More than ten days before the beginning of winter in the fourth year of Qianyou's reign, the situation in the northern country was so turbulent that it was enough to see the beauty. The two countries, Han and Liao, mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops and faced each other. The clouds of war completely shrouded the sky over Hebei, and they saw that the war was about to start and end suddenly.
The Khitan changed its emperor, the Han emperor stopped his northern expedition, and the Youyan border, under the constraints of the upper levels of the two countries, unanimously stopped fighting, the sharp swords were sheathed, and the bows and arrows were strung back into their quivers.
Those who are deeply confused are almost at a loss as to what to do. Among them, the most uncomfortable ones are the two divisions with more than 40,000 infantry and cavalry. The exhaustion of the march was secondary. The most important thing was that most of the soldiers were ready for a bloody battle with the Khitans. Then they received military orders not to fight the Khitans and instead march south...
However, as a soldier, even if you are confused, you can just follow the order. There are not many complaints, and even if they are, they can only be buried in the bottom of my heart. There may still be many omissions in the Han Dynasty's civil governance system, but the military law is perfect enough. Anyone who complains in the military camp will be severely punished, and in wartime, he will be directly beheaded. In addition, the emperor placed consolation envoys in various armies, which also began to work.
The army continued to advance towards Huainan. As the commanders of the camp, Wang Jun and Murong Yanzhao were ordered to enter the palace to receive the emperor's holy instructions when they passed through Tokyo. Liu Chengyou, in his usual style, said without any redundancy, he simply said that the affairs of the front camp in Huainan were left to the two ministers, and I was responsible for the matters in the north.
Murong Yanzhao expressed his duty as a defender and humbly expressed that he would do his best to capture the Huainan states for His Majesty, occupy their land, property, and settlements, and destroy the puppet Tang army. Murong Yanzhao understood the strategic goals very well.
In comparison, Wang Jun is much more arrogant. Ever since he led his troops to fight against Shu in the early years of Qianyou's reign and defeated the Shu army in the battle of Jifeng Mountain, Wang Jun had been a bit arrogant and difficult to control. Even during his two years in the Privy Council, he had not smoothed his edges.
This time, he was entrusted with the affairs of the camp before the southern expedition. He directly patted his chest and assured Liu Chengyou: "I will take care of the matters in Huainan. Your Majesty, don't worry. I will use all the land to dedicate the palace!"
He was very powerful and ambitious, but his tone made people feel uncomfortable, but Liu Chengyou was exactly the kind of person who could endure it. Wang Jun's character problem cannot be a reason for Liu Chengyou to give up using him.
Of course, it's not that Liu Chengyou has never thought about changing coaches, it's just that it was difficult to find a suitable commander for a while. Someone suggested Guo Wei, but Liu Chengyou ignored it and remembered the privy minister who suggested it.
As for other suitable people, the state leader Gao Xingzhou fell ill, Fu Yanqing needed to be in charge of Yedu, Guo Congyi also led the guards of Chan and Hua, and Zhe Congruan was still in the northwest. As for the others, they are either not enough to make Liu Chengyou trust him, or they are not capable enough.
Or, it is simply due to lack of qualifications, such as Murong Yanzhao. Even though Liu Chengyou has repeatedly promoted him, he is still far away from being the commander of the army, so Liu Chengyou can only put him in the position of Du Yuhou.
Although Liu Chengyou has promoted many young and strong generals over the years, when it comes time to mobilize the army, he still has to consider the issue of seniority.
When using Wang Jun, the concern is that this person is arrogant and difficult to control, but the reason for peace of mind is also his character. To be honest, people with this kind of personality are not difficult to deal with. Of course, the most fundamental thing is that Wang Jun has the ability to command an army. When he was in Guanzhong, he defended the border and defeated the enemy. Liu Chengyou still has fresh memories to this day.
...
Suzhou, since the imperial court formulated the Huainan strategy, has become a border state focused on development by the Han Dynasty. Zhao Kuangyin, the regimental training envoy, and Wang Pu, the Huaibei grain envoy, successively took office. Coupled with the tilt of various resources from the court, in two or three years, Suzhou developed into the most important military, transportation, and economic center in Huaibei while quietly nourishing things. .
