Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

The cold wind suddenly rose, and the fire was lit in the Governor's Mansion of Jiangnan and Jiangxi, and the atmosphere was warm. Lang Tingzuo squinted his eyes and leaned on the armchair, thinking about his own things. This kind of chair is actually not comfortable to sit on, but it is wide, made of heavy materials, and decorated intricately. The backrest and armrests are connected to form a screen, which looks solemn and rigorous, and can well highlight the status and identity of the owner. Qin Hui, the Grand Tutor of the Song Dynasty, sat on the chair and raised his head, and his headscarf fell off accidentally. An official named Wu Yuan saw it and ordered people to make a lotus leaf headrest to flatter Qin Hui, and put it on the chair ring where Qin Hui sat. The Grand Tutor Chair was born. A treacherous minister and a big flatterer inadvertently left a valuable legacy in the history of Chinese furniture.

Seeing that his brother was silent, Lang Tingxiang, the Left Governor of Sichuan, also kept silent. The Lang family was prominent during the Qing Dynasty, and later saw the opportunity to join Wu Sangui early, which was very effective, and many high-ranking officials emerged from the family. Lang Tingxiang, the younger brother of Lang Tingzuo, was the Left Governor of Sichuan. Because most of Sichuan was still in the hands of the Wei army, he was worried that the war between Wu and Wei would hurt his younger brother, so Governor Lang deliberately smoothed the relationship to let his younger brother postpone his appointment. In addition to these two brothers, his cousin Lang Tingji was the Governor of Jiangxi, and another cousin Lang Tingdong was the Censor of Hunan, both of whom were high-ranking officials. The reason why the Lang family could maintain its prosperity during the changes of dynasties was not only because Lang Tingzuo was a powerful local figure with troops at his disposal, but also because he was good at networking and liked to make marriages. He had his grandson marry the granddaughter of Jingnan King Geng Jimao at an early stage. With the support of Jingnan vassal state and his own strength, he naturally became the target of wooing by Wu Sangui, the Emperor Zhaowu of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and it was not surprising that his family was filled with high-ranking officials.

"Huh~" Governor Lang finally let out a breath and said to his brother, "What do you think of the letter from Governor Zhang asking for help?"

Being able to hold the post of governor, Lang Tingxiang naturally had some knowledge, and said with a smile: "Huangmei is right next to Anqing, and Zhang Fuyuan is stationed in Anqing. Seeing that the pseudo king has gathered a large number of troops here, he is just a scholar with more than administrative talent but less than military skills. How can he not panic? People are confused when they are concerned, and they lose their judgment when they are confused." Anhui Governor Zhang Chaozhen has always been a good administrator. In the early Qing Dynasty, whenever there was a military event, no matter how complicated the military supplies were, he would do his best to raise funds to meet the needs, such as building warships, building pontoon bridges, and transporting food and salaries. In years of famine, he provided relief and disaster relief, and he had made great achievements. However, although this governor had served in military positions such as Niulu Zhangjing and Jiala Zhangjing of the Zhenglan Banner Han Army, he had never really been on the battlefield, so Lang Tingxiang said this.

Lang Tingzuo sensed something in his brother's words and asked slowly, "Are you saying that the Wei army's seizure of Anqing was fake and that they actually have other purposes?"

"The Wei army has already occupied Huangzhou. It is very convenient to take Anqing by water or land. If they have no other plans, why would they stay in Huangmei for a whole month without moving?" Lang Tingxiang analyzed calmly.

Lang Tingzuo frowned. He was not afraid of the enemy's strength, but was most afraid of not understanding what the enemy wanted to do. He asked in a deep voice, "What do you think the real purpose of the guards is?"

"Cao Cao and Fu Jian were both blocked by the surging river in the past. The false king has also fought in major battles and should be aware of the dangers of the river. I think his stationing of troops in Huangmei may just be a decoy. The real purpose is to avoid the dangers of the river, go south from Wuchang by land to seize Jiujiang, cross Poyang Lake and go down the river to Jiangning," Lang Tingxiang spoke eloquently and with confidence.

"Do you have any evidence?" Lang Tingzuo asked his brother, staring at him.

"I sent people across the river to investigate and learned that the pseudo-deputy general of the Eastern Expedition, Xi Rimo, had sent people to build military camps and store food and grass in Xingguo Prefecture, Wuchang, and it seemed that he intended to use Xingguo Prefecture as a base to march south to Jiujiang."

