The words of Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, focused the attention of everyone in the hall on Zhang Cheng.
The tradition of the Ming Dynasty at this time has always been that civilian officials were responsible for planning strategies, while military generals had become reckless men who only knew how to lead troops to charge and kill. There was no longer the ability of the generals who led troops to win thousands of miles like Taizu and Chengzu in the early Ming Dynasty.
At this moment, faced with the questioning of the supervisor Zhang Ruoqi, the governor-general Hong Chengchou did not ask the Fu minister Qiu Minyang, the military commander Zhang Dou, the patrol commander Yao Gong, the supervisor Wang Zhizhen, let alone all the colleagues present here.
But they chose to ask Zhang Cheng, the deputy commander-in-chief, how could they understand this!
Even if Governor Hong consulted the generals and commanders because of military affairs, there would also be General Zhenshuo, General Soldier Yang Guozhu of Xuanzhen, General Soldier Chen Jiugao of the front camp of Shenji Camp, veteran Liaodong General Zu Dale, and more There is Wu Sangui, a general in Liao Town.
In their opinion, Zhang Cheng should not be asked about the young Zhang Cheng. He was not only the youngest, but also the most junior. He had just arrived in Liao Town and still knew nothing about the situation here.
He alone can tell us any useful strategies for war and defense, or strategies for using troops?
However, they can just wait and see the joke. The generals and commanders here are all good at fighting on the battlefield, and at most they can command a battle of a battle scale.
They have never been good at strategic-level planning, and it’s not their fault. Since the Battle of Tumubao, all the elite talents of Ming Dynasty’s martial arts were lost. From then on, the strategic level was controlled by civilian officials.
Military generals and nobles were reduced to decorations, or ordinary generals who were ordered around by civilian officials. From then on, their horizons were limited to their own one-third of an acre of land, and could no longer be broadened.
Especially when it evolved to the end of the Ming Dynasty, the generals mostly followed orders during battles. Even if they had some small thoughts, they were all focused on bribing superiors and how to protect themselves. How much could they achieve, and what kind of strategic-level planning could they have?
While everyone in the lobby was surprised, Zhang Cheng also fell into deep thought.
He guessed that judging from the current situation, his arrival did not have a big impact on the battle situation in Liaodong. Perhaps it was because his strength was not enough. The energy of attention.
Perhaps, after this battle, you will no longer ignore me!
After Zhang Cheng secretly set a new goal for himself in his heart, his thoughts gradually became clearer. Even if the number of slaves in Songjin direction increased, they would never exceed 80,000.
But on his side, there are already more than 160,000 Ming elites gathered. If he can take advantage of the fact that Jian Nu has not paid too much attention to them, he may be able to march into Jinzhou City in one go. In this way, the siege of Jinzhou will be solved immediately.
At that time, Jinzhou, Ningyuan, and Shanhaiguan were connected together, and both land and sea lines could transport grain and grass to ensure the needs of the army. Even if it took a long time to fight Jiannu, there was nothing to fear.
In the original history, it was the Ming army's Hong Chengchou troops who were in a hurry to attack. Zu Dashou in Jinzhou City also responded internally and externally, and fought out from the city, even breaking through the two lines of defense of Jiannu. Unfortunately, the reinforcements were unable to retreat, and Zu Dashou could only Then he returned to the city and failed.
Even so, Jiannu was seriously injured and frightened. Dorgon almost led the army back to Yizhou. For this, he and Haoge were scolded by the slave chief Huang Taiji and fined.
In the end, Huang Taiji vomited blood and rushed for more than 500 miles to the Songjin front line, and recruited the Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners and the Han army to fight. In the end, Hong Chengchou was defeated, captured and thrown into slavery, and his reputation was ruined.
Just listen to him say: "Director Hong, Supervisor Zhang, all your lords, in Zhang Cheng's opinion, the Donglu Dun soldiers and Song Jin are not something that only happened in recent months.
According to previous military reports, the number of slaves and bandits in Songjinjian was only between 50,000 and 60,000. They had not mobilized the whole country to come, so it was obvious that they had no plans to fight me in Songjinjian.
The slaves and thieves occupy Yizhou. Even if they plant crops nearby, they will not be able to feed an army of hundreds of thousands. The additional troops will only amount to 80,000 at most. No matter how many slaves and thieves there are, they will not be able to support them for a long time.
The thieves' plan was obvious, and they aimed to force Commander-in-Chief Zu to commit the crime in Jinzhou City, so they adopted a siege strategy instead of attacking by force.
Although it is very urgent to press against the Song and Xing forts, the intention is still to test the strength of our division, or to force our division to send troops to rescue them, so that they can take advantage of our division's urgent advance, with the intention of setting up an ambush and reinforcements. "
Zhang Cheng paused for a moment and then said: "There is a saying in the art of war that 'it is as immobile as a mountain'. Zhang Cheng thinks that we should send more sentry cavalry now to see the distribution of the slaves and thieves' forces and know where they are.
Our division acted like a rabbit, taking advantage of the slaves being unprepared, and taking advantage of the fact that the army of slave thieves had not yet gathered, pressed forward with force, and marched straight to the gates of Jinzhou City in one go. "
He continued: "Otherwise, once the slave chief Huang Taiji knows that I have all the elites in the country, he will definitely attack the whole country, and it will be even more difficult to deal with it.
As long as our division investigates carefully and knows the actual strength of the slave thieves, we will go out to fight with all our strength and attack the slave formation directly with lightning speed. Even if we are blocked and unable to advance, we can also mobilize the artillery battalion to assist in the battle.
Although the slave thieves are fierce and good at fighting, they are not invincible. As long as our division is united, the battle between Songjin and Songjin is inevitable! "
Chen Jiugao, the former commander of the Shenji Camp, was the first to applaud. As Zhang Cheng's older brother, he must praise Zhang Cheng in this scene regardless of whether he was right or wrong.
What's more, according to Zhang Cheng's words, his artillery battalion will be on standby behind the formation, so he doesn't have to risk his own life. How could he not support it?
Chen Jiugao was the first to stand up in support, followed by Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu and Zhang Cheng, who all expressed their support for the university. Moreover, they also believed that there was nothing wrong with what Zhang Cheng said, and they nodded in agreement.
Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen also nodded in agreement, and then the veterans who had been with Hong Chengchou for a long time, such as Liu Zhaoji, Li Fuming, Zuo Guangxian, etc., also nodded and thought it was feasible.
Hong Chengchou also saw that Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan, was secretly nodding to him. In fact, Wu Sangui was still thinking about Zhang Cheng's hint at the banquet last night. How could he object in public?
Although there was no specific strategy in Zhang Cheng's words, and there was no strategy to get the best of both worlds, when the two sides were still in dispute, it also played a role in easing the atmosphere of the discussion and giving both sides a step up.
Zhang Ruoqi laughed first and said: "That's it. General Zhang's words are very consistent with my heart. Our generals must not advance in fear of the enemy, but they must not attack hastily.
The military must plan before taking action, but it cannot be delayed for a long time without making a decision. My duty is to supervise the army, to be loyal to the king, and to share the worries of the Holy One. Although it is not possible to march immediately, we must make a plan quickly and march to Songjincai as soon as possible. "
He turned around and saluted Hong Chengchou again: "I am worried about the king's affairs, and I was a little anxious just now, but I also have a public heart for the country. I hope Governor Hong will not mind it."
Hong Chengchou stroked his beard with one hand and said with a smile on his face: "It is really a blessing for me and Master Wang to have Doctor Zhang come to the army to praise the strategy. How can I care about it?"
Mr. Zhang, please take a seat. "
