Chapter 4156 Everyone has their own agenda

Chapter 4156 Everyone has their own agenda

The people in the hall who had previously attacked and scolded him were stagnant, and they had to admit that Zhang Wangzhi's words had some truth. The reason why everyone gathered their own soldiers to form a private army and wanted to go north to Guanzhong to support the King of Jin in conquering Chang'an was because they valued the huge gains they could gain once they won. The benefits, although the risks are great, are also great, and it is worth the effort.

But if they knew they would lose, who would spend all their money to form a private army and go north?

Wujun and Huating Town are adjacent to each other, separated only by two low mountain peaks and a few low-lying lakes. The naval troops stationed in Wusong River arrive at dawn or dusk, whether by waterway or land. How can Zhang stop them? ?

Some people disagreed: "His navy is also the army of the Tang Dynasty. We are not rebelling. Why should he send troops to attack us? Even if he really sends troops, it is just a threat, and he may not dare to attack us with real swords and guns."

The current situation is unpredictable. Tongguan has been occupied by the army led by the King of Jin, and the east and west are isolated. The only way to get the news out of Guanzhong is through a few roads such as the Shangyu Ancient Road, and the exits of these roads to Shangzhou and Luoyang are also blocked, so It is difficult for the outside world to know the situation in Guanzhong in the short term.

The situation in Guanzhong is unclear. Even if the navy has special channels to get the news, it will take a lot of time to get the information back and forth, and the delay will be greatly increased. How dare you rashly attack the Jiangnan clan?

Even if you take action, can you still kill the whole family?

As long as you hold on, no matter how much losses you suffer, when King Jin ascends the throne after winning this battle, he will make up for it and even become more prosperous than before...

Zhang Wang smiled bitterly and reminded: "The navy was founded by Fang Jun. Everyone from top to bottom obeys his orders. They are all proud soldiers. Even if you don't remember how the navy has been overseas in these years, After slaughtering the city and destroying the country, the heads of the barbarians were flowing into rivers of blood. Do you not remember the tragedy of the Gu family? "

As soon as he said this, the whole hall was shocked.

Yes, in the past two years, Fang Jun's navy has been transporting the goods of the Tang Dynasty all over the world, and also transporting rare items from various foreign countries back to the Tang Dynasty. In the process, they have made huge profits. Every family in the south of the Yangtze River is smiling and hating the navy for all kinds of things. "Escort fee" and "protection" "Fees" and so on "levied exorbitant amounts of money", dreaming about how to get rid of the "blood-sucking insect" of the Navy and taking the routes over the vast ocean as their own, but they completely forgot how Fang Jun killed a mountain of blood in Jiangnan. The sea is full of people.

During the Battle of Niuzhuji, various families in the south of the Yangtze River encouraged Shanyue mobs to besiege Fang Jun on the Nanshan Mountains on the bank of the Yangtze River. Privately, they sent dead soldiers from each family to mingle with the mob, trying to kill Fang Jun there.

As a result, Fang Jun led hundreds of armored cavalry and swooped down into the killing formation, killing tens of thousands of mobs into a sea of ​​corpses and blood. It is said that the blood flowed down the mountain into the river, and half of the Yangtze River was dyed red...

In one battle, every family in the south of the Yangtze River was killed, and no one dared to confront them head-on.

The Jiangdong Lu family sent dead soldiers to assassinate Fang Jun, but he escaped. Afterwards, they sent their troops to storm the Lu family's Wubao on a rainy night, killing all the prominent Jiangdong families who had inherited the family for hundreds of years. The Jiangnan clan was filled with anger. , but no one dared to stand up and seek justice for the Lu family.

Today, everyone knows that Fang Jun is the staunchest supporter of the Prince of the East Palace. It is not an exaggeration to say "the pillar of the East Palace" and the "Prince's Humerus". The Jiangnan clan wants to unite with the Shandong families to form a private army and rush to Guanzhong to fight for the throne. Who knows whether Fang Jun will issue a "shoot to kill" order to the navy?

