stubborn thief

Liu Chengzong felt like a ghost.

What is the teacher of the king?He just led the army northward, and waves of Ming troops came over in an organized manner.

In fact, there were not many troops who defected to him, only two battalions, Ren Quan'er and Yang Yanchang, but because the three battalions in front had just been captured and surrendered, he had this illusion in his mind.

Moreover, there were waves of Pingliang soldiers emerging from the mountains. Officers came to the battle line one by one, shirtless and exposed their wounds from swords and arrows, saying that they were wounded soldiers who had been fostered in Prince Han's Mansion.

This made Liu Shizi feel uneasy.

First of all, he was afraid, but fortunately he had not yet fought against Zhang Yingchang and Cao Bianjiao. Otherwise, in this state, with the intelligence of those two people, they would definitely add sand to the surrendering army.

Secondly, three days ago, he led four battalions of soldiers southward, with less than [-] troops. In just these three days, his own troops swelled to more than [-] infantry and cavalry, and he could hardly keep track of people. .

The organization is too confusing.

There are two small camps, Yan'an Guard, Yan'an Camp and Zhenyu, and three scattered camps of Guanning, Pingliang and Huguang.

Among them, the 800 Liao soldiers and the 4000 Zhenjun soldiers had basically no combat effectiveness. More than half of the Liao soldiers were wounded, and the Zhenyu soldiers were not much better.

Except for the personnel, the vehicles were all fully loaded, and the mules accompanying the army were almost exhausted. They were carrying grain donated by the Xianyang gentry and horse meat donated by Guan Ning's army.

To be honest, Liu Chengzong felt that his combat effectiveness was declining rapidly and his situation was in danger.

Originally, Zhang Zhen and the Gansu Third Small Battalion wanted to chase Zhang Yingchang to Pizhou. Liu Chengzong knew their idea on the way and refused directly.

But pull them down, Zhang Yingchang and He Renlong can fight at any time. The top priority of the Gansu Third Small Battalion is to quickly prepare the tools for smoking meat and tanning leather in Yaozhou City.

Apart from smoking the slaughtered horse meat as quickly as possible and tanning the horse hide, they had nothing else to do.

Of course, craftsmen must be recruited to repair the scrapped armor on the battlefield.

As soon as Liu Shizi entered Yaozhou City, Zhang Zhen, Ding Guodong, and Mi Layin rushed to report the intelligence of the battle in the west.

Liu Chengzong waved his hand and said: "The Ming army did invade Fengxiang Mansion, but the situation is not that critical. Brigadier Wang has already told me the situation."

Fengxiang Mansion lost two strongholds in total. The first one was Dashan Pass guarded by Luo Rucai.

Because there are mountains and canyons near Sanguan and there is only one road, Luo Ru learned the direction of the Sichuan Ming army's attack in advance and thought of taking the initiative to ambush them.

But the Sichuan Ming army came over from Long Zaitian, a guest army.

People are good at traveling through mountains and rivers, and Luo Rucai only sees one road, but for Long Zaitian, who is leading an expedition with four war elephants, those blocking trees do not exist at all, and the short mountains are all covered by elephant roads.

When the elephant steps on it, it becomes a ladder for the infantry to climb; when the elephant leans on it, it can push up the dead wood by scratching it.

Not to mention the dense bushes, driving the war elephants through them can open up an elephant path for the large group to pass.

By the time Luo Ru realized it, Long Zaitian had already bypassed Sanguan and entered Fengxiang Mansion.

After realizing it later, Luo Ru chased him for seventy miles. Counting the twenty miles he had set out earlier to set up an ambush, he ran ninety miles in one day and night.

Then they fought a battle with Long Zaitian who had set up camp outside Baoji City.

They were waiting for work and had a camp. They did not break the camp, but were rushed out of formation by war elephants. The frightened leader retreated back to Baoji City aggrievedly, and Dashan Pass was occupied by Long Zaitian.

However, the main reason for the defeat in the battle was not the soldiers, but Luo Rucai's command.

Wang Wenxiu was merciless in his criticism, but Luo Rucai, who had always been unruly, accepted it all with an open mind... He could not tell others that the reason for the defeat was that he did not put in his best effort.

Just as the soldiers in Zhang Tianlin's camp all hoped that Zhang Tianlin would be promoted to a higher rank in the Guanzhong Campaign, the soldiers under Luo Rucai also thought so.

However, the situation here is different. Long Zaitian has many soldiers, and Luo Rucai has no confidence in annihilating them.

So he came up with a crooked idea and wanted to give the commander an auspicious sign - four war elephants.

