Lu Xiangsheng watched for a while and was filled with admiration. The more he looked at Liu Yan, the more he fell in love with him. It was a pity that Liu Yan's status and military position were not enough, and he was still affiliated with Shandong Dusi and was not among the three towns of Xuanda. Otherwise, Liu Yan would be transferred to the town to work for each town. Isn't it beautiful to train troops and horses in the town, and to train one army after another for the Ming Dynasty, as powerful as the new army of Xiahe Village?
When Lu Xiangsheng thought of this, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "Oh! Why don't I have a capable general like Liu Yan under my command?"
At the same time, Liu Yan also noticed this problem, that is, the individual combat strength of the soldiers in the barracks of each town.
When it comes to personal bravery and fighting alone, most of the soldiers in those camps are stronger than the Xiahe Village New Army soldiers under their command. Unfortunately, in terms of military discipline, orders and prohibitions, and the coordination of battle formations, those battalion soldiers were far inferior to their own Xiahe Village New Army.
But in battle, upright battle formation coordination is the most important, and personal force comes last. Therefore, in the late Ming Dynasty, the army only relied on a few servants to fight. When it won, it rushed forward with a blast, and when it lost, it was routed thousands of miles away.
Liu Yan estimated that the deduction of military pay among the troops in each town was only one of the reasons for this situation. Another reason was that they were tired or difficult to train on weekdays. There were too many arrogant and powerful soldiers in each battalion, and it would be very difficult to rectify them. Historically, there were only deserters among the armies of the Ming Dynasty. It was rare to find anyone willing to stay as a soldier. They were treated like treasures. Who would be willing to deal with these people harshly?
Fortunately, all the soldiers I trained were new troops, so as to avoid the phenomenon of weak soldiers. My soldiers also had generous military pay and salary guarantees. After a lot of training, they could be mass-produced. If Liu Yan was asked to command a city-wide battalion, he wouldn't know what to do.
At this time, the army had already crossed the Shenyang River and was not far from Qingdu County. At this moment, smoke and dust billowed from the south, and there seemed to be more than a dozen horsemen on the horizon running towards this direction.
The officers and soldiers of the three armies suddenly became commotion. Since entering Qingdu, they have encountered some Qing sentries one after another on the road. Each time, more than 10,000 people were on strict alert. There was no way, the psychological pressure of the Qing soldiers on the officers and soldiers of Xuanda was too great. Before a great victory was achieved, the Ming army still had no psychological advantage over the Qing army.
When Lu Xiangsheng saw this, he also acted cautiously. He immediately ordered the entire army not to move, and any offenders would be beheaded. He also immediately sent out his own sentinels from the Biao Camp to patrol and inspect.
Soon, the battalions stayed up late at night and the inspectors from Supervisory Biao Camp sent word that these dozen cavalrymen were from the Xiahe Village New Army who had gone out to scout for the enemy and returned late at night. They also brought back important information.
Lu Xiangsheng was overjoyed when he heard the news and hurriedly ordered people to bring those Ye Bushou to him. Not long after, Xu Mingde, Dadongzi and others rolled back to Lu Xiangsheng's Central Military Headquarters, surrounded by people from all the battalions who stayed overnight, and reported the results of the sentry to Lu Xiangsheng, Liu Yan and others.
After Lu Xiangsheng read the information, he couldn't help but beam with joy. He immediately ordered the three armies to gather and set up camp, and also notified the generals in charge of each town to come to their own tents to discuss military affairs. Immediately, the soldiers and horses of each battalion stopped. The soldiers of each battalion dug trenches and built forts on the spot. People screamed and a huge military camp slowly began to take shape in the wilderness.
In Lu Xiangsheng's Chinese army tent, the helmeted and armored commanders of the three towns and all the generals were sitting around the tent. Liu Yan also brought Miao Shao and sat not far from Lu Xiangsheng. At this time, everyone saw Lu Xiangsheng happily raising a piece of information in his hand.
