"I don't know that very well." He Baodao's eldest son was transferred to serve under Yang Zhiyuan very early, and he was not transferred back when he was recruited from Funing this time, Gu Maitreya said to Zhang Biao: "You have to ask General Yang about this." ”

"Ask me what?"

There was a sound outside the tent, and then the door was opened, and Yang Zhiyuan followed the sound and strode in.

"Lord Yang." Gu Maitreya hurriedly got up and saluted Yang Zhiyuan.

"Excuse me." Yang Zhiyuan was followed by a young man, Gu Maitreya and Zhang Biao both felt very embarrassed, Yang Zhiyuan introduced them: "This is Staff Officer Huang." ”

Then he introduced to the young man: "This is General Gu, your father's friend for many years, and this is Staff Officer Zhang, who is older than you and the son of your father's old friend, and he is a friend of you." ”

"Uncle Gu, Brother Zhang." Huang Xiwen greeted the two.

After hearing that this person's surname was Huang, Gu Maitreya and Zhang Biao knew it in their hearts, and both of them hurriedly replied.

"Staff Officer Huang has just come back from the Jin army, and he has seen the battlefield, so Master Hou asked him to follow me to experience it." After Yang Zhiyuan sat down, he saw that Gu Maitreya and Zhang Biao were still standing, so he smiled and said, "What are you doing standing?" Let's all sit down and talk. ”

After Gu Maitreya sat down, he asked, "Lord Yang, your body is okay." ”

"It's very good, it is estimated that it will be cured soon," Yang Zhiyuan smiled: "Thank you Brother Gu for your concern." ”

"Why did Lord Yang come here in person?" Gu Maitreya was quite surprised by Yang Zhiyuan's sudden arrival, since the staff department continuously issued documents prohibiting him from attacking, then he would definitely not attack, could it be that the staff department was not at ease with him?

"The direct guard will come immediately, if necessary, the third battalion that is now in the Beijing division training will also come, and the Hou Ye asked me to be in charge of commanding, everything is foreseen, and if not, it will be wasted." Yang Zhiyuan planned to come to understand the situation first, and if he really wanted to fight, he would not be in a hurry.

Hearing Yang Zhiyuan say this, Zhang Biao's face was overjoyed, and Gu Maitreya also asked in surprise and joy: "Is the General Staff Department determined to attack?" ”

Yang Zhiyuan thought for a while, and turned his head to look at Huang Xiwen: "Staff Officer Huang, come on." ”

"Yes." Huang Xiwen nodded yes, Gu Maitreya and Zhang Biao both looked at him, only to hear Huang Xiwen say loudly: "The General Staff Department does not plan to fight with Xu Thief in Zhili, no matter what, we must avoid it, for this we can even sit back and watch Xu Thief continue to carry baggage, but we have to prevent him from taking advantage of the victory to loot Zhili to fill the army, so Lord Yang will come here to sit in town, if he doesn't know what to do and wants to continue to attack, our new army will repel him." ”

Both of them showed disappointment on their faces, and Gu Maitreya asked Yang Zhiyuan puzzled: "My lord, why is this?" ”

Yang Zhiyuan didn't answer, but pointed at Huang Xiwen: "It's still up to Staff Officer Huang to speak." ”

"The new army lacks actual combat experience, and Jia Yan is deeply worried about this, Jia Yan hopes that each battalion must let them go to the battlefield once before the thieves fight, and the commanders of each battalion also need to familiarize themselves with the time and opportunity of the troops." Huang Xiwen's expression was serious and his words were fluent: "And this battlefield can only be in Shandong, let the battalions first fight in Shandong, and then attack Henan when they have experience." ”

"This is also what I need," Yang Zhiyuan took over: "Staff Officer Huang is saving face for me, when he attacks Henan again, Lord He and I will go with the army, and the scale of this dispatch will be unprecedented, the two of us have never commanded so many troops, there will definitely be problems, and this problem can no longer happen when fighting Xu Ping, it is best to expose it in Shandong." ”

"An army of unprecedented size?" Gu Maitreya hurriedly asked, "My lord, how many battalions are going to be dispatched this time?" ”

"Staff Officer Huang." Yang Zhiyuan shouted with a smile.

