novelhk Page 2134
Page 2134
Last year, many Guangdong officials surrendered their cities.
Li Gong, former Pacification Commissioner of Guangxi during the Song Dynasty
However, he refused to cede Guangxi because of his loyalty to Emperor Huizong of Song.
Li Gong was originally a scholar.
He failed the imperial examinations in the capital three times.
Why not just take the path of the military examination?
And he won first place in the martial arts examination.
After that, he continued to suppress rebellions in Guangxi and Jiangxi.
He was promoted to prefect, judicial commissioner, and military commissioner due to his military achievements.
He never had his credit stolen.
He believed that Emperor Huizong of Song had treated him well.
Therefore, he was determined to be a loyal subject of the Zhao Song dynasty.
Last winter,
Guangxi prefectures and counties bordering Guangdong,
They all changed their allegiance and submitted to the Ming Dynasty.
Li Gong feared instability at the rear.
He personally returned to Guizhou to take charge.
Zhong Xiang learned the news,
Immediately order the southern troops to attack.
They successfully stormed into Guangxi and forced Li Gong to surrender.
Li Gong's situation was extremely awkward.
He led his troops to garrison in Guilin.
To the north is Zhong Xiang.
To the south is Zhang Shun.
Both sides sent envoys to persuade him to surrender.
Lin Chong convened a meeting today and announced with a smile:
"Good news has come from Guangxi,"
"Li Gong has surrendered; he submitted his surrender document on the ninth day of last month."
"After Li Gong surrendered," Cao Hou (Zhang Shun)
"He has already led his troops north,"
"After all, his soldiers weren't used to the Lingnan climate,"
"We need to leave before the sweltering heat begins."
Wang Yuan had several maps laid out and analyzed them:
"The Huainan New Army that has occupied Zhejiang,"
"30,000 were transferred to the front lines in Hubei."
"Including the remaining troops, there are already 60,000 people in Hubei."
"After the reorganization in Jiangxi, there were also 30,000 new soldiers."
"How many soldiers does Li Gong have?"
"It's not clear yet... about Zhong Xiang's territory,"
"They're surrounded by at least 150,000 of our troops..."
"It's a pity that all the elite troops have been transferred to the north,"
"These hundreds of thousands of soldiers are all new troops,"
"Otherwise, we could have destroyed the pseudo-Chu this year," Lin Chong sighed.
Li Guang said, "There isn't enough grain."
"Hubei is sparsely populated."
"His Highness the Crown Prince went through countless hardships to relocate and cultivate the land,"
"Last year we also encountered the great flood of the Jingjiang River,"
"The war and relief efforts have exhausted our food supplies."
"Jiangxi and Guangxi have also fought against Zhong Xiang for many years,"
"There were hardly any grains of food left either."
"This year's grain harvest in Huainan,"
"It will definitely be transported north as military rations,"
"It's impossible for him to be transferred here."
"If we want to wipe out the pseudo-Chu this year,"
"The only option is to transport grain from Sichuan."
Wang Yuan said, "Let's endure it for another year."
"Zhong Xiang doesn't have much territory left now,"
"But they need to support an army of over 100,000,"
"He will only be more short of food than we are."
"If he pushes the grain harvest too hard,"
"They will inevitably lose the hearts and minds of the people."
"It will be much easier to launch a campaign then."
Li Guang nodded and said, "The prefectures and counties south of the Jingjiang River and north of Dongting Lake."
"After a year of benevolent governance, most people have won over the hearts of the people."
“Since the beginning of spring, no people have been incited to riot,”
"Next year, we will definitely be able to completely stabilize public sentiment."
The three were discussing important military and political matters.
Suddenly a soldier stood outside the door and shouted:
"Grand Marshal, a man requests an audience."
"They claim to be from the pseudo-Chu state!"
Lin Chong's current position
He was the "Grand Marshal of the Southern Provinces' Campaign Against Chu".
"Bring him in!" Lin Chong ordered.
Not long after, a young man of about twenty years old,
He walked in with his head held high and chest out.
However, his weapons were confiscated.
Lin Chong asked, "Who are you?"
The young man cupped his hands and said, "My name is Yang Zaixing, and I am a subordinate of General Cao Cheng."
Wang Yuan's eyes lit up: "Zhong Xiang's newly recruited general, Cao Cheng?"
Cao Cheng lived in the border area of Hunan and Guangxi.
It's caused quite a stir in recent years.
Last year, he was forced to submit to Zhong Xiang.
Lin Chong became even more enthusiastic and asked:
"Have you come here to pledge your service to the imperial court?"
Yang Zaixing said, "That scoundrel Zhong Xiang goes back on his word."
"Heavy taxes started this year,"
"It's no different from the Song Dynasty court."
“The various tribes in Jingnan all refused to submit to Prime Minister Zhong.”
"I am not only representing General Cao,"
"It also represents the various tribes in Jingnan."
"If we can reach an agreement, we will submit to the Ming Dynasty."
"If we can't reach an agreement, we'll fight Zhong Xiang ourselves."
Li Guang asked, "What are your requirements?"
Yang Zaixing said, "No more exorbitant taxes and levies shall be levied on the various ministries."
"The regular tax should also be reduced!"
Chapter 1891 Imitating a Musket
What a simple request...
The people of the southern states within Zhong Xiang's territory,
They're probably all thinking about rebellion.
Especially after the Ming Dynasty recovered Guangxi!
Lin Chong and Wang Yuan exchanged a glance.
I feel like we can finally eliminate Zhong Xiang this year.
Surrounded on all sides, blooming in the center.
Zhong was surrounded by enemies.
.....
Due to enormous external pressure
Zhong Xiang was actually not that corrupt or degenerate.
All he thought about all day was how to raise military supplies.
The palace located in Changsha
Final construction scale,
It's more than half the size it was designed for.
It's not about showing compassion for the people's strength.
Rather, it was the wood used to build the palace.
He was transferred by Prime Minister Zhong to build warships.
Last year, Li Bao equipped his warships with a large number of firearms.
Zhong Xiang's navy suffered heavy losses.
He must restore the navy's strength as soon as possible.
Otherwise, they wouldn't dare show their faces in Dongting Lake at all.
"Your Majesty, the gunpowder is ready to explode."