"In view of the crusade against Wang Pu, although the force of encirclement and suppression of bandits has not been involved on a large scale, I believe that it is still necessary to adjust Shicai's strategic deployment, especially to increase the offensive force. Now that Luo Dai has been appointed as the commander-in-chief, Zuo Liang has been separated The men and horses of Yu's army were replenished by Liu Zeqing's remnant troops to Zuo Liangyu. Chen Hongfan, who was unfavorable in conquering the thieves, was deprived of his military power. Hong Aiqing showed his owl's head to the public. Chen Hongfan's Ma Tingbao tribe and Xu Qizuo's tribe were put under Luo Dai's command. Zhang Xianzhong's army had many men and horses, including elite soldiers. If the number exceeds 10,000, there are about 20,000 vassals who can also fight. Therefore, the palace decided to promote Liu Guoneng and Li Wanqing to the rank of chief soldiers, make Liu's mother and Li's mother the second-grade imperial concubines, and reward the two chief soldiers each with a Ten thousand taels of silver. The troops of Liu and Li were both under the command of Hong Aiqing and used as the main force to suppress the bandits. This is his resume."
Yaoji took out two pieces of paper and handed them to Hong Chengchou. On them were the subsequent experiences of Liu Guoneng and Li Wanqing and their deaths in battle.
Like Hong Chengchou, Liu Guoneng was a filial son. He listened to his mother's advice before surrendering to the court, so he had to surrender to his wishes.
The two men had not revolted since they returned to the imperial court. They also refused the secret temptations of their accomplices and were besieged and killed by the rebellious bandits.
It was Liu Guoneng and Li Wanqing who surrendered first, but Zhang Xianzhong had a bad idea and realized that if his troops continued to resist stubbornly, their entire army would be wiped out, so he came up with the strategy of pretending to surrender.
Because Liu Guoneng and Li Wanqing, who also surrendered to the imperial court, together accounted for more than one-third of the bandits. According to the count of officials when they surrendered in Suizhou, Hubei, the strength of Liu Guoneng's troops was as high as nearly 50,000.
Although they had been disbanded afterwards, Liu Guoneng still had 30,000 troops and Li Wanqing still had 20,000 troops. If they had rebelled together with Zhang Xianzhong at that time, the imperial court would have lost control of Henan in an instant.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the military strength of the generals under their jurisdiction varied. After He Renlong recruited Gao Jie who came to surrender, he only had 15,000 soldiers. The combined strength of the three generals, Zuo Guangxian, Zheng Jiadong, and Niu Chenghu, was Only then is he equal to He Renlong.
General soldiers like Wang Pu, Tang Tong, and Li Fuming could not command more than 10,000 troops, so the size of the troops under the command of Liu Guoneng and Li Wanqing was almost equivalent to five to ten general soldiers.
This was the fundamental reason why a certain prince valued the two of them, and they could generally be used with confidence. The probability of rebellion was relatively small. If he really joined forces with the "Zongzi" after going to the battlefield, it would mean that Hong Chengchou should be unlucky.
Yao Ji has his own opinion on the "rice dumplings" that are on the market during the Dragon Boat Festival: "Zhang Xianzhong is different from the Gezuo Fifth Battalion in that his troops can hardly be dispersed. Once he divides his troops to break out, they will be hundreds of miles apart, and there will be officers and soldiers in the middle. The possibility of blocking and reuniting is very slim, and it is easy for Zhang Ni to lose control of various ministries. Their tactics will inevitably be to attack one or several areas as a group. In view of this, it is necessary for the imperial court to form a heavy military group , to form an absolute military superiority over Zhang Ni's troops, and in one go, even if Zhang Ni's troops cannot be surrounded and annihilated in the early stage, they will be severely damaged and it will be difficult to recover quickly."
With the addition of Liu Guoneng and Li Wanqing, the number of troops commanded by Hong Chengchou would suddenly increase to more than 100,000, forming a more than three times strength advantage over "Zhang Da Zongzi".
