Ping An Biography

According to the truce agreement, the Suzaku army retreated for [-] miles.Standing by the bank of Bali Lake, Zhang Ning looked as if it had become a huge morgue.The gunpowder smoke has been blown away by the wind, and the warm blood has gradually cooled, leaving only corpses lying around.People silently shuttled among the corpses, including soldiers in armor and civilians recruited from nearby to help.Many tents were set up nearby, and the cleaned up corpses would be carried into the tents, washed with water first, and then changed into neat military uniforms not worn in combat. Battalion flag.

There are also some civilian officials who set up cases to count the lists of the dead and disabled in various armies. This is a systematic work.After a period of time, the families of the fallen soldiers will receive the relics and compensation property and land sent by the Ministry of War.There is no need to transport the corpse back, and a cemetery is opened on the spot and a monument is erected; on the day of the burial, family members are allowed to come to Jiujiang to watch the ceremony.Every soldier may die, so treat the dead with respect today, and you may be treated with equal courtesy tomorrow.

"Some people say that women often think about how to live, and men often think about how to die." Zhang Ning chatted with Zhou Mengxiong next to him.

Zhou Mengxiong did not speak, perhaps in his eyes the aftermath had been done a bit too much, every dead person was "burialed generously", which inevitably added to the financial burden that could not make ends meet.Anyway, this has not been done since ancient times, and horse leather shrouds and burying bones in wild grass has always been the destination of soldiers.Sometimes Zhou Mengxiong felt that Zhang Ning was a bit benevolent, but at the same time he also felt that there was nothing wrong with doing so. Anyway, he was not in charge of the court's finances and taxes, so he never raised any opinions.

Zhang Ning looked very tired, his already deep eye sockets were now sunken, and he looked a little sallow and emaciated.

He said sadly: "Semuren wrote a passage in a book called "One Hundred Years of Solitude", which roughly means that people often migrate, and the places where they settle are not necessarily their hometowns, but as long as they are on a piece of land After burying your relatives, you can call it your home. When the officers and soldiers retreat and Jiujiang City returns to our army, so many soldiers are buried here, this land can be called our hometown..."

I don't know if Zhou Mengxiong understood Zhang Ning's emotions. He stroked the beard on his chin and said, "Zhang Fu agreed so readily to give up Jiujiang and retreat to the east. He must be considering retaining his strength to keep Nanjing. From ancient times to the present, there is no such thing as the Yangtze River." The possibility of a long-term confrontation between the upper and lower reaches, there is no danger to defend, and there will be a battle sooner or later. If we take advantage of the situation and fight to Nanjing, the situation will really become bigger. Zhang Fu has no chance of winning in Jiujiang, and wants to shrink first to recover, but unfortunately we have no chance at the moment. It’s only for the time being.”

Zhang Ning gradually recovered from the low and sad mood due to exhaustion, and asked calmly: "Father-in-law thinks we are going east to Nanjing, what preparations should we make?"

Zhou Mengxiong benefited from the intimacy of title, his enthusiasm did not seem to be cooled by a big battle, after all, he was not the one who was besieged in Jiujiang City for several months.Zhou Mengxiong said directly: "It's nothing more than two things. First, the weather in Jiangxi was good last year, and it was in a state that neither side could effectively control. After the autumn harvest, taxes were collected less, or they were hoarded in the local treasury, and the war was limited to a few people along the river. The prefectures and counties must be very rich. We should tighten our control over Jiangxi, let the army live in the local area, and reduce the burden on Huguang while resting.

Second, although there are no natural dangers on the east and west sides of the Yangtze River, if the water army is strong, Poyang Lake will not be an obstacle. At the same time, it will be much easier for the army to go down the river.During the Battle of Jiujiang, the old man felt the dilemma of being controlled by others on the water many times.Next, we should expand the navy, otherwise it would be unwise to hand over the Yangtze River. "

Zhang Ning nodded frequently when he heard it, and he seemed to agree.But I can't help but think in my heart: Yongding Camp has suffered heavy losses, its soldiers are exhausted, its ordnance is dilapidated, and its family members are all in Wuchang, Huguang. Staying in Jiujiang for "eating" meets strategic needs.

