Jiangling Yamen was packed with people. In addition to the Han army generals who were still guarding Jiangling, those sitting inside were Liang Tingsi and Wei Lin, two senior generals of the Jingnan Army. Compared with the calmness of the Han generals, Liang and Wei were a little more excited. They were both nervous and happy. After all, this was a high-level military meeting in the Han Dynasty's southern expedition camp. Being able to participate in it outside the rules also proved that they were accepted by the court. Well, at least that's the case here with Dushuai Murong Yanzhao.
For a reduced general like them, their future, status, and military duties after the war all depend on their performance in the war. The two of them felt quite lucky, because there were too many people inside and outside Jiangling who didn't even have a chance to show off.
During the few days when Jiangling changed its flag, there were too many civil and military officials from Jingnan who wanted to get in touch with Murong Yanzhao, but without exception, they were not even qualified to meet. At present, before the edict from Tokyo comes down, the person responsible for maintaining stability is Gao Baorong. He took the initiative to join the Han army to serve as Xiancheng because of his predecessor. When the troops came to the city, it was he who took the initiative to persuade Gao Baorong: Brother, don't insist on it. Please bow to me first.
Following the singing of the guards, Murong Yanzhao quickly entered the hall, bringing with him a chilling atmosphere. Sitting on the commander's desk and accepting the audience of a group of generals, Murong Yanzhao said directly without adding any nonsense: "I was ordered to march south to attack the Zhou Dynasty in Hunan. The army has been stationed in Jiangling for several days, and Jingnan has already An, we must send troops to Hunan in order to exterminate Zhou Xingfeng and return peace to Hunan!"
"I am willing to listen to the Commander-in-Chief's orders!" All the generals clasped their fists in unison, with the voices of Liang Tingsi and Wei Lin being the most prominent, causing Murong Yanzhao to take another look at them.
"Cao Sima, please tell the generals about the situation of the rebel army!" Looking at Cao Bin, Murong Yanzhao ordered.
"Yes!" Cao Bin immediately walked to the military map in the hall.
Perhaps it was Guo Wei's relationship, or perhaps it was Jiang Ling's contribution. After stationing in Jiangling, Murong Yanzhao transferred Cao Bin to the marching camp central army and served as marching commander. Although there was no sudden promotion in the military position, the job position was extremely important. Following Murong Yanzhao, he was exposed to the military situation of the entire Jinghu War, which was very helpful to his growth. It can be said that compared to many young generals who started from humble beginnings and worked hard, Cao Bin was indeed much luckier.
"It is reported that after Zhou went south to capture Guizhou, he seized all Zhang Wenbiao's soldiers, money and grain, as well as soldiers and horses from Chen and Dao states, and transferred them all northward and deployed them in Wuling and Dongting.
Before our army went south to Jiangling, we once again took the lead in attacking. His general Yang Shifan led an army of 20,000 people to attack Liyang in the north, with the intention of eliminating the threat of our Lizhou army to Langzhou.
Zhou Ni then led 30,000 land and sea troops to defend Dongting, intending to prevent our army from entering the lake from the Yangtze River to capture Yuezhou. "
"Inspecting his plan, the commander-in-chief has sent Han Dujian to lead 20,000 soldiers eastward along the Yangtze River, approaching Sanjiangkou, eyeing Yuezhou, and stalemate Zhou Ni. He also sent General Li Jun across the river to garrison Gong'an to assist Liyang. !”
From Cao Bin's words, the military confrontation situation between the imperial court and Hunan is now very clear, but for the generals present, it is not the most important. Most of them are generals who lead troops in battle, and rarely think about the battle situation. You need to know what you will do next and whether there is any opportunity to make meritorious deeds.
After Cao Bin finished speaking, Murong Yanzhao pondered for a while and then spoke up. As he spoke, the expressions of the generals became more serious: "You have also heard that there are currently two battlefields against the enemy. One is Sanjiangkou. The second is Liyang!”
"Sanjiangkou is where Zhou Xingfeng's elite is located. He has 30,000 soldiers and is quite strong. Han Dujian has an enemy of 20,000 troops. It will be difficult to break through for a while. Reinforcements are needed, especially naval reinforcements!"
After saying this, Murong Yanzhao looked at Wei Lin: "General Wei, has the Jiangling navy been ready?"
After hearing the question, Wei Lin hurriedly stood up and responded: "To report to the Commander-in-Chief, Jiangling's navy has more than 7,000 men and 200 large and small warships, all of which have been under command. The military morale is stable and can be called upon by the Commander-in-Chief at any time!"
"Good! General Wei is very capable!" Murong Yanzhao praised him and then ordered: "You lead five thousand naval forces to Dongting Lake to support Han Dujian and deal with the Hunan Navy!"
