"Good! Good! Good!" Before Dai Luanxiang could say anything, his mother began to praise him, "Mr. Lin is indeed a genius. These few words are so logical and reasonable that they cannot help but make people sincerely believe them. Luanxiang, did you hear everything just now?"
Dai Luanxiang had actually long been convinced by Lin Shuhan's meticulous analysis, but because of his cunningness, he did not express his opinion immediately. Now after hearing what Dai's mother said, he still did not easily express his feelings, and asked Qiu Yi: "If it is really as Lord Qiu said, the current situation is so bad, I wonder how Lord should deal with it?"
Qiu Yizi's eyes flashed, and he replied, "Of course we must rectify the chaos and cannot stand idly by. Only by killing the thief Zheng Xin can we comply with the Way of Heaven, the law of the country, and human ethics. I am about to go north to the capital to join His Royal Highness the Third Prince and defeat this thief in compliance with the will of Heaven."
Dai Luanxiang frowned and said, "I'm afraid it's not easy. Because of the suppression of the Lingnan Palace rebellion, the court's elites have all been sent out, the Youyan cavalry, the elite imperial guards, and the newly recruited warriors from the northwest have all gathered south of the Yangtze River. The north actually has no soldiers available. How can Lord Qiu attack His Highness?"
Qiu Yizi thought to himself: I know how Zheng Xin uses his troops. Although he is not a mediocre one, he is at most slightly better than Zheng Yu. There is still a world of difference between him and the late Emperor Zheng Rong, former King of Lingnan Zheng Gui, and former General Dai Luanxiang. My own use of troops may still be a little immature, but I am by no means without any chance against the above three. Facing someone like Zheng Xin, my chances of winning are even greater.
However, facing Dai Luanxiang, who had mastered the art of war, Qiu Yizhi might be too arrogant if he spoke his mind directly, so he changed his words and said, "The way of heaven is vast. Those who follow it will prosper, and those who go against it will perish. Zheng Xin's perverse behavior will not be accepted by everyone, not to mention the people of the world, even his trusted men around him may not be convinced. If we deal with it with all our strength, we may not have no chance of winning. What's more, the late emperor has raised me. Even if it is a mantis trying to stop a chariot or an ant trying to shake a tree, I will fight him to the death even if I am torn to pieces!"
"He knows it's impossible but still does it. He's a true patriot!" Dai Luanxiang was already sincerely impressed at this time, and said, "Lord Qiu has a noble character. I can't compare to him. It's a pity that I don't have any soldiers at hand. I don't know how I can help you."
Qiu Yizi was overjoyed when he heard this, and quickly stood up and saluted Dai Luanxiang: "I am very happy that the Marshal can say this. Unfortunately, I escaped from Jinling City in a hurry this time. How can I have any ideas in such a hurry? I can only take one step at a time. I met Marshal Dai halfway, but I couldn't bear to see him being disgraced, so I came over to say a few more words."
Dai Luanxiang said: "With the sudden chaos, Zheng Xin's army must be unstable. It will take at least three or two months to rectify the internal situation. With Lord Qiu's great talent, as long as we make careful arrangements during this period, there is still a lot to be done! Dai is also willing to assist you and lend a helping hand!"
"Great! Luanxiang, you can say this today, and you will live up to the old man's spirit in heaven and your mother's teachings." Dai's mother was already in tears as she spoke, "Don't be discouraged. You have led the army for so many years, and there must be some bad friends in the imperial army. If you gather them together, it will be a large team."
Since Emperor Zheng Rong ascended the throne, he has reorganized the imperial guards on a large scale. Now, middle and senior generals above the rank of Lieutenant General in the army are basically from the old Youyan Dao; grassroots non-commissioned officers such as Qianzong and Baihu are mostly newly selected military scholars in recent years; however, there is still a lot of old veterans in the imperial guards, such as the Inspectors and Commandants, who are in a period of transition.
