Northern Dynasties

Chapter 1322 Jiangdong is in danger

After receiving the news from Han Zigao and other generals that they had successfully captured the city of Wujun, Chen Qian breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that his long planning had not been in vain.

However, when Chen Qian heard that Wujun Prefect Shen Junli had to be captured and killed in the battle because he resisted fiercely and refused to submit during the siege, he couldn't help feeling a little sad.

He had a good relationship with Shen Junli. He had asked Shen Junli to mediate between him and the court. On the one hand, he hoped to involve Shen Junli in the conflict between him and the court so that he could not concentrate on county affairs. On the other hand, he wanted Shen Junli to see that the emperor was extreme and narrow-minded and unwilling to tolerate others for the sake of the country. He hoped that Shen Junli would side with him at the critical moment. However, he did not expect that Shen Junli would eventually choose to die rather than surrender.

But soon Chen Qian cheered up and swept away these sad emotions. Shen Junli got what he wanted, and his death was worthy. Chen Qian's attack on Wujun was not only for his own glory and wealth, but also for the continuation of his country. In this process, someone has to sacrifice!

On the one hand, he sent messages to Han Zigao and others who had already occupied the county town to control the situation in the city and treat Shen Junli's family, including Princess Kuaiji, well. On the other hand, he dispatched subsequent troops to continue advancing towards Wujun, thus completely occupying Wujun.

Chen Qian did not expect the court to order him to send troops to quell the rebellion. Now the court army must be busy fighting with the Tang army in Nanchuan and Wang Lin and other rebel forces, and has no time to take into account the changes in the situation in the Three Wus. Even if he sent troops on his own initiative, the court did not dare to declare him a traitor because of its fear of action.

As long as they have not completely torn their faces apart, he can still use his identity as a member of the Southern Chen royal family to win over the manpower and material resources among the Three Wus, continue to consolidate the situation of competing with the imperial court, and even replace the imperial court to control the Three Wus.

Chen Qian led the Wuxing army and marched directly northward from Wuxing to Wujun. He also sent his confidant Hua Jiao to lead his secretly organized smuggling team, the Danshan Army, to march northward along the west bank of Taihu Lake, passing through Yixing, and intercepting Pogangdu. In this way, even if the court was worried about the situation in Wuzhong and sent troops to Wujun, it would be difficult to reach Wujun directly because of the obstruction.

The Three Wu regions were not a monolithic entity. There was a lot of competition within the region, and local tyrants were also fighting against each other for local resources. Some even had deep hatred for each other.

Although Chen Qian had a certain influence in the Three Wus, his base was still Wuxing County, so he had to use force to bring Wu County under his control. Wu County was a consumable in his plan. Its land could be used as a buffer zone against the court, and its personnel and materials could be shared with various powerful people in Wuxing, Kuaiji, etc., to encourage them to unite more closely around him.

It should be said that Chen Qian also had the style of his uncle Chen Baxian. He was not only tough and decisive but also cautious in doing things. He first used the rebellious soldiers to test the waters and break the defensive situation of Wujun itself, and then sent reinforcements in the name of suppressing the rebellion. Even when he knew that the court was unable to send troops, he still arranged a team to block the passage of the court army to the east. It can be said that he was meticulous and rigorous, and his advances and retreats were well-founded.

As long as he controlled Wujun this time, he would have enough benefits to mobilize the other Wuzhong tyrants who were still waiting and watching. Although the Wuzhong tyrants were short-sighted and had no overall view, they were also quite aggressive. As long as there were enough benefits in front of them, they would dare to become restless and would not have any comprehensive and profound understanding of the consequences.

However, although Chen Qian's plan was very detailed, just after the plan had a relatively successful start, an unexpected major change occurred.

"Wang Lin surrendered to the Tang Kingdom, Hou Zhen was captured by Tan Lang, and Nanchuan was completely pacified? Wu Mingche has already led his army out of the capital..."

On the second day after Chen Qian led his army northward, the latest situation from Jiankang was quickly transmitted to the army. Every piece of news was like a bolt from the blue to Chen Qian, causing his face to change suddenly. Even after hearing it, he was still full of disbelief and it took him a long time to digest the news.

The reason why he was so shocked was that whether his series of plans could proceed smoothly depended on a huge prerequisite, which was that the imperial army and the Tang army had to be involved in the battle in Nanchuan Lingbiao and had no time to take into account the changes in the situation in Wuzhong.

But now the Nanchuan war ended so quickly, regardless of the next move of the Tang army, at least the court was able to spare some time to take care of other things. The court dared to send Wu Mingche to quell the rebellion, which showed Chen Chang's fearless attitude. Now, Chen Qian was not blindly arrogant, and sent Hua Jiao to Pogangdu in advance to block the road, which at least created some obstacles for Wu Mingche's quelling division, so that it could not smoothly reach Wujun, thus buying some time for the implementation of the plan here.

