Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 429 Dirty

Actually, it's not necessarily a bad thing that all these monsters and demons have come out.

With Liu Daogui in Jiangzuo, Jiangzuo was not in chaos.

However, it will be no easy task for them to capture the two important cities of Hefei and Shouchun.

The world is no longer ruled by the Sima family. Each prefecture has set up a military command, with the largest having 5,000 soldiers and the smallest having 2,000.

In important cities like Hefei and Shouchun, thousands of elite Tiger Guard troops were stationed.

With Liu Daogui wiping out all the powerful and influential families of Jiangzuo, Liu Yi's rebellion lost its foundation.

"Let them fight their battles, we'll fight ours. Tan Shao and Tan Zhi, listen to my command: cross the river immediately, attack Liyang, and then march your troops to Wuchang!"

"We obey!" The two generals were overjoyed and immediately bowed and left.

Liu Yiwu said, "I am willing to lead an army to attack Sima Guofan, Huan Shisui, Chen Xi and others."

"Why bother attacking them? They're just a band of outlaws. Deal with Liu Yi first, take Wuchang, and Liu Yi and Liu Fan will be nothing but stray dogs." Liu Daogui had limited troops and could only concentrate them on one route.

With generals like Liu Guangzhi, Liu Xuanzhi, and Dao Yanzhi to the north, Sima Guofan and Huan Shisui couldn't cause any trouble.

Despite the apparent uproar in Jiangbei, there weren't many people truly willing to take the risks with Liu Yi.

The relocation of the capital was only halfway completed; many collateral branches and servants of aristocratic families had not yet moved north, and these people posed a greater threat.

Liu Yi and Liu Fan made a big fuss, but after entering Nanyang County, they couldn't even break through Fancheng. They then attacked Wancheng, but were blocked by Zhao Lunzhi.

Zhao Lunzhi was not ranked among the generals of the Northern Army, but he defended Wancheng as if it were an impregnable fortress.

In just five days, the brothers Tan Shao and Tan Zhi had captured Liyang, driven thousands of surrendered soldiers, and advanced westward, successively conquering Xiang'an, Linhu, Zongyang, and Leichi. Their forces actually grew larger with each battle.

Many cities surrendered as soon as they saw the two large banners bearing the names of "Jin" and "Liu".

Those who refused to surrender would kill Liu Yi's generals and rise up in response to the imperial army.

In less than a month, Tan Shao and Tan Zhi advanced to Wuchang County, and their troops expanded to 14,000 men.

Liu Daogui understood the power of upholding righteousness and legitimacy.

If any of these cities were held firmly, the Tan brothers' five thousand troops would never be able to cross them.

For more than eighty years after the southward migration of the elite, the Jin dynasty was in a state of turmoil, with major wars breaking out almost every few years. After the Battle of Fei River, there was Wang Gong's uprising at Jingkou, the rebellion of rebels, Huan Xuan's usurpation of the Jin throne, and the uprisings of Liu Daogui and Liu Yu...

The people of Jiangzuo had long been disgusted by all kinds of civil wars.

Liu Daogui's successful northern expedition won him the hearts of the people.

However, Wuchang had been under Liu Yi's control for many years, and the Tan brothers were unable to capture it after a long siege, suffering more than 4,000 casualties and were no longer able to fight.

On the western battlefield, Tan Pingzhi had already entangled himself with them.

As expected of someone who followed Liu Yu, he only used 10,000 soldiers from various counties in Nanyong Province and 3,000 naval troops. Relying on the river network and terrain, he tied down Liu Yi's tens of thousands of troops, leaving them unable to advance or retreat.

In fact, if the battle were to take place on a plain, Tan Pingzhi's small force would be wiped out by Liu Yi as soon as they went up.

However, Liu Yi was a powerful figure crossing the river, while Tan Ping had been guarding Nanyongzhou for many years and was familiar with the terrain and waterways, making him a local strongman.

"Tan Pingzhi has the talent of a great general." Liu Daogui was completely relieved.

If this continues, Liu Yi will eventually be played to death by Tan Pingzhi.

Feng Kai said, "I think it's time to wrap things up. The longer we stay here, the more things might go wrong."

Liu Daogui agreed with his words, saying that the military abilities of the Liu brothers, Liu Yi and Liu Fan, were mediocre and they could not even handle Tan Pingzhi. "Order Wang Zhen'e to take charge of military affairs in the four prefectures of Jing, Yong, Xiang and Jiang, and send troops to attack Wuchang. Wang Zhongde, the governor of Luoyang, is to rush to the aid of Wancheng."

At this moment, a scout reported: "Reporting to the General, Sima Guofan, Huan Shisui, and Chen Xi, seeing that our army has not moved, have abandoned their attack on Hefei and led their troops westward into Yiyang County. Sima Guofan claims to have an imperial edict and is inciting the local people, increasing his forces to 40,000!"

