Seeing Li Zicheng's magnanimity, Hong Chengchou felt relieved, kowtowed and thanked him again, then stood up and returned to his seat.
Then Li Zicheng said solemnly: "Now our Dashun soldiers have broken into the territory of Beizhili, but in the face of Liu Yan's tribe, they have been defeated one after another. More than half of the million-strong army has been lost. Where will our Dashun go next? Everyone has an opinion. explain."
Niu Jinxing was the first to speak and said: "Your Majesty, our Dashun soldiers have suffered heavy casualties now. Liu Yan's tribe has been victorious one after another, and his troops are sharp. It is better for our army to temporarily withdraw from Beizhili and stabilize Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and other places first, and then restore If we maintain our strength and strength, and then send our troops eastward, we will definitely be able to defeat the enemy and lay the foundation of Dashun in one fell swoop!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Hong Chengchou stood up and retorted, saying: "What Commander Niu said is wrong!"
"Oh? I'd like to hear the details!"
Although Niu Jinxing said this, his eyes showed dissatisfaction.
Hong Chengchou turned a blind eye and continued: "Although our Dashun Army has suffered consecutive defeats, the remaining battalions are all fully equipped elite combat barracks and still have an absolute advantage in terms of military strength. It is still unclear who will win against Liu Yan. "
"What is the situation in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and other places now? The defenders in various places are just miscellaneous soldiers, not even soldiers. The people's livelihood in various places is in decline and the treasury is empty. It can be said that the land is thousands of miles away! At this time, our Dashun Army Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses and more than 400,000 family members have withdrawn. What will we eat? What will we use? Don’t talk about replenishing troops and accumulating strength. If Liu Yan doesn’t attack, we will be trapped and die in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and other places! "
"And what about Liu Yan? Now Liu Yan
Already the chief minister of the Ming court, he has taken control of the Ming court affairs. It is said that he is already preparing to implement the New Deal in all provinces in the world. The longer it takes, the more beneficial it will be for Liu Yan, because he can rely on the foundation of the Ming court to obtain a large amount of manpower. , material and financial resources, the strength of the New Army in Liu Yan's hands will continue to expand as time goes by, and eventually our Dashun Army Company's strength advantage will no longer exist! "
"So when facing Liu Yan's tribe, it is better to fight early rather than late. Even if we are defeated, we must severely damage Liu Yan's tribe and buy time for me, Dashun, to regain our strength!"
Hong Chengchou's remarks immediately won the approval of most people, and Li Zicheng also nodded in agreement frequently, saying: "What Commander Hong said is true. This battle is inevitable, and I will never retreat!"
Now that Li Zicheng had set the tone, everyone began to discuss the next step.
Because the specific location of Liu Yan's department was still unknown at this time, everyone in the lobby was basically divided into two groups.
Wu Sangui and Chen Yongfu led Li Fuming, Wang Pu and other Ming troops to surrender. They all advocated that the army should go north immediately. Hundreds of thousands of troops should attack Beijing with the overwhelming momentum of Mount Tai, instead of "hide and seek" with Liu Yan here. ".
However, Liu Zongmin, Liu Fangliang, Li Laiheng and other battalion leaders were eager for revenge and insisted on continuing to encircle and suppress Liu Yan's tribe.
Later, Li Yan, Gu Junen, Song Xiance, and Niu Jinxing also joined the debate.
Li Yan and Gu Junen sided with Liu Zongmin, Liu Fangliang, Li Laiheng and others, believing that the difficult task should be done first and then the easy task, with the priority of annihilating Liu Yan's tribe.
Song Xiance and Niu Jinxing, who were full of thoughts of approaching the city with troops, changing dynasties, and entering the Forbidden City, stood up one after another.
Team members Wu Sangui, Chen Yongfu and others encouraged Li Zicheng to order the march north.
Seeing that everyone was arguing, Li Zicheng looked at Hong Chengchou and asked, "What does Commander Hong think?"
Hong Chengchou frowned at this time. After a moment of pondering, he stood up and said: "Your Majesty, I believe that our army should first annihilate Liu Yan's troops, or at least severely damage them, and then send troops north to attack Beijing!"
