Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

This time, Chen Jie only brought 50,000 troops with him on his northward journey.

It's not that he didn't want to bring more.

However, Emperor Li Zheng's suspicions did not decrease at this point; on the contrary, they deepened.

If it weren't for Li Lingyue, Chen Jie really wouldn't want to get involved in things in the capital.

However, in terms of combat strength...

Xi Mentang's 50,000-strong army is a formidable fighting force.

Although he said that he needed 200,000 troops to ensure the safety of the capital.

but,

Based on Ximentang's combat strength, if his 50,000 troops disregarded casualties, they would be able to sweep away any enemy forces.

After hearing Zeng Xuanhuai's words, Chen Jie thought for a moment, took a deep breath, and said:
"The fortifications of Dagu Fortress have been reinforced, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Twenty thousand troops are sufficient!"

"Furthermore, our Ximentang First Fleet is ready to be deployed to support Tianjin Port at any time. Anyone who wants to attack the Dagu Fortress is simply courting death."

"Our 20,000 troops stationed here are enough to stop the Japanese attack."

"Therefore, we need to do something more important. We must immediately station troops in Cangzhou to connect Shandong, Hebei, Tianjin, and the capital in a straight line."

"Eastern Zhejiang, Songjiang Prefecture, Southern Jiangsu, Northern Jiangsu, Shandong, Cangzhou in Hebei, and Tianjin Wei—this is a complete defense line."

"Our troops stationed in Cangzhou were eventually withdrawn due to the emperor's suspicion that Shandong might directly send troops to threaten the capital."

"But at present, Cangzhou is the most important link for our Ximen Hall, and we must re-station troops and take control!"

"As long as we connect our defenses into a straight line, we can attack or defend, and we can cope with any crisis."

Everyone present nodded after listening to Chen Jie's analysis.

Given Ximentang's current strength, the most important thing is not to defend the capital, but to stabilize its own base.

Chen Jie only stayed at the General's Mansion in the Dagu Fortress for one night.

Early the next morning, he led an army of 30,000 to Cangzhou, Hebei.

When Ximentang was stationed in Shandong, he originally included Cangzhou in Hebei under his jurisdiction.

but,

After Ximentang captured Songjiang Prefecture, as a condition of the deal, Ximentang withdrew from Cangzhou, Hebei.

The imperial court's concerns were not unfounded, as Cangzhou in Hebei served as a link between Shandong and Tianjin.

If Ximentang continues to garrison Cangzhou in Hebei, it will directly threaten the capital.

Given Emperor Li Zheng's personality, he naturally did not want Ximen Tang to station troops near him; at least a safe distance was required.

otherwise,

If the situation gets out of control, Ximen Tang could sweep through the capital in a single day, leaving the imperial family no chance to react.

Jiang Changshun accompanied him on this trip to Cangzhou, Hebei.

He was originally a key member of the Imperial Guard, and was assigned to the Tianjin Shipyard because of his outstanding performance and high martial arts skills.

As Tang Feng was stationed on the island and became a major general, Meng Hu was also stationed in Suzhou Prefecture, commanding an army of 20,000, and was also promoted to major general.

Jiang Changshun also wanted to improve.

Therefore,
At his request, he rejoined the team and became the captain of the Royal Guard.

His martial arts skills were comparable to those of Tang Feng and Meng Hu, and he fought extremely bravely, earning him Chen Jie's deep trust.

The general currently stationed in Cangzhou, Hebei, is still Fang Zhiyuan.

Before this, Fang Zhiyuan was a general under Hong Yanchuan. Hong Yanchuan suffered a major defeat in a battle against Prince Ning, Li Mu.

With Xu Shichang's coordination, Fang Zhiyuan joined the Sixth Prince's camp.

He is still able to be stationed in Cangzhou, Hebei, thanks to Ximentang.

If Ximentang hadn't wiped out the Western Allied Forces when they attacked Cangzhou last time.

Then,

Fang Zhiyuan is very likely dead.

Therefore, Chen Jie can be considered his benefactor, after learning that Chen Jie had led a large army to Cangzhou, Hebei.

He personally led his men to the main gate of the city to welcome Chen Jie and his party.

Along with Fang Zhiyuan were officials from various levels in Cangzhou.

