The generals of the loyal battalion are full of talents, such as Li Guo, Gao Yigong, Tian Jianxiu, Yuan Zongdi, Liu Tichun, Liu Fangliang, etc., all of whom can take charge of the generals, but there are no handsome talents who can grasp the overall situation, whether it is offensive or defensive, there is no problem in commanding specific operations, but when to attack and when to defend, they cannot control the fire.

This is the shortcoming of the peasant army, including Li Zicheng, who is not very clever at the strategic level, so he will treat Niu Jinxing and others as treasures. After Li Zicheng's death, the generals of the loyal battalion could have entered Changsha, strongly controlled Huguang, and forced Nanming to cooperate with him, but the generals, including Li Guo, did not have this kind of courage, or the ability to control Huguang, so they had to pick up their tails and return to Nanming, and they have been trying to survive in the cracks.

On the contrary, Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo of the remnants of the Great Western Army dared to think and dare to do it, Zhang Xianzhong was driven out of Sichuan after his death, so he took advantage of the situation to occupy Guizhou in Yunnan, and only after holding enough chips did he negotiate with the Longwu court of the Southern Ming Dynasty, and he has been bargaining in recent months, no matter what the final result is, it is definitely better than the loyalty camp.

The loyal camp generals also knew their own shortcomings, and when they heard that it was Wang Kefan's order to abandon Changde Mansion, the voices of opposition immediately disappeared...... Since they can't open the situation alone, they need a leader who can guide the way, in the past two years of cooperation, Wang Kefan has hardly made strategic mistakes, and can always be one step ahead, seize the opportunity, is the most suitable person in the eyes of the loyal camp generals.

Listen to Wang Junmen, you won't suffer!

Once the general direction is set, the specific tactical details are simple. Everyone is a veteran in the army, and the cooperation between each other is also very tacit, and it only took half an hour to finalize the battle plan - the loyal battalion is fortified layer by layer north of Wuling. Echelon resistance, on the one hand to consume the offensive energy of the Qing army, on the other hand began to prepare for retreat, without the Yangtze River natural danger to block the way, this retreat is relatively simple.

"There are two roads in the north and south of the Tartars, and I will personally go to Shang Kexi on the north road, and Kong Youde in Yuezhou Mansion will rely on my uncle." Li Guo is Li Zicheng's nephew. Gao Yigong is Li Zicheng's brother-in-law, and there is a generation difference between the two, so he is very polite to Gao Yigong. chopsticks

"Well said. As long as you give me 50,000 horses, Kong Youde won't want to step across the Zijiang River! "Although Gao Yigong is an elder, he has always been Li Guo's right-hand man, and it is most suitable to be the commander of the Southern Route Army.

After the military conference. And the congregation dispersed. Li Guo stopped Gao Yigong and left him for dinner...... There are some things that need to be prepared for a rainy day, and it is inconvenient to say them openly in front of everyone, so they can only be explained in private.

Rice and white porridge, as well as two plates of green vegetables, barely with a bit of meat is a plate of leek scrambled eggs, high a gong swept the clouds, and ate sweetly. Li Guo only drank half a bowl of porridge and put down his chopsticks.

"Your amount of food is too poor, not as much as your uncle's food. What's going on? Gao Yigong frowned.

"The burden of the loyalty camp is too heavy, I can't carry it a little, my body bones have been getting worse and worse recently, alas, it's not a big deal, I know my own body, and it will be fine in a year or two." Li Guo showed a tired wry smile, waved his hand and said: "Don't talk about this, let's pass the current level first, after my uncle goes to the southern front, one eye will be staring at Kong Youde, and the other eye will be aimed at Liu Chengyin, so as to ensure that the army retreats into Hunan." ”

"Didn't the military gate already go to Chenzhou Mansion? With him in charge, what weirdness does Liu Chengyin dare to make? "Gao Yigong's blocking of the military gate is the Hubei governor blocking Yinxi, who has rushed to Hunan in advance to meet the retreat of the army.

"Liu Chengyin has been in Xiangxi for a long time, supporting the army and respecting himself, and he doesn't even listen to He Tengjiao's words, I'm afraid he won't buy the account that blocks the military gate." Li Guo shook his head, Du Yinxi is the governor of Hubei, and he can't control Chenzhou Mansion and Baoqing Mansion in Hunan, he only brought 3,000 men and horses from the Junzi Battalion, and Liu Chengyin's troops are strong, so he will not give in easily.

"That's easy to do, if he toasts and doesn't eat and drink, and doesn't give face to block the military gate, then talk to him with his fists, a group of soldiers and ruffians in the ravine, just destroy it directly." Gao Yigong's tone was calm and indifferent, as if he was talking about a car-blocking mantis that didn't know whether to live or die, and with the strong strength of the loyal battalion, he was of course full of confidence in the face of the Hunan warlord.

"Liu Chengyin is okay, but Chen Youlong under him is a fierce general, and his uncle can't be careless."

"Townsmen? Chen Youlong is also the number one person, I'm careful. Gao Yigong had already passed the age of youth and vigor, and nodded in response.

Zhenxiao is a military fortress, located in the south of Phoenix City, Xiangxi, in order to suppress the rebellious Miao people, the Ming Dynasty Jiajing was stationed here to guard the elite soldiers, so it is called the Zhenxiao soldiers, the Miao people in the mountainous areas of Xiangxi are extremely strong, and they will rebel in a few years, so the combat effectiveness of the Zhenxiao soldiers is also relatively strong, and Chen Youlong is the main general of the Zhenxiao soldiers.

