Xuanjia Army has temporarily concealed the matter and has not made it public. At the moment, the Xuanjia Army is under the command of Lao Jianhua."
At this time, Ma Hongjie did not bother to inquire about the grievances between Xie Guang and Lao Jianhua, and instead said: "It seems that Feng Kun's main purpose is to muddy the water, preferably to cause the armies to fall into melee and kill each other. Well, this approach is indeed most beneficial to the rebels in Jiangnan."
"The general is right." Dong Tianxing agreed: "Three doubts, although there is no evidence to support them, are the most logical. Feng Kun could have continued to lurk inside the Jingxiang army, providing information to Lao Jianhua, and doing things on the way. It is a pity that the arrival of this officer broke their wishful thinking. Once most of the generals abandon their past grudges and suspicions out of loyalty to Shengtang, and send their troops north to fight the enemy, the situation of the Xuanjia Army will soon be bad. ”
Ma Hongjie nodded: "Well, I am becoming more and more convinced. If you think about it carefully, assassinating the prince of Anping County has no real benefits for the prince and the king of Huaiyang. For the Turks, it only has mixed benefits and disadvantages. . It is only really good for the Xuanjia Legion. The more chaotic we are, the happier they will be. In other words, the longer the war with the Turks drags on, the happier they will be."
Dong Tianxing said mysteriously: "I can also reveal to you another piece of information obtained by Nilin Division. The navy has returned from Kuohai. Before I left for Xiangcheng, they had just arrived in Mingzhou, and Bao Yu Chun went directly to see Lao Jianhua."
Ma Hongjie was shocked: "You mean... Governor Bao and the Xuanjia Legion... are impossible, right?"
"What else is impossible these days?" Dong Tianxing sneered: "Bao Yuchun has two thousand warships. In addition to the sailors on the ship, there are also 80,000 soldiers belonging to the navy. Although they are all light infantry, they can also be engaged in land battles at any time, and their strength cannot be underestimated. Together with Lao Jianhua, they can defend Jiangnan impregnably. As long as they give time, they will be fully fledged! By then, another big force will be Woe.”
Ma Hongjie frowned when he heard this, and couldn't help but sigh: "What kind of bad luck does our Shengtang have? It keeps coming one after another!"
Dong Tianxing's eyes burned brightly: "So, time waits for us not. The sooner we drive away the foreign enemy Turks, the sooner we can take action to quell the rebellion. If this continues, the country will be torn into pieces, and Shengtang will really be over."
Ma Hongjie stared at Dong Tianxing: "Sir, I understand! I am a rough man, and I can't say any nice words. As I promised you before, it doesn't matter if I fight to the death for Shengtang. You can tell me what happens next. "
Dong Tianxing said solemnly: "solve the immediate crisis first! How many troops and horses do you have in Xiangcheng?"
"To be honest, there are almost none." Ma Hongjie said: "Xiangcheng is the headquarters of the Prince of Anping County. Most of the troops stationed in the city are Lingnan soldiers, as well as local soldiers from Ezhou and Jingzhou. Don't tell me , there is usually quite a lot of conflict between them. As for my men, the nearest unit, with 15,000 people, will take two days to arrive. "
Dong Tianxing thought for a while and asked: "Feng Kun said that he has seven thousand Ezhou soldiers, so how many Lingnan and Jingzhou soldiers are there in the city?"
Ma Hongjie is the marching general, equivalent to the chief of staff of the Jingxiang army. Of course he is very familiar with this. He answered without thinking: "Huo Zhenyu has three thousand people, who are the direct guards of the Anping County Prince. The Lingnan soldiers who are responsible for guarding the city are also among the three thousand." Thousands above and below are commanded by Captain Li Ping. The number of soldiers in Jingzhou Prefecture is not large, only more than a thousand."
Dong Tianxing nodded slightly: "Okay, I probably know what I'm doing. I'll try to hold off Feng Kun tomorrow, while you quickly mobilize your troops. We must form an overwhelming advantage in military strength within three days, so as to avoid the situation getting out of control."
