Unexpectedly, the emperor did not summon Qiu Yizhi for several days after that. Qiu Yizhi felt strange and found an excuse to pay his respects to test the emperor's attitude. But the emperor seemed very busy. In the "Qingya Temple", he only asked Qiu Yizhi to kowtow and chat a few words about family matters, and then asked him to go back without saying anything else.
Qiu Yizi felt uneasy, so he went to ask his master Zhongli Kuang.
Prime Minister Zhongli was also very busy. He said that the landing operations in Jiangyin and Zhenjiang were progressing very smoothly. Therefore, together with the troops commanded by the emperor in Nanjing, a total of 300,000 troops from three routes went south. These 300,000 people were 300,000 mouths to feed. Everyone had to eat every day. Jiangnan was in a period of shortage, so the food, drink and daily necessities of these hundreds of thousands of people had to be transported from Jiangbei.
Transporting grain and fodder over thousands of miles was a major event that mobilized the entire country. A grain was sown and harvested by the farmers, then sold to local grain merchants. The silver earned was paid to the court as tax. The court then used the silver handed over by the farmers to purchase grain from the merchants, and then centralized storage, transportation, and delivery to the mouths of soldiers on the front line... Such a complicated task was carried out all the time in the north and south of the Han Dynasty. Even a prime minister like Zhongli Kuang, who was truly talented and capable, was extremely busy.
Especially in Jiangnan, the labor of the people was precious. The cost of one worker was equivalent to the labor of two or three people in the Guannei Road. If the labor cost of transporting grain and grass supplies was too low, no one would come to work; if it was too high, the court finances could not bear it. Therefore, Zhongli Kuang thought of countless ways, but still could not mobilize all the transportation capacity. A large amount of grain supplies were temporarily stored in the Caoyun Yamen and could not be sent to various places in Jiangnan.
Therefore, the imperial court can only guarantee the food and drink expenses of the 300,000 troops, and ensure that they will not mutiny or rebel due to the imperial court's arrears of food and wages. However, how to use these 300,000 troops to quickly launch an action and achieve the goal of blocking the main force of the Lingnan Army in Jiangnan Road is another matter.
Fortunately, the current emperor Zheng Rong was originally a cavalry prince who was born in a military background. He was proficient in strategy and tactics. Now he was personally leading the army in the Jiangnan Road, so he was well-informed about all kinds of information. Therefore, under his personal deployment:
The eldest son Zheng Xin immediately went south from Jiangyin to seize Quzhou Prefecture, which was mainly hilly, and joined forces with the Right General Wei Hu, who was guarding the border between Yuezhou and Huguang, to block the connection between Jiangnan and several western regions.
Jinling made full use of the horses recently transported from Jiangbei, and did not engage in battle with the Lingnan army. Instead, they marched directly to the border of Wenzhou Prefecture, occupied several strategic passes, and cut off the direct access from Jiangnan to Lingnan.
The second son of the Emperor Zheng Sen in Zhenjiang was responsible for finding the main force of the Lingnan Army. Whenever he encountered a large group of Lingnan Army troops, he would immediately launch an assault. If he could defeat them, he would defeat them immediately. If he could not defeat them, he would immediately fight them to the death. His goal was to delay the speed of the Lingnan Army's southward recovery and buy time to complete the entire interception operation.
The imperial court was not afraid of the success or failure of a battle on the battlefield, or the gain or loss of a city or a place when carrying out such a large military operation, but was afraid of instability in the rear. Fortunately, Zheng Miao, the third prince of the emperor who was regent in the capital Luoyang, was loyal to his duties, sorted out the daily government affairs in an orderly manner, and military supplies were continuously sent to the south of the Yangtze River, ensuring that the emperor could lead the army personally without any mistakes.
At this time, the advantages of Emperor Zheng Rong over King of Lingnan Zheng Gui were finally revealed without any disguise - after all, the righteous will have many supporters, while the unrighteous will have few. The emperor had so many capable and reliable assistants around him, which was many times better than King of Lingnan Zheng Gui who had to take care of all military and political affairs himself.
As a result, good news kept coming from the south of the Yangtze River - several important checkpoints in Quzhou and Wenzhou were seized by the imperial troops at the first opportunity, and no large number of Lingnan troops had escaped southward through these passes before; Zheng Sen defeated several Lingnan troops with a number of about two to three thousand people in succession. Although he did not capture Zheng Yu's main force, he also dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the Lingnan army and consumed its strength - the battlefield situation was getting better and better, and it seemed that the rebellion in the Lingnan Palace would be quelled soon.
Although Zheng Yu had not been discovered by the government troops at this time, he could see that the entire Jiangnan Road had been surrounded by government troops like an iron barrel, and he himself was like a mouse in the iron barrel. Although he could still move freely to a certain extent, he was actually trapped in the dragnet and had no way out, waiting for the final disaster.
Zheng Yu knew that he was guilty of treason and rebellion. His father, Lingnan King Zheng Gui, was the emperor's brother from the same mother, and the emperor might spare his life for this reason. However, he, the second son of Lingnan King, had never met the emperor, so the emperor had no reason to spare him.
Therefore, if Zheng Yu was caught by the imperial court, death would be the only thing waiting for him.
At this time, Zheng Yu really needed someone to make decisions and give him suggestions. However, all the generals and advisers left to him by his father, King Youyan Zheng Gui, were either dead or escaped. The few who were left were only planning for their own future. Who had the time to sincerely give Zheng Yu advice
However, when a dog is desperate, it will jump over the wall, and when a rabbit is desperate, it will bite people.
