Liu Yan looked at Zhang Ruoqi's gaze and said with a smile: "Just now Zhang Jianjun also mentioned the problem of the back road, and the last general thinks that the deployment of the governors in Xingshan and other places is indeed weak. ”

Hong Chengchou frowned slightly, he couldn't figure out why he attached so much importance to Liu Yan, why did he still contradict himself, Xingshan and other places had enough troops, and they were still thin?

Hong Chengchou was silent on the surface, and said with a smile: "Then in General Liu's opinion, how should the back road be deployed?" ”

Liu Yan said: "The last general just has some ideas, and I ask Governor Hong to correct you." ”

"There is only information that the slaves and thieves have increased their troops, and now we don't know how many slaves and thieves there are. I don't know if they are adding 50,000 or 100,000 troops? Or is it that the country has come and the strength is equal to that of our army? ”

"Plan for the worst-case scenario, if the slaves and thieves come from all over the country, and our army gathers in Songshan, with the treacherous nature of the slaves, we will definitely make a big fuss in Xingshan. If the slaves and thieves fight with our army with their main force, and then divide tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to storm Xingshan and other places, or dig long trenches in Xingshan and other places like besieging Jinzhou, so as to block the retreat of our army, what can we do? ”

After Liu Yan finished speaking, everyone's hearts tightened. If this is the case with the army of slaves, then the battle will be dangerous, and the slightest mistake will be another great rout.

At this time, Hong Chengchou also fell into deep thought, his brows were tightly locked, obviously weighing the pros and cons.

At this time, Ma Ke, the chief soldier of Shanhaiguan, said in a strange manner: "Is General Bing Liu sensational, will the slaves and thieves come to the country?" You must know that there are few slaves and thieves, and the slave chiefs are willing to fight with our army? ”

Liu Yan glanced at Ma Ke and said: "This battle is a national war, and it is related to the national fortune of the Ming Dynasty, so any possibility must be taken into account, and there is no room for luck!" ”

Ma Ke said: "In this case, does General Liu still have to suggest the division of troops?" Has Liu Zongbing forgotten the lesson of the defeat of Salhu? ”

"If the grain road is intercepted, it will also be defeated."

Ma Ke said: "I thought that the strength of the slaves and thieves could not be equal to our army, and the rear road was deployed like a governor, and it was foolproof, and the troops must not be divided in this battle!" ”

After Ma Ke finished speaking, Bai Guangen, Tang Tong, Wang Tingchen, Zuo Guangxian and others also expressed their support, and everyone was unwilling to divide the troops.

Once the troops are divided, who will stay behind to guard the back road? No one wants to, everyone wants to hug each other, at least with Liu Yan's strong army.

Wu Sangui also said that he could not divide the troops, at this time Wu Sangui only hoped that the army of more than 250,000 troops would rush to Jinzhou City as soon as possible and rescue his uncle.

Yang Guozhu, Cao Bianjiao, and Wang Pu supported Liu Yan, saying that the rear road of the army was very important, and it must not be taken lightly, and it must be heavily protected.

Liu Zhaoji, the general soldier of Liaodong, and Li Fuming, the general soldier of Shanxi, were also weighing, and there was no conclusion for a while, and the two did not make a statement for the time being.

Hong Chengchou secretly screamed in his heart, but he didn't expect that Liu Yan would pull away a large number of generals in just a few words, and the reinforcements would be divided into two factions in an instant.

Seeing this, Hong Chengchou also remembered the scene when he was facing the saint at the beginning, so he carefully calculated and calculated, now there are more and more Qing troops in the Songjin area, they are indeed increasing their troops, Liu Yan said that it is very likely, and it must be guarded against.

Wu Sangui saw that Hong Chengchou also seemed to be a little shaken, so he said: "If you divide the troops, there will be too many places to defend, such as Xingshan, Tashan, Gaoqiao, etc., which are all places where thieves and slaves may attack. In this way, although our army has 250,000 people, after a single division, there are not many troops left in Jinzhou. Besides, who wants to stay and guard the back road? ”

Hong Chengchou also looked at everyone, but saw that everyone didn't say a word.

How safe it is for the 250,000 army to gather together, and it is much more convenient to win battle exploits when they arrive at the city of Jinzhou. And staying on the back road, not only face the surprise attack of the Qing army at all times, but also can't get any military achievements, one will be eaten by the Qing army if he is not careful, and a fool is willing to stay.

Seeing this, Liu Yan said: "It's better to do this, I will send a battalion of men and horses to stay in the rear." ”

As soon as Liu Yan finished speaking, everyone objected, especially Wang Pu and Yang Guozhu, the voices of opposition were even louder, both of them had seen the combat strength of the new army under Liu Yan, how could Liu Yan's new army be divided and stay?

On the side, Hong Chengchou was also unwilling to let Liu Yan divide his troops, and he still pointed to Liu Yan to lead the new army to fight the main force in this battle, and he divided a battalion of the new army to put it in the rear before the start of the battle, which is not appropriate to look at.

Liu Yan saw that everyone was against it, but he still insisted on his own opinion, and the safety of the back road was related to victory or defeat, and he couldn't pay too much attention to it. So Liu Yan said that the establishment of the new army under his command is relatively large, and there are more than 10,000 people in the first battalion of the new army, and leaving a battalion of the new army can completely protect the future.

Moreover, he has six battalions of infantry under his command, and the strength of one battalion will not hurt the overall situation.

