Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 271 Zhu Mei's Decision

On April [-]th of the first year of Wende, Shao Shude, the recruitment envoy of Shannan Road, arrived in Tianxing County, Lisuo, Fengxiang Town, and set up his camp in the Qifangting area.

From Qishan County to Tianxing County, from Linyou County to Anrong Pass, within a range of more than [-] li, more than [-] troops gathered.

The military flags are flying, covering the sky and the sun, and the swords, guns, swords and halberds are all over the wild.

Since the battle against Huangchao, there has never been an army of this size in Fengxiang Mansion, this is the first time in five years.

As the envoy of Shannan Road appointed by the imperial court, Shao Shude's heart was also full of ups and downs.

Ti's army swept across the world, and the conquest was unsuccessful. This is the highest enjoyment of a warrior.

He has been in the army for more than ten years, commanding an army of [-] for the first time, so far in life, what more can I ask for!
"Grandfather, after many years, your body is still so tough." In the Qifangting camp, Shao Shude hosted a banquet in honor of Binning Festival Shuai Zongben.

Zhe Zongben brought 6000 troops to the south, which is already half of Binning's strength, which is really interesting.

"My son-in-law is underestimating this old man. An ordinary boy may not be able to shoot a hard bow. This old man is no problem." Zhe Zongben took a sip of his wine and said with a smile: "It's just going out to shoot and hunt, going up and down the mountain for several days. matter ear."

"My uncle is growing stronger, so I feel relieved." Shao Shude said with a smile: "But Binning is bitter and cold, after all, it is not a good place. If there is a chance, I still have to ask my uncle to change to a more comfortable place."

"The meaning of a good son-in-law..." Zhe Zongben's eyes froze, there was something in his words.

"There is no clue about this matter yet, let's have a drink today. After a few days, the matter is almost done, and then I will discuss it with my uncle." Shao Shude raised the wine bottle and said.

At this time, in Tianxing County, there were also two people sitting opposite each other for a banquet.

"The imperial court wants to discuss Chen Jingxuan in Xichuan, but I don't know that Shuai Zhu is willing to lead the army into Shu to relieve the emperor's worries." Shao Shude originally wanted to go to the interview in person to find out about Zhu Mei's tone, but after thinking about it, if Zhu Mei refused outright, the two Everyone is embarrassed, and they have lost the opportunity to turn things around. It is better to let the supervisor Han Quanhui come forward to see what Zhu Mei's thoughts are, and then make a fuss.

Han Quanhui has already turned to Ximen Chongsui, and this person has also shown goodwill to Shao Shude along the way, and he is very eager to pursue the camp, so it is perfect to send him out.

Zhu Mei glanced at the middle-ranking officer who had been ruthless in Chang'an, but did not answer immediately.

He is not stupid, he knows that Han Quanhui came to find the way for Shao Shude.At the same time, he was also a little annoyed, this Shao Shude was too ignorant and greedy.From the time when Huangchao was finished and the Jiedu Envoy of the Difficult Army was awarded, it expanded non-stop.

To pacify Youzhou, subdue the opposing forces in the town, and then conquer Shuofang westward to obtain Lingzhou and Yanzhou.After entering the Guanzhong, he was commanded and ordered by the four capitals in the north of the Guanbei, coercing from the two aspects of justice and strength, and gained control of the two towns of Tiande Army and Zhenwu Army without bloodshed, and then went west to conquer Hewei and regain five state land.

Fighting almost every year, there is no time to stop!
To be honest, Zhu Mei was also a little scared seeing Shao's expansion.Fengxiang Town has one prefecture and three prefectures, and it is far from being able to compete with Shao Shu, who actually controls the land of fifteen prefectures.

What's more, Baosai Army, Bao Dajun, and Binning Town are also on his side. Jingyuan Town's troops are weak and will only remain neutral. Zhu Mei counted it over and over again, and there is no ally in the huge Guanzhong.Once the face is torn apart and hands are fought, the situation is very pessimistic.

Zhu Mei originally thought that Shao Shude would wait a few more years before doing anything to Fengxiang.But now it seems that he can't wait any longer, and wants to control this prefecture and three states immediately.Considering that he has obtained the status of recruiting envoy of Shannan Road, and is the nominal supreme commander of the [-] army, there is almost no suspense to wipe out Wuding Army and Shannan West Road. This future power may be even more terrifying.

