A few days later, when carts and loads of grain, armor and arrows were continuously transported into the Shandong military camp, although they were not wrapped in bread crumbs or fried in oil, they also brought soldiers from other surrounding military camps to their knees. I was so jealous because the difference in treatment was so huge.
The lives of other soldiers and horses are very tight now. Every three to five days, those generals have to go to Zhu Meng to beg for food, and they have to talk hard to get a batch of military rations. But even this is impossible. Make sure the soldiers are well fed. It is precisely because of this that the military discipline of each army will become more and more corrupt, and they will go into the city to rob the people's money and food as compensation for themselves.
But now, enough food supplies for the 20,000-strong army for August and September are being sent to the Shandong military camp. The officers and soldiers are becoming more and more unbalanced. Not only the people, but also the army is not worried about the shortage but the imbalance.
But others did not dare to do anything detrimental to the Shandong Army, and no one dared to snatch the food while it was being transported, because the Shandong Army's combat power was there, and a few hundred people could kill thousands. Gaoyou's army has no power to fight back. If they are provoked, they are really looking for a fight.
And soon, the relevant inside story came out. It turned out that the reason why Zhu Meng was so easy to talk to this time was because the Shandong Army had indeed made great achievements. They actually suppressed the rebels who fled up Qixia Mountain. , even Xie Mo died because of this. In the eyes of many people, it was not a credit at all, but a big trouble.
Therefore, Sun Tu gained not only benefits from this matter, but also many troubles. One of them was that the reputation he had worked so hard to build completely collapsed overnight. When the people found out that the Shandong Army had killed Mr. Xie, they really cried and cursed all over the city, but they regarded the entire Shandong Army as enemies.
In the past, when the Shandong Army entered the city to purchase some necessary supplies, they were welcomed by many merchants, because compared to the plundering of other officers and soldiers, their transactions were fair. But now, as soon as they learned that they were Shandong soldiers, those merchants would rather be robbed than sell their goods to them. And these soldiers were bound by military discipline and did not dare to actually rob them, so they could only leave in anger.
Fortunately, Sun Tu had anticipated this early on, and since most of the military's needs could be obtained from the government, it was not a big problem. But another thing made him a little uneasy - Tong Mu was kept under house arrest by Zhu Meng and became a hostage he used to contain Sun Tu.
After reluctantly accepting Tong Mu's request that day, Zhu Meng quickly turned against him and asked someone to take him down and arrange for him to live in a certain courtyard. After all, Tong Mu was not Sun Tu. Without martial arts skills, he could not escape, so he had to be bound and imprisoned in the Zhu Mansion. Fortunately, he has the identity of Tong Guan's grandnephew, otherwise he would be even more dangerous.
Sun Tu could only accept this result and wait for the next opportunity to come. And under such circumstances, the change finally came.
On October 18, several military reports suddenly came from the front. However, Fangla's rebels actually divided their forces within two days and attacked two important towns in Wuxi and Changzhou. Later, further news came. Under the fierce offensive of the rebels, no fewer than three county towns have been breached. It seems that a large area south of Jinling is about to fall completely into the hands of the rebels.
When these news came one after another, not only Zhu Meng, but also the generals of the various reinforcements were panicked and could no longer be as calm as before.
Because once Wuxi and Changzhou fall into the hands of the rebels, plus the cities such as Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Huzhou that have been captured by them before, almost all of the two Zhejiang provinces, except Jinling, will fall into the hands of the rebels. . To put it more seriously, the government troops will be pushed to the edge of the Yangtze River by the rebels, with no way out!
This is a result that no one can accept. Zhu Meng certainly cannot afford it, nor can the officers and soldiers who came to quell the chaos. What's more, their performance was very problematic. More than 100,000 troops actually stayed on patrol when they arrived at Jinling, almost sitting back and watching the rebel army develop and grow. If they were really investigated, this crime would be too great.
So on the twentieth day, when Zhu Meng summoned the generals to discuss countermeasures, more than ten officers and soldiers, and thirty or forty generals were all present, and everyone's face was full of worry.
In the temporarily requisitioned Jiedushi Yamen, an extremely detailed topographic map of the Jiangnan city has been hung above the lobby. Anti-military movements have been drawn on it with ink pens. Several arrows point directly to Changzhou and Wuxi. The ground was so shocking that even Sun Tu frowned secretly when he saw this.
At this time, Zhu Meng had changed from his usual smiling appearance and became extremely serious. His eyes swept across the generals in the hall like lightning, and then he said solemnly: "I have ordered copies of the previous military reports. Among all the armies, you must all know that the situation in the south of the Yangtze River has reached a point where there is no need to delay, right? I have called all the generals here today to immediately decide on a strategy to defeat the enemy. Please tell me what should be done. ah?"
