"In addition to the firefighting battalion, three or four more battalions will be transferred back," at present, the battalions of the new army have not yet reached the state of full strength, and this estimate will not be very clear: "The first battle in Shandong gave our officers a good training, but the soldiers of the teaching team cannot keep up for the time being, and it is impossible to replenish the battalions within a few months, so there is no need for us to send all the battalions that are short to fight." The Marquis of Zhendong asked Jin Qiude to calculate, and let a few battalions leave most of the personnel and equipment behind to use the other battalions to get close to full strength, while the rest of the people returned to the Beijing Division as the backbone to receive recruits from the training team: "Aren't the cannons of each battalion also not being formed?" How many are there now? ”

"Now the twelve battalions have a total of one hundred field guns," Jin Qiude was familiar with these figures, and he quickly reported: "In addition to the twelve guns needed by the fire fighting battalion, there are eighty-eight available." ”

"Leave seven battalions, the equipment of the seven battalions left behind by the order must be replenished first, and the equipment in the stock of the Beijing division will be used by the firefighting battalion first, and then replenish the other battalions that have been transferred back." The Marquis of Zhendong also needs to prepare some reserves in the Beijing Division, and if the Beiyu side also needs some troops that can be put into operation at any time. Although Zhendonghou has a very loud tone, he still has to be prepared for what happens, and the firefighting battalion will also need some troops to cover the flanks and grain routes when fighting, and these combat opportunities Zhendonghou intends to use to train a new batch of new officers and soldiers: "In the future, before the soldiers go to the battlefield again, they must exercise as much as possible." ”

Jin Qiude had a look of hesitation on his face, even if all seven battalions were replenished, the new army's strength advantage over Xu Ping's department was very limited, and the other party still had the advantage of the home field: "In terms of combat experience, our army dare not say that it has the upper hand. ”

"It's right to be at a disadvantage," Zhendonghou smiled and corrected Jin Qiude's words: "But we have an advantage in equipment, if we fight in the field, it will be a fair duel." ”

"A fair duel, why fight a fair duel?" Jin Qiude hurriedly said: "Master Hou, being fair on Xu Ping's territory means being unfair to us." ”

"Because he is unfair to Xu Ping, he will not fight," Zhendonghou's tone was very calm, there was no Jin Qiude's anxious voice at all, facing the confusion and confusion of the surrounding staff officers, Zhendonghou said: "Xu Ping must be very contradictory now, he is eager to fight with us, I dare to say that he wants to go crazy if he wants to fight with our army, but on the other hand, he can't afford to lose, so he will be very contradictory." For Zhendonghou, he is also eager to fight this battle to solve the problem of the Central Plains, and Zhendonghou thinks that he can afford to lose, as long as he asks his subordinates to be careful and vigilant, and not to fight uncertain battles to avoid fiasco: "Although the twelve battalions are not formed, there are more than 40,000 new troops anywhere, Xu Ping does not dare to fight with us, and such a large army is difficult to master, we are more prone to mistakes than Xu Ping, look at our friendly troops, what kind of goods are they...... In fact, Xu Ping is already invincible. ”

Jin Qiude pondered the meaning of Zhendonghou's words, and felt that he had understood the meaning of Zhendonghou: "So when we reduce our strength to seven battalions of 30,000 people, Xu Ping will come out of his nest and fight us." ”

"Yes, I often think about how I would deal with it if I were Xu Ping, the troops in his hands now plus Li Guo, Sun Kewang, and Li Dingguo are about 25,000 people, Xu Ping will think that if he can't fight us, then the strength of the new army will grow much faster than his, so he must seize every opportunity to fight with us." The Marquis of Zhendong felt that it was a good excuse for the northern captives to join the Kou, and if only seven battalions had been sent before, Xu Ping might have felt that the new army was still strong and still adopted the strategy of retreating in winter: "Now Xu Ping will feel that we are reluctant, and he may feel that there is no such a good opportunity again, so he will come out to fight us." ”

"Perhaps," Jin Qiude felt that Zhendonghou's statement made sense, but there was one point he disagreed: "Even the strength of our new army may not grow faster than him, but we have a court at our head." ”

