In the middle of the war room of the Wendeng camp, there is a simple sand table, which is made according to the nine-sided diagram obtained by Zhang Dahui in Beijing to buy a military officer, and the analysis meeting of the Wendeng camp is being carried out here.

The officers standing in a circle around the sand table wore soft military caps with brims on their heads, in the style of a flat top, the brim of which was edged with rattan and sewn with tarpaulin. The Ming army all had long hair, which was about to pop out on their heads, so the top of their heads was a little bulging, and Chen Xin didn't let them cut their heads, because the hair of this era involved ideology, and it was also one of the public opinion weapons he was going to use to attack Jiannu in the future.

Liu Pojun pointed to the position of Liaoxi on the sand table and said: "The following is the intelligence of this month, in September, thousands of Jiannu attacked Jinzhou and Ningyuan, and it is known that the eight banners of Houjin are white flags, blue flags, and inlaid red flags, and the owners of the flags are Azig, Mang Gurtai, and Yue Tuo. There are also some Mongolian left and right wings, in addition to the Karaqin Shubu and other tribesmen, they have moved to the direction of Karaqin after passing through Jinzhou, once it was rumored that Jiannu was going to attack Jizhen, Guanning Army sent deputy general Xie Shangzheng to lead thousands of Guanning troops to aid Zunhua, because there was no police on the side wall, and was sent back by the governor Wang Yuanya, and it was proved that Jiannu entered the Kou is indeed a false alarm. ”

Huang Taiji in a year, while communicating with Yuan Lord correspondence and negotiations, while actively preparing, starting in September, the shape shì mutation, he claimed that the Ming Dynasty did not have the sincerity of peace talks, sent thousands of men and horses to attack Jinzhou and Ningyuan, robbed the autumn wheat in the fields, tens of thousands of Guan Ning troops as usual as a shrinking turtle, Houjin did not attack the city, but simply looted in the field.

Chen Xin calmly looked at the location of Jinzhou, Yuan Chonghuan rebuilt this fortress at the end of last year, claiming that Forte was two hundred miles, without considering the lesson of "almost shaking half of the wall with a corner of Jinzhou" during the Ningjin War, he gave Chongzhen Shangshu to evaluate the defense line he had established himself, "strict in the war, fighting and defending each other, Qi Zheng is born together, taking the image from the heaven and the earth, the number of the sect is in the Hetu book, such as the number of elephants from one to the odd and even ......", the Hetu Luoshu has come out, there is a bit of gossip array, but in the current situation, it may be the wrong object, Jiannu didn't understand any gossip, they didn't have to fight when they came, and the two hundred miles they came back were gone, probably only the little place inside the Jinzhou wall.

After Liu Pojun finished speaking, the officers in the room turned their heads to look at Chen Xin, they all suspected that Jiannu might not go to Jizhen, Chen Xin himself was a little weak-hearted, I don't know if it was his butterfly effect that affected Houjin, he meditated in his heart, it didn't seem to be so useful, his Wendeng camp was just tossing in Wendeng County, how could it affect Houjin.

Could it be that Houjin really didn't come? Although Chen Xin was also puzzled in his heart, his face pretended to be very calm, looked at the sand table and said, "You all think that Jiannu is not coming?" ”

Dai Zhenggang, Lu Chuanzong and the others looked at each other and nodded.

"That's what Jiannu is for." Chen Xin asked Zhu Guobin, "What does Guobin think?" ”

Zhu Guobin said calmly: "The subordinates think that there are two purposes for Jiannu to attack Ning Jin, the first is to confuse my Ming officials, according to the old slave's consistent practice, Jiannu should have detailed work in Guanning and Jizhen, this time Houjin sent troops, these detailed works will observe the reaction of my Ming army, and then report back to the slave chief for reference." The second is to test the reaction of the Guanning army and Dongjiang Town, Dongjiang is now scattered, if the Guanning army still does not dare to fight, he can rest assured that he will break through. ”

Liu Pojun also said: "The subordinates feel that Jiannu sent troops this time, and there is another reason, that is, to see if these tribes who can't be bundled are determined to take refuge in Houjin, and the subordinates have read some of the information sent back by the Jingshi, Karaqin is sandwiched between the Ming Dynasty and the Houjin, and it has always been the grass on the wall, and they are not only afraid of the Houjin, but also afraid of my Daming." This time, after they robbed with them, there was no way out. ”

