August 19, Yanchuan.
In the camp outside the city, a young and heroic officer stood in front of the Chinese military tent and bowed, saying softly: "General, I have a humble position, Ma Ke."
"Enter."
Li Bei closed the baggage book, looked back at the topographical map hanging on the tent, twisted his sore neck, and asked, "How is it?"
When Chief Ma Ke entered the Chinese military tent, he knelt down to perform a military salute, then stood up and said: "The corpses of the county yamen school have been recorded and reported. The compliant heads are 141, and there are two heads of women who used to live in the suburbs."
Ma Ke lowered his head with a humble expression, paused for a moment before raising his head carefully and said: "Now it has been found that he was killed by Chen Shiyao, a soldier of the third team of Zuosi, the commander of the former camp, and Feng Guangli, a soldier of the sixth team of the Zuosi... General, commander of the commander of the former camp. The supplementary officers of Yulin Town and the left commander of the front camp are always soldiers borrowed from General Ai. Is this a military law?"
Li Bei was not a tall man, and his voice was very cold. He didn't get angry when he heard this. He just raised his hand and slapped the books piled on the left side of the table, saying: "Nonsense, before the war, each of you must guarantee the fourth, and don't plunder, kill women and children, and rob the people." Livestock, are they child's play? Tell Wang Shilong, if he doesn't kill people, I will kill them. As for the general Liuguo Town, if he can't enforce military law, let him lead his troops back to Shenmu to find General Ai Shen. I don't need this guy anymore."
Marco raised his head and persuaded again: "But general, what if they really make a noise and leave?" The captive thief said that Chuang Wang's group has tens of thousands of people, and we are waiting for a battalion that is not full. Three of the total two are borrowed. Yes, if one more person leaves... the imperial court has gathered together Mr. Qian, so what's the use?"
His words made Li Bei sigh.
This Yan'an general is really aggrieved.
Post stations and express shops were destroyed everywhere, leaving the officers and soldiers with no information about the surrounding areas of Yan'an City. Eight days ago, Yulin Town received a letter from Zhang Nian, the prefect of Yan'an.
In the letter, Zhang Nian scolded Commander-in-Chief Wu Zimian, saying that Commander-in-Chief Wu was nothing. It would be fine if he did not send troops to Yan'an Prefecture for reinforcements. What does it mean to send seven letters in a row without replying? Hurry up and send me the messenger messenger you detained!
Wu Zimian was scolded stupidly. This was the first letter he had received, and where was the messenger who had been detained?
Li Bei took office hastily and did not dare to go to the capital to recruit troops. He moved here and there in Yulin Town and borrowed two Manbian headquarters. One was the tribal leader Meng Ruhu who was born outside the Great Wall, and the other was the Shenmu General Ai Wannian. Xia Liuguo Town.
Only Ma Ke, who had followed him from Bai Zongsheng to fill in the general's little brothers and even the servants, could be considered as the headquarter's soldiers.
"The imperial court fought against Jianzhou in the northeast for ten years. People in the southeast resisted taxes at intervals. Yanshe Chongming also fought in Anbang in the southwest for nine years. Now in the northwest, border troops mutiny and hungry people rebel."
Li Bei stood up, walked to Ma Ke, wiped the dust off his iron arm, straightened his collar, and said: "Yulin's troops and food are limited, and the imperial court has given everything it can to me. You If you are brave and dare to fight, you will be a loyal minister of the court in the future, but you are impatient and will inevitably panic when things happen in a hurry. If you complain like this in the future, don't say it again."
"yes!"
Ma Ke lowered his head and saluted, saying: "I'm humble, thank you for your advice, General."
"I really envy you for being young." Li Bei was very satisfied with the attitude of his subordinates and shook his head with emotion. Then he sat back in front of the Chinese army case and said solemnly: "This battle to counter the rebellion will last for a long time. If I go to If you go somewhere else, you have to remember sixteen words."
Marco glared: "I despise my position and swear to follow the general to the death!"
"What nonsense? You are a general of the imperial court and you are determined to follow me to death."
