Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 648: Take a Shower and Sleep

Bianzhou has nothing but a lot of ships.

As the central node of canal transshipment, dozens of large and small ferry crossings are busy with countless canal boats loading and unloading every day.

Bianzhou is the place where an artificial canal (the Tongji Canal) meets four other rivers that can support water transport.

This is without taking the Yellow River into account.

The rise and prosperity of the canal transport economy also led to the gathering of canal ships in Bianzhou.

In view of the developed water transport in Bianzhou, Fang Chongyong issued an order to order Liu Yan to be responsible for the transportation of military rations. After arriving in Shouchun, he led 12,000 elite soldiers and boarded dozens of "warships" to advance eastward along the Huai River!

Along the way, he passed through Haozhou, Linhuai, Shanyang and other places. Wherever he went, Fang Chongyong sent people to take out the handwritten letter of Sheng Wang Li Qi to persuade the governor of the state to obey his orders.

Fang Chongyong directly sent people to take over the city defense for those who agreed to accept the order of Li Qi, the Prince of Sheng. Then officials were sent from Bianzhou to enter the local government office and start working.

Officials from the prefecture were required to leave for Bianzhou immediately. After being "assessed" by the Ministry of Personnel, they would be assigned official positions based on their personal abilities.

At that time, he may be directly dismissed, assigned to serve as an official elsewhere, or promoted to serve in one of the six ministries and be promoted.

In short, what happens at that time will be like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showing their magical powers.

If they refuse to give up their original positions and open the city gates, then after the city is captured, they will all be sent to hell and their roots will be wiped out.

This combination of soft and hard tactics worked very well. No official thought that they were too stubborn and could not be cut off by a sharp blade. One by one, they accepted Fang Zhongyong's arrangement and went to Bianzhou with their families under the "escort" of a special person.

When the fleet arrived at Shanyang City, the capital of Chuzhou, Fang Chongyong ordered the army to be reorganized there, and water forts and granaries to be built. Shanyang City was made into a logistics hub to transport the supplies coming from upstream in Bianzhou.

Taking advantage of Li Qi's "retreat at the height of his career", Fang Chongyong cleared the cities along the Huai River in one go and took over the garrisons in the cities. He transferred most of these united soldiers to Shanyang City for integration, and made them auxiliary soldiers responsible for the logistics supply of various frontline locations.

Not only that, in order to stabilize the morale of the army, Fang Chongyong also asked Liu Yan to urgently allocate a batch of food and distribute it to these united soldiers, so that these people's families can have a peaceful year and allow them to serve willingly.

Throughout the entire process, the numerous water systems in Bianzhou and Huainan played an extremely important role. Whether it was marching, mobilizing personnel, or mobilizing supplies, all were carried out by water.

Not only does it take less time, but it is also highly efficient and ensures smooth operation of military orders.

The geographical advantages of Bianzhou, where the capital was originally located, began to emerge and unleashed unparalleled power.

After stabilizing the Huaihe River defense line, Fang Chongyong left Guan Chongsi to lead 2,000 troops to guard Shanyang to ensure the retreat.

He took 10,000 elite troops with him and sailed directly south from Shanyang to Yangzhou.

While Fang Chongyong was plundering land along the Huai River, Liu Zhan's troops quickly moved south to Hefei, successfully took over the local garrison, and took the initiative to attack, winning battle after battle.

Since the rebel Fang Qing's troops had no reliable supply lines south of the Yangtze River, these civilians who had gathered together through the peasant uprising fled to the north of the Yangtze River overnight and returned to Qiupu to reorganize their troops after suffering repeated attacks from the government troops.

Liu Zhan had no idea of ​​the situation south of the Yangtze River and was afraid that he would suffer losses if his troops advanced too deep into the enemy's territory, so he personally stationed his troops at Wankou, facing Qiupu across the river.