This is like fighting cavalry on the battlefield and trying to kill people to protect the horses. It is impossible to win.

Another stronghold was Longzhou defended by Yang Chengzu, which Wang Wenxiu ordered to give up on his own initiative.

Because the Ming army's huge offensive in the direction of Longxi was unable to be resisted by Li Zicheng and others, Liu Chengzong suggested that the [-]th Battalion of the Chuang Army and the [-]th Henan Battalion retreat to Fengxiang.

The small town of Longzhou was too low, and Wang Wenxiu judged that it would be difficult to defend during the official offensive, so he ordered the defender Yang Chengzu to withdraw his defenses and retreat to Mianyang City in the south, which was better defended, and set up defenses along the terrain in Caobili, Anshang Township, in the northwest suburbs. .

Therefore, Fengxiang Mansion has soldiers, cities, and food in a short period of time, and the war situation is not critical.

The marshal's army has never paid much attention to the offense and defense of the city, but focused on visual warfare.

During this period, Wang Wenxiu's main energy, basically the same as Chen Qiyu's, was trying to move grain and grass to a safe place.

Since the Ming army increased its troops in the west, Wang Wenxiu, with the assistance of Li Jiayan, the prefect of Fengxiang, transported the grain reserves in small towns such as Longzhou, Mianyang, and Baoji to Fengxiang Prefecture.

In fact, the problem with Wang Wenxiu now is not that he needs reinforcements, but that he hopes Liu Chengzong will write to Li Zicheng and Zhang Yichuan to transfer their troops to the east, and then transfer them to Fengxiang Mansion if they need to fight.

These two gangs brought greater mental pressure to Wang Wenxiu than the Ming army pressing down on the border.

After all, no matter how many Ming troops came, the worst that Wang Wenxiu could do was to completely shrink into Fengxiang City. There was enough food in the city, and enough soldiers and artillery to rotate. He could defend it until the end of time, and eat it until the emperor died.

Wang Wenxiu detected that the Ming army that was moving towards Fengxiang Mansion numbered more than [-], but he did not panic.

What really made him panic was the reinforcements that Li Zicheng and Zhang Yichuan had withdrawn into Fengxiang Mansion.

There are more than 2 people and more than 1 large animals. They eat horses and chew them all day long. Let’s not talk about the military rations. The key is that the strength of the troops and equipment determine the tactics.

Wang Wenxiu only had 1 troops. Facing more than 2 enemy troops, he could retreat into the city to defend with peace of mind.

But once the more than 2 reinforcements are added, it becomes [-] versus [-]. If he chooses the tactic of shrinking in the city, the morale of the three groups of soldiers will drop rapidly.

Liu Chengzong agreed with Wang Wenxiu's view.

However, his starting point for thinking about this issue was different. It was not based on military rations or morale, but because he found that he had led the peasant army astray tactically.

Zhang Yichuan stopped talking. Li Zicheng began to think about relying on the Marshal's Mansion's logistics base in Guanzhong to fight a positional war with the Ming army.

From Liu Chengzong's point of view, supplying Fengxiang Mansion's limited logistical supplies to Li and Zhang, who had weaker combat capabilities, and fighting a positional battle with the Ming army on the Guanzhong Plain was... senseless.

The heavily-armed Ming army currently appearing in Longxi includes border troops from Yansui in Ningxia and soldiers from Changping. They are strong and powerful.

Even Li Zicheng's army could not benefit on such a battlefield.

It's not that he's uninterested, it's that his army itself was not created for such a battle.

On the first night when Liu Shizi entered Yaozhou, he wrote a long letter to Brother Huang Wa, analyzing the current situation where the counter-rebellion troops were gathering in Shaanxi and leaving Henan and Huguang empty, and asked him to lead the leap into Henan with Zhang Yichuan.

Move to a larger battlefield to contain the Ming court forces in Henan, Huguang, and Shanxi.

In order to achieve a strategic situation that can be attacked when advancing and defended when retreating.

Not long after this letter was sent, Liu Chengzong had just put on his clothes and went to bed when he was awakened by Yu Linqi who was on duty outside the door.

He Yong is here.

Liu Chengzong thought, this He Yong is quite capable of running.

According to the intelligence he had, Ping Liangbing said that Zhang Yingchang and He Renlong should have just entered Pizhou at this time. Why did He Yong come here on his own?
Entering the Yamen lobby of Yaozhou City, He Yong, who was dressed in casual clothes, felt quite embarrassed when he saw Liu Chengzong. He had to salute when he saw him: "It's a sin for a villain to work hard for a commander!"

