Jiangling, a famous city for thousands of years, is backed by a large river. It has been decades of peace since the Gao family established the Nanping regime here. It is located in the heart of the world. It can be said that it is sitting in the "VIP seat" and watching the rise and fall of the Central Plains dynasties over the past three generations. , the situation changes.
Speaking of which, compared with other separatist regimes, which either destroyed the country or caused civil strife, the Gao family has been passed down to three generations since Gao Jixing. Although the military and political affairs have become more and more depleted and the country's power has declined, it has never suffered major disturbances.
But since the spring of this year, the sunny city of Jiangling has been in a state of instability from top to bottom. Even the lowest level people in Jiangling can feel the tension permeating the air. Especially after the Northern Han army completed its assembly in Xiangyang.
In the past few days since the beginning of summer, the people in power in Jingnan have become even more uneasy. Gao Baorong, who had been living in seclusion in the palace for many years, recently found that the wine was no longer fragrant and the singing and dancing were no longer beautiful. He resumed his affairs and became involved in military affairs and internal and external situations.
The Han soldiers were everywhere, and the biggest military preparation in Nanping was to impose martial law on Jiangling City. All gates in floods and droughts were closed, and entry and exit were strictly prohibited. Since then, people in Jiangling City have become even more panicked. Although there were rumors that the imperial court was going to attack Hunan and only wanted to take advantage of Nanping, with no intention of harming them, such rhetoric could only deceive the ignorant people.
As for the senior officials in Jingnan, they didn't believe it at all. Even with the cowardice of King Nanping Gao Baorong, he only had a little illusion, but after his ministers explained it, he suddenly understood and became even more frightened.
As a group of knights came south, Jiangling City, which had been closed for a long time, was opened again. Across the moat, looking at the slowly falling suspension bridge, sitting high on the horse, Cao Bin couldn't help but sigh: "Master Wang is still far away, and Jiangling is already frightened. How can he stop the imperial army behind such closed doors? It just exposes his panic and only provokes the enemy." People are laughing!”
Soon, a royal official hurried forward, respectfully led the way, and welcomed Cao Bin into the city.
In the lobby of the palace, there was a solemn scene. In order not to lose etiquette, but also to show respect for the imperial envoys, Nanping Wang Gao Baorong was headed, with both civil and military personnel present, waiting for Cao Bin's arrival.
Perhaps due to years of hedonistic life and lack of exercise, Gao Baorong has gained some weight. His face is pale, his hair is yellow, and his complexion is weak. It is obvious that he is in poor health.
"General Cao Bin, please pay homage to your Majesty!" He entered the room steadily, held his head high and held his chest high, Cao Bin clasped his fists and said loudly, with a rare expression of excitement on his handsome face.
"General, no courtesy!" Gao Baorong gestured with his sleeves raised, looking very tolerant. Seeing Cao Binying's vigorous appearance, I secretly sighed in my heart. I couldn't help but sigh when I thought about how a general sent by the Han Dynasty could be so magnanimous.
"Murong Dushuai sent the general to Jiangling to meet the orphan, why?" He pretended not to know what to ask, but Gao Baorong couldn't get up his momentum at all, and his face was filled with a dark temperament.
Cao Bin, with a calm and humble look on his face, cupped his hands and said: "When the Zhou Dynasty was in Hunan, wolves were rampant. They were good at using swords and soldiers to attack the prefectures and towns, killing Jiedu, this rebel. Your Majesty has issued an edict to send a large army to attack. , suppress violence and suppress thieves, and bring peace to the people of Hunan.
Now Commander-in-Chief Murong has led his army southward and wants to cross Jiangling. He has sent his last general to come and contact him about borrowing the road. Please also ask your Majesty to give an order to open the passages at the checkpoints in the cities in Jingnan to allow the army to pass! "
His tone was very calm, but his words were full of strength, and Cao Bin looked like he couldn't refuse. However, upon hearing this, none of them, including Gao Baorong, showed any enthusiasm or indignation. Most of them remained silent, but there was inevitably a little dejection in their attitude.
Cao Bin made his intention clear and remained silent. He stood there with a straight face, waiting for Gao Baorong's response.
Gao Baorong's face was full of hesitation. He hesitated for a while and asked, "I wonder how many soldiers and horses the imperial court sent south to attack Zhou Xingfeng?"
Meeting his gaze, Cao Bin said: "Forty thousand troops on foot and cavalry!"
There was no bluff, but this mediocre number made Jingnan Wenwu full of worry. According to the Han court's spying, the Jingnan states have a total of about 27,000 soldiers and horses under the jurisdiction of Jingnan. This is their entire military strength, and it is an army that has been at peace for a long time.
