In August of the fourth year of Qianyou's reign, it was the time of autumn.
On the vast plains on both sides of the river, the autumn grain harvest has come to an end. In order to prepare for the war, the imperial court issued a special order urging the officials of various prefectures to harvest autumn grain, collect it in the treasury every year, prepare it in Tokyo, and send it to warehouses in various places.
By mid-autumn, most of the large rice and wheat fields in the Central Plains and Hebei provinces only have traces of harvesting. They are no longer golden scenes, but the big farmers have more smiles on their faces.
God is merciful, and thanks to good weather and good weather in the past two years, especially this year, the harvest has been good. In particular, the two capitals and the surrounding areas were directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, and even though they paid a lot of taxes and taxes to meet their basic needs, they finally had some surplus food.
In Tokyo, while the officials and people of the city are preparing to welcome the Mid-Autumn Festival, within the imperial city, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty is still divided in heart, with his intentions in the north and the south.
In the Chongzheng Palace, there are still the old group of military ministers, Gao Xingzhou, Wei Renpu, Zheng Renjie, Wang Pu, Murong Yanzhao, plus Shang Hongqian, who is the palace commander after all.
In addition to Zhang Dejun and Wang Zhu, there was also a young official, Li Fang, serving in the palace.
This year, Liu Chengyou held the examination again and selected 237 scholars in each subject. The number one scholar Liu Chengyou selected was Li Fang. After various investigations, it was found that this man had outstanding literary talent and quick thinking. He was a talented person. Liu Chengyouzhi was a Hanlin bachelor and served as a minister. He served in front of the emperor and was also responsible for helping to organize official documents and memorials.
"Hunan has changed!" Liu Chengyou's words clarified the theme of this palace meeting.
This time it was Zheng Renjie who introduced the situation: "Your Majesty, gentlemen. According to reports from the Military Intelligence Department of the Privy Council and Lizhou Defense Envoy Cao Yin, a mutiny occurred in Changsha just seven days ago. Xu Wei, a general of the Chu Army Wait, depose the puppet king of Chu, Ma Xi'e, and imprison him in Hengshan County. Immediately, Ma Xichong will be retained by the Wu'an army to plunder Changsha!"
"Hengshan commander Liao Yan and Jifu Jiedu inspector Kuang Ning, together with Ma Chufan general Peng Shihao, thought that Ma Xihe was deposed because of his long life. It would have caused misfortune. They all supported Ma Xihe as the king of Hengshan, and gathered villagers and villagers. And thousands of barbarians marched north to Tanzhou."
"Ma Chujingjiang Jiedushi Ma Xiyin and Mengzhou Governor Xu Qiong heard about the change in Changsha, and they also took their own troops. Due to the fake Liu troops and horses in Lingnan, they did not dare to move lightly!"
"Liu Yan, the military envoy of Wuping who stole Langzhou, heard about Chu's rebellion and sent a letter to Lizhou, asking Cao Cao to defend it and submit it to Tokyo. He intended to lead his army south to attack Changsha and attack Ma Xichong. However, it was reported that after Liu Yan wrote the letter, the Langzhou soldiers Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng, commanded by Ma, have already sent troops to Changsha to denounce Ma Xichong for usurping the throne."
After Zheng Renjie's introduction, there was silence in the palace for a short moment as the civil and military officials digested the news.
It was Wang Pu who stood up first and spoke: "Your Majesty, the situation in Hunan is very clear. There will be another civil war between the Ma and Chu forces, and the situation will completely collapse. That Ma Xichong is also a drunkard and a dissolute person, and he is based in Changsha , It’s hard to defend the place!”
After Wang Pu finished speaking, Wei Renpu also stood up and said with unusual certainty: "The most important thing is that the Puppet Tang Dynasty will definitely not delay this time. They sharpened their swords and headed towards Hunan. For six months, they will never be in Hunan." Under such circumstances, a good opportunity has been missed. If the puppet Tang Dynasty makes a move, the puppet dynasty in Lingnan will inevitably follow suit and seize the lands of Guangxi and Mongolia in the north and all of Lingnan."
With that said, Wei Renpu stood up and gestured at the map of Hunan hanging on the side of the hall. This map is relatively simple, with only the major states, towns and counties in Hunan, and a few main rivers and tributaries. But after Wei Renpu's explanation, it is not difficult to understand the situation.
