In the main hall of the Marshal's Mansion, Murong Yanzhao was burying his head in his case, his face expressionless, his pen writing flying like flying speed, as he signed a series of military orders. Stationing in Changsha was just the beginning of arriving in Hunan. Next, he had to worry about the collection of the states, the garrison arrangements of the southern expedition armies, and even the establishment of temporary order.
The records and documents accompanying the army came in and out, and were delivered to the post officers and sent to the armies in Hunan. In front of the hall, the crackle of the whip continued. Shi Yanchao knelt there, gritting his teeth and saying nothing. He only breathed a little quickly, and the sweat on his forehead dripped on the hot ground.
When the number of prison officials was reached, the soldiers stopped beating with a wave of their hands. The military officer turned around and went inside, saying to Murong Yanzhao: "Commander Qi, twenty lashes have been completed. Do you want to be punished?"
Raising his head, Murong Yanzhao waved his hand: "Let him come in!"
"yes!"
His steps were slightly heavy, and when he entered, although he was whipped twenty times, Shi Yanchao had a happy expression on his face, as if he had a clear idea. When he saw Murong Yanzhao, who still had a calm face, he calmed down and said, "They are both handsome!"
"Do you feel resentful?" Murong Yanzhao asked.
Shi Yanchao shook his head directly: "The commander-in-chief will punish you in accordance with military discipline. The general has nothing to say!"
Seeing this, Murong Yanzhao stood up and reprimanded directly: "Now that Changsha has just come down, Hunan has not yet been completely pacified, and there are many military and political affairs. Li Guanxiang was in charge of military and government affairs before, and no official in Hunan is more familiar with upper and lower affairs than him. If you want to There are many things that need to rely on him to manage the government and bring peace to the people.
Now you have beaten him almost to death, unable to leave the bed, and left a lot of things behind. Who should I ask to take care of it?
Also, he has made great contributions to the whole city of Changsha. If you show off your authority to him, how will other surrendered ministers and generals view this matter and feel at ease? ah? "
Facing Murong Yanzhao's reprimand, Shi Yanchao muttered: "This person instigated me to deal with a mere domestic slave. If I don't teach him a lesson, I will feel unhappy. Besides, how much can happen to Hunan with just a small village?" Are you afraid that you can’t find anyone willing to be my official of the Han Dynasty..."
Listening to his muttering, Murong Yanzhao said: "It seems that twenty lashes are not enough! Do I need to increase the punishment?"
"That's enough! That's enough! I finally realized my mistake!" Shi Yanchao hurriedly shook his head in submission, as if it was affecting the scars on his back. It was hot in summer, and the sweat stained the wound, and the pain made him grin.
"Can you still ride a horse?" Murong Yanzhao asked him with a slightly restrained expression.
"Twenty lashes are not enough!" Shi Yanchao became more energetic and looked at Murong Yanzhao hopefully: "What are your orders, Commander-in-Chief?"
"Pan Mei and Cao Bin will lead their troops southward and sweep across the states in the north of the Ling Dynasty. There should be no problem. However, the deeper we go into the south, the longer the supply will be, and the food routes will be particularly important. Tomorrow there will be thousands of grain ships coming south, and I am ready to transfer them all. South. You lead thousands of cavalry and patrol southward along the Xiang River to ensure the smooth flow of food routes!" Murong Yanzhao ordered.
"You want me to look after Pan Mei and Cao Bin's food supply?" Shi Yanchao was half-hearted.
However, Murong Yanzhao just looked at him and immediately obeyed his orders honestly.
Noticing that Murong Yanzhao's expression was not relaxed, Shi Yanchao couldn't help but ask: "What doubts does the commander-in-chief seem to have? Now Zhou Xing was defeated and died, and the rest have surrendered. The states are invincible, and the Jinghu strategy will finally end." Full credit, what else is there to worry about?”
Murong Yanzhao was rarely interested in his question. He walked to the map of Hunan and said: "Hunan is a vast territory with sparsely populated areas and a mixture of barbarians. It is easy to obtain but difficult to govern! Especially in the five western states, the Miao and Yao barbarian forces are widespread. , has a profound impact!”
As he said this, Murong Yanzhao himself laughed and waved his hand: "Well, it is not our turn to think about how to govern Hunan. Let's leave it to the court to deal with the headache. What we and other soldiers can do is to raise the Han banner as soon as possible. Insert all states and counties!”
"The Commander-in-Chief is right!" Shi Yanchao nodded in approval and climbed to the ground to ask for instructions: "For the inspection of grain roads, just send any general to go. Li Jun is attacking the western states alone, and the progress will be slow. Commander-in-Chief, would you like to consider letting me lead the troops to the west and cooperate with Li Jun to capture all the states and show the military might of my great Han Dynasty to the barbarians?"