"Yes!" After hearing the order, Wei Lin felt refreshed and responded loudly.
Seeing this, Liang Tingsi couldn't sit still anymore. He stood up and looked at Murong Yanzhao eagerly: "Commander, the Jiangling Horse Infantry Army is also willing to serve the imperial court and defeat Zhou Ni!"
"General Liang, don't be anxious!" Murong Yanzhao raised his hand gently, with a slight smile on his face, and said: "Most of the soldiers of the Southern Expedition are from the north. Although they are brave, they still need to adapt to the climate, water and soil of the south. What's more, And I am not familiar with the terrain of Jinghu. Therefore, if you want to break through Hunan, you still need to rely on Jiangling soldiers!"
"Please give me the command, Commander-in-Chief!" Liang Tingsi understood and said with cupped fists.
"General Liang can lead the reorganized 10,000 soldiers, together with the navy, to Sanjiangkou to support Han Dujian!" Murong Yanzhao ordered.
"Yes!" Liang Tingsi immediately beamed.
"Two generals, you can go down first and reorganize your troops. After two hours, board the ship and disembark eastward!" Murong Yanzhao said.
"Follow the order!"
Another herald was summoned and ordered: "Inform Gao Baoxu and ask him to deliver the ships he raised to the army!"
"Commander, the Jiangling army has finally surrendered. Can it be used?" After the two generals retreated, Shi Yanchao couldn't help but said to Murong Yanzhao: "Moreover, even if we call them in, Liang and Gao will still lead the army. Can it be trusted?"
"General Shi, don't worry! Taking advantage of Jingnan's troops and horses is a strategy that His Majesty and the Privy Council had decided upon before the Southern Expedition!" Murong Yanzhao shook his head, looking calm and confident, and said: "Jiangling has fallen, and the situation has been consolidated. I have the army here, with food and fodder in hand, and I have hundreds of officers in the army, which is enough to control it. There are also soldiers from Jingnan, and their families are all in the rear, how can they dare to rebel?"
"As for the two generals Liang and Wei!" Murong Yanzhao said, with a calm smile on his lips: "They are newly surrendered because they need the trust of the court and need to perform in order to gain credit. Not only will they not neglect, but they will Do your best to serve and fight with your life!”
For the same reason, the generals of Jingnan may not have the confidence to fight against the Han Dynasty, but if they go to attack Hunan, they will definitely be able to take the lead. Murong Yanzhao clearly understood the mentality of these surrendered generals.
"The commander-in-chief has said so, so the general will have no doubts!" Shi Yanchao said as if he couldn't hold himself back: "However, the credit has been given to the Jingnan Army. What are you waiting for these big Han generals to do?"
"Not bad!" Sun Li, the commander of the Xiaodi Army, couldn't help but speak. He looked like he was not stingy and said loudly: "We have been busy marching all the way here. We haven't fought a single battle, so we have no merit at all. If we don’t catch it, Jingnan will fall. Dushuai, you can’t be partial, we have to make arrangements!”
As the older generation of generals were removed from the Forbidden Army one after another, Sun Li, the Conglong General, became more and more senior in the army. On the contrary, his arrogance became more and more powerful. He was self-respecting and domineering. Act of. At that time, there was already a sign of this in a conflict with Wang Yansheng, but Wang Yansheng became even more chaotic and forced his way into the Prime Minister Wei Renpu's residence. As a result, he was demoted to the northwest border guard. Sun Li, on the other hand, has always retained his position as the commander of the Xiaodi Army.
At this time, feeling the arrogance in his tone, Murong Yanzhao also frowned, his face was stern, and he said sternly: "Your Majesty has your trust in the Jinghu war, and I entrust this commander with full power. Coordinating the army's operations is not a banquet for guests. He has his own strategies and tactics, considers the overall situation, and has military orders like mountains. Doesn’t General Sun know this?"
After being reprimanded by Murong Yanzhao, Sun Li's arrogance immediately calmed down a bit, and his eyes slowly moved away. He could not compare to Murong Yanzhao in any way. However, being reprimanded in front of so many people, I couldn't help but feel ashamed and angry. I still said with a dark face: "Please tell me how to consider the overall situation! Jiangling still has an army of nearly 20,000 infantry and cavalry. It can't always be Stop moving forward!"
The 40,000 soldiers and horses of the Southern Expedition, including the Guardian and Fengguo troops and 10,000 local state soldiers, were brought to Sanjiangkou by Han Tong to confront Zhou Xingfeng. One group stayed at Jingmen, and the other group crossed the river under the leadership of Li Jun to take over the public security defense to prevent the Chu army from Liyang from invading. Those who stayed in Jiangling were still mainly composed of the cavalry army and the Xiaodi army, with about 16,000 soldiers, which was still a huge force.
