Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 763 It's up to God
In Hanyuan Hall,

Zhang Jinyu and the three princes were still sitting by the window, half lying there lazily, looking at the sky outside that looked like night, and muttered,
"How unfortunate of God! This year's imperial examination may have disturbed the Dragon King's temple. Your Highness, look, the sky was clear just now, but now it is covered with dark clouds. The change of face is too fast."

Zhang Jinyu sat up, looking a little grim. He was not really worried about the examinees, but thinking about Wang Ziteng's army heading south. If it still rained heavily, the road would be muddy, the army would have difficulty moving, and the soldiers would be tired. They must not act rashly. The most important point was whether there was an ambush. Thinking back, as long as Daliang City was in hand, the official road would still be safe.
However, he was stunned by this thought. The three princes around him saw that the Marquis had stood up and quickly took off their blankets, wanting to hear what the Marquis had to say. When they heard that it was going to rain, the second prince Zhou Chong waved his hand.

"You are joking, my Lord. If it rains, there is no way to avoid it. We can't do anything about it even if we want to."

"That's right, Lord Marquis. Don't worry. It rained a lot during the imperial examinations in the past."

The eldest prince Zhou Ding also spoke to comfort him. He thought it was understandable that the marquis had been worried and in low spirits over the past few days, and had not slept well or eaten well. The three of them had seen what the marquis had done, and he had devoted himself to the court.

The third prince did not fall behind and consoled him,
"Don't worry, my Lord. Everything outside has been cleaned up. Even if it rains hard, you won't get wet."

The Third Prince thought that the Marquis was worried about the tents outside, but the tents were all the same, with thick leather that would not leak, and when setting up camp, the place chosen had very good drainage, with no puddles of water.

After he finished speaking, he saw that the Marquis did not respond, and he was confused. He looked up and saw that Marquis Luo Yun's eyes were staring straight out the window, motionless. The three princes also noticed the problem, looked at each other, and then stretched their heads to look out the window.
Who knew that after looking carefully for a long time, he saw nothing. The eldest prince Zhou Ding obviously couldn't help but asked;

"My Lord, what are you looking at?"

After shouting once, Luo Yunhou did not respond, so he had no choice but to shout again;
"My Lord, my Lord?"

Zhang Jinyu suddenly woke up and came back to his senses.

"what happened?"

He asked in astonishment, leaving the three princes speechless. As a last resort, the second prince spoke up and repeated the question on behalf of his eldest brother.
Zhang Jinyu looked at the faces of the three princes, but did not avoid them. He stretched out his finger to touch the tea in the tea bowl, drew a circle on the table, and then drew another circle below the circle.

But this appearance made the three of them confused. The eldest prince Zhou Ding looked at it for a long time, but couldn't understand it, so he asked;

"May I ask, sir, what are the meanings of the two circles you drew? I don't understand."

"Yes, sir, although the two circles are one big and one small, could it be someone's name?"

The second prince Zhou Chong also had some doubts. After all, he had memorized the names of the special examinations by heart. He wondered if the candidates who passed the examinations would change.
Zhang Jinyu smiled, it seemed that the three princes had misunderstood, and said with a smile;
"Your Highness, I am not talking about the imperial examination. I will think about it when they finish the examination and mark the papers. I am talking about the army of Prince Teng in the south of the capital. It has been five or six days since they marched on the official road. I think they will soon reach Daliang City ahead."

Zhang Jinyu's face straightened, and he pointed to the circle above and said;
"Your Highness, please look, this is Daliang City,"

"What about the circle down there?"

The second prince Zhou Chong asked anxiously. Obviously, Luo Yunhou's topic aroused the interest of the three of them. Zhang Jinyu was not in a hurry. He reached out his hand to dip some tea and made another point under the circle.

"The upper circle is Daliang City, the lower circle is Linshan County City, and this dot is Chenzhou City. Your Highnesses, can you tell what it is?"

Zhang Jinyu explained that he had obviously thought about this map before. Now thinking about it again, he had some ideas. If he wanted to know the situation of Linshan County, he had to look at Chenzhou City. So, he kept it a secret and asked some questions.
My three princes, now I understand why the Marquis is worried about the army heading south, but why the focus is on Linshan County, not a prefecture in the southwest. Linyue Prefecture was under siege, and that General Jingnan, Gu Ping, led an army of 30,000 to rescue, but in the end, he disappeared without a trace and without any explanation, resulting in the court knowing nothing about the situation in Jingnan. He deserves to be killed!

