Chapter 13: Enterprising

The king's army was organized into several square formations. Zhou Shengchen accepted the enemy's surrender and organized them all into separate formations, and Zhang Xiaoheng rectified them.

Lu Wanshan thanked Zhou Shengchen again: "If His Highness had not been brave and wise, we would have suffered more casualties!"

After Zhou Shengchen encouraged him, he ordered: "You stay here to guard and clean up the surrounding area quickly."

Lu Wanshan led the order and stood aside. Zhang Xiaoheng hesitated, saluted and said: "His Royal Highness led a heavy army to sweep away the enemy invaders, but the camp on the north bank is empty because of this. Spring is about to begin, and the river is about to open up and rise. Should we return to the camp?"

Zhou Shengchen was satisfied with this wise general. But what he said did not hit his mark after all.

After a moment's thought, Zhou Shengchen said, "Let's stay here for a few days. First, we will help settle the three newly conquered counties, and second, we will see the reaction from Shouyang."

The area around Shouyang and Zhongli is an important place to guard the gate of Beichennan. It is also the place where Nanxiao must pass if he wants to cross the river and go north.

Obtaining this area will pose a threat to the Shandong lands in Beichen. Nanxiao has been coveting this area for a long time, but cannot get it because the generals guarding these two areas are very careful and there are many soldiers and generals.

The guards at these two places also knew the importance of their geographical location, so they adopted the mentality of sitting on the fence and watching.

They either overtly or covertly violated the will of the Northern Chen court, or simply made excuses to delay and ignore it.

Xiao Xu of Nanxiao saw the clues and gave money and silk many times to win over him. I hope that through continuous corruption, they can finally join Nan Xiao.

Zhou Shengchen came here this time, thinking that he could take advantage of the situation to solve this problem and expand his power in the Yangtze River area. When he competes for world hegemony in the future, he will have an important base.

But the guards at those two places did not openly rebel, so he could not directly lead his troops eastward.

But this does not mean that Zhou Shengchen has nothing to do about it.

After the situation in these three counties was stabilized, he immediately ordered people to send letters to the guards of Shouyang and Zhongli, asking why they did not send troops to help when he cleared these three counties.

After the letter was sent, the guard there immediately felt nervous because of his guilty conscience.

The three neighboring counties had already established their own names and were no longer under the control of the Northern Chen court. Ordinarily, the approaching generals such as Shouyang and Zhongli should send out troops to conquer. But they finally adopted a wait-and-see attitude, hoping to profit from the chaos.

Zhou Shengchen led the army south, and the soldiers here felt that they were far away from him. Therefore, although they were wary, they still didn't care much.

But Zhou Shengchen surprisingly reached a temporary peace with Nan Xiao, and then suddenly regained those three counties, causing the guards in Shouyang, Zhongli and other places to panic.

Now that King Xiao Nanchen's letter of reproach has arrived, the generals should come to explain and apologize in person. But how dare they come?

After thinking about it again and again, the guard generals of the two places wrote respectful replies, saying that they did not dare to leave the guard place because they had few soldiers, and asked King Xiao Nanchen not to blame him.

After receiving the reply, Zhou Shengchen immediately wrote another letter and asked them to go to Huaiyang County to discuss matters in an orderly tone.

The guards of the two places got this letter and knew that they had angered King Xiao Nanchen. If he really went forward, wouldn't he be captured without any help?

Simply, they raised the flag of rebellion and openly declared that they would dominate one side and no longer accept the orders of the Northern Chen court.

Forcing the other party to rebel directly, Zhou Shengchen would have a reason to send troops. While sending an official ultimatum to the court, he marched eastward on the grounds that the military plane could not be delayed.

The royal army, which covered the sky and covered the ground, rolled towards Shouyang along the various post roads. Such news immediately shocked the rebels in Shouyang and Zhongli, as well as Nanxiao across the Yangtze River.

The rebels in Shouyang and Zhongli immediately strengthened their guards and sent people across the Yangtze River to ask for Nan Xiao's support.

Nan Xiao received this information, and although the ministers felt that King Xiao Nanchen sent troops quickly and won smoothly, they did not pay attention to it.

After all, that was an internal matter within Beichen, while Nanxiao had always adhered to the principle of peacefully handling internal and external affairs, and only hoped to live a peaceful and prosperous life with the Yangtze River as a barrier.

But the Southern Xiao Emperor Xiao Xu, who was originally devoted to peace, had a different attitude towards this matter.

The reason is that he himself believes that the geographical location of Shouyang and Zhongli is very important. Since these two places have rebelled against Beichen, it is equivalent to another barrier for Nanxiao. Moreover, this newly added barrier does not require the consumption of troops.

In addition, the second prince Xiao Wen, who was on the front line of Jiangling, finally lost his patience again and said that even if he could not send heavy troops across the river to assist Shouyang and Zhongli, he should still provide some soldiers, horses, food and grass to defend this new barrier. .

The opinions of father and son coincided without discussion, which made Emperor Xiao Xu very happy.

