Thief Emperor

Chapter 595: Attack on Jiangdong

Three thousand war horses from Hebei Road are so enviable.

These are even the biggest income of Li Yun’s trip to Fan Yang.

Generals like Deng Yang and Li Zheng, who came from independent backgrounds, were not very sensitive to such matters, but generals Zhao Cheng and Su Sheng, who came from professional backgrounds, knew very well the value of these horses.

With these horses, they will be able to quickly build a decent cavalry and make up for their respective shortcomings.

Li Yun looked at the two men and smiled dumbly: "I thought you two came to congratulate me on having a daughter, but I didn't expect you were attracted by my war horses."

Su Sheng smiled and said, "We didn't know about this until we arrived in Jinling. Congratulations on your success."

Zhao Cheng also bowed his head slightly and said, "Congratulations on your promotion."

Li Yun took the two men to his study and sat down. After they sat down, he personally poured tea for the two generals, and then said with a smile: "I have a lot of eyes and ears around you two."

Zhao Cheng was a little embarrassed when he heard this, but Su Sheng was much more open and said with a smile: "My spy is the one that the superior wants to bring with him. In the letter he wrote to his subordinates, he was quite proud and told me a lot about what happened in the north."

Li Yun looked at Su Sheng and asked, "Brother, have you met Su Zhan since you came to Jinling?"

Su Sheng shook his head slightly: "I don't know where he went. I didn't see him in Li Garden."

"I gave them a few days off."

Li Yun lowered his head to drink tea, and said with a smile: "They also suffered a lot during this trip to the north with me. Brother may not know that Su Zhan is quite courageous. I asked him to stay in the rear, but he insisted on going to the battlefield with me no matter what."

"This time, he killed a Khitan on the battlefield. Did he tell your brother about it in the letter?"

Su Sheng was startled, then shook his head slightly: "No, that's weird. If he really killed a Khitan, he should have boasted to me a long time ago."

Li Yun thought for a moment, then put down his teacup and said, "The Khitan man's arm was broken by my shot. He was lying on the ground, and Su Zhan stabbed him again. Maybe in his mind, it wasn't considered a murder."

Su Sheng became serious upon hearing this and said, "Of course this can't be considered a murder. This kind of head can't be counted as a merit on the battlefield."

Li Yun sighed and said, "The general is really strict in managing his family."

Su Sheng was about to say something else, but Zhao Cheng beside him coughed lightly. Su Sheng immediately reacted and said to Li Yun with a smile, "My Lord, the garrison near Jinling only needs horses, and war horses are not really needed. What do you plan to do with the three thousand horses?"

Li Yun smiled and looked at the two people, and said, "How do you plan to divide it?"

Zhao Cheng and Su Sheng looked at each other, and then whispered, "My Lord, the Jinling Army near Jinling does not need war horses for the time being. What I mean is that Brother Su's troops, my Jiangbei Army, and General Li Zheng's troops should each be given 1,000 horses."

"Sir, with the war horses from Hebei Province, I will be able to build a proper cavalry battalion by the end of the year."

"A cavalry battalion of a thousand men!"

He looked at Li Yun, couldn't help but clenched his fist and said: "We can fight on any battlefield!"

Cavalry is what the Jiangdong soldiers lack the most, and it is also the last piece of the puzzle.

With a cavalry of the size of a duwei battalion, it would be considered a complete army in this era. As Zhao Cheng said, no matter what the situation or on what kind of battlefield, they would be qualified to fight.

Li Yun thought about it seriously and said, "It will take another ten days or half a month to escort the war horses back. By then, you will each take a thousand horses back, but you can't be picky. You will get whatever is given to you."

The two of them were a little excited when they heard this, and bowed their heads and said, "I obey your command!"

Li Yun reached out and knocked on the table, saying, "Originally, I was going to have someone invite you to come to Jinling to discuss matters. Now that you two are here, I can save myself the trouble of having someone make such a trip."

Upon hearing this, the two generals looked up at Li Yun and almost sat up straight.

Li Yun searched on his desk and found a few maps. Zhao Cheng immediately stood up and helped Li Yun hang up the maps. After the maps were hung up, Li Yun pointed to the location of Shenzhou in Huainan Road, looked at Zhao Cheng, and said, "General Zhao, the Fengyang garrison should move here."

Shenzhou is the westernmost part of Huainan Road. After hearing what Li Yun said, Zhao Cheng almost immediately understood Li Yun's intention and knew that Li Yun was probably going to move westward. He did not immediately bow his head to obey the order, but said: "Sir, my unit is responsible for the Huaishui defense line. If we all move westward, the entire Huainan Road from Shenzhou to Chuzhou will probably be left undefended."

