In the spring of the second year of Xiangfu, shocking news came from the south. Jiang Si of Western Chu would officially ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor.
This means that this princess, who has been in exile for many years, will become the second female emperor after Empress Murong of Beimang, and the first empress in the history of the Central Plains dynasty.
After the news reached Liyang, no matter what happened to Xichu in the end, Liyang's face would be tarnished.
The restoration of the Western Chu Kingdom, which I thought was within my grasp, was far beyond Li Yang's control.
In less than a year, half of the southeastern wall shook, Guangling Dao Jiedushi died, countless so-called Liyang famous generals fell into the sand, and the world's first and second navy were shattered.
The lineage of King Guangling was directly wiped out.
The subjugated princess of Da Chu officially ascended the throne and proclaimed herself emperor, and even slapped Li Yang on the face.
Although Emperor Liyang Zhao Zhuan was angry, he did not lose his mind.
The front line was ordered to follow the original established policy and encircle the resurgent Xi Chu on all sides.
At the same time, all the generals and important officials of Western Chu who were leading the army outside, except Gu Dazu who wanted to guard the Guangling River in the north, and Pei Sui, who was responsible for confronting Wu Zhongxuan's army in the southern Xinjiang, Pei Hongzhi, Xie Xijie, Kou Jianghuai and other almost all the civil and military officials of Western Chu Members of the royal family gathered in the capital of Western Chu one after another to attend Jiang Si's enthronement ceremony.
At this time, the Shenhuang City, after several months of restoration due to Jiang Si's ascension to the throne, now has some of the charm of the old capital of Chu.
In the past few months since the restoration of the Western Chu Kingdom and the return of the old capital, elderly survivors have continued to come to the Divine Phoenix City with their families on foot or in cars. They either knelt or bowed, and all of them shed tears of sadness.
Then, either go to the city to visit, or leave laughing wildly.
At the ceremony, Jiang Si completed the rituals of worshiping heaven and ancestors as usual, and officially ascended the throne as emperor.
He started with hundreds of civil and military officials. The civil officials were led by Sun Xiji, and the military officers were led by Pei Hongzhi.
Two Western Chu talents, Kou Jianghuai and Xie Xiqiao, who had experienced the Guangling Dao War and became famous, were among them.
Zhang Bianguan, who had crossed the river to seek refuge, stood in the queue of military attachés with his long hair.
The position where he stood was further forward than many local Chu people, so he was obviously highly valued by Jiang Si.
Many people have heard that the young son of Zhang Julu, who was in charge of Liyang, swore to destroy Liyang after crossing the river.
His hair turned gray overnight because of family hatred.
When I saw it today, it was indeed the case.
However, the most eye-catching among the officials was not him, but Song Maolin of the Song family.
Song Maolin, with his beautiful appearance, is said to be comparable to the prince of Northern Liang.
Especially when the two simple and catchy phrases "Northern Xu and Southern Song Dynasty" and "Xu Zi and Song Zhang" spread like the spring breeze across the country, it made Song Maolin's name feel like someone in the world knew him.
Speaking of Song Maolin, the most famous thing is not his appearance, but his family background.
His grandfather Song Wenfeng, the old master Sun Xiji and the former imperial master Li Mi were all of the same generation. Now he was in charge of the lower province of the Western Chu clan, and he could be called the second person under Sun Xiji.
His father Song Qingshan is the Minister of Rites of Western Chu today.
Both grandfathers are considered leaders in the Western Chu literary world today. Together with Song Maolin's generation, they can be said to be three generations of the same dynasty, which flourished for a while.
After the Empress of Western Chu ascended the throne and proclaimed herself emperor, she entered the main hall surrounded by the Yulin Army in golden armor led by Lu Dantian, the only remaining swordsman master in Western Chu.
The first court meeting in the true sense after the restoration of Western Chu was officially held.
The old master Sun Xiji came out and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I have discussed with everyone and drafted two sets of proposals for the Northern Expedition and the Southern Expedition. Please make your decision."
In the Northern Expedition, they first defeated Lu Xiangsheng and others, then entered Jiangnan Road, and finally attacked Tai'an City and destroyed Liyang in one fell swoop.
