"Xing'an City is impregnable, and the rogue bandits cannot bear the cost of attacking Xing'an."
"Gao Yingxiang will not attack Xing'an. He is a smart man and will not do stupid things."
In the pavilions of Xing'an East City, all the generals' eyes were focused on Chen Wang.
Chen Wang held a red flag in one hand and leaned on the edge of the sand table with the other hand. After looking around at everyone, he returned his gaze to the sand table in front of him.
In front of Chen Wang, there was a huge square table, with a simple sand table made of sand on top of the table.
This sand table was made by Chen Wang, who recruited a group of craftsmen based on the mountain and terrain map in his hand and directed the craftsmen to make it.
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Compared with the two-dimensional map, the three-dimensional sand table feels more intuitive, and it is more convenient to deploy and arrange troops and formulate military plans.
Because of this, after the First World War and with the continuous innovation of technology, sand tables began to be widely used.
The sand table that Chen Wang had people make was naturally not up to the professional sand table level of later generations, but this was only the era of cold weapons, and the sand table did not need to be very sophisticated to meet the needs of war.
The area covered by the sand table is not large, but it also includes Hanzhong Prefecture, Xunyang Prefecture, Xiangyang Prefecture, and Nanyang Prefecture.
Of course, Xiangyang Prefecture and Nanyang Prefecture only appeared half of the place on the sand table, and the western part of Hanzhong Prefecture, that is, the city mountains to the west of Hanzhong City were not shaped.
In the direction of Xunyang Mansion, Xiangyang Mansion, and Nanyang Mansion, there were densely planted red flags.
These red flags naturally represent the troops in the Xiangyang Mansion and the troops under Lu Xiangsheng.
Now Lu Xiangsheng has not recovered from his previous defeat. He has set up defenses along the river and has not pursued across the river.
Because of this, the rogue bandits had no way to return northward to Nanyang Mansion.
A slightly larger red flag was planted in Xing'an City, with a rather eye-catching word "Chen" written on it in white ink.
This flag naturally represents the reinforcement battalion led by Chen Wang himself.
There is only one small red flag on the three cities of Xunyang, Pingli and Ziyang.
There are only militia and guards in the three cities, so there are only small flags.
To the west of the sand table is the Hanzhong City of Hanzhong Prefecture. There is also a red flag above Hanzhong City with "Zhou" written on it.
This flag naturally represents Zhou Yumao and his guerrilla camp.
In order to prevent unexpected situations, Chen Wang asked Zhou Yumao to lead more than 3,000 soldiers back to Hanzhong to defend Hanzhong City.
The reason used was that there was another bandit rebellion in the hinterland of Hanzhong Prefecture, and someone needed to lead troops to quell the rebellion.
But in fact, it was to protect Hanzhong City, or to be more precise, to protect King Rui.
The military order issued by Hong Chengchou clearly stated that the defense of Hanzhong Mansion should prioritize protecting the safety of King Rui, so Chen Wang naturally needed to respond.
Failure to respond would probably make Hong Chengchou feel that he was not listening to his orders.
And even if Hong Chengchou didn't send the order, Chen Wang would not let King Rui make any mistakes.
Of course, this was not because of the pigs, sheep, grain and grass that King Rui rewarded, but because once King Rui died, Hanzhong City was captured.
This responsibility all needs to be shouldered by Chen Wang. If the city is captured and the vassal king dies, even nine heads will not be enough to cut him off.
Chen Wang originally planned to lead his troops back to Hanzhong City, which would not only ensure the safety of Hanzhong City.
Your own safety is guaranteed, and the impact on the historical trajectory can be minimized.
But after repeatedly weighing the pros and cons, Chen Wang gave up the idea.
At that time, he led his troops back to Hanzhong City, and undoubtedly announced that he would directly abandon the entire eastern area of Hanzhong City. If he was held accountable for this, he would have to shed a layer of his skin even if he did not die.
You can throw away the eastern part of Hanzhong Mansion, but you can't throw it away like this.
So Chen Wang chose to stay in Xing'an, even if all the cities around Xing'an were lost.
He was defeated after facing hundreds of thousands of people who tried their best to resist, instead of escaping and watching the city fall, and his responsibility was not too heavy.
"Gao Yingxiang's first step is to capture the cities around Xing'an City and isolate Xing'an City."
Chen Wang held the red flag in his hand and pointed it horizontally at the sand table.
"The first thing they have to do is to uproot the three cities of Xunyang, Pingli and Ziyang..."
The eyes of all the generals also turned to the sand table following the red flag in Chen Wang's hand.
The fall of Xunyang County was a matter of time, and it should be the first city to fall among the three cities.
Xunyang City is located in the northeast of Xing'an. The second city that the bandits passed by on their way from Xunyang Mansion was Xunyang.
