Li Zhen got the news from the soldiers. I don't have the heart to chew slowly.

He devoured his dinner, waiting for news from the front.

For a long time, Li Zhen thought that Shi Dakai was determined to bring a large army to attack the Jiangbei camp, and Li Zhen had already made Huang Shihai prepare, and also asked Yang Banhou, Lu Shaochuan and Smith to lead troops to attack and harass each other. At this moment, Shi Dakai suddenly rushed to Shandong with a large army, completely disrupting Li Zhen's plan.

Long Xi also finished eating quickly, and he didn't speak, waiting for the soldiers sent out to come back and report the news.

"Step! Trample! ……”

There was a sound of footsteps, and the curtain of the tent was rolled up.

The biting cold wind poured in, and Li Zhendu couldn't help but shiver. He looked up, but it was Smith walking back. Shi Mi entered the camp, took off his cloak, rushed to Li Zhen and raised his hand to salute, then sat down while roasting the fire, and said: "Dashuai, I just got the news that Shi Dakai did not come to Jiangbei......"

As soon as he spoke, Li Zhen waved his hand and said, "I have already received the news that Shi Dakai is going to Shandong with a large army, and now I am waiting for the soldiers in front to inquire about the situation to determine the situation." Don't worry, wait a minute! ”

Smith nodded and said no more.

Soon, Yang Banhou and Lu Shaochuan also rushed back and entered the camp tent.

Both of them got the news that Shi Dakai led his troops to Shandong, and they were both affected by Shi Dakai's troops. Nearly 2,000 people all gathered, all waiting for news. Everyone sat opposite each other, whispering, but Li Zhen closed his eyes and recuperated, thinking in his heart what Shi Dakai was going to do next?

Li Zhen's mind turned, considering that Shi Dakai really wanted to attack Shandong and open up a new base area? Or Shi Dakai is pretending to attack Shandong, but wants to attack other places.

He pondered carefully, and gradually had the answer in his heart.

It took three hours, and in the evening, the soldiers who had inquired about the news rushed back.

By this time, it was already dark. Because it is already the end of December, it is already a cold winter wax moon, not only the weather is cold, but also the night is also very early. Around six o'clock in the afternoon, it was already getting dark. The soldiers who rushed back with the news stood in the camp tent and said loudly: "Marshal, the news has been confirmed, Shi Dakai really rushed to the direction of Shandong with the army. Moreover, the number of troops under Shi Dakai's command has reached 60,000, which is unprecedentedly strong. ”

Lu Shaochuan opened his mouth wide after hearing this, and was also frightened by the news that the soldiers brought back.

60,000 people, this data is terrifying!

When Shi Dakai left Nanjing, the number of soldiers following him was less than 10,000. It's only been less than half a month, and it's already reached 60,000. At the moment, they brought less than 2,000 soldiers, and if the two sides were to fight, the difference in numbers would be too far.

Li Zhen's expression remained unchanged, and he waved his hand to let the soldiers retreat.

Immediately, Li Zhen said in a deep voice: "Shi Dakai's movements have been determined, and within a certain period of time, he will definitely move towards Shandong." I pondered it carefully and thought that it was impossible for Shi Dakai to really go to Shandong, and he was pretending to attack Shandong. Because the closer to Shandong, the stronger the Qing army, especially close to Zhili, the Qing army is all elite. ”

After a pause, Li Zhen continued: "Shi Dakai is a smart person, it is impossible not to recognize the reason for this. So, I think Shi Dakai might choose Anhui in the east of Jiangsu Province; It may choose Jiangxi in the southwest of Jiangsu Province, and it may even choose to attack Zhejiang. These three places are all where Shi Dakai once led troops to fight, and there are his old departments. Shi Da drove away from these places, which is obviously more advantageous. ”

Lu Shaochuan thought for a while and said, "Dashuai, I think it's most likely to fight Anhui." ”

Li Zhen asked, "What is the reason?" ”

Lu Shaochuan explained: "Anhui is the closest to Yangzhou, and with Anhui as a springboard, once Shi Dakai enters Anhui with his soldiers, he can enter Hubei immediately. In this way, Shi Dakai got rid of Nanjing, and also got rid of our army in the camp in Jiangbei, which can be said to be a dragon into the sea, allowing him to kill in all directions. This birdman is not a good thing, wilted bad, wilted bad. ”

Li Zhen listened to Lu Shaochuan's words, nodded and said, "There is a certain truth!" ”

Smith said, "Marshal, I don't deny Commander Lu's inference. However, I don't think we can make a conclusion for the time being, because judging from the current situation, Shi Dakai is not a coach who plays cards according to common sense. The more we try to reason, the easier it is to get the position wrong. Rather than that, it's better to wait and see. Let Shi Da go to Shandong. The advantage of this is that Shi Dakai and Shandong's forces can compete and weaken each other, and the marshal can reap the benefits of the fisherman without spending a single soldier. ”

Yang Banhou stroked his palms and agreed: "Dashuai, I agree with Smith's suggestion, it is best to watch from the wall for the time being." ”

Li Zhen looked at Long Yu and asked, "Brother Long, what do you think?" ”

Long Xi smiled slightly and said, "I have some immature thoughts in my heart, but I don't think about it comprehensively. However, I also agree with Captain Smith's suggestion to wait and see. ”

Li Zhen was stunned and said, "Okay, just follow Smith's suggestion." ”

After finishing speaking, Li Zhen asked Smith, Lu Shaochuan and Yang Banhou to leave, leaving Long Xi alone. The two stayed in the camp tent and continued to discuss, but what was discussed was not announced, and even Smith, Lu Shaochuan and other core generals in the army did not know. When Long Xi left the tent, Li Zhen sat alone in the tent, with excitement and hesitation in his eyes, and his expression was very complicated.

……

In a blink of an eye, December is over, and it has reached the thirtieth of the Chinese New Year's Eve.

It was the last day of the year, and it was supposed to be a day for family gatherings. However, Shi Dakai went out with an army of 60,000, and no one could get together with their families. Shi Dakai did not continue the march on this day, let the army stop, and then let the soldiers drink wine and eat meat. Although soldiers can drink, there are restrictions, and they can only taste it.

The soldiers were not able to get together with their families, but they still had their comrades-in-arms together, so they still had a happy New Year.

However, Shi Dakai encountered a problem. He led his troops north to Shandong, intending to mobilize Li Zhen's army, but Li Zhen's army did not move at all.

In this regard, Shi Dakai also felt helpless.

Shi Da was happy and had an idea, so he called Zhang Suimou to the camp tent and said: "Suimou, Li Zhen didn't move, I thought about it carefully, and decided to fake the show and really attack Shandong." ”

Zhang Suimou said: "Shandong is close to Zhili, it is easy to be surrounded and suppressed by the Qing army, and it cannot gain a foothold." ”

Shi Da said with a smile: "This king naturally knows, but Li Zhen won't come, so let's transfer the rest of the Qing army first." Then, look for opportunities to go to Sichuan. There are many opportunities, and the point is not to be restrained by Li Zhen. ”

"The prince is wise!" Zhang Suimou said.

Shi Dakai saw that Zhang Suimou agreed with his idea, and a smile appeared on his face. He stood up and said aloud: "Today is the thirtieth day of the Chinese New Year's Eve, and there is only one day in a year. Go, go out and celebrate with the soldiers. ”

Zhang Suimou got up and went out of the camp with Shi Dakai.

ps: The third shift, call it a day;