Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 731 Qiong County is within reach
In the attic,
Still as quiet as ever, the former crown prince Zhou Yongxiao silently looked at the secret letter in his hand, then put the letter closer to the oil lamp.
After a while,
The flames lit up and burned the letter to ashes. I was still a little hesitant. It was such a pity to give up such a good opportunity.
"Military Advisor, I understand what you mean, but what if the guests take too long to arrive?"

What Zhou Yongxiao meant was that if they did not fight, they would miss the opportunity, and Wang Ziteng's army would be wasting time and energy in the back to recover their strength, and they would not have much of an advantage.
"Haha, Your Highness, haven't you heard that one should remain unchanged in the face of ever-changing situations? No matter how Wang Ziteng sets up his formation to confuse us, his goal is Linshan County City. As long as Linshan County City is in danger and there is a risk of changing hands, I predict that Wang Ziteng will take back this city at all costs. So, the key lies here.

Another point is that Wang Ziteng's army heading south has more than 50,000 cavalry. Even if they delay, they will definitely be able to join forces within a day.
and we,
It is not certain that we can defeat Mr. Lu in one day. He will really fight to the death."

Military Advisor Xun Wen laughed and said in a deep voice, "Lü Daiyuan is a veteran general, and his men are all from Daliang City. If we really surround and annihilate him, the losses will be too great. It is better to wait for most of the troops to gather and change their minds, and then slowly wear them down. We want to severely damage the imperial army and make it difficult for the court to react in a short time. When your highness's army moves away enough supplies to consolidate Lingxi County, we will be invincible."

Thanks to the reminder from Yu Shiyuan, the governor of Jingnan, if I hadn't talked with him all night, I would still be defeated according to the previous strategy. In the end, if His Highness couldn't return to the capital, it would be good to be a vassal king. The master has suffered too much.
"What the military advisor said is very kind. I am a little impatient. Now all the warehouses in the county are open. The materials shipped out are almost enough. I wanted to leave some for the Taiping Sect, but then I thought about it and realized that I would not go back on my promise. So, starting tomorrow, I will stop shipping."

Zhou Yongxiao finally understood. To be safe, he should not let his men suffer too much loss. He should let the leader of the Taiping Sect, Chu, do some work. However, Linshan County City had sufficient supplies. Although a lot of supplies had been shipped out, several of his generals wanted to ship more. He did not agree to this, which is why he said the words just now.
Upon hearing this, the military advisor smiled slightly and agreed;
"Your Highness is truly a gentleman. The alliance is there, and the credibility is there. Since you want the Taiping Sect to deal with the imperial army, sincerity is on both sides. As the saying goes, if you want a horse to run fast, you need to have fodder to keep up. If my guess is correct, the reason why the Taiping Sect leader Chu is in a hurry to go north is because he is short of food and has to come. Therefore, the right time, right place, and right people are all on your side."

This is a rare opportunity, and it is time for Your Highness to take control of the overall situation in southern Beijing. In addition, there seems to be no news about what the White Lotus Sect is doing. It stands to reason that as a century-old sect, it must have a profound foundation, but now the Taiping Sect is the dominant one, while the White Lotus Sect is unknown. It is really strange. From what Your Highness said before, the White Lotus Sect has gathered about 50,000 troops, which shows that they have long restored their strength and have a deep plan.

"Okay, since the military advisor has made it clear, I will follow the previous formation and put on a good show for Wang Ziteng. As for the supplies in the city, it depends on the acting skills of that Master Chu."

Zhou Yongxiao was determined to defeat the imperial army heading south in one battle, and he also wanted to test the imperial court's current strength. He wondered if the iron army trained by the two dukes of the Jia family was still there.

"Your Highness, don't rush into anything. There's no point in being anxious. Just do our own thing. The rest is up to fate. After all, Wang Ziteng has no experience of leading a large army. Even if he is familiar with the Art of War, whether he is as good as Zhao Kuo can be verified at that time. Now, I am worried about the people of the White Lotus Sect. The witch leader Bai Shuiyue appears and disappears like a ghost, and her subordinates are even more uncharacteristic. There is no news at all. Your Highness, isn't it too weird? After all, the White Lotus Sect is not a place for good men and women."

Xun Wen asked again, because he was really uneasy. It could also be said that there were great uncertainties. Bai Shuiyue, the leader of the White Lotus Sect, was a woman, but she had a changeable mind.
in addition,

According to convention, the White Lotus Sect should have a saint lady with the same status as the leader, but it seems that there is no news about that saint lady at all, which is really weird.

