Lord of the House

In the fifth year of the Yongxing Festival, Jiangning has been through the most difficult year.

It's just that the gentry and nobles suffered far more than the commoners in the Jiangning war last year, and their vitality has not recovered, including the number of palace servants in the inner palace, which has also been reduced to the previous eleven, which is still insufficient.

The prosperity of Jiangning in the past was largely supported by the huge group of gentry and nobles in the city. When the vitality of this class was not restored, it became difficult and long for Jiangning to restore its former prosperity.

The temporary decline of the prosperity of the market did not bring the livelihood of the urban civilians to ruin.

On the one hand, the Privy Council took over the workshops affiliated to the Jiangning Ministry of Industry and quickly resumed production. It also encouraged gentry and merchants to set up workshops in Jiangning City and neighboring towns and ports such as Hekou, Quyang, and Chengnanpu. The urban poor who made a living by the gentry and officials created new ways of making a living; on the one hand, the Privy Council organized large-scale relocation of the surplus population to the surrounding prefectures and counties to meet the labor needs of mining, mining and settlements in quarrying, Jinshan, Liyang and other places.

For a time, the number of households in Jiangning City dropped sharply from 160,000 before the war to 120,000, which greatly eased the food pressure and labor surplus in Jiangning City.

Following the sharp decline in salt prices, with autumn grains listed last year, Jiangning grain prices fell to the level of a bucket of grain and a dime of silver, which is actually the trough of grain prices in Jiangnan since the collapse of Yanji. After the Yanyan Canal was dug, Lishui Mountain could be transported directly into Jiangning, and the price of carbon in Jiangning dropped by nearly one-third. within the reach of the public.

Even if it can’t be compared with before the chaos in Huaisi and the collapse of Yanji, but at a rough glance, there is a scene of peace in Jiangning City; the refugees disappeared for a while, and the poor in the market could barely survive.

On the Lantern Festival in Shangyuan, the palace also held a banquet to reward ministers as usual.

In order not to affect the reunion of ministers and family members, the banquet in the palace also started early. During the banquet, the scouts rushed back from Guanzhong to report a little bit, and Lin Fu retired halfway and rushed to the Privy Council to discuss the military aircraft.

From late August last year, Yan Hu launched the second large-scale offensive against Guanzhong.

Obviously, Yanhu also saw that the long coastline on the east side is its weakness.

If he did not want to ask Huaidong to destroy Shejia and pacify Jiangxi first, and to assemble heavy troops in Xuzhou to launch a large-scale counter-offensive against Yanlu and other places from the east, Yanhu must take Guanshan first, and increase the strategic depth of the west. It can also threaten the right wing of JAC.

The Huaidong Army dispatched troops to the west of Zhejiang, encircled Shangrao, and Yanhu entered the army, all in time to launch the offensive before the end of last year. In fact, the two sides were fighting for the next strategic initiative.

Compared with the first roundabout attack on Guyuan, Pengyang, and Qingyang from the western front, Yanhu's attack on Guanzhong this time still focused on the western front, but at the same time added two partial divisions: one from Yulin, Qingjian Going south along the Gangu Road, they attacked Yanzhou, an important town in the northern part of Xiqin County; along the way, 20,000 elites of Chen Zhihu's army were transferred from Henan to Jinzhong, crossed the Yellow River via Pujin, and attacked Heyang in the west, directly threatening the core of Guanzhong.

Although Jiang Ning decided to unite with Cao to fight against the captives, the Cao family was able to gather 100,000 troops and horses to defend the territory in Guanzhong; but this time, Yanhu actually assembled 200,000 troops and horses on the western front, and attacked from three routes. , is about to remove the foundation of the Cao family in Guanzhong in one fell swoop.

Liang Chengyi considered that if Guan and Shaanxi were lost, it would be difficult to survive alone in the river, so he led troops from Shanzhou to cross the Hebei and attacked southern Jin, in order to divide the pressure in the Guanzhong. After crossing the river from Pujin and capturing Heyang, Chen Zhihu led his troops south to attack Weibei in the south, and lured the general Wei Shiyan of Guanzhong to set up troops on the north bank of the Weishui River to confront each other, while Chen Zhihu crossed the Yellow River in Chaoyi and returned to the east of the river. He set up an ambush in the reeds on the riverside to lure Liang Chengyi's troops northward into southern Jin.

