Just when Zhang Yue was ready to march into Liangzhou, Wang Pujing went from Jingzhou to Luoyang, Xijing, for more than ten days. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info and at this time, Emperor Guo Rong had led the forbidden army to conquer Huainan on the eighth day of the first month. Originally, Empress Fu advised Guo Rong that it was not suitable to recruit in person, but Guo Rong did not listen, so Queen Fu went with her.

When Wang Pulu heard about it, he planned to go to Huainan to report to the emperor in person, because some things were better to tell orally, and he also wanted to go to Huainan to observe the progress of the war, so he turned south.

On the evening of the twenty-second day of the first month, Wang Pu finally arrived at Yingzhou Xia Cai, which is located at the intersection of Huaishui and Huaishui, Shouzhou City faces each other across the Huai River, the emperor led the forbidden army to camp in the city, and has ordered the Zhengyang pontoon bridge in the west to be moved to Xia Cai on this day, and ordered all the armies to surround Shouzhou.

On the road before, Wang Pu heard about the battle situation. Zaichen Li Gu for Huainan Province before the military camp are deployed, Zhilu, Shou and other prefecture affairs, Xuzhou Jiedu made Wang Yanchao deputy, since last winter to lead the troops south, Layue broke the southern Tang army in Shankou Town, but since the beginning of this year, the attack on Shouzhou is not smooth.

Liu Yanzhen was deployed in the northern camp of the Southern Tang Dynasty, leading 30,000 troops to camp in Laiyuan Town, two hundred miles away from Shouzhou City, and sending hundreds of warships to Zhengyang, resulting in an attack on the Zhou army's pontoon bridge.

Because the Zhengyang pontoon bridge was built at the intersection of Yingshui and Huaishui, located about 100 miles west of Shouzhou City, Li Gutun troops went to Cai, worried that the pontoon bridge was cut off and caused by the enemy's back, and planned to lead the troops to retreat to the Zhengyang pontoon bridge.

Later, the emperor arrived and ordered Li Chongjin to lead his troops to Shangcai first, and the main force followed up to respond to Li Gu. I didn't want Li Gu to talk about it at this time, worried that the pontoon bridge would be attacked, so he persuaded Guo Rong to stop in Yingzhou, discuss with Li Chongjin and other generals, first block Liu Yanzhen's warship and sailors, keep the pontoon bridge and wait for the opportunity.

Guo Rong was very unhappy when he read the report, and issued an edict to use Li Chongjin as the envoy of the Huainan Provincial Camp on behalf of Li Gu, and let Li Gu judge the affairs of the Shouzhou Prefecture, but in fact, he turned to Li Chongjin to be responsible for logistics.

Li Chongjin arrived in Zhengyang, and really broke the Southern Tang Army, beheaded Liu Yanzhen and his subordinates with more than 10,000 people, captured the partial general Xian Shilang, and obtained 300,000 pieces of military equipment and hundreds of war horses.

Guo Rong received the news of great joy and planned to personally command the attack on Shouzhou, so he transferred from Chenzhou and Yingzhou to Xia Cai. When Wang Pu entered the city, he inquired about it and heard that the emperor was in a temporary mansion in the east of the city, so he went to see him first. When he got off the horse in front of the door, he happened to see the inner hall knowing that Ma Renyu came out, so he asked him to pass it on.

Ma Renyu was meritorious in the battle of Gaoping, and was awarded the direct command of the crane bow and arrow, which won Guo Rong's trust, and he came out soon after entering the report and took Wang Pu inside. The sky was a little dark, and when it was almost time to hold the lamp, the courtyard was full of inner temple straight armorers standing with swords.

When he arrived at the main hall of the atrium, Guo Rong was receiving Wei Renpu, the privy deputy envoy who accompanied him on the southern expedition, and Dou Yi, a scholar from Hanlin, and when he saw Wang Pu coming in, he beckoned him to sit down next to him and listen first.

"Shouzhou is an important town in Huaibei, it has always been the frontier of the Southern Tang Dynasty and the north, the city wall is nearly four long, there are moats on all sides of the Huaishui River, it is very difficult to attack the city, only the stone machine ballista and so on are also insufficient, either the army ants are attached, or the moat is excavated and drained, which requires a large number of Dingfu." Wei Renpu was a little worried, it was a very troublesome matter to recruit people's husbands.

"Now that the war is going on, the common people of Chen, Ying, Xu, and Cai are not at peace, so they can be recruited nearby." Hanlin Scholar Dou Yi immediately followed.

"Feasible! Then the edict will be issued tomorrow! Guo Rong frowned slightly, thought about it and said: "In addition, the construction speed of the Xiacai pontoon bridge should be accelerated, and it is difficult to make progress in the front-line war in Huaishui for the time being. ”

"Your Majesty's plan is very good! Wait for the resignation! Wei Renpu didn't say anything when he saw Wang Pu coming in, and it was estimated that he had something to do, so he and Dou Yi got up and left.

"Why didn't Wang Qing say anything, and what suggestions did he have for attacking Shouzhou?" Guo Rong turned his head to look at Wang Pu and asked.

