After taking Hukou with great effort, paying far more casualties than expected before the war, and finally taking Hukou, the first thing Wu Chaoyue did was not to celebrate the victory of the Battle of Hukou, but to contact the main force of the Wu Army's naval division currently on the Wuhu battlefield as soon as possible, and dispatch half of the naval division's warships to return to Hukou to protect the main force of the Southwest Wu Army and the grain and grass army to advance eastward, cooperate with the Southwest Wu Army to capture the city in the lower reaches of Anqing, and also protect the safety of the grain route of the Wuhu Wu Army.

In addition to a seriously injured steam gunboat captured from the Taiping army that has been returned to Wuchang for repair, Wu Jun also has a steam gunboat in Jiujiang, the Wei Lin, but Wu Chaoyue does not plan to let this steam gunboat go downstream to participate in the war, the reason is that Wu Chaoyue must leave his seat to take precautions, and second, the Hukou Taiping Army Navy Division currently has a steam gunboat. The Rongguang was hiding in the waterway of the Po River not far from the mouth of the lake, and it still threatened the safety of the Jiujiang waterway, and Wu Chaoyue had to leave behind to deal with the water power of the Taiping army's steam gunboats.

It was also a coincidence that when Wu Chaoyue made this decision, the Hubei spies under Zhang Dejian sent a report, saying that during the Battle of Hukou, the joint forces of the Taiping Army of Hukou and Raozhou sailed out of the Pojiang Estuary and held an actual combat exercise on the water near Lianhe Mountain, including water operations and beach landing, and at the same time, the Raozhou Taiping Army also rushed to build more than 100 military sampans to reinforce the water division, and the water power was restored to a certain extent, and the result was that this immediately sounded the alarm for Wu Chaoyue. Let Wu Chaoyue understand that the Taiping Army's naval division has been staring at the Jiujiang waterway from beginning to end, and in the case that the main force of the self-military naval division has all advanced eastward, if he has any negligence, there may not be no possibility of capsizing in the gutter.

In addition to the possibility that the water channel may be threatened by the Taiping Army's naval division, there is another possibility that Wu Chaoyue has to guard against - that is, the Raozhou Taiping Army took the opportunity of the Wu army's large-scale eastward expedition to let the land division cross Poyang Lake under the protection of the naval division, and take advantage of the situation to sneak attack the vast rear of the Wu army's lake. And if the Taiping Army does this, even if the Wu Army can finally eliminate the lone Taiping Army Land Division, the strategic rear that has not suffered from the devastation of war for several years will inevitably suffer heavy losses. Therefore, for the sake of prudence, Wu Chaoyue began to think about such a choice again, can he take the opportunity of the temporary return of the self-army naval division to the mouth of the division, concentrate the water forces to give the remnants of the Taiping army's naval division the final blow, completely eliminate the water combat force of the Taiping army, and eliminate the hidden dangers on the water and in the rear once and for all?

It's a pity that at the military meeting, Wu Chaoyue had just put this choice out for discussion, and was immediately opposed by Zhang Dejian, the head of the Wu army's spies who was familiar with the situation in Raozhou, Zhang Dejian said: "I am humble and courageous, and I feel that it is impossible to succeed in doing this, first of all, because Changmao has built a strong defensive fort at the mouth of the Pojiang River, and there is an iron cable to block the river, our sailors want to suddenly attack the station of the Changmao Sailors, and there is absolutely no certainty, on the contrary, there is a possibility of losing ships and suffering in front of the Changmao fort." ”

"Second, even if we are sure that we can overshoot the long-haired battery, the long-haired sailors still have the option of fleeing to the upper reaches of the Po River." Zhang Dejian added: "When the time comes, the long-haired sailors will flee to the upper reaches of the Pojiang River, and if our sailors want to pursue them again, they will not only go deep alone, but they will also be more likely to suffer losses and be fooled in the narrow Pojiang waterway. ”

In fact, there is no need for Zhang Dejian to point out, Wu Chaoyue has already had these concerns in his heart, so after listening to Zhang Dejian's public opposition, Wu Chaoyue was not dissatisfied, but asked again: "Is there any way to lure out the long-haired sailor and kill the long-haired sailor fleet on Poyang Lake?" ”

"This ......." Wu Jun, civil and military forces who were present, all looked at each other, and then Dai Wenjie said with a wry smile: "King Zhennan, this kind of thing has always been what you and Zhao Huifu are best at, and now that Zhao Huifu is not here, it should be you who have the idea." ”

"I've also tried to figure out a few ways to lure snakes out of their holes, but I'm not sure." Wu Chaoyue's brows furrowed slightly, and he said: "Unless we can tightly seal the news, so that Governor Rao Changmao can't know that our sailor brigade has returned to Shihukou, otherwise as long as the long-haired sailor is not stupid, he will definitely not be fooled and walk out of the Pojiang estuary when our water strength is absolutely superior." ”

