After hearing the news, Ye Mingsheng's mind was tense and finally relaxed, but under the eyes of everyone, he still nodded calmly and said:
"Tell me clearly what happened during the war!"
"yes!"
After receiving Ye Mingsheng's order, the messenger immediately continued:
"On the morning of the 11th, Zhu Chengjie led his troops to Yutai County. However, because the county seat had been occupied by our army, the next day he launched an attack on the Fengjiayu area, which was already controlled by our army!"
"There are only 3,000 men from our battalion in Fengjiayu, so in order to protect this Yutai County barrier, General Yuan decided to send troops to help!"
'On the 13th, the enemy and we started a fierce battle around Fengjiayu. Zhu Chengjie personally led thousands of cavalry to attack our army. Our army relied on the superior terrain of Fengjiayu and used firearms to fight back against the enemy! "
"The Polu guns equipped by our army exerted great power when facing the enemy's cavalry. The three-eyed guns could not hit the armor, and the Polu guns fired one at a time, causing heavy casualties to the enemy cavalry. ···············'
"Zhu Chengjie's Zhenwu Army fought fiercely for two consecutive days. Seeing that our army's weapons were powerful and unable to advance in a frontal attack, they launched a night attack on the night of the 14th. However, General Yuan has always insisted. Commander-in-Chief, you can fortify the stronghold and attack The teachings of Dui Zhan were followed, so as soon as the enemy troops touched Fengjiayu, they were discovered by our army sentries."
"Seeing that the sneak attack failed, the enemy turned to a forceful attack. General Yuan relied on trenches, horses and other defensive fortifications in the face of danger. He also used Crouching Tiger Cannon, Weiyuan Cannon, and Prisoner-breaking Cannon to fight back. He killed countless enemies and made it impossible for the enemy to take a single step past the enemy. .”
"On the morning of the 15th, the enemy general Zhu Chengjie led his troops to withdraw from Yutai County after a series of fierce battles without results. Lelang Prefecture has all fallen into the hands of our army. General Yuan would like to ask you whether our army will pursue the victory and attack Dongning Prefecture?"
After hearing this series of introductions from the messenger, Ye Mingsheng had a certain understanding of the battle process, and his excitement was slightly restrained.
Judging from the story of the messenger, the battle must have been won. After all, Zhu Chengjie got out of Lelang Mansion, but it shouldn't be a great victory...
What is a great victory?
In Ye Mingsheng's eyes, annihilating all Zhu Chengjie's troops and giving him Zhu Chengjie's head to kick as a ball would be a great victory!
The current situation should be that both sides fought a battle and suffered casualties on each other. The enemy suffered more casualties and our army suffered fewer casualties!
Seeing that they couldn't find any bargains in Lelang Mansion, the enemy troops retreated at the loss of soldiers and generals!
Of course, tactically, although this battle was not won much, it did not cause more damage to the enemy!
But from a strategic perspective, this good start has won Ye Mingsheng a lot of political capital!
First of all, this battle is the first battle after Ye Mingsheng broke up with the Zhenwu Army. All forces in Liaoyang are paying attention to this battle, wanting to see if Ye Mingsheng can turn the tide and stop Zhenwu's army, which is at its peak. Military force.
This is like venture capital. People will spend real money to invest in you only if they see you are good. If you are not good, they will not even look at you even if you kneel down and call your father.
Ever since Cui Shao decided to take a gamble with Ye Mingsheng and hand over the manpower and material resources accumulated by the family for decades to Ye Mingsheng, there were many objections within the Cui family. They felt that Ye Mingsheng had a low chance of winning.
They even believed that when Ye Mingsheng's Fengzhou Army faced the Zhenwu Army, it was likely that they would be as vulnerable as Song Wenhui's Liaoyang Army after being overturned... ·
Although these objections were forcibly suppressed by Cui Shao with his huge personal prestige in the family, they also put Cui Shao under great pressure in the family. If this pressure continues to exist, the Cui family will There may be some variables that Ye Mingsheng doesn't want to see.
And now this good start can undoubtedly relieve Cui Shao a lot of pressure, and give those people in the Cui family who are not optimistic about Ye Mingsheng a hard slap in the face!
Secondly, looking at the overall situation of Liaoyang Prefecture, Yuan Song's victory in Yutai County undoubtedly defeated the Zhenwu Army's attempt to interfere with Lelang Prefecture's conspiracy and allowed the enemy to quickly attack Dongning Prefecture. It's a waste of effort.
Prussian military scientist Carl von Clausewitz once said this very classic sentence in his book "On War"-War is an extension of politics.
!