"Your Majesty's question must have a deep meaning. Although I cannot guess what happened in Jingnan, I also know that the officials in Jingnan are unreliable, and even the generals have problems. The main thing is that the 30,000 troops under the command of Jingnan General Gu Ping are unknown whether they are alive or dead. This is what I cannot figure out. How could there be no news at all?"

The eldest prince Zhou Ding frowned, feeling extremely uncomfortable. When the imperial court knew nothing about it, it meant that they had lost control of this place. He was afraid that some people in southern Beijing had reached out. The Taiping Sect might just be an open matter, so it would be difficult for Wang Ziteng's army to march south.

"Brother, the Marquis is not talking about the army heading south, but about Linshan County. Just now, the Marquis mentioned Chenzhou City. Judging from what the Marquis drew, it should be in the south of Linshan County. As long as Chenzhou City is safe, Linshan County will naturally be safe as well. Marquis, is this what you mean?"

The second prince Zhou Chong seemed a little proud. As the saying goes, "He who is close to the water gets the moon first." After all, he knew some simple principles. Moreover, he had some interest in leading troops to fight wars. He actually found many books on military strategy and read them. Although he could not understand them, he was also someone who had read military books.

The third prince was different. Although he couldn't figure out some things, he knew that the simpler things were, the more complicated they were, and the more complicated things were, the simpler they were. So when he looked at the land south of Beijing, he was just going to fight the Taiping Sect. He had also heard about Wang Ziteng's strategy, which was to proceed step by step without making mistakes.

"My Lord, I think there shouldn't be any problem. Commander Wang Jie has an army of 150,000 men, with a large number of cavalry. I think their reconnaissance is similar, and there shouldn't be any omissions in the enemy's movements. So there won't be any problem for the army to push forward."

Zhang Jinyu was a little surprised when he heard this. He had always thought that the Third Prince was young, but he didn't expect that his military strategy was much better than the two of them. He had also discussed this with the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guards, Marquis Baoning, and it was indeed true.

"Your Highness the Third Prince really has a keen eye!"

Zhang Jinyu exclaimed in admiration. Sometimes, you really can't judge people by their age.

"Your Highnesses, I will correct you. This is Daliang City, and this is Linshan County. It has been raining heavily for several days. Although the official road is good, it has been in disrepair for many years. It is muddy and inconvenient to move. Therefore, we must not go south at this time. We must rest in a safe place, that is, Daliang City, and then go south to Linshan County."

"Why is that? Why not send some troops to Linshan County first?"

The eldest prince was a little confused. Instead of wasting a few days, why not lead the cavalry into Linshan County City and take control of the county city first?

"Your Highness, that's a good question."

Zhang Jinyu's eyes flashed, and he said in a deep voice;
"Your Highness, why didn't Wang Ziteng divide his troops and go in? It's because he doesn't trust the governor of Jingnan, or even the entire officialdom. If Wang Ziteng ventures into the city and there is really a problem, he may not be able to get out. The army outside the city is leaderless. If the southern troops fight on their own, they will definitely be defeated. So they can only rest and wait for an opportunity to act."

This is not something Zhang Jinyu imagined out of thin air, but today, Zhang Jinyu boldly guessed that maybe the hidden black hand had already taken over Linshan County, and the Taiping Sect was just a cover. Was it possible that they had set a trap and were waiting for Wang Ziteng's army to lure them into the trap?
"My Lord, what you mean is that now, the entire southern part of the capital has been lost, and the imperial court's troops have been almost wiped out?" The eldest prince made a guess, and the three looked at him in disbelief. How could it be possible? Even if the Taiping Cult was so powerful, it would take a long time to kill hundreds of thousands of people, even if they were pigs, let alone soldiers holding sharp blades.
"My Lord, do you have any evidence?"

The second prince firmly did not believe it. If it was true, all officials in southern Beijing should be killed and their entire clans should be exterminated.

Zhang Jinyu had a gloomy face and had a bad feeling in his heart. He shook his head.

"Your Highness, this is just a hunch. I didn't have this idea before. Today, maybe it's because it's rainy, I suddenly had this arrogant idea. I'm just guessing without any evidence. But Your Highness, if someone really set up such a shocking situation in the end, then the person behind it must be extraordinary."

