Chapter 449 Brother Meng is going south
In the northern desert, after half a year of wrangling and discussion in the grassland royal court, the succession to the Khan's throne finally came to a conclusion.
The result was shocking.
Neither the Khan's son inherited the throne nor Mengge won it, but the Khan's most favored concubine, Laimazhen, became the regent. This woman was quite scheming. She started to make plans when the Khan was ill and unable to handle government affairs, winning over princes and ministers and excluding and suppressing dissidents.
Before the Khan of the grassland closed his eyes, Lemazhen had already begun to actually control the court. When our big brother Meng led his troops back to the royal court, he would naturally have no advantage.
Those ministers who usually enjoyed and received benefits from Laimazhen saw that Da Mengge was coming with such force and was determined not to give up until he achieved his goal, so they immediately supported Laimazhen as regent on the grounds that the successor designated by the Khan was too young, making her the empress of the grassland empire.
However, due to the strength of Mengge and the strong support of Badu behind him, Lemazhen returned Ture's original territory in Mobei to Mengge and granted the Central Plains to his family.
In this way, although Mengge did not win the Khanship, he still got a lot of benefits. At least, the Central Plains became his family in name and reason.
Although Da Mengge was full of regrets, he could not go against the decision made by his ancestors, and rode back south in melancholy. His loyal servant Subudai thought this was a good result. He was very happy to say that the eldest prince had become the most powerful king among all the kings, so why should he be afraid that he would not be able to regain the Khanship one day?
However, when he returned to Zhending Prefecture in Hebei, he was stunned after listening to Hubli's detailed introduction of the enemy and our situation. How could there be such a big change in just less than a year?
Hubili told him that the Shenwei Army had set up ten military camps just north of Kaifeng, and all prefectures and counties had resumed their duties. The New Song State arranged for the army to build roads and houses for the relocated people, and the villages that had been burned down in the past were recovering one by one.
Brother Meng stared at the empty south outside the window and said, "The royal court gave the south to us, and the Central Plains belongs to us. Are we going to just throw it away from us like this?"
Hubili said that the Empress said that the territory belongs to us? It's useless. We have to attack it, and only those who can defend it can belong to us. The Empress seemed to have given us a large piece of territory, but in fact, she wanted us to be a shield. If we defend the south, they can do whatever they want.
Mengge didn't think so. He refused to accept it. He had just returned to the royal court. How could he fight for the Khan's throne without any achievements?
He wanted to go south, go south, and use his sword to clear a way and take back everything that belonged to the Toure family.
Hubili disagreed and wanted to return north, taking away everything he could.
The two brothers first quarreled over the guiding ideology. Hubili was already planning to return north to defend the Yellow River, while Da Meng wanted to return south to rob, so the battle plan had to be adjusted 180 degrees.
Hubili was very reluctant, but he had no power over it. He had to do what Da Meng wanted to do, since he was the eldest brother of the family.
In Jiankang Prefecture, Cao Youwen and Huo Fenghuang returned after completing their military discipline inspection.
The Central Plains is recovering strongly. Lord Cao is very satisfied and tells Zhao Yulin that the population of Kaifeng is increasing rapidly. Pieces of farmland have been reclaimed and planted with crops, which is so green and pleasing to the eye.
Government offices in various places have basically resumed their duties, and the joint defense and joint protection system has been fully implemented here. Some people are doing the work, and some are guarding. It's pretty good.
There is a serious shortage of officials.
Huo Fenghuang told him that during this tour in Henan, they arrested many corrupt officials in Luoyang and Kaifeng. There were also people who were willing to be spies of the northern barbarians and sell out the secrets of the court. Each of them was unforgivable.
He suggested to Cao Cao that they hold a military meeting in Jiankang Prefecture to sort out the problems they found during this tour. At the same time, he also wanted to discuss the war in the Central Plains with the staff of the Central Army.
Lao Cao readily agreed and asked Fenghuang to pass the message to Miao Gui immediately.
In the evening, Zhao Yulin had tea with Lao Cao and told him that he planned to go to Guyuan. The brothers in the northwest believed that they had been preparing for several years and could do something big.
Lao Cao got excited and asked him where he wanted to hit.
Lingzhou ?
When Zhao Yulin saw the expectant look on his face, he almost burst out laughing. He was already an adult, and a great god who had once been a ruler, so why did he like to wield swords and guns so much?
He said that great minds think alike, but after the brothers had discussed it, they also needed to look at the situation in the central military camp.
Lao Cao also believed that there had been no war in the northwest for two years, and the Shenwei Army, which was training day and night to be on high alert, could capture Lingzhou in one battle.
Zhao Yulin nodded and said that we should discuss it carefully. Now Mengge has returned to Zhending Prefecture, and the grassland royal court has allocated the Central Plains to him as a fiefdom. This guy will definitely not stop, so we have to be careful.
Cao Cao first discussed the war in the northwest with him and asked him to stay in Jiankang. Cao Cao personally went to the northwest to inspect and command the war, saying that his women were all in Jiankang and it was convenient to take care of them.
Zhao Yulin almost burst out laughing again. He looked at Lao Cao who was smiling and said: A king should not tease his subjects like this.
Lao Cao said that it was rare for him to come out for some fresh air, so he was given a chance to go to Guyuan and have a good time killing people with his little brothers. He had wanted to recapture Lingzhou for a long time.
