In Shouchun, the army of the Northern Han Dynasty conquered the Huaihe River camped in the imperial tent.
In the stove, the charcoal fire was burning brightly. Liu Chengyou was warming the fire with one hand and holding the secret report from Jinling in the other hand. He read it carefully, and some interest gradually appeared on his calm face. Li Shaoyou, the martial virtue envoy, Tao Gu and Murong Yanzhao from Zhongshushe stood quietly aside.
"This Song Qiqiu is worthy of the name of the number one counselor in the Southern Kingdom. He really has some insight and strategy!" After a long time, Liu Chengyou passed the letter to several people and said with emotion: "If the pseudo-Tang Dynasty could really implement its strategy and implement it to deal with the situation, Our army, then I will really have a headache!"
The secret report in Liu Chengyou's hand came from Jinling and contained details of the palace discussions between the emperors and ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty. For the Southern Expedition, Liu Chengyou's preparations were basically thorough in all aspects, including spying on information. After several envoy exchanges and daily dispatches, the Wude and Military Intelligence Departments deployed nearly a hundred agents to Jinling and Huainan states to specialize in bribery and spying on their military and political information.
The monarchs and ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty would never have thought that after their discussion in the Golden Palace, all the contents of the discussion would be presented to Liu Chengyou.
Several people looked at it, and there was not much solemnity in their expressions. Murong Yanzhao said to Liu Chengyou: "This Song Qiqiu's strategy is to exploit its strengths and avoid weaknesses, and it is certainly aimed at our army. But the development of the war situation will not be based on his considerations, and our army will not do what he wants! Furthermore, now Guo Jinglue has taken Chu , the lower reaches of the Huai River are all in my hands. The Huainan states are available for me to descend calmly. No matter how unparalleled the strategy is, it is just a desperate struggle to delay the progress of our army's attack, and it will not hinder the overall situation!"
Murong Yanzhao's opinion is very striking. Nodding in agreement, Liu Chengyou said: "We must again order Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin to guard Shanyang to consolidate the results of the battle and avoid being taken advantage of by Yao Feng's army in Gaoyou!"
In fact, the capture of Chuzhou was a shock to the Southern Tang Dynasty, and it was also a surprise to Liu Chengyou. Originally, Liu Chengyou's Guo Rong's expectation was only to make progress after the spring of next year.
Unexpectedly, Guo Rong and Zhao Kuangyin joined forces and went against the grain. They took advantage of winter and attacked Shanyang by surprise. They attacked for two hundred miles and defeated Shanyang in one fell swoop. The situation in Huainan, which was supposed to be in a stalemate, suddenly became clear. As Murong Yanzhao said, the Huainan states can be taken easily.
"However, the war potential of the Puppet Tang Dynasty is still considerable. Even with the loss of troops and horses, in a short period of time, one hundred thousand troops can still be mobilized to resist our army! Such strength is really enviable!" Liu Chengyou said: "Today Give it to me, if you don’t take it, you may be punished by God!”
"The pseudo-Tang Kong has many people, but their combat power is low, so why should they be afraid?" Tao Gu stood up and said.
Liu Chengyou nodded slightly and said to himself: "We have to think about how to eat the 100,000 people of the Puppet Tang Dynasty! If they damage them again, they will have no means to stop my army!"
Facing Liu Chengyou's gaze, Murong Yanzhao said: "I have two suggestions! One is that we discussed before that we should implement a strategy of siege and reinforcements, using Shouchun as bait to continue to lure the puppet Tang army to the north for reinforcements. However, in the Battle of Xiacai In the future, the Tang army will definitely no longer be so unprepared and will be careful. Moreover, now that Hao and Chu states have fallen into our dynasty, Sizhou is also a piece of meat. The Tang army may not dare to continue to invest in large armies and come to Shouchun to support !”
"It makes sense!" Liu Chengyou agreed with Murong Yanzhao's consideration and then asked: "What about the other one?"
"Concentrate our strength to conquer Shouzhou and Sizhou first, clear the obstacles in our rear, and enable our army to move south and deep into the areas along the river without any worries!" Murong Yanzhao walked to the map, pointed his finger at Luzhou, and said seriously: "Hefei! I Troops march into Hefei and threaten the areas along the river. The Puppet Tang Dynasty will never remain indifferent. Then use Hefei as a bait to lure reinforcements!"
After a pause, Murong Yanzhao said: "However, if this happens, our army's battle line will be greatly lengthened, the pressure of supplies will increase, and the danger of the Huainan navy will be in front of our army again!"
"This is not a big problem!" After thinking about it for a while, Liu Chengyou said in a confident tone: "Huainan is difficult to attack, only the Huai River is the defense! Since the Huai River was lost in the Pseudo-Tang Dynasty, the huge land north of the Yangtze River and Huainan cannot be conquered. Is my big man's iron cavalry all over the place?"
"I admire your Majesty's arrogance!" Murong Yanzhao said with a slight smile.
Liu Chengyou couldn't help but feel happy hearing Murong Yanzhao's compliments.
He picked up the Jinling secret report again, read it, and raised his eyebrows. Liu Chengyou ordered Li Fang who was waiting in the palace: "Li Fang, prepare an edict and send it to Song Yanwo of the Yongxing Army, Zhao Hui of the Fengxiang Army, and Shi Kuangyi of the Zhangyi Army. Let them be on strict guard against the Shu army! Remember in the year of the prosperity of the country, they marched in winter and had to be on guard!"
