Hong Chengchou suddenly frowned, leaving only one battalion of soldiers and horses, and they were only responsible for guarding the rear route, which was obviously not enough to satisfy Hong Chengchou.
"The rear route of the army is indeed important, and only when the new army officers and soldiers are stationed can the governor be at ease to meet the enemy. But after General Liu's troops were divided and went south, the army's strength will definitely be insufficient, right..."
Liu Yan didn't wait for Hong Chengchou to finish speaking, then he rushed over and said: "Master Governor, now the entire Central Plains is only supported by thousands of soldiers and horses of Governor Lu Lu, and the number of troops under the general's command is small. How can we compete with Li Zicheng's hundreds of thousands of troops?" To counterbalance? Once the Central Plains is lost, Li Zicheng may be able to send his troops south to invade the south of the Yangtze River, or he may be able to send his troops north to attack the capital. In that case, the world will really change!"
Hong Chengchou frowned and said nothing. What Liu Yan said made sense, but it was not in line with his own interests. Whether it was Liaodong or Henan, it was related to the lifeline of the country. At this time, Hong Chengchou didn't know what to say, so he just remained silent.
Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu looked at each other. Although they were supervisors of the army, they still kept silent on such important military matters to avoid saying the wrong thing.
Yang Guozhu, Cao Bianjiao and others also looked worried. At this time, the atmosphere in the tent was very depressed, and the previous joy was gone.
Upon seeing this, Liu Yan said: "My lord, the army of slaves and traitors is currently at a disadvantage. As long as our army defends its retreat and the officers and soldiers from each town do not advance rashly, we can rely on Huangtu Ridge and Jinzhou City to fight against the army of slaves and traitors. We will definitely be able to defeat the enemy." The army of slaves and thieves retreated after realizing the difficulty."
"The slave thieves have a small population and a small army. They seem to have an army of more than 200,000 people, but these more than 200,000 horses are the entire nation's army of slave thieves. Huang Taiji cannot afford to lose it. Once the damage is serious, it will be very difficult for the slave thieves. It is said that it is a disaster that will destroy the country. Even if we win this battle, we will be defeated even though we win!"
"Therefore, the general suggested that the governor should just go on the defensive, ignore the urging of the central government, and use the troops from each town to defend Huangtuling, Jinzhou City, Songshan Fort, etc. to fight against the slave thieves and consume as much of the slave thieves' living strength as possible. .As for Hongluo Mountain on the rear route, our new army’s front camp is stationed there.”
Wu Sangui looked at Liu Yan who was talking casually and admired him very much. Liu Yan directly explained the weakness of the slave thief and hit the point. Indeed, as long as Liu Yan's suggestions are followed and the soldiers and horses in each town make no mistakes, they will have a great chance of winning this battle and forcing back the army of slave thieves.
Yang Guozhu, Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen and others also nodded in agreement. Liu Yan's method was both safe and practical. Although the troops in each town were insufficient, they relied on the ready-made defense lines in Huangtu Ridge, as well as the city defenses in Jinzhou City, Songshan Fort and other places. It's still possible to use up an army of slave thieves.
Ma Ke and Tang Tong also breathed a sigh of relief. At this time, they were frightened by the firearms of the Han army flags. They dared not fight against the Qing army anymore. If they could hold on to the city and hold on to it, they would naturally raise their hands in agreement. .
Hong Chengchou pondered for a while, nodded and said: "Well, General Liu's words are reasonable, so let's do it. Let me think about it for a while, and adjust the troops and horses in each town tomorrow, and the whole army will be on the defensive."
Liu Yan clasped his fists and said, "The supervisor is wise! However, the supervisor has to write another letter to the imperial court to avoid urging from the soldiers."
"Well, that's natural."
On the same day, Zhao Guangzhi left the military camp and returned to the capital. Before leaving, Liu Yan gave a gift of one hundred taels of silver. After some kind words, he entrusted Zhao Guangzhi to advise Chen Xinjia that the Liaodong army must be supplied with money and food on time and in quantity. Hastily responded to the challenge.
Zhao Guangzhang looked at the heavy bag of silver and was already smiling. Although Zhao Guangzhen was very upright in matters in the court, it did not mean that he did not like money. It was one thing to be honest in doing things, but it was another thing to like money. This was the characteristic of many officials in the late Ming Dynasty.
