On this day in April, in the prison of Xiangyang City, there were two extremely important prisoners, one of whom was the "former" Yunyang governor Jiang Yunyi, and the other was his deputy envoy Xu Jinglin.

"My lord, the last general is sorry for you, your official position is not guaranteed, and your life is in danger."

"Jinglin, the responsibility for this matter is not all on you. Although you bombarded the reinforcements of Zhongguan Chen Dajin and Zuo Liangyu, they also had the corresponding responsibility, and they should not have marched with so many women, so that you mistakenly thought that it was a thief attack, so they had to let people open fire. In other words, as long as anyone is loyal to their duties, they will also fire a warning and warn. ”

In the gloomy environment, I couldn't see Xu Jinglin's expression change, but I heard him say again: "My lord, Mr. Zuo is really right, he knows the reason, but he doesn't defend you, my lord, and plays the reason." There was also the governor Chen Qiyu, indiscriminately, without finding out the reason, he immediately couldn't wait to ask the court for instructions and sent Lu Xiangsheng as the governor of Yunyang. Moreover, even if it is a crime, it is the responsibility of the last general, and there should not be and no reason to harm you, an adult~! ”

"Jinglin, don't say it, there are some things you don't understand, your things are just a trigger, just a little bit in advance. It is a fact that the official suppressed the bandits, causing the thieves to capture so many cities, it is a big crime, and he has an unshirkable responsibility, and sooner or later he will be questioned and held accountable by the imperial court, and you don't have to blame yourself anymore. ”

"However, my lord, some county towns in Yunyang Mansion and Xiangyang Prefecture have fallen, and they are unable to resist the rebellious army, so they are really helpless. Don't say it's you, it's put on any person, even if it's a god descending from the earth, under such a disparity in strength, no one can hold it......"

"Jinglin, don't say this anymore, the suppression of bandits is not effective, this is an iron fact, you don't forget the consistent practices and guidelines of the imperial court, just look at the results, don't ask the reason, there is nothing to say, let's see how the imperial court disposes of you and me, you can only resign yourself to fate......."

At the same time, there was an extremely tense atmosphere in Junzhou City, Yunyang Prefecture, as if a big battle was about to come and could break out at any time. Patrolling officers and soldiers were everywhere, and groups roamed the streets and alleys, checking suspicious passers-by.

In the post house, in a certain room, Chen Qiyu and Lu Xiangsheng sat opposite each other, the latter was holding a piece of paper, was quickly browsing, as soon as he finished reading, Chen Qiyu couldn't wait to ask: "Governor Lu, including you, this governor plans to participate in the discussion with the four governors to discuss the future use of troops, how to arrange?" How can we completely wipe out the rebels? What do you think is the best location for this conference? ”

Lu Xiangsheng did not answer immediately, but showed a thoughtful look, hesitated for a moment, seemed to think of something, and asked instead of answering: "My lord, the lower official took the liberty to ask, have you heard of a thing, Henan Governor Xuan Mo played the imperial court and told about the situation in Henan." ”

"Well, I've heard of some, I've heard of it." Chen Qiyu nodded lightly, without any surprise, a trace of hesitation flashed between his eyebrows, but he finally made up his mind and continued: "When this official received the holy decree, he also received an excerpt to the emperor, which was the one of Lord Xuan. ”

"In this case, I think the adults also have a certain understanding of the situation in Henan, so Xia Guan feels that the best place for discussion is in Henan, and Ruzhou in Henan is the best."

"Oh... Lord Lu, why do you say this? Chen Qiyu showed a solemn expression, and after asking, he added: What is your reason?

It seems that he had already guessed that there would be such a question, Lu Xiangsheng opened his mouth and replied: "My lord, the importance of preventing thieves from escaping to the hinterland of Henan is needless to say, just in terms of the location of Ruzhou, retreat can protect the hinterland of Henan, once the situation changes, the thieves suddenly have any big moves, whether the thieves enter Henan from the Lu clan in the northwest, or spread from Yunyang Mansion to Nanyang Mansion in Henan, we can act quickly from Ruzhou, make corresponding responses, and support." ”

"Yes, Ruzhou is indeed a very suitable place for consultation, which can ensure that the thieves cannot flee to the hinterland of Henan in large numbers." Chen Qiyu echoed, nodded slightly thoughtfully, and said to himself: "The whereabouts of these thieves are erratic, mainly concentrated at the junction of the four provinces, and they can change the direction of the attack at any time. ”

"Yes, my lord, the thieves invaded Nanyang Mansion in Henan on a large scale last time, and successively occupied Yunyang Mansion and other places in Huguang, if it wasn't for the reinforcements who finally came in time to recover Yunxi and other places, maybe they would have succeeded and entered the central and eastern parts of Nanyang Mansion."

