Xinle County.
Laidong's group galloped into Xinle County on horseback, and then rushed to the county office without stopping to send the news that Yuan Zongdi's right camp was separated from the main force of bandits. Liu Yan was overjoyed when he heard the news, and immediately summoned the camp leaders to County government affairs.
"Yuan Zongdi's right battalion hasn't crossed the Filter Tuo River yet. It's unbelievable. It's been several days. They can crawl over even if they have to crawl!"
Miao Shao expressed doubts, while Chen Xun and Shen Tuo beside him were also discussing quietly. They obviously had some opinions on this information and thought that Yuan Zongdi must have other motives.
Qian Feng also said at this time: "It stands to reason that Yuan Zong's tribe is much closer to Xingtang County than Li Zicheng's, Liu Zongmin's, and Liu Fangliang's tribes. Now all three of them are quickly moving closer to Xingtang County, but Yuan Zong's tribe is moving closer to Xingtang County." Zongdi is still delaying on the south bank of the Lituo River, what does this mean?"
Liu Yan looked at the map and ignored everyone's comments. Instead, he thought for a moment and suddenly said loudly: "The south bank of Lituo River is more than sixty miles away from Xinle County. The distance is not bad. I have decided to attack with a large army and go south. Raid Yuan Zong’s troops!"
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. The New Army and the garrison troops had just carried out a long-distance attack and killed more than 200,000 troops from Li Guo's tribe. Now, there are still more than 73,000 bandits detained in Xinle County. Most of these prisoners were old bandits. Liu Yan had already ordered people to screen them. Except for thousands who were indeed kidnapped, most of them were detained in the military camp in the city.
As for the thousands of dead soldiers who were held hostage, there were actually many strong women among them. Liu Yan ordered them to temporarily settle in Xinle County, preparing to wait until after the war to let them go.
The magistrate of Xinle County led thousands of people to open up wasteland on the spot and try their best to supplement the manpower shortage in various places in Beizhili.
At this time, Shen Tuo said worriedly: "Mr. Ge, the soldiers of the army are very tired now, and there are tens of thousands of prisoners in the rear who need to be guarded. Is it too aggressive to go south to raid Yuan Zong's army of hundreds of thousands now?"
Liu Yan said: "Mobile warfare is like this. The soldiers of the army can use the gap after the war to rest, but when they encounter a fighter opportunity, they must seize it immediately. Don't be afraid of getting tired. Our army is tired, but the thieves will lose their lives!"
"According to the fact that the battalions were not closed at night and the intelligence just sent by the Military Intelligence Department yesterday, Li Zicheng's troops are now moving towards Xingtang County at full speed. Li Laiheng and Li Dingguo's troops in the north have also stopped in Quyang County. They are closest to Xingtang County and are very close. They may have heard the news of the destruction of Li Guo's tribe and will return their troops at any time. The vanguards of Liu Zongmin and Liu Fangliang's troops from the southwest also appeared in the Lingshou County area, and it seems that they are also heading towards Xingtang County."
Liu Yan praised: "Although it is unforgivable for thieves to cause trouble to the world, Li Zicheng, Liu Zongmin, Li Laiheng, Li Dingguo, Liu Fangliang and others are all rare heroes, and Hong Chengchou, Wu Sangui, Chen Yongfu and others are also difficult to deal with." Our opponents, with their intelligence, must have guessed that Xingtang County has been conquered by our army, so they will move closer to Xingtang County in an attempt to annihilate our army in Xingtang County."
"Fortunately, Li Zicheng, Hong Chengchou and others never expected that Li Guo could not hold on for even one night. We have withdrawn from Xingtang County and are several steps ahead of the bandits in action. This is our army biggest advantage!"
"like
Today, Yuan Zong's troops are making slow progress and have distanced themselves from the various tribes of Liu bandits. Now is the time for our army to raid south. Not only can we eat up another battalion of Liu bandits, but we can also leave the rest of the bandit battalions to the north. Eat dirt. Continue to maintain our army's advantage of being the first, so this battle is imperative! "
At this time, most people felt that Liu Yan's strategy was reasonable, but Miao Shao said worriedly: "Mr. Ge, that Yuan Zongdi is also a powerful general in the bandit army and one of the best generals in the bandit army. He He is not a mediocre person. Why did he make such a low-level mistake this time? When our army's whereabouts were unknown, he dared to break away from the main force of the bandits' battalions? The subordinates were worried that this might be because the bandits failed to succeed. Another trap? My subordinates think that Yuan Zongdi’s men are probably the bait!”
Everyone started talking, and Liu Yan frowned slightly. After pondering for a while, he suddenly remembered something and asked Laidong, who had been waiting beside him, "During your investigation, was there anything strange in Yuan Zongdi's army?"
Laidong recalled for a while and said: "Mr. Qi Ge, Yuan Zong's army has hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, and the army is marching slowly. If it is strange, there are a large number of horse-drawn carriages, ox-carts, and even handcarts in his army. The quantity is very large, and it seems like a large amount of supplies are being transported.”
"A lot of supplies? How many!"
Laidong said with certainty: "Yes, my subordinates estimate that if all the vehicles in Yuan Zongdi's army are loaded with military supplies, the quantity must exceed the needs of the Rogue Bandit Right Camp. This should be considered an anomaly."