"The sentry heard that there was a group of slave thieves in Qingdu, with thousands of people, led by Jia Lazhangjing of Nu Zhengbai Banner. In Dingzhou, there were thousands of slave thieves with Xiang Bai Banner, led by the slave chief Duduo. , commanded by Abatai. In Gaoyang, there are thousands of slaves and thieves, led by the slave chief Dorgon..."
All the generals listened attentively to Lu Xiangsheng's words, especially Wang Pu, the chief military officer of Datong Town, who looked at Liu Yan with envy. Liu Yan's soldiers and horses were not only powerful, but also had such powerful Ye Bu Zhan. It was really Envy.
Each camp did not close its sentries at night, but huddled in a heap in fear, not daring to spread out at all. Such important information was obtained by Liu Yan's troops under the jurisdiction of Shandong Dusi all night long. The generals in the third town of Xuanda were once again compared to each other. At this time, everyone felt a little envious and jealous in their hearts. Liu Yan's How are elite soldiers trained?
"Now that the enemy's situation has become clear, there are people sent from Qingdu, Dingzhou, and Gaoyang to ask for help. I would like to hear your opinions on which slave army we Xuanda and Shandong soldiers should fight. Which city should be rescued?”
Historically, the reason why the Qing army was able to enter uninhabited territory was that they fought in isolation in various places. After being besieged, there were no reinforcements. Even if the city was strong, it would one day be breached. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the combat effectiveness of the various departments of the Ming army was low, and the generals of each department fought independently, like a piece of loose sand. This gave the Qing army the objective conditions to run rampant everywhere.
Otherwise, with the strength of the Ming army, as long as they unite as one, even if their combat power is not as good as that of the Qing army, they will be killed by ants. Hundreds of thousands or millions of Ming troops can defeat all the Qing soldiers and Tatars even if they are outnumbered!
However, these are all but.
At this time, the Qing army marched south in numbers, and messengers asking for help were everywhere. Although they did not expect Lu Xiangsheng's army to rescue their city, but adhering to the idea of treating a dead horse as a living horse, the officers and soldiers in nearby cities heard that Xuanda was After the arrival of this army, people were sent to ask for help one after another. When the messengers who came to ask for help faced Lu Xiangsheng, they cried more miserably than the last one, which made people unable to bear to refuse.
Lu Xiangsheng was anxious at this time, and wanted to rescue him everywhere, but he only regretted that he was incompetent, there were too few soldiers and horses under his command, and the determination of the soldiers to fight was also weak. Although Liu Yan's example of great victory preceded them, the soldiers of the remaining three towns still needed a victory to encourage them.
Lu Xiangsheng's words made the generals ponder for a while. According to their thoughts, of course it would be better to save Qingdu. There are only a thousand Qing soldiers here, and their own army of tens of thousands can still afford it, especially with the presence of Liu Yan in the army. Although the generals in the third town of Xuanda have not really seen the combat power of Liu Yan's troops, the soldiers and horses that can be valued by the emperor and have won battles against the Qing army cannot be bad at all. They must be A strong army. As for Dingzhou and Gaoyang, there are still more Tatar soldiers there...
Liu Yan had no idea about Dingzhou and Qingdu. If he wanted to rescue them, he could only save the most important one, and that was Gao Yang. In any case, that was where Sun Chengzong was. He couldn't just watch his whole family die in battle. Such a loyal man must be rescued.
At that moment, Liu Yan stood up and said, "My lord, I would like to lead my troops to Gaoyang to break the siege of Sun Ge Lao."
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. Before Lu Xiangsheng could speak, Wang Puji, the chief military officer of Datong Town, said: "Absolutely not. The slaves and thieves are powerful. General Liu has thousands of soldiers and horses to fight against the enemy. It can be said that there is more danger and less chance. How can the army bear to see General Liu die?"
Then Wang Pu said to Lu Xiangsheng sincerely: "My lord, if your troops are divided, you will be weak. It is better to plan the rescue in the long term. It is better for our army to unite together and establish an invincible position first, and then plan for it slowly." "
What a joke, how could Wang Pu feel at ease if he didn't have such a strong army as the Xiahezhai New Army by his side? It is absolutely impossible for Liu Yan to lead his army away. Now that he has more soldiers and horses around him, he will have more protection.
