In the evening, Xu Ping saw Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo, who had retreated back to Lanyang with a disgraced face, and Xu Ping asked, "How are you over there?" How many officers and soldiers were killed? ”

"It's definitely less than fifty, I don't know if there is twenty." Sun Kewang shook his head and sighed: "The armor of the new army is too powerful. ”

"We both lost six or seven hundred men." Li Dingguo and Sun Kewang were very impressed by the armor of the new army, and Li Dingguo was not shocked by the musket because he had seen Xu Ping's weapons.

After listening to Xu Ping's account of the battle in the north, Sun Kewang was overjoyed and said: "A big victory, this is a big victory." ”

"Brother Sun, no one must starve to death in Henan this year."

"Oh?" These words made Sun Kewang a little strange, he didn't quite understand why Xu Ping suddenly popped out such a sentence.

"I, and many of my subordinates, they are different from Brother Sun and Brother Li, the stain of traitors on us may never be erased, no matter what, we pointed our sword at our division commander." Xu Ping's voice sounded a little melancholy: "It is easy to pass a thousand years, our notoriety is difficult to get rid of, please Brother Sun no matter what, we must ensure that the people of Henan are free from hunger and cold, if there are still people starving to death, I will no longer have an excuse to talk about masturbation, and there is no excuse to explain my subordinates." ”

Sun Kewang nodded lightly: "Don't worry, Brother Xu, wrap it up on me." ”

"The brothers in Xiying have never encountered such an opponent as the new army," Li Dingguo felt a fly in the ointment: "If it weren't for the Tian brothers' rash attack, the new army would have been defeated ugly, alas." ”

Li Dingguo didn't say anything more, but he was glad that hundreds of soldiers of the Guards Battalion and countless officers and soldiers who broke into the camp died in vain because of this mistake, but fortunately, the subsequent counterattack of the West Battalion finally recouped the previous mistakes. The failure of the Xuanfeng Battalion and the Chizhuo Battalion caused the Henan New Army to lose about 30 percent of its combat soldiers, and now the strength of the Chuang Battalion and the strength of the New Army have been leveled, and the Chuang Battalion still has a defensive advantage.

"The soldiers of the Western Battalion are very brave, but they lack training, and it is useless to rely on bravery alone against the new army."

Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo also saw it this way, their soldiers had been in the army for far longer than the soldiers of the Guards Battalion, but the lack of systematic training led to them having to rely on their previous experience in fighting officers and soldiers. In many cases, as long as the momentum is strong enough, the officers and soldiers will be scared away, but the new army is obviously different: "Our West Battalion plans to be reorganized according to the same training method as the Guards Battalion, what do Brother Xu think?" ”

"I think it's very good." However, Xu Ping did not advocate a comprehensive reorganization immediately, because the shortage of non-commissioned officers was a very serious problem, and if the level of non-commissioned officers of the Guards Battalion was comparable to that of the new army, then the battle should have been a one-sided massacre. Nine months, dozens of battles, strict and uninterrupted training, it is almost enough to turn a peasant into a qualified soldier, but the non-commissioned officer is still a little worse, Xu Ping feels that the fruit chief under his command generally has the problem of insufficient control, but how to solve it has not yet been figured out.

"I've captured two thousand sets of armor this time, so I'll give you half of them."

Xu Ping had no interest in these armors, and he didn't plan to spend time repairing them, but his subordinate Hei Baoyi was very greedy for these armors and planned to use them to equip his own battalion. Xu Ping believes that in the face of the firepower of the new army, there is no big difference whether there is armor or not. However, Kurohoichi felt that it was better to have armor than nothing.

"I want a firebolt." Li Dingguo was more interested in muskets, and their long-range weapons had little effect on the New Army, which greatly annoyed Li Dingguo.

"I have 2,000 flintlock pistols in my hand, and I have just captured another 800 guns, and I should have 2,600 more after removing the damage." Xu Ping counted with his fingers, this batch of muskets was enough for him to equip the guard battalion: "I'll give all 500 arquebuses to the western camp." ”

Seeing Li Dingguo shaking his head, Xu Ping hurriedly explained: "This flintlock pistol has to be practiced, I will suddenly give you a good gun, and the people in Xiying will not use it." ”

All the soldiers under Xu Ping, including the soldiers who now hold spears, have been trained, so that once Lu Yufan sends the munitions, the soldiers can use it immediately, and they would rather let people wait for equipment than let equipment wait for people.

