Liu Chengyou walked into the Privy Council and followed Ruan Zheng and Guo Rong to discuss something. He raised his hand to stop the two of them, lifted his robe and sat on the short chair given by Zhang Dejun, and asked: "What are you talking about?"
Zhe Cong Ruan Ying said: "The Military Intelligence Department reported that four days ago, Zhou Xingfeng of Hunan defeated Wuling City. As of now, he has completely occupied Chen, Lang, Tan, Heng and other places. I'm afraid there will be no more Zhou family members in Hunan." adversary!"
"Oh?" Liu Chengyou clicked his tongue, not surprised: "Tan and Lang fought fiercely for more than half a year, and finally the winner was determined! Sun Lang and Cao Jin were not the same as Zhou Xing, but they didn't To think that the two of them can persist until now!"
"Although the siege by the Tan Army lasted for several months, the result was predictable!" Guo Rong said with a hint of regret in his tone: "I just never thought that other forces in Hunan would sit back and watch the success or failure, allowing the two to attack. . Zhang Wenbiao, who supported his troops in the south, indulged in pleasure and did not cause any trouble to Zhou Xingfeng, allowing him to easily trap the city and break it!"
This summer, Wuling in Langzhou was in constant turmoil. Starting from Wang Kui, Liu Yan and Pan Shusi, civil strife and bloodshed continued, and finally Sun Lang and Cao Jin, two penniless Northern generals, became famous overnight. .
When Zhou Xing saw the opportunity, he held high the "flag of righteousness" and marched northward with water and troops. Sun Lang and Cao Jin did not sit back and wait for death. Helang and Chen's two-state army of 5,000 went south to meet them. The two sides fought in Yiyang.
Yiyang County has been a key area in the military struggle between Lang and Tan since Ma Xihe launched his army. It has been repeatedly devastated by war and has witnessed almost all wars since the end of Ma Chu. It was the same this time. The two sides fought fiercely in Yiyang for more than ten days.
However, Cao Jin and Sun Lang were only junior generals, and they were also foreign generals. They betrayed their master and killed generals, and then captured the military city. Although the soldiers gathered in the city, although there were many powerful soldiers in Langzhou, their hearts were unstable. Only those worthy of their trust were the only ones worthy of their trust. The number of soldiers from the Central Plains who had followed them for many years was no more than seven hundred.
Although Zhou Xingfeng's troops were less than 10,000, those who fought head-on were even more numerous. However, Zhou Xingfeng controlled his troops well and was united. From the beginning of the battle, he had the upper hand.
Although Sun Lang and Cao Jin have few talents, they are still warriors who have been walking on the tip of the sword all year round. Although it was difficult to see the signs of defeat, he felt that something was wrong, so he decisively withdrew his troops and moved quickly. Zhou Xingfeng took the opportunity to pursue him. Although he captured more than 2,000 soldiers, he still let the two men lead the remaining soldiers and returned to Wuling City.
Zhou Xingfeng took the opportunity to reorganize his troops and troops, and then used land and water troops to besiege the city. Originally, if nothing unexpected happened, Wuling's situation of scattered people and internal and external troubles could be resolved in ten days.
However, rabbits are eager to bite people, and dogs are eager to jump over the wall. Sun Lang and Cao Jin made great efforts in the city to resist the Tan soldiers. Although Wuling City was the source of many years of turmoil in Hunan, it actually did not suffer much substantial damage. After several military governors, they spared no effort to repair and strengthen the city. In the previous period, they gathered grain from the two states in the city.
Faced with this situation, Sun and Cao defended the city desperately. Zhou Xingfeng's army attacked twice and was actually defended for a while. But when Zhou Xing met here, his army was insufficient, and he had more than enough to trap him, but he was not enough to break it.
The two sides fought fiercely inside and outside Wuling for more than three months from summer to autumn. Before winter, seeing that the veterans of the division were tired and the fortified city was difficult to attack, some subordinate generals advised Zhou Xingfeng to temporarily withdraw his troops and try again later, but Zhou Xingfeng decisively refused.