"Jiayan has already discussed with the elders of the court," Xu Ping attacked Zhili this time, Zongmiao was shocked, Chongzhen Tianzi was very worried, after Yang Wenyue's fiasco, the court attached a lot of importance to the new army, and the cabinet ministers privately said that at least the new army would never be defeated so badly: "They will work with Jiayan to persuade the Son of Heaven to expand the new army into fifteen battalions, a total of 60,000 troops." Speaking of this, Huang Xiwen's originally meticulous face also showed a smug face: "Xu Thief will definitely not be able to stop our thunderous blow." ”

"That's great news." Gu Maitreya stroked his palms and smiled, and congratulated Yang Zhiyuan: "Sixty thousand new troops, it's really good." ”

"Don't say it for the time being," Yang Zhiyuan smiled slightly: "This costs millions of military salaries every year, not to mention the cost of training and equipment, if the news is revealed in advance, the other armies will inevitably be angry and attack in groups, and the emperor may hesitate, Hou Ye is now to give his brothers a good news." ”

"The last general (lowly) understands." Gu Maitreya and Zhang Biao replied at the same time.

"That's it, there are not many people who can lead 60,000 troops since ancient times. I'm definitely not going to be able to do it, Master He, I think it's enough to choke, so we must fight Shandong first," Yang Zhiyuan was very satisfied to see that Gu Maitreya and Zhang Biao had regained their fighting spirit and enthusiasm: "Besides, this is also to relieve worries." ”

Yang Zhiyuan and Zhendonghou have already discussed, to try their best to avoid the formation of a new battlefield in Zhili, if the war is started in Zhili, the imperial court will not let the new army go south, if it is protracted, it will definitely be transferred to the Shandong new army to play back, Zhendonghou is even worried that the imperial court will not have the patience to wait for a long time, once the slightest progress is unfavorable, it will forcibly pull the Shandong new army back. And Yang Zhiyuan thought that once the Shandong New Army returned, Xu Ping would immediately withdraw his troops, and for him, Zhili would not have such an important significance, neither militarily nor politically, so the New Army would fall short at both ends. The court may gain a temporary peace of mind, but the consequences will still be borne by the new army.

……

"Naoke has come to us." Chen Zhe ran to meet Xu Ping, and after a long period of reconnaissance, the battalion had basically determined the strength of the Xuanfeng battalion: "With the direct guard, the new army will be about 5,000, let's transfer the guard battalion, the new army will definitely not dare to retreat in the territory of Zhili, this is a good opportunity for us to rebuild the new army again." ”

Although the Guards Battalion has not fully recovered its strength, but with the addition of the armored battalion, Xu Ping's strength is still above the new army, and they don't pay much attention to Yang Wenyue's army at all, not to mention that Qi Tu and Xiahou Kuanfu are still leading the army now. Chen Zhe said triumphantly: "Hebei Army, it's like a bad seed to help people, when they are fighting, they are watching from the side, shouting a few words but never doing anything, if a friend is disabled, they will help bring the friend home." ”

"What if their friends win?" Xu Ping asked rhetorically: "Even the bad seed will come up and kick twice." ”

"The new army is mostly recruits, and the number is not as large as ours, how can we lose?" Chen Zhe objected: "My lord, this time it's a direct guard, it's Huang Hou's son-in-law who leads the troops, if we win, it will greatly kill Huang Hou's prestige." Unconsciously, people such as Chen Zhe, Zhou Dongtian and others began to call Zhendonghou in the same tone as everyone else.

"This is Zhili, not Henan!" Xu Ping shook his head and said: "It's too close to the New Army Teaching Team, they can send reinforcements in a steady stream, we can't fight them here." ”

"But this is really a good opportunity, I think Jin Shentong's nose is upturned and the kid is angry." Chen Zhe loudly objected: "This place is closer to Feng, and we will not suffer." ”

"Not suffering losses does not mean taking advantage, and if you do not take advantage of the battle, you cannot fight." Xu Ping was stubborn: "The purpose of our trip is to inflict heavy losses on Yang Wenyue and seize the baggage of the Hebei Army to replenish us. ”

Chen Zhe frowned and thought for a while: "My lord, I remember that you have a good relationship with Jin Shentong, I heard that you have also drunk together, but the battlefield does not tolerate personal feelings." ”

"I did drink with him, but I know that there is no room for selfish feelings on the battlefield." Xu Ping saw that Chen Zhe was becoming more and more dissatisfied, and explained: "First, we need time to digest the results of the battle, our capture this time can arm three battalions; Second, the top priority at the moment is to continue to encircle Kaifeng, as long as Kaifeng is taken, our army will have no worries, and can march to Shandong to relieve the Dongjiang army's difficulties. ”

"The Dongjiang Army is a rabble, and we don't need them anymore."

