Among the various forces in Hexi County, although Lihua occupies the largest territory, it is isolated and too far away from Xiazhong County. And the army is weak, the counties are sparsely populated, but in fact they are the weakest side.

The 50,000 troops of Hedong County of Qi State relied on the Shangdang ferry and could obtain supplies from Qi east of Huangshui at any time.

Not to mention the Rong people, although they only occupy a city on the right side of the Yuan, they are backed by the entire county of Qin Lan, so they can't be regarded as a city, and the combat effectiveness of the Rong people is deeply understood.

The 140,000 horses in the two cities of Baili and Qiushu are the most powerful of the four forces, whether it is the number of soldiers and horses, the population of the hinterland of Gyeonggi, or the strong supply of materials in the Qi State, which is incomparable to the people of Lihua and Rong.

However, Zhu Lihua felt that the other three parties were competing now as if they had no time to take care of themselves, which was also a blessing in misfortune for him. But the plan he was originally going to keep in the dark could no longer be implemented.

With so many soldiers and horses gathered in Hexi County, the first battle will be the first choice for war, because no one can afford the daily wear and tear of so many soldiers and horses.

And in this way, no matter who wins or loses in the Rong people or the Qi Yong coalition army, then the opponent he will face will be a behemoth disproportionate to himself.

It didn't take long for Lihua to come to her own judgment and decision.

If you want to survive in this chaotic Hexi, then the only way is to continue to muddy the already turbid waters of Hexi County.

Aren't the Qi people going to fight a decisive battle with the Rong army, then I will help a group of Qi people, cut off their back road, and let them break the cauldron and fight the Rong people to the death.

Zhu Lihua expected that even if he captured Shangdang City, then the Qi people who were cut off from the back road would never go north to take revenge, because they had been pulled into the quagmire of the decisive battle by the Rong people.

"General, this matter is too important, you should ask Wenshui's opinion before making a decision."

Looking at Gao Yunce's somewhat excited face, Zhu Lihua smiled and shook his hand.

He knew in his heart that these generals under his command had become the leaders of a city in just two years, and they could stand alone, although they had extraordinary talents, but they were indeed short and decisive because of their lack of experience.

But he also understands that he didn't come over like this, and he will naturally grow up after gritting his teeth when he encounters a major event that he has never encountered.

He was about to explain his thoughts to Gao Yunce and the others, but he heard Wei Mu, who was sitting in the corner and never said a word, say:

"Gao Junhou, how can such a major military situation be sent to Wenshui City through the enemy-occupied area at the risk, if it is intercepted by the Rong people or the Qi people, hehe." Speaking of this, Wei Mu didn't seem to want to say any more, so he smiled and was speechless.

After thinking for a while, everyone understood in their hearts that what Wei Mu said was extremely true, but they were still a little hesitant about Zhu Lihua's overly bold proposal.

Therefore, Zhu Lihua, who had lost his patella and could only sit on the chair, looked at everyone with a slight smile and said: "What Wei Qianren said is good, even if the letter can be sent, how can it be done in three or two days to get a reply from Wenshui."

Now that Shangdang only has 5,000 soldiers and horses to garrison, if it is delayed for a while, and reinforcements are sent over in the territory of Qi State, then it will be difficult to capture the city.

I've told you the pros and cons, and if you don't have any other opinions, we'll do it. ”

Zhu Lihua looked around, and saw that the hesitation that was hidden on his face after everyone listened to him was suddenly replaced by excitement and expectation. He nodded in his heart, knowing that this was what a so-called strong army should look like.

It is as fast as the wind, as slow as a forest, as encroaching as fire, as immobile as a mountain, as difficult as a cloud, and as moving as a thunderstorm.

"The order is that Wei Mu Qianren will lead two thousand cavalry and set off for Shangdang County tonight to explore the county garrison and monitor the movements of Xu Changqi's army."

"Whoa"

As Lu Lihua finished speaking, the silent Wei Mu just stood up and responded with a bang, without the slightest hesitation.

Seeing this, Zhu Lihua admired in his heart, but he did not move and issued another military order:

"Marquis Gao Yunce, you will start raising grain and grass tomorrow, and once the war starts, you will immediately escort the grain and grass to set off for Shangdang at the same time as my 10,000 army.

Liang Qingshu Junhou, with you returning to Hanhai tomorrow, when I set out on the expedition, there must be no mistake in properly arranging the requisition of grain and grass. Once the grain and grass are collected, they will be sent to the Longmen and Quwo lines closest to the Shangdang.

Marquis An Moran, when we go out to fight, you need to lead the remaining 10,000 troops to garrison Quwo and Longmen, once you find that the Qi army is attacking our city in the north, you must wait for help, and there must be no mistake. ”

An Moran immediately stood up when he heard the order, and said loudly: "General rest assured, although An Mou does not dare to say that he will win the city, he will definitely be able to make the city in the people, and the city will be lost." An wants to see how many catties and taels those Qi people have, hehe. ”

Zhu Lihua looked at An Moran and smiled sadly, and suddenly felt relieved.

"After I left, except for Quwo, Longmen and Ji Lin, the other five counties are like empty cities, so you must be careful if you stay behind. Please. ”

Speaking of this, Zhu Lihua seemed to want to stand up and salute, but suddenly found that he didn't have the ability to stand up, so he had to sit on the chair with a wry smile and clench his fists slightly to everyone.