Wu Chaoyue, who was full of lack of virtue and bad water, couldn't think of the idea of luring the snake out of the hole, and the relatively kind-hearted Dai Wenjie and Zhang Dejian and others certainly couldn't think of any way, but it turned out that Feng Sanbao, the old man with a straight stomach, spoke after thinking for a while, and said: "King Zhennan, just send troops directly to defeat Raozhou Mansion City, anyway, we have to wait for the sailor to come back to escort it, and take advantage of some time to immediately send troops and take Raozhou Mansion City, even if the long-haired sailor escapes to the upper reaches of the Pojiang River, it is useless, we just need to block the waterway, Even if the long-haired steam gunboat has long wings, it can't fly out of the Pojiang River, see how the long-haired steam cannon can threaten our Yangtze River waterway and the west bank of our Poyang Lake! ”

"I'm afraid it's too much of a waste of time." Wu Chaoyue frowned again, and said: "It is two hundred and sixty miles from Hukou to Raozhou Mansion (now Poyang County), and it takes at least four days to march with heavy artillery, and we are not sure that we will be able to take Raozhou Mansion as soon as possible after arriving in Raozhou. ”

"We can go by water." Feng Sanbao was a little unconvinced, and reminded Wu Chaoyue: "Our troop transport fleet and baggage fleet are waiting on the side of Jiujiang, and they can be transferred at any time to listen to it, board the ship and go to Raozhou Mansion by water, and land in other places without entering the Pojiang River, and then walk dozens of miles by land, and at most two days can reach Raozhou City." ”

"Of course, taking the waterway is a way, but again, we are not sure that we will be able to take Raozhou quickly." Wu Chaoyue shrugged his shoulders and said: "Although Shi Zhenji's big long hair is not as famous as Shi Dakai, Li Kaifang and Lin Fengxiang, but it is not a person who is easy to deal with, father-in-law, you went to Hunan with Hua Lao to fight with him back then, and you failed to annihilate him with all kinds of advantages, but let him run away with the main force, and now he has been entrenched in the Raozhou area for several years, and his foundation is deep, and it is definitely not as easy as imagined to quickly take his old nest Raozhou City." ”

"I also think it will be difficult for us to take Raozhou quickly." Dai Wenjie also said: "Hukou is not very far from Raozhou, how did Lin Qirong crack the siege tactics to restrain us a few days ago, the long hair around the state will definitely report to Shi Zhenji, as long as Shi Zhenji learns from Lin Qirong to do this, we basically have no hope of quickly taking Raozhou City." ”

Feng Sanbao, whose military talent is actually not very high, finally shut up, Wu Chaoyue thought for a moment and couldn't find any way, so he had to shake his head and said with a smile: "Forget it, let's fight according to the original plan, father-in-law, you take the southwest soldiers to attack the coastal cities in the lower reaches of Anqing, and I and the third province will stay at the mouth of Jiujiang Lake to protect the waterway of the Yangtze River, and then I will make a move with Shizhen Jijian." Anyway, with my direct army in charge, even if Shi Zhenji personally brought the main force of Governor Rao Mao to ......, huh? ”

Speaking of this unintentionally, Wu Chaoyue's heart suddenly moved, and a thought swept through his heart between the lightning and flint, most of the Wu military and military forces present were familiar with Wu Chaoyue's temper, and quickly shut up and did not dare to disturb Wu Chaoyue's train of thought, but Liu Mingchuan, who had been stationed outside for a long time, was a little confused, and asked suspiciously: "King Zhennan, what's wrong?" ”

Waving his hand to silence Liu Mingchuan temporarily, and after thinking about it for a long time, Wu Chaoyue's thin face suddenly showed a treacherous smile, and said with a wicked smile: "Although I am not completely sure, it doesn't matter, it is worth a try, even if it can't succeed, it won't delay our time, and it won't affect our Eastern Crusade plan." ”

"What did King Zhennan think of?" Dai Wenjie hurriedly asked.

"Turn the tiger away from the mountain." Wu Chaoyue replied to a very common idiom in the military book, and then carefully explained: "But it's not the tiger of the Changmao Shui Division, it is the Tiger of Diao Shi Zhenji, tricking him into leaving Raozhou Mansion with the main force, and then we will raid Raozhou Mansion City from the water, as long as it is successful, even if we can't take Raozhou City immediately, we can also take the opportunity to kill Shi Zhenji's main force in the field battle, and then we can easily get to it if we want to take Raozhou Mansion City and block the Changmao Sailor Division out of the river." ”

"Lure Shi Zhenji's main force out of Raozhou City, and then send troops from the water to raid Raozhou City?" After repeating the key points of Wu Chaoyue's plan, Dai Wenjie hurriedly asked again: "King Zhennan, how can you lure Shi Zhenji's main force out of Raozhou Capital City?" ”

"Of course, it is to send troops to attack Shi Zhenji's territory and lure Shi Zhenji to send troops to counterattack." Wu Chaoyue replied with a smile.

"Will Shi Zhenji be fooled?" Dai Wenjie was a little stunned and said, "We have already taken Hukou, is it impossible for Shi Zhenji to take the initiative easily?" ”

"Possibly." Wu Chaoyue smiled more easily and said: "As long as you send someone to lead troops to Raozhou, Shi Zhenji has an eighty percent chance of sending troops to fight back." ”

"Who?" Dai Wenjie hurriedly asked again.

