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Next, Zhu Xieyuan suddenly disappeared, giving the outside world the illusion that he was training soldiers.In fact, he took his confidants and guides to Zhao's territory and personally surveyed various terrains and environments. Zhu Xieyuan never fought unprepared battles.

Zhao Han received a sealed report from Xu Ying and Wang Tingshi, and felt that he was in trouble this time.

Chapter 191 [Landscape Shape Wins]

When Zhu Xieyuan exterminated the chieftains in Guizhou, he also went to survey the terrain himself.

What is marked on the map and what the spies say is not as real as seeing it with your own eyes.Only when you have actually been to that place can you have a clear understanding of the terrain of the war.

Of course, it was too dangerous to go to the territory of the rebels, so Zhu Xieyuan pretended to be training soldiers, and even Wang Tingshi, his aide, didn't know that he had left Nanchang.

This guy disguised himself as an old man who was going to Guangdong to visit his relatives, boarded a merchant ship transporting porcelain, and observed the topography on both sides of the strait along the way.

"My lord, there is Jinshui, leading to Shanggao County and Wanzai County," the guide was recommended by Chen Yuding, the inspector censor, who is familiar with Jiangxi's geography. Get off the boat in Zai County, and then cross the mountains and ridges to take Yichun. Yichun is the territory of the sweeping king..."

Zhu Xieyuan interrupted: "Isn't Yichun the territory of the bandit Zhao?"

The guide corrected and said: "No, Yichun, Pingxiang, and Yongxin counties are all the territory of the king of sweeping the land. If the Zhao bandits can't be wiped out quickly, they can also take back the four counties of Fengcheng, Qingjiang, Fenyi, and Xinyu first, so that the Zhao bandits Lost a lot of business taxes and iron ore."

Zhu Xieyuan nodded in approval, and at the same time he paid more attention to the navy, and he had to march along the river in Jiangxi.

At that time, Chen Youliang occupied the whole territory of Jiangxi, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to eat Chen Youliang, and he had to win the Poyang Lake water battle.

Zhu Xieyuan pointed to the east bank again and asked, "I see there is another river within the river bank. What kind of river is that?"

The guide replied: "That is the old road of Fuhe River. Starting from Nanchang along the old road of Fuhe River, you can head southwest to the rear of Fengcheng County. You can send a strange army to go day and night and hide in the mountains in the southeast of Fengcheng County as an ambush. From Nanchang to the southeast along the old course of the Fuhe River, you can enter the current Fuhe River, and then turn into a tributary after reaching Fuzhou. You can send troops to cross the mountains, take Yongfeng County and Jishui County directly, and attack the base lairs of the rebels."

Suddenly, a merchant ship passes by a bustling estuary town.

Zhu Xieyuan asked, "What town is this?"

The guide replied: "Xigang Town, this small river is a tributary of the old course of Fuhe River. Don't look at it as a small river, but when there is a flood, this is the only river channel connecting the Ganjiang River and Fuhe River in the south of Nanchang, so it is at the mouth of the river. There are several flood gates specially set up.”

After another ten miles, we will arrive at Fengcheng County.

The merchant ship did not dock, and arrived at Zhangshu Town, where it finally docked to supply drinking water and food.

Zhu Xieyuan didn't dare to get off the boat, but hid in the cabin, took out a map to digest what he saw and heard today.

The next day, after the merchant ship set sail, Zhu Xieyuan continued to go out to observe.

This section of the waterway is very magnificent, with mountains on both sides, and the Ganjiang River passing through the middle.

Pointing to Xingan County, the guide said: "Occupying this city, you can control the north and the south. Grandpa Yue and Han Shizhong used to train troops here. Moreover, if you send troops from Xingan County, you can bypass the riverside mountains and directly attack Xiajiang County by land. , Jishui County."

The more Zhu Xieyuan looked at it, the more he had a headache. He couldn't figure it out with only a map. Only by observing it on the spot did he know how terrible it was.

Jiangxi's mountains and rivers are too suitable for war, and there are too many places for military strategists to fight for.

If you want to conquer the rebels, you must take down Linjiang Fucheng, but it is very difficult to attack by force.

Even if Linjiang Mansion is captured, Thief Zhao can still guard Xingan County.

Even if Xingan County is taken, Zhao Thief can still guard Jiajiang County, Jishui County, and Ji'an Fucheng, all of which are stuck in the mountains and rivers.

Moreover, because there are many mountains, the marching route of officers and soldiers is very simple.Even if you can send surprise soldiers to go around, you can only send a small group of surprise soldiers, because you have to go over mountains and mountains to go around.