The Southern Expedition was to go south to conquer King Yan Chi's southern border, to solve the problem for Western Chu and at the same time expand its troops and strategic depth.
Many Western Chu veterans, led by Song Wenfeng, supported the Northern Expedition and opposed the Southern Expedition.
The reason is that Liyang and Dachu have a hatred for the subjugation of the country and will not stop until death. The Northern Expedition can boost the morale of the Western Chu soldiers and generals, and their military morale can be used.
Under the governance of King Yan Chi, Southern Xinjiang had strong soldiers and horses, and it had become the second largest vassal king after Beiliang.
In addition, the terrain of southern Xinjiang is complex and the mountains are crisscrossed, which is not conducive to the climate. It is very different from that of Western Chu, which is closer to the Central Plains.
When Li Yang went south in the past, except for some losses in a few tough battles with Gu Dazu of the Southern Tang Dynasty, everything was smooth sailing.
But the combat attrition caused by the weather is far greater than the damage caused by the battle.
Pei Hongzhi, Xie Xiqiao and others believed that the southern expedition should be carried out.
As long as King Yan Chi is not destroyed, Western Chu will always be in a two-front war situation. It must go south to capture the southern border under King Yan Chi's rule and collect all its territory. There is still a chance for a northern expedition to destroy Liyang.
Seeing the two groups arguing endlessly, Jiang Si, who was sitting on the throne, broke the argument and said, "What do you think of these two plans, Mr. Zhang?"
Zhang Bianguan entered the Chu State, but because he had not made any meritorious service, Jiang Si could not be appointed to an official position. In the Sui Dynasty, she was first given the post of guest minister and the power to discuss government affairs in the upper dynasty.
He was even allowed to participate in the enthronement ceremony to show his affection.
The reason why I asked him for his opinion was because he, who had a grudge against Li Yang for destroying his family and genocide, really had the most say.
Zhang Bianguan came out and expressed his opinion respectfully, "I think we should march south."
"Oh, why?" Jiang Si had already expected this answer.
Zhang Bianguan explained: "The king of Yan, Zhao Bing, stationed troops in the old Southern Tang Dynasty. It is true that his troops are strong and his horses are strong. But as you know, the deputy commander Wu Chongxuan has betrayed Southern Xinjiang and returned to Liyang. Together with his 100,000 Southern Xinjiang troops, his position is unclear. .”
Jiang Si naturally understood what Zhang Bianguan meant and said: "Sir, what you mean is that we can use Liyang's fear of Zhao Bing and take the opportunity to eliminate the main force of the southern Xinjiang army in one fell swoop."
Zhang Bianguan gave a strategy, "If our army takes the initiative to attack King Yan Chi, Wu Chongxuan's 100,000 soldiers and horses will definitely sit back and watch the battle between our country and King Yan Chi. When we and Southern Xinjiang decide the winner, or both sides suffer losses, Only then will we take action. This just gives us the opportunity to defeat each one. Wang Tongshan, the first general under King Yanchi, is only as brave as a man, but he can be captured in one battle. Even though Nalan Youci has great wisdom, but in the face of What can we do in this situation? In the end, it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without straw."
"Wait a minute." Song Qingshan, who is the Minister of Rites, came out and said: "What Mr. Zhang just said is indeed a good strategy. Please note that Lu Xiangsheng is still here. Even if Zhao Bing's army is defeated by luck, how can we guarantee that he will not join forces with Wu Chongxuan to attack our army."
"This is exactly what I am going to say next." Zhang Bianguan asked the empress to fight: "Please give me 20,000 elite soldiers, so that Lu Xiangsheng will not be able to go south."
"Do you take what you said seriously?" Jiang Si confirmed to Zhang Bianguan: "It is said that Lu Xiangsheng has assembled nearly 100,000 troops from nearby counties and counties. If sir, you want to delay him, is 20,000 too few? Do you need to allocate more?" "
Zhang Bianguan said with a smile: "It is better to have elite soldiers than to have many troops. Having too many troops is useless. Only 20,000 elite troops are needed to capture Lu Xiangsheng."
The implication is that Lu Xiang is regarded as nothing, and he wants to eat the nearly 100,000 troops in one go.
