Chapter 615: Hidden in the East
Yang Zhong's performance was as stable as ever. The day after Li Tai arrived in Yiyang, news that all three passes had been conquered came from the south. Then Yang Zhong and Quan Jingxuan quickly headed north again and rushed to Yiyang to meet up.
In Yiyang City, when Yang Zhong heard about the Huainan plan formulated by Li Tai, he immediately clapped his hands and praised: "If it weren't for the talent of the general manager, who could come up with this wonderful plan to defeat the enemy?"
Compared with his past operations, Li Tai didn't think this plan was too surprising, but after hearing Yang Zhong's praise, he immediately became proud. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel secretly in his heart. Sure enough, common cause is the catalyst for men's friendship. . Since coming to work with Nan, especially after Keding Handong, Yang Zhong's attitude towards him has become more and more lively and enthusiastic.
Quan Jingxuan was born in Longyou, and Li Tai also had many descendants of Longyou, so although they did not work together, they knew Li Tai's style quite well through the descriptions of relatives and friends. However, after hearing these plans this time, he still tolerated it. He couldn't help but sigh: "Daxingtai knows people well and makes good use of them. The great responsibility of the southeast is given to the envoy, and the thieves are surging! If Murong Shaozong can really be killed in Huainan, even though Duke Yingchuan falls into the enemy's country, he will be happy to hear the news!" "
No matter how good the plan is, it always depends on the actual execution. Since none of the generals objected, he began to assign tasks.
First, he planned to lead a group of elite troops to hold Xia Houqiang's token of appointment, disguise himself as the defeated army of Yiyang, go straight to Shouyang, seize Shouyang first, and then send a message to Murong Shaozong in the name of Wang Xiangui to lure him south. While sorting out and preparing for the Shouyang battlefield.
As for Yang Zhong and others, they led most of the troops behind and made a posture of attacking Huainan on a large scale, creating a sense of urgency and panic for all parties in Huainan that the army was pressing down on the border. At the same time, it also created an illusion for Murong Shaozong that time has not waited for us. Urging him to rush to the battlefield in Huainan.
However, after hearing the specific details of the operation, Yang Zhong, who had been full of praise before, shook his head and waved his hands and refused: "Listen to this plan, consciously making progress in Shouyang is not something close to the general manager, but the southeast plan is all related to the general manager. One can choose someone else to do it for him, but the other is the only choice. The general manager should clearly see which one is more important. At the end of the day, please lead the front troops to Shouyang, and the general manager will lead the army behind! "
"But those who enter Shouyang first, there are still many detailed matters that need to be sorted out. If the arrangements are not made properly, I'm afraid it will hinder the overall plan."
Li Tai is not addicted to danger, but there are still many details that need to be arranged when going to Shouyang. If the arrangements are not in place, it may affect the final direction of the war. He is a little worried if it is left to others. .
After hearing this, Yang Zhong clasped his fists and said: "But please give detailed instructions to the general in charge. If the general fails to carry out the task, he will be willing to be punished by military law!"
Hearing that Yang Zhong insisted on asking for a fight, Li Tai also knew that he was not greedy for merit, but really didn't want his general to be in danger again, and he probably still had some money saved to look after and help him on behalf of his old boss, Dugu Xin. mean.
After thinking about it, Li Tai nodded and agreed. Yang Zhong is a man who is steady and courageous in his work. He has also been in Nanliang for a long time and has very rich experience in personnel. As long as he carefully explains the matters that need attention to him, his performance on the spot may not be worse than his own.
So he first screened away the others, leaving only Yang Zhong alone in the hall, and carefully explained the different situations he would face after arriving in Shouyang and the things to pay attention to. Nearly a month passed before he knew it. It took a moment to end this conversation.
When Yang Zhong went out, although everyone did not dare to ask the secret rashly, they were also curious about what Li Tai told him. Especially when they saw that Yang Zhong, who usually showed no emotion or anger, still looked surprised and amazed after leaving Zhitang, they couldn't help but feel more curious.
But Yang Zhong did not stay here to accept questions from everyone, but went straight to the camp to select soldiers and prepare to go to Shouyang first. This trip was still a wise one. It is not important to have many soldiers, but to be fine. Yang Zhong carefully selected among the camps and soon gathered 500 soldiers.
However, at first glance, these soldiers can be seen as having a strong temperament, and they really don't look like people in mourning after a defeat. So Yang Zhong selected more than 200 Han captives from the remnants of the Xiahou clan who were willing to cooperate and serve their crimes. Together with Gao Le, who was appointed by Li Tai as Yang Zhong's deputy, they formed his team to go to Shouyang. Ministries.
Without further ado, after selecting his troops and sorting out his luggage, Yang Zhong collected the Xia Houqiang tokens delivered by Li Tai, and then the group mounted their horses and left the city, heading straight to the east.
Li Tai, who stayed in Yiyang, was not idle, and also began to prepare for the departure of the army. This time he was going to advance by land and water, assuming a posture of overwhelming the enemy with a large army. He needed to bring all the more than 10,000 men and horses with him.
