Chapter 1039
: The Eastern King's Raid on Yangping
Chapter 1039: The Eastern King's Raid on Yangping
"Report, Your Highness, Your Highness, the Jinling City Supervisory Censor Lan has submitted a case file. It is the Jinling Xinbei Dam case. Here is the photocopy. Your Highness, please take a look."
Suzhou City,
Inside the main tent of the Jiangnan camp, a personal soldier hurried in from outside, holding a secret gate in his hand.
now,
Dongping Wang Mu Shi had changed into a brocade robe and sat in the main seat, while Chu Wang Zhou Chong sat cross-legged in the seat at the east end, sipping tea and snacks. It was said that the tea and snacks in Suzhou City were the best in Jiangnan, and it was true.
Seeing the secret gate brought by his personal soldiers, the King of Chu became interested.
"Your Highness, this is interesting. The case in Jiangnan was not sent to the cabinet or the Ministry of Justice in Beijing, but to our side. Could it be that they want Your Highness to try the case?"
It seemed like he was joking, but his eyes were amusing. Why did he send it at this time instead of earlier? It was obvious that the case was a bit difficult, and perhaps it involved a lot of people.
"Your Highness is right. There are several officials from the capital and the Imperial City Commander Du in the Jiangnan case. How could it be sent here? Therefore, I dare not accept this secret gate."
Mu Shi was unmoved. How could he not know what Jinling City was like? A group of sour scholars in the court were fighting for power, but why did they finally bite Yang Chi, the seal holder of the Sishejian? Was it for the Weaving Bureau or to deal with the eunuchs in the palace? Thinking of this, Mu Shi was suddenly shocked. Perhaps the civil servants had other intentions, so this secret gate must not be touched.
"Since we can't receive it, but the secret gate sent it back, what should we do?"
The King of Chu also knew that this was a hot potato, but with the thing in front of him, even if he sent it back, it would be a loss of face. As for what happened, he had heard about it. The flood in Jinling City, who was so bold as to destroy the dike and flood the fields, this was a major case that shocked the court and the public. He didn't know what they were thinking when they submitted this report. Thinking of this, he no longer had the heart to look at it.
"Your Highness, rest assured. Since it has been delivered, there is no need to return it. But it is impossible not to ask, so Your Highness and I need to write a letter together and send it to the capital together with this secret gate to present it to the emperor. How about that?"
This way, he could avoid being involved in the case in Jinling City and report the situation to the emperor. In any case, his trip to Jiangnan was not in vain.
"Okay, let's do as the prince said. This matter cannot be delayed. After submitting the report, attach the latest situation in Jiangnan. Come, please prepare the writing."
King Zhou Chong of Chu seemed impatient and even excited. When the servants brought him writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, Prince Mu smiled, picked up the brush and wrote the report, then signed it and handed it to King Chu. After taking a look at it and seeing that there was nothing wrong with it, he also used his seal at the end. After sealing it, he asked the imperial city officials to take the water route and bring it to the capital by express boat.
The King of Chu thought that after the matter was over, he could go back and rest. Unexpectedly, Prince Mu said another sentence.
"Your Highness, I think we should gather troops and wait for an opportunity on the canal to strike. I am thinking that we should use the 5,000 troops from the Jiangnan camp as the base, plus the Jinling, Yangzhou, and Suzhou armies, a total of more than 20,000 people, and the guard ships as the escort. I am ready to send troops."
"What? Take the initiative to attack. I wonder where the prince is going to attack?"
The King of Chu, who was still thinking about going back to sleep, was a little confused. How could he have such an idea when he was guarding the canal defense line? Looking at the west bank of the canal, there are many places for the army to land, but it is difficult to supply. How can he use troops on a large scale, unless he goes directly to attack Yangping. However, Yangping has already been captured by the White Lotus Sect. Wouldn't this be too hasty?
"Your Highness, the army has already been prepared to attack Yangping, and the fast ships of the guards have been keeping an eye on this place. The main force of the White Lotus Sect in Yangping City has already headed north, intending to attack Xihe County City. At this moment, we can use the tower ships as a springboard to raid Yangping and seize the important dock. In this way, Yangping will be within our grasp. Then, with 20,000 soldiers and armor, we can cut off the retreat of the White Lotus Sect. This battle can be won. Your Highness, please think about Marquis Luo Yun and Prince Beijing."
