The news that Wang Tiezhu had conquered Jinling reached Cui Ju who was waiting in Yuezhou. Cui Ju, who was eating, immediately dropped his chopsticks to the ground.

Everyone was stunned. "How is this possible? Wei's army cannot be so fast. They only have eight thousand cavalry at most!"

"It must be fake news. No matter how hard Jinling fights, we can withstand it for ten days and a half!"

"It is impossible for the Wei army to capture Jinling in such a short time!"

The spies who were waiting to report told Wang Tiezhu how he had conquered Jinling City. Some of them sighed sadly, while others shook their heads.

Cui Ju looked at everyone, "It's just that Sun Weihan and Zhong Yude neglected to take precautions and warned the enemy to be lenient, allowing Wang Tiezhu to succeed by luck! You must not let others' ambitions destroy your own prestige!"

Shen De also took the opportunity to say, "Mr. Cui, if you don't cross the river, this good situation will be gone!"

"This is the opportunity I have been waiting for! Although the Wei State has regained Jinling, the area south of the Yangtze River is still divided! Our army can take advantage of this moment to go east or north! General Shen, do you think it is better to go east to fight for the south of the Yangtze River, or go north to take Luoyang? That’s good”

"Go eastward! Luoyang has its own court to take it! If we take Luoyang, Pharmacist Zhu will retreat to Huainan. Then we will be passive in Luoyang! Only by conquering Jiangnan can we have the strength to compete for the world!"

At this time, everyone also agreed with the proposal to advance eastward, not because they agreed with Shen De's analysis, but because Jiangnan was rich, and everyone who took Jiangnan would inevitably become rich.

Cui Ju actually felt extremely regretful. He had listened to Shen De's advice a long time ago, and now he is sitting in the Tai Chi Hall.

It was not too late to make amends, the entire army immediately set off, and the first target was Yuzhang City.

The army was approaching, and the Yuzhang City garrison surrendered knowingly. The next target was Chaisangkou. Once Chaisangkou was captured, they could advance by land and water.

Chaisangkou happened to be occupied neither by the Wei army nor the Liang army, but by a group of bandits on Poyang Lake.

This group of bandits was different from ordinary bandits. When Wang Tiezhu came over, they retreated into the lake. After Wang Tiezhu left, they came out and took over Chaisang.

The leader of the bandits is named You Jinxia, ​​who is in his thirties and has an unknown origin. What makes him different from other bandits is that he led tens of thousands of people in Chaisangkou to open up tens of thousands of acres of wasteland, and taught the people to raise silkworms and reel silk. He paid taxes per capita, and after four years, every family in Chaisangkou was prosperous.

You Jinxia had long known the news that Cui Ju was coming, so he didn't panic and sent people to inform every household that the family that used to own the land and forests in Chaisangkou was going to fight back, and he asked everyone to figure out what to do.

I thought that the people would be furious and resist to the end, but everyone just said that as long as they can live a stable life, it doesn't hurt to pay more taxes.

Seeing that Cui Ju was approaching fiercely and the people were unwilling to resist, You Jinxia had no choice but to lead his men to continue to flee and hide on several small islands in Poyang Lake.

Chaisangkou was originally expected to take half a month to fight, but it ended up being captured in one day. Cui Ju felt that he was a few percent more certain about taking Jiangnan.

At the same time, Wang Tiezhu and Zhong Zhiming, who had recovered Jinling, met He Wuji, and Zhu Yaoshi's new order also arrived.

The new decree asked them to punish all the large and wealthy merchants who participated in the rebellion. In the Jiangnan area, a new anti-insurgency tax was imposed, charging each person three thousand zhiqian or thirty husks of corn.

This was completely retaliatory punishment, but all three coaches complied with it.

Years of fighting and killing people have made them numb. If they don't kill other people's heads, they can't save their own heads and those of their subordinates.

