Laizhou.
Guo Ning has a military academy in the army, and he constantly selects wise and brave soldiers from various departments to study in the military academy. Guo Ning himself and other important generals would take time to give lectures at the military academy to impart their battlefield experience.
The military academy opened several terms one after another. The first semester was very short and the courses were few, but later it became more and more comprehensive. Among the military academy cadets, some who are particularly outstanding will be transferred to Guo Ning's bodyguard army and get the opportunity to show off in front of the coach.
In terms of talent, if these students were just to be guards, they would be overqualified. So Guo Ning established a staff department in the guard army and used these trainee directors to plan wars.
For example, Ding Haijun made a sudden attack to take over Shandong, and several battle plans had been drawn up before and after.
Relying on various information collected by the Recording Department, such as the size of the local armies of the Red Coat Army, the strength of the city, the difficulty of road access, etc., each has its own emphasis on different strategic requirements of the navy.
But generally speaking, at the beginning of every plan, the troops are divided into two routes, taking Weizhou and Yidu on the west route, and Juzhou and Mizhou on the south route. Then, according to changes in the enemy's forces, relying on the Mulingguan Passage on the inner line, rapid adjustments can be made. The strength of the two armies was both strong and weak, and they expanded the results of the battle.
Therefore, since Guo Ning decided to send troops, he should arrange intensive arrangements to make the soldiers and civilians excited and eager to make meritorious deeds. The next day, the two armies set off separately.
According to the battle plan, the West Route Army will be led by Guo Ning himself, with Wang Shixian and Guo Zhongyuan as his deputies; the South Route Army will be led by Li Ting, with Qiu Huiluo as his deputy, and Hao Duan will accompany him; Luo Monk's troops will stay in Laizhou and work with the people of Jing'an The three subordinate states all cooperate with each other and serve as reserve teams.
The directions of these two attacks are generally clear on all sides and the terrain is flat, which is conducive to the march of large troops. Guo Zhongyuan's section of the West Route Army led by Guo Ning was originally stationed in Haicang Town. They set out that day and captured Changyi the next day.
The fierce general under Guo Zhongyuan, Zhang Hui, known as "Sai Zhang Fei", led 300 elite cavalry, traveled day and night, and raided Gudi Town, an important military stronghold located north of Weizhou and west of Changyi.
They bypassed the village community along the way, got rid of entanglements, drove two hundred miles, and crashed into the fixed town late that night. They chased the unprepared soldiers with great force, lit torches and scattered them in all directions. The defender was caught off guard and knelt down begging for surrender under the hug of the soldiers.
Zhang Hui did not delay and left a hundred cavalry to monitor the surrender. Then he led the remaining cavalry with great fanfare and rushed towards Changle County to the west of Weizhou.
As a result, Weizhou was shocked and panicked, and waves of emergency messengers rushed to Yidu for help. The soldiers and civilians in Beihai County, where Weizhou was governed, were so frightened that some even fled to the southern mountains with their families. .
At this time, Guo Ning was marching in the formation of a large group of soldiers and horses. The cool autumn wind blew across the field, rolling the red flags raised by the soldiers and the red tassels on their helmets and spears, as if the flames of a prairie fire were leaping and dazzling. . The morale of the soldiers there was high, and military songs were sung from time to time, with loud and clear voices.
While Guo Ning was riding his horse, his expression was very serious. Even when he heard the news of victory from Zhang Hui's troops, he was not particularly happy. He also specially recruited the generals and told them that the relationship between victory and defeat in this battle was not trivial, and they must not be arrogant.
The generals naturally obeyed, and then saw Guo Ning thinking deeply, saying that the commander was thinking deeply about military affairs.
Guo Ning was indeed thinking about military affairs, but what he was thinking about was not the immediate matter, but the discussion about Guo Ning's whereabouts when the army moved a few days ago.
In a military operation of this scale, Wang Shixian lacks a reputation for being brave and good at fighting. Qiu Huiluo and Guo Zhongyuan have a lower status. The only ones who can take on the responsibilities are Guo Ning, Luo Heshang, and Li Ting. That is to say, they are three people who have established their own power in Tangluo, Hebei Province and have outstanding prestige among the soldiers.
Therefore, we must first decide on the direction that coach Guo Ning will be personally responsible for, and then decide who will be the backup, Monk Luo or Li Ting.
