The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 555: Ma Renyu is studious and motivated
A few days after bidding farewell to Shi Kuangwei, Zhu Xiu received a summons from Chai Rong and ordered him to meet at the Zhou army's camp in Haozhou.

The peace-seeking team sent by Li Jing, the Lord of the Tang Dynasty, had already set off from Jiangning, crossed the river and went straight to Haozhou to meet Chai Rong.

When he was summoned at this time, Zhu Xiu guessed that the first reason was to seek peace for the Southern Tang court.

The second is that Fu Jinzhan, the queen, is seriously ill.

Previously, Fu Jinhuan's family letter mentioned it slightly, and Feng Qingchan also implicitly expressed his pessimistic attitude in private.

Zhu Xiu knew that Fu Jinzhan might not be able to escape his fate and die at a young age.

If Fu Jinzhan passes away, it will be a heavy blow to Fu and Zhu Xiu, regardless of personal relationships or selfish interests.

For Chai Rong, at the time when he was ruling the world and in high spirits, losing his beloved and closest relatives again seemed to be a ruthless trick from God.

If possible, Zhu Xiu would definitely try his best to save Fu Jinzhan's life.

It's a pity that everything seems to have its own will in the dark.

In the official office, Zhu Xiu summoned Hu Guangyue, screened away the others, and gave him face-to-face instructions.

"You immediately set off for Yangzhou, gather people to go to Jiangning, and lurk around Li Deming's mansion, where the Privy Council has ordered, and always pay attention to the movements of Li Deming's family.

His parents died of illness last year, leaving only his wife, two children, and an elderly aunt in the house to ensure their safety.

When Li Deming and his party return to Jiangning, Song Qiqiu's party may use the peace negotiation as an excuse to attack him.

Li Deming is an important figure in the peace negotiation faction. Under the instigation of Song Qiqiu and others, Li Jing may kill Li Deming to express his determination to fight to the death with the Zhou army to the people in Jiangnan.

As a result, Li Deming's family may be in catastrophe. What you have to do is to save his family's lives and send them away from Jiangning! "

Hu Guangyue thought for a while, "Master, even if we have enough manpower lurking in Jiangning, if we want to send a family of criminals out of the city, they must be willing to cooperate."

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "I am going to see Your Majesty. I will meet with the Tang Guo peace delegation. When I see Li Deming, I will remind him and ask him to contact you in times of crisis."

After a pause, Zhu Xiu added: "Of course, if he is unwilling to leave Jiangning by then, you can use all coercive means to try to save his family's life.

In addition, for this operation, I will act in the name of Wu Desi on the surface, and I will use more manpower from the Chazi deployed by Wu Desi in Jiangning. You only need to help me secretly.The spies from the Zangfeng Battalion and the Department of Anti-Security Affairs in Jiangning must hide their traces to ensure their own safety. "

Hu Guangyue cupped his fists and said, "I would like to thank you for your mercy on behalf of our brothers!"

Zhu Xiu would not easily use the Zangfengying and the Police Department for things that could be done with the Wu De Department.

After all, the latter is his personal power, and any less of it will hurt him.

Outside the hall, a figure poked his head in. Zhu Xiu smiled and said, "Who is it? If you have anything to do, you might as well come in and talk."

Ma Renyu, who was wearing a gray-brown military robe, walked in slowly, cupped his fists and said with a smile: "General, I will pay my respects to Deputy Commander Zhu!"

Zhu Xiu nodded towards Hu Guangyue, indicating that he could leave.

"It turns out to be Commander Ma, please sit down!"

Zhu Xiu poured tea for him, Ma Renyu quickly took it with both hands, and sat down next to the edge of the chair.

"Commander Ma is not staying in the camp, why do you want to see me?" Zhu Xiu asked casually with a smile.

Ma Renyu was also an outspoken person and hurriedly said: "The general is deducing the battle situation in Chuzhou in the camp. I can't figure out some key points, so I want to ask Deputy Commander Zhu for advice!"

After saying that, he smiled and felt that what he did was a bit too abrupt.

Zhu Xiu is currently the highest commander of the Zhou Army on the Eastern Front. He is just a bow and arrow control commander under the Dianqian Division. He is several levels behind. He came to see the commander rashly, which is really unruly.

