When the team led by Zhou Dayong destroyed the whole Henan, and swept through the whole of Henan with lightning speed, the team led by Xiao Xuan gathered the main force of the reorganized volunteer division and the three armies of the Second Army, the Third Army, and the Tenth Army of the Revolutionary Army, with a total of about 50,000 troops, also quickly marched westward through Taihang, and marched in the direction of Ningwuguan and Datong respectively on the central and northern lines. The strengthened 10th Army on the northern front was led by Li Zicheng and Zhang Yuan, a member of the Datong Society, and was mainly composed of the old troops of Li Zicheng and others after a certain amount of training and reorganization, with a strength of about 20,000 troops, mainly cavalry. The team led by Xiao Xuan was about 35,000 troops, and it passed through the direction of Taihang Dai County to attack Ningwu Pass.

After a lot of operations since the start of the army, especially the operations of leading the new-style army since the offensive and defensive battles in the capital, and after reporting and summing up more experience from the grassroots level, Xiao Xuan also has some experience in leading and commanding troops. Because the new army is more combative, and the thickness of the front required under the same situation is smaller. In essence, a regiment is roughly equivalent to a regular barracks in the Ming army system, and the upper limit of effective command is not a tactical group of about 70,000 to 100,000 people, but a force of about 30,000 or 40,000 people.

Moreover, under the condition of advocating mobility and active combat, a combat group of about 30,000 people, mainly infantry and supplemented by cavalry, is fundamentally different from a main group of 100,000 people in terms of the convenience of marching operations. Among these 30,000 people, the elite volunteer divisions are not to mention, the six brigades of the First Army and the Second Army are also relatively prominent main forces among the 30 brigades of the Revolutionary Army, and the proportion of backbone troops such as the former teaching brigade and the Guards Battalion and the Yongwei Battalion is very large, so with this strength to cooperate with the team led by Li Zicheng and others, Xiao Xuan did not feel that there was any deficiency in terms of force investment.

Of course, this also greatly increased the confidence of Zhu Cunji, the king of Qin, Zhu Qiugui, the king of Jin, and others, who regained the privilege of expanding the army and building the army. As one of the military powerhouses of the Ming Dynasty, the Shaanxi Buzheng Division originally had a decent team, and the folk customs were not too bad. In the past few months, from Gansu to Shanxi, the decent contingent has grown to at least 200,000 troops, and it is still able to assemble a main force of more than 100,000 people while retaining a considerable proportion of the backbone of the housekeepers.

The strong combat effectiveness of the volunteer troops has been known to many people in the Ming court since the offensive and defensive battles in the capital, but the combat effectiveness of other armies, especially after the continuous expansion of the water, is at best at the same level as Jiannu in the eyes of many people. If Jiannu didn't have too many cavalry or horses, he only relied on an infantry-based team to fight against the more decent Ming army. Perhaps the full lineup of the main force of the Jianzhou Army of about 50,000 or 60,000 is difficult for the Ming Army strategic group to face, but if it is only about 30,000 the main force of the Jianzhou Army, then the Ming Army, which is still decent for more than 100,000, is still very sure to contend with the opponent without making serious mistakes in command.

Therefore, Zhu Cunji was very confident in the upcoming decisive battle at Ningwu Pass, which relied on geographical advantages and defense as the core, and even felt that he should take this opportunity to fight a battle example of completely annihilating the enemy's main force and reversing the situation in one fell swoop.

Zhu Qiugui, the king of Jin, was a little more cautious, believing that the combat effectiveness of those teams led by Chongzhen that could not be taken lightly still existed, and even if they confronted it with about four or five times the strength of the troops, they could only make use of their strengths and avoid their weaknesses, drag the opponent in the battle with defense as the core, and wait for the main force outside the pass to decide the victory.

For the construction of the army in the northwest and the strategic direction, the Yingtian court also attached great importance to it. Because the Shaanxi and Gansu Jingluo is a very important role that may be thrown out as cannon fodder, and the vassal king who has let go of the shackles may not be able to reap any benefits, and it is possible to become a scapegoat. Therefore, at a time when few people were able to shoulder heavy responsibilities in such a situation, Sun Chuanting, who had returned to his hometown in the era of Wei Zhongxian, took the initiative to stand up at this time and was responsible for coordinating the original army of Shaanxi Buzheng and even the troops led by the King of Qin and King Jin to fight, in order to integrate the forces of the entire Shaanxi.

After inspecting the military camps in various places these days, Sun Chuanting also believed that if the size of the enemy's army was really only about 30,000 troops, and the size of the troops was not much, as long as there were about three or four times the number of troops, and they did not rush forward in battle, then they would be in an invincible position. Perhaps because Emperor Chongzhen's perverse actions in many places completely frightened some people, many of the evils in the military camp in the past, as well as many local malpractices, seem to have been alleviated a lot in the past few months. This also makes many grassroots officers and men in the army seem to see the hope of "Zhongxing." The morale of the soldiers of the main army of about 200,000 infantry cavalry in the 40 battalions has also improved to a great extent, and it is no longer the time when the army had to bear a lot of taxes even when it was hit by disasters in the past.

"I heard that the puppet emperor's subordinates have a very strong team, and the combat effectiveness is very strong, you must not be contemptuous, even if you want to rely on the geographical advantage to fight with the opponent outside of Ningwu Pass, the troops other than the cavalry must be prepared to build a wall everywhere they go. Moreover, the forces are not dispersed, and as for logistics, the armies do not have to worry too much. Many border merchants in Qin and Jin, as well as local gentry, supported the army this time, which was rare in the past... ”

Sun Chuanting felt that the enemy army, which was obviously inferior in strength, seemed to be a sure defeat if he advanced so lightly, but somehow, he still faintly felt some unease. Therefore, it was decided to personally accompany the army to the barracks in order to urge the armies not to slacken their garrisons, especially when guarding against night attacks and camping.

When he learned that the enemy army in the direction of Shaanxi and Gansu planned to concentrate heavy troops to defend Ningwu Pass, and was preparing to start a decisive battle with the team led by him, Xiao Xuan's heart was completely relaxed. Although he is not completely sure of defeating the opponent, there is still a necessary chance of victory, and Xiao Xuan is worried about the possible changes that may occur due to the protracted war in the entire northwest. The opponent has a decent team of at least 100,000 or more and intends to fight the main battle against him, which will undoubtedly make the progress of the battle significantly faster.

When it was not too far from the direction of Ningwu Pass, Xiao Xuan held a military meeting on the verge of battle, and at the military meeting, the backbone of the Datong Society, who had already learned a lot of new thinking methods, lived up to expectations and put forward some expected ideas for Xiao Xuan: that is, with the unique combat effectiveness advantage of today's team, it is not the only choice to launch a strategic head-to-head showdown on key points. With the First Army and the Second Army to contain the enemy's main force, the main force of the volunteer division, which has stronger combat effectiveness and is less restricted by terrain and logistics, can completely bypass some passes and plunder the Guanzhong Prefecture by small roads.

(End of chapter)