Regardless of the fatigue of the journey, as soon as he arrived in Leiyang, he summoned a civil and military meeting. The Leiyang County Government Office was old and crude, and the small space was filled to the brim by more than a dozen Chu army generals.
The dusk was a bit dim, just like the mood of many people, but the two rows of candles were bright, illuminating everyone's faces clearly. Most of these Chu army generals were unknown, but to Zhou Xingfeng, they were the backbone of his command.
Sitting behind the hall, looking around, Zhou Xingfeng didn't waste any time and asked directly: "How are you preparing for the march? What is the situation in Guiyang? Is Zhang Wenbiao on guard?"
"Commander Qi, the ordnance has been replenished, provisions for ten days have been prepared, and the march route has been determined. Guiyang is only a hundred and twenty miles away, and it can arrive in the morning and evening! The general will guarantee that within ten days, We must conquer Guiyang and take Zhang Wenbiao's head!" The general who stood up to answer was named Zhang Chongfu. He looked very capable. He was an old man who followed Zhou Xingfeng and was named the governor of Hengzhou.
"As for Zhang Wenbiao, according to detailed research, someone from the imperial court contacted him. Guiyang was already on guard, but Zhang Wenbiao still stayed in the mansion, drinking and having fun all day long!" Zhang Chongfu's mouth was filled with contempt.
Hearing this, Zhou Xingfeng was not overly happy, but said solemnly: "Have you heard that? The Northern Han Dynasty is very determined to destroy us! Zhang Wenbiao is not enough to worry about, the enemy is in the Central Plains, and now the Northern Han Dynasty has mobilized troops and horses, it is no longer possible. It's better to be hidden, and the southern invaders are launching troops, right in front of us!
The monarchs and ministers of the Northern Han Dynasty think that I, Hunan, am easy to bully, and want to occupy our city, seize our official positions, and plunder our property. We must be incompatible with each other from my commander down!
At first, we were able to drive away the Southern Tang Dynasty, but now we can resist the Northern Han Dynasty! Starting from Zhang Wenbiao, he took Guiyang, pacified the south, and returned to deal with the Han army! "
"Yes!" After Zhou Xingfeng's encouragement, the generals finally responded in unison with their ambitions high. Leaving aside everything else, I still have some confidence in dealing with Zhang Wenbiao.
During this period, Zhou Xingfeng secretly sent six thousand troops to Hengzhou, which was already a considerable military force in Hunan.
After thinking about it for a while, Zhou Xingfeng stared at Zhang Chongfu and said, "I will give you the three thousand tooth soldiers I brought from Changsha this time. Rest for a night, and we will send troops to Guiyang tomorrow. Within three days, take them Is it possible to go to Guiyang?"
There was ruthlessness in Zhou Xingfeng's eyes. Zhang Chongfu felt it. He hesitated a little, but still gritted his teeth and said, "Within three days, the general will definitely defeat Guiyang!"
"Okay! This is my son from Sanxiang!" Zhou Xingfeng finally showed a look of satisfaction and turned to look at a general waiting to stand: "Wang Duan!"
"The general is here!"
"Early tomorrow morning, you will lead your troops to follow Zhang Chongfu southward and attack Guiyang!"
"yes!"
"You all return to your camps and prepare to march. When the time comes tomorrow morning, you will immediately mobilize your troops. However, if you delay, military law will not tolerate mercy!" Finally, Zhou Xingfeng gave a murderous warning.
A cadre of generals is naturally intimidated, and Zhou Xingfeng is famous for his ruthlessness. Since his rise, no one in the civil or military dares to touch his methods. For those who do not believe in evil, grass will grow on their graves.
After all the Chu army generals had retreated, Zhou Xingfeng was still sitting at the desk and raised his head and took a deep breath. Next to him, a scribe was waiting respectfully. Seeing his appearance, he asked softly: "Commander Jie, do you still have doubts about the raid on Guiyang?"
This scribe, named Li Guanxiang, was deeply trusted by Zhou Xingfeng and was worshiped as secretary-general. In the past two years, all military affairs were entrusted to him. Zhou Xingfeng governed Hunan, and many policies were carried out with the assistance of this person.
However, although this person had a small talent, he was not very ambitious. He was jealous of his parents' favor and rejected many Hunan scholars. As a result, Wuping Jiedu's subordinates did not have many available talents. In addition, Zhou Xingfeng was cruel and easy to kill, had a low reputation, and few scholars were willing to serve. As a result, the states under his jurisdiction are still in the state of military government to this day.
At this time, after hearing Li Guanxiang's question, Zhou Xingfeng suddenly said contemptuously: "It's just Zhang Wenbiao, why worry about it! If it were two years ago, I might be afraid of him, but now, this person is useless!"
After saying that, Zhou Xingfeng frowned and said in a deep voice: "The only ones we can worry about are the strong men in the north!"
As a confidant, Li Guanxiang understands Zhou Xingfeng's mood better than others. Although he has various martial arts habits, he is definitely a smart man and has vision.
Knowing the contrast between strong and weak situations, Li Guanxiang was unwilling to surrender directly. Now that he was under Zhou Xingfeng and in charge of the military government, he would never have such rights after surrendering to the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, he chose to support Zhou Xingfeng's choice that day, and the results proved that he was right. Because, he was not sure if Zhou Xingfeng would kill him too if he also proposed to surrender...
However, rational analysis shows that with the current strength of the Wuping Army, even if it were doubled several times, it would be difficult to fight against the imperial court. The only thing they could rely on was that the Gao family was in the middle. The Han Dynasty could not pose much threat to Hunan until Jingnan was resolved.
