***
Sima An and twenty or thirty other people tried to persuade Qin Mu to ascend the throne for the first time, but Qin Mu refused.
Soon, they, together with the generals of the Qin army with more than a thousand households, totaling two or three hundred people, went to Wuchang together to write a letter to persuade Qin Mu to ascend the throne again, but Qin Mu still refused.
During this period, Qin Mu did not sit around and wait. On the one hand, he deployed troops and temporarily stabilized the situation on the eastern front, blocking the Qing army east of Jiande County. On the other hand, he accelerated the reorganization of Li Zicheng's remaining troops; Li Zicheng's remaining troops in the Taihang Army had 100,000 people, and Qin Mu picked and chose, taking 60,000, including 20,000 cavalry, and settled the remaining 40,000 as farmers.
At the same time, further pressure was exerted on the 20,000 Guanning troops on Guifeng Mountain in Macheng, in order to force the 20,000 troops to surrender as soon as possible.
As for Yicheng, Li Guo also agreed to surrender, but the prerequisite was to maintain the existing organization and not accept reorganization.
Qin Mu urgently consulted Sima An and others about this matter. The combat staff officer Jiang Yihan immediately said: "Sir, if the Dashun Army is allowed to remain independent, it will soon become too powerful to be controlled and will not accept reorganization. This is absolutely not acceptable."
Another combat staff officer, Xu Wenchang, also said, "Sir, if Li Guo persists, we can first cut off his food supplies, and then it won't be that difficult to swallow up his 60,000 troops."
Shao Hua shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. Let's not talk about the fact that we only have 10,000 troops in Xiangyang. If Li Guo really wants to fight to the death, we may not be able to trap him.
More importantly, Li Guo, Tian Jianxiu, Yuan Zongdi and others are all from the Dashun Army. Tian Jianxiu's army is undergoing reorganization and the morale of the army is uncertain. If they meet Li Guo at this time, the 60,000 to 70,000 troops on Tian Jianxiu's side are likely to be in a state of disarray. "
Qin Mu stroked the stubble on his chin and pondered for a while, then asked Xu Wenchang and others to temporarily leave, leaving only Sima An and a few other core members present.
He then said, "According to the information provided by Yunduan, Gao Guiying went south with Li Zicheng mainly to conceal his whereabouts. Li Zicheng brought the elderly, the weak, women and children with him to attract the Qing army to pursue him. Gao Guiying was responsible for escorting the Dashun Army's property away to Hanzhong to ensure the safety of the property. Li Guo was unwilling to accept the reorganization, probably because he felt that with this batch of treasures, he still had a chance to make a comeback."
He Liang asked softly, "Sir, did Yunduan tell me the exact number?"
"The total value of all the gold and silver treasures was 69 million taels, mainly obtained from the torture in the capital. When Gao Guiying went south, she received the news that Xiangyang had fallen, and she urgently buried 60 million taels in the Dabagou area west of Xiangyang.
The remaining treasures, worth nine million taels, were mainly gold, which Gao Guiying had kept with her until she was trapped in Shuanghegou, north of Jingmen. It was then that Gao Guiying brought it to Jingshan and is now hidden in Qinglongzui.
Although Ye Bushou had already reported the unusual behavior among Gao Guiying's army, Qin Mu and others had roughly guessed that Gao Guiying was escorting the gold, silver and treasures looted by the Dashun Army, but they did not know the exact number, and they did not expect that Gao Guiying had already buried the bulk of it.
If Yunduan hadn't told him, Ye Bushou would probably only be able to find the remaining nine million taels.
Qin Mu was very emotional. He never expected that he would get 60 million taels of silver in exchange for one pancake in Jinling.
Including Sima An, everyone was delighted. This was nearly 70 million taels of windfall. Although Qin Mu had raised a lot of money from Jiangnan through Huitong Bank, the total amount was not that much. Once these 69 million taels were in hand, the help to the Qin army would be immeasurable.
Li Yuan immediately said: "Sir, at present, Gucheng, Baokang and Fangxian to the west of Xiangyang are all under the control of our army. It is time to quickly take the treasure from Dabagou to avoid any more trouble."
Qin Mu nodded and said, "Of course. I have asked Yun Duan to take it to Xiangyang and let Ma Yongzhen take charge of the matter. Ling Zhan will personally lead the people to dig."