The troops of Liu and Li were counted by court officials, and they were actually 50,000, because they needed to be paid according to casual rates. Unlike other general soldiers, who were nominally 10,000, but actually 7,000 was good.
Even the Qin army had 10% of their pay, not to mention other troops. A certain prince was too lazy to take care of it. At most, he could only take care of King Qin's division in the Jifu area and pay according to the verified scale.
"The troops of Mou Wenshou and Jiang Mingwu directly participated in the suppression of the bandits. Zhang Ren's academic department was stationed in Tongbai. After Liu Guoneng's troops went south, Xu Lai guarded Xinyang, and Wang Ximing, Luo Shangwen, Wang Yongxiang and other generals guarded the area east of Xinyang. Zhu Dadian was ordered to continue to defend Feng Yang, to protect the imperial mausoleum, there is no need to take the initiative to attack, let alone help defend other places. If Fengyang is lost, the whole family must be killed. Wei Guogong Xu Hongji leads his troops to assist the six tribes to defend Nanjing. If Nanjing is lost, the defender will have no official position. The titles were all punished severely. In many important towns in Huguang, Luo Anbang guarded Jingmen, Yang Shien guarded Xiangyang, Zhang Yingyuan guarded Yicheng, Zhang Ling guarded Yiling, Xu Chengming guarded Jiangling, Wang Zhifeng guarded Anlu, Qiao Guozhu guarded Zhongxiang, and promoted Liu Shijie to the rank of deputy general. It can be increased to five thousand to strictly guard Wuchang. It is best if Luo Dai can get to Gucheng, and he can recruit Chen Hongfan's Ma Tingbao and Xu Qizuo. It doesn't matter if he can't arrive. If Chen Hongfan and his soldiers conspire with the bandits, Hong Aiqing can lead all the troops Annihilate.”
Now everything has been completely arranged. "Zhang Dazongzi" has set up a dragnet in the Huguang area. Every strategic node is guarded by generals. If the rogues want to conquer, they will have to pay a certain price, as long as the guarding general does not surrender the city.
In fact, they did not have enough time to attack the strategically important positions guarded by the official army, because Hong Aiqing's troops were quite strong.
There are Liu Guoneng, Li Wanqing, Tang Tong, Li Fuming, Zuo Liangyu, Miao Youcai, Yang Yufan, Feng Ju, Ma Ke, Mou Wenshou, Jiang Mingwu and Luo Dai, providing a total of twelve general soldiers with a total strength of more than 100,000. They are responsible for Zongzi. form a completely overwhelming advantage.
"I believe that Hong Aiqing can use Zuo Liangyu, Ma Ke, Miao Youcai, and Feng Ju as the left wing, Yang Yufan, Mou Wenshou, Tang Tong, and Li Fuming as the right wing, and Luo Dai, Jiang Mingwu, Liu Guoneng, and Li Wanqing as the central army. When defending against the enemy, , the left and right wings are outflanking, and the Chinese army is facing the front. Now there are hundreds of mortars to assist in the battle. They can definitely defeat the rogues from the front. The two wings of soldiers and horses cover them from the sides and rear. Our army will definitely be invincible. "
The war zone defense plan is almost complete, new weapons will be manufactured in large quantities, and even the offensive tactics have been formulated for you. You still have an absolute advantage in strength. If Old Hongtou cannot win, you will be sorry for me.
"I am determined to go all out to suppress the bandits in order to repay the Holy Grace!"
The men, horses, silver, grain and grass needed to launch the attack were all available, and the prince also personally made strategic arrangements. Hong Chengchou was just taking what was ready, not to mention gathering and annihilating the enemy. Even if he could not severely damage the rogue bandits, he had lived up to the prince's ardent expectations.
This battle was already the largest battle in the past fifty years. The total number of troops invested exceeded the battle of Sarhu that attacked Donglu. The prince was very eager to decide in a battle. Even if he didn't say it directly, the two major forces Handsome can also understand.