When Wang Pu heard this, he hurriedly got up and hugged his fists and bowed: "The minister is thinking, last summer, Wang Jing, Xiang Xun, Zhang Yuanzhen and others attacked Qin Feng and Xingyuan Mansion, and they were like a bamboo, and they completed the combat deployment in only two or three months. First, by adopting Zhang Yuanzhen's policy, all armies have clear combat missions, and failure to complete them within the time limit is a dereliction of duty. Second, the department is all elite soldiers, and each has its own ability, so it can be quickly resolved. ”

Guo Rong nodded, thinking that this was really the case, and couldn't help asking: "Then what Wang Qing means is that it is not necessary to unify and coordinate the attack on Huainan now, but the armies will attack separately?" ”

"Exactly! The minister suggested that His Majesty divide the troops, with Shouzhou in the middle road, Chu and Si in the east, and Qi, Huang, and Hubei in the west. ”

Guo Rong looked thoughtful, and hesitated a little in his heart, if he divided his troops to attack, then he would have to appoint two commanders. Although this southern expedition was to draw 40,000 forbidden troops as the main force, the generals of the forbidden army were all in positions and commanders, and all towns in Huainan also participated.

"The strategy is good, but it's a bit difficult to implement, let's talk about it after capturing Shouzhou!" Guo Rong has concerns, if Shouzhou is conquered, these generals will see hope, and everyone will naturally compete to be the first to fight a good battle, otherwise once they encounter a setback, they will lose their spirit. didn't say much about this at the moment, so he asked: "What does Zhang Yue say about changing the military system privately?" ”

"Zhang Yue's reason is still the same as what he said in the chapter, and the formation of the army is also very clear, Your Majesty, please take a look!" Wang Pu said and submitted Zhang Yue's specific report on the restructuring.

On the other hand, the chamberlain stepped forward to take it and handed it forward. At this time, it was a little late and the visibility was reduced, so Guo Rong ordered the attendant to hold the lamp, picked up the fold and looked at it, thought about it, and asked: "According to Wang Qing's opinion, is it feasible if the forbidden army is also adapted according to this?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty! I'm afraid it won't work. The military system changed by Zhang Yue was to reduce the number of troops and openly set up a supervising army. However, the establishment of the forbidden army above the self-management level is very large, and the composition is complex. If it is changed, it means that the troops led by the generals will be reduced, and the supervision of the army will be added, which will make the generals even more dissatisfied, and now is the time to use the troops, which is not appropriate! Wang Pu advised.

"It's a good organization, but it's a pity! Zhang Yue's Changyi Army can only be used as a special case, if Liangzhou is defeated this time, an edict will be issued, otherwise it may be criticized! Guo Rong was helpless, he understood very well the purpose of Zhang Yue's reform of the military system, which was nothing more than to strengthen control and avoid dangerous factors such as officers taking the lead in mutiny, fleeing before fighting, and the use of troops in Hexi was exactly the same, but the emperor could not open this mouth, and appropriate punishment must be there.

"Your Majesty! Zhang Yue asked the ministers to turn around, and should send capable ministers to strengthen the governance of various parts of Kansai, don't go to Huizhou to find iron ore, please ask for instructions on whether to mine? If Liangzhou is peaceful, it needs to immigrate again to achieve long-term peace and stability. Wang Pu only turned around and did not mention his own opinions.

"Oh...... Iron ore? I remember that Huizhou built a horse farm and produced salt, but no officials were dispatched, and Jingzhou was in charge, and now is the time. It can be ordered that the Taifu Temple will be placed in Huining to be a pastoral supervisor and specialize in the affairs of the horse farm; The Shaofu can send personnel to separate the smelting supervisors, and cast the tools of soldiers and peasants for the use of soldiers and residents of Tuntian. And the salt works, are they all managed by tax collectors? ”

"The level of the tax envoy is lower, and the minister thinks that he should set up an observation envoy to oversee the affairs of Jingyuan, and if you add the post-war immigration from Liangzhou, this is another cumbersome matter. The observation envoy can manage the two towns of Jingyuan and Hexi at the same time, and the station is located in Huining, and the tax is supervised nearby. Wang Pu considered it comprehensively, and based on what he saw and heard during this trip to Kansai, he felt that it was necessary to strengthen the supervision of Jingyuan.

Although Zhang Yue has always denied that he is also engaged in salt and horse trade, Wang Pu guesses that the largest Huihe trading house in Guanzhong must have something to do with him, but these are not easy to bring up.

"Very good! I need to think about the candidate for the appointment in Kansai, and I will go down to rest first, and return to Beijing with the edict on a certain day, so that the officials can send personnel. Guo Rong thought in his heart, there is no problem in observing the government office and managing the two towns at the same time, but it is a little difficult to find a candidate for a while, because Huainan will take it down, and a large number of officials will be needed.

On the twenty-third day of the first month, Guo Rong issued an edict: Hundreds of thousands of Ding Zhuang from Song, Bo, Chen, Ying, Xu and other eight prefectures came to Shouzhou to attack the city, day and night, and the ants were constantly attached.