When everyone saw it, their hearts were even more moved, and they immediately stood up and said: "Dare to die for the general." ”

Seeing that the crowd was high, Zhu Lihua, who was sitting on the chair, felt that it was still necessary to be relieved for everyone, so he smiled slightly and said solemnly:

"This operation is a matter of life and death for our Wooden Hedgehog Army. Even if we can win this battle, it is also the key to be able to hold Shangdang in the face of the attack of the local Qi army in Hedong and the Qi army of Xuchang by land and water, so I took away all the soldiers with tenacious combat strength in the general, just to be able to hold Shangdang.

But you don't need to worry, when we go out to fight for the party, it will be the day of the decisive battle of 100 miles, so I don't think the people of Qi will send too many soldiers and horses to the north to recapture the party, after all, once they win the Rong people, it will be much easier for them to take the party again, how can they commit the taboo of fighting on two fronts.

However, it is a problem for the enemy to come by water, although the Shangdang waters have long been defenced, but after several battles, they have already been worn out, and if the Shangdang can be successfully occupied this time, the first priority is to strengthen the defense of the Shangdang frontline.

When I go out to join the party, the counties must not relax their military preparations, and those captured soldiers and rebels, as well as the people of the counties, who want to join the army, still have to hurry up and train them, and maybe one day they will be of great use.

Now that the autumn harvest has passed, and when it is time for the farm, I am afraid that the people will join the army in order to obtain food and military funds. ”

When she said this, she suddenly sighed. He thought of what Heman had said about the people of Lingzhou, Shuofang and other places who enthusiastically joined the army in order to defend the land, and then thought about the exhaustion of the people in the counties under his control

, if the sergeant dies, there will be one less, and his heart can't help but be a little gloomy.

Seeing that his master was suddenly silent, everyone looked at each other with some curiosity, among which Gao Yunce was the first person to see Zhu Lihua's thoughts, and he said softly: "General, now that it is time for life and death, it is better for us to recruit the people of various counties to join the army, so that there is no need to worry about the shortage of soldiers." ”

After Gao Yunce finished speaking, everyone understood the reason for Lihua's worry. But among the generals in the hall, Niu Yong and several other leaders of the rebel army changed their faces one after another, and they were about to speak, but they heard Zhu Lihua raise his hand and say:

"The counties have just suffered hardships, and they have not yet eased up, so they must not waste food because of choking, and do things that kill chickens and take eggs and hurt the people. When the people are dead, what is the use of the city that is defended?

Besides, what kind of combat effectiveness does the forcibly recruited soldiers have? The ancients were more expensive than expensive, and I would rather have some people who were willing to join the army than forcibly conscripted the people into the army, which reduced the combat effectiveness of my wooden army. ”

After Lihua finished speaking, Niu Yong and the others breathed a sigh of relief, but there was a look of great gratitude in their eyes when they looked at Lihua.

"That's the end of today's discussion, after you go back, you will quickly deploy troops, arrange the collection of grain and grass and the transportation of grain trucks, etc., I guess the decisive battle of a hundred miles will be in these days."

When everyone saw that Lihua had given an order to evict the guests, they responded one after another and left with a bang.

As expected by Lihua, six days later, the spies who had returned from Baili finally brought back the news that the 70,000-strong army of the Rong people had begun a decisive battle with the Qi Yong coalition army.

After that, in addition to waiting for the scouts who came back every day to deliver letters, he also sent a large number of scouts to continuously investigate the military situation in the south.

According to the information sent back, in the previous few days of fighting, the Rong people did not seem to show absolute strength, and were defeated in two major battles in succession.

And in the second battle, they were actually defeated by the cavalry of the Qi army from the flank into the formation, if it were not for the extremely large number of Rong cavalry, the death force drove the Qi cavalry out of the formation again, I am afraid that the Rong army would have to pay a heavy price that day.

Rao so, the Rong army also suffered heavy losses in two engagements. According to the scouts' careful investigation, the corpses of the Rong army who died on the battlefield alone reached four or five thousand, and they were also forced to switch from offensive to defensive, and after the defeat of the second battle, they hurriedly chose to retreat to Yuanyoucheng.

The Qiyong coalition army poured out, leaving only 20,000 people to garrison the two cities of Baili and Qiushi, and the remaining 100,000 soldiers and horses followed the Rong people north to Yuanyou. The Qi armies of Xuchang and Binshui also left only 10,000 people to garrison the two cities, and the remaining 35,000 troops attacked Yuanyou from north to south, cooperating with the Qiyong coalition army.

Just as the decisive battle of Baili turned into the decisive battle of Yuanyou, Lu Lihua immediately ordered and ordered the army that had been prepared for a month to go to the party.

At this time, Zhu Lihua's heart was already extremely sure that if it was not expected, the decisive battle of Yuanyou would be decided within two months. And as long as nothing goes wrong, the winner will be on the side of the Rong people.

Because the battle of Baili is very similar to the battle of Hainan that took place in Qinlan County.

Regarding the experience of the Rong people fighting Fang Yuanheng at the beginning, although Zhu Lihua did not personally participate, he also roughly groped out Xiao Jinxing's intention to use troops from Heman's mouth.

First of all, it is necessary to show the enemy weakly, so as to achieve the goal of dispersing the enemy's forces, expanding the enemy's defensive area, and lengthening the enemy's logistical supply. and then continued to sneak attack to cut off the enemy's food and grass supply, and finally desperately attacked one point and won a big victory.