From Shaanxi to Henan via Tongguan, Liu Dongyang has always been in a good mood.
I can finally fight happily, and I no longer have the mentality of being burdened with various constraints and sins, but I am fighting according to orders.
He was very grateful for Feng Tang's trust and awarded him the vanguard officer of the Northwest Army.
As far as he knew, many people wanted to compete for this position, including Liu Baichuan.
But none of them had a chance.
The Governor will not pay attention to their attitude.
Liu Dongyang also knew what Feng Tang saw in him. No one else could beat him.
Being a soldier, in the final analysis, it comes down to one word: whether you can fight or not, even if you come from a wealthy family and have deep connections, you will still be in trouble. The boss may like a flattering general with wide connections, but he will never transfer an important person to him at a critical moment. The position is given to him because his first consideration is his own Wusha hat.
Liu Dongyang also knew very well that once he got on Feng Tang's ship, there would be no turning back.
He had no choice. No one except Feng Tang would trust him as a traitor.
He also knew that both Xiao Ruxun, He Shixian, and even Qi Bingzhong were extremely dissatisfied with being appreciated by Feng Tang, but Liu Dongyang scoffed and didn't care.
Ever since his rebellion, Liu Dongyang knew that it would be difficult for him to gain the court's trust again. Feng Tang was an alternative.
Feng Tang is a true warrior. As a member of the Northwest, he understands the difficulties and hardships of the Northwest soldiers. Of course, he will not agree with what his group did. .
Maybe understanding is enough.
As for Chai Ke, Yang He, or even the Dukes of the DPRK, who cares about the lives of poor soldiers like you in the northwest?
Feng Tang's trust in him was eye-catching, and Liu Dongyang's thought was very simple. You will treat me as a national scholar, and I will repay you with my life. What's more, this is the Prancing Horse in the Central Plains that he most desires, a strike.
When it is time to make great achievements, why don’t men wear Wu hooks?
Liu Dongyang even had an inexplicable impulse in his heart, Xuanfu Army, Datong Army, Denglai Army, Huaiyang Army, here I come. Let's see how inferior I am to you, a dignified man from the northwest, compared to you pampered men?
"General, Xin'an is ahead." The general came to report.
"Oh, have you arrived in Xin'an?" Liu Dongyang spurred his horse, walked a few steps, climbed up a high slope, and looked to the east.
The autumn colors are bleak and gloomy, and Liu Dongyang looks far into the distance.
All the way to the east is Luoyang, and to the northeast is the Mengjin Pass.
The three Hebei prefectures of Huaiqing, Weihui, and Zhangde plus part of Kaifeng Prefecture have become Henan's enclave in Hebei, while Daming Prefecture in Beizhi is like a protruding tooth, piercing deeply between Henan and Shandong , isolates the three prefectures of Hebei from Shandong, leaving only Yifeng and Guide Prefecture of Kaifeng Prefecture bordering Shandong.
We have been walking all the way from the northern foot of Weishan Mountain and have been walking in Henan for a few days. The logistics support along the route is not good, but it is not bad.
After the imperial court's order came down, he also sent relief envoys to the local areas along the route to contact them for supplies along the way.
Henan has also been affected by this year's severe drought in the north, and the situation is not good, but it is still much better than that in Shaanxi.
Especially along the Yellow River and Gushui lines from Mianchi to Xin'an, there was still some harvest. In addition, the imperial court also considered the actual situation in Henan and allocated a sum of money to purchase grain mainly from Huguang overland. There were some preparations. .
In addition, the Governor purchased a large amount of grain from Huguang in advance, and much of it was transported along the Yellow River, and even before it could be transported to Qingyang, the combat order came down.
This is better and saves transportation costs.
At this point, Liu Dongyang greatly admired the Governor's foresight, or good luck. The cost of transportation alone could save a lot.
grain
As a pioneer officer, he has 10,000 troops under his command. They are all elites from the northwest. They mainly come from the towns of Ningxia and Gansu. There are also some sergeants from Guyuan Town. However, under his own conditioning, they have gradually integrated in. These 10,000 troops are He, Liu Dongyang, will be able to establish himself after entering the Central Plains from now on.
He will rely on these 10,000 troops to make a career in the Central Plains. The better he fights, the Governor will give him greater power and more troops. But if the fight is not good, his journey as a pioneer may be ruined. Liu Baichuan, Tu Wenxiu and even more people are staring at him.
Liu Dongyang did not plan to rest in Luoyang. Although the soldiers were very hard on the journey, everyone was in high spirits.
After many years of playing hide-and-seek with the Mongols in the barren mountains of the northwest, I am really getting tired of them. They are all a bunch of poor people. The northwest army is poor, and the Tumut people are even poorer. No matter how good they are in fighting, it doesn't matter. significance?
After finally getting an opportunity to march into the Central Plains, and becoming a vanguard, everyone was focused on winning this battle.
The generals are all looking forward to finding a wife, while the soldiers are looking forward to making a fortune. Whether it is a reward from the court or the acquiescence of their superiors to plunder, they are all salivating.
