"Shandong is thousands of miles away and beyond reach, so what do we have to fear? We should send troops quickly to quell the rebellion and restore peace to the south of the Yangtze River to avoid a sweeping trend."
Regarding the situation in Songjiang Mansion, one person had a firm attitude.
That is Wei Guogong Xu Hongji.
As the head of Nanjing's honorable ministers, Xu Hongji advocated the conquest, which naturally greatly affected the attitude of Nanjing's civil and military forces.
Seeing him leading the battle, Yingtian Governor Zhuang Zujia was inexplicably moved.
"The current situation is difficult and the country is in turmoil. In times of crisis, with a loyal man like you, why worry about uncertainty?"
With such a big event happening in Songjiang Mansion, Zhuang Zujie, the governor of Yingtian, could not avoid it. His idea was also to send troops to quell the rebellion.
But Nanzhili is different from other places.
The power of the governor here is greatly restricted, and the deployment of troops must obtain the support of local ministers.
Now that Wei Guogong has expressed his attitude, it is naturally difficult for others to object.
The guard eunuch Liu Ning was really happy.
"Mr. Xu, in your opinion, how should we fight this battle?"
When it came to the specific war plan, Xu Hongji had something to say again.
"Haha, I have been away from my position for a long time. I dare not comment on the specific situation. I would like to ask the Marquis of Funing and Uncle Chengyi to take charge of the overall situation."
As soon as these words came out, Zhu Guobi and Liu Kongzhao both became angry.
They had long thought that Xu Hongji had evil intentions, but unexpectedly he pushed the two of them onto the stove to roast them.
But there is no way. Who told them that one of them is a garrison in Nanjing and the other is Admiral Cao Jiang.
These are the two positions with the greatest military power in Southern Zhili.
When it comes to war matters, they are naturally in charge.
But fighting...
Zhu Guobi and Liu Kongzhao both felt numb.
How do they know how to fight?
Not to mention how to arrange their troops, they didn't even know where their military camp was.
I have never been there in my life.
But seeing the glare in everyone's eyes, Zhu Guobi and Liu Kongzhao did not dare to refuse.
Zhu Guobi thought for a while and approached Zhuang Zujie.
"In battles, the Chinese army should be commanded and coordinated. This matter belongs to Mr. Zhongcheng. Please also ask Mr. Zhongcheng to arrange something so that we can act according to the order."
All the officials present were full of black lines.
But Zhu Guobi's words cannot be wrong.
After all, in today's battlefields everywhere, the person in charge of the war is either the governor or the governor, and the other generals and military attachés are just following orders.
Since Zhuang Zujie is the governor of Yingtian, it is not natural for him to give orders.
But Zhuangzu taught him to sit on the wax on the spot.
He is not Hong Chengchou or Sun Chengzong, and he has never touched the military in his life.
He also has a dark eye on how to fight the war.
For a time, everyone in Nanjing's official circles was worried, but they couldn't come up with any solution.
Liu Ning was in a hurry.
"Everyone, the military situation is raging. If we continue to delay like this, are we going to wait for the rebels to attack Nanjing City? I don't know. We have no choice but to go to the army and ask the emperor to make a decision."
Don't think about it, once this dog eunuch comes forward, he will definitely accuse everyone.
Considering the emperor's character, everyone in Nanjing's official circles knew that they could not afford to delay.
The number of heads was at stake, so Zhuang Zujie showed his majesty as a governor.
"Marquis Funing, Uncle Sincerity, the matter has come to this, and you two must shoulder your responsibilities. I will give you three days to rectify the military affairs, and send troops to Songjiang Mansion immediately without delay."
Zhu Guobi and Liu Kongzhao were at a loss and didn't know how to prepare.
Ningyang Marquis Chen Guangbi, who was also a member of the Xunchen family, gave some advice.
"Sincerity, you should gather all the navy officers and soldiers and go down the river. It will take at most three or two days to reach Songjiang Mansion."
He looked at Zhu Guobi again.
"Marquis Funing, there are now more than 40,000 troops in Nanjing. You can take all the troops from Xiaoxiaochang and march eastward, and collect the troops from Gaoyou Guard, Xinghua Guard, Zhenjiang Guard, Changzhou Guard, Suzhou Guard and Taicang Guard along the way. Sufficient for counterinsurgency."
