national surname chiming

Chapter 210
"Second General, before dark, the officers and soldiers have joined us ahead of time. What should we do? If we inform the soldiers of the retreat plan in advance, the morale of the soldiers will collapse immediately! But if we keep the information from the soldiers and fight to the end, I'm afraid it's also..."

Bai Wenxuan and Cai Shirong were already secretly preparing for the retreat.

At least the relatively sophisticated equipment and property, as well as the fine grains in the grain and grass, especially a small amount of precious meat, are all secretly packaged and shipped, ready to be carried away by the confidant army.

The advance attack of the officers and soldiers obviously disrupted the thieves' steps and pushed Li Dingguo to the brink of life and death.

"Suspend the retreat plan! The whole army is sticking to the camp! I don't believe that the army has Hongyi cannons, so they will be willing to kill people and storm our camp with more than 2 people!
Even if there are more officers and troops than us and better weapons than us, we still have the advantage of the defenders. Even if some earthen walls and fences are blown to pieces, it is still better than fighting on the flat ground!

According to my observation in the past two years, Shen Shuren is a kind man who loves soldiers like a son. If he is sure of winning, he will definitely not want to waste his life with us!Definitely want to win prettier!

We pretended that we hadn't received the retreat order from our father, and we pretended that we didn't know the news well. We didn't know that a major change had taken place at Dongting Lake, and we were still ordered to block it! "

When Bai Wenxuan and other generals heard this, they were also stunned for a moment, unable to react for a long time.

What is this operation?You already know that your rear has collapsed, but you still pretend you don't know?How can this be faked?And even if you pretend, the enemy won't know you're pretending?

Bai Wenxuan couldn't help persuading: "I'm afraid this plan is a bit... whimsical. The general is not opposed to it. I'm afraid it will be in vain. If it is delayed for a long time, there will be more casualties in the end."

Bai Wenxuan usually would not dare to talk to Li Dingguo like this, but today Li Dingguo's thoughts really made him feel dangerous, and he couldn't help but be rude once.

In addition, when Zhang Xianzhong's messenger came to deliver the order earlier today, Bai Wenxuan was also present, so he knew what Zhang Xianzhong had said to Li Dingguo.

From the lines of Zhang Xianzhong's order, Bai Wenxuan could keenly observe some clues: the trust of the Eight Great Kings in the Second General seemed to be gradually collapsing due to several consecutive defeats and leading the army astray...

It was also Zhang Xianzhong's change of attitude that allowed him to loosen his courtesy to Li Dingguo in a hurry.

Fortunately, Li Dingguo didn't care too much about the red tape. Right now, he was devoting all his energy to analyzing the battle situation, and he didn't pay attention to Bai Wenxuan's straightforwardness.

He just thought about Bai Wenxuan's suggestion seriously, and finally insisted on his own opinion:
"To be honest, I'm not sure how to 'pretend not to know that I'm going to withdraw', but I believe that sticking to it is the best choice. Only when we actually fight can we adapt to the situation and seize the opportunity to deceive. If we really can't, It is also God's will.

Don't say too much, just execute it like this.Usually I can listen to your advice more, but in times of crisis like this, I can only identify one way and follow it to the end without any doubt!Shen Shuren is a suspicious person, the more suspicious he is, the more chances he may give to enemies who pretend to be stupid. "

Bai Wenxuan was helpless, so he had no choice but to carry it out. He inevitably had a thought in his mind: If it turns out to be right, then it’s fine. If it’s wrong and causes unnecessary losses to the army, then he must make it clear in front of the Eight Great Kings afterwards. ...

……

Li Dingguo's order was quickly carried out.

The [-] rogue troops in the battalion were really blocked by the news that "the Eighth King told them to withdraw their troops to the south immediately, and the officers and navy have already circled back", and they still had the fighting spirit to stick to the camp and block the mouth of the lake.

A few old battalions with strong morale are still imagining that "the second general has not attacked the city these days, and he has not attacked. He must be showing weakness. He wants to lure the officers and soldiers in Chenglingji to rush to save the city and take the initiative to attack so that we can besiege the city." Fighting aid, with the real purpose of annihilating the officials and reinforcements."

It can only be said that Li Dingguo is still good at running the army. The morale and people's hearts of the troops led by him have always been very good. It is obviously at a great disadvantage, but the people below don't know that their own disadvantage is very great.

It is also a skill to make one's own soldiers have fanciful self-confidence.

Although there is an old adage that "a proud soldier is bound to be defeated", since ancient times, it is the arrogance of the commander, not the arrogance of the soldiers, that has been feared in war since ancient times.If you can ensure that the commander is calm and the soldiers are arrogant, it will only increase their courage. Being good cannon fodder will not cause trouble.