This is the land of the Central Plains. It is said that once it is conquered, it can go all the way south, directly to the south of the Yangtze River. It is the gold and silver nest that countless poor people in the northwest envy with red eyes, so who will do it this time? As the vanguard, the various departments within the four northwest towns were also in turmoil. Even the soldiers in Yulin Town, who had always thought that Ganning Gusan Town was a beggar, couldn't help but jump out and try to earn some money.
Compared with the three towns of Gansu, Ningxia, and Guyuan, Yulin Town is considered a wealthy family, but compared with places like Shandong and Nanzhi, it can only be regarded as a beggar, not to mention that there are even richer places like Suhu and Changyang waiting for them. Everyone.
If you don’t stay in Luoyang, you can only go to Kaifeng to rest.
Being in Kaifeng means that we need to consider the direction of our next attack.
You can attack Dongchangfu to the northeast, which is also a place of prosperous commerce and an important canal; you can also attack Jining to the east. Although it is not as rich as Dongchangfu, it is also where Shuicicang is located, and it is Shandong. If you capture Jining at the southern gate, you can close the gate of Shandong and shut down the Xuanfu Army and the Datong Army.
Of course, this is definitely not something that our own army of 10,000 can do, but the Northwest Army still has an army of 100,000 behind, all with red eyes ready to pounce on them and take a bite, and their morale is high.
You can also go southwest and capture Xuzhou, and then you may have to fight the Huaiyang Army directly.
It is said that the attitude of the Huaiyang Army is still very ambiguous now. It has accepted the instructions given by the imperial court and the Nanjing puppet government, but there has been no movement. It just firmly controls the Xuzhou line, and it is quite a posture of sitting back and watching the success or failure.
Liu Dongyang doesn't care what Chen Jixian and Zhang Jixian are, as long as they block his own way, God will kill God, and Buddha will kill Buddha. Moreover, he doesn't think that the Huaiyang Town formed by the Beijing camp can stop his army. He, no one can stop this 10,000-strong army who dare to fight to the death.
However, whether to go north to capture Dongchang Prefecture, go east to Jining, or go south to control Xuzhou is a decision that must be made by the governor, and a comprehensive decision based on the intelligence obtained and all aspects of the situation. For Liu Dongyang, it is necessary to What you have to do is to be prepared for everything, like a tiger that has sharpened its claws and chooses people to devour.
As far as Liu Dongyang himself is concerned, he prefers to fight Jining.
After capturing Jining, you can capture Yanzhou Prefecture to the east, outflank the Xuanfu Army and Datong Army to the north, and choose the opportunity to threaten Xuzhou to the south, which can be said to be very easy.
Of course, this also puts him at risk of being attacked from three sides, but there is still considerable depth to the west of Jining. Liu Dongyang is not afraid of fighting with the Nanjing and puppet troops in the field. This group of people who came out of the northwest wilderness are eager to fight through war. change destiny.
"General, do you want to take a rest when you arrive in Luoyang?"
"Is there still plenty of food and grass?" Liu Dongyang asked.
"There is still half a month of food left. In addition, Zhongmou should have enough food and grass for one month. The food and grass from Nanyang are being transported to Kaifeng, but it may take about another month." The ministry reported.
"We will not wait. We will cross Luoyang and rest in Kaifeng." Liu Dongyang made up his mind, "We will report the situation to the Governor first. In addition, the intelligence collection on Caozhou, Shanxian, and Jining front lines must start in advance so that our people can Let’s go there first. In addition, people from the Ministry of War’s Staff Department should have arrived in Kaifeng and Guide. We will send someone to contact them immediately and list everything we need and clarify them one by one.”
The biggest problem in coming to the Central Plains is intelligence. From geography, hydrology to customs and customs, everything is different from the northwest. Fortunately, the Ministry of War's Staff Division is quite capable. Along the way, the Ministry of War's Staff Division has been gathering a steady stream of information. Come over, but in Liu Dongyang's opinion it's not enough.
The people in the Ministry of War's Staff Division are not happy, and they have to have their own scout battalions familiarize themselves with and digest this information, and transform it into the information the Northwest Army needs to fight its own war. This can ensure that in the war, they know themselves and the enemy and can give orders.
"General, the people in the Staff Department have done a good job. The people in the Scout Battalion adapted quickly after negotiating with them, but the focus may need to be determined as soon as possible..." The general suggested: "Dongchang Mansion is too far north. , if we want to attack Dongchang Prefecture, it is best to take the Daming Prefecture line. People from the Zifang Division said that the Xuanfu Army has approached Guan County to the west and has the intention to launch an attack on Daming Prefecture..."
When they were not sure where to fight, it was indeed difficult for the people in the scout battalion to focus. Dongchangfu, Jining and Xuzhou were thousands of miles apart, and the situations were different. In particular, they had to prepare for the war in advance. The requirements for intelligence collection are higher, so it is impossible to use equal efforts and must be planned in advance.
Liu Dongyang was silent for a moment, thinking carefully about the map of the canal line in his mind.
We can't delay any longer. We need to prepare early and wait until we get to Kaifeng to plan. It may be a little too late. At least we need to determine a general goal first, and then determine a backup goal. This way we can calmly deal with the situation when the situation changes.
"Write a letter to the Governor, suggesting that Jining be captured. If the Xuanfu army moves west to defend, they can launch an offensive along the Heshui River. The reasons are as follows. First,..." Liu Dongyang said solemnly.