But the problem lies precisely here. Judging from the superficial news, the imperial court intends to bypass the Gao family and directly deal with Hunan. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is basically a false plan to defeat Guo, but Gao is too slow and has both ends.
"The people in Hunan are poor and the country is poor. The only one they can rely on is Jingzhu in the north. The two sides are close to each other. If they can put aside their prejudices and unite with the northern imperial family, it will not be impossible to resist the imperial court's attempt to move southward. But the Gao family is extremely cunning and cowardly. Judging from the news from the north, it is almost impossible for them to directly confront the imperial court with force. As for letting go of the city gates and joining forces to defend the enemy, it will be even more difficult!" Li Guanxiang said.
Hearing this, Zhou Xingfeng couldn't help but sneered and said: "Maybe the mediocre people in Jiangling will still suspect that we want to occupy their prefectures and counties! Maybe he has betrayed our intention to unite with the Northern Empire to the court. The Gao family , one generation is really inferior to the other!”
"If Meng Shu and the Southern Tang Dynasty can send troops from the east and west, they may be able to involve the imperial court and stop using troops!" The two officials were silent for a while, and Li Guanxiang said.
"Meng Shu was defeated by the Northern Han Dynasty last year. He lost Qin Feng and Hanzhong. Now he has retreated to Shuzhong. If the Northern Han Dynasty does not attack him, it will be in peace. How can he dare to go north again. As for the Southern Tang Dynasty, internal Even if we don’t know how to cook, after the war a few years ago, we were even more afraid of the Han like a tiger. What can we do? Li Jing can sell some of our grains, so he is bold!" Zhou Xingfeng shook his head and said: "Those who can contain the Northern Han Dynasty, There is only the Liao Kingdom outside the Great Wall, but now, there has been peace between Han and Liao for several years..."
After all, we have to thank the "Sleeping King" for creating a perfect strategic environment for the Han Dynasty.
"Alas!" After saying that, Zhou Xingfeng sighed: "Since the Han Emperor succeeded to the throne, he has had the ambition to conquer the world. His strategy of rejuvenating the country and strengthening the army is far ahead of the previous generations and has a grand scale. So far, it has been It’s hard to control. It’s a pity that our rise in Jingxiang was not at the right time!”
Hearing what Zhou Xingfeng said, Li Guanxiang wanted to ask, if he could see it so clearly, why did he still forcefully resist? Isn't this bringing his own disaster? However, he was still frightened by Zhou Xingfeng's cruelty and did not dare to ask such heart-wrenching questions.
"Commander Jie, judging from the sporadic news from the north, the imperial court has made up its mind to use force. Once the northern troops come south, they must first capture Jiangling, capture the prefectures and counties, and then cross the Yangtze River and go south!" After thinking about it, Li Guanxiang said: "It's hard to predict how long the Gao family can resist. We don't have much time left to prepare!"
"Jingnan side, we still need to contact you. If you continue to send people to tell us, I don't believe it. This kid really wants to destroy his grandfather's foundation!" After thinking about it for a while, Zhou Xingfeng said, "Fu Yantong side, I also need to contact him again. , we must lure him out of Xuzhou, if we can get help from the barbarians, we will have a better chance of winning in the battle in Hunan!"
"yes!"
"In addition, continue to send people to buy grain from the Southern Tang and Southern Han Dynasties! If there is insufficient grain and grass, we can't fight the war!" Zhou Xingfeng ordered, suddenly smashing the lower court table and cursing: "The damn Northern Han Dynasty, you can't fight the war!" I’ll have more time!”
Zhou Xingfeng was startled by Zhou Xingfeng's sudden irritability, but Li Guanxiang still endured his shock and reminded him: "Commander Jie, there is not much money left in the Changsha treasury."
After hearing this, Zhou Xingfeng's face darkened, and he gritted his teeth and said: "There are many silver pits in Guizhou, and Zhang Wenbiao has accumulated a lot in the past two years, so we can take it slowly. Also, pass on my military order to all states and counties. The garrison borrowed money and food from those clans and merchants!"
Upon hearing this, Li Guanxiang hurriedly advised: "This may cause turmoil!"
"I can't care about that much anymore! Without money and food, how can the soldiers be willing to serve in the war? If 30,000 soldiers and horses are in chaos, it will be a chaos!" Zhou Xingfeng said with a bit of anger: "Moreover, now the national crisis is approaching , all the people of Hunan should contribute to the defense of Jingxiang! If we don’t take it, shall we leave it to the Han army?”
After listening to Zhou Xingfeng's words, the corners of Li Guanxiang's mouth couldn't help but twitch. At this time, looking at Zhou Xingfeng's stern face, he clearly realized again that this man was an out-and-out martial arts warlord, and his good governance that benefited the people in the previous two years was just a means of rule.
"You should keep an eye on this matter yourself!" Zhou Xingfeng looked at Li Guanxiang coldly: "You will return to Changsha tomorrow. Before the Han army crosses the Yangtze River and goes south, I want you to raise enough money and food for three months of fighting!"
Meeting his eyes, Li Guanxiang couldn't help but tremble. Although he was a little embarrassed, he gritted his teeth and said, "I will do my best!"
However, I was lamenting in my heart that even if Jingxiang united, it was still a question whether it could last three months under the attack of the Northern Han army...
Seeing that Zhou Xingfeng was a little frantic, preparing for war regardless of the consequences, and giving it a go, Li Guanxiang became even less optimistic about Hunan's prospects.