Seeing Liu Yan's insistence, everyone was silent, and Hong Chengchou said: "There are more than 10,000 people in a battalion of the new army, and it is not enough to put it in the back road?" ”

Liu Yan said: "General Wu mentioned that the army needs to defend many places, in fact, this town feels that only need to hold a few key points with elite soldiers to ensure that our army has an endless rear road, and it does not need many troops. ”

Wu Sangui's eyes flashed, he didn't expect Liu Yan to have such knowledge, and he didn't see it in a hurry, so he arched his hand and said: "Please Liu Zongbing tell me in detail, Sangui listens to me." ”

Liu Yan said: "The terrain of the area around Xingshan in this town, the terrain of Hongluo Mountain a few miles north of Xingshan Fort is dangerous, and a battalion of men and horses can be stationed. Our new army was stationed here to dig trenches and set up a village, echoing the defenders of Xingshan Fort in the south. In this way, the main road of Songxing can be controlled, and the slaves and thieves will not be cut off from digging trenches. ”

In addition, about ten miles southwest of Xingshan, there are mountains and hills of Wudaoling, at the northeast foot of the mountain, at the northwest foot of the mountain, there are Daxingbao and Dongqingbao, and there are rivers before the two forts. You can choose one or two reinforcement generals' subordinates, garrison heavy troops on Wudaoling, and deploy deep trench artillery to echo the defenders of Erbao. ”

At this time, Liu Yan glanced at Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen, the soldiers and horses of these two people were quite capable of fighting in various towns, and they were suitable candidates to garrison the back road together.

Liu Yan continued: "If the slaves attack Xingshan, they must come from the Daughter River, and the Daughter River will come more than ten miles, which is Wudaoling, as long as the slaves and thieves attack Xingshan Fort, they will be attacked by our army left and right. Besides, if they don't pull out Daxing Fort and Dongqing Fort, as well as the garrison of Hongluo Mountain, how can they attack Xingshan Fort with peace of mind and not be afraid of being cut off? ”

After hearing this, everyone applauded, and Yang Guozhu also suggested that a cavalry be mobilized to patrol the surroundings as a mobile force to support various places, and it can also be used as a surprise army. Everyone also agreed, and discussed it in detail on the map.

Wu Sangui looked at Liu Yan who was talking with everyone, and a trace of jealousy flashed in his eyes, Liu Yan was not only stronger than himself in governing the army, and his combat record was stronger than himself, but also his strategic vision for arranging troops was stronger than himself, when did such a strong man appear in Daming?

At this time, Hong Chengchou was silent, according to Liu Yan's plan, it was best to arrange the back road in this way. Although Hong Chengchou was not happy that his strategy had been changed, he also knew that if he persisted, the army would be in danger of splitting.

Hong Chengchou's gaze swept over everyone, at this time Liu Yan, Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, Cao Bianjiao and others gathered together to improve the deployment strategy of the back road, the soldiers and horses under the command of these people can be said to be the strongest part of the reinforcements, Hong Chengchou also has to rely on them to defeat the Qing army.

Moreover, the prison guards Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu also stood on Liu Yan's side, advocating heavy troops to protect the back road, which made Hong Chengchou not insist too much.

Thinking about it again, even Chen Xinjia, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and even the saint also thought so, it seems that he has only compromised, and it is better to take a step back than to fight for it. Fortunately, Liu Yan still respects himself and obeys his authority, which makes Hong Chengchou feel a lot more at ease.

So Hong Chengchou said with a smile: "With General Liu and the generals picking up the gaps together, the governor is a lot more at ease, so let's do it." ”

However, then Hong Chengchou asked who was willing to lead the army to garrison Wudaoling, Wu Sangui, Bai Guangen, Tang Tong, Ma Ke and others were all nose-to-nose and mouth-to-mouth, obviously unwilling to divide the troops to stay.

Just now, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen were keenly aware that Liu Yan glanced at him, and understood Liu Yan's meaning in his heart, thinking that Liu Yan himself had left a battalion of soldiers in Hongluo Mountain, looking at the future form, there were battles in Xingshan and other places, and there were a lot of military achievements.

So the two glanced at each other, and they both made up their minds, and they volunteered to stay in Wudaoling.

Hong Chengchou was overjoyed, Cao Bianjiao led 15,000 troops, Wang Tingchen led 6,000 troops, and the strength of the two had 21,000 people, and their combat power was also outstanding in the towns, most of which were cavalry, so that the 10,000 cavalry of the strategy also existed.

On the same day, the military affairs were agreed, and the officials of the Ming Dynasty carefully discussed and deliberated on all matters, and discussed the affairs for a day before they dispersed.

There was another incident at the military meeting, that is, Liu Zhaoji, the chief military officer of Liaodong Town, volunteered to serve as the vanguard of the army and open the way for more than 200,000 troops.

Liu Zhaoji also knew that Hong Chengchou wanted to support Wu Sangui's idea, and at this moment he was eager to show himself in order to save his position as the general soldier in danger.

However, Hong Chengchou knew what the combat strength of the soldiers and horses under Liu Zhaoji's command was, and he was worried that he would suffer a loss when he encountered the main force of the Qing army, so Hong Chengchou ordered Yang Guozhu, the chief officer of Xuanfu Town, to lead the army to respond, and the two armies were dozens of miles apart.

After the deployment of the army, Hong Chengchou ordered Qiu Minyang, the governor of Liaodong, to transfer the grain, and the supervisors Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu supervised together.

On the second day after the military meeting, Hong Chengchou gathered a large army outside Ningyuan City, killed three animals and swore to go on the expedition, and more than 250,000 Ming soldiers marched north.

On the wilderness, the soldiers of the Ming army marched in the wilderness outside the pass, the Ming army was still red, and the bright red military uniforms and battle flags converged into an endless ocean, vast and turbulent, as if containing endless power.

Liu Yan marched in the army, looking at the elite soldiers, and he couldn't help but feel a lot of pride in his heart: "This battle will be won, and the Manchu Qing will pay the due price!" ”

Some people died, but not completely......