"If we leave Taiyuan City, we can only rely on this group of newly surrendered soldiers in Taiyuan to defend it." At today's military meeting, there was a discussion on how to defeat the new army coming to Taiyuan, but there was not even a single general of the local army in Taiyuan, but all the members of the field troops of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, and they obviously did not trust the local troops in Taiyuan: "They will not defect again, will they?" ”

"Taiyuan City, I don't think they will defect." Xu Ping glanced at Zhou Dongtian: "I think Brother Zhou should be similar to what I think, otherwise he wouldn't have made this suggestion." ”

"Taiyuan surrendered to our army because it thought that we were stronger than the new army, as long as we did not lose the field battle, the Taiyuan army would wait and see and would not defect, if the new army went to attack, they would also resolutely resist." Zhou Dongtian really thought the same as Xu Ping: "As I said just now, Taiyuan is not a suitable place for a decisive battle with the new army, if we don't defend the city, the new army can calmly build a long trench to besiege us in the city." If we go out of the city to form a horn situation, then we will also have to sit back and wait for the new army with superior forces to attack us, and if we can't take the initiative to attack, these wall grasses will clearly realize that the enemy is strong and we are weak, which is not a good thing. ”

"General Zhou said it very well," Li Laiheng has also been persuaded by Zhou Dongtian to leave Taiyuan City and take the initiative to meet the new army in the north, which will give greater encouragement to the Shun army in Taiyuan: "This is different from Henan, where we have always adopted the strategy of retreating and fighting a decisive battle, because the deeper we go into our land, the weaker the new army will be, and our combat strength will be stronger at home." And Shanxi is by no means a reliable land, and retreating will only make the new army stronger, and we ourselves weaker. We leave unreliable land and troops behind our field forces to defend them so that they can continue to supply us. ”

"Wang Taisun is right." Xu Ping said with a smile.

"Yes, the prince said it well." With Xu Ping's words, a good-natured laughter sounded in the tent.

And Li Laiheng blushed: "The general made fun of it." ”

Because Li Zicheng did not have any heirs, he canonized Li Guo as his heir to the throne, and Li Guo did not have any biological heirs, so Li Laiheng was the future King Shun.

"There is another point, that is, if the new army dares to divide troops to attack Taiyuan, we can attack them, and at that time, the new army may not have a strength advantage, not to mention that the Sanxi battalion will arrive soon." Zhou Dongtian explained the last possibility: "However, the subordinates don't think that this kind of thing will happen, the new army doesn't know whether we left troops in Taiyuan and how many soldiers we left, and the subordinates don't think that He Shuai will make such a mistake." ”

"So it's Ushio?" Xu Ping looked around at the generals in the camp, and finally stopped his gaze on Yu Shenhe's face.

"It's Ushio." Yu Shenhe and the other generals replied in unison.

……

On the way from Taiyuan to Niuweizhuang, Liu Zongmin's troops had many battles with the direct guards of the Dadu Governor's Mansion, and when the guards battalion arrived near Niuweizhuang two days later, Liu Zongmin told Xu Pingshun that the cavalry had suffered more than 200 casualties:

"The Metropolitan Governor's guards are well-armed and well-trained, and I have never faced such a difficult opponent."

"Probably how much they lost."

"Fifty, sixty, this is not easy to say, anyway, General Chi has ordered the First Cavalry Battalion not to engage the Dadu Governor's Guards when the number of people is less than twice that of the enemy." Liu Zongmin's face was frustrated, in small-scale contact battles, the direct guards of the Dadu Governor's Mansion can always take away the wounded soldiers, in addition to the advantages in weapons and equipment, the horses are obviously better than the other party: "I don't dare to send less than ten people to explore the horses, otherwise once they are entangled by the Dadu Governor's direct guards, most of this team will not be able to come back." ”

Xu Ping also had a headache about this, and was forced to expand the size of the reconnaissance detachment to greatly reduce the reconnaissance scope of the Shun army, which could only ensure that the main force of the new army would not be suddenly encountered during the march, but it was completely impossible to rule out the reconnaissance of the other party, and now the six battalions of the Shun army had to gather together to march and camp in case of a sneak attack by a small group of troops of the new army: "Is it safe to increase to a group of ten?" Can twice as many enemies drive out the opponent's horses? ”