The most recent foreign war was when the Northern Han Dynasty was attacking Huainan. General Wei Lin led his army eastward to assist in the war. When the army was sent, the war was coming to an end, and Tang general Liu Renfan defeated Wang Kui's army who was also assisting in the war. In the end, there was no formal confrontation with the Tang army. After the Han and Tang Dynasties negotiated peace, they retreated to Jiangling and made some soy sauce. The fifty bolts of silk that Liu Chengyou rewarded at that time was not enough for military expenses.
Going back to the previous foreign war, we have to go back to the beginning of the founding of the Han Dynasty. At that time, Gao Congjie was still in power. He wanted to take advantage of the internal and external instability of the Han Dynasty and seek to regain the two states of Ying and Ying. After being rejected, he simply sent troops to seize them. . As a result, he was severely defeated by An Shenqi, the governor of Shannan East Road at that time, and returned in embarrassment.
At that time, An Shenqi still used only local troops. Now, those coming from the south are the main force of the Imperial Guards of the Han Dynasty, led by the Imperial Guards Commander Murong Yanzhao. Moreover, it is only a partial army of the Han Dynasty, but its military strength has exceeded that of the entire Jingnan. The disparity between strength and weakness is really frustrating.
"I wonder when Murong Dushuai plans to launch his troops and which route he will take?" Gao Baorong asked again.
Cao Bin said: "This involves the secret of military aircraft. General Fei Mo can know it. Your Majesty is not allowed to pry. He only needs to give an order to let it go!"
Cao Bin said this with a somewhat rude tone. When Gao Baorong heard this, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. At this time, his brother Gao Baoxu stared at Cao Bin and asked lightly: "If I, Jingnan, don't let him go, what will the court do?"
Gao Baoxu's attitude was neither soft nor hard. Cao Bin glanced at him sideways, but remained calm and said: "The army has a strong vanguard force, which clears roads in the mountains and builds bridges when encountering water. If Jingnan does not cooperate with the road, he will have to open it himself!"
After these questions, the atmosphere in the hall became a little tense. It was Sun Guangxian, the leader of Jingnan civil servants, who spoke to Cao Bin with a smile on his face: "The imperial court wants to level Hunan, and Nanping is a vassal, so it should not do anything." There is a delay. It’s just that this matter is important, and our principals also need to discuss it. The general is coming at a gallop, thank you for your hard work. Please stay in the hotel temporarily, and we will have an answer in a day or two!"
"What Mr. Sun said is true. I still need to discuss it with the civil and military officials. General, please rest for now!" Gao Baorong also hurriedly agreed.
Hearing this, Cao Bin's cold eyes looked around the hall, and finally landed on Gao Baorong. A smile slowly appeared on his lips: "In this case, please hurry up the king and all the wise men. After all, the military situation is urgent and there is no room for neglect! "
"I'll take my leave first!" After saying that, Cao Bin took the initiative to leave, leaving Gao Baorong space for civil and military discussions.
As soon as Cao Bin left, the atmosphere in the hall became more solemn. The imperial court had previously sent envoys to report the matter of borrowing the passage, but there was no clear answer. However, this time, Cao Bin came as the envoy of the Southern Expedition Army, and it was time for them to express their stance. This time, there was not much Give them leeway.
Most of the staff were dismissed, leaving only Gao Baoxu, Sun Guangxian, Liang Tingsi, Li Jingwei, and Wei Lin, all of whom had solemn expressions and serious expressions.
"Your Majesty, the envoy from Hunan wants to see you!" Before he could speak, he heard the announcement.
Probably, it was the news that the Han army was coming that made the Chu envoy who had been staying in Jiangling for a long time unable to sit still and hurriedly came to see him. The purpose of his visit was also clear to everyone present. After hearing this, Gao Baorong ordered a little impatiently: "Just say that I have something to do and have no time to meet him. Let the Chu envoy return to the hotel. We will talk about it tomorrow if we have anything to do!"
"yes!"
After closing the door and rejecting the Chu envoy, Gao Baorong looked around at the powerful people in Jingnan. After pondering for a while, he finally spoke: "The Han army is about to move south. Our country must take its course. The crisis is imminent. How to deal with it? Please come up with a charter for me!"
After Gao Baorong finished speaking, everyone present remained silent. Even Gao Baoxu, who had just shown his talents in the hall, did not express his opinion. In recent years, although Gao Baorong entrusted his younger brother with affairs, Gao Baoxu also occasionally talked about the threat of the Northern Han Dynasty. But when the threat really comes, we dare not declare hostility.
