Chapter 612: Troops Attack Xiangyang
Chapter 612: Troops Attack Xiangyang
The Yuan family finally agreed to the Dugu family's adjustment and changed the appointment of Prince Jin as the crown prince to not appointing an heir within ten years. They also added a clause to appoint Li Yuan as the governor of Taiyuan. After secret discussions among the various families, they added another clause to protect the property safety of the Guanlong nobles.
A total of five conditions were unanimously approved, and Yuan Hongsi and Dugu Zan then went to Luoyang to negotiate with the emperor.
Of course, all of this was done through secret negotiations in Wuchuan Building. Basically, only the main representatives of each family knew about it, and it was kept secret without any leaks.
It was already mid-September, and there were only ten days left before the one-month deadline Xiao Xia gave Xiao Xin. Xiao Xia decided to go to Jiangxia in person to win the Battle of Jingxiang.
Princess Cui Yu has been a little anxious these past two days because her husband is actually going to give her the decision-making power over major affairs, of course, when her husband is away from Jingkou for a long time.
At night, Cui Yu walked into her husband's study with a cup of tea. Xiao Xia was packing her luggage, putting some books, jade and other small items into the box.
"Husband, have some tea first!"
Xiao Xia nodded, took the teacup and drank two sips. Seeing that his wife was frowning, he smiled and said, "Are you still worried about that?"
Cui Yu sighed and said, "How can I not be annoyed? Wasn't everything normal when you went out before? Why do you have to ask for my approval now?"
Xiao Xia held his wife's hand and said softly, "Because the system is constantly improving, it used to be maintained by trust. I trust Gao Jiong and Liu Wenjing. They all rely on their own moral character to support the operation of Jiangnan Road. However, relying on personal character will never last long. In the end, it still depends on the system. In the past, we were vague and thought that we were just maintaining the operation of the Jiangnan Road General Administration Office. Now we can't deceive ourselves anymore!"
"If it's not the Jiangnan General Administration Mansion, then what is it?" Cui Yu asked puzzledly.
"It's Jin. My jurisdiction is actually a kingdom and has nothing to do with the imperial court. Liu Wenjing is the prime minister of Jin. The prime minister of Jin can only exercise the power of the prime minister. He must not have the power of the king, even temporarily. This is a matter of principle. When I go out, the power should be handed over to the prince. Because the prince is young, his mother will act on his behalf. Do you understand now? You are not acting on my behalf, but on behalf of Qiu Guaner's power. This is legal and reasonable."
Cui Yu finally understood that he was exercising his son's power.
"I understand, but what if there are things I don't know how to deal with?"
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Of course there are ways. If you really don't know what to do, you can ask your aunt for advice, or you can request a meeting of the Council of State."
"What does it mean to hold a meeting in the Council of State?"
"I have appointed five advisors in total, Gao Jiong, Liu Wenjing, Xiao Cong, Pei Wen'an, and Zhang Yunqiu. I will give you a seal for the advisory council. If you don't know what to do about a major issue, you can stamp 'Advisory Council' on the document, and then Liu Wenjing will summon the other four advisors to discuss the issue you don't know how to deal with in the Advisory Hall. They will all discuss as advisors, and will give you an opinion in the end, and you can make instructions based on their opinions."
"Isn't that too much trouble for them?"
"Don't even think about it. This is the job of the staff. They receive several dozen kan of staff allowances every month. They are willing to discuss and give you advice."
Cui Yu nodded, "Okay!"
Xiao Xia then gave his Jin Wang Seal, General Manager's Execution Seal, Advisory Seal, and the gold medal for emergency troop deployment to his wife, and explained to her how to use them.
The next morning, Xiao Xia left Jingkou City by boat and headed for Jiangxia. At the same time, Pei Xingyan also led 30,000 cavalry from the north bank of the Yangtze River to Yong'an County.
Eight days later, Xiao Xia's 20,000-stone ship arrived in Jiangxia County, two days before the expiration of the one-month deadline. The ship slowly stopped at the dock, and generals such as Lai Huer, Luo Shixin, Wang Junkuo, and Jiangxia County Governor Zhou Faming also came to welcome the arrival of the King of Jin.