As soon as these words came out, Wu Sangui, Chen Yongfu, Wang Pu, Li Fuming and others were shocked. Everyone thought that Hong Chengchou would definitely be on this side. After all, everyone came from the imperial court and should stick together when faced with major decisions.
Liu Zongmin, Li Laiheng, Liu Fangliang and others were also very surprised. They did not expect that Hong Chengchou would support their side.
Li Zicheng asked: "Mr. Hong, please explain in detail, why is this?"
"Your Majesty, in fact, my subordinates have just said that because the strength of Liu Yan's department is still there, our army cannot sit idly by."
Hong Chengchou looked at the crowd. At this time, everyone was looking at him. Everyone's focus was on Hong Chengchou, which made Hong Chengchou feel a little satisfied in his heart.
"The city of Beijing has strong defenses and a large population. Even if the Ming Dynasty lacks financial resources, it can still mobilize massive amounts of money, food and materials in Beijing. In addition, Liu Yan has left a battalion of garrison troops in Beijing. According to detailed plans and scouts During the investigation, Liu Yan also left several battalions of garrison troops at several passes in the north. It can be said that the defense of Beijing City is very complete at this time."
"Our Dashun Army does not have much experience in attacking such a strong city with sufficient troops to garrison it. The city of Beijing does not have much experience."
It's Kaifeng and Luoyang. We don't have enough time and troops to spend under the walls of Beijing this time. "
Hong Chengchou said worriedly: "I'm worried that once our Dashun army attacks Beijing, it will definitely stay under the city for a long time, and our army will not be able to break through the city quickly. With Liu Yan's style, he will definitely lead his troops to kill from behind. Come, when the time comes, our army will be blocked by a fortified city in front, and a powerful enemy will attack us in the rear, so a defeat will be a small matter. I am afraid that my many years of foundation in Dashun will be ruined under the walls of Beijing!"
After Hong Chengchou finished speaking, everyone present was silent. Even Li Zicheng frowned and looked ugly.
When the army first entered Beizhili, everyone was so high-spirited. A million troops swept eastward, with the potential to sweep the world and change dynasties!
But now less than a month has passed, and the Dashun Army has lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses. Several generals have been killed in the battle. The future of the army has dimmed instantly. This situation is unacceptable to everyone. At this time, in the lobby His anger was extremely suppressed.
After a long time, Li Zicheng said: "I have decided, the army will continue to search for traces of Liu Yan's tribe, look for opportunities to encircle and annihilate Liu Yan's tribe first, and then go north to attack Beijing!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw this. Only Wu Sangui, Chen Yongfu, Wang Pu, Li Fuming and others looked slightly changed. When everyone thought of confronting Liu Yan's powerful army, they couldn't help but feel fear in their hearts. Sitting in the lobby is like sitting on pins and needles.
Hong Chengchou glanced at everyone and sighed in his heart. Why was he willing to face Liu Yan's troops?
It's just that the current situation dictates that even if he doesn't want to, Hong Chengchou
Wu Sangui, Chen Yongfu and others have no way out, they can only do their best and obey fate!
Then Li Zicheng said: "From today on, each battalion will temporarily set up camp around Xingtang County. Except for the soldiers and horses of the old battalion and the former battalion stationed in the city, the other battalions will be stationed outside the city. All camps must dig trenches and set up Roadblocks, each battalion must deploy open sentries and hidden sentries to be on strict alert to prevent possible surprise attacks from Liu Yan's troops!"
"yes!"
"From today onwards, all the scouts from each battalion will be sent out to investigate in all directions, and we will do our best to detect the traces of Liu Yan's tribe!"
"yes!"
After the military meeting ended that day, the bandit battalions began to set up camp inside and outside Xingtang County, and there was a busy scene around the city.
After Li Yan came out of the county government, he took several personal guards to a house in the north of the city. This was the temporary residence of the old camp generals. The surrounding houses were the temporary residences of Niu Jinxing, Tian Jianxiu and others.
"My husband is back?"
As soon as Li Yan entered the yard, he saw the red lady cleaning the yard and said with a smile: "Why don't you take a rest, madam?"