How to face such a behemoth?Zhu Mei didn't know either.

"What does Han Jianjun mean by this? A certain has been guarding the vassal for the emperor for several years. If there is no such thing in the three prefectures of Fengxiang, the soldiers will be unhappy." Zhu Mei said: "On the other hand, go south to Shuzhong Fighting rebellion requires money, food, equipment, and soldiers. What does the court say about this?"

"The imperial court will naturally respond to Zhu Shuai's worries." Han Quanhui smiled and said, "Jiannan Dongchuan Jiedu Envoy Gao Renhou is from Chen Jingxuan's old department. After leaving the town of Zizhou, he still had a deep connection with Chen Jingxuan. The imperial court Every time a conquest is ordered, there is always a false response to the story. How can such a traitorous generation be able to make them hold on to the feudal city? If Zhu Shuai is willing to send his troops to the south to relieve the worries of the court, the Jiannan Dongchuan commander should be waiting for him."

Jiannan Dongchuan?Zhu Mei's expression changed.

The place is indeed a good place. Although it has been cut to pieces and only five states are left, it has a prosperous household registration and a lot of wealth, which is indeed much better than Fengxiang's one prefecture and three states.

But there are advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage is that there are more people and more money, but the disadvantage is that you may be trapped there for a lifetime.The middle of Sichuan is comfortable, and it is difficult to get out after entering Sichuan. Even if the two Sichuans are unified in the future, there is basically no hope of going north.

Even if all three rivers and sixty prefectures are occupied, it will probably be difficult to enter Guanzhong.That is a peaceful pattern, not qualified to fight for world hegemony.

"Why do you doubt Zhu Shuai? Among the three rivers, Xichuan is the first, Dongchuan is the second, and Shannan Xidao is the last. Although there are only five states left in Dongchuan, Suizhou, Qiongnan and other towns are occupied by Yang Fugong's fake son. , If you can bring peace to the imperial court, it will be beneficial." Han Quanhui continued to be persuasive, saying: "There is chaos in the middle of Sichuan, and the people are in dire straits. Zhu Shuai has the ambition to be compassionate to others, so he should relieve the people."

Zhu Mei didn't answer, he still wanted to discuss with his staff and generals.

In fact, one of Han Quan's words hit his heart, that is, the land of Dongchuan and the five states can still be expanded.Zhu Mei is also a little proud. Under his training, the more than [-] Fengxiang troops are confident enough to defeat any opponent in Sichuan, even if they occupy the east and west.

But, I still want to go north to Guanzhong!What's the point of going eastward from central Sichuan, attacking Kuixia, Jingnan and other towns, and then annexing the nearby Qianzhong town?Can you compete for world hegemony?cannot!
That night, Zhu Mei gathered all the generals in the mansion and told them what Han Quanhui had said.

"Marshal, there is no way out from Guanzhong, why not go south to Shuzhong. I heard that Shuzhong is extremely rich, with everything you need, including goods and beauties, and we can take whatever you want. Now going south, with the name of the imperial court, there is no need to go to war. Chen Jingxuan, Gao Renhou and others How difficult is it for the hypocrites of the Yang family? They are all over the place." Wang Xingyu was the first to agree, and it seemed that he was very aggrieved by Fengxiang.

"Someone is at the Great Earthquake Pass. There are often Dingnan soldiers passing through Weizhou. Their morale is high and their soldiers are well-stocked. They are indeed a strong enemy. If a war breaks out, it is good to be able to protect yourself, but it is extremely difficult to advance." Wang Xingyue also agreed with his elder brother's opinion, and he continued to say: "Shao Shude wants to conquer the Shannan West Road. If it is flat, the Zhuge family will not follow him. The commander has always had great ambitions, where can he expand? In the end, the general felt that going south to Sichuan was the only way out."

"My lord." Zhu Shou stood up, arched his hands, and said: "If we can really occupy the whole of Sichuan and the states in the gorge, we can go down the river at that time, take Jingnan, and then map the east of Shannan. In this way, we will It has the pattern of ancient Yizhou and Jingzhou, where you can advance, attack, retreat, or defend.”

"We have to win the Shannan West Road, otherwise, it will not be safe." Zhu Xiu added.