Zhao Yulin shook his head and said: If we really want to fight, he should quietly go over and launch a surprise attack. It is better for Lord Cao to stay in Jiankang to defend against Mengge.
He thought that Brother Meng must want to take something back, because the Prairie King Court had designated our Jiankang Prefecture as his fiefdom. Even if the Mongolian army did not come, we should find a chance to recapture Shandong?
Only then was Lao Cao satisfied.
It seems that this man came to Jiangdong just to cause trouble. He is not satisfied with just taking Hongzhou and wants to do something big before he will stop.
Three days later, Miao Gui led Lai Chuanfang and Yang Xingyun to Jiankang Prefecture. Zhao Yulin said with a smile that our Cao State Lord wanted to listen to the brothers' views on the current situation and make plans for the country's next stage of military deployment.
Everyone came to his carefully built operations room and sat down. Miao Gui pointed to the huge map of Jiangdong on the wall and began to talk.
According to the military intelligence currently collected by the Ministry of War, the enemy situation in the Central Plains is turning around. In the past six months, Hubili has plundered and conquered areas, recruited young and strong men into military service, and strengthened the defense along the rivers, focusing on deploying defenses in Daming Prefecture and Zhending Prefecture.
After Mengge returned to Zhending Prefecture, the frequency of Mongolian scouts entering and leaving the border increased significantly. The Mongolian army also requisitioned a large number of ships to train the navy in Daye Lake and built warships on a large scale.
These actions clearly indicate an intention to move southward to rob.
"But we are not afraid."
Miao Gui continued to speak : After the Shenwei Army incorporated all the relocated people into the joint defense army, its defense capability was greatly enhanced. In the recent competition with the Northern Barbarians, there were several cases of the joint defense militia capturing the Northern Barbarians, and the security and protection capabilities of the recovered areas were greatly improved.
Therefore, we are not deaf and blind, we all know what their intentions are.
Zhao Yulin said: We cannot be complacent. He has discussed with Lord Cao and plans to go to Guyuan and wait for an opportunity to launch the Lingzhou Campaign.
The generals were immediately excited.
He continued: In this way, the Central Plains must be stable. If the enemy does not come, we will not go. If the enemy dares to invade, we must have a perfect plan to deal with it, defeat them and make them lose their weapons and armor, so that they will not dare to have any more wishful thinking.
The generals were happy, as there was work to do again. The brothers immediately started discussing it.
Lao Cao asked them: If the war breaks out in Guyuan, the Guanzhong army will not be able to serve as a backup for the war in the Central Plains, and the Jinzhou army will also become a battle reserve. Can we withstand the attack of the northern barbarians?
The generals picked up their tea bowls and thought.
Lai Chuanfang believed that there would be no problem in resisting the northern barbarians. However, once the war started, many villages that had just been restored would surely be destroyed again.
Zhao Yulin said that was normal, so all the people should be armed.
He asked Lai Chuanfang and others to go back and organize the joint defense militia to study the defensive techniques of digging tunnels and laying mines, and try to connect the cellars of each household in the village to build some temporary escape shelters, which could ensure temporary shelter when attacked by the Mongolian army.
Zhao Yulin introduced the knowledge of tunnel warfare and mine warfare that later generations knew, and Lao Cao immediately praised it. He said that it was very practical on the current border. The Mongolian army had cavalry with long legs, and if they suddenly attacked us and we couldn't move in time, we could hide in the tunnel and wait for reinforcements.
Zhao Yulin pointed to the tunnel design drawing he had drawn and said that this was the truth. The loess in Henan and Hebei was very suitable for digging tunnels. We couldn't outrun the Mongolian army. We could just dig a tunnel right outside our house and disappear in no time. There was no point in being afraid of them.
The generals laughed and listened carefully to his explanation of the tactics.
However, the brothers still didn't want Zhao Yulin to go to Guyuan again. Miao Gui said that it was fine for him to go, and there was no need for him to travel so hard.
Zhao Yulin said that this trip was different.
If our New Song's Minister of War appeared directly in Guyuan, the enemy would definitely think that we were going to make a big move in the northwest. The military preparations in the Central Plains have not yet been completed, and we still need the efforts of our brothers here.
Let's let Lord Cao stay in Jiankang, General Fenghuang continues to organize the army, and the brothers stay in the barracks so that Brother Meng will not dare to act rashly.
With this arrangement, if the Mongolian army attacks again, they will be defeated .
Lao Cao asked him how to go to Guyuan, and went there secretly?
It's too dangerous.
Zhao Yulin said that the more dangerous it is, the safer it is. If he also went to Guyuan with drums and gongs, what difference would it make from Brother Miao's open and aboveboard visit?
Seeing that everyone was still hesitating, he asked them if they still wanted to do this. This was the best way at the moment. We couldn't lose such a great opportunity.
When the generals heard that there would be no war to fight, what would they do?
I agreed immediately.
At dawn the next day, an emergency team from Jiankang Shunfeng boarded two speedboats at the dock and left Jianchang for Ezhou. Zhao Yulin disguised himself as Wu Yuqi's guard and mixed in the queue and got on the same speedboat.
The couple squeezed into the cabin and took a nap. Yuqi asked him: Have you already planned to retake Lingzhou?
She noticed that Brother Gao would report the situation tirelessly in the military reports, talking about how many cavalrymen had been recruited, how the new artillery column was being trained, and how the gunpowder reserves were.
