scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 260 Enemy Situation Judgment
(PS: I didn’t realize until today that it’s already February. Ask for a monthly ticket, ask for a reward, and ask friends for continued support.)
Waited on the embankment for nothing all afternoon, but Jingzhou came out of the city again to attack the embankment. Fatty Lu confessed that no one is allowed to move the bricks and stones of the Wandi embankment without his own order, and then set off quietly to return to the Wu army in the pile of gold. main business.Before leaving, General Wang Jun of Wu Jun Xinwu, who was sent by the old traitor Wu to assist Fatty Lu in blowing up the embankment, was a little worried. He pulled Fatty Lu by his sleeve and asked worriedly: "Master Lu, it's okay for you to go back to the camp, but you are full What if the dogs attack the embankment at night? It’s okay to say, our explosives are piled in the open air, in case a torch full of dogs is desperate to throw it up..."

"Why did the dogs come to attack the levee? Why did they burn our explosives?" Fatty Lu laughed, "The dogs came to attack the levee, not only at the risk of being annihilated by our army in field battles, but also because of our army's bombing of the embankment and flooding the city. Even if Mangou can burn all the explosives here, we can still bring explosives from Duijintai camp to blow up the embankment, so the gain is not worth the loss, and the cunning Mangou can do it?"

"The final general is confused, but the adults are wise." Wang Junji suddenly realized, and hurriedly said with a smile: "So, brothers can have a good night's rest tonight."

"Have a good rest, but you must send more sentries, and you can sail for ten thousand years with care." Fatty Lu waved his hand, and explained a few words not to damage the levee at will, and then led a group of personal soldiers on horseback, and returned to the pile of gold overnight Taiwan Daying visits old traitor Wu.

After entering the heavily guarded main camp of the Wu army, and then in front of the brightly lit tent of the Chinese army, the old traitor Wu hadn't gone back to his tent to rest, but was studying the military situation with Wang Shirong, Wu Guogui, and Xia Guoxiang's confidants. There is also Han Daren, who has recently gained the favor of the traitor Wu and Xia Guo, is also in the tent.Seeing Fatty Lu entering the tent to salute, the old traitor Wu first waved Fatty Lu to get up, then turned to Wu Guogui with a smile and said, "Guogui, you are right as a father, right? Your son-in-law always puts business first, no matter what No matter how late or how busy you are, you have to go back to the camp to learn about the military situation, you still don't believe it, and now you really come, don't you?"

"Father's eyes are as bright as lightning, he knows people well, and this boy is really good." Wu Guogui was a little embarrassed, smiled forcedly, and glared at his son-in-law who had always disliked him who saluted him. He shouted angrily: "Get up, how is the situation of Wandi?"

"Back to father-in-law, everything is normal, and the errand assigned by grandfather went smoothly." Fatty Lu didn't know whether old traitor Wu had told Wu Guogui the truth, so his answer was very vague, and his attitude was very respectful, even a little trembling. appearance.

"Okay, Guogui, your son-in-law is not bad, so don't be mean to him all the time." The old traitor Wu saw Fatty Lu's restraint, so he smiled and said, "Don't be mean to him all day long." Put on a good face, making him see you like a mouse seeing a cat, Yifeng is the son-in-law chosen for you by your father, are you disgusting that your father didn't choose for you?"

"I don't dare." Wu Guogui hurriedly stood up and pleaded guilty.The old traitor Wu laughed, beckoned Wu Guogui to sit down, and then waved to Fatty Lu to sit in the first seat on his right. Fatty Lu thanked him first, then got up and sat next to old traitor Wu, and fell While sitting, Fatty Lu inadvertently saw Han Daren sitting next to Xia Guoxiang, his eyes flickered, and his expression seemed to be disdainful. Fatty Lu knew that he was jealous that he had won the trust of Old Man Wu, but he ignored it—— Since ancient times, it is mediocrity not to attract envy.

"Yifeng, the situation is the same as your analysis. Today, Mangou did not hesitate to rush to the Ten Thousand Dike, and sent a large number of scouts to the surrounding area to investigate the situation." Old traitor Wu seems to have informed Fatty Lu of his plan to defraud the enemy. After gathering a few cronies, he directly asked Fatty Lu straight to the point: "In your opinion, is Man Gou convinced that our army is about to blow up the embankment and flood the city?"