"Yes!" Li Fang responded and immediately got busy.
Seeing this, Tao Gu asked: "Your Majesty, the trouble-making army and the Khitan side should also be on guard!"
"Haha!" Liu Chengyou laughed coldly: "I made arrangements before I left the capital. I have tolerated Xiazhou's little actions over the years for a long time. Now we have to see if Li Yiyin dares to take the opportunity to cause chaos. !”
"The Khitan side, are you going to send another envoy to contact us in order to stabilize the enemy?" Tao Gu asked again.
Liu Chengyou became more calm and said: "What about the Khitan? It is not under our control. We can only do our best and strengthen our defenses! The peace talks could not last more than a month, so we took the initiative to send envoys, which seems guilty!"
"The general trend of the world depends on your majesty's mind. If you have a plan! How can the great Han Dynasty fail to achieve it!" Hearing this, Tao Gu immediately praised with a smile on his face.
Ignoring Tao Gu's "licking", Liu Chengyou said in a cold tone: "However, the pseudo-Tang Dynasty wants to cause trouble behind our back, how can I make it easy for them! Send an order to Hunan to let Li and Lang's troops delay the withdrawal of the Tang army. , tell Wang Kui and Zhou Xingfeng that I don’t need them to fight to the death with the Tang army, only to entangle and harass them! Also, if they capture the pseudo-Tangzhou County, I will reward them all!"
"The king and Zhou will definitely be driven by interests and be used by His Majesty!"
"Continue to contact Gao Baorong and Qian Hongchu and ask them to send troops to attack the Tang Dynasty! Especially Qian Hongchu, as my in-law, Wu Yue should also contribute!"
"yes!"
"Wude Si did a good job this time. This information is very valuable!" After saying this, Liu Chengyou tilted his head and praised Li Shaoyou, affirming Wude Si's work.
Li Shaoyou's face suddenly brightened with joy, and the beard on his lips twitched. For a long time, he had not been praised by the emperor's cousin. For such a big event as the Southern Expedition, it was Li Shaoyou who defeated Wang Jingchong and got the opportunity to accompany him on the expedition.
After living comfortably in Tokyo for several years, he took charge of the Wude Division and experienced a high position and great power. It was rare for Li Shaoyou to be motivated again, and he felt that he could no longer rest on his laurels, and Liu Chengyou also gave him this opportunity. Since the expedition, the spying on Jianghuai news had been in place in a timely manner. Liu Chengyou was still satisfied with this.
"Your Majesty, the second son of Li Jing, the pseudo-lord of the Tang Dynasty, died of a sudden illness. Li Jing was so sad that he even fainted. He had ordered his younger brother Li Jingsui to supervise the country, and assisted the military and administration with Song Qiqiu, Feng Yansi and others. He lived in the Tang Palace and took care of the queen. Something happened!" Li Shaoyou said again, his tone full of gloating.
"Oh?" Liu Chengyou couldn't help but be a little surprised when he heard the news, and then muttered: "When the country is rising and falling, and the country is ups and downs, this Li Jing actually avoids national affairs for personal reasons. Such an opponent is really exciting!"
Tao Gu said: "I think the pseudo-Tang Lord, although not a tyrannical king, is cowardly in nature. Such behavior is certainly shocking, but there is no need to be too surprised!"
Judging from Tao Gu's appearance, he despised Li Jing very much.
"Your Majesty, there is something else that needs attention!" Li Shaoyou added: "Li Jingsui, the younger brother of the puppet emperor of the Tang Dynasty, has a calm personality and has no desire to fight for power. Although he supervises the country, he is not very good at governing the country! The military and political power are all handled by Song Qiqiu and other ministers. ....." Li Shaoyou added.
Liu Chengyou was keenly aware of the problem and looked slightly confused: "If this is true, Song Qiqiu is in charge of the affairs of the puppet Tang Dynasty and takes military and political orders, then it will be an obstacle to our army's attack!"
"Do you, the two envoys to Jinling, know anything about Song Qiqiu?" Liu Chengyou looked at Tao Gu.
Tao Gu shook his head honestly, but after thinking about it, a sinister smile appeared on his old face: "Your Majesty, I have never met Song Qiqiu, but in Jinling, I also learned that this gentleman was famous in the Puppet Tang Dynasty. He is quite tall and powerful. He was the leader of a party in the Puppet Tang Dynasty! During the political dispute a few years ago, Li Jing was banished to Hongzhou for an excuse!"
"This time, if we hadn't launched a large-scale army in Huainan, Song Qiqiu would not have been summoned back to Jinling..."
After hearing what he said, Liu Chengyou's eyes lit up, a similar smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, his eyes flashed, he pointed at Li Shaoyou and said: "The Pseudo-Tang Dynasty has obtained this minister of the Ding Kingdom, a talent that is as high as the sky, how can I not congratulate you! Go! , sent people to Jinling to promote the Duke of Song and build up momentum for him. Without the Duke of Song, how could the fake Tang Dynasty exist? I am not afraid of others in the southern expedition, but I only care about the Duke of Song. I wish I could work with him!"
