The imperial edict was issued, the cabinet order was passed, and the southwestern provinces participating in the pacification of Bozhou all had a clear attitude and purpose. The newly appointed governor of Guizhou, Guo Zizhang, mobilized Han and Tu troops to defend the city day and night, and garrisoned Nanchuan, Hejiang, Luzhou and other places. The army gradually became more popular, but the Bozhou army delayed its advance, not knowing where to attack.
Although Song Liangzuo was still the governor of Sichuan, because he was ordered by imperial decree to be the governor of Sichuan, Guizhou, and Guangzhou, the officials in each province also carried a sedan chair and changed their name to "governor". However, his governor was different from other governors of the Ming Dynasty. He was obviously the real governor. The temporary duties should be removed as soon as the work is completed, but this does not hinder the Chinese people's traditional habit of always addressing people by their highest official title.
The interim governor Song Liangzuo met with Guo Zizhang in Chongqing and discussed with the latter: "I heard that Yang Yinglong had no real objection at first, and the court could still tolerate his rampant behavior in Bozhou. Now the situation has changed, and the court has just conquered Mongolia. The Yuan Dynasty fell into the Korean battlefield again, but Yang Yinglong never received any favor from the court. Finally, he was riding a tiger and it was difficult to get down, so he united with all the seedlings and was willing to take risks.
But even so, I guess he still hopes that I will forgive him as before, so although he made trouble, he did not dare to go deep. However, our armies from all walks of life have not yet been fully assembled, especially since transportation in and around Bozhou is very inconvenient, and military food and material reserves are quite difficult, so we cannot easily start a war with Yang Yinglong.
I think we can temporarily delay the war and convey the imperial court's intention of appeasement to Yang Yinglong. Yang Yinglong will definitely be tempted. During the repeated consultations, we can wait for the arrival of reinforcements and materials from all walks of life. After completing the full combat readiness, we can launch a thunderous strike to avoid war. Delay is a waste of money and resources. "
Guo Zizhang said: "If you implement this strategy, you can only use it to control the army. If it is done in the name of the two provinces of Guizhou and Shu, Yang Yinglong will never believe it. And I heard that there seems to be a counselor beside Yang Yinglong, named Sun Shitai, who is quite knowledgeable in strategy. He also often went to Beijing to manage matters and acted as Yinglong's think tank.
If the army control strategy can temporarily deceive this person, then it can also deceive Yang Yinglong. However, this matter can easily lead to misunderstandings. We also ask Zhijun to inform the Emperor and Nanning Marquis first. In this way, even if someone in the court uses this to impeach the Emperor, the Emperor will definitely stay in the matter, and Nanning Marquis will also mediate in the DPRK for Zhijun. The change will not affect the frontline deployment. "Song Liangzuo expressed his approval.
A few days later, Song Liangzuo issued official documents to accuse the soldiers in Guizhou and Shu provinces of being as fearful of the enemy as tigers and unable to bear a fight, and also questioned the grievances between Guizhou, Shu and Bozhou. At the same time, he toured various places, strictly reorganized the army, and strengthened the military strength. At the same time, he frequently issued official documents of appeasement to Bozhou and expressed his willingness to clear up the injustice of Yang Kedong.
Yang Yinglong really couldn't decide on this, so he asked Sun Shitai, who said: "As far as the students know, the imperial court has never made peace with the enemy since the founding of the country. From this point of view, Song Liangzuo's move is really strange. But now Song Liangzuo did not say anything without evidence, but used official documents to appease him. This shows that he was definitely not good at making opinions, and it should be the imperial court's intention.
Will the imperial court really be willing to appease him? The students thought it was possible. Our Bozhou Army has been victorious in many battles. I heard that the elite troops of the imperial court's eastern expedition to Korea also suffered a lot of setbacks. Li Rusong has returned to Liaodong not long ago. It is said that the latest person to be transferred to Liaodong is Ma Gui...
Dongli and Xima are the two strongest generals on the nine sides. Taking turns to fight in Korea, it can be seen that the war to aid Korea is not going well. The imperial court is already beyond its power to Bozhou. From this, it is reasonable to infer that the imperial court is appeasement of Bozhou. sense.
Of course, these alone should not be taken lightly. In my opinion, the head of the family can continue to exchange letters with Song Liangzuo to discuss recruitment matters. During this period, it is necessary to observe the movements of the Ming army to distinguish the authenticity. If the peace negotiation by the court is true, Bozhou can also turn the crisis into safety. On the contrary, we can also take advantage of this period to strengthen our troops and prepare for war with all our strength. "
Yang Yinglong had no better idea, so he listened to him and wrote to Song Liangzuo. The main idea was that the previous battles with the Ming army were mostly for self-defense, stemming from unwarranted crimes and persecution in the two provinces of Guizhou and Shu. His parents and children died tragically, and he was also afraid of the imperial army's pressure. , this is the last resort.