"If you are Xu Ping, can you completely pin your hopes on Ming Ting's head? No, Xu Ping is not this kind of person, if he has the opportunity to control his own destiny, he will come out to give it a try even if it is dangerous. Zhendonghou knew that Xu Ping's troops also had a lot of recruits, and Xu Ping had other disadvantages: "Xu Ping, like Li Chuang, is more like the leader of a coalition army, but the scale is a little smaller, and he has no absolute control over his allies." If it was on Xu Ping's own territory, then he would easily make up for these problems, but he planned more in advance and simplified the order. But if he moves to fight us, then his weaknesses will be exposed, the battlefield will change rapidly, and the breaking army, as a coalition army, will be easier to do on its own than our new army. "The Marquis of Zhendong admits that Xu Ping is very talented in military affairs, but there are no radios or other communication equipment now, and Xu Ping has never led so many troops before.

"The last general understands," Zhendong Hou himself immediately met with Chongzhen to make a military proposal, and Jin Shentong immediately asked the other staff officers to prepare to draft an order: "Let Lord He come back immediately with the fire battalion and the direct guard, allocate the Panshi Battalion to Lord Yang's commander, and transfer men and horses from the other four battalions under Lord He, and fill up the battalions brought by Lord Yang." ”

"Wait a minute, Lord Jin said the opposite," Zhendong Hou stopped the staff officers who were going to draft the order, and personally explained to them: "Let Lord Yang come back with the fire battalion and the direct guard, and let him hand over the Xuanfeng Battalion and the Chizhuo Battalion to Lord He, and the remaining four battalions can also come back together after leaving some personnel and equipment." ”

Jin Qiude didn't say anything, and only after the staff officers hurriedly left the camp to draft the order did he ask, "My lord, why did you let Brother Yang come back?" It should be to let Brother He come back, right? ”

From the beginning to the end, He Baodao did not participate in the conspiracy, and it was the consensus of Zhendonghou and his henchmen to exclude him from the coup group, and after hearing Jin Qiude's question, Zhendonghou's face was a little gloomy: "Brother Yang's illness must be well recuperated, and if I let him lead the troops, it will kill him." ”

Soon after Zhendonghou left the wolf's den, the staff officers sent the prepared urgent order to Jin Qiude for a look.

"Go down first." Jin Qiude carefully read the order, thought for a long time and stuffed it into the official letter, his fingers rubbed on the seal letter for a moment, and then took out the official letter and looked at it......

After receiving the urgent official letter from Jingshi, Yang Zhiyuan called Huang Xiwen to his camp tent and handed the official letter to him privately: "Virtuous nephew, I want you to do me a favor." ”

After reading the official letter, Huang Xiwen's face was a little confused, and after hearing Yang Zhiyuan's words, he hurriedly bowed: "Uncle Yang, the little nephew doesn't dare to say this to you." In his secret letter to Yang Zhiyuan, Jin Qiude told him that Zhendonghou had also given Huang Xiwen a handwritten letter, and Huang Xiwen was confused because the order in Jin Qiude's official letter conflicted with the letter he received from his father.

"I want you to go and tell Lord He that your father meant to let him bring the troops back."

After hearing Yang Zhiyuan's words, Huang Xiwen's face changed several times.

"Yes, your father meant to let me go back, but he was too worried, my health is very good, and it is getting better and better," Yang Zhiyuan said with a smile: "I thought your father didn't care about the military affairs of the new army, but I didn't expect to ask in person this time." ”

"Is this Jiayan's plan?" Huang Xiwen asked in some surprise, this plan did not mention the name of Zhendonghou from beginning to end, and the signature on the back of the plan was also Jin Qiude, and Huang Xiwen almost jumped up after seeing the order to leave only seven battalions, if it wasn't for his respect for Jin Qiude, he would almost scold.