The area where the soldiers and horses are deployed is logical, but once the third battalion of the new army stays in Jiangxi, Zhou Mengxiong should also be stationed in Jiangxi smoothly.Zhou Mengxiong is a military general, logically, he can only be in charge of the military power in Jiangxi... The problem is that even if another governor of Jiangxi is assigned to manage this "fat and oily" territory and distribute the power of managing finances and taxes, who can be competent?Yu Qian's ability to govern the local area is good, but can Yu Qian restrain Zhou Mengxiong?

Obviously not.Zhou Mengxiong is a cabinet minister and one of the "Five Hooligans";Yu Qian didn't even enter the cabinet, and his qualifications here are also shallow. He can be reused entirely because of Zhang Ning's preconceived ideas and personal appreciation of him.If Yu Qian was the governor of Jiangxi, he would not be able to control Zhou Mengxiong at all; when Zhou Mengxiong was stationed in Jiangxi, his role as governor was nothing more than a display.

Zhou Mengxiong has an army of [-] in his hands, if he occupies the rich and prosperous counties in Jiangxi, and if he holds power for a long time and accumulates prestige in the army, his strength seems to be too great.Of course, the "Zhu family" had a marriage relationship with him, and Zhang Ning didn't believe that he would turn against him, but he always felt a little uneasy...It was all instinctive.

Shouldn't we find a way to cure Zhou Mengxiong?Zhang Ning thought of his desperate death in Jiujiang. Only Zhou Mengxiong was able to overcome all opinions and walk steadily, and he unexpectedly won the northern line by surprise, and he felt a little uncomfortable... After all, there is no Zhou Mengxiong, and it is anyone with a little lack of ability. , No matter how loyal he is, he has already died once.

So after this big victory, Zhang Ning's exhausted heart did not relax, but there were some shadows behind the glory.

"I'm a little tired." Zhang Ning turned his head and said to Wei Bin and others in the Yongding Camp who were on the opposite side, "Please take care of the statistics of casualties and other matters. General Wei, let the soldiers prepare and rest for a whole day. Go back to Wuchang."

The two clasped their fists together and said "yes".Zhang Ning bid farewell to Zhou Mengxiong and went back to Yongding camp to rest.

Then Yu Qian and the others had their own things to do, and they also bid farewell to Zhou Mengxiong. In the end, only Zhou Mengxiong and a few staff members were left to watch the scenery on the north shore of Bali Lake.

"Prince Xiang seems a little displeased." Liu Mazi stepped forward and said cautiously.

This unremarkable pockmark is actually a general. He was Zhou Mengxiong's general more than 20 years ago, but his political sense seems to be far superior to his military talent.When Zhou Mengxiong was in Wuchang back then, Liu Mazi made a lot of remarks because of Zhou Mengxiong's steady refusal to send troops.

Zhou Mengxiong said: "The king of Xiang is just physically and mentally exhausted and not in high spirits."

After Liu Mazi heard it, it was inconvenient to say more, so he had to accompany him.I saw that Zhou Mengxiong had turned around, looking at the scenery on the broad Bali Lake.With a tall and burly body, his back is as imposing as a mountain.

A gust of wind blew Zhou Mengxiong's cloak up like a flag, and his hand rested on the saber, and for a moment he became more heroic.

Zhou Mengxiong just stood motionless facing the surface of the water, as if he had piled up piles, and remained motionless in the cold wind.Everyone's feet were numb in the back, and they couldn't help but move around in spite of awe, and they didn't dare to disturb Zhou Mengxiong. .

When the sky gradually darkened, Zhou Mengxiong finally said: "What do you think will happen to Zhang Fu when he returns to the court? Can the false emperor still use him?"