"Okay, let's not say these polite words between us." Liu Shizi waved his hand and said: "Didn't you follow General He into Pizhou City?"

"Ah? Entering Pizhou City?"

He Yong asked knowingly and shook his head: "General He didn't come in either. He just sent Zhang Shuai to the Jing River, and General He led the troops to Qingyang." "Qingyang?"

Liu Chengzong frowned and thought for a moment, revealing the location of the army. This situation is relatively subtle.

It is very likely that He Renlong deliberately asked He Yong to tell him. He thought for a while and then asked: "If General He doesn't enter Pizhou, what will he do in Qingyang?"

"Why did you enter Pizhou?"

He Yong asked back, then spread his hands and said: "Zhang Yingchang is the commander-in-chief of Governor Biaoying, and he is not our commander. We can't contact Governor Lian and Governor Chen, so why should we listen to him?"

Liu Chengzong suddenly realized that He Renlong was directly leading his troops to withdraw from the battlefield.

He smiled and said: "General He doesn't plan to become my enemy?"

"General He will never be an enemy of the commander-in-chief." He Yong waved his hands quickly and said very sincerely: "General He led the troops to besiege Yaozhou, and he was just following orders."

"Now that we can't contact Xi'an Prefecture, the fifth battalion has fallen apart, and the general has led his troops to retreat to Zhenning County in Qingyang Prefecture. The commander can rest assured that General He will never cause trouble to the commander in charge of Guanzhong."

Liu Shishi laughed dumbly after hearing this explanation.

He shook his head slowly, thinking that the most stubborn person in the world must be his old commander He Renlong.

If it's favorable, he'll fight, if it's unfavorable, he'll leave. He's more like a rogue than Li Zicheng.

Wanting to understand He Renlong's fear of war, Liu Chengzong sat upright in his chair and asked He Yong: "General He asked you to come over. Apart from these things, is there anything else you want to say?"

"General He said that he hoped that the commander-in-chief would remember the past and not attack our unit."

Liu Chengzong is actually a little dissatisfied with He Renlong's current state.

If He Yong hadn't come tonight, Liu Shishi would have planned to hold a military meeting early tomorrow morning.

Let Ren Quan'er and Yang Yanchang lead the troops first, supervise the troops of Zhang Shangxuan and Zu Chengyong, and knock out Zhang Yingchang and He Renlong in Pizhou City.

But since He Renlong asked He Yong to come over and express his position... Liu Chengzong thought for a moment, chose the latter between forced landing and stabilization, and said: "In this case, you go back and tell General He that this battle is over, and the general is The imperial general in Shaanxi will definitely be promoted to a higher rank."

"Stand guard in Zhenning, don't run around."

He Yong was secretly shocked when he heard this.

He Renlong's first battalion had no merit in this battle, but Liu Chengzong said that after the war, he could become a humerus and be promoted to a higher rank.

Even He Yong, who was born as a servant, could guess that the Marshal's Mansion would probably make a big move against the Western Alliance Army next.

Only the imperial soldiers in Ningxia, Yansui, and Shaanxi will be wiped out in one fell swoop, and only He Renlong, the only remaining one, can be promoted to a higher position.

No matter what, He Yong completed his mission and quickly saluted and said goodbye: "Commander, I have to go back to restore the general's life, so I will say goodbye."

Liu Chengzong stood up and sent He Yong outside the hall. Before leaving, he called He Yong back: "Go back and tell General He that it's time to think about your future."

The next morning.

The state government office in Yaozhou City beat the big drum, and Liu Chengzong summoned the generals of each battalion under his command to discuss matters in the hall.

It was fine when not summoned, but Liu Shizi himself was shocked when he was summoned. Now he has nine battalion generals beside him in Yaozhou alone.

This does not include Huben, Yu Lin, Wei Qian'er stationed on the north bank of the Wei River, and the half of the camp in Pingliang.

Liu Shishi was well aware of his commanding ability and military level.

The battalion directly under the Marshal's Mansion has a larger establishment and more mules, horses and vehicles accompanying the army, so the command is more difficult.

The situation he is most familiar with is to directly command five to six battalions, with a strength of between two and thirty thousand. If you have [-], you will be like a fish in water, and if you have [-], you will feel a little tired.

Once the command exceeds this number, the feeling of being beyond the scope of ability will come.

In addition to command issues, too many troops stationed in a single area will have a relatively large impact on the local natural environment.