Zhu Mei didn't expect her subordinates to agree to go south to Shuzhong, so she hesitated for a while.

In fact, reason told him that going south to central Sichuan was the only way out, and it was also the only decent territory the imperial court could give.Where can the rest go?Five years have passed since Chao Chao, and there are fewer and fewer places where the imperial court can appoint Jiedushi.Some places are poor, some places are far away, and some places are in the places of the Fourth World War. Shuzhong is relatively the most suitable place.

It just so happened that the imperial court also wanted to take back the towns controlled by the remnants of Tian Lingzi and Yang Fugong. Going south can seek justice from the imperial court and reduce a lot of resistance. It can be said that there will be no such shop in this village.

But Zhu Mei was still a little reluctant.

In fact, he was puzzled by the resistance in his heart. Where did this reluctance come from?

"Yang Sheng, why don't you speak?" Zhu Mei looked at Yang Sheng, the general of Dasan Pass, and asked.

"In fact, the last general does not want to go south to central Sichuan. The king of Lingwu County has great ambitions. After he dominates Guanzhong, he will definitely spy on central Sichuan. How will we deal with it then?" Yang Sheng said.

"Hmph, with the wealth from Liangchuan, if we go to other towns to recruit more soldiers, are we afraid that Shao Shude will fail?" Wang Xingyu sneered and said, "Commander, the plan for now is to get out of trouble. Once Shao Shude controls Shannan West Road, Fengxiang Town is surrounded on all sides, what future is there? Why not take it off now, use the wealth in the middle of Sichuan, go to other towns to recruit soldiers, and then make a good preparation, maybe you can go north to capture Shannan West Road. Sanchuan is in Hands, we will form a whole of ourselves, and then go eastward to take Jingnan and Shannan Dongdao, and then the great momentum will be achieved. At worst, one third of the world can be divided into one."

Yang Sheng frowned.This Wang Xingyu is very supportive, he regards the towns in Sichuan as nothing, as if as long as Fengxiang's army goes south, they can sweep them away.Chen Jingxuan is fine, Dongchuan Gao Renhou has some skills.The strength of Yang's hypocrites is also unknown, but it should not be bad.Of course there was a reason why they were favored by Yang Fugong and Yang Fuguang. They either had a strategy, or they won the championship bravely. Why do you think they can't fight?

"Commander." The veteran general Zhang Xingshi, who had been silent until now, said: "The last general will only say a little bit. Shao Shude is quite capable of running the army. The general at the end of yesterday watched his army closely. Gao Gao, with such a strong army, there are tens of thousands of people, if we form a field battle, our army's chances of winning are very low."

"Marshal, I have been with you since I was 15 years old, so I will say something straight." Zhang Xingshi said: "Marshal is over [-] this year, Shao Shude is just [-] years old, and he is in full bloom. Every day he lives, we don't know each other every day." The commander-in-chief must be well aware of the fact that we cannot expand. If so, we might as well go south to Sichuan, and we veterans will work up our courage to lay a foundation, and there may be a turning point."

The eldest son supported it, the adopted son supported it, the Wang brothers supported it, Zhang Xingshi also supported it, and Yang Sheng was the only one who opposed it.

Zhu Mei did not expect so many people to support going south, which was a bit beyond his expectation.But just now Zhang Xingshi said something that moved him, 45 years old, are you still waiting for Fengxiangku?What are you waiting for?Waiting for the infighting in the army?Waiting for Shao Shude to die suddenly?
Thinking of this, Zhu Mei suddenly smiled, he had figured out the reason for his resistance.It turned out that they were waiting for the Dingnan army to "self-defeat", which is ridiculous!
Shao Shude had always won the morale of the army, and almost no one in the town dared to rebel.He really grasped the essence of the problem. He did not blindly consolidate his power by means of wooing generals. Instead, he used two methods simultaneously. Prestige among soldiers.

This kind of power is stable!A general may rebel at the first thought, but if he has the heart of a sergeant, the rebellious general will not be able to pull away the troops, but will be tied up by the sergeants to make contributions.

So what are you waiting for?Waiting for Shao Shude to be assassinated?Waiting for him to be besieged by various towns?Waiting for him to commit many injustices?
Zhu Mei laughed out loud, already having a decision in her heart.

(End of this chapter)