Late Tang

In March of the first year of Zhenlong, Hangzhou, Yuewang Mansion. .

Qian Liu sat in front of the desk in the study, frowning and worried.In Jiangnan in March, it is a good time for spring and flowers to bloom, but Qian Liu is not happy at all.Picking up the teacup, he found that the teacup was already empty, so he called the guards who were waiting outside to serve the tea.Then he asked: "Has Mr. Cheng come back?"

"Mr. Cheng hasn't come back yet."

Qian Liu said in a somewhat irritable mood: "As soon as Mr. Cheng comes back, I will invite him over immediately, saying that I have something important to discuss."

After finishing speaking, he swung the guards back and lowered his head to study the map on the table.It was a military map, to be more precise, a map of Yuanhe feudal towns.There are 48 towns in the four-faced map. Yuanhe is also the reign title of Tang Xianzong. Xianzong was the rare master of ZTE after the Tang Dynasty.During this period, Emperor Xianzong won a series of victories in the war of reducing feudal vassals, and the rare revival of Tang Dynasty's prestige. The title of emperor and king, surrendered to Datang again.At that time, there were a total of 48 towns in various places, which is also the general division of power in the Tang Dynasty for more than a hundred years.

But now, most of Yuanhe's original 48 towns are no longer there, many feudal towns have disappeared, and many feudal towns have been newly established.

On this map with Yuanhe 48 towns as a reference, the division of states and counties has long been beyond recognition.

At a glance, the most dazzling thing on this site is Qin Fan.This vassal town, which rose up in the past ten years, has become the most powerful vassal town today with its incomparable appearance, one-third of the world. If it is regarded as the territory opened up by the Qin Fan outside the pass, it can even be said to have occupied half of the country. .Qin Fan is like a dragon in the northeast, ready to fly, ready to soar into the sky at any time.There is the Qin Dynasty in the northeast, and the Chang'an court in the northwest. It is a state that is united by the central and southern parts of Hedong, the Guanlong region, the western part of Henan, and the southern part of Shannan, Eyue, Jingnan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Huainan, and western Zhejiang. super power.On the surface, the new dynasty of Chang'an, the territory controlled by its towns even exceeds that of Qin Fan.

In the southwest, there is the Chengdu court. Although there were only three Sanchuan towns left before, it was once thought that its demise was imminent.

But who would have thought that the situation would change forever.In the blink of an eye, the three major powers Yanjing, Chang'an, and Chengdu formed a tripartite confrontation, and in the blink of an eye, such a drastic change has been discovered.

Qin Fan had just reached an agreement with Chang'an during the New Year, and the two sides had a truce to make peace.Unexpectedly, everyone thought that the battle between Li Jing and Chang'an did not happen, but in the blink of an eye, when Li Keyong, the Jiedu envoy of Hedong, went south to reinforce Zhu Wen, commander of Xuanwu Festival, Zhu Wen was lying on the banquet in Bianzhou city. kill.Now that the Hedong Army and the Bian Army are fighting endlessly, Shangrang Qin Zongquan and others who were recruited by Li Jing suddenly attacked Shannan Dongdao.

That's not too confusing.

What surprised him the most was that at this moment, Yang Fuguang from Dongdu finally made a move.It's just that he neither sent troops to help the Hedong army encircle Bianzhou, nor did he help the Liang army counterattack Hedong.Unexpectedly, a few days ago, Yang Fuguang personally led tens of thousands of troops to attack Shanguo Town. With lightning speed, he suddenly attacked the only road between Luoyang, the eastern capital, and Chang'an in Guanzhong. In Shanzhou, the key point between the three places in Hedong, in this battle, Zhu Cun, the elder brother of Zhu Wen who stayed behind in Shanzhou, was caught off guard, and Zhu Cun, the governor of Shanguo, was beheaded in the city of Shanzhou.

Shanguo Town was breached, and more than [-] Bian troops surrendered, and nearly [-] people died in battle.

This battle was definitely beyond the expectations of most people. After taking Shanguo Town in a surprise blitzkrieg, Yang Fuguang did not stop.Almost at the same time that he attacked Shanguo Town, Yang Fugong of Chang'an also sent troops out of Lantian at the same time to directly attack Jinshang Town controlled by Zhu Wen, and stormed Wuguan, the central and southwest gate.

Not long ago, on New Year's Day, the peace talks between Yanjing and Chang'an once made many people on the sidelines think that the three major powers are enough to succeed, Huang Chao has perished, and the world may usher in a rare period of peace.But who would have expected that in the blink of an eye, all the places would become a mess?

Zhu Wen killed Li Keyong, and the Hedong Army and the Bian Army fought inextricably.In a blink of an eye, Yang Fuguang killed Zhu Wen's second brother again, and seized Shanguo. Yang Fugong sent troops out of Lantian and entered Shangzhou.However, the remnants of Huang Chao, who had already established a foothold and taken root in the west of Henan a few years ago, and owned the four states of Chen Cai, started to make waves again.Under the banner of Li Jing, the king of Qin, he took advantage of Zhu Wen's illness to demand Zhu Wen's life, and stormed the northern states of Shannan East controlled by Zhu Wen, without any regard for the friendship he once had.