"I know you have to practice, I see you practicing every day." Li Dingguo was still shaking his head: "I mean you can't just give a gun, I still want people, and it's not borrowed." ”

Xu Ping said with a smile: "Brother Li is too greedy, it's okay for the Guards Battalion to lend officers to the West Battalion for training, but it's ......." ”

"You are the general of the camp, not the master of the Guards Battalion." Li Dingguo pointed out that before the two brothers came to Henan this time, Li Zicheng instructed them to listen to Xu Ping's unified command: "You let our brothers fight the same battle as sending them to the death, and we didn't frown." ”

Xu Ping was speechless, he thought for a while and said: "It's not that I'm stingy, now the Guards Battalion is also understaffed, and if it is dismantled, the combat strength will be reduced, and the new army is still opposite us, it doesn't seem to be a good idea." Brother Li, what do you think is like this, I will first organize a team of 100 people for you, and let them help you train. ”

"At least 20% of the fruit has to be long."

"Don't worry, I'll select twenty capable non-commissioned officers for Brother Li, plus eighty veterans."

"It's not borrowed!"

"Well, not borrowed."

"It's okay," Li Dingguo readily agreed: "Is it the teaching team similar to the Guards Battalion?" ”

"Yes, this team is called the Xiying Teaching Team."

After the victory, Xu Ping did not hold on to Lanyang but took the initiative to retreat, he sent Sun Kewang to lead 4,000 people back to Kaifeng to monitor the officers and soldiers in the city, sent Li Dingguo to monitor the new army between Kaifeng and Lanyang, and himself led the guard battalion to be located between the two in order to reinforce back and forth.

On 22 August, reinforcements from the Ming court arrived one after another, and more than 20,000 Ming troops had gathered in the Guide Mansion, and some people in the imperial court even proposed to transfer some of the troops from Fengyang, the central capital, to the Henan battlefield.

Xu Ping was not very worried about the Ming army in Zhongdu, after the Fengyang Imperial Mausoleum was excavated once, the Ming court was unlikely to use Fengyang's troops, and now Ji Huisi was still wandering in Shandong, so this possibility was even smaller. Since there were only four battalions of the new army in Shandong, He Baodao had nothing to do with Ji Huisi, and his troops were strictly ordered to ensure the smooth flow of Cao Yun, so there were only one or two battalions of mobile troops, and it was very dangerous to attack Ji Huisi with such a small number of troops.

The movement of Jia Minghe has always made Xu Ping very concerned, and a large amount of information is sent into Xu Ping's army every day, and encouraged by the battle of Lanyang, the peasants of Kaifeng Prefecture are more enthusiastic to inquire about the military situation for the camp. It seems that after the defeat of Lanyang, Jia Minghe has no intention of continuing the attack, and he will inevitably ask for more reinforcements. The Beijing Division still has three battalions of the new army in the process of reorganization, and if they go south, whether they are put into the Henan battlefield or the Shandong battlefield, they will gain a decisive advantage. Fortunately, Xu Ping still had time, even if the new army immediately requested to send troops and the imperial court approved it on the spot, the new army would not be able to reach Henan in two or three months.

"At present, the imperial court is still inclined to use these three battalions of new troops to defend the Beijing division, but it can't withstand the perennial activities of the Zhendong Hou, and it is only a matter of time before they go south." Every time he talked to the staff officers about this issue, Xu Ping was worried: "Even if they are not allowed to go south, as long as the imperial court agrees to the expansion of the new army, the strength of the new army will grow rapidly." ”

Xu Ping has always fully trusted his staff and has not asked too much about their work, so that his staff officers have greatly improved their self-confidence and work ability. Zhou Dongtian pointed out: "If two full new military battalions come to attack us, we can resist, and the western battalion can continue to blockade Kaifeng, but we will have a hard time when three battalions come." ”

"Therefore, it is necessary to let the new army start as soon as possible, and we must make up our minds to let the three reserve battalions leave Beijing before the imperial court makes up its mind, so that we are in the best interest." Xu Ping ordered the intrusive army surrounding Kaifeng to open a gap so that Kaifeng's messenger could send the news out: "There is not much food in Kaifeng City, and the more anxious the Ming court is, the more it will urge the new army, so that we can find an opportunity." ”

On the twenty-seventh, the wolf's den.

