In addition to inspecting military affairs, Gong Chengze also did not forget Wei Zixuan's instructions and took the time to meet with the noble young officers selected by the imperial court.
However, what he never expected was that not only were those officers not deliberately excluded by the Zhenjiang Army, but on the contrary, they were highly valued and got along very frankly and harmoniously with their Zhenjiang colleagues.
They told Gong Chengze that after personal experience during this period, everyone had the same feeling in their hearts: Zhenjiang was the well-deserved strongest army of the Holy Tang Dynasty and the absolute main force in wiping out the rebellion in the south.
The imperial court has given the important task to the Protector, so you can rest assured.
Gong Chengze didn't know what method Li Jiangyao used to actually make these noble children submissive. The emperor and Zuo Xiangyuan expected them to play a role in monitoring the Xinjiang Army. Even if they didn't work, they would secretly cause trouble. But now it seems Come on, this wishful thinking is no longer possible.
Gong Chengze was the best at adapting to the changing circumstances. He listened to what others said, so he nodded repeatedly, indicating that he absolutely agreed with this statement. When he returned to the imperial capital, he would convey their opinions to the court.
After all, these young people came from noble families, and he didn't want to offend them easily.
After meeting with the noble officers, Gong Chengze decided to end the inspection and inspection of the Zhenjiang Army ahead of schedule. There's nothing to do here anyway, so it's better to leave early and go to the next stop, the Xuanwu Legion, to show off.
However, just as he had this idea, the situation suddenly changed - Chang Tao commanded the Xuanwu Legion to withdraw from the Taizhou garrison and head north.
Their target is the Japanese pirates who are causing trouble along the coast.
The Japanese bandits, who had been causing trouble for more than half a year, had now established a foothold in the eastern state capital. Dong Tianxing mobilized his troops several times and launched a massive counterattack. Even the Xuanwu Legion sent 60,000 reinforcements, but he still failed to recapture the lost city.
In desperation, the imperial court finally decided to let the main army officially participate in the war, striving to solve the problem of Japanese bandit intrusion as soon as possible.
Following orders from the Ministry of War, Chang Tao led the Xuanwu Army northward from Taizhou and Yangzhou, advancing toward the East China Sea along the Muyang line of Huai'an, and mopping up the Japanese bandits entrenched in Donghai County and Langya County. After success, he continued to attack the Qilu and Jiaodong areas.
The withdrawal of 80,000 troops from the Jiangbei defense line was undoubtedly a far-reaching change in the counter-insurgency war. And the most terrible thing is, who will fill the defense gap left by the departure of the Xuanwu Legion?
Dong Tianxing had previously suggested that the White Tiger Legion be mobilized to fight against Japanese pirates. But this idea was rejected by the Governor's Office. The reason given by Yin Chengyi is: As an important defensive force in the Guanzhong area, the White Tiger Army is stationed on the line from the imperial capital to Tongguan and must not be changed easily.
Regarding this ridiculous excuse, Dong Tianxing immediately went to Shu to refute: Nowadays, Shengtang's enemies are mainly concentrated in the south of the river and in the eastern state capitals. There is the emperor's imperial army in the Guanzhong area, which is enough to defend the capital. Why let the 120,000 white tiger troops idle anymore? Wasting combat power in the Tongguan area where there is no need to defend?
But it is a pity that Emperor Li Bing has other considerations about this. He quickly issued a decree, expressing his agreement with the view of the Governor's Office. The White Tiger Army would not move, and Chang Tao and the others would still go north to fight the enemy.
The Xuanwu Legion's defense area can be taken over by the nearby Phoenix Legion, or a section of the Qinglong Legion can be deployed to take over.
Dong Tianxing was so angry that his head hurt.
He knew in his heart that the reason why Li Bing did this was to strengthen the military presence near the imperial capital and prevent anyone from threatening the imperial power; secondly, Li Bing and the ministers confidently believed that the current pattern of attacking in the north and defending in the south had been formed, and Lao Jianhua's The rebels did not dare to take the initiative to provoke the imperial army.
Therefore, even if the Xuanwu Legion moves north, there will be no mistakes in the Dajiang defense line.
However, in Lao Dong's view, the emperor was a complete military idiot. Any fool can imagine that the Japanese bandits who suddenly appeared in the eastern state capital must be the accomplices brought by Lao Jianhua and Bao Yuchun. Their purpose is to disrupt the rear of the Dajiang defense line and even attract the main army to leave.
Once this happens, the Jiangnan rebels will not miss the opportunity and allow the court to deploy it calmly.
While secretly scolding Li Bing for being stupid, Dong Tianxing wrote to Li Jiangyao for help, hoping that the Zhenjiang Army could mobilize some main troops as soon as possible to quickly fill the defense gap left by the Xuanwu Army.
At the very least, the two important cities of Taizhou and Yangzhou, as well as the shipyards scattered here, must be preserved.
Li Jiangyao was also quite surprised that Chang Tao and the others were suddenly sent to clean up the Japanese bandits. For such a major military deployment, the imperial court neither seriously discussed nor consulted the opinions of the generals of the frontline legions. They took them away as soon as they were told, and the entire Xuanwu Legion acted as a whole, treating war as a child's play.
There was no need to wait for Dong Tianxing to send a letter asking for help, so he made preparations in advance. The Eighth Army stationed in Chuzhou received the order to assemble four battalions and rushed to Yangzhou to take over the defense. The Ninth Army, which was further away in Taizhou, was in charge of the second flag of light cavalry.
Li Jiangyao's movements were not unpleasant, but unfortunately, Lao Jianhua and the others moved faster.
