stubborn thief

Liu Chengzong didn't sleep.

Last night he ate clear-water mutton. There was a curfew in the camp, so he read letters and maps in the tent. When he was thirsty, he drank a few sips of water. When he was tired, he would sleep on the tiger-skin mattress.

It wasn't that there was really any military affairs that required him to stay up all night, as all the matters that should be arranged in the army had already been arranged.

All the nearby battalions have been deployed for defense. The three battalions of Zhang Xianzhong and Shi Xiang in Weinan have also fallen into a night confrontation. For distant places like Ningxia, Yan'an and even Monan, there is no point in thinking about it.

He just...the campground was so damn quiet at night that he couldn't sleep.

Oddly enough, he could doze off when there was a lot of noise in the camp, and fall asleep as soon as he closed his eyes on horseback during the mighty march.

Only when I was resting in camp, I was very nervous and felt like something was wrong. All kinds of thoughts flooded my mind. I tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep.

Being unable to sleep was not a big deal to him. He had already made plans to march tomorrow morning and take a nap on horseback.

Horses are a good thing.

This man, if he wants to sleep comfortably, he still has to sit on a horse.

The movement of soldiers and horses provides a huge sense of security; the bumps of the mount also bring an incomparable sense of relaxation.

But he couldn't sleep, which made him irritable and bored.

Liu Chengzong was so bored that he began to worry about the population decline in Manchuria for Huang Taiji.

Last year, there was a disastrous defeat at Xuan Dabianwai, and many men died in Houjin.

This issue itself is like a dog fighting a mouse to Liu Shishi, but in fact he has no choice but to worry about it.

Hou Jin is different from his Marshal's Mansion. The Marshal's Mansion can fight for living space from Shaanxi. Even though the war is not over yet, Fengxiang Mansion and other places have provided tens of thousands of proud soldiers with food and grass for several months.

Later, Jin could not cross Shanhaiguan or even the fortress group in Liaodong, which greatly restricted their expansion. There was only one direction that could provide living space for Manchuria - the Mongolian grassland.

It’s still the same logic as before. No one will give up on such a contested ground.

This means that Yang Qi will be beaten.

In this season, Huang Taiji of Houjin continued to send troops in order to suppress the Mongolian tribes that had surrendered to the Monan Governor's Mansion.

He is considering finishing the Shaanxi campaign and sending an army to reinforce Monan in a short period of time.

Then the screaming fire and exploding flying cannons woke Liu Shizi up from his dreaming state with his eyes closed, making him bounce off the couch like a cannonball.

Yu Linqi, who was on duty outside the tent, opened the military tent and was originally very eager to report the military situation.

As a result, when I looked up, I saw that Liu Shishi had already put on a neat soft leather suit. He was holding iron boots and shin guards with an excited look on his face. He pulled his arms, hands and shoulders to put them on, which stunned Yu Linqi. stuck in his throat, he paused with his mouth open and said: "Well, Marshal, there is a night attack."

The tone is very calm.

"Hahaha, okay, you're welcome, don't even fucking sleep!"

Yu Linqi didn't even find a chance to make a move, Liu Shizi buttoned up his shirt himself, so he had to take the shin guards, squat down and tie them on Liu Shishi's calf.

The greaves were still tied underneath, and Liu Shizi had already put on the upper and lower cloth armor skirt. Two more Yulin came in and put on the sleeveless cloth armor on him, wearing a throat guard and a heart guard at the same time. And cover your armpits.

Finally, the waist protector is buckled, the beard is worn, and the limited edition Ming Army squad leader leaves the factory brand new.

As soon as he came out of the tent, Wang Wenxiu, who also had dark circles under his eyes, ran over with his helmet and armor on.

Tonight is Wang Wenxiu's night shift, and he has been patrolling the camp in armor.

Liu Chengzong asked: "Where were you hit?"

"No one broke through the small camp on the north, east, and west sides. It was a small night attack of 800 people, but it caused a lot of fires."

