Chapter 061 Going north to aid Liao
After leaving Shenji Grocery Store, Chen Cao rode home. He didn't know why he came back after going to bed tonight. As soon as he walked out of the screen wall, he met Bai Xinlan and sent Bai Magnolia out with her five-month-old belly.
The two looked at each other, but Bai Magnolia blushed for some reason. Chen Cao gestured to Bai Xinlan to let her leave, and then said gently: "Yu Lan, I just went to your house to find you. I didn't expect you to be here." I'm here."
"The daughter of the common people is just here to visit my uncle's relatives. She will leave now."
Bai Magnolia said she was about to leave, but Chen Cao blocked her way: "I came to you just to tell you that I will lead troops to support the Guangning battlefield tomorrow, where the Tatars have gathered a large number of troops. I was ordered to go."
Bai Magnolia obviously hesitated for a moment, and then looked up at Chen Cao: "Uncle, I'm going to aid Liao, what's the point of interfering with civilian girls?"
"Yulan, I didn't mean it. I know I was wrong," Chen Cao apologized quickly.
Magnolia stared at Chen Cao for a long time, and then said: "Please pay attention to your own safety."
After saying that, he walked around Chen Cao and left.
"Thieves..." Li Waner stood at the door and shouted, then quickly walked past Bai Magnolia, stared at it curiously, then walked to Chen Cao without caring, "Did you bully that girl?"
Chen Cao didn't understand: "Why did I bully her?"
"Then why are others crying?" Li Waner asked.
"She cried?" Chen Cao was surprised. He was about to chase her out but saw that Magnolia was gone, so he didn't care: "I know..."
"Who is she?" Li Waner asked next.
Chen Cao smiled helplessly: "She is Xinlan's sister. She is Bai Mengsheng who came to see Xinlan."
"Is she Bai Mengsheng?" Li Waner said loudly, "If you had told me earlier, I would have asked her to give me one of her books."
Chen Cao had a dark look on his face: "Have you forgotten what you came to do?"
Li Waner suddenly realized that, regardless of whether she was in Chen Cao's home or not, she directly wrapped her arms around Chen Cao to protect him: "I heard that you were granted the title of earl and are going to Liaodong. I was worried, so I came to see you."
Although Chen Cao was embarrassed by Bai Magnolia, at least the beautiful and petite Li Waner cared about him, so he touched her head: "Don't worry, I won't suffer a big loss as the head coach of the Southern Army this time."
Li Waner looked up at Chen Cao: "Tatars are no better than others, so be careful." She rolled her eyes and said, "Why don't you take me with you? I'm familiar with the local situation and can take care of you."
"Eh..." Chen Cao felt that Li Waner was not fooling around: "Yes, I am worried about someone who is familiar with the local situation. No, you have lived in Tieling Shenyang for a long time, how can you know the entire Liaodong thing?"
Li Waner let go of Chen Cao and immediately turned from a young girl into a strong woman: "Don't look down on people. Although I live in Tieling and Shenyang, don't forget that my father is the commander-in-chief of Liaodong. Besides, I can speak Tatar. Do you know?"
Chen Cao shook his head.
Li Waner smiled and said, "That's right. As long as I'm here, I can guarantee that your trip to Liaodong will be a success. Tell me, are you going to take a sea ship and land at Lushunkou?"
"How did you know about such confidential military affairs?" Chen Cao became anxious immediately.
Li Waner clapped his hand: "Don't worry, I guessed it. Gaizhou Wei's father took me through it no less than ten times before his death, so I'm familiar with the terrain."
Chen Cao acquiesced in his heart that many of the Ming Dynasty's troops were tricked by the rebellious leading party. It would not be a bad thing to have his own people to lead the way: "In that case, prepare yourself and set off with me tomorrow."
"Okay..." Li Waner responded excitedly and ran away.
Chen Cao wanted to ask but it was too late.
In the lobby, all the female family members were waiting for him. As soon as he stepped into the lobby door, Li Xiang and the female family members all saluted Chen Cao: "We are waiting for you to return home..."
Chen Cao was stunned, then burst out laughing, and kept saying, "It's not like..." Then he took Li Xiang's hand and sat on the main seat: "I will lead the army north to aid Liao tomorrow. You should take care of yourself at home. Listen to Xiang Son’s words.”
"Remember your husband's (master, uncle) instructions..."
"Husband, going to Liaodong is extremely dangerous, and you have to take care of food on the way. Why don't you bring a few maids there so that you can arrange accommodation for your husband." Li Xiang looked at Chen Cao tenderly.
Chen Cao thought it was reasonable. Although women were not allowed in the military camp, at this time in the late Ming Dynasty, there were not a few people who blatantly brought women with them during the war, and there were many who brought one or two maids with them.
"Okay, let Chunyao go with me, husband." Chen Cao said, looking at Zhang Chunyao and smiling.
