"So, are you the messenger of the righteous army in Shuzhong?"

Zhou Huai'an propped up his chin with both hands and asked a little incredulously

"Although my generation is in Xichuan, he has long heard of the name of Taiping among the rebels in the world, and he is the most capable of fighting well."

The person who came looked emaciated and had a vicissitudes of life, and his beard and hair were tangled together, and he had obviously not been able to rest well for a long time.

If it weren't for the so-called local rebel information and contacts released from Yuzhou. Zhou Huai'an really didn't know that outside of Xiazhou, Guizhou and Kuizhou, in Shanxi Province and Jiannan River from the upstream, so many changes had taken place in a short period of time.

The cause of this incident originated from the polo emperor who entered Shu, but the initiator was Chen Jingxuan, the envoy of the Xichuan Festival. He is Tian Lingzi's elder brother, and he obtained the position of section coach by relying on the game of Polo Ding Sanchuan; Being a marshal is terrible in many ways, but it's only good at Rosso.

On many occasions, he sent personnel to various counties and towns to investigate the affairs of the people, called "troubleseekers", and everywhere he went, he asked the magistrates for money and property. There are two seekers who have nothing to ask for. From time to time, the town gave Xie Hong an invitation on the road, but he still did not arrive.

Xie Hongrang suspected that he would be offended, and at night, he fled into the group of thieves. The next morning, the second seeker left, and Xie Hongrang was actually innocent. Yang Qian, the thief arrester, lured Xie Hongrang to surrender himself, but arrested Xie Hongrang to the Xichuan Jiedu Embassy, claiming that Xie Hongrang was captured after a crusade in order to obtain a reward.

Chen Jing did not interrogate, ordered Xie Hongrang to be beaten with a wooden cane and 20 rods on his back, nailed Xie Hongrang to Xicheng in Chengdu for 14 days, poured boiling oil on him, and used glue and flax to pull away his wounds.

There is also Qiongzhou Yaguan Qianneng, because of official business violated the time limit, in order to avoid the cane punishment, fled as a thief, Yang Qian was entrapped, Qianneng was trying to go out of the mountain to surrender, heard Xie Hongrang's grievances, scolded Yang Qian shamelessly, indignantly swore to be a thief, drive away and plunder the good people, and those who did not obey the order will kill their families.

More than a month later, it absorbed many fugitive peasants and mountain people who could not bear the taxes, developed a contingent of tens of thousands of people, established a military force, set up officers at all levels, and ran rampant between Qiongzhou (now Qionglai, Sichuan) and Yazhou (now Ya'an, Sichuan), capturing towns and towns.

Previously, there were very few thieves in Shuzhong, and since then, thieves have competed, and state and county officials cannot stop them. So Luo Hunqing, Juhu Seng, and Luo Fuzi each gathered thousands of people to respond to him locally.

In the adjacent mountains (south) and west (Dao), there was also Fuzhou (now Fuling, Sichuan) assassin Han Xiusheng, who cooperated with Qu Xingcong and others to rebel. Chen Jing sent the general Yang Xingqian to lead an army of 3,000 people, and Hu Hongluo and Mo Kuangshi each led a local army of 2,000 people to attack the thieves.

As a result, even after the defeat in the battle, the local government had no soldiers to send, so Chen Jing collected all the soldiers guarding the door of the warehouse and sent them to Yang Xingqian. However, just last month, the officers and troops were defeated in a fierce battle between the two sides.

As a result, the leaders of Qianneng, Luo Hunqing, Juhu Seng, Luo Fuzi, and Han Qiu now occupied many places from Qiongzhou (present-day Qionglai, Sichuan), Shuzhou (present-day Chongzhou, Sichuan) to Yuzhou (present-day Chongqing). even approached the foot of Qingcheng Mountain near Chengdu for a time.

However, it is the so-called truth that the extremes of things must be opposed, and the extremes of prosperity must decline. Chen Jingxuan was defeated in repeated battles, and replaced Gao Renhou, the chief general of the Shenji Battalion from a forbidden army family recommended by Tian Lingzi, so the situation of these rebels deteriorated all of a sudden.