The land south of the Yangtze River is vast and the clans in various places have a large population. Naturally, it is impossible for the navy to kill them all. But what if they choose one or two of them to try to kill the chickens to scare the monkeys?

No one wants to be the chicken used to scare the monkeys, but any family may become that chicken...

A young man stood up from the mat, bowed to Xiao Xun and said, "I came here this time. I caught wind and cold on the way and I feel very unwell... Since the men, horses, and grain that my family promised to Duke Nanhai have been delivered, At this moment, I will go home to recover, and I will find a doctor to take care of me before I say goodbye.”

Then, without waiting for Xiao Xun to speak, he turned around and left in a hurry.

As soon as he left, the atmosphere in the hall became increasingly weird. Many people looked at each other and had the idea of ​​​​leaving this place quickly. Anyway, the troops and provisions we promised are not lacking at all, so why should we personally participate in it?

The worst case scenario is that after victory in the future, you, the Xiao family, will take the lion's share...

Xiao Guan glared angrily and suppressed these people who were about to make a move. After all, the Xiao family in Lanling was now the only one with powerful strength. There was no one in the Jiangnan region who could compete with them. If they were offended, the consequences would be disastrous.

Moreover, everyone had discussed in advance to send troops north this time, and the words of bloodshed and alliance were still in their ears. It would not look good to retreat before the troops were dispatched.

Old God Xiao Xun was sitting there, turning a blind eye to the chaos in the hall and turning a deaf ear to the chaos in the hall. He said to another old man next to him: "Morality has become corrupt and people's hearts are not as old as before. Yesterday, we made an alliance with blood and swore a life and death pledge. Today, we have been killed by someone." The reputation of the child was so frightening that he was trembling and out of his mind. This battle Even if we win, how long can our Jiangnan clan prosper? Compared with the heritage of the Shandong aristocratic family, we are far inferior. If things go on like this, the Shandong aristocratic family will last for hundreds of generations, and the Jiangnan clan will be unable to survive. In a hundred years, the lintel of today will be lost to everyone. .”

Wearing a beam crown, his back is straight, his hands and feet are long, he is tall even when he is sitting on his knees, and his square face is frowning. It is Yuan Chao, the head of the Yuan family in Chen County. He is stroking his beard with one hand and sighing. Said: "So it is said that a gentleman is magnanimous, but a villain has long-term relationships. He spends all his time calculating the gains and losses of petty gains, but does not have the courage to forge ahead and move forward with determination. In the end, his achievements are limited."

Guojiang is the "overseas Chinese surname", with Wang, Xie, Yuan, and Xiao being the eldest; Shandong is the "county surname", with Wang, Cui, Lu, Li, and Zheng being the surname. These are the most prosperous families at the moment, and the rest are not enough. In terms of reputation, status, and heritage, even the Longxi Li family from which the royal family originated was ranked first in the Clan Chronicles, but was suppressed by the Zhaojun Li family.

However, although the Jiangnan clan is rich in wealth and talented people, it lacks the inheritance of Confucian classics from the Shandong family. This makes the family lack cohesion. It is fine when it is prosperous, but once it encounters setbacks, it is easy to collapse.

Xiao Xun sighed, invited Yuan Chao to drink tea, and laughed at himself: "Thankfully, Shi Wen worked hard for the future of the Jiangnan clan and risked his whole life's political legacy to find a way out for the Jiangnan clan. But now look at it, among the Jiangnan clan, only There is only one head of the family, Mr. Yuan from Chenjun, but none of the others are seen.”

The children from various families on the side could only smile awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

Yuan Chao pondered for a while and then changed the subject: "Although Yanziji has been a ferry crossing the Yangtze River since ancient times, it is a bit narrower than Xijin Ferry, which is not conducive for tens of thousands of people to cross the river at the same time. Moreover, to board the ship from Xijin Ferry, you only need to cross The river can reach Guazhou Ferry, go straight up Yangzhou along Shanyangdu, and then turn into Tongji Canal at Chuzhou... Therefore, why not choose Xijin Ferry but board the boat at Yanziji?”