Wankou is surrounded by water on three sides, and its geographical advantages are very obvious. Liu Zhan ordered people to build water forts and water barriers here, and personally led elite troops to patrol along the north bank of the Yangtze River. Seeing that the defenses north of the Yangtze River were tight, the bandit army under Fang Qing had to give up the plan to cross the river and move the main force eastward.

In an attempt to join forces with the main force of Yuan Chao's rebel army.

The situation south of Shouzhou had finally stabilized. But the storm of war seemed to be slowly gathering towards Hangzhou, making this important southern city by the sea the key to victory.

……

"Has Marshal Fang arrived? Will he arrive today? How many soldiers has he brought with him?"

On the top of Yangzhou Tangzi City, Li Qi paced back and forth like an ant on hot pan.

Gao Shi just stood there quietly and said nothing.

In fact, Li Qi could not be blamed for being anxious, because just as Fang Chongyong was leading his troops forward from Shouchun, the situation on the battlefield south of the Yangtze River had undergone new changes!

Although Che Guangqian led his troops by sea, he took a ship from Dengzhou and landed directly east of Hangzhou, and successfully took over the city of Hangzhou.

However, the local government troops had suffered a series of defeats and their morale was low, and Che Guangqian was a newcomer and was unable to integrate their forces to launch a strategic counterattack.

All supplies in Hangzhou City depend on the ships from Dengzhou, and the west and south have been besieged by Yuan Chao's troops.

Fortunately, those so-called "rebels" were not good at attacking cities. Seeing that Hangzhou City was well defended, Yuan Chao learned to be cunning and adopted a strategy of besieging Hangzhou City without attacking it.

Then they divided their troops and headed north to attack Suzhou.

Lai Zhen was no pushover, and used warships to transport troops through Taihu Lake. When Yuan Chao's bandit army attacked Suzhou City, Lai Zhen used the waterway to bypass the bandit army and appeared on its flank, defeating Yuan Chao! He beheaded thousands of people in one battle!
Having suffered a loss, Yuan Chao had to retreat to Jiaxing.

After discussing with his staff, Yuan Chao felt that the route from Jiaxing to Suzhou and then from Suzhou to Wuxi was not very safe, as the main force of the government troops was obviously gathered there.

So they chose to take a detour and break through from the west side of Taihu Lake.

The rebels attacked Linxi, Deqing, Wucheng and other counties along the way, and headed straight for Huzhou City!
At the same time, Yuan Chao also divided his troops into a separate group to continue attacking Suzhou and to tie down the main force of Lai Zhen's army.

After three days of continuous fierce attacks, the enemy army finally captured Huzhou City and gained a reliable bridgehead to the north. Lai Zhen was unable to defend Huzhou despite his efforts.

In order to prevent the army from being surrounded, Lai Zhen had to retreat to Changzhou after repelling Yuan Chao's detachment, leaving Suzhou an isolated city.

It's only a matter of time before it falls.

Changzhou City is the capital of Changzhou and the last line of defense in Jiangnan. If it cannot be defended, Lai Zhen will have to retreat to Runzhou. The name Runzhou was newly created during the Sui Dynasty and is not very famous.

However, it had another famous name in the past, called "Jiankang".

Yangzhou City is just across the Yangtze River from Runzhou.

Such a dangerous situation made Li Qi feel very uneasy. He spent almost every day in the detention room on the city wall and did not even go back to the palace. He was really afraid that one night when he was sleeping well, he would be pulled out of bed and beheaded.

"Your Highness, I have already made several trips and confirmed it repeatedly. Marshal Fang's elite troops are on their way to Yangzhou City, and they are expected to arrive today or tomorrow. After all, they are traveling by water, so it won't be too slow."

Gao Shi persuaded patiently.

There was no need to persuade Li Qi to defend Yangzhou City, because the prince had been frightened by Yuan Chao's offensive in the south of the Yangtze River.

If Gao Shi hadn't tried so hard to keep him, Li Qi would have slipped away long ago!

Just as Gao Shi was trying to continue to appease Li Qi, a fleet flying the Tang army flag appeared on the canal in the distance!