It seems to be a general statement, but in fact it is not. The East Palace received a secret report that there are almost no soldiers in Yangping City, and only those bandits who have surrendered to the White Lotus Sect control Yangping. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If they fail to grasp it, in the battle to wipe out the bandit army, only Marquis Luo Yun and Prince Beijing will have military merits. Then the East Palace and the Prince of Chu will not have any merit. Will they not be ridiculed by the world?
"Isn't this too sudden? With only 20,000 soldiers, how can they hold off the White Lotus Sect's counterattack? You know, Jiao Ke led 30,000 soldiers, plus the remnants of Yangping and Wei Taishou, but they only held out for less than two days before hastily fleeing north."
The King of Chu did not understand military strategy, so he was still a little worried. He could still see clearly that there were more people than soldiers. He could not say that he would throw meat buns at a dog and never come back.
"Your Highness, if not, I will personally lead the troops there, Your Highness will coordinate the overall situation in Suzhou, and with General Jiao in charge, there will be no chaos."
Speaking of which, since His Highness is worried, why don't you stay here?
"No, since the prince dares to go, how can I stay here? When will the troops be dispatched?"
When the King of Chu heard that the King of the East wanted to go alone, how could he agree? He immediately changed his mind and said that even if they stayed on the boat, those thieves couldn't have a tower ship.
"There is no time to hesitate. If we send out troops now, we will reach Yangping on the other side in an hour."
Mu Shi stood up, lifted up his skirt, and put on light armor, which showed that he was well prepared. Seeing this, King Zhou Chong of Chu was helpless and waved his hand, asking the imperial guards around him to prepare.
such,
The group of people, along with the imperial guards, hurriedly boarded the ship. On the ship, Leng Dandong, the commander of the Jinling army, and Xiang Zhengsu, the commander of the Yangzhou army, were already waiting on the ship. The King of Chu and the King of Dongping ignored them and immediately gave the order to set sail. The ship sailed south along the canal. The ship went with the wind and was very fast, but the ship was heavy. When they said "one hour", they were referring to the fast boats on the river. After nearly two hours,
Yangping Wharf on the other side of the river is already in sight.
at this time,
The King of Chu did not care that he was a little dizzy, and took a group of imperial guards to the top of the ship, looking towards the west. He saw that Yangping was like a dead city, lifeless. Not to mention that there was no smoke and fire from the people, even the so-called White Lotus bandits were not seen. There was only a lonely flag hanging on a restaurant on the pier, not to mention any bandits inside. It seemed that what the prince said was true.
But there were dozens of boats of all sizes in the river, almost covering the entire river surface. This had already been exposed.
"My lord, what should I do now?"
At this moment, Mu Shi looked intently at the dock in front of him. There was no one living there, and there was no sign of bandits occupying it. It seemed that the intelligence was correct. In this case, there was no need to wait any longer.
"Send an order to have the guard commander Shi Licong bring the ship over, and have the Jinling army rush over and occupy the dock first, and then the Yangzhou army will follow, and then the remaining troops will immediately gather and charge into the inner city."
"Yes, Your Majesty,"
The commander responded and immediately climbed up the mast of the ship, then took out the command flag and waved it up and down. Then Li Cong, the commander of the Caoyun Guard, personally led the ship and slowly approached. He first used a speedboat to enter the dock waterway to check if there were any horizontal chains or sunken ships blocking it. If not, he could enter the dock waterway.
In front,
A speedboat had already approached the dock. Seeing that there was no one around, the messenger sent a signal to the ship, and then the ship slowly approached the shore. After a while, the Jinling Prefecture soldiers on the ship began to quickly get off the deck and get off the ship.
Leng Dandong even led his personal soldiers into the dock. There was no one around, which was strange. When he walked near the restaurant, he heard a noise inside. He stopped and gestured to the back. Then he leaned over the corner and listened carefully. It turned out that many people were drinking and having fun inside.
Looking back at the dock, half of the soldiers had already disembarked. We still had to wait a while.
Once the thought passes,
Little did they know that the pirates in the restaurant were actually the famous Panshanlong Zhu Da, the leader of Xihe County. Several of them sat around in the restaurant, set up more than a dozen banquet tables, and invited the brothers to play finger-guessing games, eat meat and drink wine with big mouthfuls, looking very comfortable.
