Lin Fan nodded in response to Ji Minglan and said, "That's right, that's right!" ”

His words made everyone present in the two realms not calm and speechless.

Even if there is a letter from Zhou Chang, Ji Minglan really doesn't dare to agree with Lin Fan's thoughts.

He smiled bitterly and said, "My lord, why bother? At present, the soldiers and horses of the Qinwang from all walks of life have arrived, and in the last three or five days at most, the Manzhen army will inevitably retreat without a fight. ”

"Our army is only fighting at this time, and it is only adding casualties, so what's the point?"

Lin Fan pointed to the ground and said calmly: "Here, this is the place where we are standing now, it is the capital master of my Great Cloud Dynasty, and it is the most important place in the world. How can he be allowed to come and go as soon as he says he will be full of true army! ”

"Since October, it has been more than a month since the Manzhen army entered the customs. There have been several battles, and the imperial court has been defeated repeatedly, and has not won a battle so far. ”

"If they are allowed to retreat like this, the court will lose face, not to mention, you and I, as men in the Dayun Army, are responsible for resisting foreign insults. In this way, what face do you and I have to face the people of the world? ”

Lin Fan's words did not move Zicheng, he persuaded him: "We can understand Lord Lin's feelings, in the army, why don't I want to have a big battle with the Manzhen army, raise the prestige of my country, and wash away the shame of my sons in the Dayun army?" ”

"If I can, even if I give up my life, I will bite off a piece of meat from Man Zhenren!"

However, at present, the officers and men in the army are afraid of the Manchu army, and their morale and military spirit are unbearable. Rushing to war, just letting the brothers go to death for no reason, is not a good thing for the country and the people! ”

"Knowing that it is not possible to do it is a taboo for soldiers, you must not ignore it, and I hope that Lord Lin will think twice before acting!"

Lin Fan asked rhetorically: "The soldiers are afraid of war, but it is because the imperial court has lost consecutive battles. It is precisely because our army has lost too many and won too few that the prestige of the Manchu Zhen army has become more and more prosperous, and the morale of our army has declined. However, if our army has been afraid of the enemy and does not fight, how can it be victorious? ”

"The more our army avoids war, the more it will breed the fear of the enemy among the officers and men of the army. And if our army can have a great victory, then the fear of the enemy in the army will be dissolved. ”

Ji Minglan still didn't agree with Lin Fan's statement in his heart, he said: "What Lord Lin said, it's not that we don't know. It's just that now there are more than 100,000 Manchu troops in Gyeonggi, and the total number of our three soldiers and horses is only 15,000, and we are not familiar with the terrain and terrain around the capital, and the contrast in strength between the two armies is too great, so it is not a good opportunity for our army to fight. ”

"Our army can find a better time to fight with the Manchu people, there is no need to fight with the 100,000 powerful Manzhen army, it is difficult to win, not to mention, there is still the danger of annihilation of the whole army!"

Lin Fan retorted: "Where did General Ji say this? It is true that there are 100,000 Manchu Zhen troops in the land of Gyeonggi, but the imperial court officials and soldiers are not the only ones with my three soldiers and horses. ”

"In addition to our 15,000 men, there are no less than 100,000 well-equipped Beijing camps in the capital; In the north, there are tens of thousands of elites such as the Liaodong Border Army and the Zhenbei Iron Cavalry, as well as the soldiers and horses of King Qin, who are gradually arriving from all over the world. Now, the combined strength of the imperial court officers and troops has long surpassed the Manzhen army. ”

"Although the combat strength of the official army is worse than that of the Manchu Zhen army, the superiority in strength is enough to make up for it. If this is not the case, how can the Manzhen army have any intention of retreating? ”

"If it is really as the general said, there is a huge difference in the strength of our army and the Manchu army. Then just let them lay down the capital, why should we travel thousands of miles and work hard to come to King Qin? ”

After finishing speaking, Lin Fan continued: "With so many soldiers and horses cooperating, the strength of the Manzhen army will inevitably be pinned down by most of it, and it will not be able to fight our army with all its might. Even if our army cannot win this battle, as long as it does not become a rout, it is not difficult for the whole army to retreat, so how can we say that the whole army will be annihilated? ”

"As for the terrain problem mentioned by the general, our army is not familiar with the terrain, is it true that the terrain of the Manzhen army is familiar? Don't forget, they have only been in the customs for more than a month, and in a foreign capital, the situation they face will only be more severe than ours! ”

His tone became more and more unkind: "Also, I don't understand what the good opportunity General Ji just said is?"

"Now the strength of the official army has surpassed that of the Manchu army, and the Manchu army has been plundering Gyeonggi for a long time, and while looting wealth, the homesickness in the army is gradually rising."

"If they continue to fight, they will be cut off from retreat by the various armies of the imperial court. At that time, not only could they not take these things away, but maybe they would even have to leave their lives behind, so people were worried. Once people have money, they will become desperate, which even the Great Khan cannot control and avoid. ”

In the face of the Manchu Zhen army, which was homesick and had dissipated most of its fighting spirit, General Ji said that this was not a good opportunity and could not fight. And what is the good opportunity that the general is talking about? ”

"Do you have to wait for the Manzhen army to swagger out of my Dayun territory and return to the outside of the Guan, is it the good opportunity that General Ji said?"

Lin Fan's words can be said to be extremely unkind. He has an excellent temper on weekdays, and many ordinary soldiers in the army, as long as they are bolder, they can joke with him, and Lin Fan never gets angry.