Ye Mingsheng felt a lot about this sentence. Since taking office, he has become more and more aware that the military must serve politics. Therefore, although there were not many casualties in this battle, Ye Mingsheng still wanted to use this for his own political needs. The war is packaged as a big victory, thereby boosting the morale of the entire army, stabilizing existing investors, and attracting potential investors.
After thinking carefully, Ye Mingsheng said to his men:
"General Yuan killed ten thousand enemies in this battle! It is really satisfying to drive the enemy troops out of Lelang. It severely dampened the arrogance of the Zhenwu rebels and enhanced the prestige of our Fengzhou army!"
"I sent an order to Yuan Song's department to reward him with thirty thousand taels of silver. He also issued a commendation order to the entire army. I hope you will follow General Yuan's example and continue your efforts!"
"As for whether to continue to attack Dongning Mansion, since I have given General Yuan the power to kill first and then report later, let General Yuan decide to act according to the situation!"
················
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Just when Ye Mingsheng was preparing to take advantage of the good start to launch a public opinion offensive, Wang Muzhi and Chen Dechang were sitting opposite each other in a room in Dongning Fucheng. Neither of them spoke, but their expressions were very solemn.
Both Chen Dechang and Wang Muzhi attach great importance to Zhu Chengjie's attack on Yutai County!
Although at this time, the Zhenwu Army had more than 100,000 troops including the Shiwei people, but because the Liaoyang Army surrendered a large part of the troops, and there was not enough time to integrate these troops, they rushed to attack Dongning Mansion. As a result, the Zhenwu Army was very exhausted. Therefore, the Zhenwu Army, which had been fighting for almost half a year, needed to stop and recuperate.
Under such circumstances, Chen Dechang and Wang Muzhi still tried their best to gather 15,000 men for Zhu Chengjie, not to mention the 5,000 cavalry included.
In the original idea of the Zhenwu Army, with Zhu Chenjie's bravery and the five thousand cavalry, they would be able to defeat Yuan Song's tribe of Fengzhou Army in one battle and then sweep Lelang Mansion, and coordinate the next main offensive of the Zhenwu Army against Xuantu Mansion· ···········
Chen Dechang and Wang Muzhi's plan was very good, but unfortunately reality and ideals backfired. Zhu Chenjie, who they had high hopes for, was not as unstoppable as they imagined, and he broke his teeth directly on Yuan Song.
The silence lasted for as long as a cup of tea. Wang Muzhi finally broke the silence and said in a low voice:
"I have met Zhu Chengjie and some other generals and soldiers participating in the war!"
"There is no big problem with Zhu Chenjie's command. The reason for this defeat is not unfair because we underestimated the strength of the Fengzhou Army!"
"The Fengzhou Army has a high fighting spirit, the formation is neat, and the battle formations are well coordinated. Taking Yuan Song as an example, the commanding ability of the Fengzhou Army generals cannot be underestimated. Yuan Song's command in Fengjiayu is very organized, and it can even be said that It’s watertight!”
"And the most important thing is that the Fengzhou Army is equipped with a lot of advanced firearms from nowhere. The firearms in their hands called Polu Guns and Weiyuan Guns are far better than the three-eyed guns and bird guns we use now. Be strong!”
"This time, the five thousand cavalry in Zhu Chenjie's hands did not exert their due power. On the one hand, it was because Yuan Song of the Fengzhou Army got ahead of him and occupied a favorable terrain, making it impossible for the five thousand cavalry to be fully used."
"On the other hand, because of this firearm, the armor equipped by our cavalry has no way to withstand the attack of Polu guns..."
Listening to Wang Muzhi's narration, Chen Dechang, who had his eyes closed, rubbed his head very tiredly and whispered:
"Shen Jianzhong reported to me before that Ye Mingsheng had a craftsman camp in Fengzhou, which gave those craftsmen high treatment. Many craftsmen go to Fengzhou every day. This Polu gun is said to be the invention of the craftsman camp. It was originally Prepare to deal with the Khitan cavalry..."
Chen Dechang stopped talking at this point, but at this moment there was a look of regret in his eyes. When Shen Jianzhong reported to him at first, he didn't take it seriously at all.
In Chen Dechang's view, there was something that even the craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry of the imperial court had failed to do, and Ye Mingsheng, a grassroots team, was even more useless. The blunderbuss was just a bluff. Unexpectedly, in just over a year, he was in We suffered such a big loss here.
"Is there any news from the court?" Wang Muzhi asked Chen Dechang:
Facing Wang Muzhi's inquiry, Chen Dechang shook his head and said:
"I haven't heard from the Chief Assistant yet, but I heard that the situation is very bad. Xu Shangshu of the Ministry of War has committed suicide!"
