Wu Sangui was about to retreat, but he heard one of the generals standing behind Haoge say loudly: "The prince is slow, the slave has a plan!" ”

Everyone was stunned, and turned their eyes to the person who spoke, only to find that it was Li Guohan who was really talking in the blue flag of the Han army.

Li Guohan is a Han man living in Liaodong, ancestral home Qinghe, since the establishment of the Jurchen country, he has been attached, and he has regarded himself as a Jurchen, and he followed the emperor Taiji during the Tiancong period of the Qing Dynasty, and has repeatedly made military exploits, and awarded the title of third-class baron, although the title is not as good as Wu Sangui, but in the hearts of Jurchen nobles such as Haoge, it is far more cordial than Wu Sangui and other new subordinates, among the Han people, only he dares to make suggestions after Haoge gives an order.

Although this person lives in a remote place in eastern Liaodong, he is familiar with Han books, knows Tao strategy, knows strategy, and has the natural courage of the nomadic people outside the Saiwai, and fights like the Jurchens, which is very appreciated by Huang Taiji.

"Huh? What's the solution? Hauge asked with interest, he knew that there were many Ming soldiers in Li Guohan's army, and there were many people who were scheming and strategic, and the methods proposed were often very feasible and very helpful to the development of the war.

"Lord Wang, please see, the Nanban in order to prevent me from marching, the plank road was completely destroyed, if you want to enter the Sichuan from this road, it is equivalent to building a new road, but the road in the middle of the river and other places do not move, often erected on the cliffs, high mountains and dangerous streams, if you want to restore as before, to the extent that you can pass the weapons carried by our army, it will take a lot of labor and time, and my army is vast, the daily use of grain and grass is amazing, a delay of one day is equivalent to the cost of one more day of money and food, and it cannot be delayed, so the slave thinks about it, the plank road must be repaired, and at the same time it is necessary to find another way." Li Guohan took a step forward and admonished Haoge: "In this way, if the two roads go hand in hand, if one way is blocked, there is another way, then the progress of pacifying Sichuan can be greatly shortened." ”

Haoge frowned and pondered: "That's a good point, but this king has heard that since ancient times, the Shu Road has been difficult and dangerous, in addition to this road, where is there a shortcut that can accommodate the passage of the army?" ”

Li Guohan smiled and arched his hand: "Don't worry, the prince has already figured out that from Shaanxi to Sichuan, in addition to this Golden Bull Ancient Road, there is another way!" ”

As soon as these words came out, the Qing generals present were all happy, this is great, it is difficult to repair the destroyed plank road, I don't know how long, Haugle ordered Wu Sangui to complete it on the 10th, and I am afraid that I will only be able to complete a bird path that can barely accommodate people, and the large weapons in the army will definitely not be able to pass.

Haoge was also overjoyed, and said hurriedly: "Li Shenling is really fine, come quickly, where can you still pass?" ”

Li Guohan stood with his hands down, and said solemnly: "The slave knows, from Hanzhong to the west, through Lixian County, Gansu, there is an ancient mountain trail, which can go straight to Yinping County in Shuzhong, so it is called Yinping Road, this road is used by people when the Three Kingdoms, and it has become another shortcut to bypass the Golden Bull Road, for thousands of years, woodcutters and hunters often come and go, so until today, it can still be passed, but this road is rugged and precipitous, especially to climb over the natural danger of the Sky Ridge, only to allow the division to walk lightly, artillery mules and horses and other heavy objects and livestock, it is impossible to pass. ”

Haoge seemed to be poured down by a basin of cold water, his happy expression turned cold, and he said unhappily: "In this way, Yin Ping Dao is like chicken ribs, and it is of no great use, imagine how we can attack the city if we don't bring artillery?" How can a cavalry gallop without a healthy horse? It's just a team of foot soldiers in the past, and the role is limited, so it's okay not to go. ”

The generals also talked a lot, and between the heads and ears, they all felt that Hauge was right, bypassing this road, and facing countless fortified cities in Sichuan, especially Chengdu, the nest of the Great Western Army, without artillery cooperation, it was very difficult to capture it, and the children of the Eight Banners were valuable, and it was not worth spending in the meat grinder during the siege.

Li Guohan was noncommittal, and raised his head and said: "Lord Wang, the slave thinks that this Yin Ping Dao can be of great use. ”

He turned around and took a map from the guards beside him, the map style is regular, the Chinese characters are marked, it should be captured in the hands of the Ming army or the Great Western Army, look at the graphics on it, it is a geographical map of Shuzhong.

Haoge's eyes narrowed, and he immediately understood that Li Guohan had already prepared a map and could take it out at any time for guidance and explanation.