"Your Highness, look! Marshal Fang's fleet is coming!"

Gao Shi pointed to the surface of the canal in the distance and said.

"Ah? Really? Is it really coming?"

Li Qi was so excited that he wanted to jump up.

Compared to those peasants who rose from humble beginnings and killed officials to rebel, even a soldier like Fang Chongyong looked handsome in Li Qi's eyes.

No matter what, Fang Zhongyong is still a member of the Tang Dynasty bureaucracy and a player in their circle. Fang Zhongyong's behavior logic is predictable.

Even if his ultimate goal is to change the dynasty.

Venomous snakes and ferocious beasts are not scary, the scariest thing is the "unknown". People are always full of fear of the unknown, and Li Qi is no exception.

In Li Qi's view, civil unrest belongs to the "unknown".

Li Qi hurried down the city wall, and saw Fang Chongyong's fleet had already landed. Seeing the burly Marshal Fang, wearing a red cloak, walking onto the pier, Li Qi didn't care about his image anymore.

He hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, pulling Fang Chongyong's sleeve and crying, "Marshal Fang, I am guilty! I was unable to stop the rebels in Jiangnan, so that the people are living in misery. Marshal Fang, please send troops to save the people from the water and fire!"

Li Qi's words, as he cried, eased the heavy atmosphere a lot.

"Your Highness, what are you talking about? The civil unrest in Jiangnan is not your fault. What crime have you committed?"

Fang Chongyong quickly supported Li Qi and brushed the dust off his body.

Yuan Zai, Gao Shi and others who were watching from the sidelines secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Highness, Marshal Fang, the Yangzhou government has prepared a banquet to welcome you. Please come this way."

Gao Shi made a gesture of invitation to the two of them.

"He Lao Hu, you go with this Gao Changshi to change guard. Let's go to the government office to have a drink later."

Fang Zhongyong gave an order casually, seemingly very casually.

Yuan Zai nodded calmly to Chong Yong, and everything was said without words.

He thought to himself: Fang Qing has come this far, and it is true that his reputation is not in vain. He is meticulous and calm in his work, and he is truly a man who can accomplish great things!
Li Qi didn't want to stay in Yangzhou anymore. He had no second thoughts, but that didn't mean that all officials in Yangzhou had no second thoughts.

A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. Fang Chongyong's seemingly casual "verbal military order" was actually a serious move to seize control of Yangzhou!
You may be familiar with it, but you can’t break the rules.

Fang Chongyong had no intention of doing anything to Li Qi, but he was always on guard.

Of course, many people didn’t realize it at all and thought that Marshal Fang was “easy to talk to”.

Everyone entered Yangzhou Tangzi City, which was the location of the government office, as well as the families of officials, garrison officers and their families.

Tangluo City in the south is the commercial area.

After Fang Chongyong and others entered the lobby of the government office, the banquet began immediately.

One after another, the "hard dishes" of the Huaiyang region, such as anchovies, river crabs, and honey ginger, were served one after another. Famous dishes such as crab meat lion head, three-piece duck, and soft-shelled long fish have been famous at home and abroad since the Sui Dynasty. Now, all of them are served on the table.

He didn't care whether Fang Zhongyong could eat it or not, he just kept carrying the food up.

It can be seen that it is hard to say whether Li Qi put a lot of effort into preparing this welcoming banquet, but Gao Shi, as the chief historian of the royal palace, definitely put a lot of effort into it.

Fang Zhongyong did not pick up his chopsticks, but watched the dishes being served one by one. If he did not pick up his chopsticks, the others could not eat either, and could only watch.

The atmosphere in the lobby of Yangzhou Prefecture Government Office seemed somewhat awkward.

After a while, He Changqi walked in expressionlessly and made an "OK" gesture to Fang Zhongyong without making any noise. Gao Shi also came with him, looking tired and with a forced smile on his face.

It seems that He Changqi, who is such a big mouth, would not be polite to Gao Shi. He would have made a lot of sarcastic remarks.