When they were almost done drinking, the third boss at the table couldn't help but complain,
"Brother, what do you think the White Lotus Sect is doing? They actually gave the city of Yangping, which is as big as it is, to us, the heroes of Xihe County, to guard. They took away our property at will. They are trying to bribe us."
"Hic, yes, big brother, what the third brother said is right. Although we were only given the land of the dock, who would have thought that these merchants at the dock were really rich? After a day of looting, they found 50,000 taels of silver, which is more than what we got from robbing houses. In the future, it would be better to do these businesses to make money."
The fourth boss's tongue was numb, obviously he had drunk too much.
"What are you talking about? You can do business. If you have the brains, why should we brothers do this business that can get us killed? Besides, are you willing to let go of those women in the village? Haha." The second in command didn't care and scolded with a smile. Suddenly, the hall of the restaurant was filled with the wanton laughter of many bandits, covering up the noise at the dock. Just as the officers and soldiers at the dock gradually disembarked to reorganize their troops,
As luck would have it, someone opened the door of the restaurant, yawned, and looked at the dock in a daze. He saw several tall ships parked there, and many officers and soldiers had already gathered on the shore. He suddenly came to his senses and shouted,
"Enemy attack,"
When he wanted to turn around and flee again, Leng Dandong had already led his soldiers to the front. He swung his sword and killed the man. Then, he led his men to rush in. However, he didn't know that there were some tables, chairs and benches blocking the entrance. This was a common method used by the pirates when they drank.
The people who were still shouting in the room sobered up instantly when they heard the word "enemy attack" and drew their weapons immediately. Then, the head of the house, Zhu, shouted,
"The wind is blowing hard."
Just like that, without any fierce resistance, they fled through the back door of the restaurant, which surprised Leng Dandong who had just rushed into the restaurant. Then he realized that Yangping was an empty city, and almost roared,
"All troops muster, charge in immediately,"
"Kill,"
Without waiting for the troops from Yangzhou and Suzhou to land, they rushed into the inner city without hesitation. Wherever they went, the pirates either died or fled. They took the city without a single drop of blood.
Standing on the west city gate tower, Leng Dandong was still a little surprised.
"Report, General, all the bandits in the city have fled to the north. I led the troops to search, but did not find any trace of the White Lotus rebels. Should we lead the troops to pursue them?"
The deputy general came from the inner city with an excited look on his face. Wouldn't the first achievement of retaking Yangping be the sole credit to the general?
"Don't chase them. The prince's order is to capture Yangping. This battle is all thanks to the prince and His Highness's foresight. Have you sent someone to report back?"
"Yes, General, I have already returned to report the victory."
The deputy general realized it belatedly and thought that the general had thought it through carefully. However, they were still confused. Where were the White Lotus bandits?
The dock had already been put under martial law by the imperial guards. The King of Chu stepped onto the dock with an incredulous look on his face. He looked at the city that had already been occupied by the imperial soldiers, as if in a dream. He looked at Prince Mu in front of him and opened his mouth several times to ask questions, but he didn't know what to say.
When they arrived at the restaurant on the pier, the flag on the building had been replaced with the flag of the Jiangnan Camp. The bodies at the door of the hotel had been dealt with long ago, leaving only some bloodstains. Mu Shi suddenly said in a loud voice;
"Congratulations, Your Highness. Your Highness made great plans and seized the opportunity to lead the army to attack Yangping. You captured the city in one fell swoop and cut off the retreat of the White Lotus Sect. This is a cause for celebration. You should report this victory to the capital."
The generals around were still a little stunned, only Xiang Zhengsu reacted very quickly and followed suit.
"Congratulations, Your Highness, on this great victory."
"Big win, big win,"
By the river, it was already getting dark, and the morning glow stretched thousands of miles away. The King of Chu was moved and nodded with a smile!
"Report, Lord, the commander of Shizhou City has sent back a letter."
In the imperial camp south of Shizhou City,
Zhang Jinyu sat in the main seat, yawning. After marching for several days, he was already exhausted. Many soldiers and generals seemed to be in high spirits, but they had reached their limit. Therefore, he did not listen to King Jin's advice to fight a quick battle.
I glanced at the guards who entered the tent and felt a little surprised. He really did reply to the letter, but was the reply too fast?
"How did they reply to the letter?"
"My Lord, it was Shizhou City that opened the gate, and then a soldier on horseback arrived in front of the gate, holding a package with stones in it, and threw it over. Then, he rode away without stopping."
