"At that time, my formation had been broken up by Li Guo's cavalry. If Lord Shen hadn't created a suspicious formation and scared off Li Guo's cavalry, I'm afraid we would have been defeated at that time..."
In Dongnuan Pavilion, Li Guozhen was reporting the battle situation to Zhu Yuanzhang, and at the same time he was full of praise for Shen Zhanran.
Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy when he saw that both of them had returned safely despite being injured. Especially when Li Guozhen praised Shen Zhanran, he knew that they were not at odds with each other.
Zhu Yuanzhang first observed Li Guozhen carefully for a while and saw that he was eloquent and eloquent, and he had the aura of a strategist during the Warring States Period.
Then he thought that he was ordered to go to Korea this time in a critical situation, set off in a hurry, but still succeeded in forcing the Jurchens back, so he was the best choice to send the envoy to North Korea.
Because although Li Zicheng has been defeated now, it will still take some time to annihilate them, and the Jurchens have been keeping an eye on them. Although they retreated after falling into the trap, they will surely come back soon.
At present, if we want to prevent the Jurchens from invading south, in addition to maintaining the internal fighting among the Jurchens, it is best to persuade North Korea and even Mongolia, so that the Jurchens have no time to invade south and avoid fighting on two fronts.
Zhu Yuanzhang has been planning this matter, but he has not taken action because he does not have the right talents.
Seeing Li Guozhen's performance now, I feel that he should be the best candidate.
Thinking of this, he nodded slightly and then turned his eyes to Shen Zhanran.
Seeing Shen Zhanran looking at Li Guozhen with a smile on his face, not acting abnormally due to the previous battle, and performing better than some generals, he couldn't help but look at him with approval.
Shen Zhanran saw Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze and hurriedly bowed to pay tribute.
Zhu Yuanzhang saw that he was polite and polite, and thought that he joined the war midway. Not only could he convince Li Guozhen in a short period of time and take the initiative to hand over military power, but he also adapted to local conditions and completed the task brilliantly, showing that he was truly a general.
Zhu Yuanzhang lacked good generals. Seeing Shen Zhanran's performance at this moment, he couldn't help but have the idea of letting Shen Zhanran lead the army.
But he also thought that the soldiers were strong now, and Shen Zhanran was a scholar after all, and might not be able to subdue those arrogant and powerful generals, and he hesitated in his heart.
Just as he was calculating in his mind, Li Guozhen had finished his report.
Zhu Yuanzhang quickly calmed down and said with a smile: "Li Qing, you don't have to praise Shen Qing. Shen Qing's performance in this battle is certainly good, but you went north to Shengjing and forced the Jurchens to retreat without spending a single soldier."
"And you also convinced the soldiers from Xuanfu and Datong to come to serve the king. Your contribution is also indispensable. After this battle is over, we will definitely reward you well!"
When Li Guozhen heard this, he said with a humble face: "The trip to Shengjing is entirely due to your Majesty's planning. I am just doing my best, so how can I dare to take credit..."
Zhu Yuanzhang saw that Li Guozhen was not proud of taking the credit. After nodding slightly, he looked at Shen Zhanran and asked tentatively: "Shen Qing, what do you think of leading the army in this battle?"
Shen Zhanran bowed and said: "This battle is all mediated by Uncle Xiangcheng. The ministers are just pawns. Apart from feeling the cruelty of war, they have no other feelings!"
Zhu Yuanzhang heard this and said in a deep voice: "Yes, we had the same feeling as you when we first raised troops... to ambush Zhangyi Gate."
"However, wars are constantly happening in the world today. If we are benevolent as women because of the cruelty of war, it will only make this situation more serious."
"So for the sake of the people of the world, we must end the war with war, put down the rebellion as soon as possible, and restore peace to the world. This is the greatest mercy."
A flash of light flashed in Shen Zhanran's eyes, and then he said respectfully: "Thank you for your advice, your Majesty. I will definitely do my best to help your Majesty eliminate the rebellion and rule the world!"
As soon as this statement came out, Liu Wenbing, Li Guozhen and others also echoed.
At this time, Wu Mengming sent another battle report.
Zhu Yuanzhang took a quick glance and saw that Gong Yonggu not only captured Juyong Pass with more than 40,000 people, but also killed and captured more than 30,000 rebels.
Although Wu Sangui killed more than 20,000 rebels with the same number of people, he killed more than 15,000 people, and also lost Wang Yongji, the governor of Jiliao...
Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but press the jade belt around his waist downwards.
