According to the steps, the first battalion of the Qing army withdrew across the Yellow River and set up a large camp on the opposite bank. [No pop-ups. 】

This action of the Qing army was immediately noticed by Li Zicheng's detective, and he immediately flew back.

When the people who were at the banquet heard that the Qing army had withdrawn and had been withdrawing from the Yellow River, several main figures were frowning, so that the points that Fang had just said in vain would be turned into unfavorable conditions for themselves.

Li Zicheng said: "The Qing army retreated north, it seems that they want our army to cross the river and fight a decisive battle with it." ”

He Yilong didn't care a little: "Then cross the river and fight, anyway, we have hundreds of thousands of people, can we still be afraid of them?" Lao Huihui shook his head: "No, in that case, we will become a backwater array, in case we can't withstand the Qing army and Wu Sangui, we will have to be squeezed down the Yellow River." ”

Li Yan said: "That's what the Qing army intended. ”

He Yilong snorted: "Then let's not go to the river, you must know that they are attacking right now, we are guarding Luoyang, they can't help it, what can they do with us?" ”

Song Xiance said: "This can't be done, because we can't afford it." ”

He Yilong said: "What can't you afford to spend? The Qing army is not attacking, and we are just recuperating. Song Xiance said: "But what about the grain and grass? Together, our coalition army has nearly 400,000 horses, and every day people eat and feed the horses, and get as much grain as they get, but when the Qing army retreats across the Yellow River, they can supply grain and grass from Zhili, and they can also take advantage of this opportunity to suppress the anti-Qing forces in various parts of Zhili. It won't be long before the entire Zhili becomes their backyard, and with such a large rear base, the Qing army will gain a firm foothold in the pass, and there will be endless troubles. ”

Bai Qi also said: "And if it is consumed for a long time, our men and horses will inevitably be slack, in case at this time, the Qing army divides its forces and goes to attack Shanxi, Shandong and other places, do you come back to help, or don't you go back?" In that way, the Qing army will occupy the initiative on the entire battlefield, and we will be passive everywhere, and it is not necessary to divide the troops, nor is it to divide the troops, and this battle will be lost. ”

He Yilong stopped talking, and he also felt that the two of them made sense. 400,000 horses have been consumed in Luoyang for a long time, and the supply of grain and grass is indeed difficult, and once the Qing army goes to attack Shandong, these tens of thousands of horses will definitely have to return to the army to rescue, but Luoyang is far away from Shandong, and it cannot be reached for a while and a half.

Li Zicheng also nodded, he also agreed with Bai Qi's statement, and asked, "From the perspective of the general, what should we do?" ”

Bai Qi sighed: "This move of the Qing army is a masterpiece, if you want to crack it, there is no perfect strategy." ”

Liu Zongmin said: "The Qing army wants us to cross the river to fight a decisive battle with them, no matter what, we must not be fooled by this." ”

Song Xiance said: "But it's not a river, and we have also fallen into the plan of the Qing army, so I just said that we can't afford it." ”

Liu Zongmin became anxious: "It's not okay to fight, it's not okay not to fight, the prime minister said, what should I do?" Song Xiance looked at Bai Qi: "At this time, the general is in charge of the whole army, let him make up his mind." ”

Bai Qi secretly sneered in his heart: This person has pushed it all back.

So he smiled slightly: "Well, there is a way, but I don't know if the generals here have the guts." Liu Zongmin slapped the table: "We are all in blood and fire, and we have already tied our heads to our belts, and we are afraid of a bird." If you're afraid, take someone with you. ”

Li Zicheng shouted: "Hugh is rude. The general is not only a distinguished guest, but also a commander, you have to control your temper, and don't take the lead for your subordinates. ”

Liu Zongmin glanced at Li Zicheng and stopped talking.

Li Zicheng said: "Don't be surprised by the general, he is such a temper, he can't be provoked, if the general has any ideas, just say it, others don't say it, our righteous army is all good men who are not afraid of death." It is not ambiguous to fight the official army, and it is even less timid to fight the barbarians of the Qing army. ”

Bai nodded: "Okay, okay, since that's the case, I'll say what I think in my heart, and everyone can discuss it and make a decision." ”

Li Zicheng said: "The widow listens. ”

Bai Qi said: "Prime Minister Song Cheng is right, we can't afford it, the Qing army's move is to see that we have a large number of men and horses, and we will stay in Luoyang for a long time, so it is inevitable to sit and eat empty, and when the grain and grass are exhausted, the armies will inevitably disperse, and then the Qing army will suddenly cross the river to pursue, and it will win a big victory." Therefore, we must not compete with the Qing army. ”

Everyone listened quietly, and no one spoke.

Bai Qi continued: "There is no perfect plan to fight a war, and all wars are adventures. Therefore, I think that since we can't defend it and can't afford it, we can only fight and cross the river to fight. ”

Most of the crowd frowned as they listened.