What's more, Wang Tie

Zhu's most elite 800 cavalrymen were lost by 30% in Jinling City. He could not do justice to his brothers if he did not take revenge.

After the wealthy businessmen were captured, Shi Hu, the imperial censor who came to deliver the order and supervise the three of them, gave them another idea.

At this time, Hu turned out to be Hou Tianzhou's military advisor offering wine. When Hou Tianzhou died, Shi Hu escaped anonymously.

When Zhu Yaoshi moved his capital to Luoyang, Shihu took his family property and went there.

Shi Hu's idea was first to let Wang Tiezhu kill fewer people and only kill those who had led troops against the Wei army; second, to set up a sin donation, and people who paid for food could avoid death; third, to send food collection teams to counties and villages in the south of the Yangtze River to quell the rebellion.

Tax.

Wang Tiezhu thought this idea was too troublesome, but He Wuji and Zhong Zhiming thought it was a good idea.

He Wuji explained to Wang Tiezhu, "Brother Wang, in this way, we can quell the tax rebellion in a short time and solve Luoyang's urgent needs. Moreover, once the grain collection team is established, there is no need to withdraw it! There will be no need to worry about food and grass in future wars!"

"

"That's it. It seems to me that Cui Ju in the west is ready to make a move. Although the Chen family in the south has not made any moves at the moment, there is no guarantee that they will not send troops to the south of the Yangtze River." Shi Hu analyzed the current situation for the three of them.

"Then why don't we strike first and send troops to the west to catch him off guard!" Wang Tiezhu felt that Cui Ju was just a defeated general under his command and not worth mentioning.

"No, Cui Ju has been operating in the southwest for several years, and his strength cannot be underestimated. If he attacks rashly, our army's rear will be unstable, and it is difficult to guarantee that we will not advance or retreat. The top priority is to defend Jiangnan and save the lifeblood of the imperial court!" Shihu knew what Wang Tiezhu was thinking.

, immediately poured cold water on him

"What the imperial censor said makes sense. Our army has just put down the rebellion and needs to recuperate. Most of my 20,000 troops have not been in battle, and they are not as good as Marshal Wang's army of hundreds of battles!" Zhong Zhiming had no intention of wading into this muddy water, so he immediately

He expressed his disapproval of taking the initiative.

He Wuji slapped Wang Tiezhu on the arm, "Brother Wang, it is indeed the best policy for us to stay in the south of the Yangtze River and wait for work. Don't worry about not having a fight!"

Wang Tiezhu saw that everyone did not agree with the westward march, so he had to give up.

After the grain collection team was dispatched, no chickens or dogs were left in Jiangnan, and all the food was used as tax money.

Frightened by the violence of the Wei army, the people in Jiangnan could only swallow their anger. Fortunately, the grain collection team sent by Wang Tiezhu was very trustworthy and only collected grain once. Although each family suffered heavy losses, they were still able to survive.

As long as they can survive, the people will endure it.

After Cui Ju settled in Chaisangkou, he discovered that there were tens of thousands of acres of fertile farmland here, and fishermen and farmers also made a lot of money from the sericulture trade, so he also came to pluck the geese.

It was also a money grab, and Cui Ju looked for them from the top. Cui Ju picked out dozens of people from among his subordinates, saying that they were the descendants and descendants of the people who escaped from Chaisangkou a few years ago and had come back to inherit the property.

The war was in chaos, and refugees were cultivating the land everywhere. They were all people who had been away from their hometowns for many years. No one could tell who originally owned those wastelands.

But Cui Ju and the others were able to "explain" clearly that there was a cart carrying household registration and field registration files, and under the protection of Cui Ju's army, they openly received the so-called inheritance from the locals.

Some people who could not bear to have their decades of hard work deprived came to argue and were accused of being bandits and executed.

At this time, the people in Chaisangkou really thought about the bandits, but at this time, the entire Chaisangkou had been occupied by Cui Ju's navy, and it was already very difficult to report the news to You Jinxia.

