Hundreds of households in Liaodong, covering the light with one hand

Chapter 4 Li Yongfang’s Ambition
  On January 19th, the second year of the Great Tomorrow, ten miles east of Sipingbao, Xiaoyashan Village.

Li Yongfang, the third-class commander of the Zhenglan Banner of the Han Army in Jianzhou, was taking more than ten people to rest in a ruined temple. Snow was falling heavily outside the temple and the wind was biting. Everyone in the temple was surrounding the stove, and the atmosphere was a bit solemn.

This time, Li Yongfang was the vanguard of Jianzhou's attack on Guangning. In order to conceal his identity, he disguised himself as a group of refugees and stationed himself in Xiaoyashan Village near Sipingbao.

The main force of Jianzhou was commanded by the Manchurian Four Beile Huang Taiji, the Great Beile Daishan, and the Second Beile Amin. A total of 40,000 people had arrived at Haizhou Guard, less than three meters away from Siping Fort, the forward position guarded by the Ming army. Hundreds of miles away, once troops are sent out, they will arrive in an instant.

As for Nurhaci himself, he led Sanbeile Manggurtai to supervise the battle at the left guard raiding formation in Haizhou in order to block the reinforcements of Ming Dynasty Xiong Tingbi in Youtun at any time.

"Once the war starts, it will be thunderous. Guangning must be captured within one day. By then, our Dajin Bingfeng will directly threaten the Ming Dynasty's Linghe and Songjin areas, and the strategic initiative will be completely in my hands! In time, we will sweep across the Ming Dynasty. All the passes and guard positions north of Shanhaiguan face the fertile soil thousands of miles inside the pass!"

"At the same time, it can also be used to completely control Liaodong, which will play a vital role in consolidating important rear towns such as Liaoyang."

"Secondly, cut off Daming's left arm so that he will never have time to look north again."

"Finally, and most importantly, Manchuria is currently facing an extremely serious economic and food crisis. If we can get some supplements through this capture of Guangning, great things can be expected!"

This is what Sibeile Huang Taiji said when he summoned Li Yongfang before the army set off.

It can be seen from this that everyone in Jianzhou unanimously believed that the strategic significance of this battle was no less than that of capturing Liaoyang, an important town in Liaodong during the Ming Dynasty.

----

At about three quarters of the hour, the moon had gone down and the stars had disappeared. At this time, the only sound left outside the temple was the sound of the strong wind passing over the earth. It was like a ghost weeping or a wolf howling, which was extremely frightening.

In the dilapidated temple, under the dilapidated clay Buddha statue, Li Yongfang was stretching out his hand to warm himself up by the fire, staring at the beating flames with his eyes, silently thinking about something, and showing a hint of ridicule from time to time.

Since he defected to Nurhachi, Li Yongfang has been completely tied to the chariot in Jianzhou. Either the car crashed and people were killed, or he lost his wealth and wealth. He had no choice. So for Wang Huazhen's letter of surrender, Li Yongfang treated him like toilet paper. They all felt so embarrassed.

Suddenly, a rapid sound of horse hooves came from afar.

This alerted everyone in the temple.

Not long after, the sound of horses being reined in was heard outside the temple.

At this moment, a group of people in the temple reached out to touch their weapons. If they were in opposing lineups, they would start fighting immediately.

"Is the temple headed by Li San, who sells mountain products?"

Three men wearing jackets and velvet hoods appeared at the entrance of the temple. The two men on the side were younger. The man in the middle was tall, had a deep voice, and wore a dog-skin velvet hat. His appearance could not be clearly seen.

"What do you want from me?" Li Yongfang sat by the fire from beginning to end, showing no surprise at the late-night visitor.

"Come to look for three hundred-year-old ginseng," the man in the dog-skin hat grinned and scanned the temple, not timidly.

"What did you ask for?" Li Yongfang turned to look at the man.

The man in the dog-skin hat raised his head and said three words: "Guangning City!"

