"Guo Qing, how is the situation of the East China Sea Navy?" Liu Chengyou turned his attention to Guo Tingwei and asked directly.
Is it your turn now? Guo Tingwei was slightly surprised, but he reacted quickly. He stood up and reported emphatically: "The soldiers lost in the Northern Expedition have been replenished. In the past three years, they have been trained and eliminated. So far, there have been a total of 30,000 soldiers, including 10,000 in Laizhou and 2 in Mizhou. Ten thousand, including eight thousand soldiers, patrolling the sea and conducting combat training all year round, I have the confidence to gallop across the East China Sea, unrivaled!"
Seeing Guo Tingwei showing such a confident posture, Liu Chengyou smiled and said: "I will admit that I am not familiar with naval battles and battleships. I am an outsider. Guo Qing is a rare navy general for a big man. Since you said this, I also believe that the Donghai Navy can be of great use!"
"Your Majesty has given you too much praise, but I dare not live up to it!" Guo Tingwei bowed and responded. The emperor's words can be described as high praise. They are a kind of recognition and encouragement for Guo Tingwei, and they also put a great pressure on him. The words are released. If something goes wrong, let's not mention other sins for the time being. This deceiver The hat can be put on directly.
Therefore, Guo Tingwei solemnly asked: "Please give me your Majesty's order!"
"No rush!" Raising his hand, Liu Chengyou looked at Cao Bin again, sizing up this famous commander in history, and smiled: "Cao Bin!"
Cao Bin stood up, saluted, and said calmly: "I see your Majesty, and I respectfully listen to your Majesty's instructions!"
This calm and calm demeanor made the whole person's image look better. Liu Chengyou nodded secretly and said: "I have been famous for you for a long time! Through the memorial, I can be regarded as knowing you. Seeing you today is really extraordinary. , Become a general!"
"Your Majesty, you are so complimentary!" In response to Liu Chengyou's compliment, Cao Bin felt a sense of pressure rising in his heart.
After asking Cao Bin, Liu Chengyou turned his attention to Pan Mei and chuckled: "Zhongxun, I put you in Hunan and stayed there for seven years. You must be exhausted!"
Before meeting the Emperor, Pan Mei was very smug, her heart was up and down, and she seemed to have countless things to say to the Emperor. However, when she actually saw the Emperor, facing the peaceful but majestic gaze, she was a little intimidated.
When he heard about it, he reported: "Your Majesty has promoted me very highly. Every time I think about it, I want to fight and die in order to repay my kindness!"
After hearing what he said, Liu Chengyou looked around and said leisurely: "You are all smart people. I think you all have your own guesses as to why I called you back to Beijing. The trend of the times and the direction of the people, there is no need to avoid talking about it. I have already It has been decided, Commander Pingnan, I have summoned you just to discuss this matter!"
After saying this, few people showed much surprise. Pan Mei took advantage of the situation and took out a memorial from her arms and presented it: "Your Majesty, before I returned to Beijing, I drafted a strategy for the peace of Guangdong. I have some superficial opinions. Please review it and make corrections." !”
Taking Pan Mei's charter from Sun Yanjun, Liu Chengyou opened it and read it on the spot. It didn't take long. When he raised his eyes, an expression called satisfaction was already showing on his face.
Although she was eager to make achievements, judging from the memorial, Pan Mei was not impatient, and the strategy she presented appeared to be sound. Pan Mei gave a detailed explanation of everything from troop strength and supplies, to the timing of the advance, the offensive route, and the defense of Guangdong cities along the way.
This is a very complete strategy for entering the army. Pan Mei has stayed in Hunan for too long, and it is obviously not in vain, nor was it wasted. She even went to Prince Xing's Mansion as an envoy of the imperial court several times, fully knowing herself and the enemy.
Looking at Pan Mei, Liu Chengyou expressed curiosity and said, "To annihilate the Guangdong Kingdom, you only need 50,000 troops?"
Upon hearing this, Pan Mei responded calmly: "Your Majesty, after twelve years of fighting in Qianyou, southern Guangdong has been fully exposed. Given its national conditions, it is still possible to gather an army of more than 100,000 people, but training is neglected and the armaments are poor. No match for my mighty warriors;
Furthermore, Southern Guangdong originally lacked generals, but because of villains' slander, the generals were killed again, and the Lord of Guangdong appointed eunuchs as generals, so that the generals were not attached, the military was unstable, and morale was low;
Thirdly, since the Lord of Guangdong succeeded to the throne, he has acted arbitrarily and tyrannically, which has made the people of Guangdong suffer for a long time. The king's army went south to save the people from fire and water.