After Wei Renpu finished speaking, Zheng Renjie added: "After many inquiries, it is now certain that the Puppet Tang Dynasty has stationed troops in the north and south of Yuanzhou and Ezhou, with a movable army of at least 50,000 land and water troops."
"I guess the main force must be Yuanzhou's border army in the south. To the north are our Lizhou garrison and Langzhou Chu army. The Ezhou division should only be used as a partial backup. Yuanzhou is less than two kilometers away from Liling, the southeast gateway of Changsha. Hundreds of miles away, there are tributaries of the Gan River to rely on, and we can avoid many troubles in the north."
"According to the investigation, there are three reasons why the Tang army stayed still. The first is our court's intentions and threats, the second is the famine in Huainan, and the third is the situation in Ma Chu. At this point, the Tang Lord has no reason to hesitate anymore. "
After Zheng Ren finished speaking, Wang Pu actively added: "Jingchen and others have deduced that once the Tang army marched from Yuanzhou, Hunan's soldiers were exhausted and the people were exhausted, and the people's hearts were lost. The two brothers Ma Xie and Ma Xichong could not hold on at all. Possibility. I'm afraid that by then, central Hunan will really be as expected by the monarchs and ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty. It will depend on the propaganda."
"As for the land of Guangxi and Meng, the territory is barren, the population is small, the population is isolated, and there is no place to rely on. I am afraid that it will be difficult to resist the attack of the puppet Liu army. By then, the most likely situation in the Hunan states is that the puppet Liu will occupy one of the ten states in Lingnan. In this land, the puppet Tang Dynasty occupies most of central and northern Hunan. In this sacred land, only Langzhou in the north and Lizhou, where our army is stationed, can temporarily resist it!"
"Have you overestimated the Langzhou Army?" After Wang Pu finished speaking, Liu Chengyou finally spoke: "As you said, if the puppet Tang Dynasty controlled most of Hunan, only the Langzhou rebels could compete with the Tang Army. Fighting? They are a group of rebels. It can be said that they are a ragtag group. They are not like the original Ma Xi'e and the descendants of the Ma family. Their opponents are not fools like Ma Xiguang!"
At this time, Wei Renpu stood up and explained: "Your Majesty, you must not underestimate the Langzhou soldiers. They may seem like a ragtag group, but they are actually the most elite and most powerful army under Ma Xi'e's command. Although they are small in number, they are extremely brave. And control The ten generals of Langbing, mainly Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng, had a deep friendship and became "ten brothers"."
"Although they started from humble beginnings, they also had strategies, especially that of Zhou Xingfeng. After he abolished Wuping Jiedu envoy Ma Guanghui in June, conflicts suddenly arose among the 'ten brothers' because of who came to power. It was Zhou Xingfeng who suggested, Welcoming Li Yan as a governor avoided conflicts and possible civil strife, allowing Langzhou to unite and move outward."
"While Langzhou surrendered to the Han Dynasty, it also accepted the books of the pseudo-Tang Dynasty. It did not offend both sides and had both sides. It is said that it was also Zhou Xingfeng's suggestion. Although it is suspected of having both ends, it cannot be completely regarded as a virtue. Treat him like a shallow and vulgar man.”
"Zhou Xingfeng..." Liu Chengyou muttered. He has heard this name several times since this year, and he is already a famous figure in Hunan.
However, Liu Chengyou had some vague memories. It was this name that made some famous names in its original history.
Wei Renpu continued: "Although Langzhou was on good terms with the puppet Tang Dynasty at the same time, if the Tang army really occupied Hunan, with their style, it would be impossible for them to surrender directly and surrender. And if the Han Dynasty and the With Jingnan's support behind him, he will naturally be able to fight against the puppet Tang Dynasty. It will not be so easy for the Tang army to just solve the troubles in the Chu region..."
After listening to the analysis reports of several ministers, Liu Chengyou stood in front of the map for a long time, turned around, raised his finger and said seriously: "My lords, great changes are coming in Hunan, and the big man must be prepared for the final response!"
He was talking about things in the south, but Liu Chengyou was heading north. He knew very well that no matter how Hunan changed or became chaotic, it would have limited impact on today's big men.
In the autumn of the fourth year of Qianyou's reign, with the Ma-Chu Rebellion, the great changes in the world situation officially kicked off, and a great deal of trouble came.