Chen Xin smiled approvingly: "Very insightful, do you still believe that Jiannu will come?" ”

Zhu Guobin nodded firmly and said: "My subordinates think that eighty percent will come, the news brought by the people from Dongjiang, Liaodong is in a big drought this year, and the price of grain is expensive." In previous years, they had just harvested the autumn wheat, and after paying the taxes in the banner, there was not much left, and some people had to exchange silver for grain to save it early on, and if they didn't come out to rob, how could they survive until next year. ”

Chen Xin attaches great importance to Zhu Guobin's recent appearance, and in several form and shì analysis, his vision is wider than others, and his mind is more detailed than Dai Zhenggang. He thought about it carefully, Hou Jin's dispatch of troops this time was to attack the east and west, he was a traverser, and knew that Hou Jin would come, but people at this time were often confused by the current situation, thinking that Hou Jin only went to Liaoxi to rob once this year, so Zhu Guobin's firmness showed that he had a clearer understanding of the form.

The surrounding officers also buzzed and whispered when they heard this, and the sand table meeting was not strict, so they could talk in a low voice. Chen Xin looked at Wang Changfu and was silent, and called him by name: "Wang Changfu said it." ”

Wang Changfu is now also a thousand presidents, and his temperament has been much calmer in the past two years, and the daily training in the military camp has made his spirit and spirit completely different from the slender man at the beginning.

"My lord, I think that if Jiannu breaks at Lengkou and Xifengkou as Zhu Qian said last time, it must be near the Luanhe River or a tributary of the Luanhe River, along the Luanhe River valley into the border wall, in addition to the two banks of the valley, the Luanhe River freezes in winter, which can be used for baggage and horses, which is much more labor-saving than him going over the mountains."

Chen Xin pointed to the sand table and said, "Pointing and saying." ”

Wang Changfu picked up the bamboo branch and pointed to the west of Xifengkou and said: "In addition to the Luan River, there is also the Che River, a tributary of the Luan River, which also has the same effect. ”

Chen Xin clapped his hands and praised: "Very good, I can see that Mr. Wang Qian has studied it many times." ”

"Lord Xie's false praise, it is the adults who let their subordinates recognize the words, and a few instructors in the ministry helped, and finally read some military books, and the subordinates were originally slender men, so they pay more attention to the river, and the last time the adults said that Jiannu may be broken, the subordinates often come here to refer to it."

Chen Xin nodded and said: "It is to learn more and refer to more, if you don't understand the mountains and rivers, it is an obstacle, if you understand, it is a help, usually think more, you will know it when you go into battle, Wang Qian has done a good job." ”

Dai Zhenggang and Lu Chuanzong next to him were a little embarrassed when they heard this, the two of them grasped training tightly on weekdays, but they had very little research on these things. Both of them stepped back slightly, lest Chen Xin notice the two of them and call them by name.

Fortunately, Chen Xin did not continue to roll call, but picked up the bamboo branch himself, pointed at Shen Yang and said: "Based on everyone's opinions last time, I think that if the slave chieftains send troops, it will be roughly in early or mid-October, so that when they reach the side wall, the river is already frozen, and their actions will be more convenient." On the route to march, in order to ensure that the news did not leak out too early, it would not be from the route they most often took to Xiping to Quang Ninh, but probably from the Liaohetao to a place close to Horqin Mongolia. ”

His bamboo branches set out from Shenyang, crossed the Liao River, and headed northwest to the place of Horqin, "and then southward into Karaqin Mongolia, absorbing on the way the men and horses of the Mongol tribes that had submitted to them, such as Naiman and Ao Han." Although they have walked a lot more in this way, it is more sudden, and their feint in September may have another purpose, which is to attract the troops of the two towns of Jiliao to the front line of Ningjin, so that the troops of Jizhen are empty, and it is convenient for him to break the hole. When he arrived at the place outside the mouth of Jizhen, he might break the side wall near Xifengkou or Lengkou, and meet at Santunying or Zunhua, if they were bold, they might break the border wall along the Chaohe River valley from Gubeikou, or break the border wall through the Xunhe valley near the wall Ziling, and converge at Miyun and Huairou, so that they could advance to the Jingshi more quickly. ”

Dai Zhenggang and the others all looked at Chen Xin with admiration, hearing him say this, everyone thought that it was more likely that Jiannu would come, in fact, Chen Xin probably knew that it was near Zunhua, but he just used this method to stimulate the officer's thinking.