This seems to be the difficulty. Even the vassal kings don't have such a big hand. As for the four kings of different surnames, although they have made some moves, they may not be able to play such a big chess game. The King of the North and the King of the East have motives, but unfortunately their strength is limited.
The Western King and the Southern King have strength, but they have no motivation, so it is impossible for them to increase the strength of others. The princes of various places are still thinking about the capital, thinking about the good things of the emperor, and have no time to care about other things. There is only one person,
Zhang Jinyu was horrified. There were only Guanwai and the former crown prince. He was still in the capital to supervise the exam. Only the former crown prince Zhou Yongxiao had the ability to play chess with the world as a chessboard and make a move in the south of Beijing. Moreover, he had the first move.
As a result, the emperor in the capital will sleep uneasy. The political situation is under your control, but some things are not necessarily up to you. War is dangerous. To besiege the south of Beijing, we need to rely on Daliang City and Linshan County City. To defend the south of the capital, we need to rely on the important town of Runan on the west bank of the canal and Tang County on the east bank. If the south of the Yangtze River is stable, the world will be at peace.

If the crisis in Jiangnan affects the money and grain of the imperial court, the foundation will be shaken, and the East Palace and the North Palace may intervene. All in all, Wang Ziteng will have a difficult time in this battle. Everyone in the world wants him to lose, but he alone wants to win. How difficult it is.

This moment might be the final answer, but unfortunately, it was too late. Even if it was to alert Wang Ziteng, he had to fight him this ten feet. There was no other way.

"My Lord, you are worrying too much. No matter how many people the Taiping Cult has, they are no match for the imperial court. Even if Linshan County is really lost, we can just take it back. The army of the capital camp and the imperial guards have hardly moved an inch. Even if we are defeated, we can just fight again."

The second prince looked indifferent, but he had something in mind. Even if Wang Ziteng was defeated, he still had Luo Yunhou, the ever-victorious general. He would surely succeed if he led his troops south.
"Your Highness, that's easy to say. With hundreds of thousands of troops, the court must have spent a lot. We should prepare for a rainy day and make plans early."

Zhang Jinyu still didn't want the court to fail and become unstable. Even if there was chaos inside the Great Wall, he had to wait until the refugees outside the Great Wall had their supplies stored and settled down.

Nowadays, relying on transfusions from the interior to increase the foundation outside the Great Wall, it is like a cheat. Just in Pingyang County, the vacant houses and abandoned farms outside the city are now full. And the empty city of Pingliao is now overcrowded. As a last resort, the farmers were transported to Pingyun City, which has become a paradise. Therefore, if the court wants to intervene in the interior, it must be stable. Even if the four kings and eight dukes have selfish motives, they will not let the court be precarious. Therefore, the army should be prepared for war.

Seeing the gloomy look on Marquis Luo Yun's face, the first and second princes obviously realized the seriousness of the matter.
"My Lord, what do you think we should do? Who is the one who set up this situation?"

"Your Highness, think about it, who is this person who has such a great hand? I dare not speak rashly, but I just want to ask, did the former crown prince Zhou Yongxiao really die in the crown prince's mansion? Then why did the Su family come here to kneel down and say that Su Yuankui's blood was spilled in the palace this year, but he died at the East City Gate? Your Highness, could it be that the coward Jingnan Marquis ran away, but he resisted the Beijing camp at the East City Gate and died in the end? How can it be explained?"

Zhang Jinyu's words were like a sharp arrow that broke through the fog. The three princes suddenly woke up. Yes, if the former prince was really dead, shouldn't Su Yuankui have died in the prince's mansion? Why did he die in the East City? Thinking of the guards and the imperial guards in his own palace, they followed him wherever he went. This could only mean that the former prince's men had already rushed out of the East City Gate at that time, and Jingnan Marquis Su Yuankui led the remaining soldiers to block the pursuers and died at the city gate.

The three of them gasped. This was not impossible. Their eyes were filled with disbelief. The former crown prince, the three of them seemed to want to call him uncle. Zhou Ding suppressed his panic, picked up the tea bowl and took a sip of tea to calm his nerves.
"My Lord, how sure are you of your guess?"

Zhang Jinyu shook his head slightly, staring at the three people in front of him, and said;
"Your Highness, all of this is just my guess. As for how certain I am, it depends on what Your Highness is thinking right now."