However, the important town of Yiyang and the retreat route could not be completely undefended, so two thousand troops were dispatched from Mianbei, and Zhao Gang was responsible for guarding it. At least it must be ensured that when Murong Shaozong divides his troops to harass, or other forces invade, he can defend the city and repel the invading enemies.
Because Xia Houqiang collected a lot of equipment and supplies when he was here before, there were nearly a hundred boats of various sizes.
There are more than twenty warships, sterns, and speedboats commonly used in water warfare, and there are also two large ships that are the main ships in water warfare. However, one of them looks dilapidated and in worrying condition. Li Tai does not know what to do after sailing out. Can you still come back?
As for other ships used for various functions such as connecting, carrying, beaching, etc., they are also available. It was only when Li Tai was inspecting the water camp that he realized that there were so many types of boats. In his impression, a boat was considered a boat if it had sides and a bottom and could carry people across the river. Now it seems that this understanding is really shallow.
Although so many warships saved Li Tai the trouble of raising funds, he actually didn't even know how to organize the fleet into combat units and set out in an orderly manner. Fortunately, there was a surrendered general from the Southern Liang Dynasty, Liu Fanggui, who came with the army.
Liu Fanggui may not be a famous general in naval warfare, but as a diligent old official who worked his way up from the grassroots to the senior officer in Xiangyang City, he was of course very familiar with the basic organizational principles of naval warfare. He proposed several formation modes based on the existing boats and ships.
Li Tai always respected and humbly adopted the opinions of professionals. After learning about the characteristics of several formations in detail, he chose one of the more moderate formations that was both offensive and defensive. Although the target of the naval battle was Murong Shaozong, he did not underestimate the enemy.
"Reporting to the general manager, the 30,000 shi of military rations, a certain amount of horse feed, armor, weapons, etc. required for this trip have all been counted and recorded here. Please approve it." While Li Tai was organizing the boat division, Zhao Gang had also sorted out the food and fodder needed for the army to go to war, and asked Li Tai to check them. Li Tai was convinced of Zhao Gang's ability. He took the account book and flipped through it. He pointed at a young man behind Zhao Gang and smiled, saying, "Is this boy a young member of the Zhao Cheqi family? He has joined the army at such a young age. It seems that the Zhao Cheqi has high hopes for him." Zhao Gang was stunned for a moment, then looked behind him, and then he also laughed. He raised his hand and pulled the young man behind him to explain, "The general manager misunderstood. This young man Han San is not a member of my family, but a talented person I recruited in Liyang City a few days ago. He was originally a child of Huaixia. His hometown suddenly changed and he was stranded outside and buried among the barbarians. When the barbarians visited Liyang, he presented the good medicine rhubarb that he had hidden. I saw that his speech was not like that of a barbarian. After a brief investigation, I found that he was quite talented. Half of the books that the general manager saw were made by him." After hearing this, Li Tai became curious and looked at the young man from top to bottom. The young man had been with the army for many days and had seen Li Tai's majestic postures. He felt a little embarrassed when being looked at. He bowed and said respectfully: "My real name is Han Xie, the third in the family. I am from Anlu Township. I moved to Huainan with my father and brother. Hou Jing rebelled in Shouyang, and the rebellious soldiers were tyrannical in the area. My eldest brother was lost in Huaibei, and my second brother was killed by the bandits to protect me..." Hearing the young man's self-narration, Li Tai felt quite compassionate and comforted him in a gentle voice. After hearing this, the young Han Xie bowed deeply to the ground and said: "I heard that the general manager will conquer Huainan. I beg you to join the army as a guide and see if there are any relatives left in the village..." Li Tai did not plan to stay in Huainan for a long time, but after hearing the young man's sad words, he pondered for a while and then casually gave a few math problems, and Han Xie solved them all in a short time. He inquired further and found out that the young man had such a family background and had a lot of experience and talent in the collection, distribution and calculation of materials. He could not help but develop a love for talent and asked Zhao Gang for him. He was in such a position now, and the people he dealt with were all old guys, but he was still young and preferred to work with young people.
Zhao Gang brought the young man with him with the intention of cultivating him. Seeing that Li Tai appreciated him, he was also happy to see his success. He just said to Han Xie: "You can be a general manager, which can be said to have a bright future. But don't be complacent because of this. Now you are rewarded because you are young and good at numbers, but if you don't know how to improve your talents and learn the classics, you will inevitably end up as an old official and not be of great use!"
Li Tai heard Zhao Gang's exhortation and couldn't help but sigh that he really liked this young man named Han and taught him the truth.
After hearing this, Han Xie also hurriedly bowed to Zhao Gang and said, "I will definitely remember Zhao's teachings and live up to his kindness in helping me!"
After preparing for battle in Yiyang City, Li Tai led the army down the Huai River on the third day after Yang Zhong and his party set out.
Thanks to the transportation capacity provided by the fleet of boats, the troops on land can travel light, and the three thousand elite cavalry can advance along the river, and can even leave the Huai River and go deep into Huainan to investigate the situation. Wherever they go, there are no people who dare to confront them. The gates of the cities they pass through are closed, and the bandits they encounter on the road flee at the sight of the wind.
At the same time, the front troops led by Yang Zhong also arrived in Shouyang very smoothly without any setbacks along the way, and began to operate according to Li Tai's instructions.