Chapter 1871 Ren Zijuan visits the door, prepares troops for war

   While the Dachaoyi was discussing how to deal with the current crisis, Feng Ziying went to Sun Chengzong.

  Sun Chengzong just came back from Sichuan.

  Xiong Tingbi succeeded him and Yang He, and set out to unify the leadership of the entire Huguang and Sichuan court troops, which would also be more conducive to dealing with the Denglai Army who were stirring up trouble in Huguang.

  Yang He took a step ahead of him.

  Xiong Tingbi also first took over the position of governor of Yunyang and the commander-in-chief of Jingxiang Town, and integrated the entire Jingxiang Town, and then took over the army in Sichuan as the right servant of the Ministry of War.

  Sun Chengzong also handed over all the work, and then specifically discussed with Xiong Tingbi how to solve Yang Yinglong's Bozhou problem and the problem of Prince Teng Denglaijun who was still tossing in Huguang, and then returned to Beijing.

  According to the original idea, it was to let Sun Chengzong return to the front line to command the army to attack Shandong, but there were also constant disputes within the court at that time. Whether Sun Chengzong was to command the Northwest Army or the Jizhen Army and Shanxi Army on the northern line was still unclear.

But Sun Chengzong came back a bit late, and his father had already launched the Xiazhen Campaign, and captured Xiazhen in one fell swoop. On the contrary, the northern line was defeated, and the Shanxi Army was defeated. With this situation, it seems that Sun Chengzong can only go to the northern line The army is here.

   Because of this, Feng Ziying planned to meet Sun Chengzong.

  Sun Chengzong is from Baoding Prefecture in Beizhili, and he can be regarded as the backbone of the northern scholars. However, it seems that he has a normal relationship with Qi Yongtai, who is also a member of the Northern Zhili scholars, which makes Feng Ziying very puzzled.

  Sun Chengzong had only had time to rest for a day when he returned to Beijing, when Feng Ziying came to visit, and Feng Ziying's visit also surprised Sun Chengzong.

  He and Feng Ziying are not very close, but they have dealt with Feng Ziying a few times when they were in the Ministry of War. He did not expect that Feng Ziying would be the first to visit after he returned to Beijing.

   "Ziying, it's really rare. This is the first time you have come to my house." Sun Chengzong welcomed the other party into the door.

  Although there are also rumors that he may become the Minister of the Ministry of War, then he may become a third-rank official, but this is just a rumor.

I was only a fifth-rank official before, even if I went to Sichuan, I was only promoted to a fourth-rank official. Even if I performed well in Sichuan, and I was promoted to another level, I was only a fourth-rank official. Eryuan, the other party is a real fourth-rank official.

Moreover, the gap between the fourth rank and the third rank is almost an unattainable threshold for the vast majority of officials, especially the third rank. Basically, it is rare to achieve this leap if they are not born as auspicious scholars. In a sense It is said that this is almost the standard of cabinet ministers.

In other words, the cabinet ministers and officials above the third rank are basically from the noble family background, and those who are not from the noble family background are generally not allowed to join the cabinet. That is to say, among the ten officials of the third grade, at most, only two of them are of non-scholar origin.

  Officials who can participate in the Great Court Council, except the Metropolitan Procuratorate, which is more special, and the imperial censor of the capital who is a fourth rank can also participate, the others are all officials above the third rank.

   "Mr. Kaiyang traveled thousands of miles, traveled back and forth in Huguang, Sichuan, and worried about state affairs. Ziying should also visit him." Feng Ziying said cheerfully.

Sun Chengzong, courtesy name Zhisheng, nicknamed Kaiyang, was born in Gaoyang, Baoding, Beizhi. He has been interested in military affairs since he was a child. He used to travel along Datong and Xuanfu when he was teaching local officials, visiting key border passes one by one, and learning about military affairs. Later, after being admitted as a Jinshi, he had more opportunities to study military affairs, and he took the initiative to enter the Ministry of War, and successively worked in the Arsenal Division and the Staff Division, all the way to the present.

   "Okay, Ziying, don't pretend to be in front of me. You have always had the temperament of going to the Three Treasures Hall for everything. I don't have such a deep friendship with you. Tell me, what's the matter?"

Although Sun Chengzong and Feng Ziying didn't have much personal friendship, he still admired Feng Ziying very much. This son has very profound strategic insights in the military. This is something that many people in the court can't match. If he follows his father's footsteps, he will definitely be a hero of his generation.

"Hehe, Lord Kaiyang still understands me, and you don't have to go around in circles when talking to Lord Kaiyang. It's refreshing. Ziying is here because the war on the northern front is unfavorable. I want to ask Lord Kaiyang what he thinks. Is there room for change? "Feng Ziying said seriously: "Although Ziying is a local official, Shuntian Prefecture is located in the capital, and the whole body can be affected by one move. Now Sun Shaozu's army has occupied the southern part of Hejian. If they want to go north, they will approach Shuntian Prefecture. People's hearts are fluctuating, and I am also a little anxious."

Sun Chengzong didn't expect Feng Ziying to ask about this straight to the point, motioned Feng Ziying to take a seat, and waited until the servant brought the tea up and left, then he muttered: "Su Chengdu lost 50,000 soldiers from the Shanxi Army. The northern front is very passive. Your lord Can one or two be spared to aid the Northern Front?"