"Lord Wang, please see, from Guangyuan, where our army is located, along the plank road to Chengdu, in addition to correcting the destroyed road, you must also pass through Mianzhu, Deyang and other cities along the way, there are countless checkpoints, the most important of which is the Jianmen Xiongguan." Li Guohan used his hand as a ruler to measure and point on the map.

"I know this, the Sword Pavilion Xiongguan, like Shanhaiguan, is a gateway pass." Hauge touched his stubble's fine chin and pondered, "You go on." ”

"This pass, the minions have explored clearly, easy to defend and difficult to attack, very tricky, and now it has been occupied by the Ming army, if you want to break through head-on, it is necessary to pay a lot of warriors' lives, which is not cost-effective in my Qing Dynasty." Li Guohan said slowly, and carefully kept his finger on the small black dot on the map that represented the Sword Pavilion: "But if you bypass from Yinping Road, pass through Huashi Gorge, cross the Baishui River, and cross the Motianling, you can go directly to Jiangyou and appear in the rear of the Sword Pavilion, if my Eight Banners are like divine soldiers descending from the sky and suddenly killing, the Southern Barbarian Ming Army must be caught off guard, panicked, and frightened, it will definitely be defeated, and when the time comes, only one messenger will be sent to surrender and recover the whole Sichuan, so that not only can I preserve the strength of my Qing warriors, It can also add a strong touch to the prince's westward expedition. ”

Li Guohan was impassioned and impassioned, and a beautiful picture unfolded in front of Haoge and others, and everyone held their breath and their eyes lit up.

Indeed, it's too good to say, it's too attractive, just send a partial division, you can win a big victory, it doesn't cost the lives of soldiers, it doesn't cost the Eight Banners at all, why not do it?

So Hauge struck with both palms and said happily: "Good! Great, it's just that this way is difficult, you can't send too many people, but the troops are too small and can't work, Li Shenling, in your opinion, how many people should be sent? ”

His tone became more and more cordial, and he almost patted Li Guohan on the shoulder and said, "Do a good job, I'm optimistic about you!" It provoked a burst of jealous eyes from Wu Sangui and other Han army generals.

Li Guohan pondered for a moment, raised his head and said: "The slave estimates that this road is not easy to pass, and the Nanban will definitely not pay attention to defense, only a wise and brave general can lead a warrior." ”

"Less than two thousand? Will it be a little less? Hauge groaned slightly.

Li Guohan raised his eyebrows, took a step forward again, knelt down on one knee and said loudly: "Lord Wang, the Southern Barbarians are cowardly, the soldiers of the Qing Dynasty are brave and invincible, and the first armor is enough!" The slave is willing to lead the Benjia Lahan army to capture the flag for the prince and pacify Shuzhong! ”

"You're going? All right! The corners of Haoge's mouth grinned, and he laughed: "I have many brave generals in the Qing Dynasty, and Li Shenling is the best among them, haha, but the number of Yijia Lama is too small, this king will add two more Han army Jiala to you, and make up 5,000 people to ensure everything!" ”

Li Guohan was ecstatic, he had been in the army for many years, and he was promoted to a baron with early merit, and Emperor Mengtaizong gave him the name "Mergen", but since then he has become dull, and he has stopped in the position of Ezhen, and he has watched Wu Sangui and other Han generals who later belonged to him to be crowned kings and marquises, and his heart is itching, and he wants to make a great contribution to be promoted to the rank of knight, this time he followed Hao Ge's expedition to the west, he did a lot of homework, and listened to a lot of Sichuan military geography in advance, and now he has finally been recognized by Hao Ge, and he is excited.

He has inquired and understood, taking advantage of Zhang Xianzhong's battle with the Qing army, he got the Ming army general in Sichuan called Wang Huan, the newly established Kuizhou general soldier, is a little-known boy, and he has never heard of any great merits, it should be a mediocre talent who is on the top of the nepotism by virtue of his relationship, this kind of person has too many people in the Ming army, it looks like he is awesome and coaxing, and he will collapse at the touch of a battle, and even Zhang Xianzhong can't beat the goods, how much ability can he have.

Therefore, Li Guohan is very confident, gearing up, although his subordinates are Han troops, but they are also real soldiers who have been trained from Liaodong, and they are not necessarily much worse than the Eight Banners in the face of the weak Ming army. That's why he was arrogant and arrogant, and it was enough to bring only one Jiala.

A confident smile appeared on Li Guohan's lips, and he paused his head and roared loudly: "The slave thanked the prince!" Please rest assured, in no more than twenty-five days at the latest, the slaves will be able to cross the mountains and mountains, appear outside Jiangyou City, and then cooperate with the prince to pacify Sichuan in one fell swoop! ”