Chapter 1263: Personally conquer Xiangyang

Jiang Jin was injured accidentally, forcing Zhao Bing to leave Xuzhou temporarily and evaluate the situation again. Xiangyang is one of the important goals in this Northern Expedition. Only by occupying Xiangyang can the safety of Jingxiang be protected, avoiding the recurrence of the tragedy of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty's capture of Jiangnan, and ensuring the safety of the Sichuan and Shu area. Jiang Jin was injured, which left the Western Group without a leader, and there were problems in command.

"Your Majesty, Jiang Jie is not in charge of the director. Can you choose one of the chief generals of the tribes participating in the war as the temporary commander and assist him in commanding the battle?" Wang Yinglin, who came after hearing the news, suggested.

"The several chief officials participating in the Battle of Xiangyang are indeed able to stand alone, but they are not enough to shoulder the burden of the head coach and lack the ability to control the entire battle situation." Zhao Bing knew his family's affairs, so he shook his head and said.

The army can be said to have always been under his control. The Xiaxi Group is now composed of the 6783rd Army, and has strengthened the Second Artillery Division, the First Cavalry Division and the Local Prefecture Army. However, the commanders of the three armies Pan Nianwu Longqi and Zhang Ba were both from the township leaders of the King Yashan. After arriving in Qiongzhou, they were incorporated into the imperial guards in front of the palace under the command of Jiang Jin. The three of them had more courage in combat, but they lacked the foundation, which means that there was no problem in leading troops to fight, but they lacked the ability and vision to coordinate the overall situation, and they were unable to take charge of one aspect of their command.

"Your Majesty, can you order Han Zhen, the deputy Privy Councilor who stayed in the capital, to take over his command?" Wang Yinglin suggested again.

"Governor Wang, the troops in the capital are now empty, and someone needs to be in charge of the rear to coordinate the various departments. Do you think they can leave?" Zhao Bing asked with a wry smile.

"What Your Majesty said is that the capital cannot be guarded by a general, so you can only send generals nearby." Wang Yinglin thought about it, not to mention that the journey from Lin'an to Xiangyang was long and the rear was empty, so it was really unreasonable to let him take office alone, so he turned to Ni Liang and said.

"Thank you, Wang Xiang, I'm embarrassed to bear the heavy responsibility!" Seeing that he was aiming at him, Ni Liang knew that he was recommending him to go, so he waved his hand immediately.

"The young hero of the commander Ni Du is now commanding tens of thousands of imperial guards. He has been taught by His Majesty for many years, has a strategy and is able to take this position with his command of the army." Wang Yinglin said with a smile.

"Ni Liang has a low qualifications and is not enough to convince the public, and it is difficult to dispatch the army!" Zhao Bing said. He understood that not only civil officials in the court could form cliques, but also had factions in the army. From a broad perspective, they were divided into two factions, one was the guards and imperial guards based on the commander's army, and the other was the imperial guards in front of the palace integrated by the various armies of the court. Although they were later collectively called the imperial guards and separated from them, they did not fully integrate them. At least psychologically, the two sides would still separate each other.

Ni Liang was originally considered by the generals to be able to "success in the youth" and become his confidant and in charge of the guards in front of the imperial guards. At that time, he was indeed a confused boy, and it was not surprising that everyone complained about him. However, since Ni Liang was born in the General's Office, Zhao Mengjin's old generals were of course defending him in every way. He was honest and gradually showed his head and feet in the battle. It was naturally no problem for the former generals of the General's Office to accept his command.

But it would be reluctant to let Ni Liang go to command the army in front of the palace. Not only did he not serve as a Privy officer, he had insufficient prestige and had too shallow qualifications. Even if he sold his face, those generals would not talk about it, but they would not have few small actions in private. War is not a joke, and Zhao Bing did not want to affect the overall situation because of these bullshit things.

"That's all, it's only a matter of trouble for Zhao Zhishuai!" Wang Yinglin sighed softly.

"Although the war between Huaibei and Huaidong is coming to an end, once a peace agreement occurs, the war will begin again, and he is still needed to preside over the military affairs." Zhao Bing shook his head again and said.

"Is Your Majesty going to personally conquer Xiangyang? This must not be done!" Wang Yinglin could no longer hear the emperor's intention, so he was not only dereliction of duty, but also stupid. He quickly dissuaded.

"Rescue is like putting out a fire. If you cannot go to Xiangyang quickly at present, it will affect the future peace talks with the Mongol Yuan. It is almost impossible to get it back from them. In the negotiations, let our dynasty be passive and threaten it. It is better to completely solve the problem before you can avoid future troubles!" Zhao Bing said unquestionably.

"Your Majesty, the Empress is about to give birth, and there are still many things in the court that need your Majesty to return to the court to make a decision. How can you go to Xiangyang in person after having a child!" Wang Yinglin still persuaded unwillingly.

"I appreciate the kindness of the Wang Xiang, but how can I depose the public for personal gain? Lu Xiang and others will assist in the affairs in the court, and the Empress Dowager will also be in charge of the affairs in the inner palace. I have nothing to worry about." Zhao Bing sighed lightly. He couldn't help but feel melancholy. Even in modern society, women are like walking in the gates of hell, not to mention that medical conditions are even more backward. In addition, it is a pity that they cannot watch the birth of their own children.

"Your Majesty" Wang Yinglin once again saluted and prophesy.

"I have decided, so there is no need to say more!" Zhao Bing interrupted him in a deep voice, and said, "Shi Kai, you are ready to set off immediately and make a plan."

