Section 96: Going South
The reason why Chuzhou was replaced by Hezhou was because the location of Hezhou was too sensitive. .
Hezhou has been an important geographical location since ancient times. It is located on the west bank of the river and Zhaoguan, as well as the west bank of the river, have always been a military important place.
The Western Liangshan and the Eastern Liangshan stand together, like two tigers facing each other, also known as Tianmen Mountain and Erhu Mountain, Li Bai once wrote a poem: "The sky gate interrupts the Chu River, and the clear water flows eastward to return here. The green mountains on both sides of the shore are opposite each other, and the lonely sail comes from the sun."
This is the key to sealing the middle and lower reaches of the river. Whoever controls this place means that it has a fatal overwhelming advantage over the lower reaches of the river.
If the Huai You Army wanted to station troops in Hezhou, it would inevitably control Xiliangshan, which would definitely cause tension and shock to Li Wu, which was something Jiang Feng didn't want to see at the moment.
Moreover, the reason for entering Chuzhou is reasonable. Zhenhai Army has lost Xuyi, and the ant bandits are aiming directly at Chuzhou. If the ant bandits occupy Chuzhou, it will definitely pose a huge threat to Luzhou, the hinterland of Huaiyou. This is something that Huaiyou cannot tolerate, so this is also a defensive attack.
Jiang Feng even planned to agree with Li that as long as the ant thief is solved, Huaiyou is willing to withdraw from Chuzhou. However, now that Li Wu is unable to resolve the threat of ant thief, Huaiyou needs to ensure that his hinterland is not threatened.
Of course, no one can tell whether this opinion can be implemented in the end, but there is one thing that Jiang Feng is more sure. As long as the number of troops stationed in Chuzhou is not large and they also adopt a defensive attitude, I believe Li can only accept this result.
As for the ant thief, Jiang Feng believed that as long as he did not provoke them, they would not have the strength to deal with both families at the same time. If the ant thief really wanted to die, he would not mind using the water army to give the ant thief a knife in the back along the Huai River to let them taste the taste.
In addition to these two factors, taking Chuzhou is also a fulfillment for Huaiyou (Wunning) in Huainan.
Although Huaiyou (Wunning) now has the five prefectures of Guangxi Shouluhao in Huainan, Guangzhou has been taken away by Nanyang, and Jiang Feng will undoubtedly turn against Nanyang in the short term. Judging from the situation this year, even if the situation in Yan, Yun, Yi, Xu, Sihai and the six prefectures will recover next year, the demand for food is still huge. In other words, it is impossible to self-sufficiency in Yan, Yun, Yi, Xu, Sihai and Sihai. It is also necessary to fill the food in Huainan. This is based on the premise that God is doing good next year.
If God still doesn't give up next year, the food needs for Huainan will be even larger, even to the point where Huainan (Wunning) cannot bear it, because severe droughts in the north are often large-scale, and almost all places in Heshuo, Pinglu, Yanyunyi and Yi are all severe droughts at the same time. Therefore, as the droughts occur, the victims in the north will rush south. At that time, Yanyunyi and Huainbei, especially Huainbei, are the only way for the victims to pass. Jiang Feng cannot tolerate the situation that has finally stabilized and is messed up again.
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Zhang Ting led three infantry and the Second Navy Army to Huaiyin as the deputy envoy of the right and right troops of Huai.
Since Xu Ziqing was still recovering from his injuries in Shouzhou, Zhang Ting served as the commander of the Huai Right and Right Army troops and was responsible for commanding the military arrangements and defenses of the entire Luhao and Chu War Zone.
Although Hezhou has not yet been included in the scope, Jiang Feng has ordered Zhang Ting to enter Chuzhou at the right time and control Chuzhou.
The so-called choice of opportunity means choosing a suitable time, and the most suitable time is when the ant thief breaks through the Zhenhai Army and shows signs of entering Chuzhou and threatening Luzhou's safety.
Now the ant thieves finally captured Xuyi City and occupied the important land of Duliangshan, which directly posed a "huge threat" to Chuzhou. This is unacceptable to Huaiyou, so it is natural that Huaiyou should control Chuzhou instead of Zhenhaijun, which is unable to defend Chuzhou, to prevent the ants from spreading to Luzhou.
According to the current Huaiyou (Wunning) military system, daily military training and management will be carried out in the form of the Privy Council (General Staff) Huaiyou (Wunning) Left (Right, Water, Cavalry) Army, but combat will not be like this.
Each war or military operation will be carried out in the form of a certain cluster. The cluster will be composed of several armies in the Huaiyou (Wunning) left (right, water) army, and the cluster leader is a certain military envoy or deputy military envoy. For example, this war operation is carried out by Zhang Ting, and the left and right armies of the Huaiyou and the several armies of the navy are taken over.
The First Army of the Huaiyou Navy had already returned to Shouzhou under the leadership of Zheng Jian, who replaced Mei Kuang. The deputy commander of the First Army of the Navy was Tian Zhikai, the commander of the Central Battalion of the Second Army, and the commander of the Second Army, Tian Chunlai, had also been promoted to the commander of the Huaiyou Navy. The commander of the Second Army was Mei Defeng of the Mei clan, and the deputy commander was Kou Wenyi from the Chaohu water bandits. Kou Wenyi was also Kou Wenli's cousin. The commander of the Third Army of the Navy was replaced by Kou Wenli's cousin Kou Wenzhong, but the deputy commander was Mei Degui from the Mei clan.
"How is the situation over Zhaoyi?" Zhang Ting asked in a deep voice as soon as he stepped into the hall and had no time to remove his armor.