But if Song Liangzuo could find out the truth about Yang Kedong's death and impeach the emperor for all the evil deeds committed by Qian and Shu provinces against Bozhou, then Bozhou would naturally be grateful and willing to accept the offer and plead with the emperor to punish him. He, Yang Yinglong, was willing to surrender to the people, send laborers, and contribute gold and silver to atone for the plundering of the urban and rural areas of Guizhou and Shu provinces.
Song Liangzuo read the letter alone and couldn't help but sneer: "This Yang Yinglong lies a lot, and his tone seems to be respectful, but in fact he is arrogant. He thinks that the road in Bozhou is difficult and dangerous and cannot be used by soldiers, but he doesn't know that the mountain Liu Wei walked on when he was in peace is even more dangerous than you in Bozhou. Do you think The Bozhou Army is invincible in the mountains, but they don’t know that Bozhou is no longer what it was back then, but it still has considerable combat power. The so-called difficulty lies not in the Bozhou Army, but in the supply of our army. When the supply of the imperial army is completed, Bozhou can only sit back and wait for destruction. .”
So Song Liangzuo started the performance mode and immediately wrote back to Yang Yinglong, claiming that he had followed the emperor's order and planned to verify the matter regarding Yang Kedong's death. As for the actions of the two provinces of Guizhou and Shu, this matter still needs to be discussed by the imperial court. I will report it immediately. I believe that the emperor will take it seriously.
At the same time, Bozhou cannot be idle. To show his sincerity, he must immediately donate silver, send laborers to repair towns and villages that Bozhou has plundered, and formulate detailed terms for the placement of Bozhou's troops, etc.
In this way, Yang Yinglong and Song Liangzuo continued to write letters for the next three months, and repeatedly discussed the matter of peace talks and military strikes. The relevant military gathering places followed high pragmatic arrangements and used Ming Dynasty Federal Reserve banknotes to attract merchants to sell grain, Send food.
Interestingly, Jinghua's river fleet on the Yangtze River waterway also took a share of the pie. It took a number of large and small orders, and the ships shuttled back and forth to earn a share of the profits.
In October, Yang Yinglong held a large banquet to reward the entire army, cooking cattle and slaughtering sheep, drinking and having fun. Yang Zhu, the general of Bozhou, took advantage of his drunkenness and complained to Yang Yinglong that he was only negotiating peace with Song Liangzuo. Therefore, the Bozhou warriors had no place to fight, and he insisted that Yang Yinglong punish himself. Three cups of apology.
Sun Shitai, Ma Zhong, and He Tingyu were all startled and tried to persuade them one after another, but Yang Zhu was so drunk that he refused to listen. Fortunately, Yang Yinglong was not angry. Instead, he laughed and said, "Brother, what are you talking about? It's just a joke with Song Liangzuo. Now is the period of preparation for war. You must not lose the big because of the small. In the near future, I will have to rely on your ten thousand brothers." My husband is not brave enough."
Yang Zhaolong originally disapproved of the war, but recently he heard that the Ming army was gathering grain in the surrounding areas, and he realized that the war was inevitable. So after hearing this, he advised Yang Yinglong: "Brother, with all due respect, since This battle will happen sooner or later, so why not take advantage of the unprepared Ming army to capture Sichuan and establish the princely hegemony? I am afraid that the opportunity will be missed by repeatedly discussing peace with Song Liangzuo, and I always feel uneasy."
Yang Yinglong waved his hand and said: "Do you think Shu is a place that can be easily occupied? Although Bozhou has 160,000 troops, Shu is equally difficult and dangerous. Even if the Sichuan soldiers are all weak and mediocre generals, Liu Wei is in Xuzhou , is he an easy person? Even if Liu Wei and I have an old relationship in the past and can't make any efforts this time, it will take at least several months to capture the entire territory of Sichuan. At this time, if the Ming armies of each province divide their routes and counterattack, we will When the front and back are attacked, Bozhou will be hard to protect.
Furthermore, Song Liangzuo was a prudent man. His defenses were tight and there were few opportunities to take advantage of. Only by establishing a foothold in Bozhou is it possible to win. As Mr. Sun said, if the peace talks are true, Bozhou can turn the crisis into peace; if the conquest is true, we can now consolidate the border defense and protect Bozhou's foundation. "
Just as he was talking about this, it was suddenly reported outside that Song Liangzuo had moved to Chongqing. Troops from Guizhou and Huguang had also gathered one after another. Sichuan general Liu Wei had also left Xuzhou and led his elite troops to Chongqing on standby.