Zhang Chunyao blushed with joy when she heard Chen Cao named her to follow him to Liaodong. Li Xiang's face was obviously uncomfortable, but he did not dare to refute Chen Cao's intention, so he smiled and said: "It's okay for sister Chunyao to go, let Xiaolan and Xiaochun, please accompany me."
When the two maids heard that they were involved, they lowered their heads and blushed.
But Chen Cao stopped him: "You can't bring so many women with you in the army. Besides, Chun Yao is going in plain clothes, so you have to disguise yourself." After saying this, Chen Cao saw that Li Xiang looked ugly and knew what she meant, so he took a step back. : "Well, Xiaolan is the head maid and can't leave the house, so let Xiaochun go with me."
Li Xiang then showed a smile, and then asked: "Xiaochun, you have to take care of my uncle's daily life on the way, do you understand?"
Xiaochun blushed and saluted: "I know this."
...
The soldiers of the right guard and all the logistics materials were all disembarked from the naval port. Chen Cao had experience in sailing on sea ships and was not afraid of seasickness at all. The only thing he was worried about was the other soldiers in the right guard.
"Report to uncle," Pang Zhifan rode his horse to Chen Cao's boat: "According to uncle's instructions, we will mobilize five large ships with 3,000 materials from the Navy, 20 ships with 1,300 materials, and 1,000 materials from the navy." There are fifty sea-going ships and twenty eight-hundred-ton logistics ships, a total of ninety-five ships. The navy and right guard soldiers have come ashore one after another. Please give me your instructions."
"Raise the sails and set sail, the whole army."
The mighty fleet sailed down the Yangtze River, picking up the mobilized guards at ports such as Yangzhou Prefecture and Zhenjiang Prefecture, and then headed for the Yangtze River's outlet.
Six days later, the fleet arrived at the estuary of the Yangtze River and happened to meet the Guanhai Guards who arrived with the fleet. They joined the boat and began to swim upstream towards Liaodong.
After Lin Guodong received Chen Cao's transfer order, he immediately dressed up and took the people out. After merging the ship, the first thing he did was to visit Chen Cao's ship.
"General Lin Guodong, please pay homage to your uncle..." Although Lin Guodong was wearing armor, he still saluted Chen Cao.
Chen Cao naturally took advantage of it and raised his hand to support him: "Get up, you have worked hard."
"It's not hard for me, general." Lin Guodong stood up and bowed and said, "It is my blessing to be able to serve my uncle."
"Hahaha..." Chen Cao laughed twice, then looked at Xin Zhao and others beside him and said, "Look at you guys, is Lin Guodong a better flatterer than you?"
Xin Zhao smiled awkwardly and said, "Commander Lin was inspired."
Everyone agreed. After Chen Cao laughed, he said coldly: "Stop flattering me. Immediately raise a flag and ask the officers and schools above the command level to come to my ship for a meeting."
"yes..."
On the second deck of Chen Cao's handsome ship, all the military academies and naval officers of the Sixth Guards Command and above were lined up. In front of them was a huge military map of Liaodong. Chen Cao stood in front of the map, and next to him stood Li Waner wears armor.
"Everyone," after Chen Cao spoke, there was no other sound on the deck except the sound of the sea breeze and sea water: "I am not familiar with the terrain of Liaodong. This is the Lord of Tieling Township, and his grandfather is Ning Yuanbo Li Chengliang." After introducing Li Waner, Chen Cao continued: "The original landing place was at the port of Lushun, which is the jurisdiction of Yuan Keli, the governor of Denglai. Lushun deputy general Zhang Pan is stationed there, but our ultimate goal is to be in Guangning, via Tieling Township. Jun suggested that Ben Bo decided to land this landing directly on Lianyun Island in Gaizhou Wei."
"Gaizhou Guard?" Song Che frowned: "Uncle, Gaizhou Guard became the territory of the Tatars after the fall of Shenyang. We first arrived in Liaodong and are not used to the terrain there. If we are ambushed by the Tatars, I'm afraid There is no way back.”
Many people nodded, and Chen Cao took out the message from Jin Yiwei: "This was obtained by Beizhen Fusi's spies in Liaodong. After the fall of Xining Fort, Nurhaci gathered troops under Xiping Fort, but did not attack for a long time. It should be considered that After recruiting the three guards of Duoyan to act together, General Luo Yigui was stationed at Xiping Fort, while Gaizhou Guards had a Tatar Niulu soldiers and many soldiers who had been surrendered by the Ming Dynasty, including up to a thousand people. Where to land can shorten the time. , and can also damage the morale of the Tatars from the rear."
"The majority of the Jianlu troops are cavalry," said Zhenjiang Guard Commander Han Shun: "There are only 500 cavalry in our army, and my uncle's Nanjing right guard is all infantry. If Jianlu rushes into the formation, it can be said that they will be defeated in a single charge, so it is better to just Land directly at the Wanghaitai area of Ningyuan Zhongzuo Station."
Han Shun's words made sense. Chen Cao nodded, then looked at Song Che and said loudly: "Commander Song, does my right guard have any way to stop the Tatar cavalry?"