Gao Renhou is not only good at fighting but also good at appeasement, first in the camp to rebel against the spies of Qianneng, and ordered him to go back to secretly spread the news of the court's appeasement, and killed Bai Wenxian, the interceptor of Shuangliu County, who was unable to sit and watch the thief's situation, with the heart of the army;

As a result, next, Luo Hunqing, the leader of the rebel army guarding Shuangliu, surrendered to an ambush, but was turned into a real surrender by his subordinates who were fluctuating; Then he drove the people of Wuzhai to spread the word among the people. The leader of the piercing mouth, Juhu monks, strictly guarded the fence, but the beheading and wavering people stirred up civil strife and were sent out by their subordinates.

The leader Han Qiu set up thirteen camps in Xinjin and all the people came out to surrender. Han Qiu committed suicide by jumping into a deep trench, and his subordinates hooked up his corpse and cut off his head to give to Gao Renhou.

Then he burned down the camp and let go of the people who pierced through the mouth and Shuangliu, and continued to appease other places with the soldiers of Xinjin; Luo Fuzi set up nine camps in Yangong, and was frightened by the fire of the burning mountain, and scattered and fled overnight.

Luo Fuzi fled to the camp of Qianneng in Yazhou, and planned with Qianneng how to use all his men and horses for a decisive battle. Before the plan was agreed, it was almost dark, Gao Renhou arrived with the surrendered people of Yangong, and Qian Neng and Luo Fuzi rode on war horses to inspect the camp, wanting to send troops to fight, but their subordinates had already refused to listen to the order.

On the second day, Gao Renhou led the officers and troops to approach overnight, and the various camps rushed to run out shouting. Someone went to catch Qianneng, but Qianneng had no choice but to jump into the well and was captured by everyone; At the same time, he went to arrest Luofuzi, who committed suicide. Then he carried Luo Fuzi's head and tied Qian Neng to surrender the official army.

As a result, Gao Renhou sent troops for a total of six days, and he wiped out the five thieves in Dongchuan. The bandit camps in other places also sent generals to recruit surrenders. Every time he attacked the next county town, he gave the town envoy a reinstatement and asked him to pacify the people and prevent a resurgence. Then he raised boats and boats from Yazhou and led troops south to the territory of Shannan West Road.

At the same time, Song Hao, the envoy of Jingnan Jiedu, who originally occupied Xiazhou, Guizhou, Kuizhou and other places, also resolutely abandoned the local area not long ago, and led his troops across Kuimen Pass (Qutang Gorge) and entered Shu with the young and strong people and baggage and goods included in the place.

They followed the river all the way up and successively occupied Kuizhou (now Fengjie, Sichuan), Wanzhou (now Wanxian, Sichuan), Kaizhou (now Kaixian, Sichuan), Tongzhou (now Tongxian, Sichuan) and other places.

Therefore, Han Xiusheng, Qu Xingcong and other forces, who were entrenched in the areas of Fuzhou and Yuzhou in the south of Shannan West Road, also lost their armor and lost a large number of camps and territories along the river in front of this loyal army and the Jingnan army with Shandong regimental training as the core.

Seeing that Han Xiusheng was about to be attacked by the north and south in Fuling City, he made up his mind to send an envoy to take the risk of releasing the boat during the turbulent period of the river, breaking through the Xiajiang waterway and the official army water village at the Kuimen point to intercept it, and accidentally ran to the newly recovered territory of the Taiping Army in the lower reaches, and asked for foreign aid by the way.

"Please also ask your ministry to help one or two. I hope that the whole state will be up and down, and the capital will be the head of the horse. ”

The people who came were still asking for help, and even the words became a little unfavorable.

Zhou Huai'an wanted to complain, what did you do when you were in power before; Don't you think of seeking foreign aid and help when you are exhausted? But in any case, this is a leading party that has been sent to the door by itself; It is undoubtedly a great benefit for the future intervention in Shudi Sanchuan.

If there is an opportunity, it can intervene in the situation of Jiannan Sanchuan, so as to lay a wedge in Shannan West Road in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River; Even for the small court of the late Tang Dynasty in Chengdu, it is completely beneficial and cost-effective to find some trouble to add blockage.