"We used to need it, and now they have helped us drag a few battalions of General He," Xu Ping retorted: "Kaifeng will fall in June or July, and we can use Kaifeng's capture to arm more troops, and during this period, we can also attract new troops to our territory to fight with us, and then we will send troops to Shandong to cut off the north-south communication of the Ming court." Xu Ping was bent on cutting off the Ming court, and once it merged with the Dongjiang army in Shandong, he could achieve this goal: "If the new army stays in the north, we will collect Jiangnan, which is the main source of taxes for the Ming court, and then Fujian, which is the source of the new army's ordnance; If the new army dares to go south, we will take the Jingshi, and then the Ming court will fall apart; If the new army divides its troops and wants to ensure both ends, hmph, then they can only be beaten everywhere. ”

"Wouldn't it be better to fight first, and then you can act more easily according to your plan."

"It's not good, because once the war starts, it will be stalemate and prolonged, because close to the teaching team, the new army can start a long-term attrition, behind them is the Ming Dynasty, and we only have Kaifeng and Guide two prefectures. The top priority is to return to Henan as soon as possible. We can't open a new battlefield in Zhili, which will weaken our forces in Henan, and once the battle situation reaches a stalemate, it will give Kaifeng hope to hold on, or an encouragement to the other Ming armies, who will think that our rear is empty and will take the opportunity to attack us. Xu Ping knew that as long as the main force remained in Henan, most of the other Ming troops would not dare to come alone: "Except for Sun Chuanting, who was eager to make meritorious contributions, others would not move if they saw the new army attacking Henan, so that one of our soldiers would be used as two soldiers." ”

Xu Ping believed that such a limited force would not only deter the surrounding provinces and force them to withhold the resources that should have supplied the new army, but also force the new army to finally have to fight on Xu Ping's home turf, which was really an advantage that could not be given up.

"And I guess it's the wheat straw that is scared of the wolf now," Xu Ping has been figuring out the intention behind the new army's actions: "Of course, I am afraid of falling into a long-term attrition, and the new army will definitely be afraid that they will be quickly defeated because of their lack of experience and troops, so they have been hiding behind Yang Wenyue's back, which is already very good, and can let me transport everything away with peace of mind." When the opponent is hesitating, it is not a good idea to force the opponent to have no way out and have to fight you to the death, so let's take a step back. Xu Ping thought that he couldn't afford to gamble, because he didn't have the gambling money in his hands to turn over, so he was willing to fight every battle with considerable certainty: "Let the new army play the cards first, and we will take the lead later." ”

……

"Xu Ping didn't continue to increase troops to Zhili," Yang Zhiyuan felt a little relieved after finding out the situation: "There is no need to transfer several battalions of the Beijing Division, the province will delay training, we don't want to stimulate Xu Ping." ”

……

During this period, although Xu Ping was busy, he often found time to visit the wounded soldiers in the Ming prisoner of war camp or talk with the officers.

Today, the army began to transport the last batch of grain away, and Xu Ping ordered to stop the surveillance of the captured Ming army officers.

"General, are we going to keep one or two people a little bit and pretend to be." Hearing Xu Ping say that there would be no sentry left, his personal guard asked.

"No need, what if they pretend to be too similar and they don't dare to run away?" Xu Ping ordered that the gates of the barracks should not be left open for the prisoners of war, as that would be too much, as long as they did not stand guard near the exit and their barracks: "If our brothers were there to watch, they would inevitably be weak-minded. What if the brothers are too careless and they are hurt? ”

That night, the officers of the Sancheng Ming Army slipped away, and a few bold ones untied the horses that Xu Ping deliberately tied to the camp gate, rode up and ran away.

The next day, when the soldiers went to deliver food to them, the remaining Ming army officers looked nervous one by one, cowering together to observe the reaction of the invading army. The soldiers seemed to be unaware, and just took back the extra dishes and chopsticks without asking any questions.

So more than 20 Ming officers fled that night, but there were 35 fewer horses at the door, and Xu Ping continued to wait patiently after making up for the shortcomings.