He put the matter in the court and held a public debate, and the responses he received were naturally divided.

Some ministers said that troops should be sent, and even used this to occupy and defend the area north of the Yangtze River, so that Nanxiao's old wish to dominate the world could be launched and realized;

Some ministers still suggested conservatively, saying that they should keep a low profile and not anger Beichen for the time being, especially King Xiao Nanchen, who was now at the height of his military power.

…

After several days of discussion, Emperor Xiao Xu of Southern Xiao could not make a decision because all opinions were supported by strong reasons.

In the evening, he returned to the harem and sat alone, still thinking about this important issue with a frown.

"Your Majesty, the second prince has quietly returned from the front line to ask for an audience!" The chamberlain came over and announced in a low voice.

Xiao Xu was immediately surprised and quickly ordered Xiao Wen to wait in the side hall.

When the father and son met, Xiao Xu immediately dismissed all the maids and chamberlains, and only spent time with him alone.

"Wen'er, you took the risk to attack the North Bank camp, but luckily you were released by King Xiao Nanchen. This incident made me restless for days and nights!" Xiao Xu said with a reproachful tone.

Xiao Wen bowed and replied: "My son and I are unfilial and have made my father worried."

Xiao Xu ordered him to sit across from him, looked at him carefully and said, "It's good to have nothing to do. Don't do such a thing again in the future."

Xiao Wen answered the courtesy again and replied: "I will obey my father's order."

After calming down for a while, Xiao Xu continued to ask: "I heard you say that you have been feeling uneasy recently and sent all the concubines back to Jiankang. Why is this necessary? Even if the military affairs are busy, you always need someone to accompany you. "

"My recent interest in Buddhism may be related to the battle with King Xiao Nanchen. In addition to practicing Buddhism, I feel that the surroundings are quiet, and I can better think about strategies to deal with the enemy." Xiao Wen replied.

Nodding, Xiao Xu said again: "I heard that you are practicing hard, but it is really not necessary."

After Xiao Wen saluted again, he only said that it was to cooperate with his practice, and then mentioned the matter in Jiangbei.

"In my opinion, we should send troops to deliver food to Shouyang and Zhongli." Xiao Wen said firmly.

"Will this have the consequences of setting yourself on fire?" Xiao Xu asked hesitantly after pondering.

"Although King Xiao Nanchen is brave, we have the natural danger of the Yangtze River. The war is always in the north of the Yangtze River, and he will never be able to do anything to us!" Xiao Wen said firmly.

Xiao Xu couldn't help stroking his beard and nodding, and said in agreement: "When there are different opinions, it is the most rare thing that we, father and son, can reach a consensus."

After that, the two of them looked at the topographic maps of Jiangnan and Jiangbei under the bright lights in the palace.

After discussing for a long time, Xiao Xu always felt that the large number of soldiers led by King Xiao Nanchen this time seemed to be a drop in the bucket.

Xiao Wen was silent for a long time, and then suddenly said: "The areas under the jurisdiction of Shouyang and Zhongli are also vast. If the guards of those two places are divided into harassing troops, and we continue to harass everywhere along the river, King Xiao Nanchen will definitely not be able to settle down and retreat!" "

Xiao Xuwei finally found a suitable way and slapped his thigh: "That's good!"

Seeing that he agreed, Xiao Wen immediately bowed and asked, "My son was defeated in Jiangling. I must personally lead an elite army northward to regain my last face!"

Xiao Xu couldn't help but hesitate after hearing this. Looking at his beloved prince, he couldn't just make up his mind.

"Well, you go back and rest first. I will make a decision after discussing with the ministers tomorrow." He ended the meeting first.

Xiao Wen exited the side hall and returned to his mansion under the guidance of the chamberlain.

The princes of the Xiao family all lived close to the palace, not only because they were favored by the emperor, but also because they were monitored and controlled at all times.

Xiao Wen walked to his mansion, but did not allow the concubines to enter. Unable to bear it, he went to visit some children.

The children were all asleep. He endured the sadness in his heart and looked at them one by one, then went back to a separate room and never came out again.

Xiao Xu discussed it again with the ministers the next day, and confirmed that the grain delivery would be carried out in the form of cross-river trade. Many civilian husbands stayed in Shouyang and Zhongli areas and became local soldiers.

As for Xiao Wen's opinion of personally leading elite troops to the north, Xiao Xu and other monarchs and ministers felt that it would immediately offend Beichen publicly and put Xiao Wen at great risk, so they ultimately could not agree with it.

Thousands of "civilians" quickly traveled north to Shouyang and Zhongli by trading grain and rowing boats of various sizes.

When Xiao Wen learned that his wish could not be realized, he felt very regretful: maybe Xiao Xu really cared about him, or maybe he also wanted to take precautions?

In any case, Xiao Wen is still valued by Xiao Xu. This is due to Xiao Xu's lenient attitude towards others as the current emperor.

Xiao Wen said goodbye to Xiao Xu with a disappointed mood and returned to the camp in Jiangling.