After handing the battle report to Liu Wenbing, he turned to Wu Mengming and said, "What can Wu Sangui say about Wang Yongji's death in battle?"
Wu Mengming nodded and said: "Ping Xibo said that after discovering that General Li Chengdong was attacked, he was worried that he did not have enough troops, so he sent 10,000 elite troops to support him."
"Later, he himself was attacked by the rebels and fell into a bitter battle, so he had no time to pay attention to the matter. He did not expect that General Li Chengdong's position would suddenly fall. After he found out, he asked Guan Ning's cavalry to return to reinforcements as soon as possible, but Mr. Wang did not He died in the rebel army."
"The last general also inspected it carefully afterwards and found that General Lee's position was easy to defend but difficult to attack, especially with 20,000 people defending it. It was unlikely that it would be suddenly lost."
"But the two places are only about three miles apart. If the rebels really break through the position, chaos will easily occur. It is possible that Mr. Wang will be killed in the rebellion."
"It's just that Mr. Wang is also a man who has experienced hundreds of battles. With his ability, shouldn't he..."
"How is the situation in Shanxi now?"
Zhu Yuanzhang did not wait for Wu Mengming to finish and changed the topic.
Wu Mengming was stunned and said: "Now Pingxi Bo Wu Sangui, Zhongyi Bo Gao Jie, Renyi Bo Ma Jinzhong and others have all invaded Shanxi."
"Because Li Thief had been prepared, although the progress of the armies was different, they all only faced off at the border. Ping Xihou once organized an attack, but it was unsuccessful."
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he couldn't help but frowned and said to Liu Wenbing: "Dong An Guo, what do you think of this matter?"
Liu Wenbing was silent for a while and said: "Your Majesty, although we won a great victory in the first battle in the capital, the damage to both the Beijing army and the reinforcements was great. It is not appropriate to fight again at this moment."
"In my humble opinion, I might as well consolidate the victory first. After the troops from Nanjing and Jingnanbo arrive, it's not too late to encircle and suppress the rebels!"
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at him, then looked at Shen Zhanran and said, "Shen Qing, what do you think?"
Shen Zhanran pondered: "Dong An Guo's suggestion is quite sound, but I heard that Li Thief mobilized all the troops left behind in Shanxi in order to attack the capital."
"Although Li Ze went to guard it personally, due to the limited troops, it is expected that his defense was only on the Shanxi border line, and the interior should be weak."
"Although our army has suffered a lot of casualties, its morale is very high. If your Majesty can encourage us, I think they can still fight."
"If we can conquer Li Thief's defense line in one fell swoop, the army will be able to march straight in, or we can recapture Shanxi, Hunan and other places in one fell swoop, and then besiege Xi'an. In this way, the rebels will have nothing to worry about!"
Liu Wenbing was also quite moved when he heard this, but he was still worried: "Sir Shen, although your suggestion is good, the fact that Pingxihou's attack was frustrated shows that our army's combat power is insufficient."
"If we try our best to attack, if there is any disagreement and the rebels take advantage of the situation, it would be disadvantageous to oppose me. It would be safer to wait for other reinforcements to arrive before fighting again."
Shen Zhanran glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang secretly, and seeing that he had no intention of speaking, he shook his head and said: "Dong An Guo, although we failed to ping Xihou, I think the rebels will also have a hard time."
"And it's rare for reinforcements to fight so hard. We must not let our spirits down at this time. You must know that the number of rebels is not less than ours. The reason why they are being chased and beaten by us now is because their morale has been frustrated."
"If they come to their senses, the war will become more intense, and the rebels will have no fewer reinforcements than us. For example, Ning Nanbo has been unable to go north because he was restrained by Yuan Zongdi, Bai Wang and others."
"In addition, there are hundreds of thousands of rebels in Xi'an, Xiangyang and other places. If we don't fight now, Li Thief will not only strengthen the defenses in Shanxi, but also let rebels from other places come. Then the situation may not be good for us. favorable."
"So Wei Chen feels that it is in our best interest to attack the rebels while they are still unsteady, and not give them a chance to breathe."
Liu Wenbing shook his head and said: "Master Shen, although what you said is reasonable, you are wrong in your calculation. You must know that although Yuan Zongdi and others have held back Ning Nanbo, Ning Nanbo has also held back Yuan Zongdi."
"As for the reinforcements from the rebels in Xi'an, Xiangyang and other places, based on this, they are more than two thousand miles away and there is no way they can arrive before Mr. Shi and others..."
...
