Ping An Biography

The Palace of the Chu Palace was bustling for a while in early August, when Emperor Jianwen invited officials to practice for Zhang Ning.Then the place became quiet again, even quieter than usual; there was going to be a war ahead, the singing, dancing and feasting in the palace ceased, and even the horse racing that Yao Ji had just become fond of stopped.

In the front hall of Fengyi Building, several women were sitting under Yao Ji, listening to Xu Wenjun reading a letter, and Zhang Ning's letter.Among them are Zhou Zhouniang, Zhang Xiaomei, Gu Chunhan, Taohua Fairy, etc. Whether they are concubines or relatives, these people have been in this big family for a long time, and they are similar to family members.There is another Bai Fengjiao. She has not yet discussed whether she will accept the canonization of the Jianwen court as the second concubine, but since she has not left Wuchang, Yao Ji did not treat her as an outsider; the main reason is that Bai Fengjiao is wearing a Hanfu, and It's not the national costumes when she first came here, such a detail seems to have hinted at her thoughts.

Tea and dried fruits are served on the table, as well as vegetables and fruits in season in August, all of which are decorated with delicate and exquisite porcelain, mainly in blue and white.This is a complete set of porcelain utensils, specially made as a tribute from Jingdezhen last month, and they are as good as new.

But everyone just sat and listened to Xu Wenjun read, no one ate while listening, and the food became a decoration.

Zhang Ning's letter was written entirely in colloquial Chinese, "After several months of preparation and deployment, the officers and soldiers have suddenly moved rapidly. In less than half a month, the South Route officers and troops from Huizhou have crossed the entire territory of Raozhou Prefecture, seven or eight states and counties. There was little resistance, and all this was expected... The South Road officials and troops detoured northward to the eastern part of Nankang Prefecture, and the fall of Duchang meant that the east bank of Poyang Lake fell into the hands of the officials and troops; we only had the lake on the east bank. Kou County, dare not give up this place is to guard Dongting Lake. Guard the lake mouth, and the army and navy transferred from the Yangtze River will not be able to enter Dongting Lake...

But the current situation is not very good. Yu Qian took over the sailors sent by the King of Han, and also recruited and expanded some warship sailors.But Xu Zixin, who came with me to Jiangxi, said that our navy is no match for the navy of the official army. He said that when fighting in places near the Neihu Lake, the wind and waves are not strong and we cannot rely on sails;But mother and concubine don't have to worry too much, our army's land warfare weapons are very sophisticated, which can make up for the shortcomings of the water.Waiting for new developments in the battle ahead, I will write a letter back; the Mid-Autumn Festival has passed, and now I only hope to win as soon as possible, and go home to reunite with my mother..."

Zhang Ning's family letter mainly talks about military affairs, but this is also what the female relatives are most concerned about.The women don't know much about military matters, including Yao Ji, who is the most capable, and she doesn't know much about marching and fighting, and she doesn't have much interest in it; but this kind of thing is related to everyone's fate and vital interests, so it is inevitable that they are very concerned about the result.Women with a little status in the Ming Dynasty were obviously men's vassals. They could not work, and they were not as good as the women of the common people. The women of the common people could also weave cloth and animal husbandry at home and do housework. Everything they had was placed on the career of their own men. Above all, one prospers and one loses.

Gu Chunhan, who has never been involved in the power field in Wuchang, also said quietly at this time: "I really hope he can win this battle."

Everyone agreed one after another, and for a while, the women gathered together in a rare way.Just like Gu Chunhan, although she is beautiful and good at singing and dancing, she should be a person who can afford food and clothing wherever she goes; but apart from Zhang Ning, who can treat her like a family member, never caring about her background and past experiences?This is especially true for other people. Although they have high and low status here, they are relatives and masters, and their fate is not something anyone can handle casually.

……

In Jiangxi, the first real confrontation came sooner than guessed.The location of the duel is very clear, it is Hukou.

The general news from the officers and soldiers is that the Jiangbei camp is about to move but there is no obvious mobilization; the South Army is in Duchang, and the threat is very close, but it will take time to join the battle of Hukou in time; it is the Central Army that is really pushing into Hukou The army marching from the Yangtze River land and water, the camp has pushed to the place where the city wall of Hukou County can be seen.

The deployment of the Suzaku Army did not abandon Hukou County, and strengthened its defenses a while ago.Zhang Ning dispatched 750 people from Yongdingying to station in Hukou County, and 8000 soldiers of the King of Han on land on the east bank; more than [-] people in the navy, and more than [-] ships of various sizes, all gathered near the mouth of Poyang Lake. Separated on the West Bank and Poyang Lake Island.Outside Hukou County, there is another camp fortification near the water. The first function is to support the defense of the county, and the second is to set up artillery firepower to support water operations.

On the Jiujiang side, there is also a Suzaku military fortification near the entrance of the lake, and heavy artillery is also set up to face the narrow entrance of Poyang Lake.The water surface at the mouth of the lake is narrow but not narrow, and the water surface spans at least seven or eight miles; the effective range of the long-barreled heavy artillery and projectile mortars of the Suzaku Army is only two miles away. The waters four miles wide were completely out of reach from the shore.However, setting up camps on the shore can restrict the deployment of the enemy's navy on the water, and its role should not be underestimated.