After marching south to Langzhou and capturing Wuling, Murong Yanzhao divided his forces, with Li Jun as the main general, and led an army of 3,000 to capture the Chen and Qi states.
Seeing what Shi Yanchao was thinking at a glance, Murong Yanzhao chuckled and said: "There has been news from Xuzhou that the Barbarian King Fu Yantong has been persuaded by Wang Qianlang to surrender to the imperial court and accept the imperial court's offer. Reward. Once the old barbarian Fu Yantong surrenders, the remaining people will not dare to go against the imperial court. It will be pacified in just a few days!"
"This barbarian chieftain is really cunning. Zhou Xingfeng is dead and Hunan is almost pacified, so he actively obeyed..." Probably because he had lost the chance to fight in the west, Shi Yanchao couldn't help but curse. One sentence.
"You can't say that!" Murong Yanzhao's opinion is quite pertinent: "This can be regarded as the way of survival for other people! Wang Qianlang's mission is still useful, and even achieved the best results. If it is really assembled Tens of thousands of barbarians go to war, whether they are rebelling or assisting the imperial court, it is a problem..."
After saying that, Murong Yanzhao's expression became serious again and said: "What I am worried about now is the climate here. It is hot and humid. Further south, there will be more miasma. It is about to enter midsummer. Many of our soldiers are from the north. During the time of Xiang, there were things that were not amenable to the soil and water, and now it has penetrated deep into the southern country!"
"This is indeed a problem!" Shi Yanchao also became cautious.
"In addition, the homeland of Ma Chu is not only occupied by the Lingbei prefectures and counties, but also Gui, Meng, Yi, Lian, Zhao, Fu, Xiang, Liu and other prefectures and counties, which can be stolen by the puppet dynasty in the south! Now, not even counting Full credit!" Murong Yanzhao said: "According to the report from the Military Intelligence Department, the puppet troops in Lingui and Lianzhou have made some changes!"
"Okay!" Shi Yanchao heard this, but he cheered with joy: "The Southern Expedition has only started for a month, and we have swept across Jinghu. Now that the military is at its peak, Mo Ruo takes the opportunity to go south and destroy the puppet dynasty! The great Han Dynasty is standing in the In the Central Plains, the puppet dynasty dares to claim the title of the country. In the past, it was across Jinghu Lake and beyond the reach of the whip. Now the army has arrived and it is time to take advantage of the situation and annihilate it!"
Because they both had the same surname of Liu and the same title of Han, the rulers and ministers of the Southern Han Dynasty and the Northern Han Dynasty who occupied Lingnan had always regarded them as heretics. In official documents, they all called them Pseudo Dynasty and Pseudo Liu. Therefore, it is not surprising that Shi Yanchao has this intention.
Of course, the Southern Han Dynasty may be more aggrieved. After all, they have occupied Lingnan and established the country for three generations. In the past forty years, you have only been in the Northern Han Dynasty. However, power is the last word, and weakness is a sin.
Hearing this, Murong Yanzhao chuckled and said: "How dare the Puppet Dynasty confront our army? They are just making some defensive maneuvers. Otherwise, if they were interested in the north, they would have already sent troops north to attack Kou Quan, Dao, Chen, etc." It’s over!”
Then he sighed a little: "Although the time for launching the troops this time was short, the fatigue of the soldiers was not reduced at all because of the long expedition and the long journey. Over at Yuezhou, there was a fierce battle for twenty days. Although the results were great, the losses were also high. .
Nowadays, people's livelihood in Hunan is in decline, and people's hearts have not recovered. Without consolidation, it is not easy to rush southward. What's more, without the imperial edict, we can't start a war! "
As for Shi Yanchao, he is basically just a man who is addicted to talking. After all, he is a veteran on the battlefield, and he can still distinguish priorities. However, Murong Yanzhao's words opened his mind.
His eyes rolled darkly, and with a hint of slyness, Shi Yanchao said: "We can't attack directly. If the puppet troops of the DPRK take the initiative to invade the territory, we can take the opportunity to counterattack, and there will be no problem!"
Shi Yanchao seemed to have a natural sense of smell when it came to this kind of matter. He was very alert and looked energetic: "We don't know what the situation is like with the puppet army. It would be good if we had a fight first to test the strength of the army." Make some preparations for going south in the future!”
Murong Yanzhao raised his eyebrows and glanced sideways at him, without commenting or blaming him. He fell into deep thought, as if he was really considering Shi Yanchao's suggestion.
"The first thing is to bring the Lingbei states under the rule of the Han Dynasty!" Murong Yanzhao said.