It's just that the premise of all this planning and conception is to have the idea of protecting the last stronghold in Fuzhou and serving as a bridgehead upstream. Although there was this opportunity in front of him, Zhou Huaian was a little hesitant and embarrassed.

Although it is said that except for Wang Xingkong, who went north to Shangzhou, the military operations of the Taiping Army have basically reached the stage of sweeping; However, the three detachments, which are scattered in large numbers in the local area, and their working groups that cooperate with the local garrisons of Xiangyin to build grassroots organizations, still need continuous investment of manpower and material resources.

The remnants of the army who scattered after being defeated, the remnants of the barbarian mountain tribes who took advantage of the situation, and the people who fled to the mountains to escape the war and live in the village; If it can't be cleaned up and cleaned up in time, it will also be a long-lasting source of chaos. In addition to military strikes and deterrence, large quantities of food and supplies are also needed as auxiliary means.

Therefore, if we add to this the extent to which the expenditure on military operations will be expanded, I am afraid that it will be difficult to sort out and adjust, and the Taiping Sacred Treasury system, which has just been restored from the fiscal deficit and deficit of the demolition of the east wall to make up for the west wall, will be in a healthy state again.

Unless they can open up new sources of income or projects that can obtain benefits in the short term; Immediately, he held a temporary military meeting in the back garden of the festival in the city.

Under the shade covered by a large expanse of ancient trees, surrounded by a huge sand table, a circle of chairs and a cold drink steaming cold, this is all there is to the temporary military council field.

"Let me first explain that this Fuzhou assassin Han Xiusheng and subservient people are not ordinary rebels who want to make trouble; It is likely that it is just an ambition to take advantage of the situation in the name of the righteous army. ”

Zhou Huai'an spoke first to set the tone.

"So in the future, I hope to be able to judge things not on the basis of my personal gains and losses, such as my reputation, honor and disgrace, but on the overall interests and position of the Metropolitan Governor's Office."

"I think I can do it. Not for anything else, the situation in Xiazhou and Guizhou is ready-made, at least the upstream of the Kuimen is dangerous, and you have to think of a way to take it down, so as not to be controlled by others. ”

After touching his chin and thinking about it for a while, Zhu Cun, who was already a lieutenant general in the Third Army, took the lead and said.

"I think what Zhu Zhonglang said is very true, if you have to go below the Kuimen natural danger, the gorge will be safe in the states; In the future, the army's strategic posture in Shanxi Province, whether it is advancing or retreating, also has some evidence. ”

Then there is Zhong Yi, the second general of the First Army, who is also the right way.

The subordinates thought that this matter could be delayed for a while. The prefectures of Xiajiang Province are all narrow and poor, and they cannot provide much assistance to their own army; It is also a water transport against the trend, relying more on manpower to pull fiber transportation; If you can't move forward with all your might, it will be easy to be dragged into a long-term tug-of-war and confrontation. ”

The one who put forward the dissenting opinion was Cao Shixiong, the general of Zuo Lang who temporarily took charge of the affairs of the Fourth Army and was also in charge of the Jiangdong area.

His subordinates thought so. What I saw along the way, not to mention the Jiangxi prefectures that are a little farther away, is the neighboring Hunan, and it is also the benefit of the people's livelihood that is tired and withering, and it really needs enough time to recuperate. And it is not advisable to use the knife before the next harvest outside the ridge, especially if the knife is large. ”

Su Wuming, the right general of the Third Army, also echoed loudly.

"In fact, a certain family thinks that the places in these Xiajiang states are narrow and the roads are quite difficult, and even if they can reach the people and horses under Kuimen Town with a large army, it is quite limited. On the contrary, there is a lot to be done on this great river waterway, so I don't know that there is still room for the navy. ”

Zhang Juyan, the general of the Sixth Army, interjected a little cautiously.

As a result, the eyes of the present were focused on Wang Chongba and Qian Gumei of the Fifth Army (Water Army).