Zhou Faming is the brother of Zhou Fashang. Historically, Zhou Faming was ostracized and attacked because he offended Yu Shiji. In anger, he pledged allegiance to Xiao Xin, but now Zhou Faming is highly valued by Xiao Xia. Before, he was only the Sima of Wuling County. After Wuling County was merged into Jiangnan Road, Zhou Faming was immediately appointed as the governor of Jiangxia County and commanded 5,000 troops.
Surrounded by the crowd, Xiao Xia walked up to the top of Jiangxia City. The waves of the river were as bright as a mirror. He raised his telescope and looked into the distance. In the distance, he could see another big river flowing into the Yangtze River, which was the Han River. The small county town next to it was Hankou County, which belonged to Mianyang County. A few dozen miles north of Hankou was Hanyang County.
Lai Huer introduced: "Your Highness, there have been some major changes in the Liang army. The current King of Liang is no longer Xiao Xin, but Xiao Yan, the old Taoist Xiao Jianli!"
"It turns out to be him!"
Xiao Xia nodded. "I met him in my early years. I exchanged my weapons with him. He seems to be Xiao Xin's grandfather. He is probably over 70 years old. Where is Xiao Xin?"
"Xiao Xin was renamed the Prince of Jiaozhi and led his army to the south."
Xiao Xia laughed. He believed that a man who knew the times was a wise man. If Xiao Xin established a country in the Indochina Peninsula, he could let him go.
Zhou Faming, who was standing next to him, had already been extremely envious of Lai Huer's clairvoyance. Now that the King of Jin was using it, he could no longer hold back and begged, "Your Highness, can I also have a clairvoyance?"
Xiao Xia smiled slightly: "If Envoy Zhou is willing to take the lead and help me capture Mianyang County, I can give him a clairvoyance."
Zhou Faming bowed quickly and said, "I am willing to take the lead!"
Xiao Xia nodded, "Let's go to the military office to discuss it!"
The temporary military office built dozens of large tents in the former martial arts arena. There was a wall around the martial arts arena, which has been renovated and a gate has been built. When you walk into the gate of the martial arts arena, you can see a series of magnificent tents.
Xiao Xia came to the main tent of the central army. There was a sand table in the big tent, which was the sand table of various places in Jingxiang.
The importance of Jingxiang can be seen from the sand table. It is actually the most important strategic channel for the north to attack the south. Its importance lies in the ability to transport food and supplies by water. After the food and supplies from the north arrive at Xiangyang, they can be transported directly to the south by ship. As long as there is sufficient material support, the southern army will not be able to resist the northern infantry and cavalry army. By taking Jingxiang and then seizing the Dongting Lake Plain, the northern army will have a firm foothold.
Then, by moving eastward along the Yangtze River, they could sweep away all southern forces. This was Cao Cao's strategic intention back then. He broke the impasse by starting from Jingxiang. Although there were heroic scenes such as Changbanpo and Dangyang Bridge, in reality, Liu Bei's army still fled south like a stray dog.
Jingxiang is equally important to Xiao Xia. Jingxiang is also a channel for him to march north. A large amount of supplies can be gathered in Xiangyang, and he can expand northward with Xiangyang as the base. It is closer to Luoyang and Chang'an.
It was for this reason that Xiao Xia led an army of 80,000 to capture Jingxiang. Of course, Xiangyang County was still in the hands of the court, so he had to think of a way to get Xiangyang County.
In front of the sand table, Xiao Xia pointed to Jiangling County with a wooden pole and said, "Jiangling is the birthplace of the Liang army, and it will also be the top priority for our attack. The plan I am considering is to clip its wings first, and then concentrate our forces to besiege Jiangling, so my army will be divided into three routes.
One route is led by Pei Xingyan with 20,000 cavalrymen to sweep across Anlu and Jingling counties, one route is led by Envoy Zhou Faming with 15,000 troops to seize Mianyang County, one route is led by General Luo Shixin with 15,000 men to seize Yiling County, Lai Huer leads 10,000 naval forces to block the river, and I personally lead 20,000 troops to keep an eye on Jiangling County, so that Xiao Yan dare not act rashly! "
(End of this chapter)