******
The two generals Liu Meng and Meng Ke cooperated with each other, one attacked Ma'anshan and the other attacked Caishiji.
Caishiji, Nanjing Yanziji and Yueyang Chenglingji are known as the "Three Famous Cliffs on the Yangtze River". It stands out in the river, with cliffs overlooking the sky. It is located at the strategic point of the river, with fast-flowing water and dangerous terrain. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.
In the 31st year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty, Yu Yunwen defeated the Jin army in the battle of Caishiji, thus preventing the rapid fall of the Southern Song Dynasty. Hundreds of years later, Caishiji once again became a battlefield for the two armies.
Caishiji is about three hundred feet high, with Niuzhu Mountain on its back. It is called "Zhu" because there is a river surrounding it on its east side, separating Niuzhu Mountain from the shore. Therefore, even if you attack Caishiji from the shore, it is extremely difficult.
At the same time, it forms a horn with Hebao Mountain, Xishan Mountain, Rentouji and Ma'anshan in the north and depends on each other. Currently, the one guarding Caishiji is Meilezhangjing Wu Lachan, and the one guarding Ma'anshan is Qing Beile Nikan, with a total of about 40,000 troops.
Liu Meng and Meng Ke led a total of 100,000 troops to divide the battlefield and attacked Caishiji and Ma'anshan day and night. They mainly adopted the tactic of fatigue, not allowing the Qing army a chance to sleep peacefully. They exerted high pressure at all times to keep the city in a state of dark clouds pressing down on it and threatening to destroy it.
The war is still in full swing, and the personnel sent by the Ministry of Industry to explore for iron ore have arrived in Dangtu. Currently, there are no large iron mines in the territory controlled by Qin Mu, and steel production is very limited.
The armor, swords, spears, arrowheads, cannons, etc. of an army of two to three hundred thousand people require a large amount of steel, but the amount produced in Jiangxi and Huguang is not enough for the use.
As far as Qin Mu knew, there were no iron mines in Jiangnan, which meant that even if Jiangnan was conquered, the tense steel situation would not only not improve, but would even become more tense.
In ancient times, the south was at a disadvantage in terms of terrain, but the north also had an advantage in strategic resources. The people in the north were more valiant. The northern army was more powerful after it was formed. In addition, the north always had an advantage in important resources such as war horses and steel that affected the outcome of wars.
There was only one successful case of Zhu Yuanzhang unifying the country from south to north, and this case was quite special. Zhu Yuanzhang faced a corrupt regime of a foreign race.
Qin Mu was facing a newly emerged Qing Dynasty. A little victory in the south did not mean anything. Just like the Southern Song Dynasty, it defeated the Jin soldiers in the south many times, but it was not so easy to march north to the Central Plains.
In terms of resources, as the economic center shifted southward, the general resources of the South gradually became superior to those of the North, but in terms of war horses and steel production, it was still at a disadvantage.
If there was a long-term confrontation with the Qing Dynasty, it would be a test of national strength, and important strategic resources such as war horses and steel were particularly important. So while the war was still going on, Qin Mu could not wait to ask the Ministry of Industry to send people to explore the Ma'anshan iron mine.
In the long run, this exploration is of extraordinary significance. Once the Maanshan iron ore is developed, its huge reserves and convenient transportation will bring a qualitative and quantitative leap to the Qin army in terms of strategic resources.
Qin Mu actually didn't know the exact distribution of the Ma'anshan iron ore, but since it was discovered in the late Qing Dynasty, he now knew the approximate location. As long as he explored vigorously, he believed he would find it.
As many as 800 craftsmen and manpower were mobilized for this exploration. Such a large number of people were mobilized just because of a dream of the First Emperor. Sima An and other ministers were quite dissatisfied and privately thought that Qin Mu's actions this time were a bit absurd.
Shao Hua, the Left Imperial Censor-in-Chief, thought this was a very bad sign. Who knows what the King of Qin will dream about tomorrow? What if the First Emperor tells him in his dream to build a Great Wall in the south of the Yangtze River
Shao Hua approached Qin Mu many times and refused to give in to his criticism. Qin Mu could not escape and finally had to solemnly promise that he would never "dream" again. Only then did Shao Hua give up reluctantly.
As soon as Shao Hua left, Yan Gaofei hurried in and reported: "King Qin, I just received an urgent report that Qin Liangyu was persuaded by Huang Huanran and has personally taken action. Within a few days, he has persuaded six chieftains in eastern Sichuan to submit to him. In addition, Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi, who control Chengdu, have also agreed to submit..."
"As expected?" Qin Mu was surprised and delighted, he stood up and asked anxiously.
"King Qin, I received a brief report from Ye Bu Shou. The detailed report from Imperial Censor Huang should be delivered soon. This is absolutely true."
"Li Shi, quickly summon Sima Xueshi and others to discuss the matter."
“Yes!”