Liu Yan suddenly laughed and said: "Yuan Zongdi's troops have been stranded in Huolu County for the past two days.
Think about it, what does Huolu County have? "
Wang Yue reacted immediately and shouted: "Silver coins! We abandoned a large amount of materials and hundreds of thousands of silver coins in Huolu County!"
Everyone suddenly realized that Yuan Zongdi had been quietly making a fortune in Huolu County in the past two days!
Liu Yan said: "I have long heard that Yuan Zongdi is greedy for money, and this time he actually got a big advantage. But it's okay, if Yuan Zongdi hadn't been greedy for money, the rogue Youying troops would not have fought with the rest of the army. If the battalion is out of touch, we won’t have this fighter plane!”
Everyone felt relieved, which meant that the delay in the progress of Yuan Zongdi's tribe was not a trap by the bandits. It seemed that this battle was feasible.
Then Liu Yan ordered: "Each battalion prepared immediately. Half an hour later, the whole army marched south. All the prisoners in the city were detained in the city, and all the heavy soldiers of the personal guard battalion were left to guard them!"
"yes!"
Immediately, the new army and garrison battalions quickly assembled. In less than half an hour, they had already assembled. Then they left the city one after another from the south gate of Xinle County and drove toward the south in a mighty manner.
At the same time, Yuan Zongdi led his troops to finally arrive at the south bank of the Lituo River. Looking at the water that only reached about his knees, Yuan Zongdi smiled and said to Liu Tichun and Dang Shousu: "It seems that God is helping me, it is so shallow." The army can really wade directly across the river, saving a lot of time."
Liu Tichun and Dang Shousu smiled slightly. They only hoped to cross the river and head north as soon as possible. They must not delay it any longer. Judging from the current speed of the bandits' right camp, they were already the last army to arrive in Xingtang County. By then, Everyone will be punished by Li Zicheng.
It was already afternoon
It was about two hours before dark.
Yuan Zongdi ordered the army to temporarily stop advancing, and all the soldiers to rest on the spot. Then he sent thousands of brave cavalry to ride across the river, and searched the north of the Lituo River. After confirming that there was no trace of the officers and soldiers, he ordered to surrender first. Thousands of carts from the army and numerous carts crossed the river.
Seeing this, Dang Shousu couldn't help but said: "General Zhi, those vehicles are very heavy and it will take a lot of time to cross the river. It's better to let the soldiers from all departments cross the river together. This can save a lot of time."
Yuan Zongdi said cautiously: "Soldiers and supplies from all ministries are crossing the river at the same time. What if an army suddenly comes and attacks them halfway across the river? It is better to transport the supplies first, and then the soldiers and soldiers from each unit cross the river step by step. This is safer. Some."
Liu Tichun said with some dissatisfaction: "The scouts have searched the surrounding area for more than ten miles and found not a single soldier of the army. Is the general too cautious? Cross the river slowly like this and wait until the whole camp has crossed. It’s probably going to be dark when you filter Tuohe River!”
Yuan Zongdi said dissatisfiedly: "It's getting dark, then set up camp on the north bank of the Lituo River and continue on the road tomorrow!"
Liu Tichun said: "What does it mean to make a general? Can His Majesty's orders be ignored?"
"Is that really His Majesty's order?"
Yuan Zongdi said dissatisfied: "I think that is probably Hong Chengchou's order, just said by His Majesty! Who is Hong Chengchou? He is the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty's cabinet. If he hadn't been killed by me in Xinzhou If the army is defeated, will Hong Chengchou serve His Majesty?"
"Now His Majesty will send General Hong Cheng
The supplies have been raised. Let a general surrender command the soldiers of each battalion, and let Hong Chengchou command us to charge in the front. Do you like it in your heart? "
Liu Tichun stopped talking. Ever since Hong Chengchou and Wu Sangui came to join them, Li Zicheng had indeed admired them so much that all the generals in the battalion were dissatisfied. In addition, Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance secretly added fuel to the fire, causing Wu Sangui and Chen Yongfu to become traitors. The two battalions of the New Army were quite separated from the other battalions, and Hong Chengchou was constantly squeezed out by Song Xiance and Niu Jinxing. Only Li Yan had a good attitude towards Hong Chengchou, and Gu Junen was normal.
At this time, Liu Tichun sighed and said: "I am also very dissatisfied with Hong Chengchou being so condescending, but we still have to focus on the overall situation and not ruin the current battle situation because of our own emotions!"
Yuan Zongdi said: "Do you really think that using Hong Chengchou's strategy can defeat Liu Yan's tribe and capture the city of Beijing?"
When Liu Tichun and Dang Shousu heard this, their expressions suddenly became ugly. Yuan Zongdi continued: "Don't be stupid, I think the best result of this battle is that both we and Liu Yan's tribe will suffer losses, and then I, Dashun, will withdraw from Beizhili." , continue to return to the northwest provinces to regain strength. The greater possibility is to be defeated by Liu Yan again!"
After stopping Yuan Zongdi's words, Liu Tichun and Dang Shousu looked at each other, and then said: "So General Zhi deliberately delays time and wants to preserve his strength?"
Yuan Zongdi said: "I am just waiting and watching. If the war goes well, we will rush north to join the battle. If the war does not go well, our right battalion is Dashun's last hope. I will immediately lead my troops to join His Majesty, and then
Return to Shanxi together! "
