Chapter 6: Confrontation

Zhou Shengchen originally didn't say much, so he meant what he said.

Xie Chong quickly answered yes, and he could arrange to mobilize troops from Chang'an in Xizhou to two places: one went out to Tongguan to meet Zhou Shengchen, then went south from Zhongzhou, passed through Funiu Mountain to Xiangyang, and then went to the other two by land and water. Head south for the Battle of Jiangling.

The other way is from Chang'an directly through Wuguan and along the Han River to Xiangyang.

The soldiers and horses moved, and the food and grass were immediately overwhelmingly pushed by the servants in handcarts or carriages, and then along several rivers near Xiangyang, towards Xiangyang, an important military town in the past dynasties.

Along the way, flags were flying and smoke filled the sky. Zhou Shengchen rode on his horse and rode southward in silence.

Military Xie Chong said with emotion: "Without His Highness's foresight, how could we have fought such a big battle?!"

"There are a lot of commotions on the borders and interior of Beichen. If we only relied on supplies from the imperial court, we wouldn't have the 700,000 troops we could recruit." Zhou Shengchen replied slowly, "They say the northwest is desolate, but actually it can be There are many places for farming."

Zhou Shengchen fought to create a world of his own in Guanzhong. He knew that protecting this land required powerful soldiers and horses. He also knew that a huge number of soldiers and horses would consume a huge amount of food, money and silk.

He actively promoted farming everywhere, and the soldiers were basically self-sufficient in their food rations. As for the silk, silk and hemp used in the shirts, they are collected by the yamen of each county.

Under his careful operation, this royal army of hundreds of thousands could not only maintain strong morale, but also maintain a decent military appearance. It is not like the military generals in other vassal towns who excessively taxed the people.

It will not increase the excessive burden on the people, and it will not cause resentment among the people. As for the able-bodied men of the common people who were recruited into the army, even though it was necessary to protect the country, Zhou Shengchen had to pay them reasonably.

The soldiers' monthly food and clothing were provided by the Nanchen Palace, and any casualties were compensated with money and silk. These are astronomical figures, and Nanchen Palace cannot provide them all.

The financial source was that Zhou Shengchen traded salt, silk and other items from Xiao in the south, and then traded with Rouran in the north and Zhuhu in the west in exchange for furs, livestock, etc.

The amount of trade is huge, and Nan Xiao's attitude towards this matter will also be adjusted depending on the stability of the internal affairs.

For example, if the internal affairs are stable, Nanxiao's trade prices will be stable; otherwise, it will be expensive and trigger a series of reactions here in Zhou Shengchen.

There are also ambiguous border disputes between the two sides. Beichen and Nanxiao generally maintain peace, but local wars will also break out.

The war that is about to start this time is because the prince of Nanxiao feels that his side is suffering from trade losses, and there are also border disputes that need to be dealt with.

Beichen and Nan Xiao discussed this matter several times, but neither party agreed with the other's conditions. As negotiations become intense and even break down, war between the two sides is inevitable.

Nan Xiao seemed to have weak soldiers as a whole, but because of the large number of soldiers he could mobilize and recruit, he was not afraid of the prestigious Zhou Shengchen.

Governor Zhou Shengchen led two armies, marching towards Xiangyang together, and then advanced to the north of the Yangtze River in Jiangling.

He led his troops on their way in a hurry, and the royal family and officials in Zhongzhou City were also busy continuing to fight for power and profit, and carve up various benefits after the new emperor ascended the throne.

The empress dowager and the empress dowager were divided into left and right, and the curtains were hung behind the young emperor Liu Hui, forming the fact that the two palaces listened to the government together.

Because of his role in coordinating the relationship between the new emperor and King Xiaonanchen in this support, Guang Guang was once again in the front row of the imperial court.

After the dynasty dispersed, he was invited by Zhao Teng, the chamberlain who was ordered by the concubine, to go to the side hall to meet the concubine.

Prime Minister Liu Wei, General Liu Yuan and others had already arrived. The concubine Qi Zhenzhen then said: "I know Taifu Taifu's thoughts, so I specially asked your Majesty to write an imperial edict today - let Tai Shiyi remain the crown prince."

Yang Guang secretly cursed these people for being cowardly and refusing to admit their faults, but he had no choice but to rely on his years of officialdom training to continue to strive for the best interests for himself and the Yang family.

He refused indifferently: "When the late emperor proposed marriage to Yang, she should be the crown princess. Now that the prince has ascended the throne as the emperor, then Yang's daughter should be the queen, not the crown prince."

The reason why Qi Zhenzhen and others want to cheat like this is because they want to limit the reputation and real power of the Miao family.

Seeing that Piao Guang was not willing to give in, Princess Qi Zhenzhen winked at Liu Wei and others.

"Teacher Miao was wrong." Liu Wei said coldly, "Since the late emperor decreed that Miao's daughter be the crown princess, then the new emperor should also abide by the former emperor's order and still make Miao's daughter the crown prince. Now His Majesty has just Ascension to the throne is a moment of universal celebration, and I think the Tao family and the royal family should reach an understanding on this."

