Ye Bushou came back one after another to report. After summarizing the reports, Lu Xiangsheng discovered that the Manchu and Qing troops relied on their strong strength and divided them into ten groups, preparing to start attacking the city again.
After hearing the news, Lu Xiangsheng frowned and stared at the military map, thinking about something.
Seeing that he was silent, Yang Lukai, the shepherd at the side, spoke first: "Sir, since the Manchu and Qing armies are divided into ten groups, their strength is spread thin. Our army has fewer soldiers, which also reduces the pressure. In this way, we can annihilate them. Along the way, your chances of winning become much better!”
However, when Lu Xiangsheng heard what he said, he still frowned, turned to look at him, shook his head and said: "I would like to ask you, if you are Dorgon of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, do you know that we are leading the army of the Ming Dynasty?" If you are near it, will you still divide your troops into ten groups?"
Hearing this, Yang Lukai couldn't help but be stunned. Didn't it mean that the Manchu and Qing troops were divided into ten groups because they didn't collect reports at night? Your Excellency, Ye Bushou would not dare to lie about the military situation!
Seeing him in a daze, Lu Xiangsheng wanted to help those around him, so he explained to him: "War is dangerous, and no war can be 100% sure of victory. Dorgon is also a man who has been on the battlefield for a long time, so naturally he cannot commit the crime." This is a mistake. In my opinion, although the situation of dividing the troops into ten routes is true, it is a strategy to lure the enemy. He wants to lure our army to pursue with confidence, and then encircle and annihilate our army, so as to have less worries. At that time, Dorgon If we divide our troops into ten groups, it would be possible!"
Although the Manchu and Qing army did divide their troops into ten groups when they first invaded the pass, the Ming army had not had time to react at that time. Splitting their troops into ten groups could disrupt the capital as quickly as possible. This approach would not do anything. question.
But now, the elite troops of the Ming Dynasty, including Lu Xiangsheng's troops and Guan Ning's army, have been chasing the Manchu and Qing troops, and more Qin Wang's troops will definitely arrive one after another. It would be extremely foolish if the Manchu and Qing armies were to divide their forces into ten groups, take the initiative to dilute their forces, and want to recreate the Battle of Saarhu.
After Lu Xiangsheng's explanation, Yang Lukai understood this truth. He couldn't help but feel a little frightened and replied with a little admiration: "If you weren't aware of everything, you might have fallen into the Manchu's scheme!"
After hearing this, Lu Xiangsheng was not at all proud. Instead, he sighed and said: "Our army has too few troops, otherwise we will resort to tricks. With lightning speed, we can concentrate our superior forces to annihilate one or both of the Manchu and Qing armies before they can encircle them." , after eating the bait of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, there is no need to be afraid. In this way, the morale of our army is high, and we are fighting inside the pass. The Manchu and Qing Dynasties will not dare to fight me to the death again, and they will definitely want to exit the pass as soon as possible. By then I will If the army follows, maybe we can seize the opportunity and strike again."
Yang Lukai's eyes widened when he heard this. This is a good strategy to defeat the Manchu Qing army that invaded the pass! However, he also immediately thought of the reality. The only army under his command that dared to fight was more than 5,000 cavalry. With this small force, it is basically impossible to quickly kill all the Qing troops. What's more, these five thousand cavalry troops are already exhausted and have run out of rations. The key to victory or defeat is actually to seize the time gap before the Manchu and Qing armies encircle them.
In this way, there is clearly a chance to win the war, but there is no way because of insufficient troops. Thinking of this, Yang Lukai couldn't help but feel disappointed. It was obvious that it was difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without straw! If you can really lead the world's soldiers and horses, and there are no Gao Qiqian, Yang Sichang and others causing trouble, why worry about not being able to defeat these Manchu and Qing troops invading the pass!