On the surface, Liang Wang Zhu Wen, who was the largest military town in the Central Plains not long ago, has become a fat pig in everyone's eyes in the blink of an eye.

If this is the case, then the situation is still clear, and this will only be a feast of killing pigs.But things are not that simple, because Chengdu is not willing to be lonely.But Eunuch Tian from Chengdu didn't come to kill pigs and share the meat this time, he came to protect Zhu Wen.

Under the order of Tian Lingzi, Shannan West Road Jiedu envoy Yang Shili led [-] troops out of Shannan West Road, along the Han River from Liangzhou and Yangzhou, and went straight to Jinzhou to rescue Zhu Wen's Jinshang town Shangzhou and protect Wuguan.

And at this time, Qin Fan was not idle.When Henan became a pot of porridge, the Qin army, which had already rested for half a year, began to deploy on the border of Chengde and Weibo towns in Hebei.Small-scale encounters between the Qin Army and the soldiers and horses of the Second Hebei Town continued. More and more Qin Army Qingqi rushed into the Second Hebei Town with small troops to harass and destroy the spring plowing of the Second Hebei Town.

In this situation, Yang Xingmi of Huaixi also began to organize his army to prepare for war. After obtaining the acquiescence of Qin Wang Li Jing, Yang Xingmi began to mobilize his troops to cross the Dabie Mountains and march towards the Eyue area.It is planned to control the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in one fell swoop in the six prefectures of An, Mian, Huang, Qi, Hubei, and Yue, which are located in the middle of Shannan East Road, Huainan Town, Jingnan, Jiangnan West Road, and Hunan Towns, and take down the Wuchang Army to counter Huaihe. Xihe Jiangxi, Xuanshe and other places occupy the upper reaches of the situation.

Seeing this, Qian Liu really couldn't sit still.

Even Yang Xingmi moved, how could he just sit back and watch.

Qian Liu has always regarded Yang Xingmi as an important opponent.Relatively speaking, whether it is Gao Pian, Zhou Bao or Dong Chang, Qian Liu doesn't pay attention to them. These people are either old or fatuous. They are already in decline, but only Yang Xingmi, like himself, is young and vigorous. Strong, they all gave their sisters to Li Jing, and recognized Li Jing as their teacher, and received strong support from Qin Fan.The two faced each other across the river, each occupying one side.It can be regarded as safe and sound, and even when Qin Fan's power did not go south, they could still rely on each other.But ever since Yang Xingmi crossed the border and sent troops across the river to capture the Xuanshe area, this made Qian Liu very dissatisfied.

Xuanshe Town is divided from West Zhejiang and East Zhejiang. It is on the south bank of the Yangtze River, only relying on West Zhejiang. Its northeast is Runzhou, southeast is Hangzhou, due north is Huaixi Luzhou of Yang Xingmi, and west is Luzhou. It is Jiangxi.In Qian Liu's view, the three prefectures of Xuan, She, and Chi were first separated from Zhejiang Road, and secondly, they were south of the Yangtze River. How to say, they should also be controlled by him.Yang Xingmi's move was obviously over the top.

But now, Yang Xingmi is going to fight Eyue again. In Qian Liu's view, this is obviously Yang Xingmi's preparation for attacking Jiangxi in the future.

Xuanshe is to the north of Hangzhou, and Jiangxi is to the west of Hangzhou. If Yang Xingmi is really allowed to develop like this, how can he have a foothold in the land of Wuyue?

Of course, Qian Liu also wanted to change this situation, but compared to Yang Xingmi's rise, Qian Liu was somewhat restrained and not so free.Qian Liu was the deputy general of Dong Chang. After receiving the support of Li Jing, he made great contributions to Dong Chang. In the end, he even helped Dong Chang defeat Liu Hanhong in East Zhe, and helped Dong Chang take down the town of East Zhe. Only then did he finally get Hangzhou The position of governor.

On Qian Liu's head, there is not only Zhou Bao, the nominal boss of Zhexi Township Jiedu Envoy, but also Dong Chang, the Jiedu Envoy of Yisheng Army in Eastern Zhejiang, and further up, there is also the boss of the imperial court. , and the boss of a Qin king Li Jing.

There are too many mother-in-laws on her head, and it is not easy for Qian Liu, a young daughter-in-law.Compared with Yang Xingmi who now controls the territory of the six states of Lu, He, Xuan, She, Chi, and Shu, Qian Liu is much worse.He, the king of Wu, the governor of Jiangnan province, and the deputy envoy of the Yisheng Army Jiedu, actually controls only Hangzhou.Dong Chang, the guy he looked down on in his heart, relied on his hard work to enjoy the land of Yue, Mu, Qu, Wu, Tai, Ming, Chu, and Wen in eastern Zhejiang.And even Zhou Bao, the one-eyed old man, still nominally controls the eight states of Run, Chang, Su, Hu, Sheng, Rao, Jiang, and Hangzhou.