"Now the Ming army has Zhang Yingchang and Cao Bianjiao in Pizhou, with [-] troops; south of the Wei River, there is Zu Dalue's battalion, and it is said that Yunyang Lu Xiangsheng's tribe will follow; Qianzhou is guarded by Shenyou Duan Fuxing. "

On the hanging map, the intelligence reported by Tang soldiers from various places had been compiled and accurately marked by Yu Linqi.

Liu Shizi pointed them out one by one, then waved his hand to the west and said: "The remaining Ming troops are all in Fengxiang."

"The situation is favorable to me at this time, but you should not take it lightly. Last night I sent a message to Fengxiang's Li and Zhang troops, inviting them to leap into Henan to contain the forces in Henan and Huguang for our army."

"In the north, we have to rely on ourselves."

Liu Chengzong smiled as he spoke, because the direction he was pointing to was Yan'an Prefecture and Yansui Town.

This place is his hometown.

"Therefore, our army should first cut off the two states of Yi and Qian, and then let Quan'er go!"

Ren Quan'er was sitting at the back among the nine battalion generals in the hall. His eyes were shining as he listened to the commander's instructions. When he suddenly heard his name, he stood up with a bang: "Sir, I am here to serve you!"

This directly caused Liu Chengzong to laugh heartily, raised his hand and smiled at Ren Quan'er: "It's still the same as before, very good!"

"Order your troops to lead Zu Chengyong's Huguang camp and six thousand troops to attack Pizhou." After Liu Chengzong finished speaking, he looked at Ren Quan'er and asked, "Are you sure?"

Ren Quan'er thought about Pizhou, which was defended by 500 men and [-] men. In fact, it was more difficult.

However, this was the first battle after returning to Liu Chengzong's command. Ren Quan'er gritted his teeth and said: "Sir, can you allocate the Pingliang soldiers to the humble position? The humble position guarantees that Pizhou will be captured!"

Pingliang soldiers?
Liu Chengzong knew Ren Quan'er's plan as soon as he heard it. It must be a combination of inside and outside, so he nodded and said: "Okay, I will put Pingliang's [-] sergeants under your banner. If you can break it, break it. If you can't break it, surround it and wait for support." ——Yang Yanchang.”

To be honest, Liu Chengzong was very familiar with Yang Yanchang and knew that he had certain abilities, but for a long time he had no room to develop and was forced to be a regional warrior.

Although Yang Yanchang was forced to surrender to the Marshal's Mansion, Liu Chengzong didn't know it. He still felt that this guy was quite trustworthy.

"At the end, the humble position is here."

"Order your troops to lead Zhang Shang to select the Zhenyun camp and gather [-] troops to reinforce Qianzhou, and cooperate with the two brigade commanders Zhang and the division to capture it as soon as possible."

When Yang Yanchang heard this, the mission sounded simple. If someone cooperated, he immediately nodded and said: "I accept the order from my humble position."

However, the expressions of Zu Chengyong and Zhang Shangxuan, the second generals assigned to them, were different.

Zu Chengyong looked at Zhang Shangxuan's expression and his face was filled with sympathy.

There is no doubt that the trust of these two newly surrendered battalions in the Marshal's Mansion is not as high as that of the Yan'an Battalion and the Yan'an Guard, but it is obvious that the status of the Yan'an Guard is also higher than that of the Yan'an Battalion.

Zu Chengyong understood clearly. The commander-in-chief asked us to surround Pizhou. If it were you, we would capture Qianzhou as soon as possible.

"Zhang Zhen, I order you to take Ding Guodong back to Yan'an Mansion and recruit rebels on the spot. If you can gather a force to attack Yulin, penetrate it and contact Yang Qi of the Monan Governor's Mansion. Together they can attack Ningxia and tie up the Ming army. Everything is turned upside down."

"If this is not possible, we will station ourselves in the counties of Yan'an. If the war in Guanzhong goes unfavorably, our army will retreat from Yan'an to Longxi."

When Zhang Zhen heard this, he realized that this was a really easy job. He didn't listen to the commander-in-chief who already said that he was going back to Yan'an Mansion.

He and Ding Guodong immediately clasped their fists and accepted the order.

The two of them were happy when they heard Liu Chengzong say to Mi Layin: "General Mi, you can smoke the horse meat in Yaozhou."

Having said that, he raised his hand and patted the table without waiting for Mi Layin, who had yet to turn around, to respond.

Liu Shishi said to the remaining Zhang Tianlin and Gao Yingdeng: "You two battalions, repair for three more days, eat and drink enough, follow me back to the west, and wipe out all the Ming troops who dare to enter the pass!" (End of this chapter)