According to the plan of Cui Ju and others, the next step is to advance by land and water all the way to the east.

Shen De led an army of 50,000 cavalry and infantry and set off first to attack Danyang. Cui Ju himself led the navy to advance from Chaisangkou.

Danyang has been a place where capable soldiers have been produced since ancient times. Shen De's 50,000-strong army fought with Danyang's soldiers and horses outside Danyang City for five days, but they did not take advantage.

Although Shen De was very brave, Danyang's army was well-organized and well-coordinated, so he was able to strike more with fewer strikes with ease.

The Danyang Army fought with the Shen Army within half a mile of the city wall. Most of the rolling logs and stones thrown from the city wall and the arrows fired hit the heads of the Shen Army soldiers. The accuracy of this attack made Shen Jun doubt the Danyang Army. Whether the magic was cast or not, the Danyang army fighting face to face was often not accidentally injured, while the Shen army fighting together was always hit by arrows or hit.

Seeing that a strong attack was not an option, Shen De ordered three days of repairs and dug long trenches to trap the Danyang defenders.

After another ten days of siege, Shen De was about to attack again when he received an order to retreat.

Something happened at Chaisangkou. Five days after Cui Ju left with his navy, You Jinxia led his men to fight back to Chaisangkou.

The defenders of Chaisangkou were caught off guard, and the locals already hated these occupiers, so they joined You Jinxia's team one after another.

Chaisangkou was lost, most of the defenders were killed, and only a few escaped.

Cui Ju's subordinates, who were each allocated thousands of fertile fields, were all hanged by the locals at the city gate before they had time to enjoy it.

The military supplies hoarded at Chaisangkou also became the spoils of war for You Jinxia.

There was a fire in the backyard, so Cui Ju had to stop his eastern expedition. The navy alone could not capture Chaisangkou, so he urgently ordered Shen De to return to the army and recapture Chaisangkou.

After receiving the order, Shen De discussed with his left and right sides that if he retreated directly at this time, Danyang soldiers and horses would come to pursue him, and someone would have to cut off the rear.

Shen De looked around at the generals, but no one was willing to take the initiative to cut off the rear.

"Cui Yixian, you lead five thousand men to seize the rear. Tonight, beat the drums and raise fire in an siege posture! Quietly evacuate at the fourth watch! I will lead the army one step ahead!" Shen De had no choice but to order Cui Yi to seize the rear first.

"Why do you want me to cut off the queen? You have failed to lead the army to attack the city. You should do it yourself!" Cui Yixian flatly refused and asked Shen Delai.

Shen De was so angry that he threw the long knife in his hand and thrust it in front of Cui Yixian, "If you don't obey my general's orders! That's rebellion. The general's sword will not recognize you!"

"You dare to kill me? If you kill me, my uncle will not spare you!" Cui Yixian shouted

The generals also began to persuade, "Commander, General Cui is Duke Cui's nephew. If you kill him, we will be in chaos ourselves first!"

"General Cui! Just stop saying a few words! The overall situation is more important!"

"The situation is critical now. We cannot mess up our position! Let alone fight against each other!"

How could Shen De swallow this tone of voice: "You can avoid the death penalty! You can't escape the living penalty! Come on, take Cui Yi down first with twenty military sticks! Let him know what military law is!"

Seeing that Shen De's eyes were red, everyone did not dare to persuade him any more, but Cui Yixian was still dissatisfied, "Why should you hit me? If you dare to hit me, I will kill you sooner or later!"

Shen Depi stood up with a smile, "Excellent! Let's stop fighting these twenty army sticks now! Pass my order! The whole army will attack Danyang!"

Cui Yixian only said that Shen De was afraid of him, and then Shen De ordered Cui Yi to stay at the camp while the others went to fight with him.

Everyone looked at Cui Yixian with regretful expressions, but Cui Yixian thought that everyone envied him for being able to stay in the camp.
Chapter completed!