Inside the Chongzheng Hall, it is quieter than in the past. In the entire side hall, except for the sound of the officials reading and writing, there is no other sound. When you need to move and walk, you must move quietly and restrain your movements.
Zhao Pu, who had just returned to the palace, walked a little faster and walked to Zhao Yao's case. He chuckled and called out: "Zhao Chengzhi!"
Zhao Yao was writing a seal on his sleeve. When he heard the sound, he stopped writing and raised his head. He looked at the smiling Zhao Pu, noticed the military report in his hand, and asked: "Is there any progress in the war in Hunan?"
Zhao Pu nodded and praised: "Chengzhi is really smart and he hit the mark. The Privy Council just received the good news. Murong Dushuai sent his troops south and fought a victory in Liyang. Yang Shifan's bandit army who went north was almost completely wiped out. Very few escape!”
"Oh!" Zhao Yao's face was overjoyed when he heard this, and his eyebrows relaxed. He reached out to take it, browsed it quickly, breathed lightly, and said: "With this good news, maybe it can relieve your majesty's depression a little!"
Hearing this, Zhao Pu looked towards the main hall and asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty is not there?"
Zhao Yao nodded and said nothing more, let alone any intention of revealing the emperor's whereabouts. Putting down the military report, Zhao Pu said: "When His Majesty returns to the palace, we will report again!"
"Okay!" His eyes stayed on Zhao Yao for a moment, and Zhao Pu returned to his seat calmly.
After not waiting too long, the emperor returned, and Er Zhao hurried to see him. After receiving the news of the good news ahead, Liu Chengyou really cheered up, and his expression was indeed much more relaxed as Zhao Yao said.
"On the 13th, two generals, Shi Yanchao and Li Jun, led their troops southward from the Public Security Bureau. Shi Yanchao went straight to Liyang to break the siege of Liyang and prevent Yang Shifan from retreating. Li Jun set his sights on Chuanhe Village with the intention of first annihilating the rebels defending in the north. The army was diverted. That night, the bandit army saw that the situation was not good and intended to flee. However, they were blocked in the village by Li Jun, who was well prepared.
On the morning of the 14th, Li Jun launched an attack. In less than an hour, he wiped out all of them, defeated three thousand thieves, and most of them surrendered. Afterwards, after taking a short rest, Li Jun reorganized his army and went south. Together with Shi Yanchao and Pan Mei, they monitored Yang Shifan's army in three directions and put it into a desperate situation.
As a result, the rebel army's morale was turbulent and its morale was low. Over the next day and two nights, they broke out of the rebel camp and more than a thousand people came to the camp and surrendered.
On the 16th, Cha Yang Shifan's army was about to collapse. Generals Shi and Li led their infantry and cavalry to launch a fierce attack on the rebels. Although Yang Shifan led the Chinese army to resist stubbornly, they were at the end of the road and their troops had no fighting spirit. The Yao soldiers rebelled inside, and Pan Mei After sending troops to attack the side, the rebel army was defeated after an hour and a half of fighting.
In this battle, the armies killed more than 3,000 rebel soldiers and surrendered over 10,000 soldiers. The leader of the rebel army, Yang Shifan, was killed by a stray arrow! "
After listening to Zhao Pu's report, Liu Chengyou was not too happy, let alone excited. After thinking for a while, he nodded and said: "Generals Li, Shi, and Pan fought well in this battle! It seems that one year after Kaifeng, The leisurely life really made Li Yun so depressed that if he were let out, he would be like a fierce tiger!"
Of course, Liu Chengyou's reaction is also normal. For him, winning is the right thing to do. If he loses, he will probably be more excited.
"According to our subsequent interviews with the surrendered generals, we learned that Yang Shifan was defeated at the foot of Liyang City for a long time. Seeing that the city was fully defended, he later attacked the city with a weak brigade, resulting in heavy casualties. This was in order to paralyze the defenders by adopting a strategy of arrogance and confusing the enemy, and then Launch a surprise attack, gather elite troops, and attack the city with all their strength. Of course, Pan Mei of Liyang noticed the rebel movement and was well prepared.
Originally, Yang Shifan was preparing to launch a sudden attack on the 14th. However, Shi Yanchao hurriedly marched hundreds of miles to Liyang on the 13th, which directly frustrated Yang Shifan's plan.
Before Shi Yanchao's troops arrived, Yang Shifan also ordered all the floating beams and transshipment ships in Lishui to be burned, in order to emulate the story of the cauldron and the sinking of the boat, and inspire the soldiers to fight regardless of death..." Zhao Pu said, unable to help himself. Showing a little contemptuous smile.
"It seems that Zhou Xingfeng had some considerations when appointing this person as the general. At least he is familiar with some military techniques and has the guts to be ruthless!" Liu Chengyou commented: "Without observing the situation and the morale of the army, he forcibly imitated the Overlord of Chu and cut himself off. Road, the result is naturally that the tiger cannot be compared to the dog, the army is trapped in a desperate situation, and the entire army is annihilated, which is not surprising!"
"Your Majesty is right! If not, it would not be that easy to annihilate Yang Shifan in Liyang!" Zhao Yao agreed calmly.
