Hong Chengchou frowned suddenly, leaving only one battalion of soldiers and horses, and he was only responsible for guarding the back road, which was obviously not enough to satisfy Hong Chengchou.

"The rear of the army is indeed important, and only when the soldiers of the new army are stationed can the Governor meet the enemy with peace of mind. It's just that after General Liu's troops are divided into the south, the strength of the army will definitely be insufficient, isn't it ......?"

Liu Yan didn't wait for Hong Chengchou to finish speaking, so he grabbed it directly and said: "Governor, now the entire Central Plains is only supported by thousands of soldiers and horses of Governor Lu, and the troops of the last general are few, how can they compete with Li Zicheng's hundreds of thousands of troops?" Once the Central Plains is lost, Li Zicheng can either wave his division south to erode the south of the Yangtze River, or he can wave his division to the north to smash the Beijing division, in that case, it will really be a shocking change in the world! ”

Hong Chengchou frowned and was silent, what Liu Yan said was very reasonable, but it was not in the interests of his side, whether it was Liaodong or Henan, it was related to the lifeline of the country, and Hong Chengchou didn't know what to say at this time, just kept silent.

Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu glanced at each other, although the two of them were supervising the army, but for such a military matter, the two of them still kept silent in their hearts, so as not to say the wrong thing.

Yang Guozhu and Cao Bianjiao and others also looked worried, and the atmosphere in the big tent was very depressing at this time, and the previous joy was swept away.

Seeing this, Liu Yan said: "Governor, at present, the army of slaves and thieves is at a disadvantage, as long as our army guards the back road, and the soldiers of the towns do not rush forward, they will rely on the Loess Ridge and Jinzhou City to fight with the army of slaves and thieves, and the army of slaves and thieves will definitely be able to retreat." ”

"The slave population is small, the army is small, it seems that there are more than 200,000 troops, but these more than 200,000 horses are the soldiers of the slave thief, Huang Taiji can't afford to lose, once the damage is serious, for the slave thief, it is a disaster to destroy the country, even if he wins this battle, he is especially defeated!"

Therefore, the last general suggested that the governor should only take a defensive position, ignore the urging of the court, and use the army of each town to defend Loess Ridge, Jinzhou City, Songshan Fort and other places, fight with the slaves and thieves, and consume the living forces of the slaves and thieves as much as possible. As for Hongluo Mountain on the back road, it is garrisoned by the front battalion of our new army. ”

Wu Sangui looked at Liu Yan, who was talking, and admired it very much, Liu Yan directly explained the weakness of the slave thief and hit the nail on the head. Indeed, as long as Liu Yan's suggestion is followed, the soldiers and horses in each town will not make mistakes, and if they want to win this battle and force back the army of slaves and thieves, the victory is still very large.

Yang Guozhu, Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen and others also nodded in agreement, Liu Yan's method is both stable and practical, although the soldiers and horses in each town are insufficient, but relying on the ready-made defense line of Loess Ridge, as well as the city defense of Jinzhou City, Songshan Fort and other places, it is still possible to fight with the army of slaves and thieves.

Ma Ke and Tang Tong were also a little relieved, at this time the two of them had been frightened by the firearms of the Han Army Banner, and they didn't dare to fight with the Qing army anymore.

Hong Chengchou pondered for a while, and then said, "Well, Mr. Liu is right, so let's do it." Rong Bendu thought about it for a while, and tomorrow he will adjust the soldiers and horses in each town, and the whole army will be on the defensive. ”

Liu Yan clenched his fists and said, "The governor is wise!" It's just that on the side of the court, the governor also has to play another letter, so as not to urge the soldiers. ”

"Well, it's nature."

On the same day, Zhao Guangluan left the barracks and returned to Beijing, before leaving, Liu Yan gave a gift of one hundred taels of silver, and after some kind words, he entrusted Zhao Guangluan to Chen Xinjia to make a statement, we must supply the money and food of the Liaodong army on time and in quantity, and not rush to the battle.

Zhao Guangpan looked at the heavy bag of silver, and he was already smiling. Although Zhao Guangluan is very upright about the affairs of the court, it does not mean that he does not like silver, it is one thing to be honest in doing things, and it is another thing to like silver, which is the characteristic of many officials in the late Ming Dynasty.

