"So, are you the messenger of the Shuzhong Rebellion..."
Zhou Huaian raised his chin with both hands, and asked in a strange way.
"Although my generation is in Xichuan, I have long heard of the world's rebels, and they are the most able to conquer the peace of war..."
The visitor looks thin and has a vicissitudes of life, his beard and hair are all tangled together, and he has obviously not been able to rest for a long time.
If it weren't for this so-called local rebel news and contact person who was released from Yuzhou. Zhou Huaian really didn’t know that in addition to Xiazhou, Guizhou, and Kuizhou, in the upper reaches of Shanxi Road and Jiannan Sichuan, so many changes had taken place in a short period of time.
The cause of this incident originated from the polo emperor who entered Shu, but the initiator was Chen Jingxuan, the ambassador of Xichuan Jiedu. He is Tian Lingzi's elder brother, who relied on polo to set Sanchuan's game to get the position of coach; being a coach is terrible in many ways, but only in Rosso's place is very good.
He has sent personnel to various counties and towns to detect insidious affairs, called "travelers", and ask local officials wherever he goes to get money and property. There are two people seeking trouble in Ziyin Town, and they have nothing to ask for. Sometimes town general Xie Hong let the invitation on the road, but he still hasn't arrived.
Xie Hong made himself suspected of offending, and at night, fled into the group of robbers. The next morning, the second victim left, and Xie Hongrang was actually innocent. The thief Yang Qian induced Xie Hong to give up his head, but he arrested Xie Hongrang to the Xichuan Jiedu's mansion, claiming that Xie Hongrang was captured after being attacked in order to obtain a reward.
Without interrogation, Chen Jing ordered Xie Hongrang to be beaten with a wooden stick on his back with 20 sticks, Xie Hongrang was nailed to Chengdu Xicheng for 14 days, boiling oil was poured on him, and he was used to remove his wounds with glue and hemp. The torture was cruel. Extremely, everyone who saw it called him wronged.
Another Qiongzhou Yaguan Qianneng, who violated the time limit due to official business, escaped the rod sentence and fleeed as a thief. Yang Qian was trapped again. Qianneng was thinking of going out and surrendering himself. Hearing Xie Hongrang’s grievances, he cursed Yang Qian as shameless and outraged. The landfill vowed to be a thief, drive and plunder the good people, and kill his family if he refuses to follow his orders.
After more than a month, it absorbed many fugitive farmers and mountain people who could not afford to pay taxes, and developed a team of tens of thousands of people, established ministries, set up officers at all levels, and went rampant in Qiongzhou (now Qionglai, Sichuan) and Yazhou (now Qionglai, Sichuan) and Yazhou (now Qionglai, Sichuan). Between Ya'an, Sichuan, the towns and villages were captured, and all the officials and locals were wiped out.
Before, there were very few thieves in Shu. Since then, thieves have competed, and state and county officials could not stop them. So Luo Hunqing, Juhu Seng, and Luo Fuzi each gathered thousands of people to respond to him locally.
In the neighboring mountains (south) and west (dao), there is Fuzhou (now Fuling, Sichuan) governor Han Xiusheng, who cooperated with the others to rebel. Chen Jing sent an army of 3,000 people led by Yang Xingqian, and Hu Honglue and Mo Kuangshi each led a local army of 2,000 to attack the thieves.
As a result, after Lien Chan was defeated, the local government had no soldiers to send. Chen Jing collected all the soldiers guarding the gate of the warehouse and sent them to Yang Xingqian. However, in the fierce battle between the two sides just last month, the officers and the army were defeated.
Therefore, the leaders of Qianneng, Luo Hunqing, Juhu Seng, Luo Fuzi, and Han Qiu now occupy many places from Qiongzhou (now Sichuan Qionglai), Shuzhou (now Chongzhou, Sichuan) to Yuzhou (now Chongqing). . It even approached the foot of Qingcheng Mountain near Chengdu.
However, the so-called truth is that the extremes of things must be reversed, and the extremes of prosperity must decline. After repeated battles, Chen Jingxuan replaced the Shenji battalion recommended by Tian Lingzi from a family of imperial soldiers, and made Gao Renhou the main general, so the situation of these rebels suddenly deteriorated.