Liu Zongmin sighed again, the Shun army didn't know anything about the movements of the main force of the new army in Xinzhou, that area was densely covered with Ming army sentinels, and it was difficult for the cavalry detachment of the Shun army to penetrate into the vicinity of Xinzhou, Chi Shude tried a few times before, but the losses were extremely heavy and had to stop this kind of behavior close to suicide: "Not necessarily, most of the governor's direct guards are generally in groups of two, but there are also expulsion cavalry teams of ten people, in case they meet, our sons have to be beaten down by half of the opponent's firearms before fighting with them, and the rest can't be beaten, You can't run away. "The continuous fighting in the past few days has been unfavorable and has seriously affected the morale of the 1st Cavalry Battalion. At present, it is a detachment of expulsion cavalry in a group of ten, and it can only operate near the main force of the Shun army, and the cavalry of the Shun army can react much faster and have dense troops within this range. Once the large cavalry detachment of the Metropolitan Governor's direct guard is discovered, there will be a response from all around, and the main force of the cavalry battalion can also be dispatched to participate in the battle. The Governor's Guards also became more cautious, fearing that they would not be able to withdraw to their own protection in the event of casualties.

"The range of activities of the direct guard is about twice that of our cavalry," probably," because of the lack of intelligence, Zhou Dongtian also had a headache, and there had never been a situation where the intelligence of the Shun army was at a disadvantage when fighting in Henan in the past: "The subordinates can only speculate that He Shuai is probably in this position......" Zhou Dongtian drew an area on the map, which was vaguely speculated by the staff of the Shun army according to the activity of the Dadu Governor Zhiwei in different areas: "But we can't know whether the other party is deliberately inactive somewhere, or deliberately very active in some areas," Zhou Dongtian spread his hands, it is conceivable that the other party already knows the position of the Shun army well, intelligence warfare is always like this, the side that gains the advantage has too many means to expand it, and the inferior side can only struggle to support.

"That is to say, the new army may be assembled in one or two battalions, or it may be divided into one or two battalions to cover the direct guard, and the main force will sneak up waiting for us to make a mistake."

"Yes," although Zhou Dongtian believes that the possibility of dividing troops is not large, and the new army has suffered losses many times in the past, and may not be willing to repeat the mistakes of the past: "The possibility that the adults said exists, but they may not be so confident." ”

"But that's because of our previous absolute intelligence superiority, so we were able to seize the fighter, and now it's reversed." It feels very bad to be deaf and blind, but Xu Ping is helpless about it: "Let's gather together, we can't make any mistakes now." ”

……

Xinzhou,

"Thirty thousand?" He Baodao repeatedly confirmed to Yang Huaizu: "Are you sure that Xu Ping only brought 30,000 people?" ”

"About 28,000 infantry, and 5,000 cavalry, hedgehogs gathered in Niuweizhuang, there are no other large bands of thieves between here and Taiyuan," Yang Huaizu is very sure of the deployment of the Shun army, the battle in the past few days has only been seriously wounded, killed 25 people, but achieved more than 200 beheadings, yesterday a team of horses has been advancing to the city of Taiyuan, noticed that the city is also like a great enemy, in the daytime only dare to open a city gate: "Dashuai, although I don't know how many thieves there are in Taiyuan City, but obviously there will not be many, We can concentrate our forces on annihilating the thief. ”

"Well, yes." He Baodao remembered that Huang Shi said that the Shun army that had passed through the Kaifeng flood was only 50,000 at most: "Even if Li Dingguo's Xiying arrives to join Xu Ping, we still have an absolute advantage." He Baodao has notified Datong's Jiang Jian to lead troops to participate in the battle, plus 40,000 Datong Jin troops, the Ming army will have a two-to-one advantage over the Shun army: "The worst result is that Jiang Shuai failed to arrive in time, and we met all the troops of Xu Ping, so it was 60,000 against 50,000, would we still be afraid of them." ”

"What the marshal said is extremely true, and if our army is dispatched immediately, it is likely that Xu Thief will have been defeated before Li Dingguo arrives, and even if he comes, he will only come to die." Yang Huaizu said confidently that the 60,000 new troops had been fully rested and could set off at any time, and they were only a day's journey away from Niuweizhuang.