Qian Liu wanted to kill the two mothers-in-law more than once, but he never got a clear support and reply from Li Jing. He didn't have much confidence to kill the two bosses alone, so he had to keep guarding the three mus. Fentian, using Li Jing's limited support, desperately developed the economy.Thanks to the fact that Hangzhou is located in Hangzhou Bay, with Li Jing's strong support, Qian Liu has been riding on Qin Fan's large sea trade ship, earning a lot of money every year. Relying on this money, he kept buying equipment and military equipment from Qin Fan, Train soldiers.Although there are not many soldiers in Hangzhou, there are only eight capitals, and the total force is less than [-], but they are all well-trained and excellent soldiers.

He's been waiting for too long, and he doesn't want to wait any longer.

Today's wars in various places made Qian Liu unable to bear it anymore.If you don't make a move, I'm afraid you won't even be able to drink the soup.

In the evening, Cheng Ji, one of Qian Liu's five tiger generals and a counselor, came back.Qian Liu immediately invited him into the study impatiently. As soon as he sat down, he said straight to the point: "Brother Hongji, we can't wait any longer. I think the time has come. Our training in the past few years, Now we have [-] elite soldiers and horses, even if they are not as elite as the Qin Army, but these soldiers and horses are also trained by the Qin Army Advisory Group, and there are Qin Fan standard ordnance, I think we are strong enough."

Cheng Ji pinched the beard on his chin and pondered: "Does the general really think the time is right?"

"The time has come."

"What does the general mean, which side do you want to choose?"

Qian Liu wanted to make a move, no matter from which side, there were only two directions.Either go north and compete for the Runsu Changshu area in western Zhejiang, or go south and attack Dong Chang to compete for Yue, Mu, Ming, Wen and other states.To the north, the states in western Zhejiang such as Runsu were obviously richer than the states in eastern Zhejiang.But Zhenhai Jiedu envoy Zhou Bao is old, but after all, the governors of the various states under him are also veterans, not ordinary people.But Dong Chang, Qian Liu was originally Dong Chang's confidant general and deputy.He is the clearest about Dong Chang's strength and details.But Dong Chang's East Zhejiang is far behind West Zhejiang.

Qian Liu thought about it for a long time, but he was still a little vacillating.As far as the territory is concerned, the west of Zhejiang, which is adjacent to the Yangtze River, is obviously better than the east of Zhejiang. Runsu Changshu is a real hometown rich in fishing and rice, far surpassing the coastal mountainous areas of east Zhejiang.But on the other hand, Dong Chang's Yisheng Army was far inferior to Zhou Bao's Zhenhai.In war, one should pick soft persimmons, but Qian Liu couldn't let go of the wealth in western Zhejiang.Moreover, if West Zhejiang can be controlled, it is not only a matter of wealth. Controlling West Zhejiang is tantamount to having the natural danger of the Yangtze River.Control the Yangtze River, and south, this order is better.

"Brother Hongji thinks it's okay to attack the west of Zhejiang first. Zhou Bao is old and fatuous. He is over seventy years old, and all the generals under him have already had their own ideas. Besides, the land of Suchang is rich in the world."

Qian Liu also has another worry, that is, he is still Dong Chang's deputy governor, if he sends troops to attack Dong Chang at this time, he will have a bad reputation as a traitor.

Cheng Ji shook his head, "Someone thought that Zhenhai and Yisheng won the second army. Although Zhenhai was distracted because of Zhou Bao, the commander-in-chief of the festival, Zhenhai had fought a big battle and fought a tough battle. And, even if Zhou Bao can't Yes, but the governors of the western Zhejiang provinces are all generals of the Zhenhai Navy. If we really want to enter Zhenhai, I am afraid that due to the interests, these generals will inevitably attack together. In the eight capitals of Hangzhou, there are not many small soldiers. I don't think it's appropriate to fight with them. On the contrary, it is Dong Chang. Although he is in charge of the eight states in eastern Zhejiang, in fact, the territory in eastern Zhejiang is basically taken by generals. It is in the eastern Zhejiang army that The prestige of the general is also very high. If we attack East Zhejiang, Dong Chang will be just another Liu Hanhong. First take East Zhejiang, expand the territory, strengthen our strength, recruit troops, and then we can send troops north to destroy the Zhenhai Navy. Now , the more the land is in the hands of the general, it can become a foundation."

"However, Dong Chang is my old master. If someone sends troops to attack, I'm afraid it will attract criticism." Qian Liu is not willing to bear the reputation of being a rebellious boy. After all, he is still Li Jing's disciple and subject. This matter caused Li Jing to be dissatisfied with him, so it was inevitable that a small loss would make a big difference.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Ji just smiled slightly, "If you are only worried about this matter, then the general need not worry. Although a certain person is not talented, he has a strategy to solve the general's worries. As long as this strategy is implemented, General Bao will not only win the Eastern Zhejiang Province land, and it will not be criticized by the world, and it will not make Li Jing dissatisfied."

Qian Liu was overjoyed, "Brother Hongji has any good plans, please come quickly."

"It's very simple, the general only needs to follow someone's words, such...such...."

Qian Liu clenched his fists and couldn't help exclaiming: "Brother Hongji really deserves to be the mastermind of a certain person, what a clever strategy!" (To be continued.)