Chapter 1263: Personally conquering Xiangyang

Jiang Cheng was injured unexpectedly, so Zhao Hao had to postpone his departure from Xuzhou and reassess the situation. Xiangyang was one of the important objectives of the Northern Expedition, and only by capturing Xiangyang could we ensure the safety of Jingxiang, avoid the recurrence of the tragedy of Mengyuan descending the river and conquering Jiangnan, and ensure the safety of the Sichuan-Shu region. Jiang Cheng's wounding left the Western Group leaderless, and there were problems in command.

"Your Majesty, Jiang Zhishuai can't be on the council, can you select a person from the commanders of the various departments participating in the war to serve as the temporary commander and assist him in commanding the battle?" Wang Yinglin, who heard the news, suggested.

"The commanders who participated in the Battle of Xiangyang were indeed able to stand alone, but they were not enough to pick up the burden of the boss and lacked the ability to control the entire battle situation." Zhao Yu is his own family knows his own affairs, he shook his head and said.

The army can be said to have been under his control, and now the West Group is composed of the sixth, seventh, and eighth armies as the main force, and the second artillery division and the first cavalry division and the local state army have been strengthened, but the commanders of the three armies, Pan Nian, Wu Longqi and Zhang Ba, were all the leaders of the township soldiers when they were in the Yashan of King Qin, and after arriving in Qiongzhou, they were incorporated into the forbidden army in front of the palace under the command of Jiang Cheng. The three of them are brave in battle, but they lack the background, that is to say, it is no problem to obey orders and lead troops to fight, but they lack the ability and vision to coordinate the overall situation, and it is difficult for them to command one aspect of the battle.

"Your Majesty, can you order Han Zhen, the deputy privy envoy who stayed in the Beijing Division, to take over his command?" Wang Yinglin proposed again.

"Governor Wang, at present, the army in Beijing is empty, and someone needs to sit in the rear to dispatch and coordinate the various departments, do you think it can be separated?" Zhao Hao asked with a wry smile.

"What Your Majesty said is that the Jingshi can't be guarded without a general, so it can only be sent nearby...... Wang Yinglin thought about it, not to mention that the road from Lin'an to Xiangyang was long, and the rear was empty, so it was really unreasonable to let him go to work alone empty-handed, so he turned to Ni Liang and said.

"Xie Wangxiang, I am also embarrassed by the heavy responsibility!" When Ni Liang saw that he was aiming at himself, he also knew that he was recommending himself to go, so he immediately waved his hand.

"Ni Dushuai is a young hero, and he is currently commanding tens of thousands of imperial guards, and he has been taught by His Majesty for many years. Wang Yinglin said with a smile.

"Ni Liang's qualifications are still shallow, and he is not enough to serve the public, and it is difficult to dispatch the armies!" Zhao Yu said. He understood that not only the ministers of the DPRK and China would form a party, but there were also factions in the army, and in a large sense, they were divided into two factions, one was the guard forbidden army based on the army of the Shuaifu, and the other was the palace forbidden army that was integrated from the various armies of the court. Although they were later collectively referred to as the forbidden army, and the imperial protectors were separated from it, they were not completely integrated because of this, at least psychologically, the two sides would still be separated from each other.

Ni Liang was originally considered by the generals to be able to become his henchman because of his meritorious service in rescuing the driver, and he was in charge of the imperial guard. And he was indeed a confused boy at that time, and it is not surprising that everyone has a lot of complaints about him. However, because Ni Liang was born in the Shuaifu army, Zhao Mengjin's general is of course defending him in every way, and his sincerity is gradually showing his head and feet in battle, so it is naturally not a problem for the old generals of Shuaifu to accept his command.

But it is reluctant to let Ni Liang go to command the army in front of the palace, not only has he not served as an officer at the privy council level, his prestige is insufficient, and his qualifications are too shallow, even if he sells his face, those generals will not say anything, and their small actions in private will not be less. And fighting is not child's play, Zhao Yu doesn't want to affect the overall situation because of these bullshit things.

"In this way, there can only be Lao Zhao Zhishuai!" Wang Yinglin sighed lightly.

"Although the war between Huaibei and Huaidong is nearing the end, once there is a problem in the peace talks, the war will start again, and it will be needed to preside over military affairs." Zhao Yu shook his head again.

"Does Your Majesty want to conquer Xiangyang in person? This must not be done! Wang Yinglin couldn't hear what the emperor meant, it was not only a dereliction of duty, but a fool, he hurriedly dissuaded.

"Saving soldiers is like fighting fires, if you can't get down to Xiangyang quickly at present, it will affect the future peace negotiations with Meng Yuan, and it is almost impossible to get it back from them, and let me be passive in the negotiations, so as to threaten each other, if you completely solve the problem before, so as to avoid future troubles!" Zhao Yu said categorically without doubt.

"Your Majesty, the queen mother is about to give birth, and there are still many things in the court that need Your Majesty to return to the court to decide, how can you give birth to go to Xiangyang in person!" Wang Yinglin still persuaded without giving up.

"I understand the kindness of the prime minister, but how can I abolish the public because of personal interests, the affairs of the court and the central government are handled by Lu Xiang and others, and the affairs of the inner palace are also presided over by the queen mother, so I have nothing to worry about." Zhao Hao sighed lightly and said. And I still can't help but feel melancholy in my heart, even in modern society, when a woman gives birth to a child, it is like going through the ghost gate, not to mention the medical conditions are even more backward now. In addition, it is a pity not to be able to witness the birth of one's own child.

"Your Majesty......" Wang Yinglin once again prophesied.

"I have made up my mind, no need to say more!" Zhao Yu interrupted him in a deep voice, and said, "Shikai, you should immediately prepare to set off and make a plan. ”

"Yes, my subordinates obey!" Zhuang Gongcong immediately bowed down to receive the order, and immediately went down to convene the heads of various departments.