On the beach on the west bank of the lake mouth, there was a group of people standing there.The person standing in the middle of the front is Zhang Ning, beside him are senior officials such as Yu Qian and Wei Bin, as well as a young official Xu Zixin and several of his staff and clerks.Xu Zixin used to be an official in Yuezhou Prefecture. He was in charge of the shipyard. He is familiar with ships and water conditions. He also has staff who understand water warfare. Now he is Zhang Ning's military adviser.

Everyone looked around on the water's edge, and saw boats everywhere on the lake and the Yangtze River.All the boats on the river belonged to the navy of the Huguang Army. The sailors of the Huguang Army only wanted to protect Poyang Lake. It is mainly composed of the navy of the King of Han, and the other part is the navy that Yu Qian planned to expand after he became the governor of Jiangxi.

Zhang Ning lowered his head and stomped the gray-black soil on the ground. It was very hard and cracked.The color of this piece of ground is completely different from the soil on the shore. It seems to be the silt in the lake, which was exposed to dry after the water line dropped.

The weather has been exceptionally good these days, it has been sunny for a long time, the autumn sun is neither strong nor warm, coupled with the moist and cool breeze blowing from the water, I feel very comfortable physically.Zhang Ning didn't ask in public whether the good weather was good for his side's water battle.

He knew nothing about water battles in rivers and lakes.The Suzaku Army has only been established for a few years, and it has always been dominated by land warfare. Land warfare in the interior is indeed the key to determining victory; but when it comes to this kind of river and lake pass, the role of water warfare suddenly becomes important. The time is too short, and the Suzaku army and water army are not good, which is actually a weakness.

However, Zhang Ning is a self-aware person. He knows that he is not good at this, so Xu Zixin is inseparable from him, and he has to ask the military adviser around him for everything.

Everyone watched for a long time, and Wei Bin suddenly said: "Hukou County on the other side can't defend it. It's useless to send so many soldiers and so much food there. Once the water is cut off, it will be an isolated city."

Yu Qian said calmly: "The purpose of guarding Hukou County is to prevent the water from being cut off. Otherwise, the land on the east bank will be lost. What's the point of defending a county? I affirm that the first battle of the official army will not attack Hukou County, and the navy will directly attack Hukou County. Invasion on the river."

Zhang Ning remained silent, but fortunately, the two argued with each other and let it go.He is in a very upset mood now, because he does not report much confidence in the Hukou war.

He kept clearing up the "logical relationship" of this series of deployments in his mind: as long as the navy can control the surface of the lake to resist the entry of the official army's riverboats into Poyang Lake, the army can reinforce Hukou City from the water and provide supplies and military supplies. A city is not considered an isolated city; as long as the Hukou city and fortifications and camps on the other side still exist, it can support water defense... and the main force of the Suzaku army will never dare to go to the other side. It has to be in Jiujiang City.

But if Poyang Lake changes hands, south of Jiujiang, the hundreds of miles of Poyang Lake's shoreline will not be able to prevent the officers and soldiers from crossing the water and directly approaching Jiujiang.Jiujiang City, a strategically important place, loses both rivers and lakes, so it loses the significance of the place; if you stick to it, you may be attacked by the officers and troops from Jiangbei and fall into a situation of being surrounded... At that point, it is better to Do not guard Jiujiang.Not defending Jiujiang City means that the whole of Jiangxi will be lost; the strategic depth is further compressed to Huguang, and the enemy is trapped on all sides.

At this point in the game, the key to the whole battle is the battle at Hukou; but the water battle at Hukou is precisely the weakness of the Suzaku army, and it is also the link where Zhang Ning is least confident.He had to be very depressed.

At this time, Zhang Ning temporarily ordered: "Immediately send someone to understand the whole army of the navy, and the officers and soldiers of the Jiujiang Army (the army descended by the King of Han) will be treated equally by the court. Same."

Wei Bin and other generals muttered a few words after hearing this, and seemed a little dissatisfied.Zhang Ning's decision at this time was also very hasty, but he ignored the generals of Yongding Camp.

Yu Qian used to be the governor of Jiangxi. In order to keep Jiujiang City, he had no choice but to give up the east line of Poyang Lake; but now he dare not say that he gave up Poyang Lake, and still supports the increase of troops in Hukou City... But is this really useful?

When Zhang Ning turned to look at Yu Qian, he happened to be looking at him too, and they immediately looked at each other.I saw Yu Qian with a serious face, almost expressionless, and he couldn't see anything serious.But Zhang Ning suddenly had an intuition that he seemed to have something to say, so Zhang Ning asked casually, "What is Ting Yi's consideration?"

Yu Qian said: "I think the prince's decision just now is very good. The water battle is very important, and most of the navy is subordinate to the Jiujiang Army. The prince's grace will definitely boost morale."

Zhang Ning nodded and didn't say much.But he wondered in his heart: Does Yu Qian also feel that he should just give up Jiangxi?This place is indeed very important. The problem is that it is difficult to hold on to it. After so long, no one has a reliable way... He dare not suggest it, perhaps because he considers that this place is really important?