At present, the main supplies, grain and grass are transported to Huaiyin by water. According to the current division, the Huaiyou Army and the Wuning Army will still demarcate the boundary with the Huaihe River, and the north of the Huaihe River is the defense area of the Wuning Army. However, since the situation in Xu Sihai, Yan, Yunyi, north of the Huaihe River, is relatively complicated and may face a series of wars of varying scales, the war left several main forces of the Huaiyou Left Army in Xuzhou to prevent accidents, and at the same time, the Huaiyou Right Army was successively withdrawn back to Huainan.
At present, there are only five armies of the Huai Right Army. The first army led by Qin and Han dynasties, the second army led by Luo Chenggan, the Yang family of the Yang family from Haozhou, Yang Kuang served as the commander of the army, Gu Hua's Fourth Army, and the Fifth Army led by Ge Chong, who was almost defeated in the Battle of Nanyingzhou.
Due to Ge Chong's death, the Fifth Army of the Huai Right and Right Army was almost destroyed, so Jiang Feng had ordered the reconstruction of the Fifth Army of the Huai Right and Right Army. The commander of the army was appointed by Jiang Feng's personal guard battalion commander Guo Yue. This was also a test given to Guo Yue by Jiang Feng, to bring out a completely rebuilt new army, and the officers of this new army mainly came from young officers in the school barracks.
Since the Huai Right and Right Army went south to return mainly through water transportation, but with the Baishuitang Water Bandits and Fanliang Lake and Baima Lake water bandits colluding with the Yangzhou Navy on the canal, the Huai River line seemed less stable, so the infantry that went south returned under the escort of the navy, but the efficiency was not so high.
However, Zhang Ting doesn't think it will be much risky to seize Chuzhou.
Not to mention that Chuzhou Governor He Guozhen himself was an official who was personally affiliated with Yang Pu. Li Wu had no troops in Chuzhou, and even officials had no time to be replaced.
Although he expressed his obedience to Li Wu after being occupied by Li Wu's army, Li Wu also intended to replace He Guozhen. However, before he could implement it, the Huaiyou army had already arrived at the city of Luzhou. Then Huaiyou reached an agreement with Li Wu to peacefully resolve the status issues of Luhao and Hezhou. Li led the Zhenhai Army and the East Navy to devote all their efforts to the battle with the Ant Thief who crossed the Huai River south to seize Chuzhou.
Because he was worried that the replacement of He Guozhen with a good reputation would bring about instability in Chuzhou and affect the war situation in Chuzhou, Li did not move Chuzhou for the time being and wanted to wait until the ant thief problem was solved before dealing with it.
He Guozhen has contacted Yang Xun, the governor of Luzhou several times, and on behalf of the gentry of Chuzhou, he asked Huaiyou to take over Chuzhou to ensure the safety of Chuzhou. Yang Xun also wrote to Chen Wei and Jiang Feng several times, hoping that Jiang Feng would consider this matter solemnly.
However, Jiang Feng was busy conquering Xuzhou at that time and did not have the energy to inquire about Chuzhou. However, now Xuzhou has been taken over and the situation in Huaibei provinces has gradually calmed down. Then Jiang Feng was a little moved on the Chuzhou issue.
After all, Chuzhou is also a grain-producing area and has basically not been war-free. If it can be taken down, it will be more or less helpful to alleviate the grain pressure in the states north of the Huai River next year.
Moreover, taking down Chuzhou will be equivalent to injecting a wedge between Chu and Yangzhou. Once things change in the future, the army can go straight out of Chuzhou, cut off the canal, or go straight to Yangzhou.
The only thing to consider is the attitude of the ant thief and Li who are in the middle of the fierce battle.
Regarding Li, Jiang Feng also considered sending an envoy to negotiate specifically, and the ant thief would also send people to contact him.
Of course, you can't count on too much for ant thieves. Even if they make a clear statement, it is impossible to make Huaiyou believe that you can only make all war preparations for them in case of the biting of these mad dogs.
"Report to the Lord, the commander of the Left Nine Army in Zhaoyi, Lord Qi, came to report that he had sent a scout to reconnaissance on Yongyang, Qingliu and the ** front line. The situation is normal. There is a Zhenhai Army stationed there, but it is mainly responsible for guarding the supplies and supplies, and there are no cavalry. He wrote to him and hoped that the general would arrive in Zhaoyi as soon as possible."
"I understand." Zhang Ting nodded.
In fact, there was no beginning in this battle, and it was obvious that Zhen Haijun was unlikely to get into Huaiyou because of this. He even felt that he should take advantage of the situation and get Hezhou back, but this was completely denied by Jiang Feng. Before the situation in the north was completely stabilized, Huaiyou should not make enemies on multiple sides.
Zhang Ting did not think that taking over Li and Chuzhou would lightly start the battle against Huaiyou. For Li Wu, Haizhou was the foundation. Once Haizhou was captured by ant thieves, Li Wu would probably be unstable in the entire Jiangbei, and even Yangzhou would be difficult to hold his fists.
The offensive and defensive battle in Chuzhou is now fierce. The reason why the ant thief has more than 100,000 troops, but he dared not go directly to Yangzhou along the canal because he was worried that the East China Sea Army in Shanyang City would stab them in the back.
The combat effectiveness of the ant thief is itself unstable. Once attacked behind the scenes, it is probably a big defeat. Qin Quan and others also know this truth very well, so they would rather spend more time and energy to kill and injure more people than to conquer Shanyang and ensure stability in the rear.
Moreover, even when the ant thief takes a key node at the intersection of the canal and the Huai River, whether it is Huaiyou, Li Wu, or even Daliang, far away in the Central Plains and the imperial court in Guanzhong, they have to look at each other, because this is the main throat of Jiangnan canal transportation.
Chapter completed!