Under the cordial and friendly questioning of the intelligence officer, poor Gao Duizheng quickly confessed everything he knew.
And his confession also surprised Li Jiangyao.
Yan Chongxi's deal with the Japanese bandits was to ask the Japanese bandit leader to capture Li Zheng, Lao Jianhua and others when they were defeated and fled to Kuohai, and then escort them to Shengtang.
The terms of exchange were ten thousand taels of gold and two hundred well-equipped new warships, as well as a large amount of silk, porcelain, medicinal materials, sheepskins and other goods.
This cooperation plan is very secretive, and the Japanese pirate leader is only one of many pirate enemy chiefs. More importantly, it is still unknown whether Li Wei and Lao Jianhua will flee to Kuohai after the fall of Hangzhou.
Therefore, Emperor Li Bing was preparing for various possibilities and one of his options when escaping eastward across the vast sea.
In other words, in addition to secretly reaching a secret agreement with the Japanese bandits, Li Bing may have other arrangements. For example, what should Li Bing do if he escapes south? What should I do if I flee west?
Li Jiangyao also felt helpless about the emperor's deliberate and prepared measures.
It may be said that Li Bing's thinking was wrong, but after all, he was planning in advance so as not to let go of the culprits who are causing trouble in the world; it may be said that Li Bing was thoughtful, but it is really unscrupulous to join forces with the notorious Japanese bandits for this purpose. brilliance.
Perhaps it was for this reason that Li Bing asked Yan Chongxi to be responsible for handling this matter. This guy has been secretly colluding with the Japanese bandits, and he is not a serious court official, so he has a lot less worries about his status.
After careful consideration, Li Jiangyao finally ordered the people from the Intelligence Department to secretly send Gao Duizheng back to Jiangbei and hand it over to Yuduoluo to see if he could get more information about Japanese bandits from him.
As for Emperor Li Bing's cooperation plan, let him go to hell.
Catching Lao Jianhua and Li Zhang and avenging his teacher He Jingming was a mission that Li Jiangyao had to complete. There was no need for the imperial capital to worry about it, and there was no need to ask the Japanese for help.
From Li Jiangyao's point of view, he hates Japanese bandits as much as he hates Lao Jianhua. If he hadn't been unable to find time now, he would have sent his army northward and beat up the little Japanese with Chang Tao. .
"General Protector, what should we do with Yan Chongxi?" Han Wenhao said, "Just a word and I can pick up his head before dawn."
Li Jiangyao nodded in agreement: "Okay, you can take a few brothers with you. That guy has done all the bad things and deserves to die."
Han Wenhao agreed, turned around and strode out.
However, what Li Jiangyao didn't expect was that the white-robed army raided Yan's business at night. They searched inside and outside several times, but could not find Yan Chongxi. The spies who have been keeping tabs on the outside said that since Captain Gao left, they had been paying close attention and monitoring closely, and did not see Yan Chongxi leave.
Li Jiangyao secretly scolded Yan Chongxi for being cunning. That guy must have reached an agreement with Gao Duizheng, so he immediately disguised himself and slipped out somewhere else.
Now that Yan Chongxi ran away again and his conspiracy with the Japanese bandits was cut off, there was no need to waste any more time.
Li Jiangyao told Sha Cunxiao to seriously report Yan Chongxi's matter to the Intelligence Department of the Zhenjiang Army, and asked Yuduoluo to issue instructions to the entire army in the name of the Great Protector. Once the whereabouts of this person are discovered, he will be arrested immediately, and no one shall be arrested. error.
After making good arrangements, Li Jiangyao and the others stayed in Jiangyin for two days to learn more about the situation of the Jiangyin rebels. They waited until the morning of the third day before they set off again and continued walking south.
At this time, Changzhou City, located sixty miles southwest of Jiangyin, also began a fierce offensive and defensive battle.
Du Jian commanded the Second Army, the Fifth Army, and the Ninth Army, totaling 140,000 troops, to surround Changzhou City on three sides. The rebel general Sun Chuanshu led 47,000 defenders to prepare for the attack.
Changzhou is a strategically important town for the rebels.
It borders Dajiang to the north, Taihu Lake to the south, Danyang, Jingkou, and Jinling to the west, and Jiangyin, Suzhou, and Taicang to the east. Prior to this, Bao Yuchun had relocated a large number of grain and grass supplies here and gathered heavy troops, striving to be able to advance, attack, retreat and defend, forming an impregnable support point in the Jiangnan region.
Therefore, Changzhou's city defense system is the most solid and complete place in the hands of the rebels except Hangzhou, and its strength even exceeds that of Xuancheng.
The guard here, Sun Chuanshu, is also a man who is good at fighting. In his early years, he served as a teacher at the imperial martial arts hall and was especially good at defensive tactics. Later, when he was the captain of Zhechong in Quzhou, he was investigated by Shen Lie and exiled to Lingnan because he was involved in a case of embezzlement of military pay.
After the rebels occupied the south, Lao Jianhua specifically found Sun Chuanshu, released him, and entrusted him with important tasks, becoming a general under Li Zhang. Now, he was selected by Ye Rongcheng and sent to guard Changzhou.
Sun Chuanshu was quite talented. Facing Du Jian's hundreds of thousands of elite troops, he did not panic at all. He not only added layer upon layer of the already very strong fortifications and continuously consolidated them, but also built two additional auxiliary cities and four military forts. Relying on the river water network outside the city, they are arranged at random to form multiple lines of defense that compete with each other.
