Wang Jiayan pondered for a while and said respectfully to Zhu Cihong: "Your Highness, according to the Jurchen's habit of going south in the past, they usually advance in several directions. Now that the Jurchens have appeared at Xifengkou, they may also be attacked by Jurchens when they come to Gubeikou and other places. "
"However, no matter where the Jurchens enter the customs, they will eventually pass through Zunhua, Jizhou and other places. I will immediately send troops to Zunhua to try to block the Jurchens from outside the customs. What do you think?"
But although Wang Jiayan was asking Zhu Cihong for instructions, his eyes were directed at Shen Zhanran.
Hearing this, Zhu Cixiang glanced at Shen Zhanran. Seeing that the other party seemed to be deep in thought, he shook his head and said: "We already have insufficient troops. If we divide our troops for defense, we will only increase casualties, but we will not be able to stop the Jurchen invasion..."
Wang Jiayan also knew that this method was inappropriate, but he was in a hurry and could not think of any other good methods.
But as the Minister of the Ministry of War, he had to speak out when encountering such a big event, so he made this suggestion and wanted to see how Shen Zhanran would answer. Unexpectedly, Zhu Cixiang pointed out the shortcomings, and he couldn't help being surprised.
He withdrew his gaze, looked at Zhu Cihong and said, "What His Highness said is true, but if we don't send troops there, once the Jurchens enter the pass, His Majesty's previous measures to calm the people will be in vain."
Li Jing on the side heard this and nodded in agreement: "Yes, we must not let the Jurchens harm the people and destroy this autumn's harvest, otherwise it may be difficult to implement your majesty's plan!"
When Zhu Cihong heard the word "Your Majesty", a flash of light suddenly flashed in his eyes. He looked at Wang Jiayan and said, "If we gather our troops and defeat the main force of the Jurchens, do you think it is feasible?"
Wang Jiayan said with some surprise: "Your Highness, the Jurchen cavalry are strong, we can only stick to the city. If we fight with them in the field, the chance of winning is not great!"
Zhu Cihong said: "Yes, the Jurchens will think like you, so if we suddenly attack, we may be able to defeat them!"
Although Wang Jiayan felt that Zhu Cixiang's words made some sense, he thought that the other party's idea was too naive when he thought about the gap in combat power between the Ming soldiers and the Jurchens.
However, because Zhu Cixiang was the prince, he politely said: "Your Highness, your move may be a surprise, but the Jurchen cavalry moves quickly, and it may be difficult to defeat them all!"
Hearing this, Zhu Cixiang pondered and said: "I remember that when my father analyzed the Battle of Saarhu, he said that the Jurchen territory is full of narrow paths, which is not conducive to large-scale corps operations."
"Nurhachi also took advantage of this geographical advantage. After Yang Hao divided his troops, he concentrated his superior forces and defeated them one by one."
"Now can we also use the city to divide the invading Jurchens, concentrate our elites, and defeat their main force?"
Since Wang Jiayan had never been to Jurchen, he, like other civil servants, believed that the Battle of Sarhu was caused by Yang Hao's improper division of troops and command.
At this moment, after listening to Zhu Cixiang's words, I realized the mystery behind it, and at the same time, I was a little moved by Zhu Cixiang's proposal.
He pondered for a while and said: "Your Highness, although your plan is good, there are no strong soldiers in Jizhou and other places, so it may not be able to divide the Jurchens."
"And with our current strength, if we fight against the Jurchens, the outcome is extremely difficult to predict. Unless we can bring back the Guan Ning cavalry, we might give it a try."
Zhu Cixiang had no military knowledge at all, but Zhu Yuanzhang occasionally gave him some advice.
The strategy just now was based on the gourd's drawing, without any prejudice in mind, let alone flexibility.
Now that I heard Wang Jiayan's words, I couldn't help but frown as there was no solution for the moment.
"Lord Wang, you may want to give His Highness's method a try!"
At this time, Shen Zhanran, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
When Wang Jiayan heard this, he looked at him with some surprise and said, "Master Shen, are you saying that a field battle with the Jurchens is feasible?"
Shen Zhanran nodded and said: "Yes, as His Highness said before, the Jurchens have always been arrogant and would never have thought that we would take the initiative."
"In addition, they have been defeated one after another, and many soldiers have been infected with the plague, so their morale is not high. As long as we defeat their main force, we will definitely deter other soldiers."
"As for the division, I think it is completely feasible, because I heard that Mr. Huang has improved the Tiger Crouching Cannon, Fran Machine and other firearms. They are not only easy to operate, but also far more powerful than before."
"As long as we use these firearms to defend a few fortresses, and with the help of Duke An, we should be able to divide the Jurchens!"
Wang Jiayan muttered: "Master Shen, are you thinking too simply?"
"Knowing that the Jurchens have abandoned Ningyuan, Jinzhou and other places, there should be many troops entering the customs this time. How can we defeat them with more than 20,000 people alone?"
Shen Zhanran shook his head and said: "No, the Jurchens will not give up Jinzhou and other places. Otherwise, once Wu Sangui attacks from behind, they will risk their entire army being annihilated."
"So the lower official believes that Dorgon's troops should set up an ambush in Jinzhou in an attempt to annihilate Wu Sangui's Guanning cavalry."
"And this Jurchen cavalry that infiltrated may be Daishan or Hauge's troops. Their number is no more than 20,000 at most. As long as we attack and defend properly and knock off their spirit, we will definitely be able to force them back!"
Wang Jiayan thought for a while and said: "Master Shen, if it is true as you said, Hauge will not retreat easily, because if Jinzhou is a trap, then Wu Sangui has almost no chance of winning."
"And Hauge's previous situation in Jurchen was already very embarrassing. If they lose again this time and Dorgon wins again, Hauge's situation will be even more difficult in the future, so he will most likely fight to the death."
Shen Zhanran nodded and said: "If it is just a small defeat, he will definitely persist, but if his main force is defeated, or even makes him think that the entire army will be annihilated, he will not persist."
"Because the Jurchens advocate power, although Hauge wants to win, he will never dare to risk the entire army to attack the city. If there are other troops on this trip, then the feasibility of our plan will be higher... ..."
After listening to Shen Zhanran's story, Li Jing opened up his mind a lot and said, "Actually, we don't have to fight the Jurchens head-on."
"You must know that although Hauge wants to use this matter to reverse the defeat, other Jurchens may care more about property. If we pretend to retreat and give up some property first, let the Jurchens gain something, and then attack with all our strength, the effect may be more effective. ideal."
"Furthermore, after the people get the land, they are very motivated. As long as we make good use of it, we can gain hundreds of thousands of new troops..."
After listening to their stories, Wang Jiayan felt that it was reasonable and asked Zhu Cihong to make a decision.
Just as Zhu Cihong was about to speak, he saw Shen Zhanran looking worried, and said with some worry: "Sir, do you think there is something wrong with this matter?"
Shen Zhanran shook his head and said: "There is no problem in handling the Jurchen incident this way. What Wei Chen is worried about now is the rebels."
"Because according to the information from Jinyiwei, Niu Jinxing is very likely to have defected to the Jurchens. You must know that the rebels were in a very embarrassed state when they escaped from Xi'an. It is said that even Tian Jianxiu died in the battle, and Niu Jinxing, a scholar, should not be able to survive the whole body." retreat."
"So Wei Chen suspects that Niu Jinxing's escape from Xi'an was also Li Yan's arrangement. If the Jurchens' southern invasion was secretly planned by Niu Jinxing, then the rebels may not be far from the capital."
When Zhu Cixiang and others heard this, they all frowned.
Some people died, but not completely...