Ma Renyu's face turned red and he remained silent.

Zhu Xiu didn't take it seriously, and said with a smile: "If you have any questions, just ask."

Ma Renyu rubbed his hands and said sarcastically: "I beg you, Vice Admiral Zhu, to keep the secret for the general. Don't let my General Zhao know that the general will come to disturb the deputy commander without notification. Otherwise, you will be punished when you return!"

Zhu Xiu said with a smile that was not a smile: "Your General Zhao is the Marquis of the Dianqian Sidu, and I am the commander of the Dianqian Division's deputy capital, and you are the capital school under the Dianqiansi's jurisdiction. Why don't you come to me to report on military affairs?" ?
There is nothing in the military regulations of the Palace Front Division that says you can only be dispatched by Zhao Du Yu! "

Ma Renyu was stunned for a moment and scratched his head. It was right to think about it, but he always felt that something was wrong.

It's all here, Ma Renyu is not willing to make a trip in vain if he doesn't ask out the confusion in his heart.

"General, I would like to ask Deputy Commander Zhu why the surprise attack on Qingliu Pass was successful?" Ma Renyu clasped his fists with a sincere face, "General, I have studied that when Deputy Commander Zhu led the army to Qingliu Pass, the marching speed was not very fast. Tang soldiers along the way They all gathered back to Guancheng and the four gates were locked, indicating that the Tang army had already heard the movements of our army.

But why didn't Huangfuhui and Yao Feng make any countermeasures? "

Zhu Xiu smiled slightly. Ma Renyu was worthy of being a famous general. Others would only applaud the Chuzhou victory, but he focused on the war itself and discovered the clues.

"Actually, Huangfu Hui and Yao Feng have already responded by gathering Tang soldiers along the route and forcibly moving people dozens of miles around into Qingliu Pass. Isn't this their way of fighting the enemy?" Zhu Xiu said with a smile.

Ma Renyu said doubtfully: "Our army is attacking the key point. The second general is the defender of Chuzhou. Just making these responses is probably not enough!"

Zhu Xiu sipped her tea, "But in the opinion of Huangfu Hui and Yao Feng, these measures are enough to deal with me, a newcomer in the army!"

Ma Renyu thought thoughtfully: "Deputy Commander Zhu is saying that the second general is arrogant and arrogant, and is suspected of underestimating the enemy!"

Zhu Xiu nodded, "Yes! If you know Huangfu Hui as a person, you will know how he underestimates the enemy. He looks down on me at all! I, Zhu Xiukong, have a reputation but no military exploits. I have been famous for my articles and poems before. Tang Jun The general naturally thinks that I am a scholar leading the army, which is nonsense!
Of the two generals in Chuzhou, Huangfuhui is naturally the leading one.As long as Huangfu Hui's problem of being arrogant and underestimating the enemy is grasped, it is easy to formulate corresponding tactics. "

Ma Renyu suddenly realized, "It turns out that Vice Admiral Zhu had sent people to investigate the character of the Chuzhou general before he entered the army, so that he could truly know himself and his enemy!
The second general underestimated the enemy, so Vice Admiral Zhu showed weakness and deliberately held a battle array in front of Qingliu Pass for several days. In fact, he secretly sent people to explore the paths on the surrounding Changkong Mountain. After several false attacks at night to test the movement, he found the right opportunity to take the pass by surprise and conquered the dangerous pass in one fell swoop. !
After a second ambush, pretending to be the Tang army and conquering Chuzhou City, it was a matter of course!

Once Qingliu Pass was broken, the Tang army had no master, and could only be led by Deputy Commander Zhu!
This series of schemes combines falsehood with reality, making it difficult to distinguish between true and false. It is really exquisite! "

Ma Renyu's face was full of admiration, and his eyes were full of reverence when he looked at Zhu Xiu.

Only by truly considering the battle behind Chuzhou's victory will we understand that this victory was definitely not a fluke, but a battle of wits and hearts.

Zhu Xiu smiled faintly, picked up the teacup and sipped the tea slowly, then brushed off her clothes as if nothing had happened, hiding her deep sense of merit and fame.

In Ma Renyu's heart, Zhu Xiu's image instantly improved a bit. He was called a mysterious, powerful and majestic person.

