Hengdao Sixteen Kingdoms

Chapter 582
Recover the middle of Shu without a fight, and a clever plan can conquer Dongguan.

This was a rare victory since Chu Xi's Northern Expedition. Huan Wen's reputation in Jiangdong was greatly disturbed, and his prestige and reputation were restored a lot. Even Xie An regarded himself as a subordinate in front of Huan Wen.

Sima Yu simply asked for help from immortals without getting involved in government affairs.

Emperor Jin once again promoted Huan Wen to the rank of prime minister, increased the number of households in the city by 60, and encouraged [-] people from the front, including Yu Bao and Wu Ben, and summoned him to serve in the court to assist in the administration.

"Are these two victories enough to wipe out Hefei's shame?" Huan Wen was deeply ashamed of Hefei's defeat, especially the defeat in Guanzhong.

Although the Northern Expedition to Guanzhong was defeated, it severely damaged Di Qin. He shot and killed Di Qin's crown prince Fu Xiong and seriously injured Fu Xiong. His own losses were only ten thousand people.

However, the defeat in Hefei caused great losses. Tens of thousands of Jin troops were captured. Liang Jun was also ordered to march straight in and drink from the Yangtze River. Jiangdong was in panic.

"No way!" Xi Chao said truthfully.

"Now that all the troops of the Liang Kingdom are deployed in the east of the river, the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers are empty, Fu Jian and Jiankang are all urging me to go to the north. What do you think?" Huan Wen glanced at the generals present.

Huan Huo, Xi Chao, Zhu Xu, Zhu Yao, Yuan Hong, Zhu Bin, Zhu Chuo and other generals and officials from Jing and Xiang were all listed.

Liang Guo's center of gravity was in the west and north, and there were not many troops on the Jianghuai defense line.

There were only [-] black cloud elites under Liang Xiao in Shouchun, [-] town troops in Huaibei, and [-] naval troops under Deng Xia. The total amount was less than [-].

Now Dongguan is in hand and Hefei is in front of us.

The victory at Dongguan greatly boosted Jiangdong's morale. Liang was not invincible.

Since Cao Wei, Hefei has been a sharp sword weighing on Jiangdong's head, and he must be eliminated quickly.

Therefore, Sun Quan suffered repeated defeats and battles. After Sun Quan, Jiangdong also sent troops to attack Hefei many times.

"Fu Jian advised his brother to go to the north in order to relieve the pressure on Liang. As for the princes in the court, I'm afraid they have no good intentions." Huan Huo was the most talented military strategist in the Huan family besides Huan Wen.

His sons Huan Shiqian, Huan Shixiu, Huan Shimin, etc. were all famous for their martial arts.

Xi Chao cupped his hands and said: "The imperial court's instigation of the Northern Expedition is putting Duke Ming on the fire. Hefei is strong and has the advantage of naval forces. Once defeated, Duke Ming's prestige will not be preserved."

Not only did the Northern Expedition have bad intentions, but he also harbored evil intentions when he promoted Huan Wen to prime minister and joined Jiankang to assist the government.

Huan Wen left Jingxiang, which was tantamount to breaking away from the foundation.

Jiankang was the territory of the Jiangdong gentry.

At that time, Wang Dun and Su Jun both took control of Jiankang, but they were both attacked by powerful nobles from all over the country, and were ultimately defeated.

The imperial court had summoned Huan Wen to the court several times, but Huan Wen refused to go and refused again and again.

"So, none of you are willing to go to the Northern Expedition?" Huan Wen looked at everyone with a calm face.

Zhu Xu said: "My subordinates thought that the time had not come yet. Liang and Qin did not engage in war, and Jiangdong did not make sufficient preparations. They sent troops rashly, and the outcome was unpredictable. I hope that the Grand Sima will be aware of it."

"What is the opportunity? The Northern Kingdom is getting stronger day by day. If we don't attack today or attack tomorrow, we just sit back and watch it grow." Huan Wen was uncharacteristically determined.

It’s hard to persuade everyone.

However, Xi Chao knew Huan Wen's intentions best and said with a smile: "Ming Gong's words are true. The Liang Kingdom has repeatedly humiliated Jiangdong in order to suppress the morale of Jiangdong's people. Over time, the people's hearts are not there and the morale is low. How can we resist the northern invaders? Recently there has been The people in the north of the Yangtze River are fleeing north and must be on guard."

Liang Guo has been working on this plan for so many years. Every time it is implemented, Jiangdong's orthodoxy is lost.

This made the knowledgeable people in Jiangdong very worried.

Especially recently, rumors have spread that Liang will allocate land and houses to people who want to go north, which has attracted a lot of people.