Liu Mazi and the others paused for a moment, completely unprepared, unable to answer for a while.Liu Mazi thought that Marshal Zhou was thinking about King Xiang, but he never expected him to talk about Zhang Fu.

"Zhu Mian, Commander of the North Route Army, is not good. I used three battalions of new recruits to keep him going. Only Zhang Fu is qualified." Zhou Mengxiong turned around, "Jiujiang broke the siege, Zhang Fu was not defeated by the old man."

Liu Mazi hurriedly said: "The commander used his troops like a god, seized the vital points in one fell swoop, and suddenly cut off the key points of the Northwest Battalion. Only then could the Northwest Battalion be wiped out... But the person who directly defeated the Datong Jingqi was indeed the King of Xiang."

Zhou Mengxiong shook his head and said, "If Jiujiang City hadn't found out Zhang Fu's deployment plan quickly, and the old man had taken it by surprise, it would have been difficult to cut off the Northwest Camp so easily. Moreover, the king of Xiang made Zhang Fu suffer a great loss, not because he used troops to compete, but because" Cheating', using excellent artillery to break through the defense line of the Northwest Battalion, which Zhang Fu did not expect."

Liu Mazi said: "Whether it is fair or not on the battlefield, we will try our best. If you win, you will be king. If you lose, you will be a bandit. If Zhang Fu loses, you will be a loser."

Zhou Mengxiong smiled and said, "That's true."

After saying that, he left the lakeside and walked straight to Yongding Camp.After entering the barracks, he met Li Zhen, the chief of the guard in the middle army, and Zhou Mengxiong asked, "Is the King of Xiang here?"

Li Zhen said: "My lord lay down at noon, it seems that he has not fallen asleep, this is the report."

After a while, Li Zhen came out to invite Zhou Mengxiong to his account.Zhou Mengxiong took the initiative to take off the saber, handed it to Li Zhen to put it on the knife holder outside the tent, and then put it in the tent.

I saw Zhang Ning wearing a coat and sitting on a chair in a bad spirit. While inviting Zhou Mengxiong to sit down, he said: "The work and rest in Jiujiang City are messed up. Now I am dizzy, but I still can't sleep peacefully. Maybe wait It was not until we returned to Wuchang that we were transferred, the atmosphere on the battlefield was really not right."

Zhou Mengxiong said: "The old man still has some ideas and wants to talk to King Xiang."

Zhang Ning said kindly: "But it's okay to say."

Zhou Mengxiong said: "At noon, the old man came up with two things. One of them is to expand and train the navy, but the old man knows nothing about the navy, and I am afraid that he will not be able to take on the important task of commanding the army in Jiujiang, so he recommends Monk Yao to lead the troops in Jiujiang. Train the navy on the spot. Monk Yao and his son have been in Yuezhou for more than a year and have already built a fleet with experience in all aspects. I think they are the most suitable."

Zhang Ning immediately bowed his head, seemed to be in good spirits, and hurriedly said: "Master Yuezhang is somewhat reasonable. However, the third battalion of the new army is run by Yuezhang, and he has won many victories in Jiangxi... Now the sudden change of personnel, I'm afraid the soldiers will feel that this king's treatment is unfair."

Zhou Mengxiong smiled heartily: "This is the old man's own request, how can he blame the King of Xiang? Besides, the third battalion of the new army, from the recruitment of soldiers to the raising of military supplies, was only improved by a few colleagues in the cabinet working day and night, so they almost paid for it. Empty the treasury of more than ten prefectures in Huguang, this is the imperial court's army, when will I, Zhou Mengxiong, deserve the military power? Whoever is the commander-in-chief has to be decided by the imperial court, you don't need to care about this old man, and this old man has no right to ask."

Zhang Ning suddenly became a little excited when he spoke, "Master Yuezhang understands righteousness deeply, he is really the pillar of the country and the right arm of the father... In this way, when the Yongding camp is waiting for the class teacher, Yuezhang and I will return to Wuchang together, and discuss with the cabinet. The ministers should discuss it carefully and make a decision."