Li Yu had just ascended the throne, and before he had even secured his seat on the throne, the situation had become extremely chaotic. He paced back and forth in the imperial study, unable to conceal his inner hesitation.
Compared with other countries, the civil service system of Southern Tang was more mature; it was difficult for the Wuyue Kingdom to easily be attacked by military generals, nor was it easy to change dynasties like the Central Plains dynasties. But because of this, the internal game was more complicated. In the midst of the raging war, arrogant soldiers and brave generals were still difficult to control.
Lin Renzhao was a surrendered general of the Min Kingdom. He often acted on his own initiative and acted recklessly. Who knows what he was thinking
Li Yu pondered: Lin Renzhao was a Fujianese, he didn't care about the country at all, he just regarded the Southern Tang as a temporary shelter. That's why he pretended to be a loyal general to gain fame, while he was always ready to climb up the ladder.
But in the eyes of some people, Lin Renzhao was indeed a good general. Li Yu did not want to be isolated and deserted by his friends and relatives, which would make the situation even worse.
So when he summoned the ministers to discuss matters, Li Yu said: Lin Renzhao and Zhennan Jiedushi Zhu Lingyun were not on good terms. If he was sent to be the governor of Nando, he would have disputes with Jiedushi Zhu Lingyun, which would not be conducive to urging Zhu Lingyun to lead his troops to provide assistance.
This reason was reasonable and all the ministers had no objection. Chen Qiao, the assistant to the Guangzhengyuan, wanted to assign Lin Renzhao another mission and recommended him to lead the army to Caishi to deploy defense.
Li Yu was confused when he heard this. Chen Qiao obviously failed to understand the emperor's heart. The reason why Lin Renzhao and Zhu Lingyun were not in harmony was just an excuse. The root cause was that Li Yu did not trust Lin Renzhao. Caishi was a very important place in the Yangtze River defense line. If that guy offered Caishi, it would be a great achievement in the Zhou court.
Li Yu pondered for a moment, and apparently agreed to Chen Qiao's proposal, and issued an edict: Lin Renzhao was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Divine Guard Army.
The intention of this order was very delicate, because the commander of the Divine Guards was Huangfu Jixun, and even if he had to reinforce Caishi in the future, the chief general would still be Huangfu Jixun; nominally he followed Chen Qiao's suggestion to use Lin Renzhao in Caishi, but in fact the person in charge of the military power was his superior. Compared with Lin Renzhao, Huangfu Jixun was much more reliable. Huangfu Jixun was a descendant of the loyal and good people of the Southern Tang Kingdom, and his father and brothers all sacrificed their lives for the war of the Southern Tang Kingdom. Even for his heroic father and brothers, Huangfu Jixun would never betray the Southern Tang.
Guo Shao led more than 10,000 elite soldiers from the Palace Front Division to Yangzhou, indicating that the main attack direction was Jingkou; the Huben Army went to the central area of Huainan. Along the way, he ordered the governors of various towns to send troops to reinforce, and gradually formed a town army of more than 30,000. In addition, there were countless civilians mobilized from various states and counties. The Eastern Route Army claimed to have 400,000 troops by land and sea to gather in Yangzhou.
Guo Shao ordered the troops that arrived first to be deployed as wide as possible along the river. As a result, camps were set up for dozens of miles on the north bank of the Yangtze River, with flags like clouds and troops everywhere, and the momentum was very strong.
After finishing these things, he went to the water fort on the east bank of Yangzhou to meet Han Tong.
General Han, do not sit still, continue to attack Jingkou and put pressure on the Southern Tang army. Guo Shao urged directly when they met.
Han Tong frowned and said: The Southern Tang army has gathered a large number of naval forces in Jingkou. The canal waterway is narrow and a strong attack may not be effective. I was urged several times a while ago, and I was anxious, which led to the defeat in the first battle. The Southern Tang army burned a large ship and the river was blocked for several days.
Shi Yanchao, who came with Guo Shao, snorted after hearing this: "Han Dushi was careless. He went ahead without considering the wind direction and shirked the responsibility with just one sentence. He is really frivolous."
Han's eyes widened suddenly, and he looked angry: You can do it, come and have a water fight
Shi Yanchao sneered, not afraid of anyone at all, and said: I am from the Palace Front Department, but I never said that I dare not charge because the opponent is too strong. Mr. Han, you are scared in the battle, and you still want to regain some prestige in front of me
Han Tong was so angry that his eyes glared and his fists clenched. Guo Shao said at the right time: Victory and defeat are common in the military, and a little loss is nothing. However, General Han should be a little more cautious in the future. Soldiers all have families. Although it is inevitable that people will die in war, it is best not to let everyone die because of the general's misjudgment.
Han Tong was still angry and didn't have a good attitude in front of Guo Shao. He said with an unhappy face: Attacking now will cause the soldiers to die in vain.
You want to disobey orders? Shi Yanchao looked at Han Tong with a sneer.
Shut up, Guo Shao cursed, and took out a few papers from his pocket and handed them over. General Han may not have figured out the court's strategy yet, so keep this one. Remember, this is a military secret, and only important generals can participate in it.
Han Tong took the thing and looked through it.
Guo Shao said: We made a big show on the other side of Jingkou in order to attract the main force of the Southern Tang navy here. Although General Han made some mistakes, he achieved the strategic goal overall, and his merits outweighed his faults. I placed the army on the river bank and urged General Han to attack the water surface, with the intention of reducing the pressure on Li Chuyun's troops so that they could free up their hands to advance to Cai Shi.