Not long after Chang Tao's main force left, the rebels who had been hiding at the mouth of the Jiajiang River quickly moved out. Hundreds of large ships crossed the river. Ye Rongcheng personally took command and led 30,000 troops to land in the north of the Yangtze River and headed straight for Yangzhou.
The Xuanwu Legion had only 2,000 troops left here. Facing the fierce rebels, they could not resist it. After struggling for an hour, Ye Rongcheng broke through the city gates on all sides.
Yangzhou fell within half a day. Sixteen shipbuilding workshops, nearly a hundred warships under construction, and mountains of timber were all burned to the ground by the enemy. Not only that, the rebels also captured thousands of shipbuilders and took them all to the south of the Yangtze River.
After Ye Rongcheng succeeded, he did not defend the city. Instead, he led his men to Taizhou before the arrival of the Zhenjiang Eighth Army, and once again destroyed all the shipyards there. Then the rebels reboarded warships at Jiangdu Port and returned safely. south bank.
A surprise battle was fought cleanly and beautifully, quite in the style of the Xuanjia Army back then.
Although no city land was lost, the river defense line was easily breached by the rebels, and important facilities for shipbuilding and war preparations suffered a devastating blow, which still shocked the government and the public.
Li Bing was furious about this. However, he did not find the cause on himself, but placed all the blame on the Governor's Office, the Ministry of War and Chang Tao, reprimanding them for rushing to mobilize troops without careful planning, neglecting major military affairs, and giving the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of .
At the same time, the imperial court urgently ordered Gong Chengze, the inspection envoy who was inspecting the front lines, to rush to Yangzhou to take charge of the overall situation.
Gong Chengze had no choice but to hurry up and arrive at Yangzhou City in a hurry.
At this time, Yangzhou was already in a mess, and the soldiers of the Eighth Army of Zhenjiang had just arrived here and were helping the people in the city treat the wounded and put out fires and provide disaster relief.
Although he was nominally the commander-in-chief of the frontline army, Gong Chengze did not have the authority to mobilize and command troops. Furthermore, even if the imperial court gave him command, the Xinjiang Army would not listen to his orders. Therefore, Gong Chengze could do nothing but stare at the excitement.
Fortunately, the rebels had all withdrawn by now, so he had nothing to worry about. Seeing that the order in the city was gradually restored, this guy showed his true colors again, hiding in the city guard's mansion all day long and drinking.
Not long after, a new order came from the imperial court: the Phoenix Army expanded its defense area to include Yangzhou within its jurisdiction, while Taizhou was temporarily guarded by Gong Chengze, who commanded local soldiers to carry out defense.
Gong Chengze secretly sighed that he was unlucky, so he had to set off again to Taizhou.
He originally planned to use his status as an inspector to show off his power on the river front, but he didn't expect bad luck and ended up having to fill in the gaps for others. Gong Chengze secretly wondered whether he should send someone back to the imperial capital and ask Wei Zixuan for help to transfer him back as soon as possible to avoid suffering and suffering here.
Unexpectedly, before Gong Chengze had time to send a letter to the imperial capital, the evil star had already come to visit - Ye Rongcheng, who had retreated to the south bank before, suddenly killed another carbine.
Ten thousand rebels crossed the river by boat, sneaked in from the mouth of the Yinjiang River on the north bank, crossed all the way north, and finally landed near Taizhou City, directly launching a fierce attack on the city.
Gong Chengze was horrified. While organizing the soldiers in the city to resist desperately, he also sent people to chase the 5,000 cavalry of the Ninth Army in Zhenjiang and report for help. The Ninth Army had been ordered to rush to help defend Taizhou, and now Gong Chengze had come to take over the defense of the city. So after asking Xu Youchang for instructions, he set off to return to the Chuzhou garrison, which he had just left not long ago.
Xinbing, who asked for help, ran for his life and finally caught up with the Zhenjiang Army halfway and told the other party that Taizhou was suddenly attacked by the rebels.
The situation was urgent. The cavalry captain of the Ninth Army did not think much and quickly ordered the entire army to turn around and quickly march towards Taizhou to rescue the city.
The five thousand light cavalry immediately raised their whips and urged their horses to rush eastward again. But no one expected that just after they passed Liqiao Village, less than twenty miles away from Taizhou, they were suddenly ambushed by the enemy.
Rebel general Xie Bao led 20,000 troops and horses, fought out of the dense forests on both sides of the road, and pounced on the Xinjiang Army cavalry.
Suddenly, the sound of killing on the road was loud.
The soldiers of both sides were in a complete melee, with swords and guns flying, and blood and flesh flying everywhere. Xie Bao wielded his two hammers and rushed left and right on the battlefield, as if he was in a deserted land. He personally killed the leading captain of the Ninth Army, and then took advantage of the unfavorable situation of the Zhenjiang Army being surrounded and losing command to completely defeat the five thousand cavalry in one go.
This unexpected ambush killed more than 3,700 people in the Ninth Army on the spot. One captain and three captains died heroically. In the end, only more than 1,000 people broke through.
At the same time, Ye Rongcheng also commanded his men to capture Taizhou. Gong Chengze disguised himself as an ordinary citizen and escaped before the battle, and managed to escape before the enemy broke through the city.
Like last time, the rebels were not intimidated by the fight. They beheaded all the two thousand captured soldiers, looted Taizhou again, and then fled away.
When the news came back, not only the government and the public were shocked, but the people within the Xinjiang Army were even more furious. They have never suffered such a big loss since they came out from the East to suppress the rebellion.
All the military commanders have asked for battle to avenge their brothers who died in battle!