Gao Renhou was a good at war and soothing methods. First, he instigated Qianneng’s spies in the camp and ordered him to go back and secretly spread the news of the court's soothing, and killed Bai Wenxian, the interceptor of Shuangliu County, who was unable to sit back and watch the thief. With the spirit of being upright
As a result, Luo Hunqing, the leader of the rebel army who guarded Shuangliu, succumbed to ambush, but was turned into a true surrender by his surviving subordinates; then he drove the Wuzhai descendants to spread the word among the various troops. The piercing leader said that the Hu monk strictly guarded the Zhaizhai, but the beheaded and swayed aroused civil strife, and he was sent out by his subordinates.
The thirteen camps set up by the leader Han Qiu in Xinjin all came out and surrendered. Han Qiu jumped into the deep trench and committed suicide. His subordinates hooked his body up, chopped off his head and gave it to Gao Renhou.
Then he burned down the camp and let go of Chuankou and Shuangliu's tribes, and continued to pet other places with Xinjin's pawns. Luo Fuzi set up nine camps in Yangong and was startled by the flames of the burning mountain, and fled all night.
Luo Fuzi fled to the camp of Qianneng in Yazhou and planned a decisive battle with Qianneng with all his troops. The plan hadn't been agreed yet, and it was getting dark. Gao Renhou and the people who surrendered from Yan Gong arrived. Qianneng and Luo Fuzi rode on their horses to patrol the camp. They wanted to send troops to fight, but the subordinates did not listen to their orders.
Until the next day, Gao Renhou led the officers and soldiers to approach overnight, and the various camps clamored and ran out. Some people went to catch Qianneng, but Qianneng had no choice but to jump into the well and was captured by everyone. At the same time, he went to catch Luo Fuzi, and Luo Fuzi committed suicide. Then he held Luo Fuzi's head and tied Qian Neng to surrender the army.
As a result, Gao Renhou sent troops for a total of six days and eliminated the five great thieves in Dongchuan. The bandit camps in other places also sent generals to surrender. Every time he attacked the next county or town, he supplemented the town's deterrent emissaries, so that they would appease and summon the people's household registration to prevent recurrence. Then they recruited boats from Yazhou, and guided troops along the water south to the territory of Shannanxi Road.
At the same time, Song Hao, the Jiedu envoy of Jingnan who originally occupied Xiazhou, Guizhou, Kuizhou and other places, also categorically abandoned the local area not long ago, bringing with them the young and strong, the heavyweights and wealth from the place. Leading troops crossed Kuimen Pass (Qutang Gorge) and entered Shu.
They followed the river all the way and occupied Kuizhou (now Fengjie, Sichuan), Wanzhou (now Wanxian, Sichuan), Kaizhou (now Kaixian, Sichuan), and Tongzhou (now Tongxian, Sichuan).
Therefore, Han Xiusheng, who is entrenched in the areas of Fuzhou and Yuzhou in the southern part of Shannan West Road, succumbed to other forces, and also in front of this loyal army and the Shandong regiment as the core of the Jingnan army, it is inevitable that they will lose their helmets and armor. Large areas of camps and sites along the river have been lost.
Seeing that Han Xiusheng, who was about to be attacked by the north-south crossroads in the city of Fuling, made up his mind to send an envoy to take the risk of setting off the ship during this turbulent period of the river, breaking through the interception of the Xiajiang waterway and the Guanjun water village that was about to rush through Kuimen, and made a mistake He ran into the Guizhou site newly recovered by the Taiping Army downstream, and asked for foreign aid by the way.
"I would also like to ask your ministry to help out one or two. I hope that Hezhou will go up and down, and the capital will be the head of the horse..."
The people who came here felt free to plead, and even the words became a little unfavorable.
Zhou Huaian wanted to spit out, what did you do when you were in power before? Don't you think of seeking foreign aid and help until you are exhausted? But in any case, this is a leading party that has been sent to the door by itself; it is undoubtedly a very good thing to intervene in the Sanchuan of Shu area in the future.