Zhou Yongxiao was also stunned when he heard this. The White Lotus Sect was the largest sect in the Central Plains. Although it was surrounded and suppressed in the past, the leader and his ilk were not caught. Now that it has reappeared in the world, not only is its strength still there, but its behavior has become even more bizarre. He turned to look at Commander Zuo beside him and asked;
"Zuo Feng, you were the one who contacted the White Lotus Sect, what are they doing now?"

Zuo Feng was standing beside him. When he heard His Highness' question, he immediately clasped his fists and replied;

"Your Highness, I have been in contact with the Right Protector of the White Lotus Sect, Ying Xiancai. After they captured Linzhou City, they took a short break. That was when we attacked Chenzhou City. The Right Protector of the White Lotus Sect led the people to capture Qinzhou in the north. However, after taking Qinzhou, they hesitated to move forward. I don't know what they meant. According to the previous agreement, they wanted to attack the important town of Runan and then go to Jiangnan."

"What a joke! They want to conquer Runan and go to Jiangnan. Not to mention the difficulty of Wei Xiangping, the governor of Runan, even if they really conquer it, they must go through Tangjun after crossing the canal. But without navy, it is just a foolish dream to want to conquer Tangjun. The White Lotus Sect cannot do this. Keeping the troops in place is just a cover-up. Since the leader is here, where is the saint?"

Xun Wen sneered and did not believe it at all. The White Lotus Sect was not stupid. How could they cross the canal to Jiangnan without anyone to pick them up? Moreover, going north from Qinzhou would only take Huaizhou and Runan. If Runan could not be taken, Huaizhou would be easy to take. If they did not move their troops, they must have some plans.

"This"

Zuo Feng frowned and thought about it. He had seen the leader of the White Lotus Sect, but there was no news about the so-called saint. He once sent someone to ask the right protector Ying Xiancai, but the man kept silent and was very secretive. Therefore, there was no news about the saint, or maybe she was secretly involved.

Suddenly, he remembered that his secret guards had reported that some of the troops had moved south. Could it be that the White Lotus Sect had divided its forces? Thinking of this, he immediately answered,
"Military Advisor, could it be that the White Lotus Cult has divided its forces into one, one in the open and one in the dark? Their Saintess is hiding her troops in the dark, waiting for an opportunity to strike. My secret guards reported that a group of elite troops attempted to move south from Linzhou, but no one has followed up on where they went."

"Go south,?"

Xun Wen frowned, muttered something, and then shouted to his apprentice Zhu Yongcheng,
"Yongcheng, go get the map of the southern part of Beijing, quickly."

"is teacher,"

Zhu Yongcheng responded, then turned and went to the inner hall, took out a long scroll from the package, then walked back quickly and handed it to the teacher.

After Xun Wen received it, he held it in his hand, opened the map, and quickly found the location of Linzhou. Then he went south along Linzhou City. There were only Wenshui City in Dongling County and Chizhou City in Qiongshan County. It was impossible for the people of Taiping Sect to be in Wenshui. Therefore, the people of White Lotus Sect clearly had to go to Chizhou in Qiongshan County. In this way, once Chizhou was lost, Qiongshan County City would have no support and would fall. After taking Jiangzhou, Qiongshan County would certainly not be able to be defended.

"It's amazing!"

Xun Wen couldn't help but exclaimed, and closed the map in his hand and handed it back to Yongcheng. However, this inevitably aroused the curiosity of everyone in the room.
Zhu Yongcheng took the map, put it away again, and asked curiously;

"Teacher, why do you say the White Lotus Sect is so powerful? What did you discover?"

Zhou Yongxiao and Zuo Feng also seemed to be asking questions. I guess the military advisor understood.
"Your Highness, Commander Zuo, I just looked at the map. Linzhou is divided into two places to the south. One is Wenshui City in Dongling County, and the other is Chizhou City in Qiongshan County. Your Highness, think about it. Before we talk about victory, we talk about defeat first. The White Lotus Sect is looking for a retreat. Dongling County has the Taiping Sect's lair. The witch of the White Lotus Sect will definitely not go there. Therefore, they chose Qiongshan County and retreated to the south. It seems that the White Lotus Sect has a master."

