In the Taiji Hall of the Taiping Palace on the second day, Zhang Chong once again quarreled with many subordinates.

The focus revolves around Zhang Chong's personal conscription.

At that time, Yang Mao, as a privy counselor, was informing Zhang Chong of the preparations for the eastern expedition to Liaodong:

"The king stepped forward to order the Ministry of Industry to build ships, and now they have all gathered in Zhangwu, Bohai. He also ordered the Ministry of Finance to transfer the grain, and now most of it has been transported to Lulongsai. Now that the ships, food, and equipment have been prepared, just wait for the king to select the soldiers and horses, and select the generals and staff to form the Eastern Expedition Shogunate, and then go to Liaodong. ”

After listening to Yang Mao's words, Zhang Chong took the booklet and flipped through it, which recorded the materials prepared for the Eastern Expedition to Liaodong.

Now the Taishan army is indeed a big business, at this time the whole territory of Hebei has passed a harvest season, and the reserves are very abundant, so the first wave of military rice transported to Lulongsai alone has 100,000 stones.

The book also contained a list of troops drawn up by the Privy Council, and dozens of generals and colonels involved were attached to the list.

These generals were drawn up by the privy counsellors on the basis of their past history and recent state of affairs. This alone is more elaborate than other forces.

Zhang Chong took a look at the list and found that it had several sources.

The first is the Field Department of the Fifth Army. This is the most important core of the Taishan Army system, and it is also the absolute main force in all previous battles.

Among them, most of the generals and schools in this come from the two systems of Dong Wan and Zhang Dan.

Because one of these two systems is stationed in the north and the other is stationed in the northeast, both of which absorb the elite samurai in the locality, so these two systems are also the two legions with the most northerners.

This time in the eastward expedition to Liaodong, whether it is human geography or enduring the harsh cold, the northerners have too many advantages over the southerners.

Another point is that the five field armies are all assembled in one place, the troops are relatively concentrated, and they are also closer to Liaodong, especially the marshal headquarters of the Right Army under Zhang Dan is stationed in Youbeiping, which is the first choice for the expedition.

In addition, Zhang Chong also saw that one of the principles of the privy councillors in the transfer of troops was not to transfer all the troops from one place to the front, but to select and transfer, and to draw a part of each army, or half, or one-third, or one-quarter, depending on the situation in the place where the troops were drawn and the situation of the troops.

For example, the Zhang Dan Army stationed in Youbeiping was transferred 8,000 people, the Dong Wan Army stationed in Shanggu was transferred 5,000 people, and then Ding Sheng's army was transferred 3,000 and Guan Yu's army was transferred 2,000. Coupled with the 5,000 Zhonghu troops under Yu Ban's command, a total of 23,000 people formed the core armament of Liaodong in this eastern expedition.

At the same time, the privy councillors also took into account the reality of the Zhang Dan Legion and the Dong Visiting Legion, because they themselves had the task of defending the northern frontier, so when the core battalion head was transferred to Liaodong, they naturally had to fill the vacancy above.

Therefore, the privy council gave special consideration to letting the soldiers of Zhuo County and Zhongshan County go north to Juyongguan to guard the border platform. Among them, the first two months' rations were given to these northbound townsmen.

In addition to these generals of the five armies in the list, there are also some town generals of the town garrison system.

In the Battle of Zhongrenting, Zhang Chong and others found that some battalion leaders of the Zhenshu system were not inferior to the Fifth Army, and they also won special honors on the battlefield.

So this time, in order to supplement the scale of the troops, the privy councillors decided to use a large number of troops.

Among them, the garrison troops from Jizhou, the hinterland of Hebei, were all transferred from 1,000 to 2,000 people, so the strength of this part was as many as 15,000 people.

And in addition to these, there is a special branch of the army, and that is the sailors.

With the Taishan Army fully taking over Hebei, Zhang Chong set up a shipyard in Zhangwu outside the Bohai Sea to build sea ships.

Among them, Xue An, who was in the Le'an Yellow Turban System, was the first captain of Haibo, commanding 30 ships and 2,000 sailors, stationed in Zhangwu, Bohai.

Xue An was originally a sea warrior in the Qingzhou Sea, and then joined the Le'an Yellow Turban and became the commander of the water division of Xu He, the commander of the Le'an Canal.

When Xu He wanted to invite Zhang Chong to go north to Kou Liaodong, he relied on Xue An's sea brothers to transport him. It's just that Taishan Haoqiang encircled and suppressed Zhang Chong later, so he did it, otherwise it's another story.

Later, Zhang Chong decided to prepare for the establishment of a naval division after Hebei, and at that time, Xue An was recognized by Zhang Chong and was appointed to become the first captain of Haibo in the Taishan Army.

After more than a year of formation, Captain Haibo now has a little strength and can already shoulder the task of cross-sea supply, so this time it was specially approved by Zhang Chong and Xue Anbu was allowed to participate in the war.

In addition to the above-mentioned troops, one of the most important is the generals of the Central Protector Army.