Yang Guozhu on the side did not want Liu Yan to leave his side. He said to Liu Yan in a friendly manner: "General Liu, please sit down and listen to what the governor has to say. Now that the enemy is facing us, we must not act impulsively and be cautious."
Seeing that both Wang Pu and Yang Guozhu were so afraid of the enemy, Liu Yan's heart sank. The Ming army in the third town of Xuanda was still not brave enough!
So Liu Yan cupped his fists and saluted, sat back in the distance without saying a word, and watched everyone's "performance" coldly.
I saw Yang Guozhu saying to Lu Xiangsheng again: "My lord, I also think that General Liu's loyalty and courage are admirable. However, the slaves and thieves are powerful. At the current juncture, you must not think of dividing your troops for rescue. Once you are divided by the slaves and thieves, If we attack it, our army will be in danger."
Hu Dawei on the side pondered for a long time, and then stood up and said: "Master Governor, I declare that it is really not appropriate to divide the army. For the sake of the general, it is better to relieve the siege of Qingdu first. Qingdu is not far from Dingzhou. Qingdu is not far from Dingzhou. Once the siege of the capital is lifted, the Qing troops in Dingzhou also lose their barrier, and our army can take advantage of the situation to break the siege of Dingzhou. After two battles and two victories, we can march to Gaoyang with the power of a great victory to break the siege of Dingzhou. Sunge Lao is trapped."
Wang Pu was so impressed that he said loudly: "What the Hujunmen said must be the words of a mature man who plans for the country. If so, our army will definitely be able to win consecutive battles and report the emperor's favor!"
At this time, after listening to everyone's opinions, Lu Xiangsheng also made up his mind to declare that the current situation of the officers and soldiers was still more afraid of the Qing troops, and that dividing the troops for rescue was indeed impossible. It is better to destroy the enemy forces in Qingdu first and change the soldiers' fear of the enemy and to fight, and then make plans.
However, judging from the current situation, Lu Xiangsheng can only hope that the defenders in Dingzhou and Gaoyang can hold on until the day when his reinforcements arrive.
At this moment, the siren outside the tent was heard. A guard rushed into the tent and reported to Lu Xiangsheng: "Reporting to the governor, a group of slave thieves, about a thousand people, were found several miles south. They were heading towards I have come to declare a great camp.”
Everyone in the tent was horrified when they heard the news. Unexpectedly, the Qing soldiers rushed directly. Wang Pu, the chief military officer of Datong Town, was the first to jump up and shouted: "How many slave thieves are there?"
After receiving affirmative replies from thousands of people, he snorted coldly, saluted Lu Xiangsheng with a majestic fist, and said loudly: "Master Governor, I am willing to lead the army to fight and kill these slaves and thieves without leaving a trace!"
Liu Yan was dumbfounded when he saw this. This Wang Pu was a famous "escape general" in history. He had done it many times, abandoning his allies and fleeing from battle. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he had bad deeds. What happened today? He actually took the initiative. Are you asking for a fight?
Then Liu Yan thought for a moment and understood the reason.
At this time, after the soldiers and horses in Xuanda's towns had rested and reorganized, their combat strength had been restored. Wang Pu had more than 10,000 elite soldiers from each town behind him, so he naturally felt confident. Moreover, there were only more than a thousand Qing soldiers in front of him. The Ming army was We still have an absolute advantage in terms of military strength, so it's okay to stand up and grab the jackpot.
"Okay, let's take this opportunity to see the real combat power of Xuanda Town's soldiers and horses. If it is true as recorded in history that Xuanda Town's soldiers and horses are all elites who dare to fight, then I will lead my troops and follow Lu Xiangsheng. A giant deer can also compete for military glory and pave the way for the future."
Liu Yan thought to himself: "But if Xuanda Town is like other Ming armies, except for Lu Xiangsheng's model camp, the rest of the troops are useless, then the Battle of Julu will not be fought. But if this is the case, I will Make plans early!”
Some people died, but not completely...