Military Advisor Xun's sigh also changed the expressions of the people in the room. Zuo Feng asked anxiously;
"Military Advisor, will the White Lotus Sect's troops withdraw and leave the northeastern area? Wouldn't that expose our backs?"

Zuo Feng could not help but feel anxious. To the east of Linshan County was Huaizhou City. If Runan's army suddenly marched west, Linshan County would be attacked from both sides.

But Military Advisor Xun waved his hand, not caring at all, and smiled;

"Don't worry. As long as the White Lotus Sect takes Chizhou, there will be movement in the north. I think the timing should be similar to what we have arranged. General Zuo, now that your worries have been resolved, how can the largest sect in the Central Plains remain unknown?"

"The military advisor is awesome!"

Seeing the relaxed look on the military advisor's face, Zuo Feng felt cold in his heart. He bowed and replied. Even Zhou Yongxiao, who was sitting opposite him, raised his lips slightly. The big show was about to begin, and the roles in the show were finally complete.
Outside Chizhou City,

Shouts of killing were heard everywhere.
At this time, the gates of Chizhou City were wide open. The soldiers guarding the city looked pale as they watched the bandits pouring in from outside the city. They were filled with disbelief. Where did this elite army come from? They actually dared to attack the imperial city. This was a rebellion.

"General, General, the city gate has been breached. Chizhou can no longer be defended. Let's flee!"

"Yes, yes, run away, hurry up, drive the horses over here, let's go together,"

The Chizhou garrison commander was incoherent, urging the captain to bring his horse over quickly, hoping to escape to the south of the city.

However, the city was in chaos at that time. The White Lotus Sect's army had already surrounded the city, and brought more than 60,000 followers with them. Not long after, they were surrounded and captured by a White Lotus Sect leader in the inner city. When he saw that it was a general, the leader laughed.
"Good fellow, we caught a big fish. Let's go to the leader to claim our reward. Today is the day for me, Zhang Laosan, to get rich. Ahahaha." "The leader is mighty,"

The surrounding tribesmen were all waving swords and guns, making a commotion, and then they rushed forward, tied up several people tightly, and pressed them over.
The army that went south this time was composed of the main force of the Southern Leader Zhu Jianming and the Jiangnan tribe. It was led by the White Lotus Sect Leader and the Right Protector Ying Xiancai himself. As for the troops in southern Beijing, they were handed over to the Northern Leader Qian Shanhai to preside over the overall situation. His troops were on standby in Qinzhou, looking at Runan from afar.

"Master, it's unbelievable that the troops of the southern counties are so weak. I thought it would be troublesome to attack Chizhou, but I didn't expect that after a battle, the defending general was a drunkard who didn't even know how to gather troops to guard the city gate."

It is no wonder that the Right Protector Ying Xian spoke so arrogantly. When he led his army to besiege the city, he observed from the north gate that the opposing garrison commander had placed heavy troops on the city wall. The city gate was obviously a weak spot, but after an hour of fierce attack, he actually broke through the city gate. If it were Qinzhou in the south of Beijing, there would have been heavy losses if there had not been an insider.

"Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and clear up the mess, take Chizhou, you lead your men to quickly raid Qiongshan County and occupy this place, then let the Southern Leader Zhu Jianming lead his troops to defend Qiongshan County. This place is the retreat of our White Lotus Sect. If it wasn't for coincidence, this leader was careful and followed the former crown prince's troops. Who would have thought that they would actually divide their troops into Lingxi County? This move is obviously a smart one. Counting those people from the Taiping Sect, our White Lotus Sect is much slower."

Bai Shuiyue covered her face, so her expression could not be seen clearly, but her tone was obviously a little excited. She also thought that the people of the Taiping Sect were just to the west, so if they could take advantage of any opportunity, this place would be their White Lotus Sect's possession. She thought that Xihe County was not a place to stay for long. It was one thing that they could not afford to support a large army, but if the imperial court's troops surrounded them, they would have nowhere to escape.
"Master, since the southern states are so cowardly, why don't we take this opportunity to stay and fight southward? I will wipe out those shrimp soldiers and crab generals along the way for you, Master."