Wang Wenxiu said without much worry on his face, saying: "With a slight change of formation, a few small camps can roll over and surround them."

Wang Wenxiu wanted to use the eight small camps on the periphery to encircle the night attack army. Liu Shizi nodded: "Okay, but don't cause trouble."

Changes in formations at night can easily lead to trouble, not to mention that the eight small battalions are eight general divisions divided from the four entire battalions. Since they are not under each other, they may not be able to cooperate tacitly in a night battle.

Liu Chengzong thought for a moment, but before Wang Wenxiu could pass on the order, he suddenly raised his hand: "Wait!"

As he spoke, he frowned and looked to the south, listening to the voice and wondering: "No, are these people from the north?"

This is not right.

There can be no enemy troops to the north.

Even a small army of only a thousand people, or Bai Guangen's troops who had left the battlefield earlier, could not come from the north.

Because the large groups of Mongolian cavalry, Zhenjun soldiers, and Yan'an soldiers have taken all the roads that can be taken in the north, at least during the day, there is no room to hide troops in the north.

The current situation is a very typical attack on three buildings and one, leaving only a way out to the south.

This is because he relied on the formation of a separate small camp to prevent the night attack. If he had not prevented it, the defeated soldiers in his army would have fled from the south in a panic.

Thinking of this, Liu Chengzong said firmly: "The direction of this night attack army's attack is not a coincidence. They have a back-up, and the back-up is to the south."

Wang Wenxiu was not surprised by this, and just said: "Commander, as soon as something happened, my subordinates have sent orders to the Eighth Camp. Those who have not been attacked will be sent out to scout, and those who are not attacked will be fired. There should be no enemies in the south."

Unexpectedly, Liu Chengzong raised his hand and said: "Without discussion, it is said that the eight small battalions will not change their formation. The Chinese army's three battalions of armored cavalry will be sent first to meet the enemy. After driving away the enemy, they will return to the camp. Don't create any extraneous problems."

At this time, Lieutenant General Han Shiyou of the Huben Battalion also put on his armor. He stepped forward and happened to hear the order for the small battalion not to change its formation, so he asked, "Does the commander suspect that there are enemy troops in the south? Huben, wearing double armor, marches south to the camp?"

"Um……"

Liu Chengzong was undecided. He could only be sure that there was a trap in the south.

But he didn't know how big the trap was, how courageous the enemy was, or how many troops were mobilized.

In the event that the enemy's army could only dispatch [-] cavalry, it would be unsightly for him to wear double armor and waste his strength.

After all, his double-armored soldiers were made of cotton-skin lining, chain-mail iron armor, and cloth-covered iron armor. They were real double-layered armored soldiers. It was summer night again, and the double-armored cavalrymen of several brigades were all down in an hour at most.

It was obviously wrong to act like a formidable enemy at the slightest sign of trouble. Now that Wang Wenxiu had informed each camp to send out scouting horses, Liu Shishi thought he didn't need to react so much.

While he was thinking for a moment, Zhang Tianlin and Gao Yingdeng also ran over.

These two came for a fight.

There are three people, Wang Wenxiu, Gao Yingdeng and Zhang Tianlin. Zhang Tianlin got up the latest but came the most urgently.

You can tell at a glance that he has just woken up. He is not wearing his hair scarf, armor, and even the eye excrement from the corners of his eyes. He did not forget to carry his saber. He rushed into the Chinese army like a gust of wind, shirtless, and was almost killed by the tiger soldiers. Take it on the spot. As soon as the man arrived at the camp gate and rolled off his horse, the voice came over: "Commander, the generals in charge of the cavalry camp will be eager to fight. In just a moment, three thousand cavalry can gallop ten miles and attack the enemy camp." Pack a big bowl and don’t even think about leaving!”

Liu Chengzong looked at him and thought to himself, "You're just telling lies. Look at this guy who just woke up, and he's still actively asking for a fight."