After this operation, Bao Yuchun was amazed when he saw it, and Xu Youchang was worried when he saw it.
As the leader of the attacking side, Du Jian did not dare to underestimate the enemy. He did not attack fiercely as soon as he came up. Instead, he sent out many small groups to launch various exploratory attacks. The purpose was to observe the main city, auxiliary cities and military units. The cooperation between the forts and the strength of the defenders can be understood.
In five days, the Zhenjiang Army launched eleven attacks and deployed more than 20,000 troops. They finally saw the power of Changzhou's defense system.
The brilliance of Sun Chuanshu lies not in how strong the city walls and military forts are, but in their tricky locations. They are either close to the river, have natural barriers, or are within shooting range of each other, allowing them to cross fire and cover each other.
Even when a certain fort is attacked, another fort can send reinforcements to raid the Xinjiang Army from the side and rear.
This also means that it is difficult for Du Jian and the others to take down the targets one by one. Instead, they must launch an all-out attack and attack various fortresses at the same time to resolve the enemy's containment.
But in this case, the attackers will inevitably suffer huge casualties because they cannot fully alternate operations.
For this reason, Du Jian and Xiong Yunjie of the Fifth Army also had some differences. The key point of disagreement between the two is whose team will be responsible for the main attack in the first round.
When Li Jiangyao designed the arms plan for the Zhenjiang Army, the Second Army of Fire and the Fifth Army of Great Stone were both infantry and cavalry mixed corps, with the same structure and type, and their combat methods and equipment composition were almost identical.
They are all troops who perform comprehensive tasks and are good at attacking and defending.
Facing Sun Chuanshu's Iron Barrel Formation, Xiong Yunjie proposed that the Second Army had fought continuously before, especially during the desperate battle with Ye Rongcheng, Xie Bao and the others, which caused heavy losses in soldiers. Therefore, this time the Fifth Army should be allowed to go first. .
Du Jianze said that the Second Army is a veteran force in Zhenjiang and can fight tough battles. The Fire Army is the most suitable to attack tough enemies like Changzhou.
The two of them had the same idea, they didn't want their brothers to suffer losses, so they rushed to be the main offensive force, and neither of them would let go.
I heard that the generals were fighting, and the people below were naturally not willing to be idle. The officers and men of the Second Army came one after another and surrounded the commander's tent, shouting for battle. The people of Jushi's Fifth Army were even more exaggerated. The whole army wrote a bloody letter demanding that they be allowed to attack the city in the first battle.
When Duan Jun, the commander of the Ninth Army, saw this situation, he was afraid of causing trouble, so he quickly stepped forward to persuade them.
He said to Du Jian and Xiong Yunjie: "Two eldest brothers, do you know why the General Protector left the command position at this time and asked Shuai Xu to coordinate the Qinglong Army, but instead let the three of us take charge of the Changzhou Campaign?"
Du Jian said without hesitation: "How could you not know this? The Protector-General wants to train a few of us, so he gives us the opportunity to command the army and act independently."
Xiong Yunjie also said: "The Protector General and Xu Shuai trust us, so they will hand over the important task to the three armies."
Duan Jun smiled and nodded: "Since you understand the rationale behind this, why are you still engaging in unnecessary arguments?"
Du Jian snorted dissatisfied: "How do you call it a useless fight? I understand Yun Jie, he is worried that my Second Army will suffer too many casualties, so he insists on taking the main attack mission, and I also feel sorry for my brothers in the Fifth Army, Thinking of letting the Fire Army bear more responsibility."
Duan Jun heard what he said and asked calmly: "You two think about the problem like this, is it the consideration that a general in charge of the army should have?"
Xiong Yunjie was a little curious: "You mean... we thought wrong?"
"Of course it's wrong." Duan Jun said: "The Great Protector often teaches us that as a general, the first priority is to win. Only victory can we deserve the trust of the soldiers and the bloodshed and sacrifice of the soldiers. And what about you two? ? The starting point for deploying troops and generals is not to analyze what can be done to be more conducive to defeating the enemy, but to first think about taking on more pressure so that the brother troops can reduce losses. This idea itself is wrong. "
He paused for a moment and then said: "Brother Du, you are our senior. You were the first to follow the Great Protector in the Southern and Northern Wars. I am not qualified to teach you a lesson. But as a brother, I must be honest and forthright. Which legion should I send? The main attack does not depend on whether the general's surname is Du or Xiong, but on who is needed for victory. As long as the enemy can be successfully eliminated and Changzhou captured, the Second Army, the Fifth Army, and the Ninth Army can be paid a huge price. , the three of us have the consciousness to sacrifice our lives on the battlefield and be wrapped in horse leather!"
After listening to Duan Jun's words, Du Jian couldn't help but fell silent, and Xiong Yunjie also began to think seriously.
Among the ten generals of the Zhenjiang Army, Shu Duanjun is the youngest. This Qingqi general, who has a quiet personality and usually doesn't talk much, actually said a shocking truth today:
In order to win, the commander must abandon all irrelevant distractions and use the most rational and ruthless eyes to calmly examine the choices of advancement and retreat in the war.
This is responsible for the army and the soldiers!
Du Jian nodded lightly and said solemnly: "Duan Jun is right. From the perspective of victory, the Fifth Army's main attack is more suitable than the Second Army's."