The soldiers in the temple looked at each other and put away their weapons.
  "Invite the guests to come in." Only at this moment did Li Yongfang stand up and welcome the three men.

Beside the fire, Li Yongfang and the man in the dog-skin hat sat opposite each other, while the others were outside on guard. "General Sun, come as soon as you come. Why bother wearing a dog-skin hat and blinding yourself in the dark? What if it causes a misunderstanding and ruins the big thing!" Li Yongfang looked at the man opposite:

"Take off your hat and speak, there are no outsiders here!"

Hearing Li Yongfang's tone, the man was not annoyed. He reached out to lift his hat, revealing a long face with a hint of sinisterness.

It was the man who was sitting and drinking with Wang Qi during the day. In Guangning City, the Chinese guerrilla general Sun Degong.

As for the three century-old ginseng I just mentioned, they represent the third-class general officer of the Han Army in Jianzhou. They were promised to Sun Degong by Nurhaci personally, and they were of the same rank as Li Yongfang.

The opportunity to fight was fleeting, so when the two met, there was no unnecessary greeting. Li Yongfang was the first to speak.

"What's the current situation in Guangning City?" Li Yongfang stretched out her hand close to the flames, her face turned red.

"There are more than 100,000 soldiers defending the city, but less than 30% of them are able to fight. The morale of the troops in the city is scattered, and the people's hearts are in chaos. The generals who defend the city have no intention of defending the city, and the commanders who defend the city have no ambition to defend. You and I should cooperate inside and outside to win first We will hold the fort on the outskirts and wait for the Jianzhou Heavenly Soldiers to arrive, then take Guangning City with ease." Sun Degong said and flipped his palms.

It seems really easy.

"The only thing we need to pay attention to," Sun Degong paused and said slowly: "Xiong Tingbi's troops in Youtun have nearly 10,000 troops. If we move a little slower and are reacted by them, there may be a big disaster."

The crackling sound of burning firewood was particularly harsh in the silent ruined temple.

Hearing Sun Degong's question, Li Yongfang seemed confident and said calmly: "I have 60,000 troops in Manchuria, and three Baylors have been stationed in Haizhou Guards. We can cross the Liaohe River, the first line of defense that the Ming army relies on, at any time. On the front line, as long as there are no problems on your side, half a day is enough for us to wipe out the guard fortresses around Guangning City, and then concentrate our forces to capture Guangning. As for the Xiong Tingbi reinforcements you were worried about just now, Sanbeile will lead his troops to suppress them. Just wait until you do your part!"

"Since the Great Khan's side has made all the arrangements, I can rest assured and serve my life," Sun Degong lowered his head, looking extremely humble.

"Don't worry, General Sun. As long as you are sincere and dedicated, the Great Khan will not treat you badly when you take Guangning City." Li Yongfang seemed to see his own reflection in Sun Degong, and even the title became closer:
  "Brother Sun, you and I will go over the details of the plan again to make sure everything is perfect!"

The wind and snow outside the temple became more severe. In about a quarter of an hour, Sun Degong walked out of the temple gate and galloped westward with his men.

In the ruined temple, Li Yongfang was still sitting there, warming his hands over the fire. Hearing the sound of horse hooves retreating, he said silently after a long while: "The deer was lost in the Tang Dynasty, and the whole world is chasing it away now."

Guangning City, the governor's residence.

"Brother Qi, I just received news that Sun Degong took people out of the city on a snowy night. It's unknown where they went. Moreover, with the governor's order, the city defense cannot stop them."

Wang Qi was sitting behind the table, and Qin Erbao was reporting news to him.

"The war is about to begin, and rats, jackals, and wolves will appear one after another." Wang Qi stood up and stood in front of the map, silently looking at the location of Siping Fort.

"Brothers, are you ready?"

"On standby at any time!" Qin Erbao lowered his head and said in a low and powerful tone: "Just waiting for Brother Qi's order!"

If he wants to hold on to Guangning City, Wang Qi can only rely on twenty-seven family generals now, and he can only rely on them to capture Sun Degong.

(End of this chapter)