On the second day, Zhang Chong once again had a quarrel with many disciples in the Tai Chi Hall of the Taiping Palace.
The focus is on Zhang Chong's personal expedition.
At that time, Yang Mao, as a privy councilor, reported to Zhang Chong the preparations for the eastern expedition to Liaodong:
"The king ordered the Ministry of Industry to build ships, and now they are all gathered in Zhangwu, Bohai Sea. He also ordered the Ministry of Finance to transfer grain and fodder, and now most of it has been transported to Lulongsai. Now the ships, grain, and equipment are ready, and we are just waiting for the king to choose to send out troops. Ma, select generals and staff to form the Eastern Expedition Shogunate, and then go to Liaodong.”
After listening to Yang Mao's words, Zhang Chong took the scroll and flipped through it, which recorded the materials prepared for this expedition to Liaodong.
Nowadays, the Taishan Army is indeed a big business. At this time, the harvest season has passed in all fields in Hebei, and there are abundant reserves in various places. Therefore, the first wave of military rice transported to Lulongsai alone amounted to 100,000 shi.
This document also contains a list of troops drafted by the Privy Council for the expedition. Dozens of the generals and officers involved were all listed on the list.
These generals and schools were drawn up after inspection by the Privy Council, based on their past resumes and the recent situation of their departments. This alone is more sophisticated than other forces.
Zhang Chong took a quick look at the list and found that it came from several sources.
The first one is the Field Department of the Fifth Army. This is the most important core in the Taishan Army system and the absolute main force in all previous battles.
Most of the generals and schools here come from the Dong Fang and Zhang Dan systems.
Because of these two systems, one is stationed in the north and the other is stationed in the northeast, and both have absorbed elite warriors from the local areas into their armies, so among these two systems, they are also the two legions with the most northerners.
In this expedition to Liaodong, the northerners had many advantages over the southerners, whether it was human geography or endurance of the harsh cold.
Another point is that the five field armies are all assembled in one place, the troops are relatively concentrated, and they are closer to Liaodong. In particular, the Marshal's Department of the Right Army under Zhang Dan is stationed in Youbeiping, making it the first choice for the expedition.
In addition, Zhang Chong also saw a principle for the privy councilors to mobilize troops, that is, not all the troops in one place are transferred to the front line, but are selectively transferred, and a part, half, or one-third of the troops from each unit are transferred. Or a quarter, depending on the local situation and the situation of the troops to be transferred.
For example, Zhang Dan's army stationed in Youbeiping was transferred to 8,000 people, Dong Fang's army stationed in Shanggu was transferred to 5,000 people, then Ding Sheng's army was transferred to 3,000 people, and Guan Yu's army was transferred to 2,000 people. In addition to the 5,000 Central Guards under Yu Jin's command, a total of 23,000 people formed the core force of this eastern expedition to Liaodong.
At the same time, the Privy Council also took into account the actual situation of Zhang Dan's Army and Dong Fang's Army. Because they have the task of defending northern Xinjiang, when the core battalion leaders are transferred to Liaodong, they naturally have to fill the above vacancy.
Therefore, the Privy Council gave special consideration to letting the garrison troops from Zhuojun and Zhongshan counties go north to Juyongguan to guard the border platform. Among them, those who went north to garrison were given an initial two-month ration.
In addition to these five military generals, there are also some generals from the garrison system on the list.
During the Battle of Zhongrenting, Zhang Chong and others discovered that some battalion heads in the garrison system were as powerful as the Fifth Army, and they also received special honors on the battlefield.
So this time, in order to supplement the scale of troop dispatch, the privy councilors decided to use a large number of garrison troops.
Among them, the garrison troops from Jizhou, the hinterland of Hebei, were allocated from 1,000 to 2,000 people, so the number of troops in this part was as many as 15,000.
In addition to these, there is also a special branch of arms, that is, sailors.
As the Taishan Army fully took over Hebei, Zhang Chong set up a shipyard in Zhangwu beyond the Bohai Sea to build sea-going ships.
Among them, Xue An of the Le'an Yellow Turban system was the first captain of Haibo, commanding thirty ships and two thousand naval troops, stationed in Zhangwu, Bohai Sea.
Xue An was originally a sea pirate in the Qingzhou waters, and later joined the Le'an Yellow Turbans and became a naval general under Xu He, the commander of the Le'an Ququ.
When Xu He wanted to invite Zhang Chong to go north to invade Liaodong, he relied on Xue An's sea brothers to transport him. It was only done later when Taishan's powerful forces surrounded and suppressed Zhang Chong, otherwise it would be another story.
Later, Zhang Chong decided to build a naval division after Hebei. At that time, he was recommended by Ji Sun, and Xue An was recognized by Zhang Chong and was appointed as the first Haibo captain of the Taishan Army.
After more than a year of formation, Captain Hai Bo is now a little stronger and can shoulder the task of cross-sea supply, so this time, Zhang Chong gave special approval to allow Xue An's troops to participate in the war.