"Although they were not able to invade Nanyang Mansion on a large scale, there were still some anti-thieves who came in. Moreover, one of the thieves captured Jinqiping and had fled to the area of Shangnan, the specific number is unknown, and it is very likely that the thieves will attack again from the northwest direction of Henan. ”

"Okay, Lord Lu, then arrange it this way, and then this official will send a letter to the governor of Shaanxi, Lian Guoshi, the governor of Henan, Xuanmo, and the governor of Huguang, Tang Hui, asking them to meet in Ruzhou, and you and I will set off with you to Ruzhou."

"Yes, sir."

......

In the afternoon of the next day, in the city of Ruzhou, Henan, in the post house, the four governors and the governors of the five provinces gathered together, and the five people sat in a room, and discussed many matters secretly in a very solemn atmosphere.

"The four adults, as the governors of the Quartet, must also know that the bandits are very mobile, and they are not limited by geography, and they can fight everywhere. At this time, we can no longer use the strategy of demolishing the east wall, which is not strong, and a hammer in the east and a mallet in the west, to pursue and suppress the bandits, and we must make changes and adjustments and adopt a dragnet style of encirclement and suppression. ”

As soon as Chen Qiyu finished speaking, as the governor of Shaanxi, among the four governors, he was the first to practice state affairs and contact the rebel army, and he fought a lot of times, and then said with emotion: "In the past, each province fought independently and suppressed its own bandits. Because the scale of the bandits varied in size, the number was extremely large, ranging from a few hundred to tens of thousands, and the mobility was large, the officers and soldiers in various localities were so busy that they could only follow the thieves to pursue and suppress them. ”

Therefore, many generals are tired of coping and fighting separately. The same province is a little better, once most of the bandits have fled to one place and carried out cross-regional transfer, the troops of only one province will not be able to deal with it at all, and Shaanxi and Shanxi are a good proof of this. ”

Having just stepped down from the governor of Yansui and becoming the governor of the five provinces, Chen Qiyu has the same feelings.

"Yes, in the past, due to the regulations of the imperial court, the generals' movements were greatly restricted, and they could not fight across regions. For example, when the thieves in Shaanxi fled into Shanxi, Yang Lin and other general soldiers had already chased them to the edge of the Yellow River, and they could be eliminated. ”

Xuan Mo listened very seriously, and as soon as Chen Qiyu finished speaking, his face was solemn, and he also said in a deep voice: "Moreover, the current thieves are not more than before, the number of troops has increased several times, not to mention, due to the countless battles experienced, the combat power has soared, and the equipment has also been greatly improved. Among the thieves, there are some rebels, whether it is in weapons and equipment, or the war horses under the crotch, which are more sophisticated and better than our officers and soldiers. ”

"Not only that, but the current situation is also different from the past, compared to Shanxi and Shaanxi, the area where the thieves are located, the vast majority of them are thousands of miles of plains, with their war horse endurance, hundreds of miles a day, it is not a problem at all, we want to encircle and suppress like in the past, the possibility of success is very small."

From beginning to end, Tang Hui, the governor of Huguang, was silent, with two ears pricked up, his eyes widened, listening to the four of them speak freely, and they said their opinions one after another, and there was an inexplicable embarrassment in his heart, as if he was like an outsider, and he seemed a little redundant.

In the end, Tang Hui still mustered up his courage, coughed dryly twice, and then said loudly: "Four adults, although the official has not fought with the thieves many times, most of their understanding is also known from the letters and notices issued by the imperial court. ”

For a while, all eight eyes gathered in one place, and the four of them were very curious, Tang Hui muttered a lot, what did he want to express?

However, although there is curiosity in his heart, everyone does not have much expectation, what insight can Tang Hui really have? After all, what penetrating insights would an official who had no direct contact with the thieves and who was almost always focused on defense have?

Even so, the four of them were still patient, made a look of listening carefully, and waited for Tang Hui's words.

"However, judging from the several encounters with the thieves, these thieves are not simple, as Lord Xuan said, the combat strength of some rebel armies is close to or exceeds the combat effectiveness of our officers and soldiers, and it is difficult for us to achieve an overwhelming victory under the huge disparity in strength as before, and defeat the rebel army with less."

