"You have also seen the imperial court's decree. Do you think the imperial court will slap you in the mouth?" Sun Guozhen looked at Yang Guodong aside.
After hearing this, Yang Guodong frowned and said: "But this battle is not easy to fight. Not only do I have no confidence in relieving the siege of Lushun, but I might have to use all the soldiers and horses that come here."
The reason why he has been able to sit so securely in the position of commander-in-chief these years, apart from his contribution to quelling the Wenxiang Rebellion, is also due to the soldiers and horses in his hands.
He knew very well that if there were no trusted soldiers and horses available, the court would probably deal with him next.
The reason why Li Chengliang was arbitrarily manipulated by the court back then was not because most of his soldiers died in North Korea. If those soldiers were still there, the court would have to be wary even if it wanted to deal with Li Chengliang.
It is better to have a father and a mother than to have one yourself.
Few generals who don't understand this will end well.
"The imperial court has issued a clear decree. You and I only need to consider how to fight and win this battle, not whether to fight it or not!" Sun Guozhen said to Yang Guodong.
Yang Guodong thought for a while and said: "Shuizuoying can be sent to support Lushun, and the leading officer will be General Geng Zhongming. He was born in Dongjiang Town and is familiar with the situation in Lushun."
"One Shuizuoying is a bit missing!" Sun Guozhen frowned.
Since Jiajing, the Dengzhou Navy has been divided into five battalions, each with two sentries, and each sentry has two Fu boats, one Haicang boat and two stern boats.
Yang Guodong said: "No matter how much we send, it will be in vain. To be honest, if it were not for the purpose, I would not have sent out a single Shui Zuoying."
He said this, but he actually did it.
Lushun is not far from Dengzhou, it can be said that it is across the sea.
When the Big and Small Changshan Islands were captured by the Tiger Banner, Dengzhou had already received the news from Lushun, but he did not send any soldiers to rescue them and allowed the soldiers and horses of the Tiger Banner to take over the islands. Then they took action against Lushun.
"No, it's too few. The angel who delivered the message is still there. If you act like this, you won't be able to hide it from the angel's eyes." Sun Guozhen shook his head.
I don’t agree with Yang Guodong’s approach.
After hearing this, Yang Guodong said in a dissatisfied tone: "Isn't it enough to send a general? Is it possible that I need to personally lead the troops to Lushun? If I leave, what will happen to Shandong? The tiger thieves are still in Henan. The tiger is watching with eager eyes and may invade Shandong at any time."
"Geng Zhongming can go to Lushun, but there are too few naval forces. At least three battalions are needed." Sun Guozhen stretched out his finger and made a three sign.
"Impossible!" Yang Guodong immediately refused.
Sun Guozhen advised: "As long as we try our best, we will have an excuse for the court even if we lose. If the navy only dispatches one Shuizuo camp and the news reaches the ears of the court, it will definitely know that you and I have not done our best. So, let's dispatch Three naval battalions.”
"Absolutely impossible." Yang Guodong refused again and immediately said, "Does the military know how many naval battalions are left in the navy?"
Hearing this, Sun Guozhen hesitated and asked tentatively: "Aren't they five naval battalions?"
"Four." Yang Guodong stretched out four fingers and gestured, and then said, "The Shuiqian battalion sent to Pi Island last time failed to come back. Now there are only four naval battalions left. If three navy battalions are transferred this time, There are only one naval battalion left and cannot even patrol the nearby sea area."
Sun Guozhen frowned and said: "Since the accident happened in the camp before drawing water, we have recently added personnel to the navy. Could it be that someone is taking advantage of the money?"
As he said that, he fixed his eyes on Yang Guodong.
"This general is getting some free pay, but the navy is different. It is nominally under the command of this general, but there is also a deputy general below." Seeing that Sun Guozhen doubted him, Yang Guodong said angrily.
Sun Guozhen frowned and said, "He is too courageous to take the free pay of a naval camp!"
The person he was talking about was the naval officer.
"He's not that bold." Yang Guodong defended the other party, and then said, "The navy is different from ordinary soldiers. Not just anyone can board the ship, not to mention that the personnel have been replenished, but what about the ship? This has always been the case in the past. It’s been a long time, and not a single ship has been added to the navy. Without ships, how can we still call the navy?”
Facing his rhetorical question, Sun Guozhen showed a hint of embarrassment.
He had served as a sea patrol officer and participated in politics in Fujian, so he naturally knew that ships were the foundation of the navy.
When Shuiqianying was completely wiped out on Pi Island, the imperial court gave Deng some money to build ships to replenish Shuiqianying's establishment.
However, only three to four tenths of the money was transported from the capital to Dengzhou, and shipbuilding also took time, so he spent the money on things in order to be able to transfer from Dengzhou to the capital.
Ever since the tiger-character flag occupied Phi Island, he felt that the position of governor would become a hot potato.
It was a pity that he was not allowed to move around in the capital, and the Tiger Character Banner began to use troops against Lushun. It became impossible for him to leave office as a governor.
"If you can't dispatch three naval battalions, then send out two naval battalions!" Thinking of his debt to the Dengzhou Navy regarding the Shuiqian camp, Sun Guozhen chose to take a step back.
Yang Guodong hesitated for a moment and asked hesitantly: "What about the angels? Will they come to cause trouble?"
"Don't worry about this. I've already taken care of the angel side. Just ask the navy to dispatch." Sun Guozhen said, "By the way, Kong Youde and Li Jiucheng are both from Dongjiang Town like Geng Zhongming. We just took this opportunity to let them come together." Lead the troops to Lushun."
Hearing this, Yang Guodong frowned slightly and said: "If Kong Youde is also sent there, and Geng Zhongming is included, two generals will be sent to Lushun."
"If such a big thing happened in Lushun, it would be natural for someone to bear the blame. The two of them happened to take over the positions of some people in the past." Sun Guozhun snorted.
Yang Guodong asked: "Which one of them is the leader? Who is the deputy?"
A snake cannot survive without a head. One of the two generals must be the commander-in-chief of the army.
"Who do you think is suitable?" Sun Guozhen was not confident.
He only knew that these two people were brave generals under Mao Wenlong's account. As for the others, he did not know the details.
Yang Guodong thought for a while and said: "Geng Zhongming used to be in charge of the army's finances in Dongjiang Town, and Kong Youde was brave and good at fighting. He was the first to reach the battle and was the first among all the generals. I think he will be the leader, and Geng Zhongming will assist."
"Then follow your arrangement and send troops as soon as possible." Sun Guozhen nodded in agreement, and at the same time he did not forget to urge Yang Guodong to use troops against Lushun as soon as possible.
Almost all supplies in Dongjiang Town rely on Dengzhou's support.
The Dengzhou Navy was very familiar with the route to Lushun. It was just that it used to transport supplies, but this time it was transporting troops to Lushun.
In order to ensure the smooth transportation of troops and horses to Lushun, many ships were specially prepared in Dengzhou.