The path of a powerful minister never ends, and if you don't advance, you will perish. Huan Wen needed to take the last step through the Northern Expedition, and he also needed to use the Northern Expedition to unite people's hearts.

"Yes, the Northern Expedition is inevitable. No need to say more. Everyone should perform their duties and go about their business. I will immediately write to the court to request the Northern Expedition." Huan Wen waved his sleeves and made up his mind.

Within a few days, Jiankang received Huan Wen's memorial. "Without fighting for several years, people's hearts are divided. They are as afraid of the Northern invaders as tigers. There were false histories in the past and loyal traitors in the future. I am determined to conquer the Northern invaders. Today, Gengxu's land war has been quite effective. The treasury is sufficient and the soldiers are using their lives." , we should reward the three armies, boost their morale, take advantage of the victory at Dongguan, wipe out Shouchun, and completely occupy Huainan, so that the country can plan for long-term peace..."

Wang Tanzhi read it out in a cadence.

Xie An frowned and said nothing, while Wang Biaozhi closed his eyes and pondered.

Sima Yu looked irritated, "Humph, Huan Wen actually dared to make the Northern Expedition."

It was originally thought that Huan Wen did not dare to make the Northern Expedition, so they deliberately encouraged him. As long as Huan Wen retreated, he would be timid to fight. Then they would make some plans to use this to damage Huan Wen's reputation.

I didn't expect Huan Wen to come for real.

"So what about the Northern Expedition? I am waiting behind to hold him back, can he still succeed? The Northern Expedition was defeated, how can Huan Wen have the face to see the world?" Wang Tanzhi shouted.

Xie An said calmly: "No, the last time the Northern Expedition failed, Liang Jun drank the Yangtze River. If he fails this time, Liang Jun will go down the Yangtze River. Why can Jiangdong refuse?"

As soon as this statement came out, everyone couldn't help but fell silent again.

"Can't we fully assist Huan Wen in his Northern Expedition?" Wang Biaozhi also hated Huan Wen deeply.

Of all the civil and military officials in the dynasty, only the Wang family dared to do this.

When Huan Wen takes power, the Wang family will suffer the most. Wang and Ma share the world, and it is possible that the Huan Wen family will become the dominant one.

"Da Sima may not really want to go to the Northern Expedition, but he wants to use the Northern Expedition to rally people and inspire morale to attack Hefei in the north. This is a huge undertaking. How can it be accomplished without two or three years of preparation?" Xie An was the second person besides Xi Chao to see through it. Huan Wen's favorite person.

Calling for the Northern Expedition does not necessarily mean that the Northern Expedition will actually be carried out.

Even in the Northern Expedition, when to send troops and when to take action were very particular.

Although Huan Wen failed in both Northern Expeditions, his military strategy was still the best in Jiangdong. He could not have known that the time for the Northern Expedition had not come yet.

And such clamor for the Northern Expedition can also contain Liang Guo and respond to Di Qin.

The army of Liang State was pressed to the west, peeking into Guanzhong. Fu Jian was under great pressure, and Huan Wen had to do something.

Otherwise, it will be difficult to get through in front of allies.

"So that's it!" Sima Yu sighed, "If he wants to go to the north, let him go. We'll just wait and see what happens."

"But how should we respond to Liang Guo's rebuke? If Liang really sends troops to attack me..."

In the past few days, Wang Biaozhi had been facing the Liang envoy Han Xu. He lowered his head to be scolded and raised his head to laugh. It was really uncomfortable. What made him even more worried was that the Black Cloud Army was going south again.

Several people turned their attention to Xie An.

Xie An's expression was still so gentle. After thinking for a while, he said slowly: "Liang's old enemy, Qin Ye, will definitely not go south until Qin is destroyed. And although Da Sima is not aggressive enough, he is more than capable of defense. Dongguan, Ruxu, Xiangyang, Fancheng is all here, so Jiangdong can be safe."

The more Liang Guo rebuked, the less likely he was to go south.

Jiang Dong has been holding back as his grandson for several years and has accumulated some strength.

"Yes, even if the Black Cloud Army goes south, it will be Huan Wen who has to worry. Why should I be anxious? Doesn't Huan Wen want to usurp the throne? He has been to the Liang Kingdom first!" Wang Biaozhi frowned.

In his words, he was still more afraid of Huan Wen than Liang Guo.

With Di Qin here, Jiangdong is actually not under that much pressure.

The three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu have been in power for 60 years. Although Liang is strong now, it may not be stronger than Cao Wei back then.

The strength of Di Qin was far superior to that of Shu Han.

The mentality of Jiangdong's monarchs and ministers has changed. From "recovering China" when Wang was in charge, it has become a peaceful one, and they no longer have any hope of regaining their homeland.

(End of this chapter)