"Back to grandfather, there is at least an [-]% possibility. Man Gou is convinced that our army has blown up the embankment!" Fatty Lu replied decisively: "Man Gou is now powerless to stop our army from blowing up the embankment. The only hope is that Grandpa, you are merciful." He cared about the people and refused to blow up the embankment. But Man Gou himself is not upright and has a bad conscience. How can he understand and understand the painstaking efforts of his grandfather with the heart of a villain? So the son-in-law dares to conclude , Tomorrow night or the night after tomorrow, Man Gou will definitely give up Jingzhou, and the whole army will break through!"

Old traitor Wu smiled and nodded, very satisfied with the answer given by Fatty Lu.Wu Guogui reprimanded habitually: "Don't talk big, whether your bad idea will work or not will not be confirmed until the moment when Man Gou really abandons the city and breaks through! It doesn't matter if you are bragging here now, you have misled your grandfather's feelings towards the enemy. If you judge me, your crime will be great.”

Fatty Lu nodded submissively, but he was very puzzled in his heart—how could two of his three father-in-laws dislike him?But at this time, Xia Guoxiang suddenly said: "Brother Guogui, this time your son-in-law and my niece-in-law are really not bragging, and Xiao Huaiyin (Han Daren's nickname) thinks so too. After analyzing it for me, I think Mangou must abandon the city and break through within two days."

Wu Guogui didn't speak, but murmured in his heart that I scolded my son-in-law and wanted you, an outsider, to get in the shit?Old Traitor Wu, Wang Shirong, and Fatty Lu all looked at Han Daren in surprise, Han Daren understood everyone's thoughts, and hurriedly explained: "Don't blame the prince, in fact, before this, the general is not sure whether the prince will really blow up or not. But the only thing that the general dares to believe is that the Man Gou in Jingzhou City would never dare to gamble with his life with the [-] army, betting that the prince would not dare to blow up the embankment, so from the moment the prince spread the rumors of blowing up the embankment, at the end It has already been decided that Man Gou will abandon the city and break out of the encirclement before the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month!"

"Then when do you think Mangou will break through? In which direction?" Old traitor Wu also wanted to discover more talents for himself, so he deliberately asked.

"Returning to the lord, the general believes that Mangou will break out on the night of the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month!" Han Daren also knew that the opportunity was coming, so he quickly cheered up and said loudly: "Although it is said that Mangou may also break out on the sixth night of the twelfth lunar month tomorrow, but we must It is difficult for anyone to make up their minds to abandon the important town of Jingzhou, which is rich in food and grass and has a strong city. Therefore, the general feels that Man Gou is likely to struggle until the last moment, and it is not possible to make up his mind to break through until the seventh night of the twelfth lunar month. During this period, Man Gou must do everything possible to spy on our army's movements to determine whether our army is really determined to blow up the embankment, so the scene of our army's blowing up the embankment and flooding the city must continue, and must continue to act!"

"As for the direction of Mangou's breakout." Han Daren paused for a moment, and said firmly: "The final general believes that Mangou must break through to Anlu! Because among the three breakout directions of Mangou, Jingmen Prefecture in the north is already Under the control of our army, there is also the Huyaguan natural barrier blocking the road. If you want to bypass this natural barrier, you must walk at least a hundred miles away, which is very unfavorable to Man Gou, so Man Gou is the least likely to take this road to break through. In Yiling in the west, the main force of our army is stationed in the west of Jingzhou, and it is easy to be blocked by walking this road full of dogs. The possibility of breaking through the encirclement by walking this road is very small. Only Anlu is the most likely!"

Old Traitor Wu nodded slightly, appreciating Han Daren's judgment, and Wu Guogui also agreed: "Father, my son also thinks that the possibility of breaking out in the direction of Anlu on the seventh night of the twelfth lunar month is the greatest. Anlu is located in the northwest of Jingzhou. Our army is weak in this direction, and it is far away from our army camp. Breaking out in this direction not only has the greatest chance, but also can play the role of lengthening our army's pursuit route, killing two birds with one stone. More importantly, the entire territory of Anlu Mansion is still full. Under the control of dogs, although the Mangou green camp there is vulnerable, it can provide Mangou with a place to stay and food supplies, so that Mangou can give up its luggage and quickly break through, which is very beneficial to Mangou."