The first city was Baihe, located at the junction of Xunyang Mansion and Hanzhong Mansion. Baihe City was captured by Gao Yingxiang's troops as early as early March.
In fact, Chen Wang's initial plan was not to let Gao Yingxiang enter the country, but to set up defenses in Baihe County to prevent Gao Yingxiang from moving westward.
However, the troops under his command are not enough. Although he can occupy certain geographical advantages, it is difficult to stop a large number of rogue bandits.
And the most important thing is to stop a group of bandits led by Gao Yingxiang in Baihe County.
Gao Yingxiang could also turn to the south of Xunyang Mansion and enter Hanzhong Mansion through Zhuxi in Xunyang Mansion and Pingli Line in Hanzhong Mansion to threaten Xing'an.
Pingli and Ziyang counties.
Pingli is located in the southeast of Xing'an City, bordering Zhuxi County of Xunyang Prefecture in Huguang Province.
Ziyang is located in the southwest of Xing'an City, adjacent to Kui Prefecture in Sichuan Province.
Both cities are located on important roads. The rogue bandits occupying the two cities can effectively hinder the officers and soldiers rushing to help from the direction of Huguang and Sichuan, and relieve their worries.
Moreover, after capturing these three cities, the rogue pirates could not only obtain a large amount of food and grass supplies, but also manpower supplies.
It is foreseeable that the people of the three cities will become cannon fodder when attacking Xing'an City or other cities.
Then those lucky ones who have experienced the baptism of the battlefield and survived the waves will become troops, horse soldiers and even elite cavalry.
The rogue bandits used such bloody methods to continuously enhance their combat power.
Whether it is Zhang Xianzhong, Ma Shouying, Li Zicheng, or Gao Yingxiang, they all use this method to select and raise troops.
There is no compassion or kindness, because this world is like this and the world is like this.
The world is not peaceful, and the world is not peaceful.
These are troubled times, natural selection, survival of the fittest. Although cruel, this is the reality that we need to understand in troubled times.
To put it bluntly, the world today is like a huge poison breeding ground for rogue bandits.
Only the most poisonous, ruthless and ferocious Gu insects are qualified to survive.
"Then there is Hanyin."
The red flag in Chen Wang's hand moved a little to the northwest of Xing'an City. The red flag pointed to the location of Hanyin City.
"Previously, more than 10,000 cavalrymen from the Chuang Army galloped towards Hanyin. Their destination should be Hanyin."
"So many cavalrymen were sent to the invading army"
Chen Gong frowned, his eyes wandering around Han Yin.
"Won't you go further?"
Although the city defense of Hanyin City is not bad, there are not many defenders in it. There are only more than a thousand guards and more than 800 militiamen.
It was okay to defend the city, but there was no way to control the invading cavalry outside the city.
In the past, there were tens of thousands of invader cavalry, but now there is no armed force in the entire Hanzhong Prefecture that can intercept their actions.
Hu Zhili and Hu Zhiyi also raised their heads and looked at Chen Wang. They also felt that the intruder army dispatched so many cavalry that they would not only be active around Hanyin.
"The cavalry of the invading army will go as far as Shiquan at most. They will not go too deep."
Chen Wang shook his head, pointed at Han Yin and continued.
"The troops who broke into the army were all cavalry and did not bring any infantry. This proves that they are not going to attack the city and seize territory."
"Most of the cavalrymen of the invading army are lightly armed and simple, with one more person and two horses. One of their purposes must be to rob."
Chen Wang took a smaller yellow flag, planted it in the northwest of Hanyin City, and then pointed to the northwest of Hanyin City.
"Gao Yingxiang is a cautious person and will not act rashly."
"In addition to looting, he sent this cavalry for a purpose of reconnaissance."
"At most, a small group of reconnaissance cavalry will go to Shiquan to investigate the situation. The number of people will definitely not be too large."
Hu Zhiyi's eyes narrowed slightly, he hesitated, and then asked,
"General, why do you conclude that Gao Yingxiang is a cautious person?"
Hu Zhiyi's problem is actually Chen Gong's problem.
Chen Wang spoke with certainty, as if he knew Gao Yingxiang very well.
But they had no contact with Gao Yingxiang before, and all the information they knew was just a few words.
"It's very simple."
Chen Wang smiled and felt a little relieved when he saw Hu Zhiyi.
He did not want Hu Zhiyi, Hu Zhili and others to become his yes-men.
He couldn't do everything personally.
Now there are only a few thousand soldiers under his command, and he can still lead them by himself.
But when the number of troops increased to 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, or even 100,000, he was unable to personally command them all.