Liang Chengyi's troops were defeated in the first battle, and Liang Chengyi had only a few thousand remnants to return to Shanzhou.

In order to prevent the loss of Hezhong Mansion, the Privy Council had earlier ordered Nanyang and Huaixi to reinforce Hezhong Mansion. A few years ago, Liang Chengchong and Dong Yuan sent their generals to lead their troops northward, so that the Hezhong Mansion was temporarily safe. However, all the land in Henan was ruined. Although the threat from the flank of Hezhong Prefecture was relieved, it was difficult for the combined forces of Nanyang and Huaixi to move northward, and it was difficult to effectively contain the forces of Yan and Hu. And going north to Jinnan or east to Shandong is not within the capabilities of Nanyang and Huaixi at this time - the situation in Guanshan is in jeopardy.

In order to accurately grasp the situation in Guanshan at any time, the Military Intelligence Department of the Privy Council dispatched scouts to go north, and every once in a while, they would send people back to report on the military situation in the north, so that the Privy Council would have more accurate information to pass to the Cao family and the Liang brothers. The memorials confirm each other.

Lin Fu, Gao Zongting, Song Fu, Qin Chengzu, Cao Zi'ang and others listened to the scouts reporting on-the-spot information on the Northland, and called the scouts to rest.

"If the Weishui River is fully penetrated by the captured soldiers after the spring, it will be difficult for the Cao family to survive in Guanshan until next year," said Gao Zongting, "If the Cao family does not say hello and retreats to the two Sichuans to preserve their strength, the situation on the middle line will be very bad. , Changshan Army should not delay any further southward movement..."

Lin Bie stood in front of the map hanging on the west wall of the capital, looking at the movement route of the Beiyan Third Road soldiers and horses, and frowned deeply; Qin Chengzu, Cao Zi'ang, Song Fu and others all frowned deeply.

It has always been easy to attack the south from the north, and difficult to attack the north from the south.

The north is a land of bitter cold. From the cold land to the south, the supply can be collected or looted on the spot; while from the south to the north, the supply depends more on the perfect logistics system.

After being crippled in Henan, Huaixi soldiers and horses had to go north, and they could not get supplies from the uninhabited remnants of Henan for thousands of miles. Only logistical supplies would limit Huaixi soldiers from northward to threaten the depth of Yanhu.

For Yanhu, he only needed to occupy a few key points such as Daliang in Henan, and even if he temporarily abandoned the whole of Henan, there would not be much loss. After the winter, most of the rivers and Huai River were frozen, and ships could not be borrowed, and it was even more difficult for soldiers from the south to go north.

After the fall, Yan Hu transferred Chen Zhihu to Jin, but to strengthen the defense of Xu Si's troops and horses on the east front, although there was a gap in Henan, it was still difficult for Jiangning's side to take advantage. Even though Dong Yuan had recharged his energy in Huaixi for a long time, and the 100,000 troops were still capable of fighting, the logistics of the expedition was a weakness. Apart from covering the Hezhongfu from the flanks, he still did not dare to go deep to the banks of the Yellow River to fight.

For the Central Plains, Guanzhong is a barrier, but if you look at the pastures of the Yanxi Zhuhus on the battlefield, you will find that Guanzhong is connected to Jinzhong in the northwest, north, and northeast. channel of troops. Like Jiangxi, the situation is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but there are still several tunnels around where soldiers can be used.

Of course, the Cao family can't easily give up Guanzhong, but when the situation is so bad that they have to give up, can they expect the Cao family to be selfless and desperate to defend the western front for Jiangning?

Unlike the extravagant Chad Jiangxi, the Cao family has occupied the two Sichuans for three years, and Jiangning also officially recognized the Cao family's governance over the two Sichuans. After the Cao family lost Guanzhong, it was not without a way out.

Now I am afraid that the Cao family can't stand the pressure and give up Guanzhong voluntarily.