"Hehe, General Liu really cares about the world, he is going south, and he is still worried about the war in Liaodong. Liu Zongbing is so dedicated to the country, how can I stand idly by? Liu Zongbing can rest assured, when I return to Beijing, I will definitely make a statement to this soldier, and I will never disappoint Liu Zongbing's intentions! ”

After sending Zhao Guangluan away, Liu Yan hurriedly returned to the New Army camp and summoned all battalions to command the envoys.

When everyone heard that the army was going south to aid Lu Xiangsheng and left the soldiers of the former battalion in Hongluo Mountain, they immediately blew up the nest.

Wang Bo and Zhang Yi were the first to stand up, and both of them and Chen Xun were old brothers who came out of Dapanbao, and they were excited at this time.

"My lord, you can't leave Chen Guerrilla by yourself, there is no us in the Liaodong battlefield, most of them will be defeated, and when the time comes, how will Chen Guerrilla and the soldiers of the former battalion deal with themselves!"

After Zhang Yi finished speaking loudly, Wang Bo also said excitedly: "Let's go south with the whole army and see who dares to say anything!" ”

Shen Tuo pulled Wang Bo on the side: "Be careful!" The court ordered it, and the adults couldn't do it. ”

Miao Shao and Xu Ming glanced at each other, and the two wanted to say something, but they just sighed, and they both understood that there was no room for maneuver in this matter.

Wang Yue looked at everyone, and then said to Liu Yan with a smile: "My lord, do you want to leave some more troops for the brothers in the front camp......

Wang Bo suddenly glared at Wang Yue, and said loudly: "I think it's better to leave you behind, this is the best!" ”

Liu Yan sighed when he looked at everyone, and said, "Okay, don't make any noise." ”

The crowd fell silent.

"This division of troops is an order from the Ministry of War, and His Majesty allows it, and no one can do anything about it. If this battle fails and the situation in eastern Liaodong collapses, the soldiers of the front battalion must have room for maneuver and the ability to protect themselves. ”

Liu Yan immediately said to Xun Jingyun: "How much food and equipment are there in the army now?" ”

Xun Jingyun was in charge of the baggage in the army, and he already had a number in his heart, and said: "Now the money and food in the army are enough for the army to use for about three months, and there are a lot of troops, at least one battalion can be equipped." ”

Liu Yan thought for a moment and said: "The army will go south tomorrow, and it will pass through Hongluo Mountain, and when the time comes, all the military reserves and half of the money and food will be left for Chen Xun." ”

"Yes!"

After speaking, Liu Yan looked at everyone and said, "You are all soldiers, and you must take obedience to orders as your duty!" As the so-called military order is like a mountain, tomorrow the whole army will immediately go south, and when we go back today, we will reorganize the battalions and make preparations. ”

"This town knows that you have grievances and grievances in your hearts, and you can't figure it out. To be honest, the town is also very dissatisfied and angry! But even if you don't understand it, you have to carry out the military order, understand! ”

Everyone got up and said loudly: "Order! ”

Early the next morning, the battalions of the new army were pulled out one after another for rectification, and Hong Chengchou led the chief military officers of each town to see them off, and Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu also rushed over.

After Liu Yan greeted everyone for a while, Hong Chengchou said: "This governor has drawn up a new strategy, and after seeing off General Liu's troops today, a military meeting will be held to deploy. After Liu Zongbing went south, he had to fight a bloody battle with hundreds of thousands of thieves. ”

Liu Yan clenched his fists and said: "The last general also congratulates the governor on the victory of Liaodong!" ”

Later, Wu Sangui, Liu Zhaoji, Wang Tingchen, Zuo Guangxian, Wang Pu, Li Fuming and others came over to say goodbye to Liu Yan, and Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu also came over. Liu Yan saluted everyone one by one. Even Ma Ke and Tang Tong hugged their fists with a smile, and Liu Yan also smiled in return, they were going to leave anyway, since these two pieces of material took the initiative to come, then give them a face.

Then Liu Yan confessed to everyone, and walked aside with Yang Guozhu and Cao Bianjiao, everyone thought that Liu Yan was friendly with the two, and they didn't care, only Wang Pu hesitated for a moment, and also came over cheekily.

