Han Shizu

Chapter 697 You can prepare for the aftermath

Inside the Chongzheng Hall, it was quieter than before. In the whole side hall, except for the sound of the officials reading and writing, there was no other movement. They needed to move and walk quietly, restraining their movements.

Zhao Pu, who had just returned to the hall, walked a little faster, walked to Zhao Yu's case, and called out with a light smile, "Zhao Chengzhi!"

Zhao Yu was writing a booklet with his sleeves up, stopped writing and raised his head when he heard the sound, looked at the smiling Zhao Pu, noticed the military newspaper in his hand, and asked, "Is there any progress in the war in Hunan?"

Zhao Pu nodded, and boasted: "Chengzhi is really smart, and he hit the mark. The Privy Council just received the good news that Commander Murong sent troops to the south and won a victory in Liyang. Yang Shifan's army that went north was almost wiped out. Few escaped!"

"Oh!" Zhao Yu was overjoyed when he heard that, his brows loosened, he stretched out his hand to take it, quickly browsed it, breathed out, and said: "With this good news, maybe it can relieve your Majesty's depression!"

Hearing this, Zhao Pu looked towards the main hall and asked in a low voice, "Is Your Majesty here?"

Zhao Wei nodded and didn't say much, let alone revealing the emperor's whereabouts.Putting down the military report, Zhao Pu said: "We will report after His Majesty returns to the palace!"

"Okay!" His gaze stayed on Zhao Wei for a moment, and Zhao Pu calmly returned to his seat.

After waiting for too long, the emperor came back, and Er Zhao hurried to see him.After receiving the good news from the front, Liu Chengyou really cheered up, and his expression was really relaxed a lot as Zhao Wei said.

"On the 13th, two generals, Shi Yanchao and Li Yun, 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. The army was on the sidelines, and that night, the bandit army saw that the situation was not good, and intended to run away, but was blocked in the village by Li Yun, who had been prepared for a long time.

On the morning of the 14th, Li Yun launched an attack. In less than an hour, he wiped out all the thieves, broke through three thousand thieves, and most of them surrendered.Afterwards, after a short rest, Li Yun moved his army southward, and together with Shi Yanchao and Pan Mei, monitored Yang Shifan's army from three directions and put him in a desperate situation.

As a result, the bandits' morale was in turmoil and their morale was low. In the following day and two nights, they crossed the bandits' strongholds, and more than a thousand people came to the camp to surrender.

On the 16th, the collapse of Yang Shifan's army was imminent. Generals Shi and Li led cavalry and launched a fierce attack on the bandit army. After sending out troops to attack the side, the bandit army was defeated after fighting for an hour and a half.

In this battle, all the armies beheaded and killed more than [-] soldiers of the bandit army, and surrendered more than [-] soldiers. The leader of the bandit army, Yang Shifan, was shot and killed! "

After listening to Zhao Pu's report, Liu Chengyou was not overly happy, let alone excited. After thinking for a while, he nodded and said: "Li, Shi, and Pan, this battle was fought well! Li Yun's idle life really made Li Yun suffocate, and he will be a tiger if he is released!"

Of course, Liu Chengyou's reaction is also normal. For him, winning is what he deserves. If he loses the battle, he will probably be more excited.

"According to our follow-up inquiry, the surrender general learned that Yang Shifan was defeated under the city of Liyang for a long time. After seeing that the city was well defended, he attacked the city with a weak brigade and suffered heavy casualties. He wanted to use the strategy of arrogant soldiers and confusing the enemy to paralyze the defenders. Initiate a surprise attack, concentrate elite troops, and attack the city with all their strength. Of course, Pan Mei in Liyang noticed the change of the bandit army and was prepared.

Originally, Yang Shifan planned to launch an attack suddenly on the 14th, but Shi Yanchao hurriedly marched hundreds of miles to Liyang on the 13th, which directly made Yang Shifan's plan fail.

And before Shi Yanchao’s troops arrived, Yang Shifan also ordered to burn all the floating beams and transshipment ships in Lishui, intending to emulate the story of the shipwreck and encourage the soldiers to fight without dying.” Zhao Pu couldn’t help showing a little sneer.

"From this point of view, Zhou Xingfeng has some considerations in appointing this person as the chief general. At least he has some knowledge of the art of war, and he has the ability to be ruthless!" Liu Chengyou commented: "Don't check the situation, don't look at the morale of the army, forcefully follow the example of the overlord of Chu, and cut off Lu, the result is naturally that painting a tiger can't become an anti-dog, and the army is in a desperate situation, and the whole army is wiped out, it's not surprising!"

"Your Majesty is right! If it weren't for this, it would not be so easy to wipe out Yang Shifan in Liyang!" Zhao Tong calmly echoed.

"The details of this battle need to be reported by the Privy Council!" Zhao Pu said.

"Broadcast to Guo Rong, call a few more prime ministers!" Liu Chengyou said immediately.