Zheng Yu watched as the encirclement of Jiangnan Road became tighter and smaller, and he knew that he had only one way to go, which was to risk everything. Only by taking advantage of the opportunity that he still had nearly 100,000 troops and fighting with the court would he have a hope of survival.
So he summoned all the civil and military officials in the army to hold what might be the last combat meeting.
At this moment, Zheng Yu was almost at the end of his rope. He dared not stay in the big city for long. The place for the meeting was just a dilapidated Buddhist temple in a remote countryside.
He leaned against the incense table covered with a thick layer of dust, and shouted a series of meaningless clichés passionately, and finally gritted his teeth and said: "Everyone, we are now brothers in life and death, so we might as well speak frankly. We are all rebels, and we have committed the crime of treason. The court will definitely not show mercy. Therefore, we will die if we fight hard or surrender. It is better to fight the court to the death, and perhaps we can win in danger!"
The generals listened, but their hearts were not moved at all. They looked at Zheng Yu with a suspicious look on their faces, as if asking, "What are you qualified to fight to the death with the court? The old King of Lingnan might be able to say this with the elite soldiers and generals of Lingnan. But you, Zheng Yu, a son who has been looked down upon since childhood, how can you say the word 'win'? Moreover, the court has announced to the world that the emperor will lead the army in person this time. Our army's morale has already fallen before the battle. Even when the old King of Lingnan was here, he might not dare to say so. How can you, Zheng Yu?"
Zheng Yu was frightened by these suspicious looks, so he could only continue to talk to himself: "If you want to win in danger, there are only two ways to go. The first is to attack the emperor and capture or kill him. Taking advantage of the chaos in the court, a big thing can be done!"
Everyone was shocked when they heard this.
Do you think the emperor is an old lady who is buying groceries? Or an old man who is drinking and going home? Why would he parade in public? There are countless guards and soldiers around him. How many soldiers would be needed to attack the emperor? And such a large army must have a lot of momentum. How can it be hidden from the eyes and ears of the court
If any one of these problems is not taken into consideration or implemented properly, the so-called "attack on the emperor" will be nothing but a pipe dream.
Everyone was in doubt, but Zheng Yu continued, "It's a pity that the emperor has many troops and guards around him, so a frontal attack is too difficult. Although Wen Honghui of the Tianzun Sect has several martial arts masters... Unfortunately, this snobbish cult leader saw that our army was declining and ran away. Therefore, our army now has no suitable candidates to assassinate the emperor. Therefore, it is probably difficult to attack the emperor, and there is no need for us to take this risk."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. Zheng Yu continued, "There is another way. Our army will fight to the death with the imperial court. No matter what the cost, we must break out of the encirclement and fight back to Lingnan Road. My father has been managing Lingnan Road for a long time. The imperial court is not familiar with its terrain and climate. It can at least hold out for four to five years. During this period, as long as there is a change in the imperial court, our army can take advantage of it and march north again to achieve great things..."
Having said that, a smile suddenly appeared on Zheng Yu's face, as if he was moved by the magnificent blueprint he had drawn.
At this moment, a general stepped forward tremblingly and asked, "I am Meng Xianli, a lowly general, and I have something to say." Seeing Zheng Yu nod, he continued, "Your Highness, the prince is still in the hands of the court. If we fight a big battle like this, regardless of whether we win or lose, the court will definitely be angry. If it is not good for the prince... then what should we do..."
Zheng Yu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly sneered, "Humph! Father is now in the hands of the court. Whether to kill or chop him up is up to the court. Whether we fight or not, father will probably not be spared. So let's just have a big fight and preserve father's legacy. This will also comfort him."
Everyone was shocked when they heard this: the old King of Lingnan was still alive, but his son had actually prepared himself mentally for his inevitable death. Although it was reasonable, the words were so cruel that they could not help but chill those who heard it.
It was the general named Meng Xianli who felt that he couldn't bear to listen any longer, so he said, "Your Highness, there is a saying that 'the arm cannot bend the thigh'. When the old Lingnan Prince was alive, it was at least a fight between brothers with the emperor, and perhaps they could still fight. Now, how can your Highness, a nephew, fight with the emperor? I think no matter how hard you fight, you can't win..."
Zheng Yu narrowed his eyes, glanced at the man, and said, "Then what do you think we should do?"
Meng Xianli thought for a moment and replied, "I think it would be better to take advantage of the fact that our army is still strong and have a talk with the emperor and the court. Don't even think about restoring the Lingnan Palace. As long as we hand over the army and save the old prince's life, it will be a great favor from heaven."
Zheng Yu asked coldly, "We have troops in our hands, so we have room to negotiate with the emperor. If we have a good talk with the emperor and hand over the troops, and the emperor changes his mind, won't we become fish on the chopping board? What should we do?"
Meng Xianli thought Zheng Yu was asking him sincerely, so he said, "There are risks here, but the current emperor is a man of his word. He was like this when he was the King of Youyan. I'm afraid he won't go back on his word. What's more, the emperor is the one who speaks. Everyone in the world listens to his words. How can he go back on his word?"
Although Meng Xianli was not a veteran, he was a brave and careful general in the Lingnan army. King Zheng Gui of Lingnan planned to train him for his son. His words were well-reasoned and Zheng Yu was unable to refute them for a while.