Li Guo said: "Kong Youde is cautious in his use of troops, but Luck Dehun is extremely fierce, in case my uncle is entangled by the Tartars, he can lead his troops east to Wang Junmen for help, even if it is temporarily controlled by him." ”

In order to cover the old battalion, Gao Yigong must retreat at the most rear, and it will fall into the encirclement of the Qing army, if the back road is cut off, it is the only choice to move closer to the Chu army.

Gao Yigong nodded, and suddenly asked without a clue: "What do you think of Wang Junmen?" How is it better than blocking the military gate? ”

Li Guo understood the meaning of his words, and replied: "The scholar who blocked the military gate is a little heavier, and I am more optimistic about Wang Junmen." ”

Gao Yigong nodded again, thoughtful.

The loyal battalion is now a subordinate of Gu Yinxi, and Li Guo and Gao Yigong have no plans to change the court for the time being, but this big battle has ruined the existing political situation in Huguang, and if the Qing army can be driven away, the Huguang officialdom will definitely have to be reshuffled, and it may be an opportunity for the loyal battalion.

Including Li Guo, the loyal battalion does not have a commander with great talent, the officers and soldiers need a loyal object, and they need a bridge to communicate with the imperial court, Du Yinxi is a good official, but he has been subject to He Tengjiao, which has also hindered the development of the loyal battalion, if Wang Kefan himself can go further, it is more advantageous for the loyal battalion to be controlled by him.

Li Guo said with a smile: "Uncle went to the southern front, he will definitely deal with Wang Junmen, don't bully him as a junior, just follow the general's orders in everything." ”

Gao Yigong nodded: "Don't worry, I can take care of the stakes here......"

Early the next morning, the people of Gao Yi's power headquarters, as well as Yuan Zongdi, Li Laiheng and other generals, rushed to the Zijiang River in Nanchang, Changde Prefecture.

Zijiang River is a big river in the central and western part of Huguang, flows into Dongting Lake from southwest to northeast, is the natural barrier on the south side of Changde Mansion, Gao Yigong put the troops in the area of Yiyang County, set up camp, build fortifications and dig ditches, and rely on Zijiang to set up defense lines. The Qing army will definitely attack, maybe Kong Youde, maybe Luck Dehun, or one of their generals, such as Geng Zhongming, Tong Yanghe, and others, but whoever comes is a fierce enemy of the loyal battalion.

The combat effectiveness of the loyal battalion is very strong, but compared with the Eight Banners Force, it is still a notch behind, and the Tianyou soldiers are not easy to deal with. When Azig and Duoduo attacked Shaanxi, they took the Tianzhu soldiers and the Tianyou soldiers to help the battle, Gao Yigong was stationed in northern Shaanxi at that time, and fought with the Tianyou soldiers, and was deeply impressed by their sharp firearms and cannons.

As a fierce general in the peasant army, after the fall of the Dashun Dynasty, Gao Yigong's ambition gradually wore out, and he no longer had the sharpness to look at the world back then, but as he grew older, although he smoothed out the edges and corners on the surface, his mind was more tenacious, and his ability to lead soldiers to fight was accumulated little by little, and his judgment of the battlefield situation became more and more accurate...... Considering the strength of both the enemy and us, Gao Yigong is confident that he can hold the southern front for 20 days, which is enough to protect the safe retreat of the main force of the loyal battalion, but this must be a vicious battle with heavy casualties, and if you want to restrain Kong Youde's artillery, you must fill it with the lives of the soldiers of the loyal battalion.

Unexpectedly, after waiting for several days, the Qing army never came forward, Gao Yigong sent scouts to investigate, only to know that the main force of the Qing army in Ludao had captured Changsha, had gone around to the west of Yiyang, and was fighting fiercely with the Chu army in the Anhua area.

After hearing the news, Gao Yigong was shocked into a cold sweat, Changsha is the provincial capital of Huguang, how could it be lost inexplicably? As soon as Changsha was lost, Yiyang's flank lost cover, and the Qing army had already detoured back to the west of Yiyang, but Gao Yigong didn't know about it, if it wasn't blocked by the Chu army, it would have almost been defeated, and even caused the entire loyal battalion to be wiped out.

He immediately ordered Yuan Zongdi, who was nearby, to lead his troops to Anhua to support the Chu army.

……

The Anhua county seat of later generations is on the north bank of the Zijiang River, but the Anhua county seat of the Ming Dynasty is in Xiamei Mountain, fifty miles south of the Zijiang River, which is the junction of the Dongting Lake Plain and the Xiangxi Mountains, and there are small basins between the hills and mountains, and there are narrow corridors between the basins. The Chu army's defense line was located in these corridors, the hills and forests on both sides blocked the Qing cavalry, and the narrow corridors provided defensive depth, and the invincible Tianyou soldiers finally met their opponents.

Field!

Tianyou soldiers are good at attacking cities and villages, but they are not good at field warfare, Kong Youde has always been shrewd and cautious in fighting, always trying to achieve victory at the lowest cost, and has a strong dependence on artillery, but in a complex field environment, the combat power of artillery can only play fifty percent at most, and the onslaught for several days has not made much progress.

Kong Youde was in a hurry, he was dragged here in Anhua, but Luck Dehun easily occupied Changsha, intending to continue to march to Hunan, and there was a serious disagreement between the two. In Luck Dehun's view, the loyal battalion trapped in Xiangxi and the meat on the chopping block, if you don't cut him for the time being, you can't run, it's better to take advantage of the victory to capture Hengyang, divide the Ming army in Huguang in half, and then break each one.

This battle plan looks good at first glance, but Kong Youde knows very well that if he attacks Hengyang, the fists that he just clenched will be spread out again...... Dispersing troops and fighting on two fronts is a taboo for soldiers! (To be continued......)