"Yes!"

In Weiji, in the main hall of Chongzheng, the important officials of the central government gathered together, and the privy envoy Guo Rong made a detailed report on the situation in Hunan.

Guo Rong was still the same as usual, with a strong personal style in his words and deeds, but his tone was a little more excited because of the good news from the front: "After the Battle of Liyang, the bandit army on the West Road collapsed. We only need to make some adjustments, and then we can cross the south of the Yangtze River. March to Wuling. Once Wuling is captured, Dongting Dashui will be under control, and Zhou Xingfeng's army in Yuezhou will be in danger and lose ground!"

"Tell me about the battle situation in Yuezhou? How is Zhou Xingfeng's army?" Liu Chengyou asked.

Guo Rong replied: "Your Majesty, now Han Tong has led the forbidden army, state soldiers and Jingnan surrendered army, with a total of more than [-] soldiers on land and water, and entered Sanjiangkou. However, under the order of Murong Yanzhao's army, he was forced not to fight. host.

Murong Yanzhao's analysis is very accurate. Our army has sufficient food and equipment and high morale, while Zhou Ni is on the contrary, eager to fight and want a quick victory.Originally, under the control of the navy, our army was at a slight disadvantage. After Wei Lin led the navy to join the battle, the two sides fought in Dongting, causing casualties to each other.

Later Zhou Xingfeng mobilized his infantry to attack our camp from Sanjiangkou and Baling City, intending to make a breakthrough by land, but under the command of Han Tong and other generals, they were repelled."

"After the battle of Liyang, how will Zhou Xingfeng react?" Liu Chengyou asked.

At this time, Wei Renpu said: "If you want to survive, you should abandon Yuezhou, withdraw your troops back to Wuling, and even Changsha, and then try to stick to it, otherwise you will be threatened later, and the situation will not last long. But judging from Zhou Xingfeng's performance since the start of the war, this He is not a person who easily admits defeat, has a tough personality and is decisive, otherwise he would not have taken the initiative to go north in order to break the situation.

The more dangerous the situation is, I'm afraid it will be even crazier, desperate to attack the army of Sanjiangkou.If we can defeat our soldiers and horses on the East Road, the danger will be relieved, and we can even go up to the generals and threaten the police 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 as confident as before, without any change in his eyes: "No matter what Zhou Xingfeng decides, it doesn't matter to our army! If he breaks the situation from Sanjiangkou at all costs, veteran generals such as Han Tong and Du Hanhui will be able to control the situation." No! Murong Yanzhao has already dispatched from Jiangling to lead the army to Liyang, no matter what he chooses, he will not escape the end of defeat!"

Then, Guo Rong explained: "In addition, according to the report of the defeated Liyang army, before the enemy was defeated, there was no food for the next day in Yang Shifan's camp, and there was no supply for the rear for several days. Hunan provinces, It is not enough to supply the bandit army for front-line operations.

Liyang's army is like this, even if Zhou Xingfeng's army is in better condition, it is definitely not much better.It took another few days for the military newspaper to be transferred from Liyang to Tokyo, and Zhou Xingfeng was expected to be on the verge of collapse at this time!

Judging from the military intelligence department's spying on the various states in Hunan, in order to supply the front, the Hunan military government scraped three feet of land to raise money and food, depleted its young men to fight, and used their women to transfer.

Now in Hunan, the people's sentiments are in dire straits, the complaints are overwhelming, and the resistance is intensifying.Centrifugal up and down, the Zhou family has actually lost control of Hunan!

Zhou Xingfeng resorted to militarism, exhausted people's strength, and ran out of money and food. Murong Yanzhao's raw materials in Hunan will be available within a month, but judging from the current situation, it won't be able to last for half a month! "

"That's why, I think that the matter of pacifying Hunan and the military struggle is no longer a concern, and the court needs to think about the aftermath in advance!"

From Guo Rong's mouth, it can be seen that the situation of the Hunan Raiders is very good.However, for the Han court, the more troublesome thing is that it is still behind.Simply put, Pinghu is easy, but governance is difficult!
For the imperial court, Jingnan has millions of households and a strategic location, which benefits greatly.As for Hunan, there is one thing to say, it is a big burden, fragmented and dilapidated, but no matter how heavy the burden is, it must be brought under the rule of the imperial court.

The prime ministers obviously agreed with Guo Rong's analysis, so Fan Zhi put on a bitter face and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, since the brothers Ma Xiguang and Ma Xie fought each other, there have been frequent disturbances and endless wars in the states of Hunan. , out of eight years, six years were in disaster and turmoil.

Now, with Zhou Xingfeng suffering such a disaster, the war is over and the imperial court will take over Hunan in turmoil and famine.As Privy Councilor Guo said, the court really needs to make preparations in advance.

If the war ends quickly, there will not be much time left for the court to prepare! "

(End of this chapter)