Obviously, they were playing word games, or simply being rogue. This means that if the royal family no longer recognizes the late emperor's marriage grant, the Tao family will only acquiesce.

Guang Guang immediately felt that he had suffered the loss of being dumb. At this time, he regretted that when he supported the new emperor, it was too late for not speaking as clearly as possible.

After hesitating for a moment, Yang Guang persisted and said: "Your Majesty is only six years old, why is he a prince? This imperial edict is just a piece of waste paper!"

Liu Wei smiled calmly, and then shouted to the door: "Let the prince come in."

In Cao Guang's surprised eyes, a royal boy who was no more than two or three years older than the new emperor Liu Hui was led in by the eunuch.

After bowing to the emperor and the concubine, he stood aside. Liu Wei introduced: "This is Liu Zixing, the third son of King Wu Yan. The concubine ordered him to enter the palace and study with his majesty, and he will be crowned prince when he is crowned."

When Guang Guang looked at the child, he knew very well: The concubine and others deliberately chose this sick prince as the crown prince, and they just waited for the new emperor to have his own child before deposing him. More likely, Liu Zixing, who seems to have fallen with the wind, may not survive the day he is deposed.

The plans of Qi Zhenzhen and others were indeed abominable, but Yang Guang also left himself another hope: the new emperor would have his own child in the future, and that would be the real prince. Perhaps by that time, the daughter of the Ni family could still get the chance to become the queen with this imperial edict.

Furthermore, reality does not allow him to dwell or think too much, because the concubine Qi Zhenzhen and others are clearing out various political opponents one by one from light to serious.

Cao Guang had no choice but to accept the order, and Qi Zhenzhen and others immediately showed their ferocious faces and began to kill the dissenters bloodyly.

The first to bear the brunt was the former emperor's queen, the empress dowager Gao family at this time. The Gao family was originally arrogant, but now it is difficult to maintain any wealth or even their lives.

General Liu Yuan and chamberlain Zhao Teng were ordered by the concubine to massacre the Gao family by plowing the court and sweeping holes.

Qi Zhenzhen was extremely happy to receive the news, and immediately changed her title from concubine to queen mother, and officially began to listen to politics behind the curtain alone - to control the government.

The fights and killings among the nobles in Zhongzhou City were fierce. Thousands of miles away, along the Yangtze River, there was also a tense situation.

Along the north and south banks of the Yangtze River, the troops led by King Xiao Nanchen of Beichen faced off across the river from the army led by Prince Xiao Wen of Nanxiao.

After several water battles between the two sides, Xiao Wen, the prince of Nanxiao, couldn't help but feel shocked and praised at the same time.

Xiao Nanchen Wang Zhou's birthday was famous and well known to the world, so Xiao Wen would naturally pay attention to this opponent who was several years younger than himself.

But despite this, he did not expect that King Xiao Nanchen could handle water and land battles with ease.

With this feeling of respect for Zhou Shengchen in his heart, Xiao Wen then thought about finding opportunities to win through wits.

After thinking about it, he wrote a letter and ordered the envoy to send it to Jiangbei.

Zhou Shengchen received a letter from the messenger in the camp. After opening it and reading it, he couldn't help but smile.

In the letter, Xiao Wen kindly reminded Zhou Shengchen that his side was fine. The soldiers and generals were accustomed to the southern diet and would not suffer from acclimatized diseases.

However, the Beichen troops gathered on the north bank should pay attention to the outbreak of infectious diseases in the already hot weather.

After military advisor Xie Chong took the letter and checked it, he also had a smile on his face, but he didn't know how to reply appropriately.

Zhou Shengchen ordered someone to get pen and paper and wrote a personal letter to Xiao Wen in Nan'an.

In this reply, Zhou Shengchen first thanked Xiao Wen for his concern, and then said that when he arrived in Jiangbei in the spring, he had already received help from the local indigenous barbarians whom he had contacted in advance.

These people not only sent special medicines to treat diseases that were not acclimatized to the soil, but also guided the king's army in choosing a suitable place to camp.

On his own side, Zhou Shengchen would strictly order the soldiers not to eat fresh fish and shrimp to avoid getting sick. He also persuaded Xiao Wen that even though he was a local soldier, he should do the same.

Otherwise, if Xiao Wen gets the same infectious disease as Chen Deng of the Three Kingdoms, it will be a loss for Nan Xiao, and it will be a regret for Zhou Shengchen who has lost a good opponent.

Finally, Zhou Shengchen once again claimed to be Wang Jun from the Jin Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms and Western Jin Dynasties. He would take a big boat and go all the way along the river to Jian to chat and drink tea with Emperor Nanxiao...

After receiving this letter, Xiao Wen was so angry that his internal organs were on fire and his orifices were filled with smoke.

He first scolded his generals for not detecting the movement of the barbarians in time to help Zhou Shengchen in the north, and then said angrily that he "did not burn down the trees along the north bank in advance to cut off the firewood for King Chen's army in the north."

