Sun Chuanting's opposition to the transfer was also expected by Fang Yuan.

He had been imprisoned for three years for offending Yang Sichang.

Sun Chuanting was released from prison by Chongzhen a few months ago, and he was entrusted with a strong force of 100,000 elites that gathered the three major battalions of Gyeonggi, the Shenji Battalion, the Fifth Army Battalion, and the 3,000 Battalions to rescue Kaifeng and the Governor of Shaanxi.

Now that Sun Chuanting's butt in Shaanxi is not hot, Chongzhen wants to transfer this strong team back to Gyeonggi, and it is reasonable for him to complain.

For this last pillar of the Ming Dynasty, Fang Yuan repaid full patience, as long as the common purpose was to exterminate the Liukou and the Manchu Qing, then there was nothing that could not be talked about openly.

Fang Yuan smiled and said, "I came to Shaanxi this time to discuss military affairs with Governor Sun, and I asked Governor Sun for advice. ”

Sun Chuanting said, "If you don't rescue Kaifeng, but move the elite of the three major battalions to Gyeonggi, then Shaanxi and Henan will be gone. ”

Fang Yuan said patiently, "Governor Sun, even if you go to rescue Kaifeng, the army of the thieves is mainly cavalry, and our army is mainly infantry and musketeers. ”

It is basic military common sense that the infantry will face the cavalry on the plain, and if they win, they will not be able to expand the results of the battle, and if they are defeated, they will be crushed for thousands of miles.

Sun Chuanting looked displeased and said, "The thief has more advantages. ”

Fang Yuan asked again, "How sure is Governor Sun that he can relieve the siege of Kaifeng?" ”

Sun Chuanting thought about it, the combat power of the thieves was already above the Ming army, and the strength of the army was also more advantageous, and it was indeed uncertain to rescue Kaifeng, so he said, "Do your best to repay Your Majesty's kindness." ”

Fang Yuan said slowly, "When Governor Sun was released from prison, he boasted to His Majesty that '5,000 soldiers can quell thieves', and now His Majesty has given 100,000 elite soldiers and horses, but Governor Sun has said that he is doing his best, so he was deceiving Your Majesty before?" ”

He saw that Sun Chuanting's face changed greatly, and said word by word, "Governor Sun has forgotten Yuan Chonghuan's experience? ”

Fang Yuan brought up the precedent of Yuan Chonghuan being executed by Ling Chi by Chongzhen for boasting about Pingliao for five years, and Sun Chuanting was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat on his vest.

He stayed in prison for three years, and his impression of the combat power of the rogues was still stuck in the time when Gao Yingxiang was captured alive a few years ago, so he dared to boast to Chongzhen that 'five thousand soldiers can pacify the thief'.

After the comeback, he realized that it was a big mistake before Li Zicheng, Li Zicheng's military appearance and the number of cavalry were no longer comparable to Gao Yingxiang's period, far exceeding his expectations, and it was a big joke that 5,000 soldiers could pacify the thief.

Sun Chuanting sat back in his chair in a daze, his face was like death, "Fang Jianjun, this, I, alas! ”

Fang Yuan saw that his arrogance had disappeared, and said lightly, "I suggest that Your Majesty move the army, that is, I cherish Governor Sun is one of the few generals in the Ming Dynasty, and I want to protect Governor Sun, otherwise once the battlefield is lost, Governor Sun will definitely repeat the mistakes of Yuan Chonghuan back then." ”

Sun Chuanting lowered his gaze solemnly, and the muscles on his face twitched slightly, showing the panic in his heart.

After a long time, he finally sighed and said, "I have failed Your Majesty's kindness, and the Fang Jian Army will take this elite army away!" I stayed in Shaanxi, recruited soldiers and horses on my own, and then fought to the death with the thieves. ”

Seeing that he was still stubborn, Fang Yuan sat opposite him and said, "Governor Sun, what's the matter?" ”

Sun Chuanting said with a depressed face, "I just want to kill the thief to serve the Ming Dynasty, serve Your Majesty, and return to Gyeonggi, what is the use?" ”

Sun Chuanting's worry was that he would return to the capital like this, because of the failure to break the enemy, he was afraid that he would be imprisoned by Chongzhen again, so he resolutely refused to move.

Fang Yuan was busy facing the drugged man, "Governor Sun wants to serve the Ming Dynasty, not only in a corner of Shaanxi, but also in a more important place, and a general like Governor Sun is needed to go to guard the party." ”

When Sun Chuanting heard that there was already an arrangement for him, his eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "Where is it?" ”

Fang Yuan spit out two words in a deep voice, "Shandong." ”

Shandong is the passage between Gyeonggi and Jiangnan, and if this passage is smooth, the armaments, materials, money and grain from Jiangnan will be continuously transported to Gyeonggi; If this passage is not smooth, the blood transfusion pipeline from Gangnam to Gyeonggi will be cut off.