He summoned the generals who accompanied the army and said to them: "The city has been besieged for several months. Unless the bandit army is strong, I sympathize with the soldiers and do not want to waste more lives to break the city. In this way, the bandits of Wuling have been weakened. They only sit and wait for death. The people in the city have plenty of food." Widow, I have enough food and warm clothes to go out, how long can I hold on? Things have come to this, and we must not give up halfway, and all the previous efforts will be wasted. If we retreat today, we will come back the next day, and the effort will be doubled! Anyone who retreats again will be killed! "
In this way, Zhou Xingfeng unified the army and eliminated the hope of Sun Lang and Cao Jin to "defend the city strictly, drain their morale, and wait for the enemy to retreat."
Of course, Zhou Xingfeng's stubbornness was also a decision made after considering the situation.
First, the Northern Han Dynasty in the Central Plains was busy with internal affairs and did not care about external affairs. It only issued some indifferent edicts to Hunan, so that Zhou Xingfeng could concentrate on the strategy without any worries. Regarding the surrounding forces, the Gao family in Jingnan had always been defensive, the Southern Tang Dynasty was severely damaged by Huainan and was undergoing reforms, and the Later Shu Dynasty was busy guarding the north. It can be said that Zhou Xingfeng had an almost perfect and stable external environment.
In both cases, Wuling was an isolated city, and the surrounding counties and towns all surrendered to him and provided military service and food. When he stationed troops outside, he had no shortage of food, grass, weapons, and uniforms, so he had enough confidence. Furthermore, Changsha was gradually restored through its management.
Speaking of which, I have to mention that Zhou Xingfeng has a good wife. He was murderous by nature and used harsh methods. He often punished him indiscriminately, but he was often advised by his wife to suspend his sentence to accumulate virtue. During the farming season, his wife also goes to work in the fields herself to improve people's livelihood and make them less worried.
Of the three, the only ones to worry about are Zhang Wenbiao and other old brothers in the south. They are the real trouble. For these people, Zhou Xingfeng stabilized them with generous gifts. Especially Zhang Wenbiao, Zhou Xingfeng also selected five beauties as gifts, one of whom was the most beautiful and favorite concubine in his back house.
Therefore, when Zhou Xingfeng was fighting at the gate of Wuling City, Zhang Wenbiao was busy enjoying fine wine and beautiful women. Especially Zhou Xingfeng's favorite concubine, whom he had envied as early as in Langzhou. Now that Zhou Xingfeng presented her on the couch, she was even more proud of her. She often told people that Zhou Xingfeng was afraid of her.
By this winter, Wuling City had run out of food and was no longer able to resist. As the rebels gathered together, Zhou Xingfeng easily broke into the city and was able to conquer the entire city. Although a lot of money and food were wasted, the gains after Wuling were always greater than the efforts.
Although Liu Chengyou was busy sorting out internal affairs, he was still paying attention to the war in Hunan and wanted to make inquiries from time to time.
After quickly digesting the news that Zhou Xingfeng had broken Wuling and moved to Langzhou, Liu Chengyou asked, "What about Sun Lang and Cao Jin? If they escaped, they might be able to stay and make some articles in the future!"
Guo Rong shook his head: "Both of them were captured alive. Zhou Xingfeng entered the city and beheaded them both. Their heads were hung at the city gate. In addition, after entering the city, Zhou Xingfeng recruited Lang soldiers, but all the Central Plains people who followed Sun and Cao were killed. All the generals were killed, and not a single one of the more than five hundred sergeants was left alive!"
Hearing this, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but take a breath and said with concentration: "This Zhou Xingfeng is decisive in killing, and his methods are indeed ruthless!"
"It is reported that Zhou Xingfeng killed the Northern soldiers, nominally to avenge Liu Yan and Pan Shusi. However, I speculate that the Northern soldiers were the source of trouble and killed to eliminate future troubles. In addition, this may not have deterred Langzhou from surrendering. Heart!" Guo Rong analyzed.
After leaving Wuling City, he sighed and said, "After Wuling City was destroyed, there were less than 20,000 soldiers and civilians left in the city, and most of them were cold and hungry. Zhou Xingfeng mobilized grain relief from Changsha to win over people's hearts. Now, we have collected the troops from Langzhou. , based on the essence of Xianghu Lake, has more than 20,000 troops. As long as its digestion and rest are completed, I am afraid that there will be no rivals in the land of Jinghu Lake!"