Hearing this, although Tang Hui said it in a decent manner, everyone was still a little surprised and surprised, but they also agreed with this statement, Lu Xiangsheng nodded lightly when he heard it, and said very approvingly: "Lord Xuan and Lord Tang are right, the combat power of the chaotic army has changed from what it used to be, and it has undergone very big changes and has been greatly improved. When the official arrived at Yunyang Mansion, he fought with the rebellious army at Huanglongtan in Yunyang, and although he won the final victory, he still paid a very heavy price. ”

Lu Xiangsheng's words froze, his expression was a little ugly, and then he looked around left and right, looked at everyone one by one, and said in a deeper voice: "Moreover, the reason why this battle won the final victory was that it relied on the cooperation of the Governor and the Governor to defeat the old Hui Hui and other rebels under the attack from both sides. ”

As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere suddenly became extremely solemn, everyone's expressions were not good-looking, Chen Qiyu even responded with a sentence, confirming Lu Xiangsheng's words, and said in a hoarse voice: "Yes, that battle was very hard!" Among the chaotic troops, the Li Jiajun had the most powerful combat effectiveness. Under the duel of equal forces, the officers and troops hardly have any advantage at all. ”

For a while, the room was quiet, no one said anything, showing a thoughtful look, everyone's brain was running rapidly, thinking about how to deal with the enemy, how to completely exterminate the rebel army from all walks of life.

At the same time, Chen Qiyu began to have information in his mind, listing the approximate areas where the rebel armies were located, the advantages they had, and the advantages that his side had, putting them in his mind, comparing them with each other, and summarizing them.

Soon, Chen Qiyu's eyes suddenly lit up, and he exclaimed: "There is~!" ”

Immediately afterwards, Chen Qiyu woke up from deep thought, his face showed excitement, he looked at the four people with burning eyes, and under the staring eyes of the eight eyes, he said with some excitement: "Four adults, you might as well think about it, although the combat effectiveness of the chaotic army has been greatly improved, whether it is in terms of weapons or the war horses under the crotch, they are not inferior to the officers and soldiers at all, and some are even better." Moreover, the biggest advantage of the rebel army is that they are highly mobile and too scattered, and it is difficult for us to capture their whereabouts and cannot be eliminated in a centralized manner. ”

"Lord Chen, what do you mean ......?" Lu Xiangsheng asked at the right time, his face full of incomprehension.

Suddenly interrupted, Chen Qiyu did not have the slightest dissatisfaction, but became more and more excited, supported his hands in front of him, and gestured back and forth in front of the four people, and said loudly at the same time: "Four adults, let's look at it the other way, from another point of view, the advantages of the chaotic army are also their biggest shortcomings. ”

At this time, a flash of enlightenment flashed in the mind of the governor of Shaanxi Lian on state affairs, and he probably guessed what Chen Qiyu meant, but he still said uncertainly: "Your Excellency, what do you mean...... Although the rebellion is highly mobile and too scattered, it is conducive to our individual defeats, can I understand it so? ”

When Jing Lian said this, it was like an empowerment, and the other three people were also dazzled, revealing a sudden look, and Chen Qiyu even stroked his palms and laughed and echoed: "Yes, that's what this official means." Since the combat strength of the rebel army has been greatly improved, then we will concentrate our superior forces, break them one by one, advance from south to north, layer by layer, and wipe them out one area after another. ”

Having said this, the matter was already very clear, Lu Xiangsheng, Lian Guoshi, Xuan Mo and Tang Hui sat up straight one after another, with a solemn look on their faces, looked straight at Chen Qiyu, and said in unison: "Lord Chen, since you have made a decision, please give an order, I will go all out!" ”

"Okay, what Chen wants is the words of the four adults!"

Chen Qiyu responded heartily, laughed, and then issued a series of orders to assign corresponding tasks to the four of them.

"The governor of Shaanxi practiced state affairs and led troops to garrison Shangluo to curb the chaotic army from fleeing to the northwest."

"Yes, sir!"

"Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of Yunyang, led his troops to garrison Fangxian, Zhushan, and Zhuxi to Xunyang and Pingli in Shaanxi Province to contain and contain the chaotic army in the northwest."

"Yes, sir!"

"Xuan Mo, the governor of Henan, led the army to garrison the Lu clan to curb the rebellious army in the northeast."

"Yes, sir!"

"Tang Hui, the governor of Huguang, led his troops to garrison Nanzhang to curb the rebellious army in the southeast."

"Yes, sir!"

Hearing the answers of the four people, seeing their reactions, Chen Qiyu was very satisfied, and further said: "Once the deployment is completed, this official will start from Huguang Yunyang Mansion first, and cooperate with Governor Lu Xiangsheng to lead the army to march from water and land at the same time to encircle and suppress the rebellious army." When the time comes, gather the forces of all parties and encircle and suppress the rebellious army of Yunyang Mansion first, and you will definitely be able to hit it with one blow! ”