If it had been led by military generals like Jiao Guangqi and Cai Shirong before, they would have collapsed long ago under Shen Shuren's psychological offensive and external propaganda.

(Note: Arrogant soldiers must be defeated from "Han Shu Wei Chuan": "Those who rely on the size of the country and respect the people and want to see the prestige of the enemy are called arrogant soldiers, and those who are arrogant will be destroyed." Combined with the context, it can be It can be seen that the arrogant soldiers here refer to "the army of the monarch/commander who arrogantly bullies other countries because of their own country's large population and large population". mad.)
The official army and the bandits quickly launched a fierce battle to attack the camp.After the firepower of the Hongyi cannons was ready, Shen Jiajun's bayonet and bird gun teams also stepped forward one after another, and began to advance one by one, using the stacking method to fire and suppress.

The Hongyi cannon blasted many openings in the camp, and all the troops who wanted to block the openings were also killed under the attack of the bird gun team. Wait for the officers and soldiers to get close before fighting.

Considering that the terrain of the gap is not wide enough after all, Zuo Zixiong didn't dare to use cavalry to fight easily, so he decided to use heavy armored infantry to fight hand-to-hand.Once successful, let the bayonet, bird, and gun team go forward to seize the wall, and rely on the wall to shoot into the camp.

He filed this tactic with Shen Shuren, and Shen Shuren didn't say anything, but said without doubt: "You don't need to ask me about responding to the enemy and commanding tactics. There is a specialization in the technique industry, and you must believe in yourself in tactics."

Shen Shuren is very clear about the limits of his ability, he is not good at tactical command level, he only needs to control the big strategic direction and psychological strategy.

People of literati background, if they insist on tactical micro-manipulation, it will only bring disaster. What is the difference between "letting the machine gun position advance 50 meters"?
Zuo Zixiong actually wouldn't have asked for such detailed instructions, but it was because Li Dingguo had set him up on strategic deception a few days ago. He always wanted to make amends, so he was so cautious, and he was a bit loose in tactics. not open.

Soon, as the Ming army's elite soldiers wearing iron-coated cotton armor stepped forward to attack the gap, the main force of the thieves who had been hiding behind the dilapidated bunker also rushed out again, and the two sides soon entered into a meat-cracking battle.

The Ming army was better equipped, and the heavy artillery frightened some of the enemies in advance, and the momentum of the attack was even stronger. The killing with one knife and one gun changed lives, and it quickly became blazing.
After a while, hundreds of corpses were dropped in front of several gaps, but Li Dingguo's troops continued to fight to the death, and more and more reserve troops came in continuously.That aura made the officers and soldiers suspicious of life.

Why don't these enemies know what to be afraid of?
During the chaotic battle, Li Dingguo personally held the sword, went to the front line to supervise the battle, and shouted for encouragement at the top of his voice, and the officers and drummers around him also encouraged, beat the drums, and shouted the motivational slogans explained in advance:
"Brothers hold on! Your Majesty has already broken through Changsha! Prince Ji's Mansion has seized tens of thousands of taels of treasure! The main force of Your Majesty will arrive to support us one day later!
The officers and soldiers have already been stuck by us!At that time, they will be killed without leaving a piece of armor!As long as you fight to the death today, everyone will be rewarded!100 taels for the family of the war dead! "

After being called out by the thieves, some front-line soldiers of the Shen family army who didn't know the truth became a little skeptical of life, and thought that Li Dingguo's department was really just a bait, and Zhang Xianzhong could come to reinforce after he solved Changsha——

In fact, Zhang Xianzhong had already recognized the situation. Seeing that Shen Shuren had come so fast and the water surface power of the warship was absolutely superior, how could he dare to come to Baling to meet Li Dingguo?Of course, let Li Dingguo run as fast as he can go south to join him.

It's a pity that these problems are not something that frontline soldiers can see clearly.Li Dingguo was very successful in his internal incentive tricks, which suddenly made the fight into a state of anxiety,

Even though the officers and soldiers were absolutely superior in terms of casualties, and with the cooperation of melee blunderbuss and artillery, the exchange ratio was at least five times higher, but Zuo Zixiong still felt a little distressed about the loss.

The bloody battle lasted for more than a quarter of an hour. Zuo Zixiong looked at the expression of Shen Futai who was watching the battle several times.Seeing that Shen Shuren didn't have any fluctuations in expression, he didn't know whether he thought he was playing well or badly, so he suggested again:

"My lord, it seems that Li Dingguo is strict in running the army. Don't the bandits know that they are about to be divided and defeated? So that the morale has not been discouraged? Why don't you step back temporarily today, and then use other methods to attack your heart and find out slowly? The truth about the hearts of the enemy camp?"

Shen Shuren gave Zuo Zixiong a deep look, but he was not absolutely sure about these tactical judgments. After thinking about it, he felt that it would be a better choice to kill the enemy more easily and with fewer deaths. Decided to play it safe and figure it out.

