In the face of Huang Taiji's series of actions, Zuo Zhan knew that he was not a thing in the pool, and this time he would bring disaster to the vicinity of Yizhou, and it was by no means as simple as looting a few cities. This group of Rakshasa musketeers, all equipped with firearms, not only looted everywhere they went, but also slaughtered Mongolian herdsmen, and there was also a Cossack cavalry that was also very strong in combat, and Rong Shiyan suffered a great loss in several battles with them. What was even more terrifying was that Huang Taiji's 60,000 Eight Banner soldiers followed behind, saying that they were afraid of the firepower of the Rakshasa people and did not dare to fight with them. This trick of killing people with a knife is indeed clever, knowing that he is the culprit who lured the wolf into the house, but he can't hold the handle.

As the governor of Liaoshen, Xiong Tingbi didn't understand why Huang Taiji dared to swim on the blade. It is said that Jianlu has accepted the appeasement of the imperial court, his father Nurhachi and several siblings and their families are in Gaoyang County, once the emperor knows that he will rebel again, he will inevitably behead these hostages, could it be that Huang Taiji will really abandon the country and abandon his family for his own selfishness? However, Yizhou is his jurisdiction, and he has an unshirkable responsibility for such a change, and said with annoyance:

"The Holy Lord, the humble general thinks that the Rakshasa people have been planning for a long time, and they may not join forces with Huang Taiji, and besides, the hostages are in the hands of the imperial court, so he does not dare to betray his promise. At present, we should make every effort to encircle and suppress the Rakshasa people outside the city of Yiju and keep the enemy out of the country. ”

Zuo Zhan secretly laughed at his self-deception, the Rakshasa people are all overwhelmed, what are they talking about defending the enemy outside the country, if people can't face the reality, how can they be ashamed and brave? Moreover, Lao Maozi's desire for territory has long been integrated into his blood, and this time he must be dealt a blow to make them afraid of the strength of the Ming Dynasty and dare not easily expand eastward. As for the Cossack cavalry under their account, as long as they are willing to pay enough price, they will become a foreign mercenary army in the Ming Dynasty in the future, and their success is related to the strategy of driving wolves into soldiers in the future.

Although the left war has confidence in the victory of the Rakshasas, he really wants to test the strength of the new army through this Rakshasa army, which is similar to the Western European Army, and learn from some of the opponent's tactics through actual combat to make up for his own shortcomings. In addition, the imperial court had just quelled the rebellion of Lu'an, and the military salary that could be used was less than one million taels of silver, and the army had to prepare ordnance, grain and grass when leaving the customs, which required time and money.

After Xiong Tingbi finished speaking, everyone talked about it, some agreed with his point of view, and some suggested that Huang Taiji should take advantage of the opportunity to make trouble. Zuo Zhan was not in a hurry to make a statement, and cautiously stared at the map marking the marching routes of the various forces, and then clapped his hands and said:

"The Mongols, Rakshasas, Cossacks, and Jurchens all went to the gate to discuss the division of the family property, but no one asked the master's opinion, this is a deception of the young and ignorant, and the lord is suspicious!"

When everyone heard that the little emperor was laughing at himself, they thought that he had a thunderous rage, and immediately quieted down, and no one dared to interject. Seeing this, Zuo Zhan smiled bitterly and continued:

"Halbara was forced to rest in the Hetao area, and I expected that his 40,000 cavalry would not dare to go south, and would even bow down in exchange for the protection of the Ming army, so I first sent an envoy to stabilize him and the Tsuros, and then clean up this uninvited guest after the disaster in Yizhou was resolved.

As for the more than 10,000 Rakshasa musketeers and 8,000 Cossack cavalry in Yizhou, they were nothing more than a group of thieves who burned, killed and looted, so there was nothing to worry about. What makes me scruple is Huang Taiji and the 60,000 Eight Banner soldiers under his command, his move is indeed clever, if I only rely on his fear of the enemy and cowardice to kill hostages, I will inevitably fall into Huang Taiji's tricks, then he will respond to the call in Liaodong, take advantage of the situation to capture Liao, Shen Hou dominate one side. At that time, we were threatened by the Dzungar Division, the Khalkha Division, and the Qinghai Tumut Division, and the northern part had to fight with the Rakshasas and Cossacks, and we were simply unable to deal with his rebellion. ”

Zuo Zhan's words can be described as earth-shattering, and everyone suddenly realized, secretly sighing at Huang Taiji's wolf ambition. He borrowed the hand of the Ming Dynasty to get rid of Nurhachi and other burdens, and then used this as an excuse to hold high the banner of anti-Ming, although this strong man broke his wrist tragically, but he won the sympathy of the Jurchens in Liaodong. As the greatest strategist at the end of the Ming Dynasty, Sun Chengzong's judgment was roughly the same as that of Zuo Zhan, and after listening to it, he stepped forward and said:

"What the Holy Lord said is that this is not the time to dispose of the hostages, and Huang Taiji should be appeased, and he must not be told the truth and fulfill his conspiracy. As for those Rakshasa soldiers, the old minister suggested sending envoys to negotiate on the one hand, and on the other hand, transferring troops to aid Yizhou. ”

Zuo Zhan looked at the map and thought to himself that it would take at least three months to send troops now, and in the face of the Rakshasa people with advanced firearms, Rong Shiyan might not be able to hold out for so long. Moreover, since they dared to attack the city with great fanfare, they must have been in contact with Huang Taiji secretly, and using the Yizhou encirclement point to send reinforcements was a common trick used by Jianyu.

Sun Aiqing's suggestion was very good, and he immediately began to implement it after the meeting, and at the same time sent a force of cavalry out of the Xuanda Defense Area and went around to the north of Yizhou to cut off the retreat of the Rakshasas. In this way, Yiju has become a chicken rib, and the Rakshasa people are bound to find ways to protect themselves. ”

The generals of the older generation shook their heads at this bold idea, believing that it was too risky and that the cavalry would be defeated if they ran out of supplies. Several generals of the Shaozhuang faction were eager to try, waiting for the emperor to give them the order to go on the expedition.

Zuo Zhan was not in a hurry to draw conclusions about the differences that appeared, but turned his head to ask Yang Lian about the situation of money and grain. Due to the allocation of a large amount of grain and grass by the imperial court to help the disaster area, most of the official warehouses near the capital division are currently empty, and it will take two months to gather the supply of 100,000 troops. Fortunately, the military cantonments in the Guanjin area have a surplus, which can support the army for two months. After synthesizing the opinions of all parties, Zuo Zhan said calmly:

"Generals, Huang Taiji's request to surrender is just a trick to drag the sword, not to surrender to our dynasty. This time, he deliberately led the Rakshasa to the outside of the gate, in order to reap the benefits of the fisherman. Regardless of victory or defeat, the grasslands in the north will become a terra nullius, and he can use the vast grasslands to strengthen himself, and his cavalry can completely bypass the Guanjin defense line and attack from the west, when the Great Wall is long but not dangerous to defend, and it may be attacked everywhere.

What's even more serious is that once the Rakshasas have gained enough benefits from this crusade, they will definitely make a comeback, and even tempt the Hongmaoyi to raid merchant ships from the southeast, plunder the towns, and even the long-disappeared Japanese and South Vietnamese monkey soldiers will wait for an opportunity to cause chaos. ”

Zuo Zhan deliberately made alarmist remarks and listed the hidden dangers around the Ming Dynasty, which made those generals who were about to ignite extremely angry. However, they did not dare to refute the little emperor, but aimed the contradiction at Sun Chengzong, who wanted to make peace with the Rakshasas, and only heard Cao Wenzhao clasp his fists and say:

"The humble general is a rough man, and if you have any offense, please forgive me Lord Shangshu. Last year, General Huang and I traveled thousands of miles to build the old nest of the prisoners without carrying provisions, and I told the soldiers that if they won the battle, they would have food, and if they were defeated, they would either die in battle or starve to death, but none of them were timid. Now that foreign enemies are invading, if there is anything to talk about, let's fight it out first. The general asked for orders to lead his subordinates from the Xuanfu area into the grassland and penetrated directly into the enemy's rear. ”

Last year, they led the four guard battalions of the Gongwei Jing Division, which has now been renamed the Yongwei Battalion, uniformly wearing black tiger head masks, and is a real cavalry corps of the Ming Dynasty, commanded by Huang Degong and Cao Wenzhao respectively. This Huang Chuangzi was already short-tempered, and when he saw Cao Wenzhao taking the initiative to ask for help, he was naturally not to be left behind, and then said:

"Saint, since the Yongwei Battalion was rebuilt, the humble general has made an oath with General Cao that no one can lie on the merit book and wait for death. Over the past year, the officers and men have been practicing new tactics and deploying a large number of firearms, and their combat strength has long since changed from what it used to be. The humble general also asked for orders to go to war, and rushed to aid Yizhou from Shanhaiguan to ease the enemy's offensive and buy time for the main force to complete the strategic encirclement. ”

Sun Chengzong was squeezed by the two of them, and his old face was like charcoal, but after all, he was a senior in the army, and he swallowed the words several times, showing excellent self-cultivation. Zuo Zhan knew the predicament of his mentor, and helped him out of the siege and said:

"Sun Aiqing is old and seeks the country, and the Rakshasa people come here thousands of miles away not to fight with us, as long as the two sides are stuck in each other, they will naturally take the initiative to seek peace. Moreover, since the military innovation, there has never been a strong enemy with the unified use of firearms, and this battle is just the right time to test the real combat power of the Royal Army, learn war in the war, and even put down your body to learn from your opponent.