Officers and soldiers have a single marching route, which means that Zhao thieves are very easy to defend.

Bandit Zhao can stop fighting in the water, hide the navy, guard the city, and wait for work at leisure.When the officers and soldiers were exhausted, the waterways advanced side by side, killing the officers and soldiers and fleeing in embarrassment.

Zhu Xieyuan thought to himself: You can't fight city by city, you must lure the rebels out to fight a decisive battle.Otherwise, if we fight an offensive and defensive war with the rebels, we will not be able to wipe out the rebels after ten years.

The cities along the river in Jiangxi are too outrageous. Those small county towns are all built beyond specifications.

The main reason is that there are frequent floods, which can easily damage the county town.Every time the county seat is destroyed, funds are raised to repair it, and then it is built more magnificent and stronger.The defensiveness of the county seat here far exceeds that of most state cities in other provinces!

Can't fight, really can't fight offensive and defensive battles.

Going all the way south, he entered the cabin when he landed, and got out of the cabin when he left the shore. Zhu Xieyuan arrived in Wan'an County a few days later.

Seeing the scale of Wan'an County and the towering mountains on both banks ahead, Zhu Xieyuan only felt his scalp tingling.

According to the tour guide, the guest soldiers from Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian can only go north to suppress the thieves from here, otherwise they will have to make a big circle, and it is impossible to form a north-south pincer situation.

And the rebels don't need to do anything else, they only need a few chains to Hengjiang, and they can blind the soldiers from Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian.

Even if the chains are removed, there will still be Wan'an County blocked there.

The city wall of this county is more than 7 meters high.To the west is the Ganjiang River, to the east are mountains, and to the south are mountains.

If officers and soldiers attack from the south, they must first capture the mountains in the south of the city, or go around to the north of the city to attack the city (very dangerous).It seems that the city wall is not as good as Nanchang City, but with the victory of the mountains and rivers, the difficulty of conquering this city is no different from that of Nanchang City.

After Wan'an County, it is the territory of the government.

Zhu Xieyuan met Fujian governor Zou Weilian in Ganzhou. The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, and then began to discuss the bandit suppression.

Zou Weilian sighed and said: "Ah, after stationing troops in Ganzhou last year, due to the corruption of military discipline, lack of food and grass, and shortage of warships, the army has been rectified. I wanted to attack Ji'an this spring, but I sent spies many times. There are heavy guards there. A few days ago, Zhao Yaonian, the number one general of the rebels, led troops to guard Wan'an County himself."

"Confused, why didn't you surprise Wan'an last year?" Zhu Xieyuan asked.

Zou Weilian said: "The Fujian guest soldiers entered Jiangxi, and the military discipline is very corrupt. I must clean up the army. Moreover, although the Zhao bandits did not occupy Wan'an last year, Wan'an was occupied by two bandits surnamed Fang. Only thousands of people are needed to garrison this time. The city will be difficult to attack. If I sent troops to occupy Wan'an at that time, the bandits of Zhao would definitely attack. He has the advantage of a navy, so he doesn't need to take back Wan'an at all, but can send troops to take Ganzhou directly. Under the lack of preparation, I really dare not send troops lightly .”

Zhu Xieyuan said: "Last winter, the Zhao bandits were attacking Fengcheng County, and they were fighting Guangxin soldiers and Fuzhou soldiers in Jishui. How can they go south?"

"But it's so far away, I don't know," Zou Weilian said, "The spies I sent to Ji'an didn't find Zhao thief making a big move. There is only one possibility. Zhao thief didn't use his full strength last winter. Zhao thief If you use all your strength, you will order to gather farmers and soldiers. The supervisor knows that under the rule of Zhao Bandit, every household must send out farmers and soldiers to practice, and once they are all recruited to fight, the number of troops may exceed [-]!"

Zhu Xieyuan was silent. He knew the news and had no way to deal with it.

The thief Zhao distributed the fields to Xiaomin. In order to keep the land, Xiaomin sent people from every family to train and form an army.Serving the people in leisure time and serving as soldiers in wartime, fighting for their own land, their morale far surpassed that of officers and soldiers. It is said that Yang Jiamo was captured by a group of farmers and soldiers.

Zhu Xieyuan changed the subject and asked, "Has the civil unrest in Guangdong and Guangxi not subsided?"

"How can it be so fast," Zou Weilian said, "Shen Fushuai (Shen Youlong) wrote a letter a few days ago, saying that most of the rioters in Guangdong have been wiped out, and they will go to Guangxi to suppress bandits next."

"It seems that we can only find a way from Hunan." Zhu Xieyuan said.