Li Yun looked at him, thought about it seriously, and said with a smile: "I read the military report. General Zhao now has more than 20,000 troops under his command, right?"

Zhao Cheng nodded quickly and said yes. After a pause, he continued, "Now, almost a thousand soldiers are sent to the army every month. By autumn, or at most by the end of the year, the entire Jiangbei military force will exceed 30,000."

After occupying the entire Jiangnan Road and Huainan Road, the Jiangdong Army has been expanding and recruiting people frantically, almost without stopping.

At the beginning of the year, the number of troops under Li Yun's command was just over 70,000. At that time, the four armies had almost the same strength, which was less than 20,000 each.

Now, except for the fact that there has not been much change in the military forces near Nanjing, the military forces under Li Zheng, Zhao Cheng and Su Sheng have all approached 30,000. In other words, the military strength of the entire Jiangdong has actually reached about 100,000.

This is why Li Yun has the confidence to look to the Central Plains and the world. However, with the capabilities of the three southeastern provinces, the best they can do is to support these 100,000 troops. If they need more, they can only go out and rob.

Soon, the recruitment of soldiers in Jiangdong will end and come to a temporary halt.

Li Yun looked at Zhao Cheng and continued, "At least half of the troops should be deployed in Shenzhou."

Zhao Cheng nodded his head.

"Brother Su."

Li Yun said in a deep voice: "I have sent some people to Luzhou. Brother Su, your troops are mainly in Jiangnan West Road. I want you to deploy heavy troops in Lizhou."

Su Sheng had already guessed Li Yun's intention at this moment, and he whispered, "The superior wants Jingxiang."

"Correct."

Li Yun nodded decisively and said, "We will deploy our troops there first to ensure that we can take action at any time. There is still half a year left this year. The best scenario at the moment is naturally to take Jingxiang within this half year."

"Brother Su, you will take the lead in this matter. Chen Da from Luzhou and the people from the Nine Departments can all coordinate and cooperate with you."

"General Zhao's troops heading west can serve as support."

"it is good!"

Su Sheng stood up directly. He was a little excited. After a long while, he calmed down and said slowly: "When we take action, do we need to have a name first, or can we just sneak attack and take it first?"

"Of course, we'll take it first."

Li Yun smiled and said, "Brother Su, if you find an opportunity, you can just do it directly. After you do it, I will naturally have a flag."

"But we need to be careful about this matter."

Li Yun said in a deep voice: "We must be more than 80% sure of taking Jingxiang before we can take action, otherwise it will be too disadvantageous."

This time is different from the past. If Su Sheng takes action, it would basically be equivalent to announcing that Li Yun has started a rebellion.

Once the flag is raised and the manifesto is issued, there will be no turning back.

Even Su Sheng had a serious face at this moment. He looked at Li Yun and said in a deep voice: "This matter is too important. I dare not make decisions on my own. If there is a chance, I will report it to the superior and let the superior make the decision."

Zhao Cheng looked at Li Yun and said, "Sir, if we start a rebellion here first, I'm afraid there will be unusual movements in the Pinglu Army. We must be on guard."

"Leaving more than 10,000 people in Jiangbei is enough to defend the Huai River for a while, and it is not necessarily us who will start the rebellion first."

Mr. Li said softly, "The situation in the Central Plains is not peaceful right now. If someone provokes it, there might be unrest."

Intelligence agencies are not just responsible for gathering intelligence.

Sometimes, they are responsible for many tasks, such as assassination, spreading false information, and stirring up trouble.

Li Yun might have had this in mind when he arranged the Nine Officials to the west.

The Central Plains had just experienced Wang Junping, and now Liang Wen came. In addition, there have been almost constant wars in the past few years. Now, the people are complaining.

The contradiction has not been eliminated.

If someone wanted to stir up trouble, it would probably not be a difficult task. As long as there was chaos in the Central Plains, Li Yun would have the opportunity and reason to enter the Central Plains to quell the rebellion.

Zhao Cheng also stood up. He looked at Li Yun and said, "Master, when the war breaks out, should our troops in Jiangbei also move westward?"

Li Yun nodded and said, "As long as you can ensure that the Pinglu Army will not take advantage of the situation, the troops in Jiangbei will be at your disposal."

The three of them began to discuss the subsequent battle plan in the study. Li Yun and Su Sheng already had a grudge against the imperial court, and they became more and more excited as they talked.

Mr. Li looked at the two of them with a smile on his face: "Two generals."

"Occupy Jingxiang, as long as we can occupy Jingxiang."

"We will have a great opportunity to achieve great things!"

(End of this chapter)