Fenghou

Chapter 1239 Attitude
The prime ministers all dispersed, and Zhao Gou left Xu Xiantu behind.

Zhao Gou worried: "Is it really necessary to fight Zhang Jun?"

Xu Xiantu said calmly: "Your Majesty, don't worry, Zhang Jun is just Liu Guangshi who is a big one. If his name is not right, he will definitely be defeated. He always thinks that Chen Qing can separate the regime, and he can also separate the regime. It's not like that."

"Why isn't it the same thing?"

"Your Majesty, Chen Qing occupies Sichuan and Shaanxi, and is too far away from the imperial court. First, he poses little threat to the imperial court. You can even ignore him. Second, Chen Qing's expansion is almost always taken from Jin Guo. His military discipline is good, and he never disturbs the people. , so in the eyes of the people all over the world, the Western Army belongs to the army of justice.

The most important thing is the third point. Chen Qing has a bottom line and abides by the rules. Jingnan South Road was exchanged with the imperial court. Even if he recently occupied Jinghu North Road, he did everything possible to find an excuse. It was Zhang Jun who sent troops first, and he sent troops. There is nothing to say.

And the last time he led an army of [-] to Lin'an, with his military strength at that time, he could have seized Lin'an, but he didn't do that. He accepted the canonization of His Highness and left normally. I have to admit that he is still different from Zhang Jun. "

Zhao Gou stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, staring into the distance, and said slowly for a long while: "I'm really worried about Chen Qing, his methods are very high, if Chen Qing supports Zhang Jun behind his back, and uses Zhang Jun as a tool to weaken the court , and even overthrow the imperial court, what should I do if he comes forward to punish Zhang Jun again?"

This was what Zhao Gou was most worried about. With Chen Qing's shrewdness and skill, how could he be absent during Zhang Jun's rebellion. Isn't there the shadow of Chen Qing's warship when Zhang Jun seized the imperial warship?

Due to the asymmetry of intelligence, both Zhao Gou and the imperial court believed that Zhang Jun planned and implemented the seizure of the imperial warships, and the Western Army provided water surface assistance. After all, it was Zhang Jun who dispatched an army of [-], and it was Zhang Jun's army who fought against the imperial navy. In the end, it was Zhang Jun who got hundreds of warships. Without communication channels, Zhang Jun could only bear the blame.

Xu Xiantu couldn't answer this question. Of course he knew that the emperor was right. Based on his understanding of Chen Qing, Chen Qing must have participated in the confrontation between Zhang Jun and the court. Xu Xiantu even suspected that the whole incident was planned by Chen Qing, otherwise, How could there be a crisis between Zhang Jun and the court shortly after the Western Army captured Shandong Road.

Of course, Xu Xiantu also knew that the root of the crisis between Zhang Jun and the court was Zhang Jun's refusal to obey the order to send troops to the Central Plains, which offended the emperor and Qin Hui, so he started to trouble Zhang Jun and investigate his problems.

"Why, Aiqing can't answer?" Zhao Gou looked back at Xu Xiantu.

Xu Xiantu smiled wryly and said, "I'm afraid the minister's answer will not satisfy His Majesty."

"It's okay, you just tell the truth."

"Your Majesty, it is impossible for Chen Qing to stay out of the matter, but whether he will support Zhang Jun is still up for debate."

"Under what circumstances does he not support Zhang Jun?" Zhao Gou asked.

Xu Xiantu bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I have been emphasizing 'righteousness', which is very important. If Zhang Jun loses his morality and is cast aside by the world, then Chen Qing will definitely denounce Zhang Jun publicly. Chen Qing values ​​morality and reputation very much these years. , he will never bear the reputation of supporting the thieves, even if he secretly supported Zhang Jun at the beginning, he will stop supporting Zhang Jun in time because Zhang Jun lost his morality."

Zhao Gou nodded. What Xu Xiantu said made sense. In fact, he was also afraid that Chen Qing would openly support Zhang Jun and send troops to cooperate with Zhang Jun's army to fight. Not very worried.

Zhao Gou thought about it and asked again: "If you want to fight Zhang Jun, who does Ai Qing think is better?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I recommend Han Shizhong. He is old, high-status, and experienced enough to lead an army to fight against Zhang Jun."