Meng Gan said: "Sima Guofan is good at bewitching people's hearts. He has been recruiting refugees in the Dabie Mountains for many years. Huan Shisui, Chen Xi and others are willing to work for him. Wang Huilong and Huan Wen's grandson Huan Daodu, Huan Daozi, Han Yanzhi, Diao Yong and others went to attach themselves to him, and their power gradually increased."

“Wang Huilong and Diao Yong?” Liu Daogui frowned. Wang Huilong was a remnant of the Wang family of Taiyuan, and Diao Yong was Diao Kui’s nephew.

This bunch of monsters and demons finally got together.

It's perfectly normal for members of such large families as the Wang and Diao families to slip through the net.

Liu Daogui is not worried about them attacking important cities like Hefei and Shouchun. The most troublesome thing is that they imitate the evil bandits and roam around everywhere.

If the Jin dynasty had not been first destroyed by treacherous villains, Huan Xuan would not have been able to exploit the situation.

Sima Guofan's actions will affect the Central Plains, the Jianghuai region, and the Jingchu region.

"Promote Xu Kui to General Who Conquers the Barbarians, and lead the troops of Liu Qianzhi, Wang Yunzhi, and Shen Yuanzi to attack Yiyang. Do not seek merit, but simply hold them off until the battles of Nanyang and Wuchang are over, and then gather troops from all directions to besiege them."

Liu Huaisu resigned, leaving the position of General Who Conquers the Barbarians vacant. Liu Daogui then promoted Xu Kui, Liu Yu's son-in-law.

The Xu family of Pengcheng are also family.

Xu Kui was the son of Xu Qinzhi, the Secretary of the Imperial Library, and the nephew of Xu Xianzhi, the Attendant Gentleman of the Palace. He was skilled in both literature and martial arts.

As the chess pieces were placed one by one, the rope around Liu Yi's neck tightened more and more.

Less than ten days later, news of victory came from Wuchang. Wang Zhen'e's 30,000 troops captured Wuchang as soon as they arrived. As always, he was ruthless. The entire clans of Liu Yi, Liu Fan, Zhuge Changmin, and Lu Zongzhi were exterminated.

However, reports of impeaching Wang Zhen'e were sent back in droves.

After capturing Wuchang, Wang Zhen'e allowed his soldiers to loot the entire city. Liu Yi embezzled all his gold, silver, and money, even scraping off the gilding from the pillars of Liu's mansion. He also took all of Liu Yi's female relatives for himself...

Yin Zhongwen sighed, "How could Wang Zhen'e have come to this after all these years?"

Liu Daogui glanced at him sideways and said, "This is a self-defamation scheme. Wang Zhen'e was just a military advisor in the Western Prefecture. In just a few years, he was promoted to the position of commander of four towns. He must have been envied by others, so he used this method to defame himself."

I realized I hadn't considered everything thoroughly.

These days, getting promoted too quickly is not a good thing. Wang Zhen'e was neither a member of the Yuan Dynasty nor from the Northern Army, so he was bound to be envied.

Yin Zhongwen said, "In that case, we should try to downplay the incident to avoid affecting morale."

"No, this time we must make a big deal out of a small matter. Issue an order that Wang Zhen'e, who condoned his soldiers' looting and harming of the people, be removed from his post as Governor of Jingzhou and demoted to Military Advisor. His military merits and rank will be reduced by four levels. However, in consideration of his merits in capturing Wuchang, he will temporarily serve as the Commander-in-Chief of the Four Garrisons."

Wang Zhen'e deliberately presented Liu Daogui with a weakness, and Liu Daogui, understanding the underlying meaning, took the opportunity to bring Wang Zhen'e to his side.

After eliminating Liu Yi and Sima Guofan, there was basically no war in the south. The main forces to deal with were Liu Bobo and Tuoba Si. Keeping him in Jingzhou was a waste of his talents.

Yin Zhongwen's eyes widened. "This... what if it incites a mutiny..."

"His men are former troops from the Western Prefecture, and most of their families have moved to the Xuchang area. Who would dare to rebel?"

Without Liu Daogui's promotion, Wang Zhen'e would not be where he is today; the kindness of Liu Daogui is greater than heaven.

Even if we take a step back and assume the worst, rebelling at this time would be no different from courting death.

In this rebellion, Liu Daogui did not exert his full strength at all. The Tan brothers took the lead, along with second-line generals such as Zhao Lunzhi, Xu Kuizhi, and Liu Qianzhi.

Wang Zhen'e was an extremely intelligent man. He knew what Liu Daogui wanted and had also prepared a way out for himself by devising a plan to tarnish his own reputation. He handled the situation perfectly.

Liu Daogui punished Wang Zhen'e, but did not confiscate the soldiers' loot, which can be considered a tacit understanding.

Once the military order was sent, a letter of apology immediately arrived from Wuchang. Wang Zhen'e had no objection to the punishment, and the soldiers also confessed their crimes, promising to commit suicide if they committed another offense.

Liu Daogui naturally didn't take such a promise seriously.

As long as there's no massacre of the city, turning a blind eye is fine.

It's only natural that Wuchang County paid a price for resisting Tan Shao and Tan Zhi for so long.

(End of this chapter)