In war, people will die. The navy soldiers paid a small amount of casualties to attack the Southern Tang army, but they ensured the safety of more than 50,000 people including Li Chuyun and Gao Yanchou. This price is not a misjudgment, but a cost-effective approach. The lives of General Han's subordinates and Li Chuyun's subordinates were all lost.
The court judged merit by the number of casualties, and the most important thing was to win the war against Southern Tang. Whoever played an important role in this war would have the greatest merit.
Han Tong listened silently without saying a word.
Guo Shao said to the general who was much older than him earnestly: "Warfare is related to the survival of the country and the lives of countless people. General Han should not act on impulse and should follow the decisions made by the court."
Han Tong then clasped his fists and said: I am willing to follow the orders of Marshal Guo.
Guo Shao heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this. Shi Yanchao and Han Tong, who were present, were not easy to get along with, and they both had bad tempers. It was really detrimental to get along with them. However, Shi Yanchao had recently stopped being arrogant in front of him, and only acted arrogant in front of others, which made Guo Shao feel less worried. Although these two people were difficult to get along with, they were indeed capable. Shi Yanchao was highly skilled in martial arts and was extremely brave, and was known as the number one general of the Great Zhou Dynasty; Han Tong was not just a name for nothing, he had been through hundreds of battles, and had been in charge of the navy under the order of Chai Rong since the Battle of Huainan, and he had been very reliable many times. Such people would not cause major problems in their work, which made people feel more at ease.
Guo Shaodao: War is ever-changing, General Han can make his own decisions without waiting for a reply. It will be fine to explain it afterwards. As long as the general intention is taken into consideration, no one will be held accountable.
After hearing this, Han Tong looked at Guo Shao with a different look and immediately bowed in admiration.
Guo Shao stood up and said: I won't stay any longer, General Han, we must find an opportunity to launch an attack as soon as possible and make the Southern Tang army feel truly threatened.
Guo Shao rode back to the central military headquarters in Yangzhou when he suddenly heard an urgent military report from Li Chuyun.
Li Chuyun said in the letter that he had learned that the Southern Tang Army southwest of Caishi and Nanjing was lax in defense and careless, and that it was a rare opportunity to fight, so he wanted to seize the opportunity to enter Caishi as soon as possible. He planned to transfer Gao Yanchou's Jiannan Army to Wankou to defend the west, leaving Luo Yanhuan to lead thousands of people to guard Chizhou; he would lead the main force to attack Caishi by land and sea.
After reading it, Guo Shao handed the report to Wang Pu. Wang Pu said that he had already read it and passed it to other civil and military officials.
Wang Pu said bluntly: Li Chuyun wanted to transfer Gao Yanchou to the western front of Wankou and Chizhou because he did not trust the surrendered soldiers of the Shu army. Otherwise, he was short of troops now and should not have transferred Gao Yanchou's more than 20,000 troops.
Zuo You said: If the Shu army stays near Chizhou and turns against us, it will not only be unable to help Li Chuyun, but also threaten his front and back. Li Chuyun is probably worried about this.
Guo Shao frowned and said: It is known that there are heavy troops in Hukou. Nanchang, the southern capital, is the secondary capital of the Southern Tang Kingdom. There are no less than 100,000 land and sea troops nearby. If they want to advance eastward, they are most likely to take the waterway; and what Ankou lacks most is not soldiers, but reliable warships. Gao Yanchou's infantry and cavalry went to Ankou on land, which was useless; Li Chuyun even let them garrison in Jiangbei, which was a complete waste of troops. Li Chuyun made such a deployment, Chizhou was empty, if the Hukou army arrived, he would have no way to retreat if he lost the city
Wang Pu said: Li Chuyun may think that the enemy troops in Hukou cannot arrive in time, and I think so too.
Guo Shao thought for a long time and said: "Send a quick order to Li Chuyun to let Gao Yanchou join the attack on Caishi. This place is very important and we need sufficient troops to fight. Also order the fourth, fifth and sixth armies of the Tiger Guards in Luzhou to rush to Chizhou immediately."
Zuo You reminded: Gao Yanchou will not hold us back
Guo Shao said without hesitation: I have figured it out long ago. If you think that group is completely unreliable, then there is no need for the Jiannan Army to exist. Gao Yanchou and his deputy general Hou Mao did not perform well in the battle of Shu, but they were definitely not fools. Don't worry, he will not let me down in the battle of Cai Shi.
Wang Pu also supported Guo Shao's statement at this time: Gao Yanchou had just been reused by the court, and this was his chance to establish his position by making achievements. As long as Gao Yanchou was not a stupid person, he should seize this rare opportunity.
Since the Privy Councilor in charge of the Jiangnan Front Camp Military Headquarters supports Guo Shao's decision, the military order can be issued immediately.
Guo Shao added: Add an attachment to the letter to Li Chuyun, asking him to write down all the information he collected in Cai Shi and submit it to the Central Army Headquarters.
Because the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River have always been controlled by the Southern Tang Kingdom, it takes a lot of effort for the northern part of the Yangtze River to get information from the southern bank. The information is all from a long time ago, and it is difficult to keep up with the Southern Tang Kingdom's movements in the south of the Yangtze River. However, if Li Chuyun wants to send scouts and spies in Chizhou, he can do it directly by land, which makes it easier.
Wang Pu went to have someone write the military order, and then he took the seal and signed. Guo Shao turned around and looked carefully at a long and narrow map of the Yangtze River on the wall. He ran his finger along the thick line to the right along the place marked Chizhou. The ancients used to draw maps with south up and north down. He sat in the north and faced south; but Guo Shao still drew the map with north up and south down. Then he took a ruler to measure the approximate distance.