"Since the end of this round of cleanup of the Dongting and Xiangshui basins, a small number of people and boats have been transferred to rest and maintenance. If the Governor's Office needs anything, it can send out eighty or ninety fully manned and in good condition to prepare for emergencies. ”

Wang Chongba immediately spoke.

"In addition, next month, 30 more components of vehicles and ships will be sent from Guizhou to Hunan for assembly and use."

The only lieutenant present, Yang Neng, who was in charge of the supervision of the Holy Treasury, then raised his hand to add.

"Then I also think it's okay to give it a try, with a small number of elite soldiers to cooperate with the navy, and use odd and positive complements each other to attack or take it skillfully. Even if things don't work out, it doesn't hurt the overall situation. ”

Hearing that one of the three lieutenant generals present here, Chai Ping, the lieutenant general of the Sixth Army, nodded unhurriedly in agreement.

"But if it can be done, it will undoubtedly open up the situation in Shanxi and even Shuzhong. What's more important is that I think that no matter what purpose Han Xiusheng and his ilk rebelled against the old dynasty, most of the people under their rule suffered innocently; If it can be saved with the little spare strength of this army, it will also be a great thing. ”

Hearing this, Zhou Huaian couldn't help but glance at him. Unexpectedly, the general truth of "Shibei looked at each other in three days" actually allowed him to exercise the corresponding vision and overall situation during his tenure in Jingzhou, as well as the real feelings of saving the world and helping the people.

"So everyone's opinion is also very clear, that is, without affecting the overall situation, find a way to draw out a partial division, with the capture of Kuimen as the minimum goal, and the containment of Song Hao's Jingnan Army as the medium and long-term goal; and waited for an opportunity to support Han Xiu's promotion in Fuzhou. In order to maintain the status quo in Shanxi Province? ”

Zhou Huai'an stood up and concluded while thinking.

"As such, obey the orders of the army."

The generals in the audience stood up and responded.

"The general plan has been decided, and then we will confirm how many men and horses should be arranged, which troops and which battalions should be chosen, and how long the military materials and materials should be requisitioned and allocated in advance, and the equipment used to load the carriages and horses, and the husbands and servants and animal power along the way."

Zhou Huai'an waved his hand and ordered them to sit down before saying:

"The First Army should suppress and deter the local situation in the Shannan Prefectures, and wait for an opportunity to receive the advance team going north to Wuguan; The second army is a horse team, which is not very useful in this kind of place along the rivers and mountains, but Gu stayed near Xiangyang as a reserve for the base camp. However, in the accompanying pack team, four mountain horse-based regiments can be transferred out first. ”

"The Fifth Army is mainly a naval division, and this time it will first dispatch a number of large river boats suitable for rapids and waves and their most skilled veterans; The Seventh and Eighth Armies are still outside the ridge, so there is no need to recruit them. ”

"The troops that went out this time were from the Third, Fourth, and Sixth Armies; If there is a shortage of materials and equipment for war, report directly to the Treasurer and the Governor's Office. ”

"Among them, there are mountain people from Guiyangjian and Chenzhou and Lianzhou, the children of miners, or the exiled battalions in Fujian, which can be prioritized as the first choice; All new, provisional, and reorganized battalions can be put aside for the time being, but it is necessary to ensure the establishment of the front battalion and the garrison battalion. ”

"So, five to eight battalion heads are the best for the final formation? Cooperate with an armed transport team of about 2,000 people to build grain platforms and sentry bases along the way. ”

"In this way, according to the maximum amount of the passage, the first five battalion heads, and the next three battalion heads will be formed a little later and then set off, take the carrier ship of the navy, and respond to the queen of the palace."

"Then I'll send the new firearms and equipment in the squad to join them. Each group of the army will subsequently prepare a corresponding budget plan for a period of several months to half a year. ”

"By the way, this time, in addition to ensuring the transportation of the Shangzhou side, the rest of the water ships can also be put into the upstream waterway test. Then a group of pack horses were transferred from the mountain fields of Guizhou as an auxiliary means of rapid flow traction just in case. ”

When Zhou Huai'an returned to the vestibule after the meeting, he received another urgent report, and he couldn't help sighing, why was it so difficult to bury his head in farming and rioting with peace of mind.