"Not to mention that we still have Jiang Shuai's 40,000 army as backup," He Baodao laughed, 60,000 new troops against 30,000 Shun troops, and it was a field battle not a siege war, He Baodao thought that this was simply a godsend: "Even if Xu Ping of Niuweizhuang strengthens the camp again, what can he do in just one day?" ”

"Even if Xu Ping can build the camp very strong, will he dare to defend it to the death, if he defends it, we will surround him inside and build a trench to trap him." Wang Qinian also felt that the deployment of the Shun army was too arrogant, if he held Taiyuan, relying on the reserves in the city, the Shun army could undoubtedly hold it for a long time, but stick to a camp in the wild, no need to storm it, as long as it was surrounded for ten days and half a month, the Shun army inside would have to desperately break through: "Don't miss the opportunity, big handsome." ”

"Xu Ping, this kid is like me to challenge," He Baodao sneered: "He is asking me, do you dare to beat him, if I dare not go, what will the emperor, the court and even the world think of me?" This arrogant boy has been invincible for three years, and he doesn't know how old he is. ”

When the new army was mobilized, Yang Huaizu, who had always been more introverted, didn't know what to say to the soldiers, but it was conceivable that this would be a bloody battle, and there was a killing field in front of him, and he couldn't think of how to encourage his subordinates.

The barracks of the fire battalion was next to the direct guard, and seeing the white feathers like a forest standing tall in the howling north wind, Yang Huaizu also felt a burst of emotional agitation: "This is the brilliant iron army established by Uncle Huang, and it is the invincible white feather soldier in the world." ”

"Sons, in front of you is Taiyuan, a famous city in Shanxi," the military camp will be moved closer to Niuweizhuang early tomorrow morning, and Wang Qinian, who is dressed all over his body, is explaining this military operation: "The rich merchants of Shanxi live in this city, where there is gold and silver everywhere, and no matter how much you reach out to pick it up, you can't take it all; These rich guys have countless delicate women, and their daughters are all delicate chicks, but they are not the big-footed mothers-in-law of the village. As long as Taiyuan is taken, I don't care what others say, the brothers can do whatever they want in the first three days. ”

Hearing the commander's promise, the white-feathered soldiers in front of the barracks suddenly let out thunderous cheers.

"But now Xu Ping's thief is still in front of us, he leads a group of stupid and stupid, stupid poor mud legs who don't know whether they are alive or dead, don't want the brothers to kill in Taiyuan, want us to drink wind and eat dew in this wilderness, want the brothers to go home empty-handed, and want the brothers to be monks if they can't see their mothers!" Wang Qinian took a deep breath and asked the white feather soldiers in front of him: "Brother said-can we spare him?" ”

"Can't!"

"Slaughtered the thief!"

"Kill all those mud legs!"

"Okay, tomorrow we will go and kill all these stupid pigs who don't know whether they are alive or dead, dig out their hearts and livers and drink wine, and give the brothers an aphrodisiac," Wang Qinian laughed and said, "Then we will go to Taiyuan, and the brothers will be able to stuff their pockets into bulging pockets, and each of them will return to Beijing with four or five new daughters-in-law." ”

In the earth-shattering shouts of the white feather soldiers, the firefighting battalion officer ended his speech, and after stepping off the stage, Wang Qinian saw Yang Huaizu not far away, thoughtful, and asked with a smile: "Virtuous nephew, what's wrong?" How can you boost morale when you come to learn from the old man? ”

Listening to the boiling voices around him and their high morale, Yang Huaizu's face was full of confusion: "Uncle Wang, didn't Lord Hou say that he wanted to win the hearts of the people?" ”

"People's hearts," Wang Qinian smiled, he remembered that he had been confused by Huangshi's theory twenty years ago, but now he is a general with a broad vision, not the small officer who obeyed orders and the world was small as if there was nothing else except Huangshi: "What's the use of people's hearts?" Can you help us in the war? Can we win for our army? Virtuous nephew, for us martial artists, everything except swords and guns is fake, and with this, we have everything. ”

……

"I don't know if the new army will come to attack us."

