"Could it be that Shen Zhanran has been killed?"
When Zhu Yuanzhang was puzzled, he suddenly thought of the rumor Li Jing had told before, saying that Zhu Cixiang had ordered Shen Zhanran to be killed due to pressure.
If this is the case, then it makes sense for the wolf soldiers to appear here.
However, he immediately thought that Zhu Cixiang was kind-hearted by nature, and he had studied Confucian classics since he was a child, and he valued loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness.
Although there have been changes under his guidance these days, he still doesn't believe it if Zhu Cihong killed Shen Zhanran due to pressure from civil servants.
Because Zhu Cihong had great trust in Shen Zhanran and always regarded himself as his disciple, he would never do anything to murder his teacher.
Furthermore, Shen Zhanran was extremely talented and resourceful, so it was impossible for him to let things develop to that point.
What's more, Shen Zhanran is blocking Li Guo at the moment. If he dies suddenly, Li Guo will take advantage of the situation and besiege him, and there will be chaos in the capital.
Not only is this not in the interest of Lu Jiude and others, but it is also impossible for Mr. Zou Da to lead the wolf soldiers at this time. ..
Therefore, it is most likely that Shen Zhanran discovered the traces of the wolf soldiers and was worried that if Zhu Cihong continued to resist, the wolf soldiers would attack them.
In order to avoid being attacked from both sides and affecting the war, they pretended to be under control to delay time.
Zhu Cixiang also pretended to have no choice but to return to the capital. First, he could paralyze everyone and take the opportunity to control the capital, and secondly, he could gain room for maneuver.
Therefore, after Zhu Cihong returned to Beijing, after some disguised struggle, he pretended to be helpless and issued the decree to kill Shen Zhanran, but the execution time should be after repelling Li Guo.
Because only in this arrangement can the interests of both parties be guaranteed.
However, Zhu Yuanzhang still had a doubt in his mind, that is, whether the civil servants would agree to this matter, they should have obtained the will from Zhu Cihong, and there were also their people in the army, so they were not worried about not being able to kill Shen Zhanran.
But why did Shen Zhanran get out of trouble?
Do you want to wait for him to come back to deal with this matter?
If so, Zhu Cixiang should send him a message, but he has not received any message so far.
Suddenly, he thought that Shen Zhanran was defeated shortly after Zhu Cihong left.
This matter may not seem problematic to ordinary people, because Shen Zhanran had been defeated many times before against the Jurchens, and when he faced Li Shichao, not only his troops and horses were far inferior to before, but he was also a tired army, so defeat was normal.
But Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Shen Zhanran was thoughtful and took the initiative to withdraw his troops, so he would definitely not be defeated immediately.
There is only one possibility for this kind of thing to happen, and that is that Shen Zhanran deliberately defeated the enemy in order to take the opportunity to eliminate the opponent's influence in the army.
But this is also a double-edged sword.
Because although this method can eliminate opposition forces, it also weakens the combat effectiveness of the Ming soldiers.
In addition, the troops and horses in Shen Zhanran's hands were already insufficient, and now that they have been reduced again, it will be even more difficult to fight against Li Shi.
In addition, Shen Zhanran's actions would also make the civil servants or Lu Jiude feel uneasy and prompt the wolf soldiers to return. ..
From this point of view, the purpose of the opponent's successive assassinations tonight was not to sneak attack on the Jurchen, but to make him feel dangerous and suspicious of this army.
Once he has doubts about the soldiers and horses, he will not accompany them when he returns to Beijing, so that the wolf soldiers may kill him.
And as long as he dies, even if Shen Zhanran has the means to reach heaven, he will not be able to overturn Zhu Cihong's will.
When the time comes, Shen Zhanran will either sit back and wait to be killed, or abscond alone.
In this way, the other party can easily take over the troops near the capital, and then sideline Zhu Cixiang.
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but sneer in his heart when he thought of this.
Only then did he hear Gu Yanwu's voice: "Li Shangshu, do you think those lurking soldiers are wolf soldiers?"
Li Jing nodded and said: "This is extremely possible, because now we have a good grasp of the situation of all the soldiers and horses. Only the wolf soldiers' movements are unknown, and they are very good at mountain warfare and sneak attacks..."