Zhu Xiu glanced at Ma Renyu's eyes admiringly, and was overjoyed.

The full story of Huangfu Hui and Yao Feng's talents can be seen from the history books.

Huangfu Hui, in particular, has two fatal flaws, rogueness and arrogance.

Being a rogue made him have a bad reputation among the Southern Tang army, and he was not supported by the soldiers.

Arrogance cost him his life.

In the original historical process, after Zhao Kuangyin won the victory at Wukou, he once again led troops to attack Chuzhou.

Although Huangfuhui knew that the Zhou army was powerful and Zhao Kuangyin was brave, he still dared to go out to Qingliu Pass to fight with the enemy. This gave Zhao Kuangyin the opportunity to take the Changkong Mountain path and go around Qingliu Pass, where he defeated the Tang army in a flanking attack.This is enough to show that Huangfuhui refuses to accept his elders and always thinks that he is still the powerful general who dominated the three towns of Weibo.

He didn't pay attention to a nobody like Zhao Kuangyin at all.

If it were Zhu Xiu who led the attack, his reputation was not outstanding and he was still a scribe, Huangfu Hui would not take it to heart.

Affected by Liu Yanzhen's defeat at Zhengyang, Huangfu Hui did not attack rashly this time. He originally wanted to hold on to the city pass, but he never expected that the Zhou army would walk the steep and dangerous Changkong Mountain path overnight and go around the pass to attack.

It would never have occurred to Zhou Jun that there was such a peerless and fierce man as Shi Xiangwen in Zhou Jun, who made Tang Jun completely terrified when he killed him.

The subsequent ambush at the lower pass of the pass, using the name of the Tang Army to seize Chuzhou City, happened within one day, and was also a chain reaction after the Qingliu Pass was broken.

At that time, Yao Feng was already in a panic, and he was afraid of Huangfu Hui's bad name, so Zhu Xiu took advantage of it.

There is indeed a coincidence in this, but more importantly, it is Zhu Xiu's clever tactical coordination that took advantage of Huangfu Hui's character weaknesses.

The inspiration comes from the Chuzhou Victory that originally belonged to Zhao Kuangyin in history.

If you cross the river by touching Zhao Da, you will naturally have no disadvantages.

However, in the previous life, Zhao Kuangyin stepped on Huangfu Hui and Yao Feng to achieve great fame. In this life, Zhu Xiu intercepted Hu on the way and became a battlefield legend, which shocked the south of the Yangtze River.

In the future, I am afraid that no enemy general will regard Zhu Xiu as a newbie on the battlefield, thinking that he is a scholar who leads troops and has nothing to do.

Who dares to say that those who use pens will not use their own tricks to direct people to kill people with guns?
The great victory of Chuzhou told them with facts that there are indeed people with all-round talents in civil and military affairs in the world.

Ma Renyu took the opportunity to ask a few more questions, all about the Huainan War. Some of them also related to the future strategic layout of the Zhou army and were related to secrets.

Zhu Xiu had no reservations and chatted with him until evening.

Early the next morning, Zhu Xiu said goodbye to Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Pu, Dou Yi and others, and left Chuzhou City with Han Lingkun and [-] troops.

According to the original plan, Zhu Xiu took Shi Xiangwen and a group of soldiers to the Zhou army camp in Haozhou to meet Chai Rong.

Han Lingkun and Mi Xin led their troops to station in Liuhe, more than 100 miles east of Chuzhou.

But not long after leaving Chuzhou City, Zhu Xiu changed his plan and asked Han Lingkun to lead two thousand cavalry troops first and go straight to Yangzhou, while Mi Xin followed with infantry troops.

Han Lingkun was shocked and asked hurriedly: "Yangzhou is an important town in the north of the Yangtze River. There must be many Tang troops stationed there. Is it too risky for me to go with only two thousand cavalry?"

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "There is a shortage of horses in the south of the Yangtze River, and the Tang army lacks decent cavalry. You led the cavalry to Yangzhou day and night. The Tang army did not respond in time, and you might have an advantage."

Some of the Tang army stationed in Yangzhou were annihilated in Tianchang, and some were transferred to Chuzhou by Huangfu Hui. I don't expect that the Tang army currently has many troops deployed in Yangzhou. Four to five thousand would be good.