Ying Xiancai was not just dreaming, he was really attracted by the victory in front of him, it was easier than fighting against the imperial army in the south of Beijing. But when he saw the leader shook his head,
"You can't say that. If everyone thinks like that, who will deal with the imperial court's troops? The Taiping Sect and the former crown prince have so many elite troops, wouldn't they have fled long ago? What the world needs is to seize the luck. My White Lotus Sect is the largest sect in the Central Plains. If we return to the arena, we must make a big splash.
Tell Zhu Jianming that after taking down Qiongshan County, we should also take down Jiangzhou, occupy the entire territory of Qiongshan County, and repair the defense of Chizhou City, monitor the west and north, and never be careless. "

Bai Shuiyue saw that Chizhou had been taken and the situation was settled, so he prepared to return to Jingnan, and according to the internal support, he made good preparations to take down the important town of Runan. At that time, the White Lotus Sect had shocked the world, and it was able to suppress the Taiping Sect.

"Yes, Master. I understand. Master Zhu is calm and steady, and will never be careless. We will take over Qiongshan County within three days. Master, you can go back and take charge of the situation first."

Ying Xiancai was not worried that something might go wrong in Qiongshan County City. There were already some brothers in the church who had entered the city under the cover of a caravan. They were already very familiar with seizing the city. It was not that they underestimated the officers and soldiers, but that those officials were good-for-nothings.

was saying,

But not far away, the head of the family, Zhang Lao San, came over with a fat and big-eared general tied up, shouting at the top of his voice;

"Master, Right Protector, we have captured the guard of Chizhou City."

Bai Shuiyue looked intently and saw that the man was very white and fat, and could hardly walk. The official robes he wore were only attached to his body, and he didn't even have any armor.
"Okay, Master Zhang, you've worked hard. This contribution will be recorded in the account. When we take over Qiongshan County, we'll reward him based on his merits. This man is useless. Take him away and kill him."

"Uh, yes, Master."

Zhang Laosan heard the words of the leader Bai Shuiyue and responded.
The guard had already turned pale with fear, his legs shaking, and a strong smell of urine came over him. He was so scared that he peed himself and screamed.
"Master, please do not kill me. I surrender. I surrender."

He had no shame as a general and even called out the leader. This aroused Bai Shuiyue's interest. He raised his hand and

"Slow down, bring the person back."

"Yes, Master."

Zhang Laosan, who was dragging the guard away, turned around and picked up the man and took him back. However, the smell on his body was really bad, even worse than that of a woman.

He threw the man aside with disdain, and let the two guards beside him drag him away.

"You two, lift him up and go over there,"

"Yes, Hall Master."

Two guards covered their noses, one held up one of the man's arms, and carried him over. Bai Shuiyue wrinkled her nose and spoke in a pretty voice,

"Tell me, what else are you good for?"

"Master, young generals can also join the sect. As long as you don't kill me, I can do anything."

The guards were sweating all over their faces, and they were full of flattery, without any shame at all. The right protector Ying Xiancai was a little bit unbelievable. If all the generals in the court were like this, wouldn't the leader be able to sit on the dragon throne?
"May I have your name,"

This is strange. It is very rare for a city defender to have no backbone at all. Even the county magistrate of Linzhou City dared to charge forward with a sword. As a general, he is no match for the civil servants.

"Master, I am Tang Qingbao, a native of Jiangnan. I followed my father to this remote place of Qiongshan, but I couldn't even get any money. By the way, my father, Tang Yuanli, is the governor of Qiongshan County, and the governor of Jiangzhou is my brother, Tang Yunshui. They are all our people!"

Without waiting for Bai Shuiyue to ask, the general in front of him began to introduce himself and told Bai Shuiyue everything at once, which shocked Bai Shuiyue. They all had the surname Tang and were from the same family, so they must be the local tyrants.

"You mean, Qiongshan County is under the control of your Tang family?"

"Well, no!"

Tang Qingbao nodded, then suddenly shook his head, which made Bai Shuiyue frown. Ying Xiancai scolded him harshly.

"Yes or no?"

"Master, it was true before, but it's not true now that you're here. Besides, no one wants to come to a poor place like Qiongshan County, so it's only us, the Tang family, who work for the court, who come here. We don't make as much money as when we were in Jiangnan, when a prefect made more. Why?"

Tang Qingbao's complaints were not false. In Jiangnan, a prefect could earn 100,000 taels of silver a year, but here, even if the treasury was emptied, there was still not 100,000 taels of silver. So they just started to suck the blood of soldiers and buy and sell officials, only then could they save up a little money. Therefore, when Tang Qingbao saw so many soldiers of the White Lotus Sect, he knew very well that the county city did not have so many soldiers and could not be defended. It would be better to surrender, buy wealth, and keep his life to enjoy it later.

(End of this chapter)