If the generals of the Ming army wanted to maintain their power, they mostly relied on their own soldiers and servants.
The uncles and nephews of the Cao family are all well-known warriors in Liaodong. In addition to their own bravery, they also have many Cao family soldiers who are not afraid of death.
This time he came from Liaodong to fight in the pass, and he brought a part of the Guan Ning army with him, including more than a hundred cavalry.
Although these Guan Ning troops are not personal servants, their personal bravery is not much worse than that of personal servants.
"General, eat something!"
A soldier took two freshly baked pancakes and handed them to Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao respectively.
Cao Wenzhao took the pancake, put it to his mouth and blew on it, then broke off a small piece with his hands and put it in his mouth to chew.
Cao Bianjiao next to him was much rougher. He took the pancake and took it to his mouth and took a big bite. From time to time, he picked up the kettle and took a sip of water to smoothen the food in his mouth.
"General, this is not the direction to Laizhou? Where are we going?" The soldier handed over a kettle filled with water and put it in Cao Wenzhao's hand.
Apart from the camp and the journey all the way, these soldiers and servants didn't know anything except that they found that they had not taken the road to and from the state.
In the eyes, he finally stopped rushing and started to rest, and finally had time to ask.
Cao Wenzhao didn't speak, but Cao Bianjiao swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "I'm not going to Laizhou anymore. I'll take you to do something else this time."
"Is there anything more important than dealing with the tiger thieves who came to the state? Can General Cao tell me about it?" The soldiers came to Cao Bianjiao's side and curiously inquired.
The relationship between a soldier's servant and his general is often closer than that of the general's family.
Cao Bianjiao didn't take it seriously. He ate the pancake and said, "Supervisor Fu specially arranged for my uncle to take us to sneak attack the tiger thieves' food route. As long as the tiger thieves' food route is cut off, the crisis in Laizhou will disappear." Being resolved, it doesn’t matter whether it’s serious or not.”
The soldier nodded vigorously with a look of approval.
For him, it was safer to sneak attack on the grain road than to face the soldiers and horses with the Tiger Flag.
And they are all cavalry this time, so they can evacuate immediately even if they encounter danger.
The uncle and nephew of the Cao family stayed here for half a stick of incense before setting out on the road again.
In order to catch their opponents off guard, the uncles and nephews of the Cao family didn't even enter the city they were passing through. They walked outside the city all the way, trying not to disturb as many people as possible.
It was a few days later that Tiger Flag learned the news about the Cao family's uncle and nephew's troops.
Along with this news, a convoy of grain trucks from Huzi Banner heading to and from Laizhou was robbed in the Guishan area.
The first person to receive news of the robbery of the grain team was Yu Huai stationed in Qufu.
Fu Zonglong's act of sending troops to support Laizhou in Jinan Mansion did deceive many people. The Tiger Character Banner did not expect that he would openly build a plank road to infiltrate Chencang.
Obviously they sent a large army to rescue Laizhou, but secretly they had the idea of tiger-character flag grain road.
Yu Huai had just learned the news about the accident on the grain road. His first reaction was not to believe it. However, as more and more information was received, he had to believe that his grain road was threatened by the Ming army.
He is a deputy battalion commander of the 1st Combat Division.
Such a big thing happened in Liangdao. As the deputy battalion, he didn't dare to take charge of it. He immediately sent someone to send the news to the main force in Laizhou. At the same time, he also sent someone to notify another troop stationed in Yanzhou Prefecture under the Tiger Character Banner. Be prepared.
It was already a day later when the main camp of the Tiger Character Banner in Laizhou received news of the accident on the grain road.
As soon as Chen Xunping received the news, he immediately called for the deputy battalion Zhengsun Chuang.
"Let's take a look! This is the news that was just sent." Chen Xunping handed a document to Sun Chuang, who had just returned from outside.
Sun Chuang reached out to take the document, looked through it, and immediately frowned.
"What we were worried about at the beginning finally happened, and the shortcomings of stretching the battle line too long were completely exposed under the eyes of the Ming army." Sun Chuang said with an ugly face.
When they decided to attack Denglai directly, they had anticipated that the food road was too long and would be easily exploited by the Ming army.
Chen Xunping pursed his lips and said: "This Fu Zonglong still has a few tricks up his sleeve. He gave us a head-on blow as soon as he arrived. I thought he was here to reinforce Laizhou, but I didn't expect that he would secretly plot against Chen Cang. We really can't underestimate these knowledgeable soldiers." A minister of the Ming Dynasty."
"It's too late to say this. Now let's think about how to solve the problem. Although being robbed once has little impact on the army attacking Laizhou, if it comes several times, the impact on the army will be greater. , it is very likely that the victory will be defeated and the troops will have to retreat." Sun Chuang looked worried.
There was something else he didn't say.
Once they retreat from Laizhou, it will be the first time that the Tiger Character Banner will be defeated by the Ming army. This impact will be greater than the interruption of the grain road.
After hearing this, Chen Xunping looked at the map on the wall with a thoughtful expression on his face.
He also thought of what Sun Chuang didn't say.
Moreover, he insisted on the decision to quickly advance the attack. Once the war fails, he, as the army coach and decision-maker, must bear the main responsibility.
More importantly, it will also delay the time of taking down the Tiger Flag to open the channel with Lushun.
Sun Chuang stood by and did not disturb Chen Xunping.
If the food road problem cannot be solved, even if Deng Lai is captured, the Ming army can still threaten the food road behind the Tiger Banner army.
"In the final analysis, we still have too few troops. On one side, we have to garrison the place to maintain local stability, and on the other side, we have to attack and attack. The strength of the troops is somewhat stretched. If this problem is not solved, even if the problem of food routes is temporarily solved, it will soon be solved. Exposed." Chen Xunping looked at the map in front of him, his brows knitted together.
Although the First Military Division withdrew from Henan, Shandong also accounted for a large proportion of the Ming Dynasty and had a large population. The Tiger-Character Banner army entered Shandong to defend against enemies, and faced greater pressure than when it attacked Henan.
"Otherwise, we can ask Li Futai to transfer some troops from Henan to maintain the grain road." Sun Chuang suggested.
Chen Xunping stared at several places on the map, thought for a while, and said: "It is too slow to mobilize troops and horses from Henan. Water from far away cannot quench the thirst for nearby, and it will easily delay our war in Laizhou. Thinking of solving the problem of food roads, We still have to find a way from Shandong, and the method of dispatching troops and horses from Henan to Shandong can only be used as a backup option."
In his opinion, it is okay for the troops and horses in Henan to be used to support Dongchang Prefecture in Shandong or the prefectures and counties to the west of Yanzhou Prefecture. If he wants to directly participate in the war in Laizhou, the distance is too far. For Laizhou, The tiger-character flag army was not of much help.
"Henan's troops and horses are not good enough, so let Chief of Staff Qin come back. He still has a group of troops and horses in his hands. It should be no problem to protect the grain road, and the distance is not too far." Sun Chuang mentioned Qin Rong.
In order to ensure the success of the attack on Laizhou, Qin Rong took a troop of the First War Division to the Zaozhuang area to guard against the Ming army coming from the south to Zhili.