After listening to Li Jing's analysis, Gu Yanwu nodded in agreement and said, "Li Shangshu, since you suspect that the wolf soldiers are lurking here, if they are here
If they set up an ambush halfway, or take advantage of the fierce battle between us and the Jurchens to attack, wouldn't we be passive? "
Li Jing said: "It is precisely because of this worry that I insist on dispatching the entire army, because only in this way can we have the ability to divide our forces for fighting."
He said, glanced at Brother Li Wu, and continued: "After we set off, Brother Li Wu can lead 15,000 elites to detour to the right side of the Jurchens, while I will lead the remaining troops forward."
"If the wolf soldiers make a sneak attack, they can only block my troops. At the same time, they can also make Hauge and others relax their vigilance. When the time comes, Brother Li Wu will lead his army to attack again, and the Jurchens will be defeated."
"As for breaking out while we are in a fierce battle, don't worry too much. I will leave troops to stop them first, and then we will take action in advance, so they may not have time to react."
Hearing this, Brother Li Wu was a little worried and said: "Li Shangshu, although we have more than 20,000 people, the real elites are only 15,000, and the rest are temporary recruits."
"If I take all these people away, wouldn't it be too dangerous for you to encounter the wolf soldiers?"
"Furthermore, if we take action in advance and the Jurchens are not in civil strife, we may not be able to take advantage!"
Li Jing shook his head and said, "Now that Sony is suspicious, even if Niyaha's men cannot be persuaded, they will still be on strict guard against them. They may not have the chance to take action."
"If there is no chaos in the Jurchen army, it will be extremely difficult for Jiang Yingkui and others to set fire, so we should attack first and disrupt the Jurchen deployment, so as to create opportunities for Niyaha's men and Jiang Yingkui."
"As for the fight against the wolf soldiers, you don't have to worry too much. Although the 10,000 people under my command are all new soldiers, they have also experienced several battles and are familiar with the equipment and basic formations. Moreover, they are calculated mentally and unintentionally, and the risks are Totally controllable.”
Although Brother Li Wu didn't know soldiers, he felt that it was too dangerous for Li Jing to fight the wolf soldiers with new soldiers. Just when he was about to dissuade him, he heard Gu Yanwu's voice again: "What if the wolf soldiers sneak attack our camp?"
"If we succeed this time, it doesn't matter if we lose the baggage. But if we lose, we won't be able to raise food and wages in a short period of time. How can we fight against the Jurchens?"
Li Jing glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang and muttered: "The Jurchens were already at a disadvantage before, and there was another internal fight. After tonight's battle, even if they don't retreat, they won't be able to attack in the short term."
"Now that the situation in the capital is treacherous, we cannot delay any longer. Therefore, we can ask the soldiers to bring three days of dry food before departure. No matter whether we are victorious or not, we will immediately lead our troops back to help Master Shen defeat the rebels."
"As for the other baggage, they gathered together and buried gunpowder and other materials in the baggage and various places in the camp in public. The military commanders will definitely inform the wolf soldiers about this. It is expected that they will not take risks for these baggage. If them......"
After listening to Li Jing's story, Gu Yanwu pondered for a while, bowed and asked for orders: "Your Majesty, although my martial arts skills are not as good as those of Li Shangshu, I have some urgent plans. Please allow me to fight against the wolf soldiers, and let Li Shangshu escort you back." Beijing!"
Li Jing was originally planning to ask Gu Yanwu to escort Zhu Yuanzhang back to Beijing, but he knew that the other party did not like being arranged. He was thinking about how to make a suggestion. At this moment, seeing Gu Yanwu's proposal, he hurriedly stepped forward to request the order.
Brother Li Wu originally looked down on Gu Yanwu, but now he saw that he was willing to take his own life, which greatly changed his view of him, and he also asked for a fight.
Zhu Yuanzhang was very happy to see the three of them being so loyal and brave.
He smiled and said, "Li Qing's arrangement just now is very reasonable, just follow the plan!"
"As for our safety and the wolf soldiers, you don't need to worry too much. We have already prepared a way to deal with it."
Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang speaking so confidently, Li Jing and the other two people all looked happy.