Previously, the emperor also wanted to wipe out the rogue bandits who had been causing harm to various places for many years, but his financial resources were far less than what he was doing now. The ministries often suffered from payment arrears, and the troops mobilized could not be compared with the prince. He was also swayed by Xiong Wencan's foolish opinion of recruitment.
Yaoji hooked his little hand, so there was no need to be so polite, and then explained to him: "Hong Aiqing, there is a reason why I have Zuo Liangyu, Ma Ke, Miao Youcai, and Feng Ju as the left wing. If they Those four generals who are timid, hesitant or even disrespectful to the enemy can be killed as a warning to others. There is no need to report to this palace in advance for a decision!"
Needless to say, the virtues of the first two generals are not much better, and the last two are not much better. If you dare to continue to play the self-respect of raising bandits, kill them first.
There are many generals who are promoted to commander-in-chief first. If they are not successful in the battle, they can free up the position of commander-in-chief and make room for others.
If they want to continue doing this, they have to show their true skills, otherwise a certain prince will ask Hong Dushuai to teach them how to be the general soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.
This time the prince's determination and intensity in killing the general soldier was as great as that of the rogue bandits. If the general soldier descended from the mountain like a tiger, the rogue bandits would surely die. If the bandit is still alive, it means that the general soldiers are not in a good position to fight, and one of them will die before the end of the year.
The prince gave himself three hundred thousand taels of silver every month, not just to lead his troops on outings in Huguang, but to pay tribute with the heads of the bandit leaders.
As a commander-in-chief, in addition to commanding various ministries to encircle and suppress rogue bandits, one of his main responsibilities is to supervise the general troops. Hong Chengchou hurriedly responded: "I obey the decree, and I will definitely urge the general troops and generals under my command at any time. No matter who, if If he delays the advance of the army and indulges the rogue bandits, I will show his head to the public and will not tolerate it!"
If, stimulated by a huge bounty, one hundred thousand men and hundreds of new guns could not defeat Zhang Ni's 30,000 men, Hong Chengchou, even if he was talented, would not know how to write a memorial to the prince.
Although he is much younger than both of them, in terms of battlefield experience, Yaoji can be regarded as their ancestor: "I believe that offense is the best defense, and a dead bandit is a good bandit. Hong Aiqing said this To suppress the bandits, it is necessary to defeat them head-on and bite the bandits tightly with both wings. In this way, the bandits will have no time to gather men and horses for counterattack, let alone a large-scale attack on the city. In the end, they will have to be divided and surrounded by the army. If our forward force has If it doesn't work, they will fall behind the rogues and continue to harass them, waiting for the main force to get close to the target without losing their traces. If the main force engages in a decisive battle, they will launch a fierce attack day and night and not allow the rogues to have a chance to breathe. There are defenders in nearby cities to guard the rogues. If we have no time to attack the city, we will not get the necessary supplements. Under the fierce pursuit of our army, it is only a matter of time before it collapses. It depends on whether Hong Aiqing and his men can persevere! In this battle, our army only needs to remember that "poor" With these eight words, chase fiercely, fight fiercely, bite hard and hold on, you can win consecutive battles!"
This has failed many times in the past because the number of troops invested was too small. The famous general Cao Wenzhao died on the battlefield because he went deep alone and the enemy was outnumbered.
This time was different from the past. Hong Chengchou alone commanded twelve generals and a hundred thousand troops to launch a net-like encirclement and suppression of Zhang Xianzhong's troops entrenched in the Gucheng area from the east and north.
If Zhang Xianzhong wants to go north, he must first rush through the right wing composed of the four generals of Yang Yufan, Mou Wenshou, Tang Tong, and Li Fuming, and then he can get close to the first line of defense from Neixiang to Nanyang.
It is almost impossible to achieve this goal without killing half of the troops, and if you stay in the captured city, you may be surrounded by officers and soldiers at any time.
If they continue to go north, they will have to face the second line of defense in the Zhixiang City area of Ruzhou, with Hong Chengchou's army pursuing them behind them.