Sima An pondered and said, "Truth cannot be hidden. Digging up more than 60 million taels of gold and silver treasures will make a big fuss. It may be hidden from others, but it will definitely not be hidden from Li Guo in Yicheng."
"What do you think, Mr. Sima?"
"Sir, I have carefully thought about your strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west. It does have some merits. Please take a look, sir."
Sima An picked up a small wooden stick, pointed at the large sand table and said, "It is indeed too risky to take Guanzhong from afar, and our army's battle line is too long, but we might as well compromise and only take Heluo. Please see, Luoyang is surrounded by four strong passes, and the situation is dangerous and solid. There are eight strong passes in the east, west, south and north as a shield.
Since Li Guo's army of 60,000 is unwilling to be reorganized, we might as well take advantage of the Tartars' lack of manpower and send them north to capture Luoyang, take all the surrounding fortresses to defend, and lure Duoduo's troops north. In this way, our army will gather heavy troops and go downstream to capture Jiangnan. "
Sima An's plan was to lure the tiger away from the mountain, to move Li Guo away from Xiangyang, so that the Qin army could easily dig up the gold and silver treasures in Dabagou and Qinglongzui.
Secondly, it can prevent Li Guo from causing chaos in his heart, making it difficult for the Qin army to concentrate all its efforts on the eastward march.
Third, they were used to realize the idea of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west, so as to reduce the difficulty of capturing Jiangnan.
As for whether Li Guo could capture Luoyang and whether he could hold it after capturing it, it was no longer important. As long as he could successfully disperse Duoduo's troops, his goal would be achieved.
Qin Mu asked He Liang and others, and after everyone agreed with this strategy, Qin Mu did not hesitate any longer and immediately sent an order to Xiangyang, asking Ma Yongzhen to implement the plan. If Li Guo was still unwilling to accept this compromise, he might have no choice but to dispatch troops to forcibly annex him.
At this time, Tang King Zhu Youjian sent an envoy again, bestowing Qin Mu with the surname of the state and conferring him the title of King of Liao.
In the main hall of the Prince of Chu's Palace, everyone looked at each other, secretly sighing that Zhu Youjian had really spent a lot of money. According to the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, people of different surnames could not be made kings. No matter how great the contributions were, like Xu Da, he was only posthumously made the King of Zhongshan. Moreover, such a posthumous title could not be inherited by his descendants.
Zhu Youjian gave Qin Mu a title of king in one go, which was indeed a big bet, but the title was "King of Liao", which seemed to be insincere;
In other words, unless Qin Mu conquers Liaodong, his title of "King of Liao" will always be a blank check.
This is secondary. What bothers Qin Mu is the surname of the country. "Zhu Mu... why is it so awkward? Uh, Mount Everest is better. It should not be called 'Mother Pig'. Damn, this is embarrassing for me!"
Qin Mu's expression was uncertain. Gu Jun'en and others thought he was wavering and ready to accept Zhu Youjian's offer. They immediately came out to question the messenger Zhu Guoying: "May I ask, Lord Zhu, is this what the King of Tang meant?"
"The King of Tang has now ascended the throne and changed the era name to Longwu..."
"I'm asking you if this was the idea of the Tang prince?" Gu Jun'en didn't wait for Zhu Guoying to finish, and immediately shouted, "The Tang vassal was originally a criminal vassal, how can it be qualified to inherit the throne? You established a criminal vassal as the emperor, so where does that put the Gui prince? If the Tang vassal can inherit the throne, then who can't? The Ming Dynasty has an ancestral system that people with different surnames cannot be crowned as kings. Does it mean that people who are not relatives of the royal family cannot be crowned as kings? Do you mean that people with the surname Zhu cannot be crowned as kings? This is absurd and confusing. Is this what a king should do?"
Zhu Guoying refused to be outdone and angrily shouted, "How dare you! Who are you to speak so arrogantly? You are insulting the emperor."
"Things must decay before insects can be born, and people must insult themselves before others insult them. You do not know right from wrong. Supporting a criminal vassal to succeed the throne is already difficult to convince the people of the world, and you are doing this rebellious act, which is extremely unfilial. How can you blame others for insulting you?"
Gu Jun'en spoke eloquently, leaving Zhu Guoying speechless. Then he said to Qin Mu, "Sir, Tang Fan's accession to the throne was not legitimate. Now conferring you the title of king is just to lay the groundwork for framing you in the future. You must not accept this."