Dai Luanxiang commanded the imperial guards during the reign of Emperor Muzong. He was very familiar with these people, and his every move had a great impact on them.
Therefore, Dai Luanxiang's eyes lit up immediately after hearing what his mother said: "Thank you mother for your advice. Lord Qiu has many wise counselors and generals under his command, so there is no need for Dai Luanxiang to interfere. It is better to gather the old subordinates in Jiangnan and cooperate with Lord Tong in Jiangbei to contain His Highness."
With a famous general like Dai Luanxiang acting behind Zheng Xin, it would definitely be a thorn in his side, and his chances of winning would increase greatly. Qiu Yizhi thought of this, and a look of joy appeared on his face: "There are now 120,000 to 130,000 imperial guards in Jiangnan. I wonder how many of them Marshal Dai can muster to fight back?"
Dai Luanxiang calculated for a moment: "I have the Emperor's imperial edict to lead the army. Based on this, I can ask His Highness for some troops. Add to that... probably a total of 20,000 people."
Qiu Yizhi knew that Dai Luanxiang was a prudent person, so the number he said "20,000" must be a conservative number, and the actual number of soldiers that could be mobilized must be more than this number. Based on Dai Luanxiang's use of troops, more than 20,000 soldiers and horses were enough to contain an army of 70,000 or 80,000. In this case, even if the Youyan Army led by Zheng Sen stood on Zheng Xin's side, the army he could mobilize would be at most about 200,000 people...
But Dai Luanxiang said, "More soldiers is not necessarily better. We are fighting in a foreign land, so it is difficult to guarantee logistical supplies. Twenty thousand soldiers is the upper limit of what I can lead."
Qiu Yizi suddenly thought of something and said, "The Marshal is indeed far-sighted. However, I have been in Jiangnan for so many years, and I have some connections... It's like this, the three newly promoted by the late emperor, Xu Rong, Huang Wangang, and Zheng Tinghang, were all recommended by me. As the saying goes, the rules of the previous emperor should not be changed for three years. Although Zheng Xin, this thief, has no respect for his teachers, he still has to do some superficial work. Two of these three people are governors, and one is in charge of grain transport. They can help the Marshal raise some military rations. I hope I can help Marshal Dai a little."
As he spoke, Qiu Yizhi asked someone to bring the four treasures of the study. Under the dim light of the thatched cottage, he hastily wrote a few letters, sealed them, and handed them to Dai Luanxiang. At the end, he did not forget to add: "Xu Rong used to be Zheng Xin's subordinate. I won him over. Marshal, you have to be careful when using him. Huang Wangang knows a little about military affairs in addition to government affairs. As for Zheng Tinghang, he is an upright person, but he is a bit pedantic in doing things... Please pay attention to him, Marshal."
Dai Luanxiang listened and took notes while holding the three thin letters, and said with emotion: "Master Qiu, this has solved my urgent problem. Please rest assured, I will definitely help you. However, I still have one thing I don't understand, and I would like to ask you for advice."
"Please speak." Qiu Yi said.
"Lord Qiu just said that he would go north immediately to meet with the Third Prince. However, it is not easy to go north across the vast Yangtze River. Aren't you afraid that Zheng Xin will order a blockade of the ports along the river and trap Lord in Jiangnan?" Dai Luanxiang asked.
Qiu Yizhi smiled proudly: "In fact, the Yangtze River has indeed been blocked, but it was not Zheng Xin who ordered the blockade, but me..."
Dai Luanxiang was stunned when he heard this, and thought: The vast Yangtze River is who knows how many thousands of miles long, but Qiu Yizi actually said that it has been closed. Is he just talking nonsense
But Dai Luanxiang saw that he didn't look like he was talking nonsense, so he asked again: "Master Qiu is a young hero. What means did you use to block the Yangtze River? Please feel free to teach me."
