weaving

Chapter 1215: Mr. Li offers advice, Mr. Niu makes the final move

In the Yuewang Temple in the northeast corner of Zhuxian Town, Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, had a strange light flashing in his eyes and said to Li Yan: "Lin Quan, tell me your thoughts in detail."

Li Yan stood up very respectfully and bowed, then sat back down before he began to present his suggestions...

His idea was to ask King Chuang to take advantage of the momentum of the great victory at Zhuxian Town and immediately send a group of elite troops to follow Zuo Liangyu and pursue him relentlessly, so that he could not gain a foothold in Xiangyang and take Xiangyang into his own hands.

Once Xiangyang is occupied, Wanye can be included and Henan and Chu can be connected. Moreover, the prefectures and counties around Xiangyang are not as dilapidated as Henan. Officials can be appointed to guard the land, comfort the people, and restore agriculture and sericulture.

In this way, Xiang, Deng, Wan and Ye can be connected together and a foundation can be established. It is then possible to advance northwards into Heluo from Ye County and westwards into Wugu Pass from Dengzhou, and thus seize the Guanzhong area.

Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, was so absorbed in listening to Li Yan's eloquent talk that he even began to feel the majestic demeanor of a king in the depths of his mind.

He nodded and said yes, and then asked, "Lin Quan, how many troops do you think are needed to conquer Xiangfan?"

Li Yan had already planned everything, so he replied without hesitation: "If we only want to pursue Zuo Liangyu's fleeing troops and take advantage of the situation to capture Xiangyang and Fancheng, 20,000 elite soldiers are enough.

However, it is necessary to occupy the counties surrounding Xiangfan so that Xiangyang can avoid being isolated. In this way, officials can be appointed to govern the people, recruit refugees on the one hand, and appease the people on the other, so as to balance farming and fighting.

According to this plan, we will need another 20,000 elite soldiers to be sufficient."

After hearing this, Li Zicheng felt a little embarrassed, but now he had cultivated himself to be extremely shrewd, and what he was thinking was never revealed on his face.

He turned to military advisor Song Xiance and asked, "Look, if we follow Lin Quan's idea, who among the generals can handle this matter?"

Song Xian thought strategically and said, "How about sending Bu Qian to attack Xiangfan?"

Li Zicheng shook his head slightly and said, "Besieging Kaifeng is a big deal. Besides, there are tens of thousands of Xuanda border troops in the north of Zhuxian Town. I can't do without him."

"How about sending Yufeng?"

King Chuang thought briefly, then shook his head and said, "Gathering exiles, leading farmers, pacifying surrendered generals, and winning people over with virtue are all his strengths.

But in a complicated situation, he has to fight the enemy with both wisdom and courage, and he is a little lacking in these aspects. "

The King of Chuang's tent suddenly fell into silence...

In fact, Song Xiance and Li Yan both had their own ideas about who to send to lead the troops to chase Zuo Liangyu and to stay in Xiangyang, but neither of them was willing to say it out loud, so they could only wait quietly for Li Zicheng to make the decision himself.

After a while, Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, seemed to be still hesitant about this matter. It was difficult for him to decide on a suitable candidate. He smiled calmly and said, "Let's have breakfast first. This matter... let me think about it first, and then I will consider it carefully later."

…………

Li Zicheng also had some ideas about Li Yan's suggestion. He had been thinking about it over and over again during breakfast, but he couldn't make up his mind for the time being, so he didn't mention it to the other two.

After Song Xiance and Li Yan left, King Chuang immediately sent someone to invite Niu Jinxing...

Niu Jinxing was the most respected person in the Chuang camp, and King Chuang also regarded him as his teacher. Whenever there was an important matter, he would always seek his advice. Such a "relationship between the king and his ministers" was one of deep trust and reliance, which was rare in history.

Therefore, Niu Jinxing had already made up his mind: as long as King Chuang conquered the world, the position of prime minister of the new court would definitely belong to him.

As expected, as soon as Li Zicheng saw him, he smiled and asked, "Qidong, guess what you are called for?"

Niu Jinxing replied readily: "The Grand Marshal is naturally asking about military and national affairs."

The King of Chuang asked him with some doubt: "You are also proficient in Feng Jiao and Liu Ren, why don't I ask you to tell me when we can break through Kaifeng City?"

Niu Jinxing smiled and replied, "It is definitely not a matter of divination. Jinxing knows that his subordinate is the founder of the country. Only Emperor Taizong of Tang can be compared to him. He is far more virtuous than Emperor Wen of Han."

Li Zicheng was puzzled and asked him, "How about Emperor Wen of Han?"

"Although Emperor Wen of Han was also a famous emperor in history, he was not a founder, but only a maintainer. When he was in power, he met Jia Yi, but he could not use him. Therefore, later generations wrote a poem lamenting, 'It's a pity that the seat in front of me is empty at midnight, and I don't ask about the people but ghosts and gods.'"

After hearing this, Li Zicheng laughed loudly and nodded frequently...

Then he repeated Li Yan's previous suggestion to Niu Jinxing and asked him what he thought about it.

Niu Jinxing asked him, "Does the military advisor know about this? What do you think?" Li Zicheng said, "The advisor also believes that it is necessary to seize Xiangyang."