"As I said, there is a specialization in the art industry. If you think it is suitable, then do it. However, if you retreat, you must beware of the thieves escaping tonight——

Maybe Li Dingguo wanted to escape before he was afraid of being chased and wiped out by us, so he insisted on gritting his teeth and pretending to be confident.If we can seize the opportunity, we can pay less and reap more results than the current battle of trapped beasts. "Shen Shuren said neither praise nor blame.

Zuo Zixiong gritted his teeth, took the responsibility, and ordered to pay the gold temporarily.Then he also paid very sincere attention to the points reminded by his superiors. Immediately after the retreat, Zhu Wenzhen's cavalry troops organized patrols and went around, keeping an eye on whether Li Dingguo would retreat with a feint when the sky was completely dark.

……

A fierce head-to-head attack on the camp came to an end for the time being. At least one or two thousand corpses were left on the battlefield, and there were more mourning wounded, most of whom belonged to Li Dingguo's department.

If Li Dingguo hadn't lied to his people and made them really think that "Zhang Xianzhong's plan is to join forces with the whole army and take the initiative to attack and swallow Shen Shuren", plus his own side is in a hurry to fight their backs, the morale of the thieves will definitely not be able to support this step by step.

After each retreated, Li Dingguo and his generals did not dare to neglect, and they still kept an eye on the enemy's situation.

Not long after, Bai Wenxuan came to the tent of the Chinese Army and told Li Dingguo the bad news: "Second General, although the officers and troops have retreated, their range of cavalry activities is more aggressive than before.

Zhu Wenzhen has already circled to the south of our camp, and even proposed to set up a new camp to the south of us, which is to encircle and cut off our retreat.From this point of view, even if Zuo Zixiong withdraws his troops and does not attack the camp for the time being, the longer it drags on, the harder it will be for us to break through.

However, if the original plan was followed and the enemy immediately risked their lives to break through, they would definitely not be able to covertly distance themselves from the enemy, and they would be spotted by Zhu Wenzhen's cavalry and hunted down by their tails if they could not walk five miles away!At that time, I'm afraid I won't be able to escape! "

"You mean, Zhu Wenzhen is bold enough to go around our retreat?" Li Dingguo frowned when he heard this, his face was gloomy for a long time, and his teeth rubbed back and forth more than a dozen times before he seemed to think of a countermeasure.
"Forget it, the matter has come to this point, it is already extremely dangerous, only a dead horse can be used as a living horse doctor, take a step at a time - you immediately choose a few confidantes who are dead, if you are willing to be the dead, it is best to have family members On the father's side, food and salary are taken as pledges.

Then, I forged a few letters from my father and king, and asked them to secretly take the patrolling cavalry that bypassed Zhu Wenzhen, infiltrate a little to the south, and then go north, and was 'accidentally' caught by Zhu Wenzhen!understand! "

Bai Wenxuan felt a chill in his heart, and after pondering for a long time, he finally realized Li Dingguo's strategy. He had no choice but to implement it quickly.

Li Dingguo's forged "Letters from Zhang Xianzhong to Himself" were copied several times and handed over to several "messengers" to take out. If you catch it, you have to say that you are from the south.

These dead soldiers may not all complete the mission as Li Dingguo expected, maybe they ran away after infiltrating, but there must be a few who can complete the mission.

On the shore of the lake to the south of Li Dingguo's camp, there was soon the infiltration of cavalry in the dark, and the rumbling of horseshoes of the patrol team, occasionally mixed with the sound of shouting and fighting, and begging for mercy and surrender.

Sure enough, less than an hour and a half later, some of the letters were seized by Zhu Wenzhen's cavalry patrol.Zhu Wenzhen just took a look at it, and immediately sent someone to Zuo Zixiong.

Zuo Zixiong didn't dare to be self-reliant either. He immediately reported to Shen Shuren for such a matter that needed to use his brain to identify conspiracies and tricks for his superiors to decide.

Shen Shuren was going to rest at first, but the oil lamp in the big tent had not been extinguished. After Zuo Zixiong came in, he was unambiguous and immediately put on his clothes again as a director.

"It turns out that Li Dingguo really didn't know that our navy had successfully cut off their troop transport route? How could Zhang Xianzhong's messenger run so slowly? Only now did he send the order to Li Dingguo?"

After Shen Shuren saw it, his first reaction was disbelief, but he would not draw conclusions blindly. Instead, he immediately called the reporter sent by Zhu Wenzhen, Zuo Zixiong, and several staff members together, and carefully interrogated, discuss it.

"Have you asked the courier? Is there only one courier, or are there several? Why did you run so slowly and it took more than two days to get here from Changsha? Have you asked?"

(End of this chapter)