Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 767 You Are Crazy Luo Yunhou
In the imperial study room,

In the center of the room, a huge lotus-shaped incense burner was slowly burning spices, emitting a faint fragrance that filled the entire space with a calm and peaceful atmosphere.

Amid the smoke of cigarettes,

It was as quiet as death. The eldest prince Zhou Ding was very careful even when drinking his porridge. Dai Quan also stood beside him with a frown, wondering if what Luo Yunhou said had any basis.

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong obviously didn't understand who had such great power to dare to swallow up the imperial court's troops in one gulp. Now, Wang Ziteng's troops should be approaching Daliang City. Everything is still speculation.

"Dai Quan, go to Hanyuan Palace and find Marquis Luo Yun. I have something to ask him. Also, send someone to the Marquis Baoning's mansion to find Kang Guichen as well."

Dai Quan was stunned. At this time, he called the examiner over. Seeing that the emperor looked solemn, he did not dare to neglect him and replied,
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will go right away."

He bowed and slowly withdrew.

Seeing people leaving,

Emperor Wu picked up his bowl and chopsticks again and continued to eat with Prince Jin.

Hanyuan Hall,
It was still a boring wait. Zhang Jinyu lay there drowsily, looking at the students below, studying hard. He remembered that he had been in the same situation before.
Unfortunately, I became unemployed right after graduation and my memories of the past are a bit fuzzy. It seems that the days of comfort have lasted too long.

"Master Chu, is it time yet?"

When Zhang Jinyu asked, it was time for rest, but seeing that Master Chu Nian was still energetic, he shook his head.
"My Lord, although it is dark outside, it is just a rainy day. It is only the evening hour now. We need to close the scroll at least at midnight, so we will have more time."

Zhang Jinyu opened his eyes suddenly after hearing this. That means there are still two hours left. My waist is broken from sitting. Damn it.

"Then I'll trouble Master Chu to keep an eye on it,"

Zhang Jinyu made up his mind to wait a little longer, play a little, and then quietly go back to eat something and rest.
Just thinking,

However, he saw several figures wearing bamboo hats coming from the corner of the back corridor. Ning Bian stood up alertly, and saw one of them moving over and seeing Luo Yunhou lying on the side. He was startled and thought to himself, Luo Yunhou is so free.

Who else could this person be but the Imperial Eunuch Dai Quan?

"Your Majesty, you are so elegant. Can I invite you to come for a visit?"

Zhang Jinyu, who was still thinking about good things, shuddered all over when he heard the cold voice. He turned around hurriedly. If it wasn't the internal minister, who else could it be?

This, I thought of the eldest prince Zhou Ding, it seems that this is what His Majesty meant,
He quickly looked around and saw that only Lord Chu Nian was looking at him in shock. Zhang Jinyu quickly made a gesture to keep quiet, and the latter nodded.

So he stood up and took Ning Bian and Dai Quan out of the hall, leaving Lord Chu Nian to continue watching the hall. He guessed in his heart that this must be the emperor's intention.

When we got to the corridor,
Zhang Jinyu whispered,
"Secretary, why would you bother to come all this way? Just send someone over to let them know. It's raining so hard."

As he spoke, he put on his raincoat. The rain was too heavy and an umbrella was probably useless.

"You are joking, my Lord. This is a serious matter. The Emperor is worried. As a servant, how can I be careless?"

Dai Quan also put on his bamboo hat and walked down the stairs.

Seeing this, Zhang Jinyu followed closely behind him, walked side by side, waved his hand, and asked Ning Bian and others to stay and look at the hall.

"Thank you, Prime Minister,"

A group of people walked along the path, along the corner of the wall, and walked towards the back door. Everything was quiet and no one noticed.

The backyard of Hanyuan Hall,

Zhang Jinyu glanced at the corner door on the back wall and twitched his lips. The back door had been busy during the Enke exam days.

After walking for a while, I turned a few corners and arrived at the front yard of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. I looked inside the hall and saw that it was brightly lit. I thought His Majesty should still be in the imperial study. As soon as I entered the hall, took off my raincoat and hat, I saw a hurried figure outside, also walking in.

Take a closer look,
The figure was familiar. After thinking for a while, he realized that this must be Lord Kang, the Marquis of Baoning. The emperor had also called him here. It seemed that he still had some questions.

"Greetings, Lord Kang. Lord Kang, thank you for your help."

Zhang Jinyu took a few steps forward and quickly helped Baoning Hou take off his raincoat. If it weren't for his words, Baoning Hou would not have had to come in the wind and rain.

"Oh, my Lord, what are you doing? You can't do that. It's just a small matter."