He was very optimistic about Marco, a young low-level officer. If this was the early years of the Apocalypse and Li Bei was still serving in Jizhen, he would have agreed.
Maybe I can take Ma Ke with me for a lifetime.
But things are different now. A few years have been wasted, and there is not much time left for him to fight in the army. He cannot take Ma Ke with him for a lifetime.
Li Bei shook his head and said: "Remember, in the battle against rebellion, you are not afraid of too many thieves, but only of few; if you are not afraid of thieves guarding, you are just afraid of them running away."
The young general Ma Ke lowered his head and chewed these sixteen words over and over in his mind. After a while, he raised his head and said, "General, please forgive me for being stupid because of my humble position. I hope you can explain it in detail."
Li Bei was not angry. Instead, he greatly appreciated Ma Ke's thirst for knowledge and motioned for him to sit across from him. Then he explained: "Although there are many thieves, there is nothing to be afraid of. Just look at the thieves in Shaanxi today. Some of the pawns were trapped." Those who resist taxes are nothing to be afraid of; on the contrary, there are many thieves, generals and generals in the frontier army, or people who can lead people to obey, all of them are heroes, who is willing to be inferior to others?"
"We are not afraid of many thieves because their orders are not consistent. If the orders are not unified, the hearts are not unified, and if the hearts are not unified, the will is not unified. If the left army is determined to fight to the death and the right army surrenders first, the left army will not be able to fight to the death and will be easily defeated."
After Li Bei finished speaking, he left Ma Ke some time to think, but he was actually feeling emotional in his heart.
This was all due to his conclusion that the imperial court had suffered several defeats against the Donglu, and now it was so appropriate to pin it on the thieves.
After Ma Ke nodded in understanding, Li Bei then continued: "It is the same reason if you are not afraid of bandits and defenders. If you can't win in a field battle at home, and there is no strong support coming from outside, how can you talk about battle and defense? The bandits' soldiers are messy and easy to use. And there are no heavy artillery. No matter where they are stationed, they are in a dead end. If they dare to defend, it will take at least three to five days, or at most ten days, before they are destroyed without attack."
"If there are many thieves running away, we can still pursue them. But if there are few thieves running away, we can't catch up. And we don't have enough food and grass to pursue them. We can only slowly detect the thieves' intentions, and then fight and win quickly... So, do you understand?"
Hearing this, Ma Ke stood at attention, the armor plates on his body colliding with each other made a clanging sound, and he saluted again: "I understand my humble position, thank you General for your advice!"
Marco is gone.
Not long after, his voice announcing the execution came from the camp grounds, and then the officers and soldiers made a great noise, which took a long time to subside.
Li Bei in the Chinese military tent breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that from now on, his three generals and border troops would obey his orders.
Only in this way can he dare to go to Yan'an Mansion to suppress the bandits.
This time the crackdown on thieves was different from the past.
The battle to kill the Ganquan Tiger General and conquer the Huanglongshan Lao Huihui group a few months ago was much simpler.
The Yan'an Prefecture gave him information about Ganquan and information about Huanglong Mountain. Although there was insufficient food and grass and the soldiers were hungry, the problem could be solved quickly.
But this time is different.
In Qingjian, he handed the map to the county government and asked the county government to draw the places where the thieves were entrenched. The county government drew a circle in Yanchuan.
At first he thought there were thieves in Yanchuan, but he didn't expect that the Qingjian County government had drawn a safe zone.
It is said that Yanchuan only has the gang of thieves and the King of Heaven. It has rained there and it is quite peaceful.
There are bandits in every county in Yan'an Prefecture outside Yanchuan. We don't know their leaders, their numbers, their locations, or even whether the counties are still under the control of the imperial court.
It has only been three months, how come the situation has become so bad?
Fortunately, the food and grass plundered by King Huntian helped, allowing him to have a moment of respite.
There are three important tasks before him. The first is to help Yanchuan County re-establish inns and express delivery, and exchange intelligence with Yulin Town. Secondly, send people to explore south to find out the specific situation of Yanchang counties.