Chen Xin pointed to the strip of cloth representing the Luanhe River and continued: "Taking Xifengkou as an example, if there are tens of thousands of Jiannu, in order to speed up the speed of entering the army, the troops may be divided into several routes. The main route, in addition to the Luanhe River valley, near the Xifengkou there is also the Luanhe River, a tributary of the Chehe River, the Chehe River through the entrance of Longjing Pass, through Hanerzhuang, you can go straight to the vicinity of Santunying along the Che River. and Jiannu who entered the Kou along the Luan River met here. ”

Zhu Daichun finally found an opportunity to speak, "My lord, Zunhua and Miyun are both important border towns, not so easy to break, Jiannu came from afar, and they must not be able to carry engineering equipment. Moreover, from Zunhua Santun Camp to Jingshi, there are Jizhou, Sanhe, and Tongzhou in the middle, all of which are fortified cities. ”

Zhou Shifa also attended the meeting as an observer and listened: "No matter how strong the city is, there must be a firm soldier to defend it, Jizhen has not been in battle for a long time, and during the last Ningjin War, I also saw the soldiers of Jizhen, which are not as good as the Guanning soldiers." Last year, there was another incident, and at the end of the year, the army was eliminated, and the army was uncertain, so it is really difficult to say how long it can hold out. He just shook his head.

Huang Side agreed: "The chief military judge is reasonable, there are many deductions for the salary of the nine-sided army, and the soldiers often only get a little, which is the full amount like Lord Chen, everyone must remember Lord Chen's kindness." ”

As soon as he said this, all the officers catered to him, and Lu Chuanzong couldn't think of anything to say, so he hurriedly came up and slapped his ass. Chen Xin shook his hand and said: "Being a soldier and eating food is originally what it should be, but let's fight Tartars, and the righteousness of the world, just look at what the old slave did in Liaodong, no different from wild beasts, I wait for the men of the Han family, the descendants of Yan and Huang, how can we allow the Tartars to jump off the beam." ”

Liu Pojun was the only one among the later Liao people to attend the meeting, and he said excitedly: "Then Chen Ying said it well, as long as you follow the adults to fight Jiannu, the villains will go without monthly salary." ”

Zhu Guobin sighed and said: "If the generals of the Ming Dynasty are like adults, why do we need to travel thousands of miles to fight Jiannu." After speaking, there was also a look of hatred on his face: "Jiannu has done all the bad things, if they dare to come, they will definitely let them pay for their blood debts." ”

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On September 29, at the entrance of the village of Zhenglan Banner Dunbao, there was a crowd of people singing and dancing, and the soldiers were about to set off for Shenyang to assemble, and their families encouraged them with a beautiful vision of the looting, and some people who did not have their turn stood aside with some jealousy. Later Jin almost lost a lot in almost every war against Ming, but they gained a lot, which was almost an important income for them to make ends meet, not only to grab something, but also to have military merits, so they were all looking forward to such an opportunity.

Listening to the noise outside, Taktan got up from his stool, wrapped his clothes tightly, and hung only a knife on his body, and the chain mail and food were in the coat on the horse's back, and he hung two pairs of arrow and two bow sticks on the horse's back, and then put a large knife in the pocket.

When he was ready, he opened the firewood and prepared to go out, and they sent twenty soldiers, and more than thirty followed, and these people could not divide the things that were robbed in the flag, but they could rob some of them. Most of them are armor soldiers, and Taktan is one of the few Yu Ding, because he Ama once saved the current Niu Lu Ezhen, so it is somewhat of a radish pit.