Bai Qi looked at everyone and said with a smile: "Of course, don't have any doubts, we crossed the river to fight, not to send them to death." It's like that Han Shin, a war that will be put to death and then born. ”

Song Xiance said: "But the Qing army and Wu Sangui are not the nerd Chen Yu, maybe they will take advantage of our crossing of the river and hit him halfway." Let's get off the horse first. ”

Bai Qi said: "Prime Minister Song, your opinion is right, the Qing army may have this trick, but I have a way to make it dare not do it." ”

Song Xiance smiled: "Really? I'd like to hear about that. What's the general's plan? ”

Bai Qi said: "In all battles, those who attack half of the river are used cavalry or chariots to attack the troops that landed first, so that they broke up, ran wildly, and then rushed the men and horses who crossed the river behind, so the place of the battle was on the opposite bank rather than the river. As long as we stabilize the men and horses who cross the river first, let these people establish a solid beachhead front, and can block the onslaught of the Qing army and the Guanning iron cavalry. ”

Song Xiance said: "I know this, but it's easy to say, but it's difficult to do." ”

Bai Qi said: "Although it is difficult to do this, it is not impossible. I, Qin Jun, can do it. As long as the 30,000 horses of our Qin army cross the river and form a defensive formation, they can block the attack of the Qing army and win the opportunity for the men and horses behind to cross the river. ”

Li Zicheng said: "This is very good, but the general, as soon as the Qin army crosses the river, it will become a lone army fighting against the water, and the Qing army on the opposite side has more than 100,000 people, all of them are cavalry, can you withstand it?" In case of a mistake, I will not only be sorry for you and Li Gongzi, but I will also not be able to explain to King Qin. ”

Bai Qi said: "It doesn't matter, since I dare to do this, I must be sure, but after our army crosses the river, the people and horses behind cross the river faster, and if there is one more person, there will be one more chance of winning." ”

Li Zicheng said: "This is natural, the general led the Qin army to cross the river, and I led the whole army to follow behind, you go ashore on the front foot, and we will arrive on the back foot, don't worry." ”

Bai Qi said: "Also, my Qin army crosses the river to fight, it is indeed difficult, and it needs some armor, war horses, and even vehicles and weapons, please Your Majesty must be fully equipped with me." ”

Li Zicheng said: "The general only needs to use the equipment in our army, and there is no need to return it, and the heavy armor spears used to deal with the cavalry, and even muskets, etc., can be taken away by the generals." ”

Bai Qi said: "Once our army has established a beachhead front, the rear army will go ashore one after another, and then spread out as much as possible, don't crowd the river, after you go ashore, I will lead the whole army to advance forward, leaving a larger rear, so that the brigade can cross the river." ”

Li Zicheng nodded: "Okay, just listen to the general." ”

Liu Zongmin said: "This is just crossing the river, what about after crossing the river?" How to play? ”

Bai Qi said: "After crossing the river, we must ensure the smooth flow of logistics and transportation, so I also ask Your Majesty to send a general in charge of logistics to transport grain and straw, so as not to lose anything." ”

Li Zicheng nodded: "I will hand this over to Tian Jianxiu, he is cautious and will never make mistakes." ”

Bai Qi said: "This is very good, the following is the arrangement of the decisive battle with the Qing army, after arriving on the other side of the river, I will say in detail, it is too early to say at this time." ”

Li Zicheng said: "Also, to fight a war, you have to respond to the situation, you can't think about all the steps in advance, but also change according to the changes of the enemy. ”

He raised his glass and said, "Come on, come on, let's drink this one first, and then the army will prepare to cross the river." ”

After drinking this banquet, Bai Qi and Li Yan returned to their camp, Zhang Huangyan had been waiting in Yuanmen for a long time, and when he saw the two of them coming back, he immediately said: "Do the two generals know that the Qing army has withdrawn?" ”

Li Yan said: "I know, and I just talked about it at the banquet in the city." ”

Zhang Huang said: "How did you come to the conclusion in the end? Li Yan looked at Bai Qi: "The general's meaning is to cross the river for a decisive battle." Zhang Huangyan was taken aback: "The decisive battle across the river, it was a battle against the water, it was extremely dangerous, the general had been in battle for a long time, how could he not know?" ”

Li Yan wanted to say what happened at the banquet, but Bai Qi smiled slightly: "Ben Shuai has his own plans in his heart, so Mr. Zhang doesn't need to say much." In the next two days, I will lead the Qin army to cross the river, will the general follow or not? ”

Zhang Huangyan looked at Li Yan, then at Bai Qi, and sighed: "I really don't know what the two of you think, this is obviously a trick of the Qing army, but you ...... Alas, forget it, I'm here to join forces against the enemy, you cross the river, but I don't go, isn't this a shame for my grandson's old face? When he heard about it later, how could he look up to me? So cross the river, and our army will follow. ”

Bai Qi said: "Okay, the boats and other things have their own Dashun army to prepare, the general only needs to order the soldiers, just pack up, remember, when crossing the river, you must follow behind my Qin army, don't panic." ”

Zhang Huang said: "Obey the order." ”

Sent Zhang Huangyan away, the two returned to the big tent, the red lady and Yizhimei were waiting, and when they saw them coming back, they asked this and that. Li Yan told the matter, and the red lady frowned.

She asked Bai Qi: "Why does the general want to fight this vanguard?" In case after crossing the river, the Qing army attacks on a large scale, even if we can withstand it, we will inevitably lose our soldiers and generals. ”