He cursed randomly for a long time, and finally came back to his senses. He couldn't help but laugh first, and then said with shame: "This is Zhou Shengchen's way of provoking generals. I almost fell into the trap. Or maybe he was really reminding me, but it was me. Stingy."

After thinking about it, Xiao Wen calmed down and sent a lot of dried meat and fish to Zhou Shengchen in Bei'an, saying that these were air-dried, could be stored for a long time, and were easy to carry and stew.

After Zhou Shengchen got these gifts, he also ordered people to send some of his own livestock. He said that it was easy to raise them in the north. He asked Xiao Wen not to be polite and to accept them.

The two went back and forth like this several times, and the generals on both sides were dumbfounded, thinking that the two were visiting relatives across the river.

It started raining heavily in the evening that day.

Because of the rain, the two military camps in Jiangnan and Jiangbei could not even light bonfires or candles.

At night in the past, across the several miles wide river, people on both sides could see the stars-like lights in the camp on the other side.

But today, among the hundreds of thousands of people on both sides, there seemed to be no soldiers at all, and they were all plunged into darkness.

A muffled thunder rolled over the head, and the guard came closer and whispered: "In a sneak attack at night like this, the Second Prince actually doesn't have to take the risk himself."

Xiao Wen sneered a few times and said in a low voice: "Most of the enemy troops on the north bank are very strong and have excellent shooting skills. On such a rainy night, their crossbows were soaked and unable to be used. We just happened to go straight into the opponent's camp and started shooting wildly. Kill and plunder!"

Looking up at the night sky, he raised his hand to wipe the rain off his face, and then said: "Maybe we can capture King Xiao Nanchen in one battle."

Having said this, he couldn't help but smile proudly, and then continued: "If he really can, I will persuade him to stay in Nanxiao."

"What if he refuses?" the guard asked.

"Can we still tolerate him? I won't kill him, but I will put him under house arrest." Xiao Wen straightened his body, as if he was facing this fact, "I heard that he is not only excellent in martial arts, but also good at playing piano and chess." The elegance of calligraphy and painting. I dare not compare with him, but there are people in Nanxiao who can chat with him. By then, he may not miss Shu anymore. "

The guard didn't quite understand the second prince's mood, but he also understood a few words.

"Because Mr. Huan is here, the second prince's expectation will be easier to realize." The guard continued.

Hearing the words of "Mr. Huan", Xiao Wen showed a proud look on his face and couldn't help but nodded and said "Yeah".

Mr. Huan Huan Yu was originally a descendant of a famous family living in Jiangbei. The Huan family of his lineage comes from the Longkang Huan family, which is said to be "three generations of imperial masters and five emperor masters".

The Huan clan originally lived in Jiangbei, but suddenly encountered a large-scale rebellion in Beichen. Huan Yu was forced to take his wife and precious collection of books and fled to the desert.

Unexpectedly, there was also chaos there. They fled all the way. Huan's wife died of illness first. When Huan Yu followed him, he was lucky enough to be met by King Xiao Nanchen who was suppressing the rebellion and was rescued.

Huan Yu was saddened by the chaos in the north of the Yangtze River, so Zhou Shengchen generously escorted him across the river to Nanxiao.

Because of his great reputation, Huan Yu was received ceremoniously by Nan Xiao. However, he did not want to become an official, so Huan Yu only founded Longkang Academy to teach in the mountains...

Seeing Xiao Wen lamenting for Huan Yu, the guard quickly changed the topic back to reality: "Second Prince, wait until Zhou Shengchen is captured."

"Bold! Did he call his name randomly like this?!" Xiao Wen shouted in a low voice.

The guard quickly handed over his hands and confessed, and then continued: "Capture King Xiao Nanchen tonight, and take him back to Jiangling City immediately!"

Shaking his head, Xiao Wen replied with a smile: "I will not stop and take him to see my father immediately! I heard that he is very handsome, and my father must also love him."

As he was talking, someone reported back: "The Second Prince is approaching the north bank!"

"After all, we are familiar with the geography here, so we spread out our formation, divided our troops into two groups, and went straight to King Xiao Nanchen's Chinese army tent!"

Xiao Wen frowned and shouted, then pulled out the saber from his waist.

The blade of the knife was immediately covered with raindrops, and he prayed in his heart: Don't be stained with the blood of last week's birthday.

Hundreds of ships of various kinds were approaching the north shore here, and Xiao Wen could already see the shadowy warships on the north shore and the shadows of the military camps near the shore through the night.

"kill!"

He raised the saber in his hand, and the sound of the horns blown by the soldiers was immediately heard in his ears.

Nanxiao's soldiers came well prepared. At this time, each brandishing their swords and guns, they rushed from their own warship into the enemy's ship.

In the dark night, they were like a group of ghosts fighting against themselves. They did not see Zhou Shengchen's troops to resist or fight back at all.

Xiao Wencai followed the soldiers to the shore and already realized something was wrong. When he was about to give the order to "retreat quickly," he heard someone shouting: "I want to capture you and take you back to see Emperor Beichen!"

After this man yelled, many Beichen soldiers shouted together from their hiding places: "Capture Xiao Wen, peace in Jianghuai!"