Zhao Dangshi had rushed back to Xiangyang Mansion in mid-June to eat the child's full moon wine, and after a month, the whereabouts of the Zuo Jiajun had settled, so he was able to withdraw and return to Xiangyang Mansion to take Huaqing's mother and son back to Fanhe City for resettlement.

The Zhao Mansion of Fanhe City is located in the middle of the city, far away from the Three Military Mansions. Although it is not as graceful as the Xiangfan Mansion or the Chen Family Manor in Panxi Lake, it is also clear and spacious, exquisite and atmospheric.

Huaqing mother and son live in the main courtyard of the four entrances, surrounded by four flour walls, the willows hang around, the entrance is the zigzag verandah, the stones under the steps are spread into the road, and the number of Yingshu houses are reflected in the thousands of green bamboos, which seems quiet and elegant. The layout of the master bedroom also follows the simple and refreshing style that Huaqing likes, and is painted like a snow-white wall. There are not too many variegated toys on display in the room, and there are a few chrysanthemums in a blue-glazed porcelain vase on the case, a few books on the side, and a tea cup only. Only a green gauze curtain hung from the bed, and the mattress was very simple.

Zhao Fuzhong, there are Zhao Yuanheng, Zhao Yuanzai, Kong Xin and Liu Ruyi, Lian Zhi and others, in the past, it was Liu Ruis who presided over the family affairs, Huaqing came, she greeted her warmly, although she was two years older than Huaqing, but between the words was very humble and small, only smiled: "In the future, all the affairs in the house can be decided by the county lord's sister." ”

Hua Qing was open-minded, he knew that Zhao Dangshi was a hero, and he couldn't accompany him all the time, so he would inevitably have some other feelings, and he took the initiative to match Lian Zhi with him in order to relieve Zhao Dangshi's loneliness, and saw that Liu Ru talked and behaved quite well, and knew that she usually helped Zhao Dangshi to take care of the house, but she didn't feel angry, and took her hand and said: "My sister has been in the house for a long time, and I am more familiar with various affairs than my sister, and I need more guidance from my sister." ”

The two chatted for a while, and the servant hugged Zhao Yuanyi and Zhao Yingpei in swaddling clothes, and Liu Ru exclaimed in surprise and hurriedly hugged one in his arms, affectionate and funny, as if he were his own son. Hua Qing smiled like a flower and said: "One child is fine, but the two children really can't take care of it, it's been two months, and it's been a little naughty." Fortunately, now that I have a sister, I can breathe a sigh of relief. ”

Liu Ru gently shook and coaxed the child and said: "My sister has just finished confinement, and her body is still weak, so she still needs to recuperate and recuperate, don't work too hard for the child." Sister rest assured, there is a sister here. ”

Hua Qing was refreshed and had a good impression. Liu Ru also felt that the county lord in front of him was approachable and had no shelf, and he was equally kind. The two then found that they had common interests in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and they even hated each other, laughed and talked, but left Zhao Dangshi aside, and ignored them all.

The two got along, Zhao Dangshi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and sent Lian Zhi to make the bed for Huaqing, and slowly turned out of the yard with his conceited hands behind.

Pacing the verandah, Zhao Yuanheng came to report that Gu Junshi and Xu Junshi had arrived, and then went to the lobby to meet.

Gu Junen and Xu Yixian saw that Zhao Dangshi was going to salute, and Zhao Dangshi smiled: "The two of you don't need to be polite." ”

The three of them sat down, and Gu Junen said first: "The armies have been arranged?" ”

Zhao Dangshi said: "All arrangements are in place, and it is estimated that they will be in place at the end of the month." ”

I got the news two days ago that not long after Zuo Mengeng arrived at Hanyang Mansion, Song Yihe only met him once, and then packed up the soldiers and horses of Wuchang Mansion and went to Qizhou with Qian Zhongxuan. Song Yihe has been in vain for a long time, no one in the court has helped him speak, and his own strength is not strong, facing Zuo Mengeng and Zhao Dangshi behind Zuo Mengeng, he had to accept the fact that Zuo Mengeng was stationed in Wuchang Mansion after receiving the will of the imperial court. But he was worried that he would be controlled by Zuo Menggeng's pressure, so he simply moved to Qizhou, and it would take time to sort out the transferred military troops, which is why Song Yihe asked Zuo Menggeng's army to stay in Hanyang Mansion first. As for Qian Zhongxuan, anyway, Zuo Mengeng has already gotten his wish to get Wuchang Mansion, no one cares whether he goes to Changde Mansion or follows Song Yihe to Qizhou.