Kang Guichen, Marquis of Baoning, entered the inner hall, pushed and shoved, and quickly took off his bamboo hat and raincoat. His inner clothes were not wet by the rain, but the legs of his trousers were soaked.

"My Lords, please stop talking nonsense and go in now."

Dai Quan also shook off the rain on his sleeves and urged.

Zhang Jinyu also knew that the emperor was anxious, so he cupped his hands.

"Master Kang, please."

"You are welcome, sir."

The two of them gave way to each other and entered the hall together, heading towards the imperial study.

Entering the Imperial Study,
I saw that Emperor Wu was already sitting behind the imperial desk, writing something with a brush in his hand. I didn't know what he was drawing. On the west side, there was a table, and the eldest prince Zhou Ding was still eating with his head buried in his food. He was eating with such a delicious smell.

At just one glance, Zhang Jinyu felt an unpleasant taste in his mouth and an uncomfortable stomach. He thought to himself, the prince was really unreliable in doing things, and he even got eaten.

Of course, Marquis Baoning also saw the movement in the west, and was a little puzzled as to why the eldest prince, Prince Jin, was here. Wasn't it said that the three princes were invigilating in Hanyuan Hall? I guess His Majesty summoned him, which must be related to Marquis Luo Yun.

The two of them walked into the palace.

Zhang Jinyu and Baoning Hou looked at each other, took a few steps forward, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed;

"Your Majesty, I, Zhang Jinyu, pay my respects to you. Long live the emperor."

A mountain shout,
Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong came back to his senses and glanced at the two men. Although they were a little disheveled, they were in high spirits. He then glanced at the map of southern Beijing on the table and circled Linshan County and the important town of Runan with a red pen.

"Get up,"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The two men bowed their heads again, stood up and stood solemnly.

Before the two could say anything more, Emperor Wu ordered Dai Quan to seat them.

After a while, a eunuch came in carrying a chair. He placed the chair not far from the desk, then left immediately.
Zhang Jinyu and the other two bowed and said;
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness." The two thanked him and sat down.
Marquis Baoning first lifted his official robe, sat up straight, and slowly sat his buttocks on a corner of the chair, sitting upright and cautiously.

Zhang Jinyu looked a little helpless. It was not right to sit or not to sit. The chair was meant to be sat on. If he had to sit like this, he might as well stand.
He didn't care and sat down, taking up most of the chair, which made Bao Ning Hou beside him tremble. Luo Yun Hou was more straightforward.
Although the commotion in the hall was small, Dai Quan, who was serving on the stage, saw it clearly. He thought to himself that only Marquis Luo Yun would dare to do this. I'm afraid the court can't find another person like him.

Just as the three of them were thinking about their own things, the voice of Emperor Wu came over and asked,

"Marquis Baoning, how is the training of the imperial guards going? Are there any shortages of soldiers and armor?"

Emperor Wu glanced at the two of them and asked about the Imperial Guards first. It was time to use the chess pieces that had been laid out for so many years.

When Kang Guichen heard your majesty's question, he immediately stood up and bowed;
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Guards have all been trained. We have 250,000 soldiers. The Left Guard and the Right Guard each command 50,000 soldiers. The total number is about 300,000. There are no vacancies and the weapons are complete."

The decisive answer surprised Zhang Jinyu greatly. It seemed that Marquis Baoning had really conducted a thorough investigation and training, as he remembered the number of people so clearly. As for the left and right guards of the imperial guards, they were the imperial guards under He Xiaocheng and Yi Anxin, and they were the emperor's men. In this way, His Majesty had already taken control of the situation with regard to the imperial guards.

"Okay, you did a good job. I am pleased. Please sit down first."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Emperor Wu nodded. The planning over more than ten years had finally paid off. The Imperial Guards were now stable. As for the Beijing Camp, Wang Ziteng had been sent to train them for many years, but with so many nobles in the capital involved, it was still so mixed.

When Baoning Hou sat down, Zhang Jinyu straightened his back. It was his turn next.
as predicted,

Emperor Wu asked again,
"Lord Luo Yun, I want to ask you, what is the probability that the army led by Prince Teng of Jingnan can safely reach Linshan County City, and how confident are they that they can hold it?"

The question was asked suddenly, and the two who heard it were also surprised. Baoning Hou obviously did not understand what the emperor meant. Counting from the time Wang Ziteng's troops went south, they might not have reached Daliang City yet.
Linshan County City is still in the hands of the imperial court, how could they have captured this city? Could it be that the Taiping Cult's troops have already captured the county city? No way! No news has been leaked.

Only Zhang Jinyu understood what His Majesty meant. This was a worst-case scenario. The Taiping Sect had taken the initiative, and it seemed that His Majesty agreed with his idea.