Huguang is now divided into two theaters.

The area north of the Yangtze River in Huguang, referred to as Hubei, is under the jurisdiction of Lu Xiangsheng, the prime minister of the five northern provinces.

The area south of the Yangtze River in Huguang, referred to as Hunan, is under the jurisdiction of Zhu Xieyuan, governor of the five southern provinces.

Zou Weilian said: "Hunan must send troops, and they can go straight to Zhao's lair. At that time, the north, south and west will attack from three sides, and Zhao's bandits will definitely be at a loss."

Zhu Xieyuan said: "The three counties of Yichun, Pingxiang, and Yongxin have been stolen by the rebel Sweeper King. I will order all the prefectures and counties in Hunan to recruit troops to form an army. First sweep the land king, and it is best to force him to surrender. Only when Hunan is established After the army, you can go to war, and it is impossible to use troops within this year. Once you use troops, you will definitely lose."

Zhu Xieyuan was really not in a hurry to suppress the bandits. During the Tianqi period, he conquered the chieftains of Sichuan and Guizhou.

He believes that the administration of officials should be rectified first, the tax should be lightened, the army should be trained, and then the rebels should be dealt a fatal blow.

Zou Weilian cried bitterly: "I'm afraid the Fujian soldiers will be in chaos before next year."

"Why is that so?" Zhu Xieyuan wondered.

Zou Weilian said: "My whole family was taken away by the Zhao thief, and all the relatives who were close to me were taken away."

Zhu Xieyuan was speechless immediately.

Zou Weilian said: "It is that I can ignore my mother, wife and children, but who would believe it? The Zhao thief is cunning and sent people to spread rumors that I have joined the thief. Now the soldiers in the army suspect that I have already joined the thief. Moreover, these The soldiers are from Fujian. I don’t allow them to plunder in Jiangxi, and I don’t allow them to deduct military pay. Generals must take advantage of the autumn harvest to plunder the countryside."

"We will not be able to fight within this year," Zhu Xieyuan sighed. "When I first came to Jiangxi, I found that the officers and soldiers were very difficult to use. They had to train for at least a year before they could fight. Moreover, the soldiers in Hunan were not formed into an army and could not form a three-sided encirclement. There is a chance of winning. I will have to besiege Linjiang City for several months with my army."

Zou Weilian said: "The government trains soldiers, but the rebels don't train soldiers? The longer the delay, the stronger the Zhao thief will become. His territory has been harvested year after year, and the government's jurisdiction is indescribable!"

"Do you have a confidant who can restrain the soldiers?" Zhu Xieyuan asked.

Zou Weilian shook his head and said: "No, these Fujian generals are used to being arrogant and domineering. They were all involved in smuggling in the past, and they have always ignored the imperial court."

Zhu Xieyuan had even more headaches, he wanted Zou Weilian to divide his troops.

No matter how many Fujian soldiers are stationed in Ganzhou, the attack on Wan'an County cannot be launched.One-third can be divided to go to Fuzhou by detour. Jiangxi officers and soldiers can also send some to join forces and attack Yongfeng County from the east over the mountains.

But in the current situation, not to mention the division of the Fujian army, I am afraid that if they gather together, they will cause trouble.

It is so difficult to be the supervisor of the Ming Dynasty, and he is very hard-working, and only one point can be used for fighting.

What are you going to do with the rest of your mind?

To deal with Emperor Chongzhen, to deal with court battles, to deal with local civil servants, to deal with domineering generals, to deal with eunuchs who supervise the army, to deal with powerful gentry, and to rack their brains to raise money and food.

As for the rebels, it is enough to rebel wholeheartedly.

Just when Zhu Xieyuan was going south all the way, surveying the terrain along the river.Zhao Han, the rebel, had already dispatched troops in advance, not to attack the government, but to attack the sweeping king.

Pingxiang County must be taken, and if the pass of Pingxiang County is occupied, more than half of Huguang officers and soldiers can be blocked, so as to ensure the safety of one's rear.

Chapter 192 [A Group of Weak Chickens]

Huguang, Liuyang County.

The magistrate's name is Feng Zuwang, the son of Feng Menglong, the author of the Three Words, and the disciple of Xue Fujiao, the eight gentlemen of Donglin.

Because of his father, Feng Zuwang was deeply influenced by Li Zhi's thoughts.On the one hand, he advocates helping the world and saving the people, on the other hand, he is cynical, and his life is extremely tangled and painful.

Feng Zuwang was a Jinshi in the fourth year of Chongzhen, and his first official position was the county magistrate of Liuyang.

