Chapter 2577 The handover of Gui Zi Juan, the general trend has been decided
It is late autumn, but my clothes are heavy with sweat.
Ma Kongying personally led his army from the south of Gaocheng and along the Hutuo River to attack Shulu.
This road is nearly two hundred miles long, and it is also an area where White Lotus has a very deep foundation. It is difficult to keep such a large army a secret.
However, using the Jizhen Army and the Jingying Camp to launch a fierce offensive against the rebels in Bailian in the central part of the country on the east and west wings at the same time did cause huge chaos and impact on the entire Bailian in the central part.
Ma Kong took the opportunity to lead 6,000 elite soldiers, including 2,000 cavalry and 4,000 mounted infantry, and ran all the way from the south bank of the Hutuo River.
A pure infantry march of more than 180 miles would take three days, but with the addition of cavalry and mounted infantry, the speed is greatly accelerated.
Moreover, Ma Kongying also went all out and mobilized all the mules and horses of the Xuanfu army. Feng Ziying also helped to requisition some of them locally, just to use this mobility to catch the White Lotus rebel army by surprise.
The south bank of the Hutuo River is also a relatively densely populated area. Since it is impossible to keep the operation secret, we can simply ignore it and just rush forward according to our own marching schedule.
As long as you are fast enough, even if Bai Lian's eyesight notices something abnormal along the way, it will be too late to react and you can still catch him off guard.
It has to be said that Feng Ziying's strategy of seizing the east and attacking the west was used just right, and the early fierce attacks of the Jingying and Jizhen troops also greatly attracted Wang Haoli's attention.
The Jingying camp's high-intensity firepower output, and in order to rectify the name of the Jingying camp and gain credit in this battle, it fought particularly hard in this battle.
Whether it was Yang Zhaoji He Huchen or Tu Wenxiu and Ma Chengxun's troops, they went all out and took the absolute initiative from the beginning, launching ferocious offensives in Gaocheng and Wuji.
It only took one day to capture Gaocheng, and only three days to capture Wuji. However, in Jinzhou, Ma Chengxun encountered stubborn resistance.
Zhou Yin shouldered the heavy responsibility of organizing rebel troops to constantly harass the Jingying camp from the surrounding areas. The Jingying camp was obviously not very adaptable to this type of tactics similar to guerrilla warfare and sparrow warfare. The battle was exhausted and the war fell into a stalemate.
The troops of He Huchen and Yang Zhaoji also encountered setbacks in Shenzhen. Although the rebel army suffered repeated setbacks, they grew larger and more numerous like locusts.
Although the combat effectiveness of the rebel army was not good, their blocking by using terrain and terrain was effective, making it difficult for the official army to open up the situation.
Ji Zhen's army also achieved good results in Raoyang, but it also encountered desperate resistance from the rebel army in Anping, and the battle situation reached a stalemate.
Until Ma Kongying and his six thousand men arrived at Shulu City like magic soldiers descending from the sky, the rebel army was completely unprepared for this sudden killing move. How could the officers and soldiers suddenly abandon the front line where the fierce battle was still going on and attack from the waist and abdomen? Such a sharp uppercut.
This punch directly hit the vital point. Shulu City was captured overnight, and all the grain and grass collected by the rebels gathered in Shulu City were looted by the official army.
Whatever is not needed is simply burned. The fire that fills the sky ignites half of Shulu County, and also makes the White Lotus rebel army in the front confused.
Once the bundle of deer is lost, there will be two major consequences.
First, all the grain and grass supplies originally supplied to Shenzhou, Wuqiang, and Anping were lost. Second, this knife was inserted into the waists of Shenzhou, Wuqiang, Hengshui, and Wuyi, leaving Shenzhou and Wuqiang directly facing the possibility of being cut off. The rear route, and Hengshui and Wuyi were originally in the rear, and they suddenly faced attacks from the official army.
The rebel troops in the rear, who were not mentally prepared at all, immediately became confused.
The capture of Shulu also brought about another consequence, that is, the armed forces of large local clans that had been suppressed and dormant began to become active rapidly. Dozens of local clan armies of varying sizes quickly emerged in Hengshui Wuyi. Armed forces began to attack the White Lotus rebel army, which further exacerbated the rapid decline of the White Lotus rebel army's power in this area.
Now that the official army has captured Shulu, it has a great shock to the entire Shenzhou, Wuqiang, Hengshui, and Wuyi lines. Local clan armed forces have naturally begun to move.
The dramatic change in the situation in Wuyi, Hengshui, also immediately affected Shenzhou Wuqiang in the north, and also had a huge impact on the inevitable Jizhou, Zaoqiang, Xinhe, Nangong and other places.
The county seat in this area has always been under the control of the government, but various White Lotus armed forces in the countryside have become quite active, constantly attacking and looting large gentry households and looting merchants. The situation is turning out of control.
However, many large households did not dare to resist directly, because they were worried about attracting a direct attack from the White Lotus army and causing trouble.
But seeing the change in the situation in Hengshui Wuyi, it immediately gave them great encouragement and courage, so the clan armed forces in these places soon developed and began to compete with the Bailian rebels for control of the countryside again.
After receiving the support of the government, they quickly took advantage and regained control of this land.
After Ma Kongying led the cavalry to raid Shulu, the 10,000 infantry troops who followed him also arrived in Shulu two days later and began to attack the crumbling Shenzhou northwards.
