The next day, during the meeting in Jinxiang Hall, Wang Pu put forward his opinion: it would be difficult for the Southern Tang army in Hukou to threaten Chizhou.
I heard that Li Jing was seriously ill in Nandu, and the weak ruler of Nan Tang, Li Yu, had just succeeded to the throne, and his prestige could not intimidate the ministers. Although there were many civil officials and military generals in the country, there were many factions, including northern nobles who migrated south, local people in Huainan, Nandu, Jiangdong, and civil and military officials who surrendered to Min and Chu. These people could not trust each other and attacked each other; the royal center could not suppress them. Under such circumstances, it was difficult to react in time and besiege Li Chuyun with all their strength.
In contrast, in our dynasty, all the imperial guards were inherited from the Later Han Dynasty. Thanks to the hard work of two great rulers, Emperor Taizu, we managed to govern the country well and integrated the internal and external affairs. After the death of the late emperor, the empress dowager served as regent, put down the rebellion, and maintained a clean and honest government.
Chizhou is worried because our dynasty regards the Southern Tang as a country with good governance and harmonious people. If the Southern Tang is both domestically and internationally strong, with its strength, how can our dynasty easily attack it
The enemy navy at Hukou was commanded by Zhu Lingyun, the governor of Zhennan, the Southern Tang. Please see the third volume of the dossier submitted to the Empress Dowager, the enemy generals chapter, for Zhu Lingyun's record. This man is the son of Zhu Kuangye, but he has not made any achievements; his father is slightly stronger, but he is not very enterprising. During the Battle of Huainan, Li Jing asked for advice, and Zhu Kuangye replied that the situation was hopeless and there was nothing he could do. With such a father, how much courage and insight does his son have
Therefore, it is said that Li Chuyun had no worries in Chizhou.
There was a shadow swaying behind the curtain inside. Guo Shao couldn't see Fu Jinzhan clearly, and she didn't say anything either.
Guo Shao immediately said: "I agree with Envoy Wang's inference. We can use Gao Yanchou, the governor of Xiangzhou, to contain the west, and Han Tong to contain the east to intimidate the Southern Tang army from making rash moves. But we cannot rely on luck and should be prepared for any eventuality."
Guo Shao and Wang Pu have different ways of thinking. Wang Pu pays attention to reason, while Guo Shao pays attention to logic. He said: If Zhu Lingyun's Nan Tang Hukou navy goes east regardless of everything, there is indeed a possibility of cutting off Li Chuyun's retreat. We can't let the situation go into a dead end. We need a backup plan and make preparations early. First, transport grain to Chizhou to support Li Chuyun's troops for a long time; second, I recommend Yuan Yan to Jiangling Prefecture to train the navy, and suggest that Xiang Gong Wang Pu, who is stationed in Shu, mobilize warships from the two Sichuans to gather in Jingzhou, Jiangling Prefecture.
In case Li Chuyun was cut off from the water in Chizhou, the military government adjusted its deployment and stopped its radical strategy. The main force of the imperial army crossed the river from Jiangling Prefecture and joined Yuan Yan's navy to go east by land and water to open up the connection with Li Chuyun's troops. The main strategy was changed to a slow advance from west to east.
Fu Jinzhan finally spoke: I agree with the strategy you presented, and I will follow this plan first. Send someone to the capital of Southern Tang to convey the imperial edict and persuade Li Yu to surrender.
The city of Daliang in Tokyo was completely enveloped in the atmosphere of war. Many soldiers who were resting returned to the barracks. Cartloads of money were transported from the imperial city to various barracks to reward the soldiers. Many pigs and sheep were slaughtered to improve the food for the warriors. This kind of scene was a habit. Generally, when the imperial guards were sent out to fight, the court would give them extra rewards so that the warriors would be grateful and willing to fight.
Since the Zhou Dynasty, the imperial court had more control over the army; it was even more exaggerated during the Later Han Dynasty. When Guo Wei entered Tokyo, the imperial guards not only did not resist but also opened the city gates to lead the way. Legend has it that this was because the Later Han royal family was reluctant to give rewards before the war, so the warriors spread the rumor.
The troops with the highest rewards were the left wing of the Huben Army of the Palace Front Division, the crane army, the archery cavalry army, and the cavalry. This group of troops was to follow Guo Shao to conquer the Southern Tang Dynasty. There was also the left wing of the Longjie Army, Zhang Guanghan's troops. They were to be transferred to Xiangzhou on the north bank of the Yellow River. Fu Yanqing, the prince of Wei, was appointed as the commander of the northern part of the army. Zhang Guanghan was required to obey the command of the commander of the northern bank of the Yellow River. Murong Yanzhao, the governor of Jinzhou, was transferred to the three towns of Heyang to lead the Heyang Army and the Gan De Army of Huainan stationed there. Tokyo also left a large number of troops, and the fierce general Yang Biao was required to stay in the Palace Front Division to lead the right wing of the Huben Army.
Guo Shao felt that Yang Biao's overall ability was much worse than Li Chuyun's, but he was also a relatively smart person, and the key was that he was reliable. He wanted to keep a reliable general so that the Queen Mother would have someone to use when necessary.
Most of the imperial guards lived in Dongjing City, so they could be mobilized quickly. Some were already on duty in the military camp, and some were also in the city. The whole process only took a few days. They gathered together to give money and meat, then took the food home to say goodbye to their families, and then went back to the military camp to gather and set off. It was similar to the process when Guo Shao was one of the Ten Generals.