Xu Ping took the battalion officers of his two most elite battalions to inspect the terrain near Niuweizhuang; "I wonder what they're doing now?"

"My lord," Yu Shenhe suddenly asked, "If you don't stick to Taiyuan, you must come here, what is it for?" ”

"Didn't Brother Zhou say everything?" Xu Ping replied, he glanced at Yu Shenhe, nodded again, and said: "Although I don't dare to say that if we are defeated, will the people around Taiyuan follow the Ming army again and fight us like water dogs, but since they are now my Dashun people, we, as Dashun officers and soldiers, must defend them and try not to let the war affect them as much as possible." ”

"The general said it well, so we will be able to win the hearts of the people." Li Laiheng supported Xu Ping's decision very much: "We rebelled in Dashun and eliminated the riots and pacified the people, just to resist Zhu Ming's faint king***, if we are the same as Zhu Ming, change the soup and not the medicine, then what do we do with the army?" ”

"People's hearts?" Yu Shenhe shook his head and said: "If it is against Sun Chuanting and Yang Wenyue's soldiers, then the people's will is still a little useful, but our current opponent is the new army, what is the use of the people's will?" Yu Shenhe mentioned the battle of the Changqing Battalion in Shandong that year: "Even against the newly formed Changqing, even if we are already alone, if it weren't for King Ji personally bringing his elite to besiege us, with a group of people alone, no matter how angry they are, what can they do with the new army?" ”

"But it's always the last straw that breaks the camel's back," Xu Ping smiled: "If it weren't for them, Changqing would probably still be able to get out of danger." ”

"But if the new army comes to fight us, then I'm afraid it won't even be the last one," the surrounding people have fled to Taiyuan, and the nearby villages have become empty: "Your Excellency doesn't expect tens of thousands of people to help us fight the new army, right?" If there is, can they kill and wound even a hundred new troops? ”

"There are gods in the head, and if we are upright and rebellious, the gods will also favor us," Xu Ping said with a smile: "This is not just a straw." ”

"My lord, the last general is a warrior, and I don't believe that ghosts and gods will help us fight."

"Even if the two don't help each other, at least when he arrives in the Yama Palace, we can claim that we have tried our best to make up for our mistakes." Xu Ping let out a chuckle: "Maybe because of this, the people in Shandong who died under our hands will forgive us for this." ”

Yu Shenhe pursed his lips and nodded: "I hope so, but the last general thinks that they will never forgive us." ”

"The grandson of the king." Xu Ping looked at Li Laiheng with a smile again.

"The general is making fun of the last general again." As soon as Li Laiheng heard others call him like this, he felt uncomfortable.

Xu Ping ignored Li Laiheng's protest and continued: "One day, you will become the emperor and the son of heaven, don't forget our ambition today, don't bully the people. ”

"General......" Li Laiheng didn't know what to say for a while.

"One day, you will sit on the throne of the Golden Luan Palace, surrounded by courtiers who have thrown themselves to you, surrounded by boundless praises, and you will no longer see the poor people, and you will no longer hear their voices. When the time comes, do not forget the hard life they lived, and do not let the officials oppress them. ”

"Yes, General," Li Laiheng no longer shirked his thanks, but replied solemnly: "The last general will never forget it in his life, not only will the last general not forget, but in the future, the last general will also teach the descendants of the last general well, and leave an ancestral precept to them: always seek benefits for the people, and always be enemies of those who harm them, even if they are the emperor of the Son of Heaven, or face the Son of Heaven, and face the emperor." Not only them, but the last general will also take this as a motto in the future, even in the face of the last general's uncle and father, they will not do anything against their will. ”

"The king will be a good emperor, Ling Zun will be yes, and the prince will be in the future." After Xu Ping heard this oath, he sighed a lot: "The soldiers who died on the battlefield like this can also be blinded, even the enemies who died under our hands, knowing that their descendants can live under better governance than Zhu Ming, they will also understand that we have to take their lives." The will of the people can prove that we are righteous in winning the country. ”

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