The situation of the Great Qian Dynasty is now extremely precarious. Not only Fang Zhiyuan knows all this, but all the other local officials are also deeply worried.

Once the heavens of the Great Qian Dynasty collapse.

What will become of these officials?
If Prince Ning, Li Mu, were to seize control of the Great Qian Dynasty, there would be no doubt that he would appoint a large number of officials in the Northwest.

All other places will be completely replaced.

Therefore,
No one wanted the Great Qian Dynasty to collapse.

Although Prince Ning, Li Mu, staged a coup, his 500,000-strong army, in coordination with the Japanese, launched a pincer attack, attempting to seize the capital.

but,

Fang Zhiyuan knew better than anyone else that once Prince Ning, Li Mu, and the Japanese took over the capital and the northern region of the Great Qian Dynasty...

Next,
Their next target must be Ximentang in Shandong.

the reason is simple,
Without taking down Ximentang, Prince Ning Li Mu's throne will not be secure.

Fang Zhiyuan also had nearly 50,000 troops stationed in Cangzhou.

but,

He was powerless to change the situation of the Great Qian Dynasty.

After Hong Yanchuan, the commander of Hebei and Henan, suffered a major defeat, Fang Zhiyuan already knew that the fate of the Daqian Dynasty was sealed.

He watched as the army of the Prince of Ning in the Northwest had already reached Juyong Pass, and he was extremely anxious, so he could only sigh deeply.

In particular, the 300,000 Japanese troops in the Northeast held off Guan Qilin's 500,000-strong army, leaving the Great Qian Dynasty powerless to reverse its fate.

Just at this time.

Chen Jie led an army of 50,000, garrisoning 20,000 troops at the Dagukou Fortress, and then arrived in Cangzhou, Hebei, much to Fang Zhiyuan's delight and relief.

Fang Zhiyuan was able to continue serving as the commander in Cangzhou, Hebei, thanks to the care and assistance he received from Chen Jie.

After leaving Cangzhou, Hebei, Ximentang grew increasingly powerful in Shandong and occupied Songjiang Prefecture, eastern Zhejiang, Nanjing in southern Jiangsu, and northern Jiangsu.

Simultaneously,

Ximentang went to Hanzhong to quell the rebellion, defeating Prince Li Ben of Han and forcing him to flee in disarray. He achieved great military exploits and became the number one army of the Great Qian Dynasty.

At this crucial moment, Chen Jie led his troops to Cangzhou, Hebei, which put Fang Zhiyuan at ease.

Regardless of how the situation in the capital develops.

Once Ximen Tang's army arrives in Cangzhou, Hebei, he can guarantee one thing: Cangzhou will be absolutely safe under Ximen Tang's command.

This time, Chen Jie's garrison at the Dagukou Fortress in Tianjin directly granted him the right to garrison troops in Cangzhou, Hebei.

At that time, Ximentang was only stationed at the Cangzhou Wharf, not in the city of Cangzhou.

but now,

Chen Jie did not only station troops at the Cangzhou wharf, but also seized control of the entire Cangzhou garrison.

The soldiers of the Ministry of War originally stationed in Cangzhou will be incorporated into Ximentang's command.

Although there was no formal document, it was only the emperor's verbal promise.

but,

Chen Jie is now the Governor-General of Shandong and also the son-in-law of the emperor.

During the turbulent times of the Great Qian Dynasty, no one dared to ask Chen Jie to provide any documents or orders.

therefore,

After meeting with Fang Zhiyuan, Chen Jie smoothly took over the entire Cangzhou, Hebei.

Next,
He and Fang Zhiyuan got down to business.

Similar to what Chen Jie said at the meeting at the Dagu Fortress in Tianjin, he made his stance clear.

The meaning is simple: the situation in the capital is now very difficult to reverse.

If this continues, the capital of the Great Qian Dynasty will fall.

Most importantly, Ximentang was only required to station troops in Tianjin and Cangzhou, Hebei, and did not receive any orders to be summoned to Beijing.

Therefore,
Even though Chen Jie was the emperor's son-in-law, he could not lead his troops into the capital without an imperial edict from the court.

Even if he had the intention to serve the emperor, he absolutely could not send troops without the emperor's decree.

This has been the rule since ancient times.

To rashly send troops to the capital without receiving an imperial edict summoning them would be tantamount to rebellion.