In fact, this matter should have been decided long ago, but Guo Ning had his own private considerations in this regard, so it was postponed until just before the battle.
At that time, Guo Ning asked Chu Cai, "What do you think, Mr. Jin Qing?"
Yili Chucai was the head of the civilian officials who coordinated government affairs and rarely expressed opinions on military operations. At this time, Guo Ning bypassed many senior generals and asked him directly.
Yizai Chucai stood up and said succinctly: "Jie Shuai should go to the west."
"How can I see it?"
"There are many strange things in the turmoil of the Red Coat Army. As discussed before, this is probably inseparable from Hebei Xuanfu envoy San Anzhen. To the west of Yidu, it borders Hebei. We must capture Yidu as soon as possible. And push the control area directly to the north of Beiqing River, otherwise, once Pusan Anzhen's troops intervene, there will be twists and turns. As for Ju, Mi and other states on the South Road, they have already been infiltrated by our army from many parties, and they are really the meat of the enemy."
Yizai Chucai bowed and said respectfully and solemnly: "Therefore, the most important thing is the west road, and the commander of the festival should go to the west road."
Guo Ning was silent for a long time. Others thought that he wanted to ask for someone else's opinion, but he had already made up his mind: "Then it's settled. I will personally lead the West Route Army and pacify Yidu. Over there with the South Route Army..."
He raised his finger and pointed at Li Ting: "Go!"
Li Ting was overjoyed and said: "The last general will obey your order!"
Guo Ning pointed to another person: "You are going too. After arriving in Juzhou and Mizhou, let's see if we can pick up some old relationships."
That person was Shi Puli. He used to be Yang An'er's important ally in Ninghai Prefecture, but he turned to Ding Haijun because of its strong power. I thought he would have nothing to do in this military operation, but unexpectedly Guo Ning specially ordered the general.
Shi Poli hurriedly came out: "Don't worry, commander-in-chief, I will fulfill my mission." '
This conversation was very simple, and Guo Ning immediately gave instructions for the subsequent arrangements. Many soldiers did not pay attention to the meaning at all. But Guo Ning and Yila Chucai both understood.
Ding Haijun's purpose for this war was to sweep through Shandong. But what exactly is the sweeping method? Everyone has their own judgment.
A group of civil servants and officials led by Yi La Chu Cai actually did not want to see Guo Ning and the Red Coat Army get too close. They hope that Guo Ning will subdue the Red Coat Army as a strong winner, and then carve it up and use it for his own purposes. They do not want Guo Ning to contain them as a sympathizer, which will lead to possible subsequent disasters. Hidden danger.
Therefore, when it comes to attacking Chu Cai, it is said that the focus is on the west road.
All because if Guo Ning can annihilate Li Quan's troops in Yidu and force Anzhen to retreat, he will naturally have the authority to subdue the scattered remnants of the red coat army. And because it was Guo Ning's generals who fought against the Red Coat Army in Juzhou and Mizhou in the early stage, after Guo Ning returned, it was easy to operate regardless of whether the battle was peaceful or whether he was playing good or bad.
In this regard, the idea of instruding Chu Cai is completely different from Xu Jin, who prefers gentle methods.
His background, vision and position determined that he would never regard the Red Coat Army as a fellow traveler of Guo Ning, let alone recognize that some people in the Red Coat Army were qualified to walk side by side with Guo Ning.
He admired Guo Ning because Guo Ning did show extraordinary talents in front of him, but this did not mean that he would attach equal importance to other reckless people.
Guo Ning had some hesitations about this.
But he is a qualified leader who knows that weighing interests is the key and must not allow personal emotions to get in the way. Therefore, he had long rejected Xu Jin's suggestion to moderate his actions. When the matter came to a close, when the assassination of Chu Cai vaguely reminded him, he also made a decisive decision.
Thinking of this, Guo Ning shook his head to free himself from meaningless calculations.
But as he rode forward for a moment, he couldn't help but think again:
Li Ting, the chief general of the South Road, had some interactions with the Red Coat Army at the foot of Zhuozhou City. I also sent Shi Poli, who was from the Red Coat Army, to assist. Once Yang An'er dies, his troops will inevitably lose their morale and morale to fight. After our army invades the Red Coat Army strongholds in Juzhou and Mizhou, we shouldn't go into a big war, right?
(End of chapter)