Yanziji has been the most important ferry near Jinling since ancient times. When the First Emperor visited the south of the Yangtze River, he landed here. The Northern Qi Dynasty crossed the Yangtze River to the south and wanted to unify the south of the Yangtze River. The Southern Emperor Chen Baxian also led his army to fight at Yanziji and defeated the Northern Qi Dynasty... However, compared with the Xijin Ferry that has connected the north and the south since ancient times, it is still slightly inferior.

Moreover, to board the ship from Yanziji, you need to go down the river for more than a hundred miles. Either enter from the Zhenzhou Ancient Canal west of Jiangdu, bypass Jiangdu and enter Shanyangdu, or go down dozens of miles to Guazhou Ferry and go north into Shanyangdu. Yangdu.

Since the troops and supplies of the Jiangnan gentry were all gathered from all over the Yangtze River, why not go straight to Xijin to cross the river, but instead go to Jinling and then go down the river?

It's obviously unnecessary.

Xiao Xun took a sip of tea, raised his eyes to look at everyone in the hall, waved his hands, and said: "Everyone, please go down, go to the guest room to have a good rest, and then properly arrange the troops and equipment of each family, and follow the order planned in advance. Gather by the river and cross the river early tomorrow morning.”

"Here."

A group of disciples from various families in the south of the Yangtze River quickly stood up, saluted and then filed out. Xiao Guan also nodded to Yuan Chao, then stood up and went out to settle the disciples from the south of the Yangtze River and arrange for the crossing of the river tomorrow based on the number of soldiers, horses and baggage from each family. sequence.

Only Xiao Xun and Yuan Chao were left in the hall.

The lobby here is five rooms wide, with a bright floor, several beams supporting the dome, and windows on all sides, making it extremely spacious. At this time, the breeze was gentle and the fragrance of tea was lingering. The two old men were sitting on their knees facing each other, which was quite comfortable.

Xiao Xun invited Yuan Chao to have tea and explained: "How could I not know that it is more convenient to cross the river from Xijin? But Xijin Ferry is too close to the Navy station, and the Navy attaches great importance to Xijin Ferry. In order to control the north-south traffic, There is a well-equipped force of several hundred people stationed at the ferry all year round. If we cross the river from Xijin, we will inevitably clash with it.”

Yuan Chao took a sip of tea and frowned: "Now that the matter has come to this, does Nanhai Duke still expect to live in peace with the navy? Fang Jun's loyalty to the East Palace is known to the world. At first, he even wanted to protect the crown prince even at the cost of irritating His Majesty. Now, We formed a private army to go north to support the King of Jin in seizing the throne. He will definitely not want to sit idly by and conflicts will inevitably occur. ”

Everyone knows that now that His Majesty has passed away, the bad intentions of the Sixteen Guards in Guanzhong may not be loyal to the Crown Prince. As a result, although the East Palace Army has a slight upper hand when facing the King of Jin, the advantage is not obvious. Once the powerful families in Shandong and Jiangnan are secretly The army entered Tongguan, the Jin king's strength increased sharply, and the East Palace was in danger. Under such circumstances, how could Fang Jun allow the Jiangnan private army to reach Tongguan smoothly?

The navy must be sent to intercept, and a big battle is almost inevitable.

"Not necessarily."

Xiao Xun didn't see it that way: "Fang Jun is far away in Guanzhong, thousands of miles away from the south of the Yangtze River, and Tongguan is now under the control of the King of Jin. The news will be delayed. When we know that we have formed a private army to go north, we can send it to the navy." News, how long will it take? And the Navy Commander Su Dingfang is just a military commander guarding one side. He definitely dare not take the initiative to fight with us without Fang Jun’s order. Otherwise, how can he afford the turmoil and corruption in the south of the Yangtze River? As long as we avoid the navy and prevent it from having any chance of provocation, we can naturally wait until Fang Jun's order is delivered to Huating Town. By the time we gathered our best troops and headed north, we had already entered the Yellow River from Tongji Canal and were one step away from Tongguan." (End of this chapter)