"I don't know about my father, but Lord Kaiyang should know that he raided Xia Town and cut off the water transportation. Lord Kaiyang should be clear about the purpose." Feng Ziying knew that the old man's strategy of encircling the spot for aid could not be hidden from an army like Sun Chengzong. A little veteran.

"Well, your father wants to fight Niu Jizong in Pei County?" Sun Chengzong stroked his beard and pondered, "It's a good idea, but the defeat on the northern line has greatly reduced your father's idea. Niu Jizong may not be so eager. Going south will be detrimental to the Northwest Army, and there will be few setbacks, and they can also withdraw to Jinxiang and Yutai to stabilize the front line."

"Yes, Lord Kaiyang, that's what I'm worried about. Now that Sun Shaozu and Niu Jizong control the territory twice as large as before, and the area along the canal is originally the most elite and rich area in Shandong, he wants to grit his teeth and force the local government However, if the Northwest Army attacks from south to north along the canal, Niu Jizong can wait for work at leisure and rely on the defense of the cities along the canal to consume. This situation may fall into entanglement. war,…"

  Sun Chengzong stood up and paced back and forth in the middle hall.

  Feng Ziying's worries were also his worries, and the court was also worried that it would fall into this situation.

Although the Northwest Army has cut off the water transportation, the situation is not very good. It is not a good idea to attack along the canal from south to north. The Xuanfu Army relies on the cities along the canal to stick to it, and they can even use offense instead of defense. It is easy to drag into a stalemate Go to war.

If an attack is launched from the Zhending and Guangping lines in the west, the Xuanfu army can rely on the transportation of the canal to mobilize back and forth and concentrate superior forces to fight. As an important link, the Northwest Army also cannot take advantage of it.

  The key is time. If this battle becomes a stalemate and a war of attrition, if you don't pay attention, it may be delayed until the end of the year. The situation in the North may change drastically, and the court cannot bear it.

The imperial court cannot tolerate this kind of situation, so it must change the current unfavorable situation on the battlefield. It can be said that Su Shengdu is the number one sinner in the world. Solve the situation on the northern front, don't force Sun Shaozu and Niu Jizong back to their original territory in Shandong, making it impossible for them to sustain themselves, then they won't go south desperately to retake Xia Town, and Feng Tang's strategy of encirclement and reinforcements will not be realized .

"It's hard for a clever woman to cook without rice, Ziying, I don't think Sun Shaozu may have the strength to go north, but if we want to fight him back, You Shilu's soldiers are far from enough, so I will ask your father if he can go north." Whether to support one or two, but even if your father can support 20,000 to 30,000 troops, it is still not enough. If the local guards are recruited, this is not something that can be trained in three to five months."

After Sun Chengzong went to Sichuan, it was very difficult at the beginning because he did not have the cooperation of Jingxiang Town. He had to recruit all the guards in Sichuan and conduct the training by himself. He didn't perform much against Yang Yinglong's Bozhou Rebellion Army.

When he finally trained the Sichuan soldiers to be ready to be used, the imperial court got impatient and wanted to transfer him back to the capital, and asked Xiong Tingbi to pick up a fallen peach. Xiangzhen accepted it together. In this situation, if Xiong Tingbi couldn't deal with Yang Yinglong and beat Wang Ziteng out of Huguang, he would be really useless.

Fortunately, Sun Chengzong knew a little about Xiong Tingbi. He knew that apart from his bad temper, he also had some military skills. It should be no problem to entrust the Sichuan soldiers and Jingxiang Town to him, so he made a clear explanation with Xiong Tingbi and returned. Beijing.

Who would have thought that on the road, they would first hear the Northwest Army raiding Xia Town and cut off the canal in one fell swoop, just as they were feeling happy, and then they would be poured with cold water the next day, and then they would hear Su Shengdu's Shanxi Army's surprise attack and defeat in Jizhou? Wan Dajun was buried overnight, which also made his original ambition to completely wipe out the Xuanfu Army and Datong Army in Shandong in vain.

   "Mr. Kaiyang, you just said that if you come to take over the mess on the northern line, how many more soldiers will you need?"

  Sun Chengzong glanced at Feng Ziying in surprise, "Ziying, what do you mean?"

   "Mr. Kaiyang, don't care what I mean, you just need to answer my question." Feng Ziying asked word by word.

Although Sun Chengzong is not a pure civil servant, he doesn't like to be too involved in the affairs of the court. He calmed down, thought for a while and said: "Except for You Shilu's Jizhen army of 30,000 people, I need at least 50,000 people. 60,000 people, and these 50,000 to 60,000 people cannot be guard soldiers who have not been trained before they can fight."

  Feng Ziying believes that in Sun Chengzong's words, the first battle of talent is to defeat Sun Shaozu's Datong army. He nodded: "I'll get you 70,000 people, how about it?"

   "Oh?" Sun Chengzong was very surprised, "Ziying, this is not a joke, 70,000 people, where did you find it?"

  Even if Feng Tang can support one, there are only 20,000 to 30,000 people. Where did 70,000 people come from?

  (end of this chapter)