"Your Majesty, I don't know. If we really lose the county city, whether we win or lose this battle, General Wang Jie can only lead the army to attack. As for whether we can win or not, it depends on God's will. I also think that in addition to Linshan County City, the important town of Runan needs to be on guard against the movements of the bandit army. Although Jiangnan has the natural barriers of Tang County and the Grand Canal, if Runan City gets into trouble, Xihe County will be a mess. I'm afraid it will be even more difficult to clean up the mess. So I think that the capital should immediately prepare for war. If necessary, troops should be sent immediately without delay."

This was also the ultimate killer move that Zhang Jinyu had thought of. Even if the imperial army failed, it would be impossible for them to leave any breathing space for the rebel army. As long as they maintained the pressure of the front-line troops, they would be the ones who could not hold on.

The more places we conquer, the more dispersed our troops will be. At that time, we can send heavy troops to attack and win one battle to decide the overall situation.

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong touched the map on the desk, his eyes lit up, and he thought about what Luo Yunhou said. His eyes slowly fell on the east side of the map, marked on Runan City.
Thinking of Wei Xiangping, the governor of Runan County, he was also a rare talent, and there were 30,000 troops in the city, controlling the four major roads in the southeast, northwest, and northeast. It has always been a place of contention for military strategists. If Wei Xiangping led his army west out of Huaizhou and attacked from behind to encircle and suppress the Taiping Sect's bandit army in Linshan County, or cut off their retreat, after this battle, the people of Taiping Sect would be unable to escape. Once this idea came out, he couldn't suppress it, so he asked,

"The troops of the capital have gathered and all their weapons are ready, but there is not enough time to rush south. If Wang Ziteng's troops are allowed to stay in Daliang City, Linshan County may be lost. Therefore, we still need to fight this battle. We need to find out the truth about Linshan County and the quality of those people in the Taiping Sect. As for the government troops in Runan City, do you two have any ideas?"

You're asking this question even though you already know the answer, but what else can you do? There are so few soldiers in Runan, what can they accomplish?

The conversation between the king and his ministers was also heard by Baoning Hou and Kang Guichen who were beside Zhang Jinyu. They were talking about the affairs of Jingnan.

From what he said, something happened on the Taiping Sect side. Either the rebel army is too strong and Wang Ziteng will have a hard time defeating them, but when you think about it, who can stop an army of hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers?

"Your Majesty, I don't understand. Wang Ziteng has hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses. Let alone a mere Linshan County City, even if it is the entire Jingnan, no matter how powerful the Taiping Sect is, no matter how many people there are, they will definitely not be able to defeat the imperial army in a field battle. Even if the county city is lost, it will not be difficult to take it back according to the strength of Wang Ziteng's troops. Runan City is a key road, which is related to the safety of Jiangnan and Xihe County. Defending the city is a great achievement, and there is no need to go west."

Marquis Baoning stood up and replied firmly that although he didn't know what had happened, Wang Ziteng had discussed the matter before going south. As long as they proceeded steadily, they would be invincible. As for the rest of the places, they just needed to defend them strictly.

When it is necessary to attack the city, although the walls of Linshan County are high and strong, it takes a lot of effort. Relying on the imperial court's military equipment and hundreds of thousands of infantry, it is not that they look down on the Taiping Sect who come from the grassroots. Even the troops in the fiefdoms of the vassal kings cannot stop the imperial court's army. No matter how many people the enemy's main force has, as long as they are defeated in one battle, the overall situation can be decided.

This was also the result of the discussion between Baoning Hou and Wang Ziteng. Although there was no military strategy, it was in line with the military strategy.

There is a saying in the art of war that force can defeat skill. This is the essence of the art of war. No matter how many tricks you use, as long as you go straight to the target, your opponent will be helpless.

This was just a guess, and I didn't take into account the people behind the Taiping Sect, let alone the evil woman from the White Lotus Sect, who would make a comeback.

The words of Marquis Baoning were very powerful, and Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong felt relieved after hearing them. What he said was not wrong. Some of Marquis Luo Yun's ideas were just guesses, and they might not lead to the worst situation. The thoughts in his mind floated back.
"Lord Luo Yun, what do you think?"

Zhang Jinyu blinked and gave a thumbs up to Marquis Baoning. He didn't expect that Marquis Baoning was really capable. He was worthy of the title of the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards. From common sense, it was true. If he hadn't guessed about the former crown prince, anyone would have thought so.

unfortunately,

The more confident he was, the more obvious his uneasiness became. Unless the former crown prince Zhou Yongxiao was a fool, he would lose the first move in setting up the chess game. What was the point of playing chess?
"Your Majesty, what the Marquis of Baoning said is correct. Under common sense, everything is like this, but when there is no common sense, we are afraid that things will not go as planned. The government troops in the important town of Runan must not be moved. The Taiping Sect also has experts behind them to guide them, so we cannot be careless. In addition, the county city should have 30,000 government troops, and the Taiping Sect's bandit army must be no less than 200,000. The reason why I said this is that I calculated it based on the troops under General Gu Ping."