What's more, the northeast of the mountain can rescue the capital, to the west, to attack Henan, and to the south to support Jiangnan, such a critical place, Fang Yuan will never worry about letting Liu Zeqing, the grass on the wall, come to guard it, Sun Chuanting is the best candidate.

In Fang Yuan's vision, a defensive line similar to Ningjin was arranged in Shaanxi, only defending and not attacking; In Shanxi, Zhou Yuji also built such a line of defense, which can be attacked and defended; In Shandong, Sun Chuanting guarded not only the capital, but also Shanxi and Jiangnan at any time, forming a horn trend with each other. And the other Fang Yuan can operate Jiangnan with peace of mind.

With Chongzhen, Zhou Yuji, and Sun Chuanting in the north, under the firepower of the Manchus and thieves, Fang Yuan could be left at least five years to build Jiangnan into an iron plate.

Sun Chuanting saw that Chongzhen and Fang Yuan had already arranged for him, and it was still a strategic place in Shandong, so his previous frustration was swept away, and he got up and bowed to Fang Yuan, "Fang Jianjun, I was rude before, ashamed, ashamed!" ”

Fang Yuan held his hand and said, "Governor Sun, carry out the transfer of troops as soon as possible, Your Majesty is still waiting in the capital to reply." ”

Sun Chuanting agreed again and again, and immediately began the specific matters of moving to the division.

Fang Yuan waited for Sun Chuanting's transfer plan in the pavilion, and after waiting for five days, Sun Chuanting finally formulated a detailed transfer plan to discuss with Fang Yuan, and raised two difficult problems:

According to Sun Chuanting's discussion with the generals on the fifth day, the cost of moving 12 or 30,000 military horses was at least 1.5 million taels of silver, and this expenditure must be paid by the imperial court;

The second is that among the 120,000 or 30,000 troops, at least 30,000 are local Qin soldiers from Shaanxi, and these soldiers are related to the local family and may not be willing to go to Gyeonggi with the army.

Fang Yuan thought for a while and said, "Your Majesty and I have already considered the issue of moving the military expenses, and we brought 400,000 taels of silver with us on this trip to pay for the sergeant's moving expenses first." ”

Sun Chuanting was stunned and said, "What about a million taels of silver?" ”

Fang Yuan's eyes flashed with a gleam, and he said slowly, "Due to the long distance of the journey, the transportation is quite inconvenient, and there is still one million taels, I stayed in Zhangjiakou Gong City in Shanxi, as long as Governor Sun's army arrives in Zhangjiakou, it will be able to cash in the silver immediately." ”

It is also feasible to delay the payment of the settlement fee, although Sun Chuanting does not know whether what he said is true or false, but Fang Yuan is a prison sent by the imperial court, so it should not be a matter of opening his mouth and causing a mutiny in the army at that time, which is a felony of losing his head.

Sun Chuanting responded repeatedly, promising to convey to the generals that he would pay another 1 million taels of silver in Shanxi, and asked, "What about the sergeants who don't want to leave Shaanxi?" ”

Fang Yuan already knew it in his heart, and said without thinking about it, "The generals and sergeants who don't want to leave Shaanxi, please ask Governor Sun to arrange two reliable general soldiers to assist His Royal Highness the King of Qin and jointly arrange relevant defenses!" ”

His arrangement was very proper, Sun Chuanting nodded yes again and again, and recommended Gao Jie to Fang Yuan as a stayer. Gao Jie was originally a subordinate of Li Zicheng, because of adultery with Li Zicheng's wife, and Li Zicheng had a life-and-death enmity, he was the candidate who would never surrender to Li Zicheng.

Fang Yuan did not approve of letting Gao Jie stay behind, because this person was very tyrannical, and he was a thorn in the army who did not obey discipline when he was in the Southern Ming Dynasty.

Fang Yuan checked on Baidu, Li Zicheng attacked Shaanxi, and the most fierce resistance was the defense of Yulin Military Town. Among them, the former commander-in-chief Hou Shilu, You Shiwei, Wang Shiqin, Li Changling, and Liu Yanjie, the general of Yulin Town, were all loyal men who swore to resist to the death and were killed after defeat.

Fang Yuan made a list of available people, handed it to Sun Chuanting, and asked the King of Qin to give him a copy, asking the King of Qin to promote him as appropriate and entrust him with important tasks.

As for the plan to secretly introduce Zhang Xianzhong into Shaanxi, Fang Yuan decided to cancel it after several days of deliberation and according to the actual situation in Shaanxi. As long as the King of Qin can thoroughly implement the strategy of increasing the cannon on the city wall, coupled with the loyal and brave generals assigned to him, he should be able to keep Li Zicheng out of Tongguan, and there is no need to recruit Zhang Xianzhong to muddy the waters.