After Lanyang's war report was returned to the New Army General Staff, Jin Qiude became very worried. The fact that these officers who were very familiar with the tactics of the Forces nouvelles were a great threat, and the flintlock pistols had apparently leaked out, and the fact that the camps were equipped with such weapons at the same time as the Forces nouvelles really shocked the staff of the Forces nouvelles, which greatly weakened the advantages of the Forces nouvelles' armor.

"How did Xu Ping get the flintlock pistol?"

Li Yunrui can't answer Jin Qiude's question, because the burden of the Military Intelligence Department is very heavy, and it is not easy for Shandong and Henan, while Fujian should theoretically be taken care of by Funing Town, and the Military Intelligence Department is separated by 108,000 miles, and there is no way to talk about it.

Li Yunrui asked rhetorically: "Can you circle the craftsmen who make guns?" ”

"No way." Jin Qiude said categorically: "It is impossible for the imperial court to agree to Funing Town's monopoly on all weapons production, and now the imperial court would rather let merchants make weapons and buy them than delegate the right to manufacture weapons to Funing Town." ”

"Can you let the adults go and talk to the two adults, Chen and Wei?"

"They are not Hou Xun, they are allies of adults, not subordinates of adults." Jin Qiude said coldly: "What's more, they still have to take money from it, those officials who went to Fujian are estimated to have already given them filial piety, how can they agree to get rid of them all at once, unless they are simply handed over to the Ministry of Industry, and all the craftsmen are arrested in Beijing and the Ministry of Industry is responsible for production, but can we agree to this?" ”

Li Yunrui had nothing to say.

"The replenishment of Shandong has been temporarily suspended."

The fighting in Shandong was not fierce, and the Dongjiang Army did not dare to engage in any frontal confrontation and only dared to fight guerrillas, and after several months of fighting, Shandong's losses were only a few hundred, and among them, those who fell ill were even less than those who suffered in battle. Unlike last time, this time the Forces nouvelles operated separately from friendly forces, and their routes did not overlap. Whenever the Forces nouvelles occupied, they pacified the people and helped them rebuild their homes. Of course, the Imperial Court would soon send magistrates to these areas liberated from the traitors, but the new army had a considerable amount of time to impress the people before the magistrates arrived, and then left before the magistrates arrived, with friendly troops to guarantee the authority of the magistrates and carry out their orders.

Jin Qiude was very dissatisfied with the battle of Lanyang, if it weren't for Yang Zhiyuan still being sick and He Baodao couldn't pull away, he really wanted to immediately remove Jia Minghe's command, if he honestly advanced to Kaifeng, then the loss would not be so big. Zhen Donghou was very tolerant of this, saying that if Jia Minghe's plan could succeed, it would indeed be the fastest way, smaller than an honest frontal attack, and would not leave a future trouble.

"But he didn't make it, did he?" At that time, Jin Qiude asked Zhendonghou like this.

The Marquis of Zhendong excused Jia Minghe, which made Jin Qiude very dissatisfied. However, Jin Qiude is mainly responsible for the emergence of Xu Ping's disaster, Jin Qiude feels that Zhendonghou knows this, but he has not broken or blamed him, so since Zhendonghou does not hold Jia Minghe responsible, he will not say anything, after all, the more urgent problem is how to replenish the troops of Henan's new army.

"When the adults persuade the imperial court, and then send one or two battalions to Henan, everything will be solved."

"If the imperial court agrees to send more battalions, I think troops should be drawn from Shandong to Henan, and then the newly sent battalions should take their place." Today, Yang Zhiyuan came to the wolf's den with his illness.

"Why?"

"Because Xu Ping's subordinates have fought a lot of battles, and most of our battalions are recruits who have only been trained for three months and have not even seen blood, at least the troops in Shandong have been fighting with Ji Huisi and them for a few months, even if they haven't fought a few battles, they have more or less courage."

"In the past, when we were in Liaodong, most of our battalion were soldiers who had only been trained for three months, and Jiannu had fought more battles than thieves."

Yang Zhiyuan shook his head and said: "But there were not so many at that time, and Jiannu did not imitate our military system. ”

Jin Qiude knew that this was very reasonable, but the transportation of baggage, the transfer of troops out and in, all need to communicate with the local government, it takes time, and it is also troublesome, and it cannot be transferred without authorization from the imperial court, which means more trouble and more time for the opponent.