Unless the capital falls, Ximen Tang can lead his troops into the capital to defend the emperor without obtaining an imperial edict.

This is a dead end!
therefore,

Ximentang could only make all the necessary preparations in Shandong to deal with the situation that was about to unfold.

On one hand, they were waiting for the emperor's decree to see if he could order Ximen Tang to lead an army of 200,000 into the capital.

Otherwise, they could only wait for the capital to fall. Construction of Nanjing had already begun, and Chen Jie was preparing for the imperial family's relocation.

To put it simply, Chen Jie is in control!

He not only needed to stabilize the situation of the Great Qian Dynasty, but also to win the hearts of the people.

Therefore, Cangzhou in Hebei became the most important core hub, not only closely connected with the Dagukou Fortress in Tianjin, but also connected with Shandong, forming an entire front.

As long as we hold this front, even if the capital falls, it will be easy to take it back.

Chen Jie and Fang Zhiyuan made their stance clear, and Ximentang made full preparations for the situation to come.

Fang Zhiyuan was deeply impressed by Chen Jie's foresight and strategic thinking.

Therefore, he handed over the garrison command and all local affairs in Cangzhou, Hebei to Ximentang, saving him a lot of trouble.

Then,

Fang Zhiyuan did everything he could to cooperate with Ximentang's series of plans.

The two had a very pleasant conversation, and Chen Jie largely shirked his responsibilities regarding many work-related arrangements.

He only needed to make the arrangements; the rest would naturally be handled by Fang Zhiyuan and Zeng Xuanhuai.

With Fang Zhiyuan's support, Chen Jie quickly convened a meeting and began arranging the garrison deployment in Cangzhou Prefecture, Hebei.

In fact, when Chen Jie was in Qingzhou, Shandong, he had already made plans for the upcoming situation before he even sent troops out.

First, we need to establish direct routes between Cangzhou in Hebei, Shandong, and Tianjin.

As long as we hold Cangzhou in Hebei, and use the base of Ximentang in Shandong, we can begin to radiate outwards to other parts of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Another important point is that Cangzhou in Hebei was the base of the Grand Canal Gang.

Therefore,
This location is crucial, serving as a hub for the Nanjing shipping route and the canal.

The docks in Cangzhou need to be expanded to increase the canal's capacity so that more military equipment can be transferred from the docks in Tianjin and transported to Henan and the northwest.

Due to the current lack of efficient land transportation, railways have not yet been built on a large scale.

With the roads in Ximentang not yet repaired, it was extremely difficult to mobilize tanks, armored vehicles, tractors, and other equipment.

Therefore, in terms of transportation, water transport is the mainstream.

The Daqian Dynasty had four passes in Hebei, and Cangzhou was a very important gateway.

Chen Jie's occupation of Cangzhou effectively cut off the economic lifeline of the north.

Therefore,
It is imperative to expand the port construction in Cangzhou and strengthen its defenses.

In this way, various industrial products produced in Shandong can be continuously transported to various parts of Daqian, and logistical support can be quickly provided for the upcoming war.

in addition,

Although Cangzhou Wharf is just a canal wharf, it is necessary to ensure safety on the canal during the journey.

Since Ximentang is located in the canal, it needs to build an inland waterway patrol fleet to protect the canal's transportation from interference.

Although a small shipyard has been built in Cangzhou, Hebei, it is too small to repair large transport ships.

Furthermore, there is a lack of large commercial streets near Cangzhou Wharf.

Chen Jie instructed Fang Zhiyuan to focus on expanding the wharf and shipyard, preparing for the construction of a commercial street, and cooperating with the canal gangs in the coming period.

It was said to be a collaboration with the canal gang, but in reality it was a collaboration with Ximentang.

Secondly,

It involved relocating refugees from Hebei and Henan to the Cangzhou area.

Since Ximentang's army is stationed here, a complete military industrial system needs to be built.

Although the main weapons and core components all need to be supplied by Shandong's arsenal.

However, in the time to come, facing the large army of Prince Ning, Li Mu, it would be impossible to continuously transfer military supplies from Shandong.

Because the Japanese are likely to launch an attack from the sea, Shandong, southern Jiangsu, and northern Jiangsu will have to fight on two fronts in the coming period, making it difficult to support the war against the Northwest Army.