Lin Fu turned around, looked at Qin Chengzu, Cao Zi'ang, Song Fu and the others, and asked, "You all agree with the proposal of the ancestral court?"

"I'm afraid it can't be delayed until next year!" Cao Ziang said.

The original plan was to drag the Shangrao war for a year, drag the luxury family to the point of weakness, and then smash them with all their strength. The current situation in the north requires that the Changshan army be moved south in advance, and the battle of Shangrao will be carried out early in the spring and dusk.

Lin Bie nodded and said, "Immediately order Ao Canghai to lead Zhang Jiheng and Zhang Gou to the south first; Zi'ang, you go to Luzhou governor for me..." After thinking about it again, he said, "That is, divide the cavalry into two battalions. The soldiers and horses were led by Sun Zhuang and went to Luzhou with Ziang; the war horses brought in after the spring were given priority to be added to Luzhou. The third brigade of the cavalry camp; Huang Zuyu has not recovered from his injuries, but he has written a letter asking him to return to lead the troops, so he will go to Luzhou with Ziang..."

Ao Canghai led the elites into western Zhejiang, joined with the Chongcheng army, and stayed in Yijiang and Luzhou, the most senior general was Ge Cunxiong.

However, Ge Cunxiong was good at managing the navy, and the focus of the Privy Council's operations in Luzhou was on land, so Cao Zian, who was proficient in this aspect, needed to go to Luzhou to master the overall situation.

Cao Zi'ang nodded, he went to Luzhou for another purpose: to hide people's eyes and ears. If the situation on the western front fails to hold up and collapses first, Luzhou will send Cao Ziang, the strategic support point of Jiangning in the inner layer of the western front, to supervise the army. The main force of the Changshan army will go south, and generals such as Sun Zhuang and Huang Zuyu will be sent to strengthen Luzhou. It's a normal arrangement.

The Huaidong Army can only obtain qualified warhorses from Jeju and Fusang Islands, and the number is limited, and all the armies require a certain number of armored light cavalry. great limitation. When the total number of soldiers in the Huaidong Infantry Battalion reached 150,000~www.wuxiaspot.com~ there were only two brigades in the cavalry battalion, one in Xuzhou and the other in Jiangning as a forbidden cavalry. The total size was not enough. million people. It was also at this point that Lin Fucai decided to send Sun Zhuang to Luzhou to form another pure cavalry unit.

Compared with the previous year, the size of the reserve soldiers in the Huaidong Yi Barracks is still not as good as that of the previous year, and needs to be further restored. In order to make the 3rd Cavalry Brigade form an army as soon as possible, it was the first time that Lin Fu made an exception to have Sun Zhuang transfer personnel from each army.

In the future, they will fight against Yan Hu in the Central Plains. Without a certain number of cavalry formations, it will be very difficult to fight.

Huang Zuyu was born in the Yu Wangao division of the Eastern Fujian Army, and after returning to Huaidong with Tang Fuguan, he was also used a lot. Asking Huang Zuyu to go to Luzhou with Cao Ziang, he could directly train a new army to make up for the shortage of troops stationed in Luzhou after the main force of the Changshan Army was transferred to the south.

Song Fu immediately drafted the order letter, and after Lin Bie signed it, he left the Privy Council from the side door and went back to Chen Yuan. At this time, the sky was completely dark.

Lin Fu was sitting in the carriage, listening to the sound of ruts, thinking about things, and suddenly the carriage and horse stopped, listening to Chen Daozi shouting in front of him and asking, "Who is it? Stop!"

Lin Bie lifted the curtain of the car and looked at the four servants in green clothes in casual clothes in front of the chariot team.

This is an alley outside the imperial city, next to the heavy ground of the Privy Council military aircraft, and the military and civilians are prohibited. These four people walked in the narrow passage, non-official and non-general, but it was very abrupt. No wonder Chen Daozi and the others were facing a formidable enemy, and dozens of them rode their horses and drew their swords, and surrounded the four suspicious people.

"Lin Gongye!" The young servant in Tsing Yi in the middle was not panicked and called back.

Lin Bie laughed dumbly and said, "Why did Princess Yuanyan sneak out of the palace again?" My QT room is open! More vulgar official QT room number [9167] Click to enter