The personal soldier answered truthfully, but Zhang Jinyu found it a little strange. The messenger was not up to standard.
"Okay, go down,"
He winked at Ning Bian and asked him to take it over. Ning Bian walked over and took the letter. It was sealed in an envelope. There was nothing unusual about it. The ink was bright and there was a scent of ink. It should have been newly written.
"My Lord, it was just written."
"Well, open it and read it. I don't know what these two are up to. If they want to join us, it will be a great joy. It will stop the war and everyone wants it."
Zhang Jinyu picked up the tea bowl and took a sip of tea. Somehow, the way he drank tea made him look even more noble. The King of Jin, who was sitting cross-legged on the east side, smiled slowly and spoke.
"Your Excellency is broad-minded, which is a blessing for the people. I was anxious before. However, if the White Lotus Sect and other thieves really surrender, Your Excellency, do you think the court should issue an amnesty or not?"
This is also a difficult point. The previous dynasty did not issue an imperial decree to appease the White Lotus Sect. I and the Marquis have set a precedent, and I don't know whether it is a good thing or not.
"Your Highness, you asked a good question. Bandits are bandits after all. People's hearts are hidden in their stomachs. You and I don't know what they think in their hearts. But those women surrendered before. First, we felt pity for them. It didn't matter if we surrendered them. But these bandits will be a big trouble if we surrender them. If you agree, you can treat these people as refugees and send them to the border. They can help the court solve major problems. As for the two bandit leaders, they can choose whether to stay or go."
Zhang Jinyu was not the kind of person who wanted to kill them all. Since they had saved his face, he would at least not make things difficult for the two of them. Prince Jin thought about it and felt that the Marquis's method was the best of both worlds, as it would neither cause the court to bear responsibility nor put himself in trouble. It was just that these surrendered soldiers were really honest.
He followed the example of the Marquis, took a sip of tea, and then looked at Ning Bian's hand.
Ning Bian understood, opened the letter, held it in his hands and read it aloud.
"Lo Yunhou Taijian,
I am originally from the countryside, but the court is corrupt and the officials are forcing the people to rebel. I have no choice but to raise an army to kill the corrupt officials and enforce justice. Now the people in the city are not stable, and it is difficult to make a decision in such a hurry.
I also heard that Your Highness loves the people like his own children, and his reputation is well-known. We, the common people, wish to admire you, but now we are helpless. We killed officials and rebelled. How can the court let it go? For now, we must carefully weigh the pros and cons. I beg the general to give me a day to let the soldiers under his command take a long-term view. I will give you my sincere opinion tomorrow. The matter of war is a matter of life and death. I hope the general will understand. The leader of the White Lotus Sect in Shizhou City, Lu Chuanjiang, and the hall master Tian Ziang. "
After reading the letter, the contents made everyone in the tent happy. This was because they were moved.
"Your Highness, what do you say?"
In this case, Zhang Jinyu was a little confused. Was the thief doing it on purpose to delay time, or was he really considering it? Jin Wang Zhou Ding's eyes flickered, maybe what the Marquis just said could really work, and he nodded tentatively.
"My Lord, if it is feasible, we can capture them without bloodshed. As the Art of War says, the best strategy is to attack their plans, the next best is to attack their alliances, the next best is to attack their troops, and the worst is to attack their cities. Since the leader of the bandits is willing to surrender, it is not a bad idea. But I would like to ask my Lord to consider how to proceed."
If we can capture Shizhou City for nothing, the hinterland of Xihe County will be undefended.
Seeing that King Jin had nodded, Zhang Jinyu gave the order without any scruples;
"Ningbian, ask that Chu, what's his name, to continue writing a letter and have someone send it to Shizhou City to tell him the meaning of the letter. He must reply early tomorrow morning. If he surrenders, I will guarantee him a position."
"Yes, Lord, I will arrange it right away."
Ning Bian agreed and prepared to go out to pass on the order. As soon as he reached the door curtain, Jin Wang Zhou Ding also gave instructions.
"By the way, tell those two that if they surrender, the king and the marquis will guarantee them wealth and honor."
"Yes, Your Highness,"
Ning Bian bowed and looked at the Marquis on the main seat. Zhang Jinyu nodded, and Ning Bian slowly stepped back.
The two people were left inside the tent, looking at each other in silence, thinking about their own things.
(End of this chapter)