What’s the matter, some generals from our commander’s cavalry camp have taken the lead in mastering the technique of requesting a battle through dreams?
Looking at his joking eyes, Zhang Tianlin knew that the commander-in-chief didn't believe it, and immediately said: "It's true, the general was pushed over by his subordinates before he even had time to grab his armor, and he was pushed over by his subordinates to ask for a fight. The general was led by Zhao Zhirui and was ready for battle."

Gao Yingdeng, who was on the side, said to himself, Zhang Tianlin, a thief, is quick to fight, and quick to ask for a fight, and his Mabu Firearms Battalion can't keep up with the hot ones even if they follow behind.

At this moment, he finally saw Liu Chengzong glance over and said quickly: "Commander, it's the same for someone with a humble position."

When Liu Chengzong saw this, he couldn't help laughing and said: "When the whole army comes, the enemy will not dare; when a small group attacks, you don't have to wait like a big enemy. Don't mess up your position because you are eager to fight."

He said it easily.

It's not that he doesn't take this night attack seriously. There may be traps in the south, so of course he has to be very alert.

However, Liu Chengzong had considered the possibility of being attacked by night attacks as early as when he set down camp, so he set up four large, eight small and twelve-ring camps to guard against night attacks.

His camp was difficult to break through by the enemy at night. In fact, if the Ming army had done reconnaissance work during the day and saw his camp, it would have been impossible to choose the tactic of night attack.

Each of the eight ring camps has 500 men. If a small battalion in any direction is attacked, as long as it delays the enemy for a cup of tea, it will be supported by the two small battalions on the left and right.

As long as the three small battalions hold up a stick of incense, the large battalion inside will be fully dressed and ready to fight, and the enemy's tactics will be ineffective.

The biggest advantage of night attack lies in the word "attack".

For example, on the south bank of the Wei River, Zhang Xianzhong launched an attack on Long Zaitian. It was not called a night attack, but a night battle.

Night attacks are based on preparedness and unpreparedness. A small number of troops are used to disrupt the enemy's forces, and they are launched in a short period of time to break the chain of command, causing them to panic without attacking.

Under the protection of the surrounding camp, the camp had sufficient time to prepare.

There are few soldiers in the night attack, so it is impossible to constitute an attack at all.

If there are many soldiers attacking at night, it will be a night battle.

If you are confident, you will naturally remain calm in times of crisis.

Therefore, Liu Chengzong was not afraid of missing a good opportunity. As long as he prevented the night attack, he would win.

"For the night attack on the Ming army, we don't need to annihilate them. It's dark outside the camp and there's a chaotic fight outside the camp. It's best to just kill the people scattered. And the losses like broken legs of our horses and people hanging on trees are also small. essential.

Liu Shizi waved his hand and said to Zhang Tianlin and others: "Tonight, Zhang Tianlin and Gao Yingdeng should not be anxious. It is Zuo Liangyu and Cao Wenzhao who should be anxious."

Funny to say, he has a very clear self-awareness when it comes to impatience.

He is a leader with a very impatient fighting style.

He looks for people as soon as he launches troops, starts fighting when he meets them, is eager for success, and pursues the completion of a battle within three months of starting a war.

This in itself is actually a very serious problem.

But his opponents and subordinates are generally more impatient generals, so that they are very evil, and it seems that he is still... quite stable.

This kind of mentality that hopes to end the war in a short time before the war starts. If placed in any dynasty in the past, it would be a dead end that was eager for success and was sure to lose the war.

Even if there is never an ideal state of being fully prepared before starting a war, the military and political leaders of the regime will try to delay the peace period and make maximum war preparations in order to be in a better state when the war comes and achieve a higher probability of victory. .

Only the Ming Dynasty during the Chongzhen period did not have this condition.

There is no logistical preparation, no food anywhere, nothing to prepare.

The corresponding reconnaissance preparations, test attacks, battlefield selection, and location modification have all become very simple. If you don't have time, you can just do it.

The atmosphere in this general environment makes fighting hasty and risky.

And when everyone is inclined to take risks, whoever is more prepared and more stable wins.