Hearing this, Qiu Yizhi smiled and told Dai Luanxiang about Li Shengjie's situation. At the end, he added, "It's a pity that I didn't think ahead, otherwise I would have taken Li Shengjie's sea ship back to Jiangbei. Now I don't know where Li Shengjie is cruising on the Yangtze River. I have to find a way to contact him."
Dai Luanxiang frowned and said, "Master Qiu, your thinking on this matter is a bit biased, isn't it?"
"What do you mean?" Qiu Yizi asked, "Although Li Shengjie is young, he is quite knowledgeable about water warfare strategies, and he is also quite prudent among young people. I'm afraid there won't be any big problems, right?"
Dai Luanxiang asked, "May I ask how many warships are there in Li Shengjie's fleet?"
"There are sixteen in total, all fast ships used for naval battles." Qiu Yizi replied.
"That's it." Dai Luanxiang said, "The Yangtze River stretches from Sichuan to the sea, and the river is extremely wide, known as a natural barrier. In Jiangnan alone, the Yangtze River is hundreds of miles long. How can we completely block the Yangtze River with less than 20 ships?"
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Of course it's impossible to completely blockade. But with Li Shengjie patrolling back and forth, Zheng Xin can't mobilize a large fleet to go north to fight, which is equivalent to blocking him south of the Yangtze River. Zheng Xin wants to be the emperor, so he has to go to Beijing to ascend the throne. He can't stay in peace in a corner forever, right?"
Dai Luanxiang's frown remained unrelieved as he said, "His Highness is not an ordinary person. He will not be obsessed with empty titles. He is not impatient to ascend the throne. In my opinion, if His Highness really intends to cause trouble, the only thing to do now is to send someone to kill His Highness the Third Prince who is in charge of the regent in Luoyang, the capital."
Qiu Yizi was shocked when he heard this and exclaimed, "That makes sense, that makes sense!"
As Dai Luanxiang said, Zheng Xin was dreaming of becoming an emperor, and there were only a few legitimate heirs to the throne. If Zheng Xin was smart, he would simply kill his two younger brothers, his two uncles, and the sons of his uncles. In that case, he would be the undisputed heir to the Han emperor, and no one would compete with him anymore.
Such an act of self-destruction of an entire family is an incredible human tragedy no matter where it happens. However, there is a saying that "the most ruthless are the emperors". In order to gain the supreme position that looks down on everything, Zheng Xin could even force his own father. What could he not do
Qiu Yizhi was sweating profusely when he thought of this. He stood up in a hurry and said, "Thank you for your advice, Marshal Dai. Without further ado, I will find a way to inform Li Shengjie and ask him to strictly guard the Yanziji Wharf so that no one in Jinling City can go into the water!"
Dai Luanxiang sighed, "Perhaps it's too late. If Zheng Xin really intended to do evil, he might have already done it when he assassinated the emperor. In fact, to kill the Third Prince, you don't need any heavy soldiers or experts. All you need is a small boat with five or seven warriors, and a fake imperial decree asking the Third Prince to go south. Then you can kill Zheng Miao without anyone noticing."
Thinking of this, Qiu Yizi was already sweating profusely, and hurriedly stood up and said: "This matter is of great importance, and there is no time to lose. I will find a way to cross the river and head north. Marshal Dai, please take care."
Dai Luanxiang didn't know how deep and close the brotherhood between Qiu Yizhi and Zheng Miao was. He just felt that Qiu Yizhi was a little unsteady to be so startled. However, he was sincere and could not be blamed. He bowed and said, "Okay, Dai is waiting for news from Lord Qiu and His Highness the Third Prince. Take care on your journey, Lord."
Before he finished speaking, Dai Luanxiang recalled another incident and asked, "I heard that when Lord Qiu was in Jiangnan, he used the Emperor's 'Golden Order' to command the local military. I wonder if you have this treasure with you? With this, it will be much easier to mobilize the army."