"Haha, Commander-in-Chief Liu really cares about the world. He is about to go south, and he is still thinking about the war in Liaodong. Commander-in-Chief Liu is so dedicated to serving the country, how can I stand by and watch? Commander-in-Chief Liu, just don't worry. When I return to the capital, I will definitely tell my troops Jin Yan, I will never let down Mr. Liu’s wishes!”
After seeing off Zhao Guangpeng, Liu Yan hurriedly returned to the New Army camp and summoned the commanders of each camp to discuss matters.
When everyone heard that the army was going south to aid Lu Xiangsheng and would leave the soldiers of the front battalion in Hongluo Mountain, they immediately exploded.
Wang Bo and Zhang Yi were the first to stand up. They and Chen Xun were both old brothers from Dapanbao, and they were very excited at this time.
"Sir, we cannot leave Chen Guerríi alone. Without us on the Liaodong battlefield, we will most likely be defeated. When the situation collapses, how will Chen Guerrí and the soldiers in the front camp get along with each other!"
After Zhang Yi spoke loudly, Wang Bo also said excitedly: "Let's go south with the whole army and see who dares to say anything!"
Shen Tuo pulled Wang Bo aside and said, "Be careful! There is nothing you can do about the imperial court's orders."
Miao Shao and Xu Ming looked at each other. They wanted to say something, but they just sighed, knowing that there was no room for maneuver in this matter.
Wang Yue looked at everyone, and then said to Liu Yan with a smile: "Sir, would you like to leave some more troops for the brothers in the front camp..."
Wang Bo immediately glared at Wang Yue and said loudly: "I think it would be best if I kept you too!"
Liu Yan looked at everyone and sighed, and said, "Okay, don't make any noise."
Everyone fell silent.
"This division of troops is an order from the Ministry of War. Your Majesty has given permission. No one can do anything about it. For the current plan, we can only let the soldiers of the front camp make more preparations. If this battle fails and the situation in Liaodong collapses, the soldiers of the front camp must be allowed to maneuver. leeway, and the ability to protect yourself.”
Liu Yan then said to Xun Jingyun: "How much food and military equipment does the army have now?"
Xun Jingyun was in charge of the army's baggage. He already had figures in mind and said, "The money and food in the army are enough to last the army for about three months. There are also a lot of weapons and equipment, which can at least equip a battalion."
Liu Yan thought for a while and said: "The army will go south tomorrow and will pass through Hongluo Mountain. At that time, all the military reserves and half of the money and food will be left with Chen Xun."
"yes!"
After speaking, Liu Yan looked at everyone and said: "You are all soldiers, and it is your bounden duty to obey orders! As the saying goes, military orders are like mountains. The whole army will go south immediately tomorrow. When we go back today, we must reorganize each battalion and prepare."
"This town knows that you are dissatisfied and resentful, but you can't understand it. To be honest, this town is also very dissatisfied and angry! However, even if you can't understand it, you still have to execute the military order, do you understand?"
Everyone stood up one after another and shouted: "I have the order!"
Early the next morning, all the battalions of the New Army broke out to reorganize. Hong Chengchou led the general officers of each town to see him off, and Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu also hurried over.
After Liu Yan chatted with everyone for a while, Hong Chengchou said: "The governor has formulated a new strategy. After seeing General Liu off today, he will hold a military meeting to deploy. After General Liu goes south, he will fight against an army of hundreds of thousands of thieves. It’s a bloody battle, I am here, I wish General Liu a good start and success!"
Liu Yan clasped his fists and said: "The general also congratulates the governor on the great victory in Liaodong!"
Later, Wu Sangui, Liu Zhaoji, Wang Tingchen, Zuo Guangxian, Wang Pu, Li Fuming and others came over to say goodbye to Liu Yan. Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu also came over. Liu Yan bowed to everyone one by one. Even Ma Ke and Tang Tong clasped their fists with a smile, and Liu Yan also smiled in return. They were leaving anyway. Since these two pieces of material came over on their own initiative, give them a face.
Then Liu Yan confessed his crime to everyone and walked aside with Yang Guozhu and Cao Bianjiao. Everyone thought Liu Yan was on good terms with the two and didn't care. Only Wang Pu hesitated and came over shamelessly.