In Liu Chengzong's view, the night attack was a sign that the Ming army was eager to fight. This made him laugh and said, "I think it's time to give Yang Chengzu a credit. Burning the camp is effective. The Ningxia army didn't have a good rest tonight, so they dare not Put off the war until tomorrow."

It must be the Ningxia Army, no need to think about it.

Zuo Liangyu and Ai Wannian's Changping and Yansui armies were all under the city. Long Zaitian's Yunnan army faced Zhang Xianzhong. Only the Ningxia army was idle and could dispatch thousands of troops to cross the river to attack.

"Now it depends on the scale of its troop dispatch."

Liu Shishi comforted his subordinates: "If we don't count the south, and the number of troops sent exceeds two thousand, we have to be careful from the south. The enemy may attack with the whole division; if it does not exceed a thousand, then I estimate that the entire force for this night attack will be only a few thousand." two thousand."

Zhang Tianlin blinked and looked first at Liu Chengzong, then at Wang Wenxiu, then at Gao Yingdeng, and finally at Han Shiyou.

Realizing that Wang Wenxiu, Gao Yingdeng, and Han Shiyou all had the same confusion on their faces, they felt relieved, clasped their fists and asked, "Commander, please tell me, how can you judge this?"

He didn't understand why if it exceeded two thousand, the entire Ningxia army might come; if it didn't exceed two thousand, the maximum number of troops would be two thousand.

Liu Shizi only said the answer, but he couldn't understand the process of solving the problem!

Liu Chengzong was stunned by the question and stared at the three of them for a long time: "Don't you understand?"

"The Ningxia Division of the Ming Army has a total of four battalions, with a total strength of more than [-]. They have been tortured tonight and are still awake. It has been confirmed that they will send troops to attack at night, attack on three sides and ambush one side. There are only two possibilities. .”

Liu Shizi raised a finger: "First, launch a small number of elite night attacks and set up ambushes, which will strain the energy of our army and prevent our army from resting. At the same time, let the rest of the army rest in order to fight again tomorrow."

"To cope with the impact of the defeated army, the strength of the ambush troops will not be less than that of the attackers, at least it should be the same. If there are a thousand cavalry to attack the camp, a thousand cavalry must be used to ambush; if there are two thousand cavalry to attack the camp, two thousand cavalry must be used to ambush. Did I make it clear?"

This matter is easy for Zhang Tianlin to understand. After all, he is a cavalry officer. This night attack is equivalent to an encirclement. The attack force can be small but fine, but to achieve real results, it all depends on the strength of the ambush.

Therefore, it is common sense that the strength of the ambush force must be at least equal to that of the three-sided attack.

"If the Ming army used two thousand cavalry to attack the camp and another two thousand horse infantry to set up an ambush, almost half of its troops would be used in the night attack."

Liu Chengzong raised his second finger and said: "If it were you, would you attack with 4000 people to give 6000 people a chance to rest in the hope of winning the battle tomorrow? You can't win."

"There is no need to decide the winner tonight, we can wait; but the enemy may not be willing to wait... First, pull all the artillery of each battalion to the south and allocate it to Gao Yingdeng's battalion."

At this moment, Zhao Zhirui and Li Baliang from the east and west sides sent reports respectively. Both sides discovered that hundreds of enemy cavalry had arrived for support, which directly increased the number of Ming troops outside the camp to [-].

Liu Chengzong glanced south and thought that Cao Wenzhao of the Ningxia Army was going to fight him at night.

"Brother Zhang, select twenty elite cavalry to escort the Yulin cavalry across the battlefield to Zhang Xianzhong. Inform him of the situation here that the two battalions of the Ming army are out of touch, and order him to launch a fierce attack on the Yunnan army. At the same time, contact Luo Rucai and ask him to wait for an opportunity. Fight out of the city, the victory will be tonight."

After saying that, Liu Chengzong looked at Gao Yingdeng: "Load the cannons and give General Cao a hot meal!" (End of Chapter)