Chapter 893 Fighting with bloodshed
In Hefei City, Quan Jingxuan was not surprised by Wang Fan's arrival. At the same time, he already knew what happened in Jiankang, because Chen Baxian's envoy had also arrived in Hefei and was arranged by Quan Jingxuan to continue to Xiangyang.
When he heard his subordinate reported that Wang Ban had come to vote, Quan Jingxuan ordered the person to be brought into the state capital without much thought.
Not long after, Wang Fan, who was dressed in black and white and filial piety, was introduced into the hall. He bowed down to Quan Jingxuan. Before he could open his mouth, he couldn't help crying. After a while, he calmed down his emotions and choked with sobs. He said: "The remaining evildoer from the Wang family's robbery came to see the steward. Xiangzhi defended himself against the river and refused to obey the king's rule. As a result, he suffered a disaster. The whole family was slaughtered by the thieves. He was the only one who was spared. He was in desperate need and came to surrender. I begged the steward to take care of him. shelter……"
"Wang Lang, please forgive me. Although the two sides were hostile before, Wang Taiwei's achievements in Jiangzuo are also deeply admired by the world. Now that he is suffering from this disaster, it is really sad. Since Wang Lang has surrendered to this, I will not tolerate Jiang Zuo." Zuo Fen is harassing our Hefei soldiers and civilians!”
Quan Jingxuan looked at Wang Yan's grief-stricken look and heard the voice and comforted him.
Wang Fan was stationed in Dongguan before. Although the two sides were also in a state of hostility, Wang Fan always felt the friendship he had when he served under the King of Taiyuan, and he always carefully restrained his subordinates. There was no armed conflict with Hefei, and even They also collaborated to eliminate river and land bandits around Chaohu Lake and helped maintain public security in the south of Hefei.
Although Hefei has not received any clear instructions from the Taiwan government on this matter at the moment, now that the king is in a desperate situation, Quan Jingxuan has accepted it.
After Wang Fan heard Quan Jingxuan's words, he couldn't help but burst into tears, but then he said: "The manager protects you righteously. A humble position should be content and respectful. However, the hatred of killing my father is irreconcilable, and the traitor is a traitor." The Chen family has recently entered Jiankang, and the situation in Liang is unstable. My father's old relatives will definitely not obey his orders. I humbly ask the general manager to give me a brigade of elite troops to strengthen my momentum. I will go forward to kill Xiang Jiankang and kill the evil thieves. , conquer and build Kang, the land of the three Wu states is dedicated to the king, and the old people of Liang State can also admire the king's benevolence!"
When Quan Jingxuan heard this, he frowned and pondered. After a while, he looked at Wang Fan and said, "The king has suffered a new disaster. He must be very exhausted and tired from the journey. He might as well rest at his house for a while. I also agree with this." We need to discuss it with the government officials, and no matter what the final decision is, we will definitely inform Wang Lang as soon as possible!”
Wang Fan also knew that in the previous decision-making process of the military government, even a high-ranking official like Quan Jingxuan could not act arbitrarily on major matters. Especially because of the Battle of Jiangling, the current Taiwan government is not in harmony with the remaining forces of Nanliang, and it is difficult for Quan Jingxuan to enter directly just by asking for orders. So he could only nod in agreement, and then temporarily exited under the guidance of the government officials, without further entanglement, so as not to delay the discussion and decision-making of the General Manager's Office.
After Wang Ban was led out, Quan Jingxuan summoned Dugutun, Lu Guangda, Li Zhen and other members of the general administration to continue discussing the matter.
When Chen Baxian's envoy came to Hefei before, the General Manager's Office discussed this matter. The decision at that time was that until Xiangyang Yangtang Government gave clear instructions on this, they should be safe here in Hefei and be cautious in the chaos. outside.
But now the situation is different, because Wang Fan came to invest and was willing to serve as a pioneer, giving the Hefei team the opportunity to deeply intervene in the chaos of Jiankang. And what Wang Fan said is indeed not unreasonable. Now Nanliang must be in chaos. With Wang Fan, Wang Sengbian's son, leading the way, it is also an opportunity for them to use small things to make big gains.
Therefore, people like Dugutun, Li Zhen and others all agreed to agree to Wang Fan's request to borrow troops, and took advantage of the chaotic situation in Nanliang to add fuel to the fire. While gaining some personnel benefits, they could also add chaos to Chen Baxian and prevent him from doing so. People who are too smooth will control chaotic situations.
But Quan Jingxuan, as the general manager of Hezhou, had to consider more comprehensive issues. He frowned and said in deep thought: "Now that there is such a drastic change in Nanliang, we are not the only ones who are ready to take action. The East thieves will definitely become greedy. Previously, his country had invaded the south. came to force Wang Sengbian to welcome Xiao Yuanming. Now that the puppet dynasty he had established was overthrown by Chen Baxian, how could the people of Qi give up? If the Jiangnan people know that Hefei is weak, they will definitely turn to attack!"
Several people who were actively asking for a fight fell silent after hearing this. Although they have more than 10,000 troops stationed in Hefei, because it is located in the heart of Huainan and far away from the mainland of Shannan Road, the defensive pressure has always been considerable. If too many troops intervene in the civil strife in Nanliang and cannot be withdrawn in time, the Northern Qi army will take advantage of it. If you enter, it will really be worth the loss.
Lu Guangda, who has a deeper understanding of Nanliang's personnel, also said: "It is really not easy for Chen Baxian to calm down the public sentiment, especially when there is a corrupt person like Wang Lin in Jiangzhou upstream. Once Wang Lin goes east along the river, I will be in the middle of the river." The division and brigade will also be surrounded by enemies, unable to advance or retreat. It may not be a good idea to send out all the troops together!"