Yang Yinglong was furious when he heard this and said: "Shameless old thief, you really cheated me!" Then he ordered to step up the repair of Bozhou Pass Fortress, and even warned that he would invade Sichuan. Song Liangzuo heard in Chongqing that Yang Yinglong wanted to spy on Shu. Although he thought it was unlikely, he did not dare to take it lightly. He also mobilized troops to cut off the Miao channels between Bozhou and Shu, occupied the important roads from Bozhou to Guizhou and Huguang, and gathered troops for defense.
At this time, Liu Wei had indeed led troops to Chongqing, but because Liu Wei had spent several years in Guizhou to pacify the Jiu Si Man and the Du Zhang Man, he did have an old relationship with Yang Yinglong, and even had a close relationship. As a result, officials in the army and the two provinces There are many discussions among them.
Liu Wei himself also heard about this, so he felt unhappy. He angrily scolded and whipped some of the people in the army who were whispering and discussing in private, and he was in a very bad mood.
When Song Liangzuo learned that Liu Wei was coming, he invited him into the study in the backyard and said: "General, because of his contribution to the conquest of Burma, he was promoted to governor and general magistrate. He has been a commander for generations. Now he is appointed as the commander-in-chief of Sichuan. It is really gratifying and congratulatory. General Liu is here day and night." The admiral has come to supervise the war, so I can pacify Bozhou without any worries."
After hearing this compliment, Liu Wei felt much better and said politely: "I'm overly rewarded for making an army. The last general has made a small contribution and has been rewarded generously by the court. He feels guilty. He often thinks that he can only do more meritorious deeds so as not to disgrace his family. Therefore, the last general I came here to quell the rebellion, how dare I slack off at all? Everything depends on the command of the commander of the army. I wonder if the commander of the commander of the army will give him a secret order here? "
Song Liangzuo suddenly changed his expression: "You haven't slacked off at all? Mr. Liu, after the imperial court ordered you to conquer Bozhou, you stayed still and refused to mobilize troops. You used various excuses to shirk it, and even said there was an epidemic in the army!
There was talk of impeachment in the imperial court, and they wanted to transfer you to the position of secretary of the right government in Nanjing, but you actually threatened to resign! Do you think there is no one in the Ming Dynasty but you, Liu Wei? Do you think that because you have an old relationship with Nanning Hou, the emperor will not kill you, and I will not kill you?
Listen, Honbudo also has Shang Fang Sword in hand this time, so what if he kills you! The Marquis is far away in the capital. How can he save you from the Chongqing army? What is the use of keeping a domineering general? Since it is of no use to the country, I can behead you now in public display! "
Liu Wei was shocked and said hurriedly: "Control the army and calm down. The epidemic in the army is real. The reason why the advance is slow is because the Marquis asked the general to reserve grain and grass for half a year before the war and carry it with the army. The general only has some old grain trucks on hand, so We had to wait for the new wire wheel car to be sent by the Marquis before we could go on the road.
As for resigning, I just hate those people who set up the trap for no reason. This matter is because I am arrogant. I am aware of my crime, but I will never have second thoughts about the court and the emperor, and I will not dare to obey the instructions of the Marquis. If you are slacking off, please give a clear warning to the army. "
Song Liangzuo was originally from the pragmatic school, and he was only worried that Liu Wei would be arrogant and domineering and disobey orders because of his relationship with Gao Pragmatic. Now that he had surrendered, everything would be easier to deal with.
So Song Liangzuo nodded and said: "What you said is quite honest. To tell you the truth, I think you are a good general and can be of great use in pacifying Bozhou, so I strongly recommend you and insist on retaining you. If you can perform meritorious service this time, you can atone for your sins. I hope You can take care of yourself." Liu Wei probably understood what he meant, but he could only thank him.
Song Liangzuo asked again: "General Liu has a long-standing reputation, and his troops have long been known as elites. He shows his skills in the mountains and dense forests, especially for surrendering to the Japanese. Even the Marquis has praised you many times. Therefore, I will pacify Bozhou this time, Liu Wei." It is indeed crucial.
But... officials from the two provinces advised me not to reuse you this time, just because you and Yang Yinglong have a history. It is said that in the early years, we were even as close as brothers, and we had a close relationship. Everyone in the army has doubts about this, and some even suspect that you will defect before the battle and return to Yang Yinglong's command. Is this possible? "
When Liu Wei heard this, he was so frightened that his hair stood on end. He knelt down and cried out: "Zhijun is aware of the situation, and it is true that General Mo was wronged. General Mo met Yang Yinglong in his early years, and they fought side by side many times when they pacified the Jiu Si Man and the Zhang Du Man. But at that time Yang Yinglong was extremely deferential to the court, and the general thought he was a loyal minister, so he called him brother.