Zhang Zhongqi rarely got a complete old clothes, he carried a bag on his back, and after Tak Tan loaded all the equipment on the horse, he led the horse and followed behind Tak Tan. When Taktan arrived at the door, he paused, then turned to him and said, "Ama, otherwise, let Zhang Zhongqi stay, your hands and feet are inconvenient, and I don't worry about being alone." ”

He Amma's face was not angry at all, his face was full of kindness, and he waved his hand and said: "Go, let him follow you, Hailan said that he often comes to help, with Zhang Zhongqi, he can bring more things." ”

Taktan still persuaded: "It's such a long way, it's snowing heavily, he's so thin that he might freeze to death, it's better to stay and take care of you." ”

"It's okay, just walk to the side wall, there are a lot of people. He follows you and you can help you feed the horses, you keep your body well, make more military achievements, and grab more things. Amma is fine here, I still have one hand and one foot, how can I be hungry. ”

Taktan couldn't argue, so he had to bow down to him again, and went out, and he Ama shouted behind him: "Remember to go and say hello to Hailan." ”

"Got it." Taktan answered at the door, glanced at him Amma, turned around and went out, Zhang Zhongqi kowtowed to the old master, led the horse and went out, the people leading the horse on the street were endless, and the people who went out to fight were saying goodbye to the acquaintances they met. The two of them made their way through the flow of people to Uncle Elantai's house.

Taktan looked in at the door, Uncle Elanthai was in the yard, Hailan was helping him put on his armor, Taktan went in and said, "Uncle Elantay, it's good for me to go with you." ”

When Ilantai saw Tak Tan, he laughed and said: "Tak Tan is good, our Niu Lu only has a few Yu Ding to accompany him, so he chose you, and Hailan brought the extra cotton armor." Hyland happily went into the house and took out a cotton armor.

"Taktan, add another piece of cotton armor in it, warm and arrow-proof, and it will be lent to you by your uncle."

Taktan was also very happy, he was obsessed with armor, Hailan came over to help him change it, and it was really warmer. Taktan also looked at Hailan a lot more pleasantly, and said politely: "Hailan, I took my family's coat away, I'm there, please take care of it." ”

"Don't worry, I still have a few coats at home, I will go to see you Ama every day, if not, I will lend him a coat."

A few masters spoke, Zhang Zhongqi was at the door and looked at it with a smile, and suddenly felt that someone pulled his sleeve, he turned his eyes and saw that it was the dumb girl who was sold, the dumb girl grinned at Zhang Zhongqi and smiled, Zhang Zhongqi quickly took out half a cake from his arms and stuffed it into the dirty sleeves of the dumb girl.

Zhang Zhongqi whispered to the mute girl: "Dumb, I'm going to rob the west with my master, you yourself are in the house of the master of Yilantai, eat more if you have the opportunity, don't be stupid." ”

The dumb girl nodded as if she didn't understand, and when she heard that Zhang Zhongqi was leaving, her eyes turned red, and she said a few words in her mouth, Zhang Zhongqi said mysteriously: "You can't speak, I don't know what you say, the master of Taktan gave me a knife, he said that if I can have a military exploit, maybe I can still carry the flag, if I carry the flag, I will buy you and give you cakes to eat every day." ”

The mute girl nodded vigorously, suddenly remembered something, put her hand into her arms, took out the Wula grass inside, and stuffed it into Zhang Zhongqi's clothes, Zhang Zhongqi pushed it away and said: "I have new clothes, you keep yourself warm." ”

At this time, after a few masters finished speaking, Taktan beckoned Zhang Zhongqi to go out, Zhang Zhongqi had to stop talking to the dumb girl, and the master of Ilantai also brought two coats, and they walked to the entrance of the village together, Zhang Zhongqi fell behind, he walked a few steps and looked back at the door of Elantai's house, the dumb girl had been watching him at the door, and she didn't make some sounds.

Zhang Zhongqi didn't dare to speak, and kept waving at the mute girl, signaling her to go back. When he turned the corner and finally couldn't see it anymore, Zhang Zhongqi turned his head to look at the road seriously, he touched the knife on his waist, and thought to himself, "It's good to make a war merit and raise the flag." ”

When they arrived at the entrance of the village, Niu Lu gathered all the people and took them to the official road, and there were more than a dozen unclothed ones, leading the horses by themselves. On the land of eastern Liaodong, countless such small teams are also converging in Shenyang at the same time.