As for Huang Taiji, the Military Aircraft Department immediately ordered his main force to rest in place, and those captured Horqin people were personally escorted to Ningyuan. If he doesn't obey the dispatch, then the wolf's ambitions will be revealed, and it's not too late for us to do it. ”

The meeting did not end until the end of the year, and it was finally decided to send Huang Degong and Cao Wenzhao each to lead 10,000 Yongwei battalions from Xuanfu to secretly go out of the customs and insert themselves into the rear of the Rakshasas with the momentum of horns. Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng led 60,000 royal troops to attack from Shanhaiguan and strive to reach Yizhou within two months. Yuan Keli and Mao Wenlong's sailors galloped along the Liao River to aid Shenyang, propagating Huang Taiji's traitorous behavior and preventing him from sneaking up on Liao and Shen.

The sky is dawning, the rooster is like a war song, and the bright red sun is like a flag hanging in the east. The little emperor's eloquence and belief in victory infected all the soldiers who went out on the expedition, and they were all full of energy and high morale. Especially those young generals are even more eager to fight, and their hearts are itching like cat scratches.

At this time, Zuo Zhan and the ministers were inspecting the soldiers who went out at Chengtianmen, although the pace was not as neat as the honor guard, but the face was full of murderous energy. This was part of the military reform, and all the troops had to be reviewed by the Son of Heaven before going to the front, in order to stimulate the morale of the soldiers. It's an honor, but it's also a responsibility.

The north wind is sluggish, and the water is not cold. Soldiers go on the battlefield, and the battlefield is iron-blooded! When the last army drove through Chengtianmen, Zuo Zhan leaned on the city wall tiredly to rest for a while, and Qi Changguo and Yu Dingbian next to him tried to help him several times. For the prosperity of the country and the prosperity of the nation, he has killed many people and will kill more people in the future, but he does not regret his choice. If you want to fight, you will fight! The sons and daughters of China hope for peace, but they are never afraid of war!

Waiting until the civil and military ministers around him dispersed, Zuo Zhanping retreated left and right and asked:

"Are you ready?"

Qi Xingguo knew that the emperor was asking about the special operations of Jinyiwei, and last time in Liaodong, Jinyiwei continued to attack and harass behind enemy lines with the establishment of Yanyun's eighteen cavalry, intercepted a large amount of information, and rebelled against a group of Han generals. Although it failed to inflict a frontal blow on the enemy, it changed the course of the battle and accelerated the pace of victory. During the suppression of the rebellion in the southwest, this kind of special operation was brought into full play, and the father and son of Yongning Tusi and Chongming were captured to complete the first beheading operation, and the results went down in history.

At this time, a special force of 200 people had already arrived at Deshengmen, and I saw Qi Xingguo kneeling on one knee, clenching his fists and saying:

"Your Majesty, the Jinyi Guards have gathered and listened to the Hadith!"

Zuo Zhan raised the last trace of strength, raised his arms and shouted:

"This battle is extraordinary, and the winner or loser cannot be judged simply by the outcome of the battle. I want to understand the firearms and tactics of this Rakshasa army, and if necessary, I can establish an employment relationship with them to fulfill my long-cherished wish of the Western Expedition. When you arrive in Yiju, you will first execute those spies, and then look for fighters on your own, and you must help Rong Shiyan hold out until the day when the army is encircled. ”

Qi Xingguo took the order and left, and Zuo Zhan sat on the dragon chariot tiredly to rest. At this moment, he really wants to go to the Qianqing Palace, which is the only place where he can feel the warmth, and he already has a wife and a son in the next life, who doesn't want to accompany his wife and children to the hot kangtou. What's more, Zhang Yan and Kuo Yue appeared in his most difficult time, and that kind of soul collision made Zuo Zhan feel the warmth of family affection, even if he made the harem beauties three thousand for political marriage in the future, but these two girls are irreplaceable in his heart.

However, the war is imminent, and the soldiers are about to go out of the customs to fight bloodily, and if they lie in the gentle township, they will have a disturbed conscience. At this moment, he must lead by example and keep a clear head, so that he will be supported by everyone, thinking of this, Zuo Zhan said tiredly:

"Spread Qi Xingguo to the Qinzheng Palace to wait for the decree."