In the bandit camp in the west of Kaifeng City, there was no longer the lively scene as before. On the contrary, it was a bit too dull. Only in the cavalry camp in the far west, there were occasional laughter and laughter.
Since most of the captured hungry people fled, and the bandits also suffered a lot of damage, even though they were camped together with Liu Fangliang, Gu Ying, Yi Dougu and other troops, the camp still seemed a little empty.
Even more, no old thieves came out to speak out and tell the new recruits about their glorious journey. The bonfires were still dotted, but the bustle of people was no longer seen.
The three pots of charcoal fires burning in the Chinese army's tent had hot water on them, making them look as warm as spring. Bai Wang took the lead in reporting to everyone the losses during today's siege, especially the attack on the vehicle array.
In addition to the nearly 10,000 dead, injured and fleeing hungry people, there were also more than 2,000 casualties among the bandit soldiers. What is even more annoying is that only a few of the wounded soldiers were injured in the limbs, and almost none were injured in other parts. Treated with law.
Liu Fangliang asked Liu Tichun at this time: "Erhu, please tell me about today's battle with that group of officers and soldiers."
He seemed to be more interested in the group of officers and soldiers in the north of the city. He listened very carefully to Liu Tichun's account of the battle, and even interrupted Liu Tichun many times to ask some questions.
But when Liu Tichun told the whole story, there was silence in the military tent.
Everyone was thinking, even if Liu Tichun's troops were mostly newly recruited thieves from Luoyang in western Henan, there were indeed nearly a thousand old thieves in Wuguan.
How could they be annihilated so easily? It seems that the strength of the official army in the north of the city cannot be underestimated.
Gu Ying interjected: "According to this, with the troops and horses we have under Kaifeng City now, I am afraid that we cannot easily defeat that group of officers and soldiers!"
Liu Fangliang said: "Don't talk about defeat. According to what Erhu said, the strength of the official army in the north of the city, we are afraid that only the old camp cavalry in the hands of the general sentry Liu Ye may be able to fight it."
Liu Zongmin looked at the tea bowl in his hand and said: "The old camp cavalry team is the foundation of the entire army and cannot be left lightly."
Everyone was silent for a while. Indeed, if the old camp cavalry was defeated again, the entire army would be unable to compete with the official army in the north of the city with only these newly recruited soldiers and horses.
Li Zicheng still had the same smile on his face, and it seemed that his smile was infinitely contagious. As long as they saw him smiling, the generals in the army would feel like they had a backbone.
I heard Li Zicheng ask Song Xiance: "In the opinion of the military advisor, what should our army plan for the next step?"
Song Xiance seemed to have known that King Chuang would ask for his opinion, so he said without thinking, "When King Chuang came from the east, he had no intention of defeating Kaifeng. His intention was only to attack by surprise. Since the surprise attack cannot be successful, we can go south.
Passing through Zhuxian Town and Weishi, and then passing through Weichuan and Changge, if Xuzhou can be captured, then there will be Xinzheng in the north, Linying in the south, Xiangcheng in the west, and the boundary of Ruzhou in the further west. Our Funiu Mountain army is not far away. "
Li Zichen already had the intention of retreating, but he didn't want to be the first to say it. At this moment, he felt relieved to hear that Song Xiance and he were thinking about the same thing.
He rested his eyes on Li Yan again, intending to ask, how could Li Yan not know, and said hurriedly: "I and the military advisor have the same opinion. The army will first go south, and then turn west. As long as it reaches the boundary of Xiangcheng, It can echo the generals in Funiu Mountain.
What's more, along the way, we can collect money and food from various cities in eastern Henan, and recruit soldiers and horses. When my army of more than 100,000 is ready in the coming year, and then leave Funiu Mountain, who else can control it?
At that time, I would still be afraid of Zhang Cheng! "
The smile on Li Zicheng's lips grew stronger. He asked around, but only the young general Zhang Nai was unwilling to accept it and objected to retreating, but others spoke softly.