"Of course, it's the person Shi Zhenji hates the most right now." Wu Chaoyue's smile began to be treacherous, and he said with a wicked smile: "Let him take the people of the headquarters, and then let Shi Zhenji see the hope of killing him, Shi Zhenji is likely to send troops, and it is very likely that he will personally take the main force to settle accounts with this person." ”

"The person Shi Zhenji hates the most right now?" Dai Wenjie was still a little confused, but after thinking about it, Dai Wenjie suddenly came to his senses, and hurriedly smiled at Wu Chaoyue: "King Gaoming of Zhennan, send that person, Shi Zhenji really doesn't want to peel off his skin with his own hands." ”

…………

It's time to take a look at the situation of Shi Zhenji Shi Guozong, who was unfortunately targeted by Wu Chaoyue, although he has a general friendship with Lin Qirong, and has always had the idea of letting Lin Qirong be a shield, but after receiving the news that Hukou City was broken by the Wu army and the Hukou Taiping Army was almost completely annihilated by the Wu army, Shi Zhenji still felt sad and depressed, and then heard that the destruction of Hukou City was actually caused by the rebellion of his subordinate Ji Rongxian, in fact, Shi Zhenji, who had long been dissatisfied with Ji Rongxian, was of course furious. The gambling curse swore that he would cut the rebel general Ji Rongxian with a thousand knives, and he also flipped the table on the spot.

No matter how much you lift the table, it's useless, no matter how angry you are, although you have never fought with the Wu army of the Eastern Expedition, but Shi Zhenji still knows very well in his heart that the chance of wanting to find Ji Rong to settle accounts first is very small, so after calming down from the rage, Shi Zhenji still didn't dare to make any moves, honestly just strengthened combat preparedness to prevent the Wu army from taking advantage of the situation to attack the capital city of Raozhou, and at the same time sent more scouts to closely monitor the Wu army's every move, so as to carry out the order of his brother Shi Dakai to harass and attack the Wu army's water grain road.

Fortunately, the next two days were all good news, the Wu army that took Hukou did not show any signs of sending troops south, and the tactical plan directly announced to the outside world was also to take a little rest, wait for the sailors to return to help escort the escort, and then attack Chizhou and Tongling and other places from the east of the waterway, and the pressure on the Taiping army in Raozhou was not great. As a result, just when Shi Zhenji quietly breathed a sigh of relief, another good news came - Ji Rongxian, a rebel general of the Taiping Army who had just surrendered to the Wu army, was difficult to move, and actually secretly hid a beautiful female soldier of the Taiping Army who was captured in Hukou City.

"Phew! Dogs can't change eating! Deserve! ”

In this regard, Shi Zhenji and his own brother Shi Zhenchang, his brother Shi Dade, who helped him lead the Raozhou Taiping Army, of course greatly relieved their hatred, and they also felt that even if they didn't have to do it themselves, Wu Chaoyue would kill Ji Rongxian with despicable character one day sooner or later. But what Shi Zhenji and the others never expected was that just over a day later, news came from Hukou that Wu Chaoyue had sent Ji Rong to surrender his army as the vanguard, and under the supervision of two battalions of Wu Army, he attacked the southern attack through Cailing (which should be the current Zhangling Town) and launched an attack on the Tutang town controlled by the Taiping Army.

"The demon soldiers want to cut off my connection with Duchang? Still want to threaten my north? But why didn't there be many troops sent, and let Ji Rongxian, the dog thief, play the striker? ”

Tutang is the land choke point connecting the capital city of Raozhou and the county town of Duchang controlled by the Taiping army, and taking Tutang can not only cut off the direct contact between Shizhenji and the Taiping army of Duchang, but also use Tutang as a base for advancement, directly threatening the security of the capital city of Raozhou and the towns in the north of Raozhou. The only thing that made Shi Zhenji feel strange was that how could Wu Jun let Ji Rong descend first to be the vanguard, and from the perspective of troop allocation, it was obvious that he was ready to let Ji Rong surrender his army first to take the lead?

"Nine times out of ten, it is a temptation of the demon soldiers, of course it is best to use Ji Rongxian's traitor army of the dog thief to take Tutang, it doesn't matter if you can't take it, anyway, it is the new army that goes into battle, and the demon soldiers will not lose anything, and they can take the opportunity to test our attitude towards Duchang, and then you can decide whether to enter Duchang, or how many troops to use to attack Duchang."

This is the unanimous conclusion reached by Shi Zhenchang and Shi Dade and other powerful subordinates, Shi Zhenji also agrees, and then began to carefully consider whether he should fight back forcefully, so that Wu Jun misjudged how much he attached importance to Duchang, but at this time, a very unexpected news suddenly came - the personal soldier reported that it was the right-hand man Chen Shisan, the great traitor Ji Rongxian, sent a messenger to Raozhou secretly, asking to meet Shi Zhenji!

was stunned at first, and then asked if it was really the rebel general who sent an envoy to ask for a meeting, and then Shi Zhenji quickly let out an angry roar, "Escort that dog thief up!" ”