The confusing words made the three princes even more worried, because the speculations just now were all based on traces and could not be false. The second prince was irritable and asked with gritted teeth;

"Brother, do you want to arrest Su Wenliang and interrogate him to find out how his uncle died?"

"Brother, you must not do this. This will only alert the enemy. Everyone knows about Marquis Jingnan's death. It cannot be faked."

The third prince Zhou Long tried to stop him. In the imperial examination hall, any action would cause rumors to spread, and he would be in a passive position.
"What should I do?"

The second prince was helpless and touched his head impatiently.

At this time, the eldest prince Zhou Ding clasped his fists and bowed;
"My Lord, what do you think?"

Zhang Jinyu sat there with a frown on his face, thinking to himself. There was no good solution at the moment, so he could only fight it out on the battlefield. The outcome was unpredictable. If he won, all the conspiracies would be over.
"Your Highness, there is a saying that goes, if you have strength, all conspiracies and tricks are despicable. So, if you want to break them, you can only fight head-on. Wang Ziteng must win this battle. If he wins, everything will be fine. If he fails, everything will be over. So, what the court needs to do now is to prepare for war. Even if we lose, we can win it back."

Glancing at the heavy rain outside, the court was in trouble, and the enemy was even more difficult, so supplies were extremely important. Even for straw raincoats, hundreds of thousands of sets of clothing were needed.
"The Beijing camp has more than 400,000 soldiers and horses, and about 350,000 can be mobilized. The imperial guards have about 300,000, and more than 200,000 can be mobilized. We need to prepare all of these, including armor, food, and even raincoats for shelter. The rainy season is coming, which may not be a bad opportunity for us. Your Highness, I need you to go and meet His Majesty. Ask Baoning Hou to start counting the soldiers and horses now, and to keep the supplies, especially the horses, well-maintained."

Zhang Jinyu was not joking. It was better to prepare early than late. If something really happened, they could immediately gather most of the troops and march south. The first would be the cavalry. No matter how much Wang Ziteng suffered, the cavalry could still escape. As long as the cavalry was used to hold the enemy back, the enemy would have nowhere to escape according to the tactics outside the Great Wall.

This is also the source of Zhang Jinyu's confidence. For field cavalry, they still use light cavalry, so they have to learn the original Mongolian way of fighting, plunder all the population and advance quickly. In addition, as for the kite-flying archer cavalry, with long-arm crossbows, they can also deal with this method. The rest is to attack the stronghold, and the ones who die are the infantry.

Zhou Ding's face condensed. Since the Marquis had said so much, it meant that the battle in Jingnan was hopeless. Wang Ziteng would definitely fail. It all depended on how much he would lose. He glanced at the sky outside again. It was like the dark night, swallowing up all the light.

"My Lord, have you decided?"

The eldest prince's voice was somewhat heavy.
Zhang Jinyu looked grim. He glanced out the window and saw heavy rain. He knew that there was no chance of success in this battle.
"Your Highness, we can only rely on God's will. On rainy days, the cavalry's movements are restricted, and only the infantry can move forward. If it is sunny, with the strength of the troops heading south, the odds of winning are fifty-fifty. If only the infantry goes south, I think the chances of winning are less than 30%. The dark clouds are pressing down on the city, threatening to destroy it."

With a sigh, he felt sorry for Wang Ziteng. In any case, Wang Ziteng's position as the governor of the Beijing Camp had come to an end. Even if he was not dismissed, he would inevitably insert people from the nobles and relatives. If the old Duke and others knew about it earlier and asked the Marquis of Xiangyang to go and give some advice, it would be better. Of course, this is all a story for later.
Nowadays, we still need to have a backup plan.

"Don't worry, my Lord. I know what's going on with this matter."

The eldest prince Zhou Ding stood up and waved his hand outside. He saw the eunuch in charge of Yu Shang hurried over and asked in a low voice:
"Your Highness, why did you call me here?"

"Change clothes, go through the back door, and go to the imperial study to see father."

As soon as this word comes out,
Yu Shang looked unhappy. His master was really like that, but he had to agree.
"Yes, Your Highness, follow me."

After saying hello, he went to the side hall.
Seeing this, Zhang Jinyu gave Ningbian a look and ordered troops to escort them.
(End of this chapter)