Sending Zuo Mengeng to Wuchang Mansion does not mean that Zhao Ying will have peace of mind from now on. After Zhao Dangshi and Zuo Mengeng separated, they immediately made a new military adjustment, that is, Bai Wang, the head of the Quanjun Army, was assigned to lead troops into Hanyang Mansion in the name of preventing Kou.

At present, the Zhao camp is actually divided into five armies.

First, Zhao was the world's army. It is under the command of the six battalions of Feijie Left Battalion, Feijie Right Battalion, Changning Battalion, Changhong Front Battalion, Guoan Battalion and Yichong Battalion. Among them, the Feijie Left Battalion, the Feijie Right Battalion, and the Changning Battalion were stationed in Fanhe City, and the Changhong Front Battalion and the Guoan Battalion were stationed in Xiangyang Fucheng, with a total of 9,000 soldiers and horses.

Second, Xu Huijun. It commanded the three battalions of Xiaojie Battalion, Changhong Left Battalion, and Changhong Right Battalion, and stationed in Yunyang Fucheng, with a total of 6,000 soldiers and horses.

Third, Guo Rukejun. He commanded the second battalion of the Hun camp and the Zhenxiao camp, and was stationed in Nanyang Fucheng, with a total of 4,000 soldiers and horses.

Fourth, Bai Wangjun. He commanded the second battalion of Wuyu Battalion and Wuya Battalion, and stationed in Hanyang Fucheng, with a total of 4,000 soldiers and horses. Among them, the Wuya Battalion was transferred south from Xiangyang Fucheng, and the Tuntian Houying, which was originally subordinated, was stripped off.

Its five kings came to raise the army. It commands the four battalions of the training battalion, the left battalion of Tuntian, the right battalion of Tuntian, and the rear battalion of Tuntian. Among them, the training battalion was stationed in De'an Fucheng, the left battalion of Tuntian was stationed in Chengtianfu City, the right battalion of Tuntian was stationed in Jingzhou Fucheng, and the rear battalion of Tuntian was also stationed in Fanhe City, with a total of 12,000 soldiers and horses.

Although Zuo Jiajun entered Wuchang Mansion, the situation was unstable, and Zhao Dangshi was still not very at ease with Zuo Mengeng. Let Bai Wang lead the army to garrison Zuo Jin, first, to prevent changes in Wuchang Mansion, second, to provide military support nearby, and third, to monitor Zuo Mengeng. Of course, Zuo Mengeng didn't think that Zhao Dangshi had any other meaning in sending troops to Hanyang Mansion, in his eyes, it was all out of his father-in-law's heart of help.

Wang Laixing's army except for the training camp sitting in De'an Mansion, which has the duty of keeping an eye on the three passes of Yiyang, and the remaining three battalions are still mainly based on tuntian and maintaining law and order. Chengtian Mansion and Jingzhou Mansion are both the territories that need to be included in Zhao Ying's plan, and now Zuo Liangyu is dead, Song Yihe is in decline, Qian Zhongxuan has moved south, and Zhao Dangshi's family is dominant, and the time is ripe.

The reason why the left camp of Tuntian entered the Chengtian Mansion was to protect the tomb, and the reason why the right camp of Tuntian entered the Jingzhou Mansion was to defend the palace of the Hui Domain. Before Zhao Dangshi sent troops, he asked Zhu Yiming, the king of Xiang, and Fan Juan, the prefect of Xiangyang, to write letters to the two mansions and send them to Zhu Changrun, the king of Hui, and Wang Ji, the prefect of Chengtian, to say hello. In fact, with Zhao Dangshi's current power, the place can't be stopped, the court can't control it, even if you directly drive the soldiers and horses in, there is no problem, but Zhao Dangshi still knows some etiquette, after all, it is always good to operate in these two mansions, and it is always good to have fewer side branches.