Thinking of this, he suddenly gave a high-five and said in a hateful voice: "It's all the treacherous ministers in the court who have deprived you of your military strength. Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
Although Lu Xiangsheng himself proposed the division of troops at the beginning, he actually did it as a last resort. Because his command was constrained by Director Gao Qiqian at every turn, he was unable to command the war normally, so he took the initiative to divide the troops. As the pastor next to Lu Xiangsheng, Yang Lukai naturally knew this clearly.
However, the pig teammates are not done yet. Gao Qiqian took advantage of Lu Xiangsheng again. Not only did Guan Ning's army refuse to give him any, but even Tianxiong's army was transferred. Lu Xiangsheng's men only had 20,000 troops from the three generals of Datong, Xuanfu, and Shanxi. As a result, on the way, Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, found an excuse to lead the army to run away. Some soldiers knew that there was a lot of trouble along the way and collapsed. Now there are only more than 5,000 people left.
After hearing what Yang Lukai said, Lu Xiangsheng did not reprimand him. Instead, he frowned and glanced at the map again. Suddenly a trace of determination appeared on his face. He patted the map on the table, pointed with his hand, and said loudly: "Send the order." , the whole army sets out to pursue this road! "
When Yang Lukai heard this, he was immediately stunned again. Your Excellency, haven't you already analyzed it thoroughly? This is a trap set by the Qing army, but why do you still order the entire army to march out and jump into the trap? You know, it is simply impossible for five thousand exhausted troops to defeat the ten thousand or so Manchu Qing troops with high morale in a short period of time!
"Sir, this...this..." He wanted to say that this order was inappropriate, but he couldn't say it when he denied Lu Xiangsheng's decision in person, so he couldn't help but stutter.
Lu Xiangsheng naturally heard what he wanted to say, and explained with determination: "The national affairs are like this. Only when we know that we cannot do anything but do it resolutely and move forward bravely can we have a glimmer of hope!"
When Yang Lukai heard this, he couldn't help but nod. Damn it, now that this is the case and the adults have made up their minds, let’s fight!
Lu Xiangsheng looked at him, suddenly feeling a little guilty in his heart. Doing something knowing that it cannot be done is actually gambling with the lives of soldiers on a goal that is basically impossible to achieve. This battle is extremely dangerous and almost impossible to survive. I don’t know how many soldiers will survive!
Thinking like this, he suddenly added a military order: "This battle is dangerous, and I will never retreat. However, as a precaution, the military secretary will collect the family letters of the soldiers as soon as possible. An hour later, the entire army will set off. mistaken!"
"Yes!" Yang Lukai naturally knew that this was actually a suicide note, but he did not hesitate and immediately accepted the order loudly and went out to deliver the order.
Lu Xiangsheng thought for a while, then walked back to the case and began to write a letter to his family (a suicide note).
"...Brother has clearly understood the dangers of this battle. However, the country is in a difficult situation, the Manchus are raging, and the bandits are bound to rise again. As an official of the imperial court, I received the favor of the emperor, and sympathized with the suffering of the people in the world, so I can only go all out. , To repay the kindness of the emperor, and to care for the people of Li. Life is what I want, and righteousness is also what I want. I can’t have both, I can only sacrifice my life for righteousness! All matters in the family are entrusted to my brother, and my brother will never write..."
There were some things he didn't write in the letter. In this battle, although he knew very well that the probability of winning was too small, he still wanted to fight. The purpose is not to defeat the Manchu and Qing armies, but to inflict pain on the Manchu and Qing armies. In this way, even if the emperor is determined to negotiate peace with the Manchu and Qing Dynasties in the future, and implements the policy of calming down the internal affairs before resisting foreign aggression, how much will it cost? It can also give you some confidence to negotiate peace. It can let the Manchus know that if they dare to make excessive demands for peace talks, the Ming army also has an army that dares to fight and a fearless army, and it will definitely be a life-and-death situation!
An hour later, Lu Xiangsheng gathered the letters together and asked several disabled soldiers in the army to be kept in Julujiazhuang by civilians, and then he personally led the army to set out.
However, he did not pursue far, and encountered the Manchu and Qing troops near the Haoshui Bridge in Julu.