"How did you decide?"

"No decision has been made yet. I told them to think it over carefully before making a decision."

"Does the Grand Marshal think this strategy is feasible?"

Li Zicheng hesitated for a moment and said, "This strategy is feasible. However, at the moment, firstly, we cannot spare tens of thousands of troops, and secondly, we do not know who to send as the general."

Niu Jinxing said: "What I am worried about is true. At present, the most urgent and practical thing for our division is to encircle Kaifeng with all our strength, but before that, we need to eliminate the tens of thousands of Xuanda troops in the north of Zhuxian Town.

What’s more…”

When he said this, he couldn't help but glance towards the door, and lowered his voice before continuing, "Cao Cao is also extremely unreliable, and we must always be on guard against him.

If the troops are dispersed, their strength will be weakened, which is the biggest taboo in the use of troops. If the troops are dispersed, and a part of our division's elite troops are far away in Xiangyang, once the Xuan army in the north is difficult to deal with, or if there are reinforcements from the court, or if there is a sudden change in the side, how will the Grand Marshal deal with it? "

When King Chuang heard this, he was also shocked and nodded, "Yes, you are worried. You are very worried."

Niu Jinxing added: "Zuo Liangyu once served as the general of Huguang. He became famous because of this and was awarded the title of General Suppressing Bandits. Xiangyang is like his hometown.

Once Zuo Liangyu escaped to Xiangyang, it would be like a tiger returning to the mountains. If he burned the pontoon bridge and defended Xiangyang with all his might, even if our army sent 20,000 or 30,000 men, it might not be able to capture Xiangyang in one fell swoop.

If this war drags on for a long time, what will happen to Huguang when the imperial court sends reinforcements?"

Li Zicheng nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, we cannot help but consider that things may not go smoothly. Wang Guangen, Guo Tianxing and others are stationed in the area from Yunyang to Junzhou. They are willing to be the court's lackeys, and we are at loggerheads with them.

The imperial army is also stationed in Chengtian Prefecture. The enemy troops on both sides are only a few days away from Xiangyang, and the King of Xiang is in Xiangyang City, so they will definitely rescue Xiangyang."

Niu Jinxing continued, "Let's take a step back. Even if Zuo Liangyu abandons Xiangyang and Fanyang, and our army successfully occupies Xiangyang, what will happen? When Zuo Liangyu gathers the troops from Huguang to rescue, he will surely surround Xiangyang from all sides. The Grand Marshal is fighting in Kaifeng. If he wants to rescue Xiangyang, it will be too far away. If he doesn't rescue it, the army defending Xiangyang alone will not be able to survive.

If Wan, Ye, Tang, Deng and Xiangyang were connected as Lin Quan said, Xiangyang would not be isolated. But in that case, another 20,000 to 30,000 troops would have to be sent from Kaifeng.

At that time, if we only send officials but not soldiers to each state or county we occupy, not only will our orders not be carried out, but our officials will also not be protected. The incident of Yang Chixin in Jia County is a lesson for us. Have you ever thought about it?"

Seeing that King Chuang kept nodding his head and had no objection, Niu Jinxing continued, "Besides, it is also difficult to choose a talented general to sit in Xiangyang.

Although there are many trusted generals who have followed the Grand Marshal for a long time in the army, on the one hand, they are currently busy at the critical moment of the Battle of Kaifeng, and on the other hand, most of them are not all-rounders who are proficient in both civil and military affairs.

They are good at fighting and helping their subordinates conquer the world on horseback, but they disdain to deal with trivial matters such as money and civil affairs. Moreover, even if there is such a talented person, who can occupy the strategic location of Xiangyang and manage it for a long time, even if he cannot emulate Han Xin and Wang Qi, how can he prevent himself from becoming too powerful to be eliminated? "

Li Zicheng remained silent but nodded repeatedly. In his heart, he secretly praised Niu Jinxing for his far-sightedness.

At first, King Chuang thought that Li Yan was a man of both civil and military talents, and he had intended to give him 20,000 elite soldiers, together with his original soldiers from eastern Henan, to pursue Zuo Liangyu towards Xiangyang to give it a try.

However, after hearing what Niu Jinxing said, he instantly dismissed this idea.

Niu Jinxing continued, "As for sending troops to chase Zuo Liangyu, what Jinxing said just now was only out of loyalty to the country and a broad perspective, in order to capture Kaifeng as soon as possible and establish a reputation.

The comments may not be appropriate, so please make your own decision, Marshal."

Li Zicheng smiled and said to him: "Let's not rush to deal with Xiangyang for now. The most urgent thing now is to join forces to capture Kaifeng. As long as we take Kaifeng, everything will be easy."

Niu Jinxing immediately responded: "If we take Kaifeng, we can call on troops from far and near and send them out in all directions. We can't just capture Xiangyang!"

Li Zicheng looked very proud and said loudly: "At that time, taking Guanzhong will be more important than capturing Xiangyang."

Niu Jinxing hurriedly added: "That's right. Guanzhong is our hometown, and Xi'an has been the capital since ancient times. Once our division captures Xi'an, it will not be difficult to advance to Youyan."

Li Zicheng unconsciously slapped his palm on the table and said, "Your words really touched my heart!"