If the Tang army gathers quickly and sets up heavy troops in Yangzhou, you can also rely on the speed advantage of the cavalry to evacuate calmly.

Yangzhou is rich and prosperous, so I don’t need to say much about the supplies along the way.

But remember two things, don't harm the people, don't disturb the tombs of the Li family and the Southern Wu Yang family.

In this way, the reputation of our military can be preserved. "

Han Lingkun's eyes widened, he twisted his beard and thought for a moment, then grinned and said: "The deputy commander wants the last general to be a moral robber?"

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "Exactly!"

Han Lingkun's eyes were filled with excitement: "Haha~ Just in time to appreciate the richness of Yangzhou and enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way!"

Zhu Xiu reminded: "Li Jing's peace proposal is false, but delaying time to mobilize troops is true. So I expect that even if Yangzhou's defense is empty, a large number of Tang troops will gather on the south bank of the river, and they will cross north to counterattack soon. Therefore, you must pay close attention to the river." Regarding the movements on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, we must not underestimate the enemy and advance rashly. Follow-up arrangements will be made after I get back."

Han Lingkun clasped his fists heavily: "General, I will obey your commander's orders!"

Immediately, Han Lingkun gathered two thousand cavalry troops, took only a few days of dry food, and headed straight to Yangzhou with light equipment.

Mi Xin looked at the smoke and dust rising into the sky, licked his lips and muttered: "The handsome man is not kind, he doesn't want to think about me when he has a beautiful job."

Zhu Xiu scolded with a smile: "I am the deputy chief of the imperial palace, Yuhou, and a general of the imperial army. I am capable and justified in leading an army alone.

You are just an eighth-rank official. It is against military regulations to let you command the remaining infantry to cooperate with the front army's operations. They only hand over the troops and horses in front of the palace to you because of my face. "

Mi Xin puffed up his chest and said, "My cavalry and shooting skills are better than General Han's, so commanding the cavalry will not be a problem!"

Zhu Xiu shook his head and said: "Marching and fighting not only rely on personal bravery, but also rely more on this."

Zhu Xiu pointed to his forehead.

Mi Xin's face turned red: "Master Handsome, are you saying that I have no brains?"

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "No, no one will be dissatisfied with your ability to lead the cavalry.

However, when going to Yangzhou, we need to assess the situation. If we find that Yangzhou's defenses are empty, we must immediately make a sudden attack on the city.

If Yangzhou gathers heavy troops, it will have to withdraw quickly and be chased by the enemy along the way.

Han Lingkun's martial arts skills are not as good as yours, but his ability to command and adapt to battle is better than yours. "

Mi Xin blinked, scratched his head, and remained silent.

"Besides, Han Lingkun likes to study the terrain, and he has a clear understanding of the land and water conditions in Yangzhou.

Do you know which side of Yangzhou City is higher and which side is lower, how many gates there are, how wide the moat is, how big the population is, how much land there is, and where are the surrounding places where you can ambush and choose the route to withdraw your troops? "

Mi Xin swallowed and shook his head vigorously.

How could he have imagined that leading the cavalry to Yangzhou would require him to know so many things.

The Khitan knights he had seen in Saibei came roaring in, looted and killed, and then roared away.

Mi Xin grimaced, "I know, I can't do this job!"

Zhu Xiu laughed: "If you can't do it now, it doesn't mean you won't be able to do it in the future! Study hard and study hard. If you want to be a good general, besides your own martial arts, there are more things to learn!"

Tian Chongjin follows Shi Jieshuai to Duliangshan, and I arrange for you to follow Han Lingkun to Yangzhou, because I believe you will not do worse than Tian Chongjin!Do you have confidence? "

Mi Xin's eyes widened and he slapped his chest: "Don't worry, handsome! I will humbly ask General Han for advice. I will listen more, watch more, and want to learn more along the way. I dare not say who I am better than, but I must not be better than Tian Hanzi." Difference!"

Immediately, Mi Xin bid farewell to Zhu Xiu and led his troops towards Yangzhou.

Zhu Xiu stopped at the fork in the road and watched the army go away.

(End of this chapter)