But now Yang Yinglong's record of betrayal and treason is obvious, and his father and son have fought for the country for two generations. How can he associate with this generation again! People's words are terrible, and the general is always worried about being impeached. He can't defend himself, suffers unjust injustice, and brings humiliation to his family. Please control the army and take a closer look! "
Song Liangzuo helped Liu Qing up and said comfortingly: "Speaking of your father, Liu Gong, the commander-in-chief. In the past, he and Qi, Yu and other famous generals repeatedly defeated Japanese pirates. They made outstanding achievements and controlled the north and south of the Yangtze River. Later, he entered Shu and Guiping Jiusi was in charge of the barbarians. He uses his troops like a god and his fame moves the world.
I thought the Commander-in-Chief Liu Gong had been loyal and brave all his life, how could he give birth to a rebellious son! The emperor knows everything clearly, so how can he be deceived by villains and make the country's good generals suffer injustice?
Ah, I remember when we were pacifying the Jiusi barbarians, Liu Zongrong, you were there, right? By the way, you were only thirteen or fourteen years old at the time, but you were extremely brave. You climbed the city tower for the first time, captured the barbarian leader Ada, and beheaded Asan. You were able to achieve your first military success at a young age. It is admirable. I How could you listen to rumors?
Since then, Liu Zongrong has fought against Japanese pirates, defeated Luoxiong, and conquered Burma. He has worked hard and achieved great results. I hope you can go all out to defeat the chief this time, so as not to weaken your father's prestige and live up to the trust of the emperor and the marquis. "
What else could Liu Wei say? Naturally, he expressed his willingness to die to serve. Song Liangzuo also promised to go to court immediately to clarify Liu Wei's rumors and petition to entrust Liu Wei with autocratic power. Then he asked Liu Wei what he knew about Bozhou's military strength.
After thanking Liu Wei, he replied: "The Bozhou Army has lived in the mountains in the southwest for a long time. They are good at firing crossbows, hunting for food in the mountains, roaring into the mountains, good at arrow shooting, and walking over mountains and ridges as if they were walking on flat ground. In addition, the military laws of Bozhou are strict, and they go into battle You will fight to the death without fear, and if you show any timidity, you will be killed without mercy.
Because of this, every time the Bozhou Army faced a battle, its soldiers often died in battle, and it was rare for them to escape after being defeated. They were extremely brave. In addition, the seedlings he controls are also good at guerrilla warfare in the mountains, and some secret techniques are quite unpredictable.
However, according to the observation of the late general, the Bozhou Army is now not as good as before. Although its fighting methods are still the same, its fighting spirit is gradually declining. Even though it is still a strong force, it can no longer be called a tiger and wolf force. The wars that Bozhou has encountered in the past few decades have been nothing more than bullying of the weak. If there is a real war, it will be revealed that it will be defeated. "
Song Liangzuo was overjoyed and praised Liu Wei profusely. He immediately entrusted him with an important task and sent him out of the palace. Then Song Liangzuo actually issued an announcement to clarify Liu Wei's rumors. Later, they invited Tan Xisi, the governor of Pianyuan, and Guo Zizhang, the governor of Guizhou, to inspect the garrison camps in various places, strictly manage the army, punish corruption in the army, deploy military rations, and step up efforts to urge reinforcements from various places to speed up the pace.
In November, Yang Yinglong burned the rotten bridge on the east slope and blocked the Chu-Guizhou road. Huangping and Longquan were in emergency, and the Bozhou army regained control of the partial bridge and plundered Xinglong and Zhenyuan. Song Liangzuo sent more than 10,000 troops to defend dangerous places in various places, and also ordered Qian General Tong Yuanzhen to support Tongren to intimidate Bozhou.
At this time, the main force of the Ming army gathered, including Ma Lin and Dong Yiyuan who were transferred from Jiubian to the south. The Sichuan Army's general Liu Wei, the general Ma Zhen, the general Ma Kongying, the general Zhou Guozhu, the general Wu Guang, the guerrilla Xu Shiwei, and the deputy general Cao Bin, General Wu Wenjie, Shizhu Xuanfu envoy Ma Qiancheng, General Tong Yuanzhen of the Guizhou Army, General Zhu Heling, General Li Yingxiang, Deng Zilong of the Huguang Army, etc., plus the four towns of Yanning, Henan, Shandong, Yunnan, Guangdong and Guangxi. Lu Ban Army reinforcements, known as an army of 500,000 people.
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PS: This chapter is an hour late, but it still counts as yesterday. In addition, there is sad news. It is reported that schools will most likely continue to "suspend classes and continue learning" this week after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday, and the beast is expected to continue online classes at home.
