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The Sansi Hall of the governor's office was where patrol officers and military officials met to discuss matters. The issuance of government decrees, the implementation of rewards and punishments, the dispatch of troops, the acceptance of laws, and the offering of tributes were all held in the Sansi Hall. Any slackness in the government affairs of the counties and prefectures must also be reported to the governor here.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the Sansi Hall is the "Golden Throne Room" at the provincial level.
On the seventh day of the third month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, Qin Mu and most of his key personnel gathered in the Sansi Hall of the Huguang Governor's Office.
Qin Mu sat high up at the head, with the two groups of civil and military officials sitting on either side.
This was Sima Kai's first time experiencing such an occasion, and with his strict father present, he was treading on thin ice. He carefully distributed the documents he had prepared in advance to everyone, then retreated to the small table behind Qin Mu, spread out paper and started writing, preparing to take minutes of the meeting.
Qin Mu spoke first: "Everyone, I believe everyone is clear about the purpose of inviting you here today, which is to make some adjustments to the current military system. Yang Shen will read out my general idea for this, and then everyone will discuss and improve it. Let's get started."
Qin Mu had just finished speaking, and before anyone could say anything, Yan Gaofei hurried into the Sansi Hall and reported to Qin Mu: "Sir, three days ago, Yuan Zongdi assembled 60,000 Dashun troops and fought fiercely with Zuo Liangyu's 100,000 troops in Yangying Town, west of Nanyang;
Zuo Liangyu was badly defeated, losing 40,000 soldiers and a large amount of baggage. Nanyang was reoccupied by the Dashun Army. Zuo Liangyu retreated to Dengzhou and Xinye and was reorganizing the defense line. However, due to the recent defeat, huge losses of baggage, and serious lack of logistical supplies, the morale of Zuo's army was extremely low.
There were even many deserters who defected to the Dashun Army. Zuo Liangyu had no choice but to send people to Wuchang for help. The Governor of the Four Provinces, Lu Daqi, also urged General Ling Zhan to send troops to reinforce Zuo Liangyu, so as to prevent Jingxiang from falling into the hands of the rebels.
After hearing Yan Gaofei's report, the two groups of civil and military officials in the Sansi Hall put down the information in their hands. Xiangyang is located at the upstream of Wuchang and Jingzhou. Once Xiangyang is lost, it will directly threaten the safety of Wuchang, Jingzhou, and even the entire Huguang. This is well known. This is also the reason why Qin Mu supported Zuo Liangyu to establish a foothold in Xiangyang a few years ago.
With Zuo Liangyu in Xiangyang, a buffer could be provided for Huguang. Losing this buffer would be extremely disadvantageous to Huguang.
Huo Shengxian said loudly: "Sir, since the situation is pressing, why don't we take advantage of it and send troops to seize Xiangyang and control this strategic city in our own hands, so as to avoid letting others take advantage of it."
Zhuge Min immediately objected, "It's not appropriate. It's really not appropriate to send a large army north at this time. Regardless of how well the soldiers are trained, it doesn't matter whether the troops can guarantee victory. Wuchang, Jingzhou and the entire Jianghan Plain have just been occupied, and many people are still relying on work-for-relief to barely survive. The officials of various prefectures and counties have just been appointed, and they still need time to familiarize themselves with the local people's conditions before they can effectively govern. Moreover, the spring plowing is imminent, and sending a large number of troops at this time will require the conscription of a large number of civilians for logistics. It will inevitably delay this year's spring plowing. The people still rely on relief to make a living. If this year's spring plowing is delayed again, the consequences will be disastrous."
Liu Boquan also said, "Sir, last year due to the war, Huguang's grain production was reduced by nearly 50%. After the winter, a large amount of relief will be needed for the victims in Jianghan. Huguang itself also needs to transport sweet potatoes and other grains from southern Jiangxi for emergency use. The current situation is that once a large number of troops are sent north, the relief grain for the people in Jianghan will be in short supply. In addition, a large number of civilians will be recruited to send troops. Delaying spring ploughing will undoubtedly be a huge disaster for the people in Jianghan. Sir, it is indeed not appropriate to use troops at this time. I hope you will think twice."
Because Qin Mu appreciated and promoted him out of turn, Liu Boquan was very grateful to Qin Mu. He did his best to manage Qin Mu's money and grain. All along, whenever Qin Mu gave any instructions, he would do his best to complete them and try not to hold Qin Mu back. Today, he was so eager to stand up and oppose, which showed that he really had no other choice but to be so anxious.
Qin Mu nodded to him, and then asked Sima An, "What do you think, Mr. Sima?"
"Your Excellency, sending a large army to seize Xiangyang will not be worth the loss, but given that Xiangyang's strategic location is too important, there is no need to sit idly by. Zuo Liangyu is not a force to be reckoned with, and our army's main enemy in the future will be the Dashun Army, or as your Excellency expected, the Manchu Tartars. Letting Zuo Liangyu guard Xiangyang is much more beneficial to us than letting it fall into the hands of the Dashun Army.
In my opinion, although Zuo Liangyu lost 40,000 troops, he still has no less than 200,000 troops, so he is not completely powerless. It is just because of the recent defeat, low morale, and the loss of a large amount of baggage, and the shortage of logistical supplies that have caused the current predicament. As long as we treat the symptoms, even if we do not send a large army, we can still help Zuo Liangyu defend Xiangyang."