In addition to the above-mentioned troops, the most important one is the generals of the Central Guard Army system.
Since the development of the Taishan Army, the Central Guard Army still belongs to the field field of the Five Armies, but due to its heavy responsibility of guarding Yecheng, it cannot remain in office for a long time.
Therefore, in terms of system, the Central Guard Army formed a form similar to the Han Dynasty's Northern and Southern Armies.
Every year, the Ministry of War will dispatch the remaining four armies to Yejing in turn, and the officers of the Central Guard Army will also begin to take turns to experience in various foreign military systems.
This rotation system can not only maintain the combat effectiveness of the Central Guard Army, but also enable the outer and fourth armies to still be firmly controlled by the center.
This time, the Central Guard Army also selected five thousand officers to participate in the battle, involving ten divisions, all led by brave generals from Chinese and foreign armies.
In addition to the participation of the five armies in the field, the central defense army, the naval army, and the garrison troops, there was also a unique unit, the barbarian troops.
The Yi soldiers here surrendered after successive decisive battles with the Han army in Hebei. Among them were the Wuhuan people, Sushen people, Goguryeo people, Xianbei people, Huns, and Fuyu people. It can be said that they cover the ethnic groups that are now spread across the Northeast.
The number of these people is not large, roughly around 3,000, but they can provide consultation for the Taishan Army to understand the situation of various tribes in the Northeast, which can be said to be very important.
Therefore, Zhang Chong can see from this list that even though the ministers had objections to the expedition to Liaodong, they still cooperated wholeheartedly after Zhang Chong decided. This shows the discipline and cooperation of the top leaders of the Taishan Army at this stage.
The more he saw this list, the more determined Zhang Chong became. After all, the number of generals and troops involved in this list is close to 43,000. Currently, only Zhang Chong can dispatch such a large force.
So, he closed the document and said to all his disciples and privy councilors, including Duman and Yang Mao:
"My ministers, I plan to fight this battle in Liaodong personally."
Logically speaking, Zhang Chong has become the king and can already call himself a widower. But Zhang Chong didn't like this kind of title, and still stubbornly used me to refer to himself.
When Zhang Chong finished speaking, everyone below looked shocked.
It's not that Zhang Chong's personal expedition was a strange thing. After all, the Taishan Army had almost always been led by the king on expeditions, and all the battles were successful.
But the problem is that Zhang Chong is now the king of a place. Except for the time when he defeated Lu Zhi, he deployed in Beijing at other times and delegated the power of killing to the general Jiedu.
And now, Zhang Chong suddenly said that he wanted to personally conquer the country, how could it not be shocking?
Especially Zhang Dan, who rushed back from Youbeiping, was even more surprised. He thought that when he returned to Yejing this time, the king was going to entrust him with the eastern expedition to Liaodong. For this reason, he specially prepared a military strategy to return to Beijing to respond. But now it’s the king himself who is on the expedition?
So, Zhang Dan took the lead and advised Zhang Chong:
"Your Majesty, the emperor has lived in China since ancient times, and has been pacifying the barbarians. However, the native invaders in Liaodong are originally scabies. If I press the border with a large number of troops, the enemy will be defeated. Your Majesty, it will be boring to go to war again."
< br>
The meaning of Zhang Dan's words is very obvious, that is, you are our king. Since ancient times, when have you ever seen an emperor going abroad? So don’t bother. He thought that Zhang Chong had been impatient in the palace for a long time and wanted to go to the battlefield to relax his muscles.
After Zhang Dan finished speaking, the disciples on the opposite side also recovered from their initial shock.
Cai Yong, the eldest among them and one of the relatives of the country, stood up directly to remonstrate:
"Now the world is like one body, with Ye Jing as the confidant, the prefectures and counties as the limbs, and the four barbarians as the external things. Although the four counties in the east of Liaodong, Goguryeo, and Xianbei in the east are abominable, they should be conquered. However, the king can order a good commander to lead an army of tens of thousands, with your majesty The prestige is like picking something out of a bag. Now that the prince is newly established, he is still young and may not be caught by the government. However, the king is involved in the dangers of the Liaohai Sea and travels far away. This is not a blessing to the country."
As expected, it was Lao Cai who was the most arrogant, and his words were even more shocking than when Zhang Chong said he wanted to fight in person.
Just because of his status, he said something quite taboo, that was Gong Wei.
The current prince is the daughter of Queen Zhao E, and he is indeed young. However, Cai Yong's eldest daughter Cai Yu just gave birth to a son earlier this year. His younger daughter was also recruited into the palace by her sister earlier. The one who was beaten Her thoughts are the same as those of the Zhen sisters.
So at this time and in this capacity, is it really appropriate for you, Mr. Cai, to say this?
Sure enough, when Cai Yong finished saying this, He Kui, who had already moved his foot out, secretly pulled it back. This made Duman, who was above him, feel funny when he saw it.
Dandu laughed but didn't go up again. After all, the way to survive was to avoid suspicion.