After listening to his brother's analysis, Lang Tingzuo was shocked and thought for a long time before saying, "If this is the case, we must immediately notify Admiral Hu (referring to Admiral Hu Qitai of Jiangxi) and Dong Fuyuan (referring to Governor Dong Weiguo of Jiangxi) to be careful and alert." After thinking for a while, he said, "If the Wei army really captures Jiujiang, the next step must be to go to Chizhou. We must send troops to support Chizhou immediately. However, although I have a large number of troops, most of them are not able to fight. I don't know who should I send?"

"General Zhou Gui and Deputy General Baitalazhi are both capable fighters. We can order the Navy's Right Camp Lieutenant General Wang Dacheng to lead the navy to transport their troops to Chizhou," Lang Tingxiang proposed three candidates.

Lang Tingzuo nodded. Zhou Gui was originally the deputy general of Huai'an, and Baitalazhi was originally the deputy governor of Manchuria. They had fought bloody battles with the rebels (referring to the Zheng family in Taiwan) and were considered capable fighters. Although Wang Dacheng had suffered a great loss from the guards when he went north to defend the emperor, he had also experienced battles. It would be best to send the three of them.

"Brother, have you forgotten the Zhenhai General in Jingkou? The naval and land forces under his command are all the elite of our army," Lang Tingxiang proposed another candidate. Zhenhai General Liu Zhiyuan was originally a Manchu bannerman, organized into the Bordered Yellow Banner Han Army, participated in a series of major battles before and after entering the Pass, and was considered a famous general of this era. Now he led his troops to garrison in Zhenjiang Jingkou.

Hearing this name, Lang Tingzuo agreed repeatedly, "If Lord Liu is willing to send troops, there will be no worries in the south of the Yangtze River! I will write a letter to Lord Liu now!"

After all, he was a governor, so he naturally considered things more carefully than his brother. Although he agreed with his brother's opinion, he did not ignore the letter of help from Anhui Governor Zhang Chaozhen. The other party was also a governor of a province. If he ignored his life and death, he would offend the other party, which was equivalent to making a strong enemy for himself. It is most taboo to make enemies easily in the officialdom, not to mention that Anqing is also an important town in the north of the Yangtze River. Once it is lost, I am afraid that the south of the Yangtze River will also be shaken. So, he picked up his pen and wrote a reply letter to Zhang Chaozhen.

Lang Tingzuo's letter was written very sincerely! He first recalled his friendship with Governor Zhang. The Wei army is pressing Anqing. I am more anxious than you, brother Zhang! I have ordered the guerrilla Fu Xi and the commander Fan Shuying to lead 5,000 troops to cross the river to help. At the same time, I ordered the Xuzhou general Liu Chaofu to lead 20,000 troops from Xuzhou to Anqing. Then please rest assured, brother Zhang, according to my judgment, the Wei army is stationed in Huangmei and does not move. It is actually Xiang Zhuang's sword dance with Peigong. The goal is Jiujiang rather than Anqing. I will deploy 20,000 elite troops under the general Zhou Gui, the deputy general Baitalazhi, and the lieutenant general Wang Dacheng in Chizhou opposite Anqing. In addition, the army of General Zhenhai Liu Zhiyuan is also on the way to Chizhou, which can complement Anqing. Even if the Wei army's goal is really Anqing, the reinforcements will soon cross the river from Chizhou to help. So, please rest assured, I will take care of everything!

After writing the reply, Lang Yanzuo ordered the garrisons in Huizhou, Ningguo, Taiping, Guangde, Changzhou and other places to gather in Chizhou, and the garrisons in Fengyang, Chuzhou, Hezhou and other places to reinforce Anqing. He also wrote letters to his relative, King Jingnan Geng Jimao, Governor of Zhejiang and Fujian Li Lutai, and Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi Lu Xingzu for help. After Wu Sangui proclaimed himself emperor, although the provinces in the south of the Yangtze River ostensibly paid tribute to the Great Zhou, they secretly agreed to unite and protect each other. After finishing all this, he thought he was safe and contented, and stroked his long beard.

Unexpectedly, after seeing the letter, Anhui Governor Zhang Chaozhen was so angry that he cursed: "Lang Gong is only good at talking about war on paper. How can he deploy more than 100,000 troops to cheat? The reason why the guards are stationed in Huangmei is because they are not prepared enough. When they are ready, Anqing will be in great trouble! What you said is that Chizhou and Anqing are mutually supportive, and there is a long river between them. How can it be so easy to reinforce them? Alas! Lang Gong has ruined the country! Lang Gong has ruined the country!" Although he cursed, he could only order his troops to be careful and alert. (End of this chapter)