The power of command and troops will inevitably be decentralized, and Chen Gong, Hu Zhiyi, Hu Zhili and others must follow his footsteps.
Chen Wang raised his head and glanced at Tang Shiping and Zhao Huailiang again, then explained.
"Know yourself and your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger."
"Many times, when you want to know a person, you don't even know him. You don't even need too much information. Some details are enough to let you know a general personality and characteristics."
Chen Wang tapped the edge of the sand table, paused for a moment, and then continued after everyone's eyes had gathered.
"Take Gao Yingxiang as an example."
"Looking at Gao Yingxiang's behavior after he started his career, we can actually see what kind of person Gao Yingxiang is."
"In the battle of Wagonxi Gorge, the bandits and others were trapped in Wagonxi Gorge and were almost annihilated."
"From then on, wherever Gao Yingxiang led his troops, he made sure to leave a way out and backup forces."
"Of course, there is no way to completely determine this. What makes me certain is actually because we were still in Xi'an Mansion."
Chen Wang's eyes turned to the north of the sand table and continued.
"Hong Junmen set up an ambush in Xi'an Mansion and planted suspicious soldiers. Therefore, Gao Yingxiang never dared to return to Xi'an Mansion. It was not until August that he led his troops to enter Xi'an Mansion."
"This time, the Chuang army left two large armies to set up camps in the east and west of Xing'an, in order to fear that our army would leave the city."
"Gao Yingxiang has 200,000 men under his command. Our army is only 6,000 and the cavalry is only 1,000, but he is so cautious."
Chen Wang turned his head and looked at Hu Zhiyi and asked.
"Zhiyi, can you deduce from this why I said Gao Yingxiang would not let his cavalry go too far?"
Hu Zhiyi did not expect Chen Wang to ask a question suddenly, but he did not rush around. After thinking for a moment, he gave his answer.
"Gao Yingxiang doesn't have our perspective, so he doesn't know our reality."
"He doesn't know how many soldiers and armaments we have in Hanzhong Mansion now, and he doesn't know how I arrange my troops."
"The general previously transferred Zhou Yumao to Hanzhong City, but they didn't know it. They just knew that the general had transferred an army to the northwest."
"There is only one road to go from Hanyin to Shiquan. The road is narrow along the way. There are many ambush sites along the way, and it is not convenient for cavalry to move."
"So Gao Yingxiang will never let his troops go too far. He is worried that the troops he sends will be ambushed."
Tang Shiping was good at logistics, Zhao Huailiang was good at dealing with people and sophistication, Hu Zhili was good at observation, and Chen Gong had a keen sense of smell on the battlefield, extraordinary bravery, and decisive reactions in battle.
Hu Zhiyi, on the other hand, is stronger in commanding troops and military strategy.
In just a short period of time, he had already figured out the key.
Chen Wang nodded slightly and confirmed what Hu Zhiyi said.
"Aside from looting and reconnaissance, Gao Yingxiang sent so many cavalry troops there, but there is actually one more thing..."
"He wanted to make sure that no troops would come from the northwest to rush to our aid."
Because of the threat from Zhaotaishan, Gao Yingxiang set up a camp in the east and west of Xing'an City, and the two camps were not connected to each other.
If officers and soldiers suddenly attack from the direction of Hanyin, the rogue bandits stationed in the west will be threatened by both sides inside and outside the city.
Gao Yingxiang's arrangement was precisely to prevent such a thing from happening.
"Xing'an City is safe for the time being. We just need to be careful of enemies sneaking in through the tunnels."
Chen Wang turned to look at Tang Shiping and ordered.
"You will go to the government office later to report to the magistrate of Xing'an Prefecture. He said that the rogue bandits are very powerful. It is roughly estimated that there are 300,000 people."
"The only solution for now is to hold on to the city. The siege may last for a long time. Please be sure to pay attention to food consumption."
As long as nothing happens, Xing'an City will never be breached. The only thing that can put Xing'an City in danger is internal problems.
The problem of food and grass is the biggest problem. There is no shortage of military rations. When Chen Wang led the troops, he also brought a large amount of military rations, but Chen Wang had no choice but to consume the rest of the people.
He had no power to manage these matters and could only rely on the magistrate of Xing'an Prefecture.
Chen Wang raised his head and looked past the sand table in front of him, then past the crenellations of the city wall not far away, and finally landed on the camp of the invading army outside the city.
Historically, Gao Yingxiang was indeed a cautious person.
He led the peasant army, which was about to be wiped out and turned into a piece of loose sand, to escape countless dangers and rise again.
Traveling thousands of miles to fight, he relied on his own judgment to save the fate of the peasant army time and time again.
But in July of the ninth year of Chongzhen, he took a huge risk and went north from Hanzhong Prefecture to Xi'an Prefecture...