After Zhang Chong listened to his father-in-law's "admonishment", the muscles in his forehead twitched, which meant that he knew who Old Man Cai was, otherwise anyone who heard this would be furious.
Because what Old Man Cai said was too unpleasant, he said that if Zhang Chong died outside, we would not be able to keep the family business with the help of the young prince.
But the reason why some words are unpleasant may be partly based on reality.
Therefore, Zhang Chong could only smile bitterly:
"Cai Gong has good words, but this personal expedition to Liaodong is the result of my deep thinking. Besides, I am going to conquer the world immediately. The world is not yet settled, so there is no reason to sit back."
Several disciples saw that Zhang Chong was not furious, so they all stood up and discussed the matter with fairness.
For example, Tao An, Zhuge Gui, Tian Feng, etc. all believed that it was not a blessing for an emperor to go to a wild place. They cited the examples of King Zhou Zhao's attack on Chu and Han Gaozu's attack on the Xiongnu, hoping that Zhang Chong would take back his life.
Among them, Tao An's words are the most convincing.
Tao An said that the emperor's personal expedition was like a powerful attack. Victory was not a joy, but defeat would endanger the country. He said that with the current strength of the Taishan Army, it is actually certain to win the expedition against Liaodong.
The two sides are not at the same level in terms of combat power and manpower. Even if there were any surprises in this battle, the Liaodong group of forces still could not avoid destruction.
But this is the result of choosing a general, and it will not be the case if the emperor goes to war.
For Zhang Chong, even if he wins the Liaodong expedition again, it will only be one or two more additions to his already supreme honor. But if they lose, and they lose at the hands of Zhang Chong, it will be devastating to the entire Taishan Army.
This was the case with Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty. If it was not him who was trapped in Baishan Mountain, but some other general, how could there be a hundred years of humiliation in the future?
Therefore, Tao An persuaded Zhang Chong not to go to war personally.
Don't tell me, Tao An's reason is really persuasive. This kind of persuasion based on marginal interests is really persuasive. Zhang Chong had to admit that Tao An was right.
But Zhang Chong also had his own interests at heart, so he looked at Duman to indicate that it was his turn to appear.
He had previously discussed this matter with Duman privately, and roughly explained his considerations and judgments clearly. Therefore, after being persuaded, Duman became a supporter of Zhang Chong.
At this time, seeing Zhang Chong looking at him, Duman walked out and said to everyone:
"Everyone is right, and they all have a point. But our Taishan Army is not an ordinary person, and what we do is extraordinary. Like us, it can be said that the whole world is our enemy, and there are not so many graceful people who seek stability. I will I ask you, who can mobilize such a complex military force except the king himself? Who can make the armies go hand in hand? Who dares to boast that Liaodong can be conquered quickly? "
At the end of the sentence, Duman said word by word to Zhang Chong:
"And I believe that this time the king will still come back victorious."
Zhang Chong smiled.
All the ministers and workers were silent for a while, so Duman turned to the next topic, which was what strategy should be used for this expedition to Liaodong.
Speaking of this, Zhang Dan, who had been prepared for a long time, came up to tell the story:
"The road to Liaodong is far away. The former Lulong Road is in disrepair and has been obscured by mountains, forests and swamps. Except for a small number of troops and horses that can be passed when the mountain and sea roads are at low tide, the rest can be transported by sea. This is the march route that Emperor Wu used to defend Manchuria. .”
Zhang Chong nodded, seeing that Zhang Dan had made great efforts in conquering Liaodong.
When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty conquered Weiman Korea, he went straight from Jiaolai Bay to the Liaodong Peninsula.
But obviously, this strategy is not good enough.
Not to mention that the Taishan Army currently has too few sea boats and does not have the ability to project military power on a large scale. Let’s just say that the strategy itself is the same.
If Zhang Chong wants to defeat Liaodong quickly, he cannot fight a protracted battle and must win by surprise.
There are wise men in Liaodong who also understand history. If the first maritime surprise attack was successful, would the second one be unprepared? This is too disrespectful.
So this strategy is not good enough.
After that, several other ministers said a few more, but they were not good enough.
So, Zhang Chong came up with his plan.
It was precisely after seeing Zhang Chong's plan that all the ministers were sincerely convinced and finally recognized that the king's personal expedition to Liaodong was not a rash move to show off his power, but that he really took the matter seriously.
Therefore, based on the king's strategy, the political affairs hall and the privy councilors began to refine the implementation steps.
Later, Zhang Chong left the crown prince Zhang Cheng to supervise the country, with Queen Zhao E in charge of the government. He left the political affairs hall Duman, Cai Yong, Tao An, and Zhuge Gui to assist the government, with authority over Yecheng and domestic affairs, and to coordinate and cooperate with the Liaodong battlefield.
In this way, after Zhang Chong arranged everything, leaving his trusted ministers behind, he took part of the army and the Central Guards assembled in Yecheng and set off towards Lulongsai.
The battle of conquering Liao officially kicked off.
Can anyone guess Zhang Chong's strategy for conquering Liao this time?