The atmosphere in Shouyang and Zhongli areas in the north of the Yangtze River was extremely tense due to the intensive preparations by the defensive side and the march of the army from the east led by Governor Zhou Shengchen.

Although the 200,000-strong army was large, Zhou Shengchen could not divide the troops arbitrarily to avoid being overwhelmed by the local area.

He stationed his army around Shouyang and prepared to attack at any time, which made the defenders of Shouyang and its nearby cities suddenly startled and restless.

Subsequently, Zhou Shengchen sent Zhang Xiaoheng and 50,000 troops to bypass Shouyang and attack Zhongli.

The battle began immediately, and the sky near Shouyang was filled with strong warning fireworks and the shouts of killing soldiers from both sides.

Because the enemy had already intended to rebel and was well prepared. Coupled with the reinforcements of soldiers and supplies from Nan Xiao, the momentum is also very strong.

Zhou Shengchen just ordered the generals to attack separately or to attack together. Although he won some victories, he still felt regretful that he did not see Xiao Wen.

Because of previous secret discussions, Zhou Shengchen was convinced that Xiao Wen could not bear the fact that his parents were killed by Xiao Xu and would look for opportunities to rebel.

But after all, he didn't know that Xiao Wen had indeed made efforts at this time, but he had not received Xiao Xu's approval. Therefore, Xiao Wen did not appear in the battle in Jiangbei.

If he appeared here, Zhou Shengchen would immediately have the best general to guard Shouyang!

This general is Xiao Wen. He will not be pulled away by either Beichen or Nanxiao, and will only stand loyally with Zhou Shengchen.

Will there be a decisive battle with Zhou Shengchen in the future? Will not.

Because Zhou Shengchen also wants to dominate the world, he will use other methods to impress Xiao Wen and make him fall in love with him.

At this time, the weather was getting hotter, and several rivers were dug by the enemy defenders, resulting in mud everywhere, making it inconvenient for cavalry and infantry to carry out large-scale operations.

At this moment, Zhou Shengchen suddenly received a secret letter from military advisor Xie Chong. After opening it and reading it, he saw that Xiao Wen was once again trying to attack Beichen Camp in Jiangbei, hoping that he could return as soon as possible to avoid any accidents at the headquarters.

After putting away the letter, Zhou Shengchen thought for a moment and couldn't help but smile: This was Xiao Wen using a special form to remind himself not to fight for a long time in the mud in the hot summer.

After all, many of his troops were from the north. Zhou Shengchen accepted the hint and immediately ordered Zhang Xiaoheng to stay and harass him.

After being informed of the secret plan, he led the army back to the base camp on the other side of Jiangling.

Heading westward, while passing through Huaiyang County, Ruyin County, and Yiyang County, Zhou Shengchen expressed condolences to the local guards in the three places and asked them to cooperate with Zhang Xiaoheng's troops on the front line.

This can not only divide the enemy's attention, but also preserve the fruits of victory for one's side.

The news that Zhou Shengchen led the army to return made Shouyang, Zhongli, and even Nanxiao Xiaoxu of Jiangnan and other monarchs and ministers breathe a sigh of relief.

At the same time, they thought they were turning a corner. Therefore, the defenders near Shouyang and Zhongli united to prepare to defeat Zhang Xiaoheng in one fell swoop, and then pursue most of Zhou Shengchen's troops, or conquer Huaiyang County and other places.

They gathered tens of thousands of soldiers and suddenly attacked Zhang Xiaoheng's camp. Sure enough, as they expected, Zhang Xiaoheng, perhaps due to fatigue from the protracted battle, was immediately hit by such a sudden blow and retreated continuously.

Seeing that our side had a plan, the enemy soldiers quickly continued the pursuit.

That evening, they surrounded most of Zhang Xiaoheng's troops on a high ground, feeling that a complete victory was in sight.

The rebels surrounded Zhang Xiaoheng's troops and shouted: "You really don't know how to fight! If King Xiao Nanchen knew that General Zhang was trapped in the dry highlands, he would immediately behead the general, just like Prime Minister Zhuge of the Three Kingdoms beheaded Ma Su!"

The surrounding enemy soldiers were shouting wildly, but Zhang Xiaoheng just led the troops to hold on.

Those who are surrounded cannot break out, and those who want to rush in cannot either. Neither side could go any further, and they were locked in a stalemate.

After all, the rebels on the periphery were more comfortable, so they could just trap Zhang Xiaoheng's soldiers for a few more days before annihilating them in one fell swoop.

That evening, there were dark clouds and thunder, but no rain.

The rebels were extremely happy to see this, thinking that they could get some shade. However, the besieged generals such as Zhang Xiaoheng still had no water supply.

But they didn't know that the reason why Zhang Xiaoheng was able to retreat to this mountain range was because he had conducted terrain surveys in advance, dug soil and dug wells, and obtained water sources.

At this time, Zhang Xiaoheng was drinking water that had been boiled and then allowed to cool, while looking up at the hazy sky with a smile: "Thunder is loud, but rain may not fall."