"I understand, I will think about it again!"

Zhao Gou was very dissatisfied with Han Shizhong. This time when Zhang Jun seized the ship, Han Shizhong's [-]-strong army retreated without a fight and handed over hundreds of warships to Zhang Jun. It is simply suspected that he and Zhang Jun have a relationship. collusion.

Of course, Zhao Gou also knew that the relationship between Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun had always been at odds, and there would definitely be no collusion, but even if there was no doubt, Han Shizhong lost the naval army he had spent millions of dollars to build, and Zhao Gou was considering holding him accountable. How could he be the chief general again?
At this time, Chen Qing's attention has shifted to Jianghuai. He got the news that Zhang Jun personally led the army to seize Chuzhou and Yangzhou. In this way, the entire Jianghuai area south of the Huaihe River and north of the Yangtze River is Zhang Jun's territory. up.

The second news is that Zhang Jun sent troops to occupy the water village at the mouth of Poyang Lake, using it as his naval base.

Of the two news, Chen Qing paid more attention to the latter news. From Zhang Jun's occupation of this water village, Chen Qing saw Zhang Jun's ambition. .

"Your Highness, it is inevitable that Zhang Jun wants to seize Jiangnan West Road, it is not surprising at all!"

It was Lu Qingshan who was talking, since Lu Qingshan was beaten by Chen Qing and awakened by his wife's words, he began to answer his position, regarded himself as a counselor of Prince Yong's mansion, and no longer regarded himself as an aide, he naturally They will no longer consider for the imperial court, and will safeguard their own interests in everything.

In just one month, everyone felt the change in him, and everyone no longer called him Banxiang. This nickname of Banxiang was a bit ironic.

Chen Qing smiled curiously and asked, "Why isn't it strange at all?"

Lu Qing smiled wryly and said, "Hey! In fact, what His Highness should think of is because of financial resources!"

Only then did Chen Qing realize that he really should have thought of it. He knew Zhang Jun's situation very well. Now the Jianghuai area under Zhang Jun's separatism, except for Yangzhou, which is a little better, and Jingxiang, which is a little better. , even worse than Henan Road, mainly because several wars between the Song Army and the Jin Bing broke out in the Jianghuai area, the entire Jianghuai area was reduced to a battlefield, and the people were displaced. Inhabited.

There were as many as one million Jianghuai people who fled to Guanzhong through Jingxiang and Shangzhou back then, and there were also millions of Jianghuai people who stayed on Jinghu Road. After that escape, Jianghuai was completely hurt. Recovery, Jianghuai, which used to have a population of several million, now only has a population of more than [-] million.

How could a population of one million be able to support the supplies and military salaries of an army of [-]? Once the court cuts off the supplies of the Huaixi Army, even if Zhang Jun accumulates a bit, it is by no means a long-term solution. Of course, Zhang Jun needs to find a stable source of income .

The best source of income is Jiangnan East Road, which has the largest population and the most abundant grain production. It is the most affluent place in the world. Unfortunately, it is the core of the imperial court. Don’t even think about it. The second place is Jiangnan West Road, where Poyang Lake is located. It was not ravaged by the Jin soldiers, and although there were bandit turmoil, they were quelled by the court in a timely manner without hurting their vitality. In addition, they received a large number of immigrants from the Central Plains and the Jianghuai River, making Jiangnan West Road an important source of income for the court.

With tens of millions of people on Jiangnan West Road, there is no problem in supporting an army of [-].

Therefore, Chen Qing also understood Zhang Jun's strategic intentions from this. I am afraid that his seizure of Yangzhou is an illusion. His real purpose is to seize the Jiangnan West Road and solve the problem of financial resources. Especially now that he has a warship, he began to implement his own strategy.

Don't look at Zhang Jun's mediocrity, but when it comes to doing big things, Zhang Jun is unambiguous at all. He knows exactly where his shortcomings are?Also know how to solve it.

That's why Zhang Jun so decisively agreed to Wang Jingxiu's return to his hometown. Wang Jingxiu couldn't understand his strategy, so naturally he wouldn't use it anymore.

(End of this chapter)