"Zuo Mengeng is not only to Wuchang Mansion, but also to Huangzhou Mansion. Now that De'an Mansion, Hanyang Mansion, Jingzhou Mansion, and Chengtian Mansion are also under control, the momentum of our army is not only in the north of Chu, but also in the entire territory of the north of Huguang. The earlier strategic deployment was carried out in an orderly manner, and Gu Junen was very happy.

Zhao Dangshi nodded and said: "On the periphery, Yunyang Mansion and Nanyang Mansion are also stable, and only Runing Mansion remains." He added, "But that is the main battlefield for the Chuang army to destroy Zuo Liangyu, and there must be the remnants of the Chuang army sweeping there." I can't figure out King Chuang's thoughts, and it's not easy to move. ”

Xu Yixian said: "There is no need to rush in this matter. Recently, I heard that the army defeated the official army from Zhuxian Town, and then went to besiege Kaifeng Fucheng, and there was great momentum to conquer the ungiving heart. Coughed a few times and then said, "Shandong General Liu Zeqing has led thousands of reinforcements to the vicinity of Kaifeng Fucheng, and Sun Chuanting, the governor of Shaanxi three times, has also been rumored to be out of the customs, and the fierce enemy has not been eliminated, and he does not dare to disperse his troops for a long time, and he will definitely shrink to Kaifeng in the near future." ”

Gu Junen added: "Our army in Runing Mansion cannot enter, once it enters, the relationship with the army will inevitably break down, and the imperial court will also take advantage of the maneuver to recruit our army. Now we still have to wait, wait for the situation in Anlu. ”

Zhao Dangshi said: "If the situation in Anlu changes, what can I do? ”

Gu Junen responded: "Then you have to take the initiative to enter the Wuchang Mansion to conquer and suppress the Hui, and do it yourself." As soon as the conversation changed, "But on the side of Fengyang Mansion, the lord can be contacted in advance." ”

After saying a few more words, Zhao Dangshi smiled and said: "Last month, I talked to the eunuch sent by the imperial court about Zuo Mengeng, but unexpectedly I heard from him that the Holy Lord allocated a lot of money to congratulate me on my marriage with the county lord, and there was a lot of money, enough for 100,000. ”

Gu Junen said with a smile: "Our army has been making a fortune for a long time, and there will always be a day when paper can't contain the fire." He Renlong and Zuo Liangyu are dead, and our army is too sharp to hide. ”

Xu Yixian said: "The imperial court is short of money and food, and Hou Sui and Sun Chuanting can't get much funding when they take office, so they can be described as self-made. Our army is self-reliant, and it can fight without taking a penny from the imperial court, but of course it can't escape the eyes of the imperial court. ”

Zhao Dangshi smiled bitterly and said: "I don't care about anything else, I'm just afraid that the Holy Chrysostom will open and the Zhu pen will let me break into the army." Hehe, that's a real headache. ”

Gu Junen pondered for a while and said, "If you really want to fight, you won't be in a hurry at this time." After a slight pause, he said, "It is only a matter of time before Ding Qirui and Yang Wenyue are deposed, and the imperial court has appointed Sun Chuanting and Hou Sui successively, just because they are optimistic that the two of them can cooperate in encirclement and suppression." Now that the decree has been decreed and our army is to be involved, the established operational policies of the officers and armies of Shaanxi and Henan will inevitably change drastically, and on the contrary, it will be unfavorable to the suppression and killing of the invading army. Therefore, in the opinion of his subordinates, no matter whether the imperial court has any intention of dragging our army to break in, he will have to wait until Sun and Hou Erdu fight with the army once. ”

Xu Yixian echoed: "What Mr. Gu said is extremely true. ”

Zhao Dangshi pondered for a moment and said, "I wonder when the distinction between Sun, Hou Erdu and Chuang Jun will be visible?" If we can predict it, our army can make preparations in advance. ”