The imperial court has always used Suzhou as a base for the army to move south. In order to hide its military intentions, Zhao Kuangyin, as the military and political chief of the state, has been worried about it for the past three years.
Mount your horse to manage the army, dismount your horse to govern the people. Of course, after such experience, Zhao Kuangyin has grown rapidly. No one in Suzhou dares to underestimate this young regiment training commander anymore. The people of "Xiao Zhao Commander" have even spread to Huainan Went, after all, only separated by a water.
Up to now, the city of Suzhou Zhifuli is so strong that according to Zhao Kuangyin, his Suzhou soldiers can hold back 30,000 soldiers. To the north of Fuli and south of the canal, Zhao Kuangyin had recruited civilians to build more than ten large warehouses, each of which stored grain, ordnance, and clothing. By the end of autumn in the fourth year of Qianyou's reign, as Wang Pu transferred the last batch of grain, all the warehouses were full.
In order to build these warehouses secretly, Zhao Kuangyin also cleverly created names, building docks, building roads, and opening canals in the name of concealing information whenever he could. Even for the civilian men who participated in the project, Liu Chengyou requested the imperial court to recruit civilians from Songzhou and even other states further north.
In the spring and summer of this year, the people in Huainan were hungry, and some of them ate in Suzhou. Zhao Kuangyin was ordered to provide relief. Zhao Kuangyin selected hundreds of strong people among them to repair warehouses and build military buildings. They have not been released yet, and they are still used in concentration camps. Under Zhao Kuangyin's management, there were some fugitives who couldn't stand it, and they were ordered to be killed by Zhao Kuangyin without mercy...
On the front line of the march south, in an important military transportation area, in order not to expose the imperial court's strategic direction, Zhao Kuangyin had good intentions in Suzhou and did everything he could think of. It would be difficult for any other person to achieve Zhao Kuangyin's level.
In Tokyo, when inspecting the preparations for war, Liu Chengyou praised Zhao Kuangyin's political achievements in Suzhou. In fact, according to Liu Chengyou's employment style, Zhao Kuangyin arrived for promotion early, but kept suppressing it. Of course, even if the court wanted to transfer his position, I'm afraid Zhao Kuangyin would not be happy. As long as he makes further achievements in the Southern Expedition, Zhao Kuangyin will surely soar to the sky.
A hundred miles south of Fuli, at the mouth of Wu, the junction of the three states of Su, Hao and Shou, where the Wu River enters the Huai River. As the military and political officer of Suzhou, Zhao Kuangyin once again took his only 100 cavalry to inspect the borders of Han and Tang Dynasties.
Due to the importance of military strategy, Suzhou is located in the Han Dynasty and is also a major regiment training state. The regiment training has increased to 3,500 soldiers. Since there was a shortage of horses in the Central Plains, the only hundred cavalry that Liu Chengyou had allocated to Zhao Kuangyin from the Forbidden Army.
In the northwest of Wukou, Zhao Kuangyin built a military stronghold, called Jingshan stronghold, as an outpost for observation. Southeast of the vortex, directly opposite the Huaihe River, is Tushan Mountain.
At this time, Zhao Kuangyin climbed up and stood on his horse, looking far into the distance. At the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, the cold wind was blowing, and the red tassels on his back were moving with the wind, but at this time, Zhao Kuangyin's eyes were looming over the mountains and rivers.
"Brother Zhao, you have patrolled here twice this month. What's so special about it?" Next to Zhao Kuangyin was a rough-looking young officer.
This man was named Dang, wanted to advance, and came from a humble background. He was once a domestic slave of the rebellious minister Du Chongwei, and he had always been brave. At that time, the great ancestor Liu Zhiyuan personally defeated Du Chongwei's rebellion. On the day Yuancheng was destroyed, he was captured by the Han army and later enlisted in the army. In the Forbidden Army, relying on his bravery and drive, and catching up with the emperor to promote young men, he also killed several rebels in the process of conquering Hezhong. In four years, he moved to the Wujie Military Camp to command the envoy.
