Chapter 222 Come on

I really like Meng Puyu, a general's son, who is similar to Ling Tong and Yue Yun. Here is his biography:

In the spring of the second year, he was appointed as the envoy of Ningyuan Army, the commander of the imperial weapons, and the commander of the armies of Ezhou and Jiangling Prefecture. Gong declined the appointment because the reward system for the three armies had not yet been issued. The emperor said: "If I do not reward my merits, what will people say about me?

The meritorious service of the three armies should be reported to the emperor. The order of conferring titles begins with generals, so why should you refuse? "Soon after, he was appointed Deputy Chief Secretary of the Privy Council, Deputy Envoy of the Pacifying and Controlling Administration of Jingxi and Hubei Provinces, and Supervisory Officer of the Executive Office.

Soon after, he was promoted to the post of Zhizhishi and concurrently the governor of Yuezhou. He then sent an order to the Jiangling Military Control Office to attack Xiang and Ying. As a result, Zhang Jun recaptured Yingzhou, and He Shun recaptured the Jingmen army. On the renzi day of the twelfth month, Liu Quan fought at Zhuangtou, Fancheng, and Langshen Mountain, repeatedly achieving victories.

In the first month of the third year, Cao Wenyong recaptured Xinyang Army, Liu Quan recaptured Fancheng, and subsequently Xiangyang. He was granted the title of Privy Councilor, Governor of the Imperial Guard, and concurrently Governor of Ezhou. Quan dispatched Tan Shen to recapture Guanghua Army. Xi and Cai surrendered, and Gong ordered his troops to repel them. He captured over a hundred strong men and registered them as the Loyal Guard.

At first, the emperor ordered Gong to recapture Jing and Xiang. Gong said that only by taking Ying could he deliver supplies and only after taking Jingmen could he launch a surprise attack. So he gave him instructions on strategies and sent troops deep into the country, and he was known for his victories wherever he went.

Gong's memorial said briefly, "It is not difficult to take Xiang, but it is difficult to defend it. This is not because the soldiers are not brave, nor because the horses and chariots are not good, but because the manpower is insufficient. Xiang and Fan are the foundation of the dynasty. Now that we have won them after a hundred battles, we should strengthen our management. If we want to protect the vital forces, we must have at least 100,000 soldiers to defend them.

Rather than withdrawing troops after the enemy arrives, why not ensure complete victory? The best strategy is to attack their plans; this is a battle without fighting. ” He therefore stationed a vanguard army, and made the surrendered people of Xiang and Ying his subordinates.

On Gengyin day, spies reported that the Yuan army intended to attack Linjiang on a large scale. Gong planned to go through Shi and Qian to penetrate Hunan and Xiangxi. He requested 100,000 dan of millet to provide military pay, and to station 2,000 troops in Xiazhou and 1,000 troops in Guizhou.

Jin De, a former general of the Zhongwei army, returned from Guanghua and Gong rewarded him for his services. Gong's brother Ying stationed 5,000 elite troops at Songzi to support Kui, and sent Yu Dexing to reinforce the troops and guard Wanhu Valley, the pass of Guizhou.

Yuan troops were spying on the Yangtze River from Sui. Gong secretly dispatched Liu Quan to repel the enemy and Wu Sizhi with a thousand men to garrison Shizhou. Yuan generals Tahai and Tuxue led an army of 800,000 men into Shu. Gong set up additional camps and deployed warships, and sent Zhang Ju to lead troops through a secret route to Junzhou to defend against the enemy.

Yuan troops crossed the Wanzhou lakeshore, alarming Shi and Kui. Gong's brother Jing, then Deputy Envoy for the Pacification of Hubei and Governor of Xiazhou, urgently wrote to the governor to prepare for defense. Gong petitioned the governor's office to lead his troops westward. Jing dispatched Jin Duo's army to meet the enemy at the Dawang Yazhai of Guizhou. Liu Yi achieved victory at Qingping Village in Mabadong County.

Gong's younger brother Zhang selected 2,000 elite soldiers to station in Lizhou to defend Shi and Qianlu. In the fourth year, he was promoted to the title of Zi.

The defense of the upper reaches of Gong Tiao should be prepared with three layers of barriers: I request the establishment of a deputy department and the transfer of the unified army outside the Great Wall to Kui, which will be responsible for the river surface below Fu'nan, as the first layer; the defense of Ding and Li will be the second layer; the defense of Chen, Yuan, Jing and Gui will be the third layer.

Xiazhou and Songzi must each station 10,000 men, with the navy under their command. Guizhou should station 3,000 men, Ding, Li, Chen, Yuan, and Jing should each station 5,000 men, and Chen and Gui should each station 1,000 men. In this way, Jiangxi can be protected.

He also sent Yang Ding and Zhang Qian to Chen, Yuan and Jing prefectures to inform the local people and to learn about the routes to Si, Bo, Shi and Qian, in order to report to the emperor.