Upon hearing the news, Wang Muzhi was shocked and asked quickly:
"Xu Shangshu committed suicide? What happened?"
"It is said that the Chief Assistant asked Chen Jingyu to do it. As for the specific reason, no one can tell clearly yet!" Chen Dechang hesitated for a while, but decided to tell Wang Muzhi the truth...
Chen Dechang's words immediately made Wang Muzhi very excited. He blushed and couldn't help but shouted angrily:
"How could the chief minister kill Xu Shangshu? Fake news! Absolute news!"
When he was in Luo'an, although Wang Muzhi had the favor of Shangguan Hongyuan, his chief assistant, it was hard for a poor boy to be promoted so quickly in a place like the Shenwu Army where the involution was very serious. Many of the then Ministers of the Ministry of War Xu Bingyang took a lot of care.
Therefore, Wang Muzhi also feels very grateful for Xu Bingyang and is very grateful to him for taking care of him!
So now that he heard that his most respected chief assistant, Shangguan Hongyuan, ordered Xu Bingyang to commit suicide, Wang Mu really couldn't accept the result...
Looking at Wang Muzhi who was so excited and couldn't help himself, Chen Dechang frowned slightly and said:
"Wang Muzhi, please calm down. This is just the news I heard. If you really care about the truth of the matter, you can ask Mr. Chief Assistant yourself when you return to Luo'an. But now you and I should think carefully about how to deal with Ye Mingsheng. , otherwise because Ye Mingsheng, a bastard, has delayed the chief minister’s plan, you and I will really die without redemption!"
Wang Muzhi's self-control ability is actually not bad. It's just that he just heard the news about Chen Dechang, and his guard was broken for a moment. Now that he heard Chen Dechang's words, he calmed down, took a deep breath, and raised his hands to Chen Dechang. :
"I'm sorry, sir, I've lost my temper in this humble position!"
Chen Dechang waved his hand and continued to ask:
"Do you have any good ideas for taking down the Fengzhou Army?"
Hearing Chen Dechang's question, Wang Muzhi's expression became serious again. After thinking for a moment, he said:
"If the officers and soldiers of the Fengzhou Army are all as good as Yuan Song's troops, things will be very troublesome. As long as Ye Mingsheng does not rush in, we will have no good way. If we want to defeat the Fengzhou Army, our army must seek to fight with the Fengzhou Army. A decisive battle, but the initiative whether to fight a decisive battle or not is not in the hands of our army.”
At this point Wang Muzhi paused, resisted a little but still said:
"If Ye Mingsheng doesn't fight a decisive battle with our army, then the only way to quickly defeat the Fengzhou Army..."
Although Wang Muzhi did not directly say what the method was, Chen Dechang, as the commander of the Zhenwu Army, certainly knew what Wang Muzhi was referring to.
When Shen Jianzhong first brought up the Khitan option, Wang Muzhi, as an orthodox military attache, was opposed to it. Although Chen Dechang did not object, he did not express his support clearly. After all, as military generals, both Chen Dechang and Wang Muzhi were Have their own dignity and pride.
If they don't have to, they don't want to let foreigners like the Khitans enter. Once these jackals, tigers and leopards come in, it will be extremely difficult to let them out!
But at the moment, apart from letting the Khitans take action and attack the Fengzhou Army from both sides together with the Zhenwu Army, they seem to have no good way to deal with Ye Mingsheng!
The situation in Luo'an is becoming increasingly tense. The chief assistant is eager for them to enter the pass as soon as possible and open up the north. However, if the current situation continues, let alone entering the pass, even the traitor Ye Mingsheng will be unable to be dealt with... ·······
So now, for the sake of the overall situation, they may really have to violate their conscience and do something reviled!
"If the Khitans send troops to attack the Fengzhou Army from both sides, how certain are you that they can capture the Fengzhou Army?" After thinking about the matter, Chen Dechang asked Wang Muzhi again, looking at him expectantly. On Wang Muzhi's body.
Wang Muzhi did not give an answer to this question immediately. Instead, he gave the answer after careful consideration:
"50% to 60% sure!"
"So low?" Chen Dechang frowned and said with dissatisfaction:
Wang Muzhi smiled bitterly and said helplessly:
"With the help of the Cui family, the total strength of the Fengzhou Army is not much worse than our army. If they are determined to defend the city, we have to attack the city one by one. Attacking the city is the most time-consuming. And our army doesn’t have much time right now!”
"The best way for our army now is to lure Ye Mingsheng out and fight our army to decide life or death!"
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