Gu Junen frowned slightly and said: "My subordinates have the courage to guess, the inability to capture Kaifeng Mansion for a long time has actually greatly dragged down the overall strategy of the army, if the army can't take Kaifeng before winter, the officers and troops in all directions will gather more and more." For example, the Shandong soldiers recently arrived near the city of Kaifeng, and after a long time, when the imperial court came to their senses, Shanxi, Nanzhili, Sichuan, and even Huguang and other places wanted to go to Henan to help in the war, and the situation of the army would be very dangerous. Therefore, before the winter of this year, the army will inevitably attack Kaifeng Mansion again, and Sun and Hou will not be able to see death without help, and I am afraid that a big war will break out at that time. ”

Xu Yixian said: "The Chuang army has fought Kaifeng Mansion twice before, and methods such as ant attachment and collapse have been used, but to no avail, so they changed their course and changed their attack to sleep." In the battle of Zhuxian Town in May, the main force of the invasion army went south to fight fiercely, and some troops were still left in the north to continue to besiege the city and intercept the road, never stopped, pinching the fingers and counting, it has been nearly three months. It is said that the grain and grass in Kaifeng Fucheng are about to be exhausted, it is already a mountain of white bones, the road is no pedestrian, the god is crying for the day and the sun is dusk, and then surround it, within two months, the army will win without a fight. ”

Gu Junen continued: "Yes, although Liu Zeqing has a lot of soldiers and horses, it is not enough to defeat the besieging army alone. He went to Kaifeng, most likely to support another big war planned by the officials and troops later. ”

Zhao Dangshi pondered and said: "In the opinion of the two gentlemen, if the war really breaks out again, for our army, is it better to win the army or the official army?" Zhao Yingming did not participate in the war in Henan and watched the fire from the other side, but in fact, he could never stay out of the matter secretly. The army and the official army are like chips on both sides of the scale, and Zhao Ying must be in the middle and carefully check and balance, so that the two sides can maintain a certain balance in order to seek the greatest benefits.

Gu Junen coughed lightly and said leisurely: "If it is a big plan, in the long run, it will naturally be more beneficial for our army to win." He immediately said, "If the army can't break the situation in Henan, it will definitely die, and if the official army loses Henan, there is still room for maneuver." Therefore, before the invasion army occupies Henan, it is not appropriate for our army to force it into a dead end. ”

"So what about the officers and soldiers, can they be guaranteed?" Zhao Dangshi was worried, "If the army breaks into the battle of Zhuxian Town again, I am afraid that the situation will be difficult to control." ”

Gu Junen replied: "My subordinates have analyzed with the lord before, the foundation of our army and the army to dominate the world, do you still remember?" ”

Zhao Dangshi's face was like a mountain, and he said, "Of course." The foundation of our army lies in Chu and Sichuan, and the foundation of the army lies in Henan and Shaanxi. ”

"That's right, if the army only takes Henan without Shaanxi, even if it is arrogant, it can only be a lame, even if it can leap a few times, but it will never be able to march for a long time. Henan can be a bridgehead, but it is not the choice of foundation. In other words, the momentum of the invading army is like a rainbow and it can still march forward, but once it encounters a major setback, without the support of the rear, it will be difficult to escape the disheartened spirit and the end of a thousand miles. ”

Zhao Dangshi seemed to have an understanding, but said: "What does Mr. mean is that there are two principles for our army, one is to protect the army to occupy Henan, and the other is to protect the official army to occupy Shaanxi?" ”

Gu Junen sighed: "The lord is really the master, and he can understand it at one point, but if you want to Guangwu Tang Sect, it's just that!" "Sigh, said seriously, "Needless to say, the occupation of Henan by the army is very important. ”

"Which point?"

Gu Junen said without thinking: "Sun Chuanting must be preserved from death." ”

"Sun Chuanting?"

"Well, this person is really a pillar, Shaanxi has him without him, and he is completely judged. If he dies, he will be embarrassed to guard Shaanxi if he doubles the number of troops. Protecting him will be of great use to the future development of our army. ”

"I see." Zhao Dangshi said slowly, "Baosun Chuanting ......"

After the death of Zuo Liangyu, the strategic direction of Zhao Ying's camp was clear again.