"About the details of this battle, a detailed report needs to be made by the Privy Council!" Zhao Pu said.
"Send the message to Guo Rong and summon several prime ministers together!" Liu Chengyou said immediately.
"yes!"
At the end of the day, in the Chongzheng Hall, important officials gathered together, and the Privy Councilor Guo Rong gave a detailed report on the war situation in Hunan.
Guo Rong was still as usual, with a strong personal style in his words and deeds, but because of the good news from the front, his tone was a little more encouraging: "... After the Battle of Liyang, the West Route bandit army collapsed and only needs a little rectification. That is to say, cross the river south and march towards Wuling. Once Wuling is captured, the southwest of Dongting and Da Ze will be controlled, and Zhou Xingfeng's army in Yuezhou will be in danger, losing ground in advance and retreat!"
"Tell me about the battle situation in Yuezhou? How is Zhou Xingfeng's army doing?" Liu Chengyou asked.
Guo Rong replied: "Your Majesty, now Han Tong has led the imperial army, state soldiers and Jingnan surrender army, with a total of more than 30,000 soldiers by land and water, and has entered Sanjiangkou. However, he was forced by Murong Yanzhao's military order and refused to fight, taking confrontation as the excuse. host.
Murong Yanzhao's analysis is very accurate. Our army has sufficient food and equipment and high morale. On the contrary, Zhou Ni is eager to fight and wants a quick decision. Originally, our army was at a slight disadvantage due to the control of the navy. After Wei Lin led the navy to join the battle, the two sides fought in Dongting, causing casualties on each other.
Later Zhou Xingfeng mobilized infantry to attack our camp from Sanjiangkou and Balingcheng, intending to break through by land. Under the command of Han Tong and other generals, they were repulsed..."
"How will Zhou Xingfeng react after the Battle of Liyang?" Liu Chengyou asked.
At this time, Wei Renpu spoke: "If you want to survive, you should abandon Yuezhou, withdraw your troops back to Wuling, and even Changsha, and then try to hold on, otherwise you will be threatened from behind and your situation will not last long. But judging from Zhou Xingfeng's performance since the beginning of the war, this He is not a person who gives in easily. He has a strong personality and is decisive. Otherwise, he would not have taken the initiative to go north to break the situation.
The closer to the end of the dangerous situation, I am afraid that they will become more crazy and make a desperate move to attack the army at Sanjiangkou. If we can defeat our soldiers and horses on the east road, the danger will be relieved, and we can even go back to the generals and threaten the public security and Jiangling! "
"Wei Qing knows Zhou Xingfeng's character very well!" Liu Chengyou nodded slightly in agreement, and then looked at Guo Rong.
Guo Rong was still so confident, with no change in his eyes: "No matter what Zhou Xingfeng decides, it is not important to our army! If he does not hesitate to break the situation from Sanjiangkou, Han Tong, Du Hanhui and other senior generals will be able to defeat him. It! Murong Yanzhao has already set off from Jiangling and led his army to Liyang. No matter what choice he makes, he will not be able to escape the end of defeat!"
With that said, Guo Rong explained: "In addition, according to reports from the defeated troops in Liyang, before the enemy was defeated, Yang Shifan's camp had no food for the next day, and there was no supplies for several days in the rear. The states in Hunan, It is completely insufficient to supply the rebel army for frontline operations.
Liyang's army is like this, and even if Zhou Xingfeng's army is in better condition, it will not be much better. It took several more days for the military report to be forwarded from Liyang to Tokyo. I heard that Zhou Xingfeng was on the verge of collapse at this time!
Judging from the military intelligence department's investigation of the Hunan states, in order to supply the front line, the Hunan military government scraped three feet of the ground to raise money and food, depleted its men for fighting, and used all its women for transportation.
Nowadays, the people in Hunan are in great distress, complaints are spreading in the countryside, and resistance is getting stronger. Centrifugal from top to bottom, Zhou has actually lost control of Hunan!
Zhou Xingfeng went to war, exhausted the people's strength, and ran out of money and food. Murong Yanzhao's raw material for the Hunan Union was within a month, but judging from the current situation, it could not be sustained for half a month! "
"That's why I believe that the pacification of Hunan and the military conflict are no longer a concern. The court needs to consider the aftermath in advance!"
From what Guo Rong said, it can be said that the situation in Hunan is very good. However, for the Han Dynasty, the biggest headache is still to come. To put it simply, it is easy to pacify Hunan, but difficult to control the land!
For the imperial court, Jingnan had millions of households and a strategic location, which was of great benefit. As for Hunan, one thing to say is that it is a big burden, fragmented and dilapidated. However, no matter how heavy the burden is, it must be brought back under the rule of the imperial court.
The prime ministers obviously agreed with Guo Rong's analysis, so Fan Zhi said with a bitter look on his face: "Your Majesty, since the fight between the brothers Ma Xiguang and Ma Xi'e, chaos has occurred frequently in various states in Hunan, and wars have been endless. , six out of eight years were in disaster and turmoil.
Now, Zhou Xingfeng has suffered another disaster. When the war is over, the court will take over Hunan, which is in turmoil and famine. As Privy Council Guo said, the court really needs to prepare in advance.
If the war ends quickly, there will not be much time left for the court to prepare! "