Zhang Jinyu thought quickly in his mind. The enemy that could defeat Gu Ping must have a large number of people. As the saying goes, quantitative change leads to qualitative change. Why did Gu Ping lose? There was no news for such a long time. He must have died or escaped and hid. The worst case scenario was that he surrendered.

"Your Majesty, this is just my speculation. In secret, it is the Taiping Cult. I don't dare to say whether there are other people behind the scenes giving guidance. Will these forces provide soldiers and weapons, or even take advantage of the situation to fish in troubled waters?"

Zhang Jinyu made cautious guesses. He was the only one guessing about the former crown prince. If he was wrong, it would be troublesome. Behind Jingnan, there might be those princes involved. Even Zhang Jinyu himself could not guarantee whether the Four Kings and Eight Dukes had intervened. So the master behind the scenes did not necessarily refer to just one person.

I don't know if His Majesty understood the implied meaning. He glanced at Marquis Baoning, who seemed to be thinking about something. He is worthy of being the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards. He is not an ordinary person.

Emperor Wu narrowed his eyes and listened to Marquis Luo Yun's words. Thinking about it, it made sense. Thinking about the convoys of tribute-paying princes on their way to Beijing, it was just a coincidence that the timing was right.

On the day of entering Beijing,

It seems that the southward march of the army had its results, and it was only a few days before and after. In this way, the so-called masters were clearly those "brothers" who were unwilling to give in.

even,
I was suddenly shocked. The former prince's elder brother Zhou Yongxiao, no way, there has been no news for so long, how could this be? However, I had such a thought, like a poisonous sting, buried in my heart,

Will the people of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes also reach out? If we consider these, it is really hard to say what will happen to the area south of Beijing.

"What Marquis Luo Yun said may not be without reason. I will not hide it from you. The convoys of the princes from all over the country are on their way to the capital, and the princes of the princely palaces are also coming with them. If I am right, those princes who were restless have already come to the capital. I don't know where they have been hiding.

Therefore, this war involves the reputation of the court. Even if I send a letter to Wang Ziteng urgently now, it will still interfere with him. I think Luo Yunhou's words about preparing the army in the capital for war are still reasonable. Baoninghou, what do you think?"

Deep down, the Emperor Wu, who had always been cautious, also realized the danger of Wang Ziteng. He wanted to intervene, but was afraid of disrupting the morale of the army. Although he was not familiar with military strategy, he knew that if he changed the commander in the middle of a battle or the military orders were inconsistent, he would miss the opportunity and lose everything.
Marquis Baoning frowned, somewhat puzzled. His Majesty was so anxious that it might cause unnecessary turmoil. After all, every move of the capital city attracted the attention of the whole world, especially the Beijing army and the imperial guards. A single move could affect the whole body.

"Your Majesty, once the army of the capital moves, it will be known to the whole world. There is no way to avoid it, especially the imperial guards. The worst-case scenario is that even if Wang Ziteng is defeated, there is a reason for his defeat. Besides, the army can be reorganized. Your Majesty, do you have a fixed number of troops you want to mobilize?"

This is the most crucial point. The imperial guards are divided into three parts, and the troops in the Beijing camp are even more factional. If you want to reorganize the army, it is nothing more than counting the number of troops. This is easy. But when it comes to marching south, who will go and who will not, this is the key.

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong smiled, put down the red pen in his hand, touched the map on the table, and emphasized Linshan County City.
"Lord Luo Yun, how many soldiers and horses do you need? The Imperial Guards can also provide you with them. Even if it's just the left and right Imperial Guards, one of them will do."

This was a clear indication of His Majesty's attitude. Zhang Jinyu figured it out for a moment, and thought it would be a waste if he didn't use it. He stood up, clasped his fists, and replied,

"Your Majesty, regarding the Imperial Guards, I want 50,000 soldiers from the Left Guards. The Beijing Camp has about 350,000 troops. If Your Majesty is at ease, I will take 300,000 soldiers with me as a practice. I will announce to the public that I only brought 100,000 soldiers. In addition, I also want Your Majesty to bestow a sword on me to command all the troops in southern Beijing. I will give Your Majesty an explanation within a month."

"Lou Yunhou, you are crazy"

Marquis Baoning shouted beside him!

(End of this chapter)