Song Che clasped his fists: "Yes, the last general fought side by side with the Qi family army in Liaodong a few years ago. When they used firearms troops to fight against the Tatar attacks, they often formed a group with vehicles. The right guard often practiced vehicle formation tactics during training. Now he is heading north. There is our army’s convoy on the logistics ship.”
"Well," Chen Cao nodded with satisfaction. Although it was for others to see, he had to look good: "In this way, if you cooperate with my firearms unit, you will definitely be safe."
Chen Cao then ordered: "Immediately send a clipper to Ningyuan, tell Commander Sun about our army's landing at Gaizhou Guard, and ask them to prepare early at Xiping Fort. They can arrive at Xiping Fort before July 15th to support them." Luo Yiyuan.”
"yes..."
As soon as the herald left, Chen Cao looked at the commanders. Among them, the commanders of the Dahe Guard, Yangzhou Guard and Guanhai Guard could be said to be Chen Cao's own people. Only Zhenjiang Guard and Songjiang Guard were not, although they both belonged to the south. They are directly under the garrison, but they are not familiar with each other.
The sergeants of the two guards also complained quite a bit when they learned that they were being drafted to aid the Liao Dynasty. The most important problem was the court's money and food.
"This time to aid the Liao Dynasty, the imperial court only allocated one hundred thousand taels of food and grass money. I know that some of the commanders here have not received their expeditionary payment yet, but you don't have to worry," Chen Cao looked at the two commanders with high spirits: "After landing, I will pay each of you three months' salary out of my own pocket. The food expenses will be charged to my Nanjing right guard."
As soon as these words came out, everyone beamed with joy. Little did they know that the Nanjing Right Guards and the Navy had paid three months of military pay before departure.
Chen Cao continued: "My uncle's main purpose in doing this is to make you all work together on the battlefield. When our southern troops went to the Liaodong battlefield, except for Qin Liangyu and Qi's army, all of them were defeated. Why?
Because they are afraid of death... When they encounter an enemy, the first thing they do is not to fight as a team, but to turn around and run away. Why? You are still afraid of death. As officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, you are supposed to protect the country and the people. Today I will give you money so that you will not be afraid when you meet the Tatars. Remember, they are also children of their parents. You can chop them with a knife. , he was still going to bleed to death, why did he run? "
Chen Cao's words were very morale-boosting. After hearing this, all the commanders rushed to express their loyalty and were determined to bring honor to the Southern troops.
"We have won this battle, and we, the southern soldiers, have the confidence to prevent the northern soldiers from thinking that we, the southern soldiers, are a bunch of sissies and useless cowards."
At this time, a commander interjected: "Uncle, soldiers from the north are running away everywhere."
"That's because they can't make enough money," Chen Cao replied: "The court has no money, and they are actually very good at fighting the Tatars. It's because they have no money, so their people are distracted. You should remember that no matter what, my uncle's The Nanjing right-back will always be at the forefront of you."
...
Twenty days later, on June 21, Chen Cao's fleet, which sailed northward via the Yellow Sea, arrived in Lushun. He briefly spoke to Zhang Pan at the port of Lushun, and then took a general under his command as a guide and set off for Lianyun Island.
On the evening of June 23, the mighty fleet arrived at Lianyun Island. After landing, they found that the island was empty.
The guide is a scout from Baihu, who wears a Tatar money rat tail and speaks standard Jurchen dialect.
"Uncle," Zhao Xin approached Chen Cao: "The guide said that there are occasionally a small number of Jianlu stationed on Lianyun Island, but there are none now. They may have gone to Gaizhou to guard."
The fleet stopped at the beach of Lianyun Island. After more than 30,000 people landed, they buried pots and cooked rice. Chen Cao ordered the navy to set sail and cruise along the surrounding waters to prevent Tatars from sneaking attacks by boats.
"Is there any contact with the Jin Yiwei in Liaodong?" Chen Cao was studying the map and once again stepped onto the border of Liaodong, he felt a little bit uneasy.
"Not yet, we have our people on the Gaizhou Guard side, but we still have to land tomorrow." Zhao Xin continued: "According to the guide, the Tatars may launch an attack on Xipingbao at the end of July. "
"We are too backward and have little information. If we can't contact the people in Jinyiwei, everything we do is in vain. Some of the information is not trustworthy. Besides, Zhang Pan is in Lushun, and his information is not that accurate." As he spoke, Chen Cao squinted at Xin Zhao: "He can't contact the Jin Yiwei people."
Zhao Xin was stunned for a moment and then immediately realized: "Uncle, don't you believe Zhang Pan?"
"It's not that I don't believe him," Chen Cao took a deep breath: "After entering Liaodong, I don't trust anyone, I only believe in my own judgment. I have to be careful in everything, and never trust others easily."
Xin Zhao nodded: "My subordinates understand. I will send the brothers of Jin Yiwei to monitor the guide."