Qin Mu found it a little funny. Gu Junen was too proactive. He even stole the limelight from Sima An and the others. However, Sima An and the others should not mind letting him do this offensive job.
Even Prime Minister Niu Jinxing ran away at the beginning, but Gu Junen and Yu Dayou, who followed Li Zicheng later, were able to share weal and woe. This was enough to show their loyalty, and Qin Mu liked his outspoken character.
*********
Xiangyang.
Ma Yongzhen expressionlessly put two choices before Li Guo: one, accept the reorganization of the Qin army; two, lead 60,000 troops from the six headquarters to take Luoyang in the north with the cooperation of the Qin army.
After careful consideration, Li Guo finally accepted the latter option.
Ma Yongzhen pointed at the map and said, "Ajige's Western Route Army was almost wiped out. The Tartars' forces in Luoyang are extremely weak. Taking this opportunity to capture Luoyang will give us at least a 70% chance of success. Luoyang is surrounded by mountains and passes, guarding the Three Qins in the west and controlling Henan and Shandong in the east. If we can gain a foothold in Luoyang, it will be like advancing into the heart of the Tartars.
To defend Luoyang, we must first defend the surrounding dangerous passes. Please see, to the east of Luoyang is Hulao Pass, located ten miles southwest of Xingyang Sishui, connected to Songshan Mountain in the south and the Yellow River in the north. The mountains are intertwined, forming a natural barrier. It is like "one man guarding the pass, ten thousand men cannot open it". If Hulao Pass is defended, the enemy to the east of Luoyang will not be able to cross the line.
To the north is Mengjin Pass, which borders the Yellow River to the north and Mangling Mountain to the south. With mountains and rivers as support, the pass is easy to defend, forming a situation where the river is controlled by the pass and the pass is protected by the river. If this pass is controlled, Luoyang will be safe to the north.
To the west is Hangu Pass, which controls the Three Qins in the west, connects to the Qinling Mountains in the south, and blocks the Yellow River in the north. It is the throat between Luoyang and Xi'an. If this pass is captured, it will be difficult for the enemies in the west to invade Heluo.
Yique Pass is the only way from Jingxiang to Luoyang in the north, so there is no need to say much about this pass.
Let's talk about Guangcheng Pass in the southeast. This pass is sandwiched between two mountains and a river. There is Changchong Mountain in the northeast and Dama Mountain in the southwest. It has been a fortress leading to Ruying since ancient times. This pass must be defended to prevent the enemy from Yingzhou from invading Luoyang.
The other is Huanyuan Pass, which is a shortcut from Luoyang to Xu and Chen. The pass is located at the Eling Slope, between Taishi Mountain and Shaoshi Mountain. The road is narrow and winding. If we guard this pass, it will be difficult for the enemies from Xu and Chen to invade Luoyang.
Throughout history, Luoyang has been the capital of a country several times. Even Emperor Taizu of Song intended to move the capital to Luoyang because Luoyang was surrounded by strategic passes, had many strategic passes, and was in a dangerous and solid situation, making it easy to defend.
As Ma Yongzhen spoke, he marked the passes one by one on the map, and then continued, "There are only 1,000 Manchu-Mongol bannermen in Luoyang City, led by the Manchu general Daur. The rest of the cities are all newly surrendered Green Camp soldiers. Ajige was defeated, and these Green Camp soldiers must be panicked. Our army will march north with lightning speed and defeat the enemy with the power of a great victory."
Li Guo asked, "Is it just my 60,000-man army that will take Luoyang?"
"No, I will lead 10,000 infantry and cavalry myself, and you will assign another 10,000 troops to me. I will lead 20,000 troops to attack Luoyang, and General Li and General Gao will lead 50,000 troops to attack the above-mentioned passes at the same time. In order not to give the Tartars a chance to breathe, our army will move north tomorrow without any mistakes."
"General Ma, as the saying goes, food and fodder must go before the army moves. Let's move our camp north. The food and fodder..."
"We have to take food from the enemy. This is the only way to buy precious time. Don't worry. The food and fodder supplies have already been shipped to my logistics department. When we reach Luoyang, the first batch of food and fodder supplies will arrive soon, and there will be more supplies delivered later."
.(To be continued..)
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