Initially, Chen Jie planned to build the military industrial system in Tianjin.

But after thinking it over, he decided to build it in Cangzhou, Hebei.

As a north-south hub of the Grand Canal, Cangzhou was able to radiate to the entire northern part of the Daqian Dynasty.

If a full-scale war breaks out, Ximentang will need to make preparations for the aftermath.

To put it simply, winning battles is not a difficult task for Ximentang.

but,

Post-war reconstruction is of paramount importance.

When it came to pacifying the Northwest, western Sichuan, and even the Western Regions, Tibet, and the Great Grasslands.

The Ximentang headquarters in Shandong only needs to provide financial support and some cutting-edge weaponry.

Everything else can be supplied from Cangzhou, Hebei.

Therefore,
From now on, we must prepare for the future situation in advance.

Third, we need to recruit soldiers and buy horses.

Currently, Chen Jie has led the Ximentang army, totaling 30,000 troops, to Cangzhou.

These troops should have no problem holding Cangzhou in Hebei.

but,

If they wanted to expand their influence throughout Hebei and Henan and occupy all of Hong Yanchuan's former territory, they wouldn't have enough troops.

With its current force of 300,000, Ximentang can only defend the current area.

Once troops are deployed to the Northwest, the army must be expanded!

Soldiers must be recruited from refugees in Cangzhou, Henan, Hebei, and the Northwest.

Currently, the area occupied by Ximentang is most lacking in personnel.

In particular, the arsenals in Shandong and the industrial chain in Nanjing both require a large population.

If Fang Zhiyuan's 50,000 troops were to be incorporated into Ximen Hall, they would need to be screened and reorganized.

All soldiers and officers need to undergo rigorous training to be combat-ready.

and,

At the beginning, he could only serve as a reserve officer for Ximentang.

Therefore, the expansion of Ximentang's army in Cangzhou, Hebei, is imminent.

Finally, there's the issue of local government administration.

Now that the Cangzhou area of ​​Hebei has been completely brought under the jurisdiction of Ximentang.

Therefore, all government affairs arrangements must be made in accordance with the Ximen Hall system, which is completely different from the official system of the Ministry of Personnel of the Daqian Dynasty.

Ximentang was able to stabilize the current situation and ensure that the occupied areas developed smoothly without any impact.

Zeng Xuanhuai's establishment of the school on Chen Jie's advice was indispensable.

Schools in Shandong provide a continuous stream of management talent to the region every year.

After Chen Jie arranged everything, Fang Zhiyuan, fearing he might forget, took out a pen and ink and wrote it down one by one.

Three days later,

Yang Xihe, the leader of the Caobang gang, led a large number of men and transported supplies from Nanjing.

The amount of supplies transported from Jinling this time was enormous, with the young gang leader Yang Yankang personally leading the fleet, which consisted of twenty large steam-powered transport ships.

Each transport ship has a carrying capacity of over two thousand tons.

Chen Jie was very pleased to see the canal gang's fleet arrive at the canal dock.

The port at Cangzhou Wharf in Hebei Province has not yet been expanded and its area is not large.

but,

It's no problem to accommodate dozens of transport ships.

therefore,

Chen Jie led Fang Zhiyuan and other key members of Ximentang to the dock to welcome them.

Fang Zhiyuan was greatly surprised to see the fleet coming from Nanjing.

He has been dealing with the canal gangs for many years and has seen all kinds of their transport ships.

In just over a year, the canal gangs have developed too fast; unexpectedly, they have now switched to large steam-powered transport ships.

With the transport capacity of the Grand Canal Gang, no other force in the entire Great Qian Dynasty could rival it.

Chen Jie chatted with Yang Xihe, the leader of the Cao Gang, and Yang Yankang, the young leader, for a while, and then arranged the next steps for Ximen Hall.

The expansion of the docks and the expansion of Ximentang's army are the most urgent matters at present.

Financially speaking, we are not short of money at the moment.

only,
Due to the war, it is now very difficult to transport supplies to the Northwest, southern Sichuan, Hanzhong, and Guangdong and Guangxi regions.

suddenly,
A guard walked in from outside, leaned close to Chen Jie's ear, and whispered something.

After hearing this, Chen Jie's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in surprise:

"What did you say? The Emperor has passed away! So soon—!?" (End of Chapter)