Liu Yan didn't care, and whispered to the three of them: "After I lead the army south, most of the imperial court will continue to urge Hong Duchen to send troops to fight a decisive battle with the slaves and thieves. ”

"The battle situation in Liaodong must be stable, as long as it is undefeated, it is victory. Once the army rushes out to fight, there is a chance that this battle will be lost, and the three of them must be remembered, remember! ”

Yang Guozhu and Cao Bianjiao both nodded solemnly in agreement, while Wang Pu's eyes rolled slightly, and although he also agreed, he didn't know what he was thinking.

Liu Yan saw it in his eyes, and the smile on his face was even worse, but there was a coldness: "General Wang must remember that this battle is a national war, and if you win it, it will be an immortal achievement, and if you lose it, you will never recover." Along the way, I got along very well with Mr. Wang, and I hope that we will get better and better in the future. It's just that in this battle, General Soldier Wang must not act arbitrarily, and must advance and retreat with General Yang and General Cao, otherwise we will meet again in the future, and it will be difficult to talk! ”

Wang Pu was stunned when he heard this, looked at Liu Yan's gaze, only felt a chill in his heart, hurriedly smiled and agreed, and even made a few poisonous oaths as a guarantee.

Yang Guozhu and Cao Bianjiao looked at the two, and saw Liu Yanruo looking at them meaningfully, and they all had a plan in their hearts.

Then Liu Yan bid farewell to Hong Chengchou and others, and led the battalions of the New Army to the south.

When passing through the large camps of the Ming army along the way, the officers and men of the Ming army of all departments flocked to the edge of the camp to watch, only to see that tens of thousands of new troops in Qinglai Town had divided their troops and left, and the soldiers of each battalion talked about it one after another, and the morale of the army was suddenly released a lot.

In the afternoon of the next day, Liu Yan led his troops to Hongluo Mountain, and Chen Xun received the news that he would not receive it at night, and hurriedly took his commanders Wei Han, Guo Mingxu, Shen Donglai and other subordinates down the mountain to greet him.

The soldiers of each battalion rested temporarily at the foot of Hongluo Mountain, while Xun Jingyun was busy directing the heavy troops of each battalion to transport a large amount of grain, grass and military equipment to Hongluo Mountain. At the same time, Liu Yan led the commanders and envoys of each battalion to meet with Chen Xun and others, and everyone sat on the ground at the foot of the mountain.

Liu Yan immediately explained the order of the military department and the situation in Henan.

"After the division of troops, only the soldiers of the front battalion will be supported independently, the burden on your body is very heavy, do you have confidence?"

Chen Xun said with a smile: "Don't worry, my lord, this is a great opportunity for my former battalion soldiers to make meritorious contributions, no matter how heavy the burden is, the last general will also complete the task!" ”

Liu Yan patted the old fellow on the shoulder and instructed: "You have to remember that the reason why I fought for you to lead your troops to garrison Hongluo Mountain was to let the soldiers of the front battalion have a situation where they can advance and retreat. ”

"In this battle, no matter what order Hong Chengchou gives you, even if he himself stands in front of you and forces you to lead your troops to the front to participate in the battle with a knife, you have to give him a slap in the face, and you must not listen to the order! I, the soldiers of the new army in Qinglai Town, can fight for the country, but they can't be used as cannon fodder by others! ”

Chen Xun clenched his fists and said: "Don't worry, my lord, the last general will definitely withstand the pressure, so he will lead his troops to garrison here and not leave a step!" ”

"In addition, if this battle is defeated, you must also be in danger and not panic, then depending on the situation, you will either rely on the defense line and tun grain to stick to the Hongluo Mountain defense line, wait for reinforcements, or break through the siege and go south, and lead your troops back to Shanhaiguan." 33

Chen Xun said: "Don't worry, my lord, there are more than 12,000 soldiers in my front battalion, there is a strong defense line here, there are mountains of money, food and military equipment, even if all the 200,000 slaves and thieves are killed, my subordinates have the confidence to defend here!" ”

Liu Yan looked at Chen Xun, who was full of confidence, and wanted to say something, but after a pause, he said: "The slave is treacherous, be careful in everything, and put the whole army first!" ”

"Order!"

An hour later, Xun Jingyun led people to carry the grain, grass and military equipment, Liu Yan led the battalions of the new army to continue south, Chen Xun and others stood on the halfway of Hongluo Mountain, looking at the mighty army going south, everyone had mixed feelings in their hearts.

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