All the generals present are experienced and well aware of the rules of officialdom, the essence of which is to do more and make more mistakes, and to do less and make fewer mistakes. Although all of them had solemn faces at this moment, they all looked at their noses and minds, and no one said a word. .
This reaction made Zhu Meng feel even more irritated. He stopped putting on airs and directly pointed at the general closest to him and said: "Xiao Jing, you have fought against the rebels many times, so you should have some opinions."
This Xiao Jing was originally a regimental trainer in the Suzhou Xiang Army, and he did have some skills. When his name was called, he could only say: "From the perspective of the general, Wuxi and Suzhou can never make another mistake. Okay. The two cities here are relatively strong, and there are lessons learned from Suzhou and Hangzhou. Defending for ten and a half days will not be a problem. So what we should do at this time is to take advantage of the rebel forces to attack these two places with all their strength. At that time, we should send troops to counterattack Suzhou City. By encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao, we can relieve the danger of these two cities."
Sun Tu's eyes lit up when he heard this. Although this method seemed quite risky, it was still a wonderful strategy to solve the problem. If the government and army could really mobilize an elite team to implement it, it would definitely work.
But everyone else shook their heads like a rattle and objected: "Xiao Tuanlian's method is too aggressive and inappropriate."
"Yes, our officers and soldiers are not as powerful as the rebels. If we ignore our own city and run to their territory, who will bear the consequences if we lose?"
With everyone's words, this countermeasure was quickly rejected. Xiao Jing did not refute. After all, he was a defeated general. Suzhou was lost to him before. Now he was still waiting for punishment. How could he dare to fight with these generals who were still above him
Where are the leaders arguing
His only role was to stir things up, or the other way around, because starting with him finally got everyone talking, and some generals also put forward a few ideas, but that's all they said, just send troops directly. There is nothing new about rescuing two cities.
Even as to which group of troops should go to the rescue, they were all trying to push each other's buttons. Obviously, no one has the confidence to confront the powerful rebels head-on, especially when there is no city to rely on.
This shirk and argument made Zhu Meng so angry that his face changed slightly, and finally he could only speak again: "What you said are all mature and safe strategies. I also believe that sending troops to save these two cities at this time is a top priority. As for How many troops should be sent to... Jinling should leave at least 30,000 troops here to ensure that everything is safe, and the other troops can be divided into two groups. Changzhou is closer to me, Jinling, so we must save it. Sun Qianha—" As he said that, he He has already set his sights on Sun Tumian: "It will be up to you and the Huainan Army to rescue us all the way. You must not let me down."
Sun Tu had no objection to this, and immediately stood up and clasped his fists: "I humbly accept my order." He knew that Zhu Meng did not dare to hinder him in such an important matter, so he chose the Huainan Army, which he had already had conflicts with. It's because the officers and soldiers on this route are the weakest among the troops, and they need to be carried by themselves.
So after receiving the order, he looked at Peng Yongzhen beside him: "Peng Qianjie, let's get closer and closer this time."
Peng Yongzhen still had some resentment in his heart, but he nodded awkwardly at him and didn't say much.
Seeing that the reinforcements had been arranged, Zhu Meng finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was really worried that Sun Tu would disobey orders because of what happened before.
After Zhu Meng had arranged another group of soldiers and horses to rescue Wuxi, he stood up seriously and said: "Everyone, this war is related to the overall situation of our Jiangnan. I hope you can cooperate sincerely and go all out. There must be no more Nothing wrong."
"We will obey Zhu Shuai's order!" All the generals stood up solemnly, clasped their fists and bent down, and responded in unison.
And just when Sun Tu was talking seriously with everyone, his eyes swept across the map in front of him, and immediately, his expression changed because he discovered something strange. This time, the rebel forces were very aggressive, and the battle line was very long, including almost all the prefectures, counties and cities north of Jinling, except for Jinling and Danyang City, which was only two days away. Is there any other intention behind the attack
Once this idea came to mind, Sun Tu couldn't let go of his doubts, so when the generals hurriedly left to arrange for the troops to go out, he stayed and mentioned the matter to Zhu Meng: "Zhu Shuai, what's wrong with this Danyang?" Something special?"
"This... there is nothing special there, it's just an ordinary city." Zhu Meng's eyes evaded for a moment, and then he said casually: "After all, this place is only two days away from Jinling. No matter how courageous the rebels are, they will not dare to attack it. . You don’t have to worry too much, as long as you save Changzhou, it will be a great achievement."
Although Sun Tu was a little uneasy, the overall situation should be the top priority in this kind of war. He couldn't insist much, so he could only clasp his fists and accept the order. It's just that there is a knot in my heart.