If Zhang Xianzhong wanted to get rid of his pursuers, he would either speed up his march and let the cavalry go first and the infantry behind, or he could score and attack, dividing the originally small force into two again.
If it turns into five fingers like the Gezuo Wuying, when it enters the hinterland of Henan, it will be a daydream for the "big rice dumpling" to knead the various parts together.
Even if he could use the court officials he had bribed to find out that Hong Chengchou was leading his troops south, he would not necessarily dare to take action in advance because he still needed to coordinate with Luo Rucai and the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo.
Besides, it also takes time to transmit internal information. If Hong Chengchou's troops advance faster after killing Liu Zeqing, they will only get the news three days later than Zhang Xianzhong at the latest.
There can be a hundred or so miles difference in the itinerary. If the cavalry marches at full speed, it can be completed in one day. When the imperial army really comes, "Big Zongzi" will not know how many troops the opponent has.
Once Zhang Ni's troops dare to launch an attack first, it will inevitably consume their own limited transfer time, which is tantamount to helping the enemy, because the longer the war lasts, the closer Hong Chengchou's army will be.
Most of the elite troops under Zhang Xianzhong were Shaanxi officers and soldiers. They had to fight back because they had been owed pay for many years. Their combat effectiveness was not low, but in the face of the overwhelming encirclement and suppression army, it was unclear whether they could fight to the death on the spot.
The result of the love battle was that more and more officers and soldiers came from surrounding areas to encircle and suppress them, until they formed an absolute numerical advantage and beat to death the gangsters who tried to return to their old ways, and staged the scene of besieging Shi Dakai in pigtails.
As long as Hong Chengchou can cripple the most powerful "Big Zongzi" among the rogues in a short period of time, both Luo Rucai and the Gezuo Fifth Battalion will have lingering fears, fearing that some of them will rebel and surrender.
"What your Highness said is absolutely true, and I am enlightened. I will definitely learn from many previous experiences and lessons, and convey His Highness's decree of decisive battle to all the generals, so that the entire army of rogue bandits will be destroyed! I am only worried that if I and Mr. Sun both unite the army, Leaving Jifu, the cabinet, six ministries and hundreds of officials..."
The prince went to the fairy world, and after being given advice by Emperor Taizu Gao, he seemed to be as wise as if he had been reborn. He was so clear-headed about how to arrange his troops that Hong Chengchou had to look at him with admiration, and he was completely convinced in his heart.
Although he was only ten years old, the prince was more mature and steady than the emperor. He was not only decisive in killing, but also rich in strategy. It was extremely difficult to collect military pay in a very short period of time. He also mobilized a large army to attack the bandits preemptively. What he did was outstanding. You are extraordinary.
However, Hong Chengchou was still worried that the prince would have to explain himself to all the officials in the court. Even if he acted secretly and blocked the news, the paper could not cover the fire. Sooner or later, it would be leaked out and spread throughout the city. Even the secret work bribed by the Huguang bandits would be discovered in advance. .
Regarding this issue, Yaoji was not worried at all. The court meeting had not yet been reopened, and all the officials were wiping their own butts: "Hong Aiqing does not need to worry too much. There are only Wu Di and Xue Guoguan in the cabinet now, and all the ministers and ministers are here." Adjustment, yesterday's major corruption case is still being tried, involving hundreds of officials. They have too much time to take care of themselves. How can they have time to care about national affairs? The two beloved ministers led their troops to pursue the remnants of the rebels. This is an explanation for the meddlesome people! Hong Aiqing goes south to Shandong, so he can pursue Liu Liangzuo! Sun Aiqing goes west to Luoyang, so he can pursue Shenshu Camp!"
There are still five lieutenants in the Beijing camp who have not been killed, and a large number of rebel soldiers need to be captured. Isn't the excuse ready?
Some people will say that Liu Liangzuo went to Tianjin, or even went north to leave the customs, but that is just hearsay.
Before an official announcement is made, everything is just false rumors and cannot be believed.
The final interpretation right of this event naturally belongs to a certain prince...