The last point is to urge the Xinyanshui Gatekeeper who is still in Yulin to take office as soon as possible to prevent thieves from crossing the border into Shanxi.
In the evening, the servants came to the central military tent to report that the prisoners captured in the crusade against King Hun Tian spoke.
Pages of military documents and information were placed on Li Bei's desk.
King Hun Tian's name is Zhang Yingjin. Gao Yingxiang, the leader of the bandits who looted various places before, tried to persuade him to join forces, but King Hun Tian did not agree.
Now that the army is defeated, he should flee south to Gao Yingxiang, the king of Chuang who is entrenched in Yanchang.
"Even though I'm in a humble position, I still forced you to find out some information."
Ma Ke clasped his fists and said: "The intruders have talked with the Huntian thieves about taking control of the central and southern part of Yan'an Prefecture and facing the attack by the Trilateral General Administration."
Li Bei was overjoyed: "Oh? This will be beneficial to the Wu guerrillas who are attacking the Qingyang bandits. Tell me quickly."
"Yes! The intruders divided their heads into many places. After the official army moved in from Qingyang and Ningzhou, they wanted to withdraw from Yanzhou to the north, consume the army's food and energy, and lead them to Yanchuan for another decisive battle...Huntian The thief agreed."
Li Bei was silent for a long time after hearing this. Finally, he uncharacteristically used a fist and hammer to startle Marco.
"General, general, I think this is not a clever plan." Ma Ke said: "What's more, we already know it. As long as the news is sent to Qingyang Wu Guerrilla, we can pull it off."
"That's why I'm angry. It's not because of the war situation. This is what I said. Don't be afraid of thieves guarding, but be afraid of thieves running away."
Li Bei shook his head, it was difficult to express his inner feelings clearly.
The plan is very simple, and the people who implement it are just a bunch of people.
But it would really take effect, which was what made Li Bei angry.
What is shame?
A group of thieves clearly calculated the army's food, stamina and marching speed.
Finally, they came to the conclusion that they had more food and grass than the official army, had stronger physical strength than the official army, and marched faster than the official army, so they only needed to use this method to defeat the opponent's official army.
Isn’t it a shame for the military?
The most uncomfortable thing is that this thing is really useful, because Hou Jin calculated their food and grass in this way.
These people who were born out of the Ming military system will and can correct their shortcomings, but they cannot change themselves.
Li Bei said: "It's too late to take advantage of the plan. King Hun Tian fled to Yanchuan County. The thieves there must have known that we are stationed in Yanchuan. The thieves must be on guard. I guess they will not run to Yanchuan again. That... What’s your name, the servant of Yuhe Fort who fought at Yanshui Pass?”
Marco raised his hand and added: "Liu Chengzong, the general once ordered me to go to Yuhe Fort to meet with He Shouwei and ask about his situation."
is the name.
Li Bei nodded and asked, "Does King Hun Tian have any news about this person?"
"No, the prisoner only mentioned the intruder Gao Yingxiang. He actually said that Gao Yingxiang also sent troops to Yanshui Pass, but for some reason, he seemed to only stay at the Yellow River ferry for half a day before raising his troops and heading south."
After Ma Ke finished speaking, he slowed down and asked: "General, is this Liu Chengzong... still in Shanxi?"
"Probably."
Li Bei nodded and said: "I asked someone to ask the guard of Pingdu Pass in Shanxi. He said that no one had crossed the pass before Gao Yingxiang. When Gao Yingxiang arrived at the Yellow River ferry, the guards of Pingdu Pass came out and formed an array on the pontoon bridge, scaring Gao Yingxiang away. , Keep Shanxi safe."
"No, General... I heard from the prisoners that there were many deserters among Gao Yingxiang's men, as well as Da Zi Yiqi who had taken refuge, and Yanshui Pass was breached by Liu Chengzong's inconspicuous men."
Marco shook his head and said: "Can those people at Pingdu Pass guard against Gao Yingxiang?"