Shenzhou has not yet been captured, but Anping, whose military morale is already in disarray, has been captured by the Jizhen Army in the south. Immediately after Shenzhou was captured, the Wuqiang and Bailian rebels took the initiative to withdraw southward, but encountered attacks from many local clan armed forces along the Jiahe line. , and soon collapsed.
On October 23rd, the entire central White Lotus rebellion was completely wiped out. Wang Haoli fled to Lincheng in the south. However, the entire southern White Lotus rebellion was in a shaky state and was unable to resist the powerful official army.
"Ziying, I'm just here to pick peaches. Don't have any objections. I want to go to Liaodong, but you are more familiar with Liaodong and are more suitable than me. The court also took this into consideration before letting you Go to Liaodong and take on a big responsibility."
Sun Chengzong smiled and handed over to Feng Ziying in the Yamen of Zhending Mansion.
"Haha, it's the same for everyone. Just like what you said, Brother Zhisheng, maybe it's because we are more familiar with each other. We only went to fight in the past two years. I'm afraid Nurhachi has long been thinking about competing with me again. It's over." Feng Ziying also smiled happily.
"It doesn't matter. There is a war everywhere. We are born to fight. By the way, Brother Zhisheng, Luancheng, Zhaozhou, Yuanshi, and the White Lotus rebels have all given up on their own initiative. They just took over. They are probably preparing to attack Gaoyi. If we want to fight with us head-on, we only need to go to Gaoyi, and the southern rebels can almost be solved. The remaining three prefectures in the south have to be dealt with. In addition, the three prefectures in Henan north of the Yellow River, Brother Zhisheng will give Liu some advice. Let's cross the river to fight Baichuan, this guy has long wanted to prove that his Jiangbei Town should not be a second-rate military town."
Faced with Feng Ziying's good attitude, Sun Chengzong also admired him very much. Anyone else who could have achieved the great success of putting down the Bailian Rebellion in one fell swoop would have found it difficult to accept that he suddenly had to give up halfway and go to Liaodong to face a dangerous situation at this time, but this The guy seemed nonchalant, even a little eager to try, but with this mentality, he was ashamed of himself.
Perhaps this guy is born with a fighting temperament. As a civil servant, this is even more rare. In the current Zhou Dynasty, he can be called the first civil servant to know the army, and he has no dissatisfaction among his subordinates.
"Don't worry, Ziying has gone to such lengths to fight. I'm just here to pick up peaches from the ground. No one else can do such a good thing. I'm here, and I feel ashamed." Sun Chengzong and Feng Ziying The relationship is actually very good, and the two of them get along well, so their words are not so polite.
"You can't say that. Brother Zhisheng, your achievements in Shanxi have been witnessed by all the imperial court. In the Central Plains of Gyeonggi, there must be a minister to take charge. The White Lotus army is easy to destroy, but the roots of the White Lotus are difficult to eradicate. This is the truth Zhisheng Brother, I must understand that the imperial court has to pull out these roots. This is the most critical thing. Otherwise, once the trouble breaks out and the ashes reappear, what will happen to the Northland?"
Feng Ziying's words also impressed Sun Chengzong, "I have also considered this matter. It requires concerted efforts from many parties. It is necessary to cut the weeds and eradicate the roots. And eradicating the roots is not as simple as simply killing people. It is necessary to remove the soil and provide relief and pensions." , education, and at the same time, we must have a countermeasure against the exploitation of these local wealthy families and the harsh government taxes and miscellaneous taxes. Otherwise, the people will not be able to survive, and they will have to find help and sustenance. Our northern land is not as wealthy as the south of the Yangtze River. If these policies and laws are implemented If there is a slight deviation, it will lead to serious trouble, which is also something I have been thinking about.”
Sun Chengzong’s words reassured Feng Ziying. This kind of thinking was enough to prove that the court had not chosen the wrong person.
"Brother Zhisheng considers it this way, and I feel relieved. After the handover is completed today, I will return to Beijing to make preparations." Feng Ziying also sighed with emotion, "Fighting these battles, in fact, I have not had much fun. This official The bigger you get, the less and less opportunities you have to take command in person, so you can only have fun on the map sandbox..."
Sun Chengzong also laughed, "You, you, you are already a second-rank official, how do you expect to go into battle in person? The court does not allow it. We civil servants are originally commanders, sitting in charge of the central army, strategizing, foresighting, and issuing orders. Only then It is our duty, and the generals charge into battle, this is what they should do, they complement each other."
Feng Ziying also nodded in response, "Brother Zhisheng, the situation in the DPRK may have changed, have you heard about it?"
Sun Chengzong was not ignorant of world affairs. He was from Beizhili and Qi Yongtai were from the same hometown. Although the friendship between teachers and students was not as deep as that between Qi Yongtai and Feng Ziying, it was still very close and he understood the changes in the situation in the DPRK. dawn.
"I heard that both Prime Minister Ye and Prime Minister Fang will temporarily retire. Prime Minister Qi will take over as the first assistant, but the second assistant has not yet been finalized. Mr. Gu Ge and Mr. Li Ge may still have some disputes, but it is estimated that there will be no major changes. As for Tang and Mi, I heard that Miao Changqi succeeded him as the Minister of Rites, hehe, it would be interesting for him to succeed him as the Minister of Rites."
Feng Ziying and Sun Chengzong both looked at each other and smiled.
(End of this chapter)