After taking office, Feng Zuwang cared about the sufferings of the people, visited the fields in person, and wrote a talk about eight difficulties and seven hardships, reflecting the various sufferings suffered by the people of Liuyang.In his writing, the land in Liuyang is very barren. The yield of many paddy fields is only 1 shi per mu, and the yield of the top fields does not exceed 3 shi per mu.

First, the imperial court increased its dispatch in an all-round way, and then Pingxiang County next door was occupied by that sweeping king.

Feng Zuwang, a scholar who doesn't know anything, can only try his best to raise food and salaries, and recruit village bravery just in case.

This summer, the Sweeping King really came, and he came here to rob summer food!

"Your Majesty, the rebels have been tricked!" A scholar rushed over happily.

Feng Zuwang is 46 years old and is 51 years old this year.When he saw the thieves coming from the foot of the mountain chasing and killing the defeated soldiers, he immediately drew out his scribe sword: "Fathers and elders, follow me to kill the thieves!"

One thousand two hundred Xiangyong suddenly burst out from the mountains and charged towards an enemy three times their size.

King Sweeper did not plunder Liuyang himself, this time he came to "fly to the sky".

Flying to the sky was also very depressed. He led his troops to attack Liuyang County twice, but they were defeated and returned home.This time I finally met officers and soldiers in the wild, so I naturally wanted to chase them down. After chasing them, I lost my mind and forgot that there was a dense forest in front of me.

"kill!"

The courage of Liuyang Township is like a rainbow. They belong to defend their homeland and protect their own fields and food.These rebels who crossed the border from Jiangxi, burned, killed, looted and committed all kinds of crimes have already aroused public anger in Liuyang.

More than 3000 rebels were ambushed by more than a thousand Xiangyong, and they turned around in a panic and fled.

51-year-old Feng Zuwang was out of breath when he ran out of the mountains.He was also embarrassed to stop, gritted his teeth and chased after him, and finally caught up with a traitor who fell into the rice field.

Before Feng Zuwang could make a move, two Xiangyongs already stabbed the traitor to death with their bamboo spears.

In front of the rebels was a small river. In a panic, many rebels jumped into the river to escape, and many others fled southeast along the river bank.

The thief first flew into the sky, jumping anxiously at this moment, he found that there were not many Xiangyong chasing him, and they had already dispersed.At this time, as long as you bring more than a hundred people, you can turn around and kill those Xiangyong, but there are only a dozen or so old thieves around you who are willing to obey.

But I saw a brave officer of the village, holding a hundred-smelting steel knife in his hand, stepping on the ridge of the field with incomparable speed and galloping.

Flying to the sky and seeing this person coming alone, he immediately shouted: "Go back and kill that guy!"

However, only six old thieves were obedient, and the rest chose to continue running for their lives.

With one enemy seven, the officer of the village brave officer was not afraid, but rushed along the ridge of the field.Six old thieves jumped into the field and flew up to the sky to surround and kill this person. The two sides were about to collide in a blink of an eye.

At this time, the rice is still immature, and the tip of the rice that has just headed has grown to the height of a person's waist.

The village brave officer jumped into one side of the rice field, kept pushing aside the rice stalks, and rushed forward with bare feet stepping on the muddy water.Bailian steel knife brandished, slashed an old thief to death, turned around and slashed to death the second traitor.

"Run!"

The rest of the old thieves were shocked when they saw this, dropped the leader of the thieves and flew into the sky, turned around and fled.

Flying to the sky had already gone up, ignoring the pursuers in the distance, and even jumped into the rice field, wanting to fight that villager officer.

"when!"

The two sides quickly slashed across the rice.

It's a pity that it is not so convenient to fly in the paddy fields with shoes on your feet.The officer of the village brave pushed aside the rice, and soon came to his side, and flew into the sky with great effort to lift his foot, directly tearing off a shoe.

A saber flashed, and flew into the sky with a colorful left arm.

The Xiangyong officer moved again, and he had already circled behind Fei Shangtian, and another knife was struck at an extremely fast speed.

Flying to the sky, suffering from pain, fell down, crushing several nests of rice, but did not die immediately.This guy struggled to get up, but before he could stand still, he was slashed to the neck with a knife.

The village brave officer stepped over and cut off the head, held his head high and shouted: "Liuyang King Hui, behead the thief here!"

The Jiangxi rebels entered Huguang, and for a few people, it was time to make meritorious deeds.

Feng Zuwang led his troops to chase all the way, and was so tired that he stuck out his tongue. When he heard that Wang Hui had captured the leader of the thief, he immediately lay down on the ground and laughed.