Since the development of the Taishan Army, although the Central Protector Army still belongs to the field battle of the Five Armies, it cannot be in power for a long time because of its heavy responsibility of defending Yecheng.

Therefore, in terms of system, the Central Protector Army has formed a form similar to that of the Han Army's North and South Army.

Every year, the Ministry of War will send the remaining four armies to Yejing in turn, and the officers and soldiers of the Central Guard Army will also take turns to experience in various foreign military systems.

This rotation system can not only maintain the combat effectiveness of the Central Protector Army, but also enable the Outer Fourth Army to still be firmly controlled by the center.

And this time, the Central Protector Army also selected 5,000 officers to participate in the battle, including ten parts, all of which were led by brave generals of the Chinese and foreign armies.

In addition to the field battles of the five armies, the central protection army, the naval army, and the town garrison soldiers participating in the battle, there is also a unique unit, that is, the Yibing army.

The Yi soldiers here were surrendered after the decisive battles with the Han army in Hebei, including the Wuhuan people, the Sushen people, the Goguryeo people, the Xianbei people, the Huns, and the Buyeo people, which can be said to cover the ethnic groups all over the northeast today.

These people are not many in number, roughly about 3,000 people, but they can provide advice to the Taishan army to understand the situation of the tribes in the northeast, which can be said to be very important.

Therefore, Zhang Chong can see from this list that even if the ministers have objections to the invasion of Liaodong, they still cooperate wholeheartedly after Zhang Chong's decision, which shows the discipline and cooperation of the high-level of the Taishan Army at this stage.

The more he saw this list, the more firm Zhang Chong's opinion became. After all, on this list, the generals and colonels involved are close to 43,000 people, and only Zhang Chong can dispatch such a huge force at present.

So, he closed the above and said to all his subordinates and privies, including Du Man and Yang Mao:

"Ministers, in this battle of Liaodong, I plan to conquer it myself."

It stands to reason that Zhang Chong has already claimed the title of king, and he can already call himself a widow. But Zhang Chong doesn't like this kind of title, and still stubbornly uses me to call himself.

And when Zhang Chong finished speaking, everyone below was shocked.

It's not that Zhang Chong's personal expedition is a strange thing, after all, since the Taishan army has been along the way, almost all of them have been led by the king, and all the battles have been victorious.

But the problem is that now Zhang Chong is already the king of a place, except for the time when he fought Lu Zhi, he was deployed in Beijing at other times, and the right to kill was given to the general.

And now, Zhang Conflict said that he wanted to drive the expedition in person, how could he not be shocked?

Especially Zhang Dan, who rushed back from Youbeiping, was even more surprised, he thought that this time he returned to Yejing, it was the king who wanted to hand over the matter of the eastern expedition to Liaodong, so he also specially prepared the army to return to Beijing to answer, but now it turned out to be the king's personal expedition?

So, Zhang Dan took the lead in the ranks, and he advised Zhang Chong, who was at the top:

"Your Majesty, since ancient times, the emperor of the Son of Heaven has lived in China and raised Siyi. And the Tukou in Liaodong is already ringworm scabies, and I am pressed by a large army, and the enemy will be defeated. The king's expedition again is not very interesting. ”

The meaning of Zhang Dan's words is obvious, that is, the king, you are our king, when have you ever seen an emperor go abroad since ancient times? So don't toss.

He thought that Zhang Chong had been impatient in the palace for a long time and wanted to go to the battlefield to loosen his muscles.

And after Zhang Dan finished speaking, the subordinates on the opposite side also reacted from the initial shock.

Among them, Cai Yong, the eldest and one of the relatives of the country, stood up directly and admonished:

"For example, today is like a body, Ye Jing is the confidant, the state and county are the limbs, and the four Yi are the things outside the body. Although the four counties of Liaodong, Goguryeo, and Xianbei in the east are hateful, they should indeed be conquered. However, the king can order the good commander to command tens of thousands of tigers, and in the name of His Majesty, take them like a bag. Now that the crown prince is newly established, he is still young, and he is afraid that he will not be able to catch the country. However, the king is involved in the danger of the Liaohai Sea and travels far away, which is not a blessing for the country. ”

Sure enough, it was the most Gengjie Lao Cai, and it was even more terrifying than Zhang Chong saying just now that he wanted to go to the army.

It's just because of his identity that he said a rather taboo thing, that is, Gong Yu.

The current crown prince is from Queen Zhao E, and he is indeed young, but Cai Yong's eldest daughter Cai Yu just gave birth to a son earlier this year, and her youngest daughter was also recruited into the palace by her sister earlier.

So at this time, this identity, is it really appropriate for you Old Man Cai to say this?

Sure enough, when Cai Yong finished saying this, He Kui, who had already stepped out of his foot, secretly pulled back again, which made Du Man, who was on the head, see it, and only felt funny.

But Du smiled but didn't go up again, after all, the way to survive is to avoid suspicion.

And after Zhang Chong listened to the "advice" of his father-in-law, the tendons on his forehead jumped, that is, he knew who the old man Cai was, otherwise anyone would be angry when they heard this.