When the spies learned that the Yuan army was recruiting soldiers and civilians in Sui and Xinyang in Xiangfan and storing materials for ships in Shunyang in Deng, they sent Zhang Hanying from Sui, Ren Yi from Xinyang, and Jiao Jin from Xiang to disrupt their momentum from different directions.

He dispatched Wang Jian to lead troops secretly to burn the stored materials for ships. He also estimated that the army must rely on Cai for food, so he dispatched Zhang De and Liu Zheng to march into Cai with their troops to set fire to the stored materials.

He was appointed Jiedushi of Ningwu Army, Xuanfu Envoy of Sichuan, and concurrently Governor of Kuizhou. He recruited 359 Huaibei people from Macheng County, Bahe County, Anleji County, and Guangongdian County, all veterans of border warfare, and named them the "Ningwu Army," appointing Zhang as their leader. He was further granted the title of Marquis of Handong County and concurrently appointed Governor of Jinghu County.

The Uighur Aili Badulu led more than a hundred warriors, 115 old and young people, and 260 horses to surrender and founded the "Flying Uighur Army". He changed Aili's name to Ai Zhongxiao, appointed him as the general commander, and asked to be appointed to an official position.

Sichuan Governor Chen Longzhi and Deputy Governor Peng Daya were at odds and submitted a memorial to the court. Gong said, "State affairs are in such a state that even with combined wisdom and strategy, we are afraid we cannot succeed. Yet, the two officials are so bold as to engage in private warfare. Isn't this a disgrace to the style of Lian and Lin?" He sent a letter to reprimand them. When Longzhi and Daya received the letter, they were deeply ashamed.

He examined the shortcomings of Shu's administration and listed them among the various counties. He pointed out the problems of inadequate taxation, unclear rewards for merit, reduced military rations, corrupt officials, and deception among officials. He also said, "If we don't choose strategic locations to build fortifications, it will be difficult to command soldiers to protect the people; if we don't gather displaced people and settle them down to farm, it will be difficult to command the people to support the army."

He then established rewards and punishments to assess the best in the palace, and ordered all departments to follow them. The Li governor, Yan Shigu, said that the Dali Kingdom requested that tribute be paid via the Li and Ya regions. Gong replied that Dali was connected to Yong and Guang, and that it was not appropriate to go through Sichuan and Shu, so he rejected the request.

He was also the ambassador for Kui Road and military farming. Because the army had no food reserves, Gong launched a large-scale military farming program, mobilizing laborers to build dams and recruiting farmers to provide seeds. Starting from Zigui and ending in Hankou, he established 20 military farms and 170 farms, totaling 188,280 hectares. He reported the details of the military farming program and the amount of food coupons reduced, and issued an imperial edict commending the efforts. When the Jingzhou corvée Lin Sailiang rebelled, Wang Yu was sent to suppress it.

In the second year of Chunyou, Gong petitioned the court to build a shrine in Yueyang for the ministers who died for their loyalty in Jing and Xiang, offering sacrifices annually. The imperial decree named it Minzhong Temple. When Huaidong was attacked, the Privy Council ordered Gong to provide assistance and sent Li De to lead 4,000 elite troops, with Gong's son Zhijing supervising the army.

The spies learned that Ke Nayan of Jingzhao Prefecture had led 3,000 cavalrymen through Shangzhou to seize Huling Pass, then exited Zhushan in Fangzhou. He dispatched Wang Ling to station at Jiangling, Xun Jin to station at Yingzhou, Liu Quan to station at Shashi, and Jiao Jin to lead 1,000 men through Jiangling and Jingmen to Xiangyang. He ordered Liu Quan to bring ten days' provisions and take the Nanzhang route to Xiangyang to join the other armies.

When the Yuan army reached Sanchuan, Gong ordered the garrison commanders to leave and not to abandon an inch of land. Liang Dong, the commander of Quan Kaizhou, ran out of food and asked to return to his post. Gong said, "That would be abandoning the city." When Liang Dong arrived in Kuizhou, Gong ordered Gao Da to behead him as a warning.

Therefore, all the generals obeyed the orders with great care. When the Yuan army reached Lu, Gong ordered the Chongqing branch to send troops to support and sent Zhang Xiang to garrison Fuzhou. He was appointed Junior Guardian and promoted to Duke of Handong County. Gong said, "Yuan is not as dangerous as Chen, and Jing is not as dangerous as Yuan. All three prefectures should be dealt with, but Jing is particularly urgent.

Now the three states have no way to send out any troops, which is the first worry about Jinghu. The river defense stretches from Zigui to Shouchang, a distance of 2,000 miles. From ** to Xiazhou, there are more than ten shoals and deserts. In the dead of winter, the water is dry, and defenses must be taken at every turn, with many soldiers and soldiers on standby. This is the second worry about Jinghu.

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