On the third day, there were only two Ming army officers left in the camp, and these were two particularly old and serious men.

When I went to see it another day, these two people were still there! Xu Ping was very unhappy when he heard the news, because he was going to leave for Henan tomorrow, and if these two guys did not leave, it would affect his withdrawal plan, so Xu Ping ordered: "Don't give them food today." ”

In the afternoon, the two most stable of the captured Ming army officers pushed open the camp gate and walked out, wanting to ask for some food to eat and some water to drink from the intruding soldiers, but they were sternly refused, even if they brought out the friendship they had with Xu Ping these days, it was useless. After several encounters, the two Ming officers were very angry, and finally quarreled with the intruding soldiers, and walked back to their cells with a curse.

After dinner that day, Xu Ping asked the guard, who had just gone to inspect the prisoners, "Did you escape?" ”

"Hungry and ran."

Xu Ping is very satisfied with this.

An urgent report was sent from Kaifeng, which was a notice from the governor of Henan, Yamen, ordering the people of the city to pay grain or else hand over the people. After repeated searches by the Kaifeng defenders, it is difficult for the people in the city to have a few households that will hide the stored grain, so the 26th is the beginning of the Kaifeng defenders' cannibalism. Li Zicheng once said that Pu Guanshui never forgot to send supplies in Kaifeng before the grain was cut off, worried that the Kaifeng defenders would feed on the living. Xu Ping has always taken this matter to heart, and because of the importance of the matter, he must rush back to deal with it in person.

"General, we have just received the information," a staff officer reported: "Dongming County ordered the impeachment of Xiahou Kuanfu to be stabbed to the central court, saying that Xiahou Kuanfu led his troops to attack the county seat of Dongming and threatened to wash the city, and he was still wearing the clothes of a small soldier at that time. ”

"What's the reaction from the Ming Court?"

"There was a lot of debate in the court. Of course, Yang Wenyue tried his best to protect Xiahou Kuanfu, but the Dongming County Order was well-founded, and Yang Wenyue was also impeached, saying that he sat back and watched thousands of thieves go on a rampage. Now Yang Wenyue's political opponents in the court have seized the handle and are desperately attacking him. ”

There is no taboo about addressing each other within the army, and Xu Ping doesn't care when he hears that he is called a thief: "Yang Wenyue is not afraid of impeachment, we are leaving tomorrow, and Zhili's territory is his again; Xiahou Kuanfu's matter is not difficult to do, we can also do him a favor, if I remember correctly, the wounded soldier is now living in his camp that day. ”

"What the general said is right."

In the early morning of the 25th, Xu Ping, accompanied by his staff officers, went to Xiahou Kuanfu's camp to take a circle. Now all the tents in this camp are full of wounded soldiers of the Ming army, and there are many prisoners of war of the Ming army who stayed to take care of the wounded soldiers, and they all know Xu Ping. They knelt down and saluted Xu Ping one after another, all grateful to Xu Ping for saving his life, and even the seriously wounded soldiers who couldn't get out of bed for the time being greeted Xu Ping.

After a brief greeting with them, Xu Ping talked loudly with his fellow staff officers in front of everyone, evaluating the front and rear deployment of this large battalion, and finally only heard Xu Ping sigh: "Scattered, between virtual and real, General Xiahou is really a good general." It's a pity that he can't be used by me to break into the army, it's a pity, it's a pity. Xu Ping's praise for General Xiahou in the wounded barracks before leaving spread through the Ming prisoners of war.

After Dafa sighed, Xu Ping returned to his camp to pack his things, and he was about to take the lead of the light cavalry guards to return to Henan first, and thousands of troops then left. The important items that needed to be taken away had been sorted out, and a guard held the qin left by Yang Wenyue and asked Xu Ping, "General, do you want to take this qin away?" ”

Xu Ping shook his head: "The plaything is demoralized." ”

After the army left, Yang Wenyue immediately recovered the lost territory of Zhili and reported the victory to the imperial court, and the first and second on the list of meritorious service were Xiahou Kuanfu and Qi Tu. Yang Wenyue said that even Xu Thief had to sigh that Xiahou Kuanfu was a good general, and he couldn't use it for himself. The Son of Heaven Chongzhen restored Yang Wenyue's original position, and rewarded Xiahou Kuanfu, Qi Tu and other meritorious generals.

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