What's more, even the commander-in-chief Liu Ye suggested that he should withdraw his troops first and then look for an opportunity to avenge Zhang Cheng in Xuanzang Town in the future. How could he stop him.
Li Zicheng finally said: "Retreating is inevitable. We are not afraid of Zhang Cheng's army now, but if Chen Yongfu gains trust in Luoyang and travels under the stars and night to come back for reinforcements, then there will be officers and troops from other places. If you come to gather, it will be difficult to cope with it.
However, we can't just retreat quietly. "
Liu Zongmin saw Li Zicheng looking at him with a smile. He also smiled knowingly and continued: "Brother Li means to set a trap for the officers and soldiers too!"
Li Zicheng smiled and said nothing, but Liu Fangliang clapped his hands and praised: "Okay, wonderful. We should set a trap for the officers and soldiers. As for whether he can evade it or not, it depends on his luck."
Everyone discussed some more details about retreating and setting traps. After having dinner in King Chuang's tent, they went back to camp to get ready.
…………
That night, the wind and snow stopped, but the sky was still filled with dark clouds, and I didn't know when they would completely dissipate.
Although Zhang Cheng's Chinese army camp in Xuan Town, north of Kaifang City, was surrounded by several government and military camps, there were also some fires burning outside the camp, but they were slightly sparser than usual.
At Xu time, under the cover of night, several cavalry officers and soldiers rode quietly into the official army camp in Xuan Town, north of Kaifeng City.
At this time, Zhang Cheng, accompanied by Zhang Guangda, had just finished inspecting the camp and met the visitor in the Chinese military tent. It was Yang Qing, the leader of the first team of Chen Zhong's Rangers.
It turned out that the day before Li Xianfeng crossed the Yellow River and arrived in Luoyang, Chen Zhong, Wang Yuanjing, Cui Shijie and others had led the army out of Luoyang according to Zhang Cheng's deployment and headed straight for Kaifeng along the official road.
When they were resting in an abandoned village eight miles east of Zhongmou County at noon today, they happened to meet Chen Yongfu, the deputy general of Henan Province who was returning to aid Kaifeng. He led two thousand soldiers from the Xiebiao Battalion to return to Kaifeng.
But when he led the army to Xingyang, he learned that the intruders were leading the army towards Kaifeng. Worried about losing his defense line of Kaifeng, he immediately abandoned the infantry and led nearly a thousand cavalry under his command to rush forward to support Kaifeng.
Although Chen Zhong urged Chen Yongfu to stay in Zhongmou with him and march to Kaifeng City after dawn, Chen Yongfu was eager to return aid and insisted on advancing overnight, even revealing his intention to attack the bandit camp at night.
Chen Zhong originally wanted to ignore him, but Wang Yuanjing privately signaled to Chen Zhong that because he didn't know what Zhang Cheng was planning under Kaifeng City, Chen Yongfu would inevitably destroy it. He suggested that Chen Zhong also lead the cavalry to Kaifeng with Chen Yongfu.
In this way, even if Chen Yongfu insists on attacking the bandit camp at night, at least Chen Zhong can pass the information to Zhang Cheng first, so that Zhang Cheng can be prepared and adjust his military strategy for the next step against the bandits in time.
Yang Qing finally said: "Then Chen Yongfu plans to attack the bandit camp at night at the fourth watch. He said that people sleep best at this time."
Before Zhang Cheng could say anything, Zhang Guangda, who was standing next to him, took the lead and asked, "What is Mr. Chen Qian's plan?"
Yang Qing replied respectfully: "Mr. Chen ordered me to report this matter to the commander-in-chief. He is planning to coordinate with Chen Yongfu outside the bandit camp. If Chen Yongfu's night attack on the bandit camp goes smoothly, he will also take advantage of the situation to attack the bandit camp at night. If Chen Yongfu goes well, he will also attack the bandit camp at night. If things don't go well over there, he can take over and lead his troops to withdraw."