"Your Majesty, my subordinates have something to say!" At this time, Ni Liang interjected with a gloomy face.

"Say!" Zhao Yu didn't raise his eyelids, and said with a gloomy face.

"My subordinates want to go with Your Majesty...... No, the subordinates must go with His Majesty! Ni Liang also didn't have a good face, and said with a drooping face.

"Hmm." Zhao Yu snorted lightly.

"Your Majesty, this time it is a long way to Xiangyang, and you may have to pass through the war zone, and your subordinates are really not at ease...... Ah, Your Majesty agreed! Ni Liang was still digging out his mind to find a reason, and it took half a beat to react, and he was pleasantly surprised.

"Promised, stop croaking!" Zhao Hao looked up at it at this time, and said with a smile.

"Hehe, I'll go see Shikai and them!" Ni Lianghan said with a smile, and hurriedly poured tea for His Majesty and Wang Yinglin before withdrawing.

"Ni Dutong is really loyal to His Majesty!" Wang Yinglin looked at the back of his departure and smiled.

"He's too straightforward, and I don't worry about him staying here alone, so as not to cause trouble for everyone!" Zhao Yu smiled bitterly and said, "Prime Minister Wang, there are some things that need to be discussed with you, and they should be decided early!" ”

"Yes, the minister obeys!" Wang Yinglin bowed and bowed, and sat down again.

Next, Zhao Yu and Wang Yinglin discussed the personnel arrangements and military deployments after his departure, as well as the aftermath. He also made arrangements for the development and positioning of the two Huai, and asked him to consult with several rulers in the court. After that, he discussed the peace talks with Meng Yuan, and instructed him not to grovel and not to make the slightest concession on the issue of established principles, but also to pay attention to grasping the rhythm, not to rush to achieve results, and to grasp the initiative in the negotiations.

After more than an hour, Zhuang Gong came in and told them that they had made a choice on the driving route, but it still needed His Majesty to confirm before they could make the next arrangement. Wang Yinglin was a little surprised that the Imperial Front Office was so efficient, but he was also puzzled, doubting that they could make the most appropriate arrangements in a hurry, but fortunately, His Majesty did not intend to let him avoid it.

"Your Majesty, there are two land routes from Xuzhou to Xiangyang: one is the eastern route from Yingtianfu to Yingchangfu, and then south to the Jianghan Plain through Xiangcheng, Nanyang and other places; The other is the western route from Yingtianfu to Yuncheng, through Xinyang to Suizhou into Jingxiang. Zhuang Gongcong commanded Ma Duanlin, Ying Xi, Chen Shishi and Jiang Zongjie to hang up the map and point out.

"The Western Front looks like it's a little shorter, I wonder what the road is like?" Zhao Yu listened to his introduction while looking at the map.

"Your Majesty is right, the western route is about 900 miles, and it is 200 miles shorter than the eastern route. And this road does not need to be opened, so it is relatively safer. And the subordinates have also asked the Xiangyang messenger, they also took this road when they came, except for a narrow distance of 100 miles to Suizhou, most of the area can be two cars in parallel, suitable for the march of the brigade. Chen Shishi continued.

"Your Majesty, the west of the Yuncheng area is still in the hands of the enemy, and it is in a state of confrontation with our army, but there are often small-scale clashes, so the Third Army stationed here needs to escort along the way, or launch an attack to expel the nearby enemy, so as to ensure the safety of the holy driver!" Ying Xi answered again.

"Both roads have to pass through enemy territory, it's too dangerous, but there is a choice?" Wang Yinglin shook his head and asked.

"Back to the king, these two roads are inherent roads, if you choose another way, you have to detour, less than hundreds of miles, more than thousands of miles!" Zhuang Gongcong replied, "And these two roads pass through Yingtianfu, Your Majesty can also worship the temple along the way, and you can confuse the enemy army, and it is difficult to judge Your Majesty's whereabouts." ”

"Well, that's more appropriate!" Wang Yinglin thought for a moment and said.

"If you take the waterway, can you reach Xiangyang?" Zhao Yu looked at the map, tapped the table twice, and asked.

"Your Majesty, in the past, you could go north along the canal to Luoyang, then turn into Luoshui, and then enter the Han River, and go down the river to Xiangyang. But now the old canal has been silted up, making it difficult to travel north, and Kaifeng and Luoyang have not been recovered on the way. If you want to march by water, you can only enter the Huai River to the Yangtze River, and go upriver from Ezhou to Xiangyang. Zhuang Gong had obviously discussed this matter with everyone before, and immediately replied.

"To capture Xiangyang, there must be a water army. Otherwise, it will be difficult to cut off the enemy's supplies and reinforcements, and first of all, Xiangyang has been fighting for a long time without success, that is, there is a lack of support from the naval army! Zhao Yu habitually rubbed his nose and said. He learned from the battle report sent by Xiangyang that the reason why Jiang Cheng was injured was also related to this, because the only naval force supporting the Western Group in the battle was the inland river army, and the tonnage of the ships was small and the firepower was weak. The enemy used a giant wooden raft to go down the river, and the naval warship was difficult to stop, and the iron cable across the river was broken, and Jiang Cheng was injured by the huge raft laid down by the enemy when he was patrolling the river

"Your Majesty, the navy is rushing to the aid of Xiangyang, but I am afraid that it will delay some of the trip, and it will be difficult to arrive in time!" Zhuang Gongcong glanced at several people and shook his head.

"In the Duangong period of the Chronicles, the Xianghan Cao Canal was dug to communicate the Han River, I wonder if it can still be navigated?" Zhao Yu thought for a while and asked......

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