If we want to defeat them, thirty thousand troops will suffice. I ask for fifty thousand troops, but for the sake of safety, I am preparing to put an end to the chaos and bring stability. "
"My General Pan has a far-sighted strategy and a big picture view!" After listening to his statement, Liu Chengyou pointed at Pan Mei and said to Chai Rong and the others. After a pause, Liu Chengyou raised the charter in his hand and said, "You... It’s not just an army strategy, it’s also a letter of challenge!”
Upon hearing this, Pan Mei immediately knelt down and asked for orders: "Your Majesty, I would like to lead the army to conquer Guangdong. I hope your Majesty will agree!"
In fact, the candidates for the expedition to Guangdong were decided early, as early as seven years ago, and the army's lieutenant generals had many guesses. Even without the emperor's preference, there are few candidates more suitable than Pan Mei. As for senior generals such as Murong, Zhao Kuangyin, and Gao Huaide, they are not suitable to compete with them.
Without responding directly to Pan Mei, Liu Chengyou glanced at Cao Bin and asked, "Cao Qing has been guarding Chenzhou for many years. What do you think about this?"
Cao Bin thought about it and said: "Your Majesty, I think there is no more suitable general to attack Guangdong than General Pan!"
Seeing Cao Bin's calm look and facing Pan Mei's expectant eyes, Liu Chengyou stood up and greeted everyone: "Let's go to the Privy Council!"
"Pass on my verbal instructions to ask Wei Renpu and Murong Yanzhao to come to the Privy Council, and then pass on Zhao Yanjin!" Before leaving, he ordered Sun Yanjun again.
"yes!"
Privy Council, military engine room. The emperor was in the main seat, and all the military and political leaders of the Han Dynasty were present. When they saw everyone gathered, Liu Chengyou waved his hand and ordered: "Tell the ministers the Pingnan strategy formulated by the Privy Council!"
"yes!"
The war in Pingnan has been planned for a long time under the instruction of Liu Chengyou. By now, it has basically been finalized. All aspects of the situation, including troop deployment, general selection, and march route, have been considered. Due to the latest situation, And keep adjusting. Although Pingnan is generally known to both the government and the opposition, the confidentiality of this aspect is very high.
The person in charge of the introduction was Zhao Kuangyin. Standing in front of the map that had been moved to the hall, he calmly began to narrate. Everyone here who didn't know the story cheered up, especially the generals who had been ordered to return to the capital.
"According to the plan of the Privy Council, this Pingnan march will be divided into four routes! In the first route, the Xiaodi Army will be transferred southward and send troops from the ten states of Jiangling, Gui, Shaanxi, An, Fu, Ying, Xiang, Li, Yue, and Kui. Ma and the Jiangling Navy, a total of 40,000 land and water troops, attacked Ezhou from the upper reaches, took the mouth of Hukou, and went eastward along the river. Cao Bin was the chief general and Liu Guangyi was the deputy;
The second route was to send the Quan, Chen, Dao, and Gui garrison troops, as well as soldiers and horses from various states in Hunan, as well as 3,000 Yao soldiers and Sichuan capital soldiers, a total of 50,000 troops, to go south to pacify the Guangdong Kingdom. Pan Mei was the chief general, and Cui Yanjin was the deputy. Of;
On the third route, the Longqi Army, Longjie Army, Fengguo Army, and Jianghuai land and water armies, totaling 70,000 land and water troops, crossed the river from the lower reaches at selected locations, with the goal of Jinling;
The fourth route, led by General Guo Tingwei, led 30,000 Jing navy troops, went south by sea, landed at Hangzhou, and together with Wu and Yue troops, went north to attack Chang and Run..."
After hearing the general plan of the Privy Council, everyone present, whether they knew it or not, couldn't help but sigh that this was another large-scale military campaign. The army just mentioned alone numbered nearly 200,000. If we include the conscripted civilians, half of the southern army would have to be mobilized. Of course, the scale is far less than that of the Northern Expedition, and the number of professional soldiers sent out this time is much smaller than before.
Liu Chengyou, on the other hand, summed it up with great courage: "This time, I want to level the south in one fell swoop and resolve all the forces in the south of the Yangtze River at once!"