Therefore, he rarely refutes others in person so mercilessly, and many times, even if Lin Fan is dissatisfied with people in his heart, his words will not be so direct. It will leave some leeway and not be too embarrassing.

Especially in the officialdom, what everyone wants is to get by on face.

Today you make people lose face, if someone holds a grudge and tomorrow let people seize the opportunity, then it will be your life!

This time he was able to say this to his face, which showed that Lin Fan's dissatisfaction with Ji Minglan's fearful and cowardly attitude towards the enemy had reached a certain level, which made him a little unable to suppress his anger.

Otherwise, even if it was for Zhou Chang's sake, he would not be ruthless to Ji Minglan like this.

Ji Minglan was so angry that his face turned red, and his body trembled slightly. But after all, Zhou Chang had explained that he wanted to assist Lin Fan, and Lin Fan was a civil official, and Ji Minglan didn't dare to offend him.

After calming down a bit, Ji Minglan said: "I, Ji Minglan, have been fighting on the battlefield for more than 20 years, and after fighting for so many years, I am not a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death. The scars left on his body over the years are too many to count. ”

"Lord Lin is right, at present, the Manzhen army is about to retreat north, and the people's hearts are fluctuating, which is indeed a good opportunity for our army."

"But even so, with the strength of the Manzhen army, if our army fights, the victory or defeat is really unpredictable."

"What I just said is a theory of avoiding war, but it is also for the sake of the overall situation, and it is definitely not for one's own selfish interests."

"My idea is that now the world is not at peace, although the threat of the Manzhen army is great, in the final analysis, it is the elbow and arm of my Great Cloud Dynasty, and the rebellions that rise and fall in various places are the real henchmen of the imperial court. Instead of needlessly losing the army here, it is better to leave the soldiers and horses behind to quell the civil strife in various places. ”

"Wait until the civil strife is calmed down in the future and the national strength is restored, and then it is not too late to concentrate the world's forces to fight a decisive battle with Manzhen. After all, the country is small and the people are poor, and I am the only one in the court

Slow down, it's a matter of time before you destroy him! ”

After explaining this, Ji Minglan's anger was also forced to rise at this time: "It's just that Lord Ruolin really wants to fight, and I, Ji Minglan and the Central Plains Dao Officials, are also willing to sacrifice their lives to accompany the gentleman, and if it's a big deal, I will die on the battlefield, so as not to be looked down upon!" ”

With Ji Minglan's words, Lin Fan was a little relieved. He is Zhou Chang's subordinate, even if Lin Fan can't trust him, he is willing to believe that since Zhou Chang let himself find him, he will not cheat himself.

As for the truth that Ji Minglan said, Lin Fan didn't understand it, and he also knew very well the order of the outside and the inside.

But Ji Minglan forgot one thing, that is, whether Man Zhen would give the Dayun Imperial Court a chance to recover.

Now the Manzhen country is thriving, the big clouds are twilight, and the national strength is gradually declining.

Under the advantages of one another, if Lin Fan was replaced by the Manzhen Great Khan Shiduo, he would definitely choose to drag Da Yun to death little by little, until he exhausted the last trace of Da Yun's vitality.

There is also the fact that the imperial court's desire to calm down the internal chaos is not as simple as Ji Minglan said, at least it seems that it is still far away.

Could it be that the chaos in the territory of Dayun will continue for ten years or more, and the war with Manzhen will drag on forever? Even if the court is willing, Man Zhen may not be able to agree!

Even if this battle is not fought today, it will be fought in the future. It's just that the decision on whether to fight or not is in the hands of the imperial court, and if you wait until later, it will be difficult to say!

It's just that Lin Fan thinks a lot about this, but how can he say it clearly?

He could only follow Ji Minglan's words and say, "General Ji, don't worry, if I want to die, I will definitely die in front of the general!" ”

After convincing Ji Minglan, Lin Fan looked at Yu Zicheng again: "What did General Yu say?" ”

Yu Zicheng was silent for a long time, but he still shook his head and said: "Unlike the strong soldiers and horses of the Central Plains Road, Shandong Road has been much more stable in recent years, so the number of soldiers and horses is not large. ”

"The 6,000 elites here are already nearly half of the family in Shandong Province. If I lose them all here, I can't explain it to the Governor! ”

"So I can't take this risk, please forgive Lord Lin for not being able to agree!"

Yu Zicheng's attitude did not surprise Lin Fan, and the risk of starting a war with the Manzhen army was extremely high. So many people in the court have lost the battle, and there are many famous generals on the battlefield.

And Yu Zicheng and Lin Fan only met for the first time today, why did he believe that Lin Fan would be able to defeat the Manzhen army?

Lin Fan pondered for a moment, and then said: "Two generals, in tomorrow's battle, our department will take the lead. ”

"But before the war, please also ask the two generals to lead their troops to press the formation for our troops!"

"As for whether the two and their soldiers will fight, it is up to the two generals to decide for themselves!"

"If our army is defeated, the two of them can lead the troops back to the camp. And if our army can resist the Manchu army, and even achieve some victories, so that the two of them feel that this battle is still fought, and then the two generals will weigh whether to send troops to cooperate with our troops. What do you two think? ”

Lin Fan's words were sincere, and for Ji Minglan and Yu Zicheng, this condition can be said to be extremely generous.

All the risks were borne by Lin Fan and the Huainan Provincial Officers and Army, and they only needed to look at the situation before deciding whether to fight.

The two looked at each other, as if they had reached some kind of tacit understanding. They all bowed their hands to Lin Fan and said, "It's up to Lord Lin to decide!" ”