"Yes, this will never be an order made by Lord Jin, it must be your father's," Yang Zhiyuan laughed: "If someone asks the virtuous nephew about your father's favorite strategy, then the virtuous nephew can answer him and say that it is 'anti-guest-oriented', there is one thing Xu Ping learned from Hou Ye very much, that is, he tried every possible way to force the other party to go to his territory to fight him, and then he won with a powerful counterattack, and expanded the results with a brave pursuit." I have been with your father for so many years, and I dare to say that Xu Ping definitely learned this set from your father, but your father is better than him, that is, when the other party has the advantage of the home field, your father will use all kinds of unexpected methods such as surprise attacks and division of troops to oppose the guest. Lord Kim doesn't have this habit, he's too decent, and always wants to win with overwhelming force - your father likes this kind of righteousness too, but when the righteous path can't win, Lord Jin won't be surprised and helpless. ”

Yang Zhiyuan was not very optimistic about the plan to use the 12th battalion to attack Xu Ping before, because once he entered Xu Ping's home field to fight, it meant that he was exposed to the surveillance of Xu Ping's intelligence network, the new army was in the open, Xu Ping was in the dark, Xu Ping's mistakes would not necessarily be discovered by the new army, and the new army's mistakes were likely to be counterattacked by Xu Ping: "Your father's least favorite thing is this kind of battle, and I don't like it either, tens of thousands of troops, marching hundreds of miles, dozens of days, how can there be no mistakes." And this plan must have come from your father, who wanted Xu Pinglai to take the initiative to attack, let him enter our intelligence network, and show our army his loopholes. ”

"Really?" Huang Xiwen hurriedly took the order up and looked at it carefully, this time he was convinced, and nodded again and again: "Thank you uncle for your advice, the little nephew understands this time, Xu thief, he sees that our army's strength is not in an advantage, and he will definitely be eager to get out of his lair to fight us, and we can just wait for work." ”

After finishing speaking, Huang Xiwen once again showed hesitation: "Uncle Yang, Master Jin said that my father wants you to go back." ”

"I'll say a few bad things about your Uncle He behind my back, don't say it," Yang Zhiyuan pointed to the military plan and stretched out a finger: "First, your Uncle He is a little reckless and can't hold his breath, he is not suitable for carrying out your father's plan that requires patience; Then Yang Zhiyuan stretched out the second one: "Your Uncle He is much more famous than me, and the world knows that he is the first brave general under your father, but I am different, I have never been known for my bravery, and Xu Ping will despise me a lot." ”

In Yang Zhiyuan's impression, as early as when Sun Degong was under Guangning, Zhendonghou sent himself to deal with all kinds of chores, bargaining with other officers, training soldiers, and even spying on the family affairs of Zhendonghou's fiancée; After arriving on Changsheng Island, when Zhendonghou had no money and no food, he was sent to take charge of logistics baggage; When the morale of the army was rectified, he was assigned to be in charge of military law matters; Except for Zhendonghou and Yang Zhiyuan himself, others didn't even remember that Yang Zhiyuan was the only general who led the army alone during the Changsheng Island period, and the destination of that expedition was even thousands of miles away from overseas foreign lands, and Zhendonghou and Yang Zhiyuan tacitly never mentioned this matter again. Twenty years ago, from a brothel proprietress haggling to an expedition to a foreign country where he knew nothing, Zhendonghou threw all the things he found intractable to Yang Zhiyuan; And in the past 20 years, Zhendonghou has handed over the matter related to his success or failure to Yang Zhiyuan.

"All people, even your father's old cronies, think that I am a dispensable mediocre person beside your father, Uncle Jin has been in charge of military affairs for your father for 20 years, and Uncle He has a reputation for being a wise man, and only I am the most inconspicuous, so your father's plan to lure the snake out of the hole is the most suitable for me to complete."

"Uncle Yang, you're too humble." Huang Xiwen said with some embarrassment, and he also vaguely thought that He Baodao was a better opponent than Xu Ping.

"Third," Yang Zhiyuan stretched out another finger: "Your father's plan still needs to be made up, and your Uncle He is a quick-tempered and straight-hearted person, I am worried that he will call the door to find Xu Ping, instead of following your father's line of thought." ”

"What needs to be made up?" Huang Xiwen immediately asked.

"Your father's idea is to let Xu Ping come out to fight us, and we stay in the dark and wait for Xu Ping to make mistakes, so how can we make it easier for Xu Ping to make mistakes?"