Yang Zhiyuan didn't say it long, but he left early because he was uncomfortable, and only Jin Qiude and Li Yunrui were left in the house again. Since he became a family member with Jin Qiude, Zhendonghou has been less concerned about the affairs of the new army, and Jin Qiude's opinions have always been approved.

"Reinforcements must be sent to Henan immediately, and the thieves in Kaifeng must be eliminated immediately."

Li Yunrui's tone was very firm, before Zhao Slowxiong advocated that the new army should consciously distance itself from the Ming court, so that the people would realize the difference between the new army and the government, and now Jin Qiude is doing the same - he hopes that the atrocities of the government can arouse the people's nostalgia for Hou Rende in Zhendong.

Yang Zhiyuan called it "wishful thinking", but Jin Qiude felt that it made sense, when a person was cornered, he would inevitably fantasize that the person who was not too bad to him would be a better master. However, this needs to drive people to the point of desperation, so that the people can see the easy destruction of the rebel army, and lose all hope for the rebel army. But if the rebels could not be destroyed, the impression of the people would be that the new army had sent back the brutal magistrates; And it won't be: the new army is good, the government is bad.

"Yes," Jin Qiude felt very tired, he had hoped that the imperial court would feel that the new army was insufficient, so he was not in a hurry at all because the battle in Shandong had dragged on for a long time, and he was even very happy that Ji Huisi was so knowledgeable. Eventually, one day, the imperial court will not be able to bear the pressure to agree to the continued expansion of the new army. Not long ago, Jin Qiude even wondered why he had become so well-behaved and had no intention of entering the army again, otherwise if the northern captives beat the officers and soldiers in the north to the bitter end, the imperial court would have to consider sending more new troops to assist in the defense. But now, the troops are really stretched, and Jin Qiude began to complain about why Ji Huisi didn't try to fight one or two battles, and at the same time worried day and night about the possibility of the northern captives going south at any time.

"Jia Minghe wrote that Kaifeng Mansion was full of fine works that broke into the camp, and he began to kill some deterrent Xiaoxiao, but the effect was not good, and it was difficult to distinguish between the fine work of breaking into the camp and the people of Henan, what should I do?"

- Do you really not know what to do with the surname Li? And it's clearly your business.

Jin Qiude did not ask what was in his heart, but gave an example: "It's like when I was in the First World War in Fuzhou, the adults were worried that there would be fine work among the people who followed our army, what did the adults do at that time?" Anyone who dares to follow behind our army will be killed. Jia Minghe: The first thing he needs to think about now is the officers and men of our new army, and he has to consider their lives and safety. ”

"But I'm afraid my lord won't issue this order, Yang Zhiyuan will fiercely oppose it, not to mention that in order to prevent the leakage of military information, slaughtering the surrounding villagers is not in line with the current strategy of our new army."

- Do you really not know what to do? It's just you and me here.

Jin Qiude looked at the old colleague in front of him, twenty years ago, this person was not like today.

- Zhao Slow Bear always hides far away, doesn't want any power, doesn't want to know anything, this fox is the most yin. And you know more than anyone else, you know what you should know, you know what you shouldn't know, you know that when you saw a talisman, you clutched it to death, and you didn't let go of anything. Yes, now that you have a family and a business, you have more worries, but are you the only one who has a wife and children? Twenty years ago, I also thought that as long as I could leave a name in history, what was this life?

"Do you need to tell your Excellency about this? I am the Chief of Staff, and I am here to issue this order. Jin Qiude leaned hard against the back of the seat.

- Since I sat in this position, I didn't think about whether I would live in the end, but my son, I can't let him accompany me on this path...... At the beginning, the adults wanted my son to be the commander of the direct guard, and I desperately wanted to refuse...... It's just that under the nest, there will be no eggs, and I just have a thought at that time...... Later, I messed up everything in Shandong without telling my lordship, but my lord did as I wished...... I know very well what I mean, no matter what happens to me, I promise to be kind to my children and grandchildren...... Thank you, my lord, my subordinates didn't sell their lives for you for a lifetime...... In the future, if an adult needs a flawless reputation, if someone needs to come forward to take responsibility for the crime, his subordinates will never hesitate to shirk their lives.

"If you have to do all the dirty work yourself, what are you going to do with a dog?" Jin Qiude shouted: "Didn't Zhu Yuanhong also go to Henan?" He can't fight, can't he even kill good people now? ”

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