But the problem now is that the long-standing problem in Nanchuan was solved so quickly. Although it was not accomplished by the court alone, it was mainly due to the interference of the Tang army. However, the current Jiankang court is supported by the Tang Dynasty. It is really hard to predict what kind of impact and shock the changes in the situation in Nanchuan will bring to the people of Jiangdong.

"Your Majesty, the situation has changed suddenly. I'm afraid that going to Wu County will not be smooth. Moreover, Wu Mingche is a brave general in Jiangbei, and his reputation is well-known in Jiangzuo. When he leaves, people will inevitably be suspicious. If Your Majesty is trapped in Wu County, I'm afraid something will happen in Wuxing! So please return to Wuxing temporarily and wait for the situation to change before thinking of other plans."

While Chen Qian was still frowning in thought, his subordinates could not help but give him advice. After learning that the chaos in Nanchuan was resolved so quickly, they were no longer as optimistic as when they first sent out the troops.

"No! Now that things have started, how can we give up halfway! Besides, Zi Gao and others have led their troops to occupy Wujun, and Hua Jiao will also break through Gangdu. These disciples are all my trusted followers. Since they have been seen by others, even if I don't go to Wujun, everyone will know that this plan came from me. The only plan now is to continue to push forward without fear of danger!"

After hearing this, Chen Qian slowly shook his head and said in a deep voice: "The current situation is not extremely dangerous. Wu County is still under my control. After the Nanchuan incident is over, the Tang army will not go east to enter the country. Wu Mingche has been in Jiangbei for a long time and is not familiar with the customs of Wuxiang. His troops are not strong and need to rely on Jingkou for support. As long as Jingkou Xu Du does not cooperate, Wu Mingche will have difficulty in deploying his troops in our hometown!"

Although the sudden change in the situation greatly disrupted Chen Qian's previous ideas, he quickly grasped the key to the matter after pondering for a while. The Nanchuan Rebellion was quickly quelled, which certainly strengthened the deterrence of the court, but it was mainly because the court was relying on the power of the tiger. The power of the court itself increased very limitedly, and it even needed to divide its troops to garrison Nanchuan, which would make the troops that the court could dispatch at the moment even thinner.

Under such circumstances, if the plan was abandoned and the troops retreated back to Wuxing, it would only give the imperial court a chance to catch their breath. Not to mention whether there would be better opportunities in the future, the abandonment of the plan would make the imperial court aware of its own weakness and thus intensify the attack on Wuzhong.

Therefore, the only way to break the situation now is to contact Xu Du in Jingkou. Even if he can only keep him neutral, Chen Qian is confident that he can counter and repel Wu Mingche's attack with the power of the Three Wus. As long as the power of the court cannot enter the Three Wus, the situation will still develop in a direction that is beneficial to him.

However, the generals were right about one thing, that is, under such a sudden change in the situation, it is really worrying what kind of changes will happen to the people in Wuxing. At the moment, it is indeed not suitable for Chen Qian to go to Wujun again. Once he is restricted in the territory of Wujun, he will inevitably suffer from the danger of losing one thing while gaining another.

Therefore, Chen Qian made a decision quickly. He ordered his general Qian Daozhi to lead a group of troops to Wujun for reinforcement, while he himself led his trusted followers back to Wuxing, personally staying in the local area to gather powerful forces and prepare for further wars.

Of course, there is one most important point, which is to order the generals of Wu County to quickly send the gold and treasures seized in the territory to Jingkou to bribe Xu Du in Jingkou and win his support. As for other seized materials, except for some necessary military supplies to meet the consumption of the troops, the rest should be sent back to Wuxing as soon as possible to prepare for long-term defense and confrontation.

Chen Qian had ambitiously led his troops northward, but he was forced to return halfway due to an unexpected incident. He was naturally a little depressed. After returning to Wuxing, he could not show his disappointment, but had to cheer up and deal with the Wuzhong tyrants who came to inquire about the situation.

At the same time, he did not forget to send a message to Hou Andu who had already returned to Kuaiji, hoping that he would be prepared to fight. In the short term, the Tang army might not directly interfere with the situation in Jiangdong, but since its troops had already marched south in large numbers and penetrated deep into the Nanchuan Mountains, it would be natural for them to continue to expand to the Three Wu, Zhejiang and Fujian regions.

  Such a process is obviously not something that a weak and foolish court can stop. Therefore, guarding against the Tang army's expansion across Wuyi Mountain to the east has become an urgent problem that these powerful people entrenched in the local area must consider!

But Chen Qian's thinking was obviously a bit optimistic. There were many contradictions and problems within the Southern Chen Dynasty. Even if he had a sense of crisis, because he was not in the right position, all the things he did that he thought were beneficial to the country only further aggravated the internal friction of the Southern Chen Dynasty. The subsequent collapse of the situation might come faster than he imagined.