Zhu Guobi was stunned when he heard this.
This is the first time I know that there are so many officers and soldiers in South Zhili.
After discussion, Zhu Guobi and Liu Kongzhao became the commanders-in-chief of Southern Zhili to send troops to quell the rebellion.
Zhuang Zujie worked hard for his official title.
After returning home, he kept running around to prepare food, grass and military supplies for the army.
As for Wei Guogong Xu Hongji, after returning, he immediately closed the door to thank guests and saw no one.
"Father, you are leading the battle with one force. What if Shandong finds out and takes revenge in the future?"
The news soon spread to the officialdom, and Xu Wenjue was worried.
But Xu Hongji was there, as if nothing had happened.
"I just shouted twice. It's not me who came forward to fight the war with Shandong. Even if Shandong wants to blame me, I can't be blamed."
Xu Wenjue was so anxious that he was running around on the ground.
"I'm afraid Shandong doesn't think so."
Xu Hongji chuckled, picked up the book and read it leisurely.
He couldn't tell his son that these were all what Shandong ordered him to do, right?
But Zhu Guobi and Liu Kongzhao were already in chaos.
Zhu Guobi walked into the gate of the Chinese Army Governor's Mansion for the first time in his life.
"I have received the general's order to lead the army out today. Have you gathered all your troops?"
The generals roared yes.
"I will obey the general's order and never regret it."
The feeling of stars overcoming the moon gave Zhu Guobi some confidence.
"Okay! Today, I will order my troops on the battlefield to strengthen my reputation."
Outside Nanjing, there is a small school field.
Soldiers who had received military orders came from all directions, and Zhu Guobi's eyes widened when he saw it.
"Commander Tong, are all your troops and horses ready?"
A general replied: "Your Majesty, all the capable soldiers of our Shenji Battalion are here."
Zhu Guobi's hands trembled with anger.
"Nonsense. It is recorded in the yellow book that your Shenji camp has 5,000 soldiers. Tell me, are there 5,000 soldiers here?"
Commander Tong murmured in defense.
"Master Marquis, yesterday there were 1,300 people in the army who asked for leave due to illness, and 853 people asked for leave for other reasons. There are still some who are too old and too weak to go on the expedition. There are more than 1,000 people who cannot be found. Arrive. All the combat power of our Shenji Battalion is really here."
Zhu Guobi's eyes turned black.
Is it really possible to fight with such an army?
But there is no way, Nanjing's army has this kind of virtue.
The Shenji Battalion of 5,000 people was less than half full, and the 3,000 Battalion of 8,000 people was even worse, with only 1,800 people.
Although he had known for a long time that Jiangnan's military preparedness was depleted, only after seeing it in person did Zhu Guobi realize how exaggerated it was.
"You are so greedy that you don't know whether to live or die."
The generals below showed no fear.
"The generals and others have already reported all the situations in the army, and the Marquis has also made accurate reports."
How did Zhu Guobi approve it?
Of course it was approved with money.
Now that the secret has been exposed, the generals below are not afraid of punishment.
Anyway, we are all grasshoppers on the same rope, what can Zhu Guobi do to them?
The reality is that Zhu Guobi can do nothing except being furious.
Compared with Zhu Guobi, Liu Kongzhao was much calmer.
It took him five days to finally gather the navy together, and then set off in a hurry.
When the mighty navy sailed out of Nanjing's Xiaguan Pier, three ships sank; when it arrived at Zhenjiang, five ships fell apart.
After finally reaching Jiangyin, ten more ships were missing.
By the time they entered Suzhou, more than a thousand people in the entire army fell ill.
Liu Kongzhao didn't care. He just ordered the navy to be stationed at Xupu and not move forward anyway.
He didn't want to go to war either, and the situation below just gave him an excuse.
He also has a reason.
He had to wait for Zhu Guobi's land route to arrive before he could attack from both sides.
Zhu Guobi's land route has only now reached Danyang.
Although this is already the twenty-first day after the Songjiang Mansion riot.
The Ming army in Jiangnan had this virtue.
What they need to do most is to ensure that these troops do not fall apart on the road.
Walking to Songjiang is victory!