Subsequently, he ordered Zhao Kuangyin to lead his troops to attack, defeated an army of the Southern Tang Dynasty at the mouth of the vortex, and killed He Yanxi, the commander of the soldiers and horses, and captured more than 50 large and small warships. In addition, Shou and Guangzhu inspected the envoy Si Chao, who broke the Tang army of 3,000 in the Tang Dynasty, captured the generals such as Gao Bi, the capital supervisor, and captured more than 40 warships.

At the beginning of February, the Xia Cai pontoon bridge was erected, the people came one after another, crossed the river with the forbidden army, arrived in the northeast of Shouzhou City, while digging the moat, introducing the river water into the river, and attacking the city with the forbidden army, but the effect was very poor, and it was still difficult to climb the city.

Shouzhou Jiancheng, not a short period of time, Guo Rong was not in a hurry, and personally went into battle to urge the army to attack the city. On the fifth day of the first month of February, Guo Rong received a report that the Southern Tang Army Emperor Fuhui and Yao Feng led thousands of troops from Luzhou Hefei to help, so he ordered Zhao Kuangyin to lead the horse army and Cheng Cheng to rush south and attack the Qingliu Pass in the east of Dingyuan County in the northwest of Chuzhou, so as to intercept Huang Fuhui from going north to Shouzhou.

Zhao Kuangyin led the horse army to Qingliu Pass, and Huang Fuhui led his troops to line up at the foot of the hillside outside the city. Zhao Kuangyin let the striker attack, and led the troops around the mountain to attack Huangfuhui's rear formation.

Huang Fuhui was shocked, led the army to defeat Chuzhou, to a small river in the east of the city, saw Zhao Kuangyin led the horse army to chase after him, and wanted to break the river bridge and defend the city. Zhao Kuangyin saw that the river was not deep, so he led the horse army to wade directly across the river and chased Huang Fuhui to the city gate.

Huang Fuhui was helpless, and while ordering the defeated soldiers to line up, he came out on horseback and shouted: "You and I are our own masters, why don't you line up and fight?" ”

Zhao Kuangyin agreed with a smile, and waited for Huang Fuhui to command the defeated troops to line up in a mess, and suddenly ordered the whole army to charge, and took the lead on horseback, and shouted loudly: "I only take Huang Fuhui, you are not my opponent!" ”

Huang Fuhui's department was originally a defeated soldier, like a frightened bird, he shouted, and those defeated soldiers began to flee, leaving Huang Fuhui unable to get away and staying behind. Zhao Kuangyin rushed to kill, stabbed Huang Fuhui in the back of the head with a sword and captured him alive, and took advantage of the chaos to catch the deputy general Yao Feng, and rushed into Chuzhou City in one fell swoop.

A few days later, in the evening, it happened that Zhao Hongyin led his troops through the city of Chuzhou, and ordered Zhao Kuangyin to open the city gate to greet him. Unexpectedly, Zhao Kuangyin pretended to be very famous, and shouted at the head of the city: "Although the father and son are the closest, the opening of the city gate is a national event, and I dare not obey my fate casually." ”

The good news flew to Shouzhou, Guo Rong received the report, and ordered Dou Yi, a bachelor of Hanlin, to go to Chuzhou to count the treasury materials for military use.

Dou Yi is a native of Yuyang, Jizhou, and Zhao Kuangyin is also a fellow villager, after arriving in Chuzhou, seeing Zhao Kuangyin going out of the city to greet him as usual, he hinted at selling it well, and said with a smile: "When the city is conquered, it is okay for you to take the treasury out, once I enter the city to register the materials, without an edict, you can't move." ”

"I naturally understand that the city has been conquered, and the treasury is also owned by the government, how can I move without permission!"

Dou Yi was secretly surprised, of course he didn't think that Zhao Kuangyin didn't appreciate it, and when he repaid Emperor Guo Rong, he had to say good things for him. Guo Rong was greatly relieved to hear this, and asked Fan Zhen to recommend candidates to Chuzhou.

Fan Zhen recommended Ma Chongzuo, the general of Zuojin Wuwei, to preside over state affairs, and Zhao Pu was the military judge of Chuzhou. Zhao Pu is also a native of Jizhou, and was originally a staff member under Liu Ci of the Yongxing Army. After Liu Ci died of illness last year, he recommended Zhao Pu to return to the dynasty, but it has not been used so far.

He went to Chuzhou to work with Zhao Kuangyin, handled state affairs shrewdly and competently, and showed great experience in governance. coincided with the rebellious soldiers fleeing into thieves after the war, and Zhao Kuangyin captured more than 100 people and prepared to be beheaded.

Zhao Pu requested that the Ming Zheng Law be interrogated first, and that the crimes committed by the robbers be clarified one by one, and it turned out that seventy or eighty people were deserters and did not have any major crimes. Zhao Kuangyin was surprised, thinking that Zhao Pu was a great talent, and he talked to him quite well, and wanted to recruit for his own use. (To be continued.) )