"But now that the situation in Nanliang is collapsing again, people are bound to flee in panic. Hefei has the advantage of being nearby. If I can't show it, people will think that I am cowardly. I am afraid that I will not join him again, and I will miss this time in vain. What an opportunity!”
Although the difficulties and dangers raised by Quan Jingxuan and Lu Guangda are real, it is really unpleasant to think that they are stationed in Hefei, so close to the turmoil, only to retreat into the city and gain nothing.
At this time, Li Zhen also spoke: "Wang Lang's family suffered a great disaster, and he came to surrender in great sorrow. His intention must be sincere and selfless. However, it is still impossible to defeat Chen Baxian with this. Wang Sengbian has been running Jiangdong for a long time. There will be no shortage of loyal people, so it is better to send a brigade to march straight along the river and patrol the waterways. If Wang Lang can attract a large army to attack, it is not a bad idea to go ashore and advance. If the situation is scattered and difficult to gather, it is possible to collect some scattered forces and return to the east. It’s also a way to strengthen yourself!”
After such a compromise plan was put forward, it was recognized by everyone present. After thinking about it, Quan Jingxuan ordered Li Zhen to lead a thousand elite soldiers to gather with Wang Fan and then take a boat to Jiankang. Dugu Tunze led 2,000 troops to occupy the Dongguan Waterway. At the same time, Lu Guangda quickly returned to Jinxi and other places to gather troops to prepare to assist Hefei at any time. Before the Taiwan government gave instructions, this arrangement could be regarded as both offensive and defensive.
When this plan was told to Wang Fan, Wang Fan's mood was mixed. A thousand reinforcements were better than nothing for him. Even with his own troops, there were only more than 6,000 troops. It was almost impossible to defeat Chen Baxian based on this. .
But he also understood that Hefei also had defensive pressure, and his willingness to send troops to support him as soon as possible was already an expression of attitude. With Shannan Daotai Mansion standing behind him, he felt more confident.
So after paying homage to Quan Jingxuan, Wang Fan led Li Zhen's thousand reinforcements back to Dongguan, then reorganized the boat division, entered the Yangtze River along Ruxukou, and then fought all the way to Jiankang.
When the boat division rushed out of the Hengjiang River and arrived at Zhang Gongzhou, there were still hundreds of soldiers staying at the Jiangzhou stronghold. After learning that Wang Fan led his army to fight back, these guards were all determined and hurriedly attacked Wang Fan. The team greeted Jiangzhou.
The successful landing on Zhang Gongzhou gave Wang Fan a better start in his journey of revenge, but what happened next was not so smooth.
At this time, ten days had passed since Chen Baxian returned to Jiankang, and the situation in Jiankang City had initially stabilized. When Wang Fan led his troops to land and attack Stone City, they were attacked by Hou Andu, the guard here. They resisted tenaciously and failed to land ashore after several fierce battles. Instead, they injured a full two thousand soldiers.
Wang Huan's troops were not large, and he suffered heavy losses after a desperate attack. Even the soldiers were loyal and wanted to avenge their lord, but the huge gap in strength also made people have to pay attention. If they continue to fight like this, Even if the whole army is destroyed, it will be difficult to enter the stone city.
So Wang Fan could only retreat to Zhang Gongzhou for the time being, and then sent an envoy to Qin County, hoping that Xu Sihui of Qin County could send a boat division to attack Jiankang with him. However, he was told that Xu Sihui had surrendered to Northern Qi and in turn, Invite Wang Fan to Qin County and join him to defect to the Northern Qi Dynasty, and wait for the Northern Qi army to come south before making any plans.
At this time, Wang Ban's heart was filled with anger, and he did not want to miss any opportunity to avenge his father. When he heard that Xu Sihui's messenger told people that the Northern Qi army would come south in the near future, he secretly felt sad in his heart. count.
He invited Li Zhen into the military tent, and after a long bow, he revealed his intention to defect to the Northern Qi Dynasty to counterattack Jiankang, and asked Li Zhen to lead his troops away. The Dongguan Waterway was his capricious compensation. An apology to Shannan Daotai Mansion.
"What a fool you are, Prince! How could it be that all I have learned from the king's service is this kind of short-sighted and evil tactics? There are many old people who defected to the Eastern Bandits. Where are Guo Yuanjian and others now? The Eastern Bandits are only recruiting you to be their pawns in the southern raids. Isn't that right? Will you trust your confidant?"
After Li Zhen heard this, he couldn't help but pointed at Wang Yan and scolded him angrily, and then sighed again: "There are not many heirs left in the Wang family. Does Wang Lang really want to cut off your family line? If you believe me, I will personally It is better to go to Jiankang to retrieve the bodies of your loved ones and decide the outcome in the future than to put your whole body in the trap of the Qi people!"
After Wang Fan heard this, he couldn't help but burst into tears. He drew out his sword and stabbed it in his arm. He cried out sadly: "Wang Fan can't avenge his father. He is really a son of man in vain! I trusted you with my life, and it happened again and again." This plan will make your life even more useless! For the rest of my life, in addition to avenging my father, I will repay Marquis Li for his great kindness!"
Li Zhen knew that he couldn't think clearly because of his agitated emotions. He stepped forward and snatched the sword from his hand to prevent him from harming himself again. He said: "You don't have to think about repaying kindness and revenge. The king wants to conquer the world. You just need to follow him." If you work hard and work diligently under your command, one day you will be able to reconcile your enemies and grudges!"