Because what Old Man Cai said was too ugly, he said that if Zhang Chong died outside, he would not be able to keep the family business at all with the young prince.

But some of the words are hard to hear, and some of them may be part of the reality.

Therefore, Zhang Chong could only smile bitterly:

"Cai Gong said well, but this personal expedition to Liaodong is the result of my careful consideration. Besides, I will fight the world immediately, and the world has not yet been decided, so how can there be any reason to sit in the rear. ”

Several subordinates saw that Zhang Chong was not angry, so they all stood up and spoke with a public heart.

For example, Tao Di, Zhuge Jue, Tian Feng, etc. all thought that it was not a blessing for the emperor to enter the wilderness. They cited the examples of King Zhao of Zhou and Chu and Gaozu of Han against the Xiongnu, hoping that Zhang Chong would take back his fate.

Among them, Tao Di's words are the most convincing.

Tao Di said that the emperor's personal conquest is a blow to the waves, and the victory is not happy, but the defeat is the harm of the danger of the society. He said that with the strength of the Taishan army today, it is actually inevitable to win the attack on Liaodong.

The two sides are not in the same strength in terms of combat power and manpower at all. Even if there were really any accidents in this battle, the forces of the Liaodong group still could not avoid their demise.

But this is the result of choosing a general, and if it is an emperor, it will not be the case.

In the case of Zhang Chong, even if the conquest of Liaodong wins again, it will only add one or two strokes to his already supreme military honor. But if the battle is lost, and it is Zhang Chong's hand that is lost, it will be devastating to the entire power of the Taishan Army.

This was the case with Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, if it was not him who was trapped in Baishan Mountain back then, but some other general, how could there be a hundred years of shame in the future?

So Tao Dian persuaded Zhang Chong not to drive in person.

Don't say it, Tao Huang's reason is really too convincing, this kind of persuasion from marginal interests is indeed convincing, Zhang Chong has to admit that Tao Huang is right.

But Zhang Chong also had his own interests in his heart, so he looked at Du Man, signaling that it was time for him to appear.

He had already talked to Du Man about this matter in private before, and made his considerations and judgments clear. Therefore, after being persuaded, Du Man became a supporter of Zhang Chong.

At this time, seeing Zhang Chong looking at himself, Du Man came out and said to everyone:

"All of you are right, and you all have a reason. But my Taishan army is not an ordinary person, and what I do is not ordinary. Like us, it can be said that the whole world is the enemy, and there is not so much grace to seek stability. I also ask you, apart from the king's personal conquest, who can dispatch such a complex army. Who can make all armies go hand in hand, except for the king's own conquest? Even except for the king's personal expedition, who dares to boast that he can quickly determine Liaodong? ”

In the end, Du Man said word by word to Zhang Chong, who was the first of the head:

"And I believe that this time the king will still win a big victory."

Zhang Chong smiled.

For a while, all the ministers were silent, so Du Man turned to the next topic, that is, what should be the strategy for this expedition to Liaodong.

Speaking of this, Zhang Dan, who had been prepared for a long time, came up to say:

"Liaodong Road is far away, the former Lulong Road is in disrepair again, has been covered by mountains, forests and rivers, except for taking advantage of the low tide of the Shanhai Road can pass a small number of soldiers and horses, the rest can be transported by sea. That is, the march route of Emperor Wu to break the defense of Manchu Korea that year. ”

Zhang Chong nodded, and it could be seen that Zhang Dan had done a lot of work for Liaodong.

When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty broke through Weiman Korea, he went straight to the Liaodong Peninsula from Jiaolai Bay.

But obviously, this strategy is not good enough.

Not to mention that the Taishan army now has too few sea boats, and it does not have the ability to project military power on a large scale. The same is true of the strategy itself.

If Zhang Chong wants to break through Liaodong quickly, he can't fight a protracted war, and he must win by surprise.

There are also wise men in Liaodong, and they also know history, can the first sea surprise attack be successful, and the second time can they not be guarded? This is too contemptuous of others.

So this strategy is not good enough.

After that, several other ministers said a few more, but none of them were good enough.

So, Zhang Chong took out his plan.

It was also after seeing Zhang Chong's plan that the ministers were convinced, and finally recognized that the king's personal expedition to Liaodong was not a rash move to show off his might, but to really take this matter seriously.

Therefore, after that, the government hall and the privy councillors began to refine the implementation steps based on the king's strategy.

After that, Zhang Chong left the crown prince Zhang Cheng to supervise the country, and the queen Zhao E listened to the government, and stayed in the political hall Duman, Cai Yong, Tao Huang, and Zhuge Jue to assist the government, and the power of Yecheng and domestic affairs, and coordinated and cooperated with the Liaodong battlefield in the center.

In this way, after Zhang Chong arranged everything, the ministers who left their trust behind, took a part of the army and the central guard army gathered in Yecheng and marched towards Lu Longsai.

The battle of Liao officially kicked off.

Can anyone guess Zhang Chong's strategy for conquering Liao this time?