It was impossible for Gao Shi to fall out with He Changqi.

"Everyone is here, let's start the feast now."

Fang Zhongyong said with a smile, picking up a piece of fish and putting it into his mouth.

The atmosphere in the hall finally relaxed, and Li Qi's staff began to praise Fang Zhongyong for his leadership and bravery. For a while, the sound of flattery was endless.

As for Li Qi, those staff members seemed to be unable to see him. This fully demonstrated what it meant to say that the tea has already gone cold before the guests have left.

However, Fang Zhongyong just listened calmly, neither scolding nor praising, as if he didn't hear anything.

After three rounds of drinking, he put down his chopsticks, looked at Li Qi, and asked with some concern: "I heard that Your Highness was ill a few days ago. I wonder if you are feeling better now?"

"Alas! It's hard to explain in words!"

Li Qi sighed and continued, "I feel dizzy every day, and I get a headache when I see official documents. But I am the governor of Huainan, and I am on the front line, always worried that the rebel army in the south of the Yangtze River will cross the Yangtze River. It is really miserable."

This was half true and half false. It was impossible for him to be sick, but he was not lying when he said he was in great pain every day.

Who says mental illness is not a disease?

At this moment, the hall was completely silent, and everyone was waiting for Fang Zhongyong's answer. Although Li Qi's words were ordinary, the meaning he expressed was not simple.

What he meant was to ask Fang Chongyong how he would be accommodated.

"Xuanwu Town is too large, and Your Majesty has long intended to divide it.

Now that His Majesty is not here, I will take the liberty of arranging a good place for Your Highness.

Since Your Highness wishes to recuperate, it would be better for him to serve as the Jiedushi of the Zhongwu Army.

The imperial court will set up a new Zhongwu Army to govern Chenzhou and Xuzhou, and Your Highness can retain the shogunate.

As for His Highness' current title, it is similar to that before His Majesty ascended the throne, which is really inappropriate.

It would be better to change his title to King of Chenliu, establish a government office in Chenliu County, and transfer the fief from Chen and Xu states.

How about this arrangement? "

Fang Zhongyong spoke in a roundabout way, confusing everyone present.

A new vassal state called "Zhongwu Army" was established to govern Chenzhou and Xuzhou, and Li Qi was appointed as the "Zhongwu Army Jiedushi".

However, Li Qi established his government office not in Chenzhou or Xuzhou, but in Chenliu County, south of Kaifeng, and was conferred the title of King of Chenliu!
The expenses of the palace were borne by Chenzhou and Xuzhou.

In other words, Li Qi theoretically had the power to manage the Zhongwu Army, but he had no corresponding channels to exercise this power. Although Chenzhou and Xuzhou were very close to Chenliu County, they were not in the same administrative area.

Fang Zhongyong could easily block Li Qi's tentacles by planting a nail at random. For example, the government offices of Chenzhou and Xuzhou could use a little trick to crush Li Qi's purse.

So what was Fang Zhongyong's purpose in establishing the Zhongwu Army? It was obviously not to specifically place Li Qi, at least not entirely.

So this question is a matter of opinion. No one present could figure it out for a while, even Yuan Zai and others, as Fang Chongyong had never said anything to them before.

But everyone could feel that Fang Zhongyong's political tactics were very delicate and subtle.

This operation can be simply summarized as: depriving Li Qi of his administrative power while retaining all the dignity he deserves.

He has status, position, wealth and status, but he has no power.

Hearing this, Li Qi was a little stunned. He originally thought that if he could save his life, he would be lucky enough to be a rich man in Bianzhou.

Unexpectedly, he could serve as a military governor in name, set up a government office, and become a prince in full legitimacy (the title of prince had been no longer recognized by the Bianzhou court had issued a decree).

This is really a pleasant surprise!

"Thank you, Marshal Fang. I really don't know what to say!"

Li Qi choked up, his eyes reddened, and he stood up and bowed deeply to Fang Zhongyong.

(End of this chapter)