He Liang also said: "I agree with Mr. Sima's opinion, sir, we only need to give Zuo Liangyu some targeted support to help him stabilize the morale of the army. At the same time, we can also use this move to win over the hearts of Zuo Liangyu's soldiers and generals, and prepare to capture Xiangyang when the time is right in the future."
Sima An said: "Zuo Liangyu lacks weapons and food, so we can return some of the weapons we seized before to him. As for food and grass, we can also provide appropriate support. Xu Yingjie is transporting grain from Jiangnan to Jiangxi and Huguang. You can order some grain ships to sail directly to Xiangyang. You don't need to give him too much food, but you can spread the news and exaggerate it to help Zuo Liangyu stabilize the morale of the army.
In addition, the terrain in Nanyang and Xinye is flat and wide, suitable for cavalry combat. Cavalry training is different from infantry training. Infantry pays more attention to overall formation coordination, which requires regular formation training. The key to cavalry victory lies in the ability to charge, break through defenses, and charge into formations. This long-distance march provides an excellent training opportunity for cavalry. Therefore, this time I suggest not sending infantry, but sending cavalry to reinforce Zuo Liangyu. "
Sima An's words were comprehensive, and his sophistication was evident from them.
In terms of weapons, Qin Mu destroyed Wu Xueli's army of 70,000 to 80,000, and more than 250,000 Dashi soldiers were annihilated or captured. In addition, he defeated Jin Shenghuan's army of 50,000 and seized countless weapons. Qin Mu implemented a strategy of elite troops and tried to reduce the number of troops as much as possible. Most of the weapons seized were left over, so it was no problem to give some to Zuo Liangyu.
Sima An suggested sending cavalry, which was also a very wise suggestion. Infantry moves slowly and requires a lot of manpower, while cavalry can advance quickly. Once they enter Zuo Liangyu's territory, although food is short, they must provide some horse fodder. This way, they can pass the logistical burden to Zuo Liangyu by speed.
Li Yuan said at this time: "We can send troops, but there is no such thing as a free lunch. Now Zuo Liangyu is asking us to send troops, so we must give us something in return."
As soon as Li Yuan said this, the expressions of everyone in the Sansi Hall couldn't help but relax, and some even showed a faint smile, as if they were considering how to kill Zuo Liangyu.
"Zuo Liangyu is short of food, but he should not be short of money." Liu Boquan said suddenly.
Even Shao Hua couldn't help but laugh and said, "After Zuo Liangyu seized Xiangyang and Wuchang, he also robbed Jiujiang and Anqing. Who would believe that he is short of money? We can't just give him our food and grass for free. We have to make him pay for it."
Shao Hua's words are not an exaggeration. Now the Central Plains is a barren land for thousands of miles. Even if you have money, you may not be able to buy food. Selling food to you is already a great support.
When Qin Mu first proposed the food strategy, he originally intended to use food to put pressure on all parties. Now he is using it on Zuo Liangyu first.
"Li Jiu." Qin Mu suddenly called out.
"I am here." Li Jiu stood up and listened to the order with his head held high.
"It is better not to end it all, in case something unexpected happens, so you should lead 5,000 cavalry to the north to reinforce Zuo Liangyu."
"I will obey your order."
"You can do whatever you want when you go to Nanyang, but one thing is, don't let Zuo Liangyu be used as a gun. When the opportunity comes, don't be timid. Even if there are losses, we must show the military power of our army. Well, don't forget to bring our army's three major disciplines and eight points of attention. Let the local people see the difference between our army and other armies. Try your best to win the hearts of the people. If you do this, Xiangyang will be ours sooner or later."
"I will obey your order."
The people present originally thought that Qin Mu would send Su Jin, but unexpectedly he sent Li Jiu to carry out such an important task. You know, this cavalry has always been regarded as a treasure by Qin Mu. Even when Su Jin led the army north, Qin Mu repeatedly reminded him, fearing that this cavalry would suffer losses.
But now Qin Mu seemed like a different person. Not only did he hand over this "treasure" to a rookie, but he also said that even if there would be losses, they must demonstrate their military might. How could this not be surprising
In fact, Qin Mu's idea was very simple. Without a bloody battle, this cavalry would never become powerful, let alone fight against the Qing cavalry in the future. If the combat power could not be improved, it would be equivalent to raising them in vain. You know, raising a cavalry is many times more expensive than raising an infantry.
Go out, be refined in blood on the battlefield, and take whatever is left. What's left is what you truly want.
Qin Mu continued, "As for how much food and grass we can provide to Zuo Liangyu, it's up to you, Boquan, to decide. The price of food can be reasonable. There's no need to squeeze too much this time. The main thing is to win the favor of the soldiers of the Zuo Army."
Liu Boquan was very happy, as it was not easy for him to manage money and grain. Although Qin Mu was good at making money, he was also spending lavishly in the military and political fields, and the amount of money he spent was astonishing.
Of course, if Qin Mu had not invested heavily, the military, political and people’s livelihood in Huguang would not have recovered so quickly.
For Liu Boquan, it would be better if he could earn more money, as there would be many places to spend money in the future. He sent people to the coastal areas to look for craftsmen who could build warships. There was already some progress, and the craftsmen soon arrived in Huguang. According to Qin Mu's personality, after the craftsmen arrived, he would definitely build ships on a large scale. With ships, he would also need cannons. Both ships and cannons were expensive. I don't know how much money he would have to spend by then.
After dealing with Zuo Liangyu's matter, Qin Mu's expression straightened up, and then said: "Yang Shen, let's start."
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.(To be continued..)
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