Huang Xiwen frowned and thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "Uncle Yang has failed me." ”

"There is a saying that mistakes are made in a hurry, we have to let Xu Ping march as quickly as possible, and let him hurry to attack us, so that he will be much more likely to make mistakes." Yang Zhiyuan smiled slightly: "How to achieve this purpose?" ”

Huang Xiwen thought carefully for a long time, but still shook his head: "Uncle Yang is leaning on me again." ”

Yang Zhiyuan sighed softly in his heart, he remembered that Zhendong Hou was already scheming and resourceful when Huang Xiwen was his age, and he said with a smile on his face: "Your father's plan is to sell a flaw to Xu Ping, we can sell another flaw to him, if you are Xu Ping, under what circumstances do you think the enemy army is the easiest to defeat?" ”

Huang Xiwen thought hard again, and Yang Zhiyuan reminded: "What did I say just now? ”

"Uncle Yang just said that he made a mistake in his busyness, well, march in a hurry," Huang Xiwen thought for a moment and added: "We are doing something in a hurry, the enemy army is not good at reconnaissance, is not familiar with the surrounding situation, or the troops are scattered, this is a good time to attack the enemy army." ”

"Yes, even if we want to fight a decisive battle with Xu Ping, even if we are waiting for him to fight us, we must concentrate the whole army to fight him when he has unfavorable reconnaissance and scattered troops, otherwise we will fight fairly and fairly, which is better than the ability of soldiers, so what do we need to do as commanders?" Yang Zhiyuan was no longer embarrassed by Huang Xiwen, but directly said his thoughts: "If I come to command this battle, I will make a posture of merging with the Chu army, and make a rapid march to try to detour Kaifeng from the south." Your father estimated that Xu Ping would be impatient to engage the new army of the Seventh Battalion, which was no weaker than his troops, and I completely agree with that, and when he saw that we were in a state of rapid march, he would have hurried to seize this rare opportunity, which would be to sell him a flaw, and this would be a good opportunity for us to beat him. ”

"Ah, little nephew understood." Huang Xiwen agreed, but he still had some concerns: "But Uncle Yang, your body is ......."

"I was born to be a military general, and this disease is because I didn't fight and was idle, and as soon as I went to the battlefield, my blood boiled, and I was alive." Yang Zhiyuan smiled: "Your father is too worried. ”

……

After hearing Huang Xiwen's assurance, the order coincided with Zhendonghou's handwritten letter, He Baodao hurriedly led the firefighting battalion to return north, and the Panshi battalion was directly transferred to Yang Zhiyuan's command, while the other four battalions handed over thousands of soldiers and artillery, and the rest would return to Beijing within a few days or stay in Shandong to maintain post-war order.

Now that there was no one else in the tent, Yang Zhiyuan took out a small cloth bag and carefully took out a box of rouge from it, and now every morning when he got up, he would apply a little bit of rouge to his sallow cheeks unobtrusively.

"If the adults are mistaken, then of course I have to take a good look at the new army for the adults, the adults have been planning for so many years, and now this army is missing, and I can't delay the affairs of the adults because of me." Recently, Yang Zhiyuan likes to recall the past, and old things always come to me involuntarily. As early as before the closure of the Dadu Governor's Mansion, Zhendonghou and Yang Zhiyuan had been to Henan, and made a special trip to Linfen to see the Cangjie Temple.

But after arriving in Linfen, what made Zhendonghou feel the most was a stone tablet set up by the previous Linfen County Order, which recorded the names of people who donated money to repair the ancestral hall, and there were also such as: "Governor so-and-so, pledge ten taels, actual donation three taels; The prefect pledged five taels and donated one or two ......".

"I have fought in Liaodong for many years and have done a lot of bad things, but look at this monument, because of our bloody battle. The Seven Grades of the Imperial History of the Ming Dynasty can still be like the predecessors of the Tang and Song dynasties, unscrupulously scolding the mistakes of Shoufu; And the Daming County Order can engrave the bad things done by the governor and the prefect on the stele without worrying about retaliation, or someone dares to smash the stele. If it weren't for us, if the northern captives were to enter the customs, then all this would have come to naught. At that time, Zhendong Hou said.

Yang Zhiyuan knew that Zhendonghou was proud that he had defended something, and ashamed that he was defending something else right now. But he still understands and supports Zhendonghou, who has described to Yang Zhiyuan a different China, a world in which beauty can be preserved and ugliness can be eliminated — a world in which Yang hopes his children and grandchildren can live.

"If the adults are not mistaken about my condition, I don't want to go back and die in the hospital bed."

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