"Yes, my subordinates obey the order!" Duke Zhuang immediately bowed and took the order and immediately went down to convene the heads of various departments to discuss matters.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say!" Ni Liang interrupted with a gloomy face.

"Say!" Zhao Bing said with a gloomy face without even raising his eyelids.

"Does I want to go with Your Majesty? I must go with Your Majesty!" Ni Liang said with a drooping face.

"Yes." Zhao Bing snorted softly.

"Your Majesty, the journey to Xiangyang is long this time, and you may have to pass through the war zone. I am really worried. Your Majesty agrees!" Ni Liang was still trying his best to find a reason, and he was slowing down for a while before he reacted and said in surprise.

"I agree, don't make noise again!" Zhao Bing then looked up at him and said with a smile.

"Haha, I'll go see Shi Kai and the others!" Ni Liang said with a silly smile, and then poured tea for His Majesty and Wang Yinglin before retreating.

"Tong Ni is really loyal to Your Majesty!" Wang Yinglin smiled as he looked at his left back.

"He is too simple and I don't feel at ease that he stays here alone so as not to cause trouble for everyone!" Zhao Bing said with a wry smile, "Secret Wang, some things need to be discussed with you, and make a decision early!"

"Yes, I obey the order!" Wang Yinglin bowed and sat down again.

Next, Zhao Bing and Wang Yinglin discussed personnel arrangements and military deployments after they left, as well as all the aftermath matters. They made arrangements for the development and positioning of the two Huaihe Rivers, allowing them to discuss with several prime ministers in the court. Then they discussed the peace with the Mongolian Yuan, instructing them not to bow down and not to make any concessions on the established principles, but they should also pay attention to the rhythm, not rush to achieve success, and take the initiative in negotiations.

More than an hour later, Duke Zhuang reported from him that they had already made a choice of the route, but his Majesty still needed to make the next arrangement. Wang Yinglin was a little surprised that these people in the imperial front office were so efficient, but he was also confused, and suspected that they could make the most appropriate arrangements in a hurry, but fortunately, His Majesty did not intend to let him avoid it.

"Your Majesty, there are two land routes from Xuzhou to Xiangyang: one is to pass Yingtian Prefecture to Yingchang Prefecture, and then south through Xiangcheng Nanyang and other places to the eastern line of the Jianghan Plain; the other is to pass Yingtian Prefecture to Yancheng, and then enter the western line of Jingxiang through Xinyang to Suizhou." Duke Zhuang hung a map from the commander Ma Duanlin Yingxi Chen Shishi and Jiang Zongjie and several officials, who were in charge of the words.

"The distance on the western front seems to be shorter, so I don't know what the road is going on?" Zhao Bing said as he listened to his introduction.

"What Your Majesty said is that it is about 900 miles to go to the western line, which is 200 miles shorter than the eastern line. Moreover, this road does not need to pass Kaifeng, so it is relatively safer. My subordinates have already asked the Xiangyang messenger that they also took this route when they came. In addition to a narrower distance to Suizhou, most areas can run in parallel, which is suitable for brigades to march." Chen Shishi continued.

"Your Majesty, the enemy is still in the west of the Yancheng area and is in a confrontation with our army, but small-scale conflicts often occur. Therefore, the third army stationed here needs to escort along the way, or launch an attack to drive away nearby enemies to ensure the safety of the Holy Driving!" Ying Xi continued.

"Both roads must pass through the enemy area. It's too dangerous, but there is still a choice?" Wang Yinglin shook his head and asked.

"Return to the King's Priest, these two routes are inherent roads. If you choose another route, you have to go by. The fewer ones are hundreds of miles, and the most are thousands of miles!" Duke Zhuang replied, "And these two routes pass through Yingtian Mansion. Your Majesty can also worship the temple along the way, and confuse the enemy's army, making it difficult to judge Your Majesty's whereabouts."

"Well, it's more appropriate to say that!" Wang Yinglin thought for a moment after hearing this.

"Can you reach Xiangyang if you walk on the waterway?" Zhao Bing looked at the map, tapped the table twice and asked.

"Your Majesty, you can go north along the canal, then turn into the Luo River, then enter the Han River, and then go downstream to Xiangyang. But now the old canal has been silted and it is difficult to travel north, and Kaifeng and Luoyang that you pass through on the way have not been recovered. If you want to march through the water route, you can only enter the Huai River to the Yangtze River, and go upstream to Ezhou to Xiangyang." Duke Zhuang had already discussed this matter with everyone since the time before, and immediately reported it.

"If you take Xiangyang, you must use a naval army. Otherwise, it will be difficult to cut off the enemy's supplies and reinforcements. First, Xiangyang has no success in fighting for a long time, which is because the naval army is injured. He learned from the war report sent by Xiangyang that the reason why Jiang Jin was injured was related to this, because the only naval army supporting the battle of the Xi Group was the inland river naval army, with small tonnage and weak firepower. The enemy used giant trees as rafts downstream, and the naval warships were difficult to stop, and they also broke the Hengjiang iron chain. Jiang Jin was injured because the ship was damaged by the giant raft placed on the enemy when patrolling the river surface.

"Your Majesty, the navy rushes to Xiangyang, I am afraid it will delay some trips and it will be difficult to arrive in time!" Duke Zhuang looked at each other with several people and shook his head.

"I remember that during the Duangong period, Xianghan canal was dug to communicate with the Han River. I wonder if it can still be navigated?" Zhao Bing thought for a while and asked.
Chapter completed!