"It's different. Gao Yingxiang is different from Wang Jiayin. He has never breached the military base and has always looted everywhere. Only Ansai surrendered and never fought head-on. There is indeed a possibility of being scared away."
Li Bei summarized the information he had obtained and analyzed: "The people at the Yellow River ferry also said that there were indeed officers and soldiers arrayed on the hillside on the other side of the river that day. Later, the people were driven away by the bandits, and it didn't take long for the bandits to sweep away. "
After that, he reminded: "Liu Chengzong is not a humble person. Since he attacked Yan'an City to save his father's rebellion, he destroyed the city, destroyed the gates, robbed post offices, and was defeated by Lu Guerrilla and Bao Bao. Such a person Did it suddenly disappear?"
Marco smiled and said: "They must be hiding. He Shoubei of Yuhe Fort said that his father was a civil servant and his brother Liu Chengzu was a team leader. At the same time, both brothers were scholars and had passed the martial arts examination, and they were both supposed to win... …I really don’t know why Fushi County Magistrate and Yan’an Guards are messing with them.”
Li Bei deeply agreed with this and nodded: "It's good now that these two good generals are forced to become thieves and bandits alive by them."
When this matter was mentioned, Li Bei became very angry. He was angry with everyone, not just the two dead men, Fushi County Magistrate and Zhang Qianhu, who had forced the Liu family to rebel.
There are also He Renlong, the garrison of Yuhe Fort, and Hong Chengchou, who participated in politics and gave him the idea of releasing troops.
Good people should be left in Yuhebao and fed, housed and raised.
With insufficient food and pay, it was difficult enough to maintain military discipline while dealing with a group of thieves, and they also had to free up their hands to deal with a group of border troops.
A bunch of bastards who made his job more difficult for no reason!
"It's impossible to find Liu Chengzong..."
Li Bei shook his head slowly and squinted his eyes. He couldn't find Liu Chengzong, which made him feel stuck in his throat: "We must find out whether Liu Chengzong is in Shanxi or not, and whether he has formed an alliance with Gao Yingxiang."
The current situation is already very clear to Li Bei.
All the big thieves in Yan'an Prefecture, except Liu Chengzong, were in the area from Yan'an to Yijun in the south-central part of Yan'an.
The official army was divided into two groups, one was Li Bei's tribe in Yanchuan, and the other was the guerrilla general Wu Weifan who was suppressing bandits in Qingyang Prefecture.
The Guyuan Trilateral General Office is also mobilizing troops and generals. There may be some who go all the way from Qingyang to Yan'an, and there is also the counselor Hong Chengchou who stays in Hancheng, who can block the southeast exit.
The two main armies, one in the east and the other in the west, formed a pincer attack and were able to trap the thieves in the central and southern part of Yan'an Prefecture. A large net was laid on all sides, and they could advance and suppress them as soon as the information was ascertained.
Only this Liu Chengzong worried him.
"The final battle cannot be what the thieves think. It will take place in Yanchuan in the northeast. That will make it easier for them to jump into Shanxi."
Li Bei stood up and pointed at the map and said: "We should try our best to drive the thieves to the Ansai and Baoan areas in the northwest, using the Great Wall as the boundary, and use the power of the border wall officers and soldiers to completely round them up and die in Yan'an Mansion."
Marco smiled and said: "Since the general has made a plan, what else is there to worry about?"
"I'm worried that Liu Chengzong is in Shanxi and has joined forces with Gao Yingxiang. It seems that we are the ones surrounding the thieves in Yan'an Prefecture. But if Liu Chengzong waits for an opportunity to jump back to Shaanxi, it will be the thieves who are surrounding our troops."
Marco nodded slowly, but how to figure this thing out?
He asked: "The humble post sent a messenger to Yan'an Prefecture to ask the prefect if he has gone home?"
"No need, it's easy to figure out this matter. The sergeant who went to extend the search for information should be back tomorrow. Let's eat and sleep to find out where Liu Chengzong is..."
Li Bei stared at Yanchang County on the map and smiled: "Just hit Yingxiang high."