"Zhou Xingfeng, the situation is established!" Liu Chengyou raised his finger and said in a deep voice.
"We can't let him get bigger any longer, otherwise he will be a trouble to the court!" After thinking about it, Liu Chengyou looked at Zhe and Guo: "How do you think we can control it?"
"I and Duke Zhe were discussing the matter just now!" Guo Rong said: "I believe that after the Battle of Wuling, Zhou Xingfeng's next target must be Zhang Wenbiao and other generals in the south, in order to unify Hunan.
However, Hunan has suffered from continuous wars, the most vicious in the past three years. The soldiers and civilians have suffered greatly, the soldiers are exhausted, the people are poor, and the government buildings are empty. In a short period of time, Zhou Xingfeng might not activate his weapons again. But after a year and a half of rest and a little recovery of energy, it all depends on the choice he makes! "
"If this is true, after a year and a half, the imperial court will have enough energy to get involved in Hunan!" Liu Chengyou thought for a while, and spoke with confidence: "However, now that Zhou Xingfeng has taken control of Langzhou, the imperial court should also have some That's what it means, what do you think?"
At this time, Zhe Congruan said to Li Chuyun who was standing beside him: "Zhengyuan, didn't you just have some insights? Your Majesty!"
It can be seen that Zhe Congruan really appreciates Li Chuyun and often looks for opportunities to show him off. Seeing this, Liu Chengyou also looked at him. Li Chuyun raised his hand and saluted, and said calmly: "Your Majesty, Sun Lang and Cao Jin killed Jiedu Zili, and Zhou Xingfeng raised the 'Righteous Banner' to put down the rebellion. The imperial court also acquiesced. . Now that Sun and Cao are the leaders, they can send envoys to express Zhou Xingfeng's merits, and at the same time, severely reprimand him for the crime of indiscriminate killing!
The land of Chen and Lang is already firmly in his hands, and the imperial court can take advantage of the situation and take control of the two towns of Wuping and Wu'an to reassure him. However, the Zhou family must control it. The only person who can achieve this effect in Hunan is Zhang Wenbiao.
In the previous period, the imperial court issued an edict, and Zhang Wenbiao led the troops northward, hoping to wait for Wuling to be pacified before he could succeed him. Zhang didn't move, but now it seems that this is a good thing. Zhang Wenbiao can be promoted to the military envoy of Jingjiang Army, and he can control the five prefectures of Quan, Yong, Dao, Gui, and Chen. In his name, he can divide the north and south with Zhou Xingfeng, and they will fight against each other! "
After listening to his suggestion, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but smile lightly: "Zhou Xingfeng worked hard and planned for a long time. He followed every step and went through a lot of hardships before occupying half of Hunan. Zhang Wenbiao only eats, drinks and prostitutes, so I gave him the other half with a piece of imperial edict. Haha, This strategy of yours has very dangerous intentions!”
Li Chuyun said: "This is a conspiracy!"
"Even if there are imperial edicts, the southern states are probably going their own way. Even if the imperial court vigorously promotes Zhang Wenbiao, he is probably no match for Zhou Xingfeng and will inevitably be annexed by him!" Guo Rong said.
Li Chuyun saluted again and responded calmly: "Once Zhou and Zhang fight and Hunan raises troops again, the imperial court can issue an edict to stop the war. If they don't listen, then the Gao family in Jingnan will send troops south to promise the land of Langzhou. The imperial army will We can follow it southward and capture Jinghu Lake in one fell swoop!"
In a few words, Li Chuyun had planned a blueprint for Liu Chengyou to collect Jinghu Lake, and the feasibility was not small.
Liu Chengyou raised his eyebrows, looked at Li Chuyun a few times, and said, "Collecting Jinghu Lake is the real purpose of Li Qing's plan!"
"Your Majesty is wise!" Li Chuyun said with certainty: "Jinghu is the heart of the world. If the imperial court can take over it, the day when the world will be unified again is not far away!"