Qin Liangyu is no ordinary person and enjoys high prestige in Sichuan. Especially now that Sichuan is in chaos, if she comes forward to appease all parties, the people of Sichuan will quickly turn to the Qin State.
Moreover, Qin Liangyu was not just one person, she represented the Ma family of Shizhu and the Qin family of Zhongzhou. Her grandson Ma Wannian, nephew Qin Yiming, and grandchildren Qin Zuoming and Qin Zuoming were all experienced and skilled generals.
It is no exaggeration to say that under the current circumstances, having Qin Liangyu is equivalent to having half of Sichuan. The best proof of this is that she successfully pacified six chieftains in eastern Sichuan within a few days.
More importantly, Qin Liangyu and Qin Mu are from the same family after all. In this era that places great emphasis on family relationships, this relationship is very unusual.
Today, Qin Mu is the ruler of a country, but he has only one son who is just one year old. From the perspective of ruling, the royal family is too weak, which is very detrimental to the stability of the country.
Before Qin Mu went to the battle, he vigorously promoted Li Chen to be the defender of Wuchang. Li Chen, like Han Gang, was a direct descendant trained by Qin Mu. Qin Mu handed Wuchang over to his confidant Li Chen to use Li Chen to protect his only flesh and blood.
But Qin Ye was too young, only one year old. To put it bluntly, if something happened to Qin Mu, his son Qin Ye alone would not be enough to support him. Therefore, Qin Mu used his direct line to protect Wuchang, and on the other hand, he used his father-in-law as the Minister of Personnel to control the appointment and dismissal of officials.
But this alone is not enough. Now with the addition of the Qin family of Zhongzhou, the strength of the "royal family" can be greatly enhanced, at least on the surface, and will have a significant deterrent effect on those who have ambitious plans.
After Sima An, Lu Daqi, Gu Junen and others arrived, everyone turned their attention to Sichuan again. The first thing to do was undoubtedly to reward Qin Liangyu herself and the Qin family, and win the hearts of the Qin and Ma families.
After deliberation, it was decided to confer Qin Liangyu the title of Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince and Marquis of Loyalty. Qin Yiming was conferred the title of General of Sichuan, Ma Wannian was promoted to Commander-in-Chief, and Qin Zuoming and Qin Zuoming were promoted to Deputy Commanders.
This reward was indeed generous, but for Sichuan, no one objected. No one dared to have any objection. Throughout the dynasties, which emperor did not reward the royal family generously? This was out of the need for rule.
The Qin family was easy to deal with, but Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi were a bit troublesome. Although Ai Nengqi also agreed to surrender, he emphasized that he would only obey orders and not declarations, not to mention the reorganization of the army.
Song Cexian said first: "King Qin, I think that Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi are not clear about their intentions now, so we should be cautious in rewarding them. At present, our army does not have the ability to enter Sichuan in large numbers. Giving Li and Ai too much power will easily lead to a situation where they are too powerful to be eliminated."
The Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, Lü Daqi, held the opposite opinion: "King of Qin, I think that it is precisely because his intentions are unclear that he should be rewarded generously to encourage him to return to his loyalty."
He Liang also said: "At present, both sides have doubts. Our king should first show his magnanimity and benevolence to appease the distant people. It is okay to give them more rewards, but we cannot let them become arrogant. Our king should quickly send a capable minister to Sichuan to manage the civil affairs and officials, and then use the Marquis of Loyalty to restrain Li and Ai, so that Sichuan can truly belong to Daqin."
Qin Mu nodded and said, "Then let's appoint Li Dingguo as the Grand Commander of the Rear Army Commandery and Ai Nengqi as the Deputy Commander, and give each of them 5,000 gold. Ministers, who do you think should be sent to Sichuan to manage the civil affairs?"
Sima An said: "I recommend Wu Jinxi, the Minister of Rites."
Wu Jinxi was qualified enough, and he had been in charge of important military and political affairs and had rich experience. Qin Mu asked everyone again, and when he saw that no one had any objection, he promoted Wu Jinxi to the title of Grand Secretary of the Dongge, appointed him as the Governor of Sichuan, and sent him to Sichuan as soon as possible.
While everyone was discussing the matter, a messenger came in hurriedly, bringing news from Luoyang.
Ma Yongzhen explained in his memorial that the situation at Hulao Pass and Mengjin Pass was precarious, and that if he continued to defend Luoyang, he would face the danger of annihilation of the entire army, so he prepared to abandon Luoyang and retreat to Xiangyang.
This was the power Qin Mu gave him early on, allowing him to decide on matters of war and defense on his own.
However, it took only more than a month from the capture of Luoyang to its abandonment. This was too fast and caused a great shock to Qin Mu and the ministers in Dachang. The battle in the southeast had not yet achieved a decisive victory. Once Luoyang was withdrawn, the Qing army could withdraw its troops and march south again.
*******************************
ps: It’s been so quiet these past two days! Where’s the support from brothers
.(To be continued..)
...