Liu Yan didn't take it seriously and whispered to the three of them: "After I lead the army south, the imperial court will probably continue to urge Governor Hong to send troops to fight the slaves. When the time comes, the three of them must take care of themselves and unite the general soldiers of each town as much as possible. Let us advise Governor Hong together not to rush into a decisive battle with slaves and thieves."
"The situation in the Liaodong war must be stable. As long as you are undefeated, you will win. Once the army rushes into battle, the battle will most likely be defeated. The three of you must remember it, remember it!"
Yang Guozhu and Cao Bianjiao both nodded in agreement with solemn expressions, while Wang Pu rolled his eyes. Although he agreed, he didn't know what he was thinking.
Liu Yan saw this, and the smile on his face became even wider, but there was a coldness in it: "General Wang, please remember that this war is a national war. Winning it will be an unparalleled achievement. Losing it will be a great achievement." It will be doomed. Along the way, Mr. Wang and I got along very well, and I hope that we will get better and better in the future. But in this battle, Mr. Wang must not act arbitrarily, and must work together with Mr. Yang and Mr. Cao Advance and retreat, otherwise it will be difficult for us to talk when we meet again in the future!"
Wang Pu was stunned when he heard the words. Looking at Liu Yan's eyes, he felt cold in his heart. He hurriedly agreed with a smile, and even swore a few poisonous oaths as guarantees.
Yang Guozhu and Cao Bianjiao looked at the two of them, and saw Liu Yanruo looking at them meaningfully, and they both had concerns in their hearts.
Liu Yan then bid farewell to Hong Chengchou and others, and led the new army battalions to break away and go south.
When passing through the camps of the Ming Army along the way, the soldiers of the Ming Army rushed to the edge of the camp to watch. They saw tens of thousands of Qinglai Town's new troops split up and left. The soldiers of each camp started talking, and the morale of the army suddenly dropped a lot. .
In the afternoon of the next day, Liu Yan led his troops to Hongluo Mountain. Chen Xun received the news that he would not accept the night, and hurriedly took the commander Wei Han, Guo Mingxu, Shen Donglai and other men down the mountain to greet him.
The soldiers of each battalion rested temporarily at the foot of Hongluo Mountain. At the same time, Xun Jingyun was busy commanding the heavy troops of each battalion to transport a large amount of grain, grass and soldiers up to Hongluo Mountain. At the same time, Liu Yan led the commanders and commanders of each battalion to meet Chen Xun and others, and everyone sat on the ground at the foot of the mountain.
Liu Yan then explained the orders of the Ministry of War and the situation in Henan.
"After the troops are divided, only the soldiers of the front battalion can support themselves here. The burden on you is very heavy. Do you have the confidence?"
Chen Xun said with a smile: "Don't worry, sir, this is a great opportunity for my soldiers in the front camp to make meritorious service. No matter how heavy the burden is, the general will complete the task!"
Liu Yan patted the old man on the shoulder and said: "You must remember that the reason why I strive to let you lead the troops to garrison Hongluo Mountain is to allow the soldiers of the front camp to have a situation where they can advance or retreat."
"In this battle, no matter what orders Hong Chengchou gives you, even if he stands in front of you with a knife and forces you to lead your troops to the front to join the battle, you must give him a slap in the face and never obey orders! I, Qinglai Town Xin Military officers and soldiers can fight for the country, but they cannot be used as cannon fodder by others!"
Chen Xun clasped his fists and said, "Don't worry, sir. The general will definitely withstand the pressure and lead his troops to stay here without leaving!"
"In addition, if this battle is defeated, you must remain calm in the face of danger and don't panic. Then depending on the situation, you can either rely on the defense line and the grain harvest to hold the Hongluo Mountain defense line and wait for reinforcements, or break through and go south and lead your troops back to Shanhaiguan. .”33
Chen Xun said: "Don't worry, sir, I have more than 12,000 soldiers in the front camp. We have a solid defense line here, and there are mountains of money, food and troops. Even if 200,000 slaves and thieves come to kill them all, I have the confidence to hold on." here!"
Liu Yan looked at the confident Chen Xun and wanted to say something. He paused and said: "The slaves are treacherous, be careful in everything, and put the whole army first!"
"Got the order!"
An hour later, Xun Jingyun and his men finished transporting grain, grass and troops, and Liu Yan led the new army battalions to continue southward. Chen Xun and others stood on the hillside of Hongluo Mountain, looking at the mighty army heading south. Everyone felt Mixed feelings.
Some people died, but not completely...