If there is a chance, it will be able to intervene in the situation of Jiannan Sanchuan, thereby laying a wedge on the Shannanxi Road in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River; even to find some trouble for the late Tang court in Chengdu, which is a bit of an obstacle, is completely beneficial. No expense.
However, the prerequisite for all these plans and ideas is that they must be able to preserve this last stronghold in Fuzhou and serve as a bridgehead for the upstream. Although there was an opportunity before him, Zhou Huaian was hesitant and embarrassed.
Although, with the exception of Wang Xingkong, who went to Shangzhou in the north, the military operations of the Taiping Army have basically reached the finishing stage; but the three detachments scattered in large numbers in the local area, and the work of cooperating with the local squadrons to build grassroots organizations The team still needs continuous investment in manpower and material resources.
The remnants who dispersed after being defeated, the remnants of the barbarians who took advantage of the chaos, and the people who fled to the mountains to escape the chaos of war and settled in settlements; if they can’t be cleaned up and cleaned up in time, it will also be a lasting one. The source of chaos. In addition to military strikes and deterrence, a large amount of food and materials are also needed as auxiliary means.
Therefore, if you add the military expenditures that you don’t know whether it will be expanded to what extent, I’m afraid it’s hard to sort out and adjust, and just recover from the financial deficits and shortfalls of the Eastern Wall to make up for the Western Wall. The Taiping sacred library system in the state is going to make Alexander again.
Unless he can open up new sources of financial resources or projects that can generate income in the short term; then he will hold a temporary military meeting in the back garden of the city's festival.
Under the shade covered by a vast expanse of ancient trees, surrounded by a huge sand table, a circle of chairs and chilled icy drinks are all the provisional military assembly grounds.
"I want to make one point first, this Fuzhou governor Han Xiusheng, a submissive generation, is not an ordinary rebel army who wants to live up to things; it is probably an ambition generation who takes advantage of the situation and seizes one side under the name of the rebel army."
Zhou Huaian set the tone first.
"So in the future, I hope that I will not be able to argue on the basis of personal gains and losses such as my reputation, honor and disgrace, but on the overall interests and standpoint of the Metropolitan Government..."
"I think I can do it... Nothing else, the situation in Xiazhou and Guizhou is ready, and the most dangerous place in the upstream must be taken down so that it will not be controlled by others... "
After touching his chin and thinking about it, Zhu Cun, who was already a general of the Third Army, expressed his opinion first.
"Some think that what Zhu Zhonglang said is very true, if the Kuimen is below the natural dangers, the Gorge will be safe for the states; the future strategic posture of the Shanxi Road, whether it is aggressive or retreating, will also have evidence..."
Then there is Zhong Yi, the Second Lang general of the First Army, who is also the righteous way.
"The subordinates think that this matter can be slowed down a little bit. The states of the Xiajiang Road are narrow and poor, unable to provide much assistance to the army; it is the water transport that is upside down and relies more on manpower to pull fiber and transport; If you can't make progress in one go, it is easy to be dragged into a long-term see-saw and confrontation."
The dissenting opinion was on behalf of the Fourth Army temporarily and Cao Shixiong, the Zuo Lang general who was in charge of the Jiangdong area.
"The subordinates agree. I have seen it along the way, not to mention the provinces in Jiangxi that are a little far away, or the neighboring Hunan provinces, which are also the interests of the people's livelihood, and they really need enough time to recover. It is not advisable to use swordsmen before the next harvest in Lingwai, especially those who use swordsmanly..."
The Third Army Youlang's Su Wuming also echoed loudly.
"In fact, a certain family thinks that the Xiajiang prefectures are narrow and the roads are quite difficult and dangerous. Even if the army can reach the people under the town of Linkuimen, it is quite limited. On the contrary, there is much to do on this great river. I don’t know that the navy still has enough energy to call for..."
Zuo Lang general of the Sixth Army, Zhang Juyan, interjected with some caution.
As a result, the eyes of the audience were focused on Wang Zhongba and Qian Gumei of the Fifth Army (Navy Army).
