The officials present were all shocked when they heard Zhu Jianshen's words.
"Li Qin actually defeated the Tatar Khan who had plagued the border for twenty years, and even accepted the surrender of more than 100,000 Tatar troops?"
"The Tatar scourge has been the most troublesome thing for our Great Wu for more than 20 years. How could Li traitor have solved it so quickly?"
"Li the traitor actually dared to proclaim himself a king; he is utterly wicked."
"Now that traitor Li is about to head south, what are we going to do?"
......
After Zhu Jianshen finished speaking, the assembled officials immediately began a new discussion.
Looking at the arguing crowd below, Zhu Jianshen knew that the plan to support Huguang was definitely doomed.
Those officials from Jiangnan would absolutely not have been able to send troops to support Huguang when Li Qin's army was about to march south to Jiangnan at any time.
They are now only thinking about one thing: how to prevent Li Qin from taking over Jiangnan after his army marches south.
Under these circumstances, it would be absolutely impossible for them to divide their forces and disperse their strength.
Given this trend, it's a foregone conclusion that Li Qin will take over Huguang.
Thinking of this, Zhu Jianshen, sitting on the throne, sighed helplessly.
Although he had renowned ministers like Shi Kefa by his side, after Li Qin captured the capital, no one knew what attitude he would take towards the landlords and gentry in various places.
They needed armed forces to protect the Jinling court they had established in Jinling, and they also needed troops to protect their property in Jiangnan in this uncertain situation.
This temporarily aligned them with their goal: that an army was needed in this chaotic world.
So they have always been very cooperative with me.
He once thought that he was a prince who had fled from the north to the south in a panic, with no money and no soldiers.
He summoned some ministers, held a meeting, and was hailed as emperor, thus becoming a truly powerful emperor.
They had no money of their own; the money came from their own government.
He needed to recruit able-bodied men to form an army, but the people were scattered in various places, and he only had some officials who had fled from the south by his side.
Are we supposed to make them conduct assessments, promote, organize, and recruit one by one?
The recruitment, deployment, and training all require a large number of people.
He could only rely on local officials from Jiangnan to accomplish this.
They cooperated with him before because the situation was unclear and they were afraid of Li Qin.
However, as Li Qin's policies were announced, those bureaucrats saw things clearly.
It turns out that Li Qinyi was a "wise ruler" who treated the "common people" well.
Then you won't be afraid.
At the same time, she was also afraid that they would sell her to Li Qin.
Therefore, I dare not go against them at all.
This made him increasingly feel that he was not an emperor with real power.
When my ideas align with those of the gentry and bureaucrats, and they listen to me, I am a powerful emperor.
However, when one's opinion differs from theirs, one should listen to them; this is called an emperor readily accepting good advice.
After letting out a helpless sigh, Zhu Jianshen could only compromise and say:
"Issue an edict to absolutely deny Li's title of king and condemn him at the same time. Then concentrate our forces to guard against Li's southward advance."
After he finished speaking, he left the court with no other option.
He stood on the palace wall, watching the departing ministers.
At this moment, he finally understood why, historically, whenever the northern enemy crossed the Yangtze River, the court in the south would surrender.
Looking at those departing officials, he was certain that once Li Qin crossed the Yangtze River, they would all surrender immediately.
Huguang (Hubei and Hunan provinces)
Looking into the distance, another city was breached under the onslaught of countless refugees.
Wanyan Gun and Liu Shengwu also frowned.
These peasant armies were not strong in field combat.
But their sheer numbers are incredibly useful for attacking cities.
Whether it's filling in the moat or dismantling the city wall one brick at a time, it's very useful.
Since they passed through Xiangyang and entered Huguang.
Their progress is still very rapid.
However, the main force attacking the city had become the peasant army led by Li Hongji.
Both Wanyan Gun's army and Liu Shengwu's army came from Liaodong.
Since moving to the south, they have been experiencing some difficulties adjusting to the southern climate.
Therefore, in these siege battles, they relied more on peasant armies like Li Hongji.
They also received a letter from Li Qin, who ordered them to continue their attack and reach the south bank of the Yangtze River as soon as possible to control both banks.
They even mobilized tens of thousands of troops to support them.
In response to Li Qin's order, they made arrangements, namely to contact Li Hongji.
They were sent to attack Wuchang, while the two of them led their troops to attack Jingzhou.
After capturing Jingzhou, they marched south to Yuezhou Prefecture, then constructed obstacles such as reefs along the Yangtze River, built iron chains at suitable locations along the river, and constructed fortresses and gun emplacements on both banks to block the navy from the south.
Afterwards, they moved south to Changsha and other places, and completely controlled the southern parts of Huguang.
Once both sides of the Yangtze River are completely captured, the Yangtze River defense line in Jiangnan will truly be taken by a flanking maneuver.
After informing Li Hongji and others, Wanyan Gun and Liu Shengwu first set aside the soldiers who were suffering from acclimatization problems, and led the remaining soldiers, along with a group of captured refugees, to Jingzhou City.
During this period, they discovered that driving away the refugees, making them risk their lives to fill the moat and demolish the city walls, and then sending in elite troops to harvest them after they had done most of the work was extremely effective.
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