The red lady sighed and said: "Your Majesty has left all the family members in the old camp over at Montenegro, and there is nothing to do in the camp. Where can I rest?"
Li Yan closed the courtyard door and said, "Don't say anything like this after you leave. Your Majesty has no choice but to do this."
"I see."
The red lady then followed Li Yan into the house and asked, "What was said in today's military meeting? Where will the army go next?"
Li Yan shook his head and said: "I don't know yet, but His Majesty has made up his mind to fight Liu Yan's tribe first, and then go north after defeating Liu Yan's tribe.
Attack the city of Beijing. Now that the scouts from various ministries have been sent out, we will stay in Xingtang County for the time being. "
The red lady's face changed slightly when she heard this, and she said: "You still want to fight Liu Yan's tribe? When I entered the city, I saw the defeated troops of the front camp and the remaining battalions in despair. They publicized the strength of Liu Yan's tribe everywhere. Now The morale of each battalion is a problem, and many soldiers are beginning to be afraid of Liu Yan's new recruits!"
Li Yan immediately stood up, walked out, and said loudly: "I'm going to see your Majesty!"
The red lady looked at Li Yan's hurried back and only let out a long sigh.
Li Yan hurriedly returned to the county government office. After seeing Li Zicheng, he reported the collapse of the battalions that had shaken the morale of the army. Li Zicheng was furious. At such a critical moment, someone could shake the morale of the army. Even Gu Junen should be found. Come, order Li Yan and Gu Junen to lead troops to inspect each battalion. Anyone who spreads rumors and shakes the morale of the army, whether they are soldiers or generals or from which battalion they belong to, will be beheaded on the spot!
After Li Yan and Gu Junen received the order, they took a thousand soldiers from the old battalion and started patrolling inside and outside Xingtang County. In only half a day, they captured 237 broken soldiers, belonging to the front line. The various departments of the camp, rear camp, and right camp.
Most of these rogue soldiers were even talking about their experiences to the people around them when they were captured. The surrounding rogue soldiers had expressions on their faces after hearing about the powerful firepower of Liu Yan's tribe and the mysterious surprise attack methods. Gloomy, panic, and various news about the powerful combat power of Liu Yan's tribe began to spread among the battalions.
Although each camp of bandits has followed them more than once,
Liu Yan's troops fought, but just like this time, four battle camps were wiped out in succession, and several world-famous generals such as Li Guo, Liu Tichun, and Yuan Zongdi were killed. This was the first time such a major blow had been dealt.
Therefore, with the collapse of each battalion adding fuel to the flames, the fear of Liu Yan's tribe began to intensify rapidly.
At dusk that day, Li Zicheng directly summoned the generals of each battalion and escorted the 237 captured defeated soldiers to the north of the city. In front of many soldiers and generals of each battalion, he killed the 237 defeated soldiers. All the soldiers were beheaded on the top of the city. When the bloody heads fell from the top of the city, everyone was shocked.
Only Li Zicheng's roar was still echoing: "Every battalion will immediately tighten military discipline. Anyone who dares to shake the morale of the army will be killed without mercy!"
That night, each battalion began to strengthen military discipline, especially Wu Sangui and Chen Yongfu. In order not to be used as examples by Li Zicheng at this stall, the two even personally led the team to inspect the camp to prevent soldiers from talking nonsense again.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the news that Li Zicheng had been waiting for finally came back: Liu Yan's troops are in the direction of Dingzhou!
After learning the news, Li Zicheng immediately called Hong Chengchou, Li Yan, and Gu Junen for discussion. They were all surprised. Liu Yan's tribe had always been elusive before, so why did it suddenly appear this time and pretend to defend the city?
Li Zicheng looked at Hong Chengchou. Hong Chengchou informed him and said: "Your Majesty, I think that Liu Yan's soldiers and horses should also be exhausted. In addition, our army has been huddled together. Liu Yan can't find the chance to make a surprise attack, so he simply Just put up your posture and wait for our army to make a decisive decision in Dingzhou.
war! "
Li Zicheng nodded and said coldly: "Since Liu Yan is interested, I can't refute his face! Send an order to all battalions to set off towards Dingzhou early tomorrow morning!"