"Since this round of cleanup of the Dongting and Xiangshui River Basin is over, a small number of people and ships have been transferred to rest and repair and maintenance... If the governor's office needs it, 80 or 90 of them are fully staffed and in good condition. The military ship comes just in case..."
Wang Zhongba immediately opened his mouth and said.
"In addition, next month, there will be another 30 vehicle and ship components that will be sent from Guizhou Yueling to Hunan for assembly and use..."
The only captain present, Yang Neng who was in charge of the supervision of the sacred treasury, immediately raised his hand to add.
"Then I also think it's a good time to give it a try. Use a small number of elite soldiers to cooperate with the navy, and use the strange and positive to attack or take it by accident. Even if things fail, it will not hurt the overall situation..."
Hearing one of the three generals in the middle of the field, Chai Ping, general of the Sixth Army, nodded in agreement.
"But if it can happen, it will undoubtedly open up the situation in Shanxi and even Shuzhong... What is more important is that I think, regardless of the purpose of Han Xiusheng and his like, they resisted the old dynasty and ruled the people. But most of the innocent sufferers; if they can be saved with a little extra effort from the army, that would be a great thing..."
Hearing these words, Zhou Huaian couldn't help taking a particularly high look at him. Unexpectedly, the general principle of "Senior Citizen's three-day admiration" actually allowed him to exercise his corresponding vision and overall situation in his tenure in Jingzhou, as well as his true feelings of saving the world and helping the people.
"So everyone's opinion is very clear, that is, without affecting the overall situation, find a way to select a partial division, with the minimum goal of capturing Kuimen, and the medium and long-term goal of containing Song Hao's Jingnan army; And wait for the opportunity to support Han Xiusheng's tribe in Fuzhou. Do you want Shanxi Road to maintain the status quo?"
Zhou Huaian stood up and concluded while thinking.
"For this, I must obey the military orders..."
All the people present will stand up and respond.
"The general plan has been determined. Next, we will confirm how many people should be arranged, which troops and battalions should be selected, and how long the military supplies and materials should be allocated and allocated in advance, and their loading vehicles. Horse equipment belongs to the servants and animal power along the way..."
Zhou Huaian waved his hand to make them sit down and say:
"The First Army wants to suppress and deter the local situation in the Shannan states, and wait for the opportunity to take up the advance team in Wuguan North; the second army is a horse team, which is not very useful in this kind of land along the river and gorges, but Gu stays near Xiangyang. It’s good to be the reserve team of the base camp. But with the pack team, you can first mobilize four mountain horse-based regiments."
"The Fifth Army is dominated by naval forces. This time, we will first mobilize a batch of large river boats and their most skilled veterans suitable for rapids and waves; the Seventh and Eighth Army will not need to be recruited if they are still outside the ridge...
"The troops on this expedition are from the Third Army, Fourth Army, and Sixth Army; you go back to the well-organized arrangement and mobilization of manpower. If there is a shortage of corresponding combat equipment and equipment, you should directly report to the Saint Couch and The Accounting Office of the Dudufu Mansion."
"Among them, there are mountain people, children of miners from Guiyang Supervision, Chenzhou, Lianzhou, or camps in exile in Fujian, which can be prioritized as the first choice; ... All new, temporary and reorganized camps are available. Let go for a while, but we must ensure the establishment of the front battalion and the garrison battalion..."
"So, five to eight battalions are the best for the final composition? Cooperate with an armed transportation team of about two thousand people to build grain stands and outposts along the way..."
"Well, let's start with five battalions according to the maximum length of the passage. The following three battalions will be formed a little later and then set off. Take the navy carrier ship to meet the queen and the back..."
"Later, I will send the new firearms and equipment in the team to join them together... and each group in the army will follow up the corresponding budget plan for several months to half a year..."
"By the way, in addition to ensuring transportation in Shangzhou, the rest of the watercraft can also be put into the test of the upstream waterway... Then a batch of horses will be allocated from the mountain field in Guizhou as an auxiliary means of rapid traction. just in case.."
When Zhou Huai'an returned to the front court after the meeting ended, he received another urgent report. He couldn't help sighing, and he wanted to bury his head and farm the violent soldiers with peace of mind. How could it be so difficult. (End of this chapter)