When he was hunting in Dunqiu this spring, he was remembered by Liu Chengyou for his outstanding performance. He was later transferred to Suzhou and commanded the Second Army of Suzhou, leading a thousand soldiers. Over the years, Liu Chengyou has successively selected people from the Forbidden Army and sent them to various prefectures and towns to promote promising people and also have the effect of mixing sand.
Zhao Kuangyin was very happy about the arrival of the party. Although this person was illiterate and rude, he was frank and open-minded and had a generous spirit. In particular, his physical strength was highly praised by Zhao Kuangyin. In addition, the two were similar in age and had similar temperaments. With Zhao Kuangyin's intention to become friends, the two soon became good friends and called themselves brothers.
At this time, hearing Dang Jin's muttering, Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help but smile, raised his hand and pointed between the mouth of the vortex and Tushan Mountain, and said confidently: "I have been observing the terrain here for a long time, and it is a good ambush location!"
Dang Jin looked with wide eyes, tilted his head and asked, "Does Brother Zhao plan to fight here? Unless the Tang army passes by!"
Dang Jin just said it casually, but Zhao Kuangyin nodded on his face: "Wuokou is a strategic point on the waterway. After the battle, it is very likely that Tang soldiers and horses will go up the Huaihe River. When passing here, there is a possibility of setting up an ambush!"
Hearing what Zhao Kuangyin said was a bit mysterious, Dang Jin shook his head, looked south, held the reins of his horse, but looked eager to try: "After waiting for so long, the war is finally about to begin. I must kill a few more Huai bandits." Head..."
"Brother Zhao, can you ask the commander-in-chief Wang to use me, the Suzhou soldiers, as the vanguard of the army?" Dang Jin looked at Zhao Kuangyin expectantly.
When asked, Zhao Kuangyin replied firmly: "It's almost impossible!"
"Hey!" Sighing, Dang Jin muttered: "Then why is Brother Zhao so active in patrolling this place?"
"I have been in Suzhou for the past three years. When the army marches south, even if I cannot be the vanguard, I still have to be a guide! If the king comes, he will consult the enemy's situation and terrain. If he doesn't know, how should he respond?" Zhao Kuangyin said.
Only then did Dang Jin realize.
Turning his head, Zhao Kuangyin pointed to the southwest and said: "Shouzhou is an important town in Huainan. Since ancient times, military strategists must conquer it. The northern army can conquer the south. As I guessed correctly, this army will definitely attack Shouzhou first."
As he spoke, Zhao Kuangyin's big dark eyes flashed with splendor: "This place is only a hundred miles away from Shouchun. I originally thought that if I led an elite team to cross the Huaihe River from the shallows, arrive in the morning and arrive in the evening, and raid Shouchun, I might be able to Fight and get down!"
Dang Jin's eyes lit up and he was about to speak when he heard Zhao Kuangyin continue in a pity tone: "It's a pity, since the old general took office, it's almost impossible!"
The old general Zhao Kuangyin was referring to was He Jingzhu, the governor of the Qing Huai Army in the Southern Tang Dynasty. This veteran general was ordered to go to Chu last year when the Ma brothers were fighting, and led his army to help Ma Xi'e seize power. He was later promoted to be the envoy of the Wuchang Army stationed in Ezhou. When the Tang army attacked Chu, Liu Renfan, the deputy envoy of the Wuchang Army's Jiedu, captured Yuezhou and strengthened the army due to his meritorious service.
The veteran general He Jingzhu was transferred to Shouzhou as a military envoy by the Southern Tang Dynasty, stationed in this important town in Huainan. Less than a month after arriving in Shouzhou, the veteran general He Jingzhu checked for any neglected defenses. Taking advantage of the state-owned war, he organized the army to repair the defences. In particular, he sent troops to patrol Huaishang to check for any leaks.
As a result, Shouzhou's defense intensity was immediately increased.