Everyone was delighted after receiving the reward money, but it was nothing compared to dividing the money in Chengdu Prefecture. After all, you can't get rich all the time.
However, for Yao Erniu, it was already very generous. He did not catch up with the last time to get rich. Although all the imperial guards were rewarded during the celebration, it was obviously less than the soldiers who fought to Chengdu Prefecture. Yao Erniu was originally a soldier in the lower camp of the Palace Front Division. He was a low-ranking soldier who was eliminated and sent to cultivate land when Zhao Kuangyin presided over the rectification of the Palace Front Division a few years ago. However, the Palace Front Division troops fought for years, and after defeating Li Chongjin and attacking Shu, some people died. In addition to sending elite soldiers from local military towns to supplement the troops, the younger and stronger soldiers who were eliminated before returned to the establishment of professional soldiers, and Yao Erniu was one of them.
He was relatively young, but not as tall and strong as the other elite soldiers, barely qualified. The last time the Palace Front Division came to the camp to select soldiers, Yao Erniu pulled a strong bow with all his might, and was recruited.
The lives of professional soldiers and garrison soldiers are completely different. Professional soldiers have money and food, which are directly supplied by the national treasury. Yao Erniu originally wanted to do a good job, but he was too talkative in the parade last time, which made him very stressed. He said in front of the Palace Front Department that if Guo Shaogan could not become a general in the future, he could go to iron forging and do well. Then the commander above, Zhang Jiankui, was very dissatisfied with him.
Yao Erniu wondered if he would be sent to farm by Zhang Jiankui next time when redundant soldiers were eliminated and new recruits were selected.
But now it's okay, I can breathe a sigh of relief after receiving the reward. When I return home to pay the money and the pork, the whole family should be very happy, and I can finally pay off the rent. Yao Erniu was selected not long ago, and his family in Tokyo is not very wealthy; in this chaotic world, land and houses are worthless everywhere, but land in Tokyo is very expensive, and Yao Erniu can't afford it.
The military pay was high, but the Yao family had to eat too much. Yao Erniu's parents were both alive, and his father was very old. He had an older brother who died and left behind his sister-in-law and nephew. His younger sister's husband also died, leaving behind a little girl. There were seven people in the family, and only Yao Erniu could earn money. Yao Erniu was not big, but he was a big eater. His mother and sister were the same, and they had a big appetite.
Yao Erniu walked to the door of his house and saw that no one was at his father's vegetable stall, and the house was noisy and bustling. He thought the whole family was waiting for him, but when he entered the house, he found that the main room was full of people. He stood at the door in a daze.
Erniu, this is a reminder from your aunt.
Yao Erniu came back to his senses and called out in a hurry. The woman who just stood up from the bench was his aunt's sister. Not only that, there were two people beside his aunt, the older one was his cousin and the younger one was his cousin.
So the number of people in the main room increased to ten.
My aunt said happily that I hadn't seen Erniu for a few years and he had grown up so much. She was very affectionate and asked about his well-being. Then she complained: There was a famine in my hometown and everyone in the village had fled, most of them heading west. Two months ago, I heard that my sister's family had moved to Daliang, so I came to see you.
Yao Erniu's personality was a little dull, but he was smart and he understood immediately: the three people from my aunt's family were going to have dinner at the Yao family.
Yao Erniu was helpless, he couldn't chase his aunt away, so he didn't say anything. He handed the money bag and a big pig leg to his mother, and his aunt and cousin's eyes lit up immediately. They must have thought Yao Erniu was a rich man.
In fact, his mother had a hard time speaking out. The usual military pay and bonuses were not much compared to ordinary people, but ordinary families did not have to support seven to ten people by themselves, and they still had no land or house in Tokyo. Yao Erniu did a life-threatening job. If he died in battle one day, his family would be left with the elderly, the weak, women and children.
Only one piece of the pork leg brought back from here can be kept, the rest should be taken to the market to exchange for money to buy grain.
When it was time for lunch, a plate of thin slices of meat was placed on the table. Of course, this was already great for my aunt's family. There was even some meat on it. My cousin was impatient to pick it up with chopsticks, but his sister stopped him, saying in a low voice: "Cousin, you have to work hard, this is not for you to eat."
Yao Erniu was too embarrassed to eat, so when the baked wheat cakes and vegetable soup came, he ate the wheat cakes with his belly full. He ate more than a pound in one breath, and when he turned around to look at the people around the square table, they were all silent, eating desperately but not full. After eating a piece, each person drank vegetable porridge and water to fill up. Only Yao Erniu could eat his fill, because he had to stay strong so that he could be used by the imperial guards.
Our family has two meals a day, and we don’t eat at night, said my mother quietly.
Yao Erniu said nothing and left the table. His sister-in-law and younger sister came to help him pack up. The only thing he had was a set of armor that looked very valuable. It was distributed by the Armor Bureau. It was a newly made plate armor, a streamlined iron plate inlaid with fine chain mail, and it was brand new and shone with a metallic luster. The craftsmanship was totally incompatible with the poverty of Yao Erniu's family, as if things from two different worlds had merged together.
After he had eaten, he lay down on a pile of straw and watched the two women carefully packing his luggage. He thought to himself that it would be better for his nephew to be raised by his mother, after all, he was the blood of the Yao family; his sister's little girl would be married when she was in her teens anyway, so it would be better to give her some dowry and marry her off again.
The stinging of the thatch made his neck itchy and painful. He couldn't help but scratch it for a while, then lay there lazily in a daze.
After robbing a large amount of money from the Southern Tang Kingdom, Yao Erniu finally uttered a word after spending a long time together.