"It's reasonable, reasonable, brother Guogui and Xiao Huaiyin are both reasonable." Xia Guolian, who is not much better than Wu Yingqi in terms of courage and ingenuity, nodded repeatedly, and suggested: "Lao Taishan, my son-in-law thinks that our army should send An elite army lays an ambush in Hougang, the only way Mangou breaks through, and when Mangou escapes there, the ambushes are exhausted, and the pursuers attack back and forth, and they will surely win a big victory!"

The old traitor Wu nodded slightly, but he didn't speak and gave orders. He just turned his head and looked at Wang Shirong and Fatty Lu on both sides. So, but..."

"But what?" Old Traitor Wu asked.

"But what we can think of, Mangou will definitely be able to think of it." Fatty Lu finally opened his mouth and said solemnly: "So my son-in-law believes that Mangou will definitely not play cards according to common sense, and will definitely do the opposite, killing Our army was caught off guard and broke out of the encirclement at a small price."

"Why does Mangou do the opposite?" Old Man Wu asked Fatty Lu sideways.

"Break out one day in advance, and break out on the sixth night of the twelfth lunar month, so that our army can't prepare for an ambush." ​​Fatty Lu said firmly, as if he was deliberately arguing with Han Daren: "Don't take the most ideal and safest way to break out in the northeast, go to the west. Yiling broke through!"

"Break out on the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month? Go to Yiling?" Wu Guogui was stunned for a moment, and then he said angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about? It might be possible for Mangou to break through a day earlier, but how could Mangou break out to Yiling?" Over there, Xia Guoxiang and Han Daren also looked at each other in blank dismay, not sure how Fatty Lu came to such an absurd conclusion.

"Father-in-law, don't blame me, please listen to my son-in-law." Fatty Lu was not in a hurry, and said unhurriedly: "Father-in-law, please think carefully, we are here to analyze the breakout time of Man Gou, can Man Gou stay in Jingzhou City?" Analyze and judge our blocking time? Just like General Han said, Mangou is most likely to break through on the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month. We should do our best to arrange blocking on the night of the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month. We can think of this, Mangou Can you not think of this? Since Mangou can think of this, why don't they do the opposite, break through one day in advance, and kill us by surprise?"

Wu Guogui was at a loss for words, but Han Daren said unconvinced: "Jingzhou is so important, how could it be so easy to make up your mind to give up until the last moment?"

"Jingzhou is indeed equally important to us and Mangou." Fatty Lu said slowly: "But why is Mangou breaking through? It is because we are going to blow up the dikes and flood the city, and Mangou can't continue to hold on. I have to give up, since Mangou has to abandon Jingzhou, in order to preserve the strength of the troops and reduce the loss when breaking out, why can't Mangou break through one day earlier? Kill us by surprise?"

Han Daren is indeed a rare talent with both civil and military skills, but in terms of debate, he is not even worthy of carrying the shoes of Fatty Lu. After being so quibbled by Fatty Lu, Han Daren has nothing to say.Fatty Lu added: "I'm even sure that if Man Gou hadn't prepared the dry food for the breakout and destroyed the grain and grass in Jingzhou City, they would definitely break out tonight! The luggage is left to us, and we can only choose to break out on the sixth night of the twelfth lunar month."

"Okay, there's no need to argue about the time of Mangou's breakout." The old man Wu waved his hand and said with a smile: "Yifeng thinks that Mangou will break out on the sixth night of the twelfth lunar month, and Da Ren thinks that Mangou will break out on the seventh night of the twelfth lunar month. , this difference is not very big, we only need to prepare for two consecutive nights. Our army has not attacked the city for three consecutive days, and the soldiers are still physically strong. It is definitely not a problem to prepare for two consecutive nights. You can take turns to rest."

"However." Speaking of this, the old traitor Wu turned his ugly face to Fatty Lu again, and asked seriously: "Yifeng, why do you think Man Gou will break through to Yiling? Compared with breaking through to Anlu, Man Gou will go to Yiling Breaking through is not only difficult, but also dangerous on the road?"

"Because Mangou, like us, knows that it is safe and relatively safe to break through to Anlu, so Mangou must believe that our army will set up ambushes on their way to Anlu." Fatty Lu said in a deep voice: "Please Grandfather, father-in-law, and second uncle think about it, if you were to command Jingzhou Mangou to break through, knowing that our army is likely to set up an ambush in the northeast, would you choose to go to Anlu and throw yourself into the trap, or kill us by surprise, and the other way around? Go to Yiling to break through the siege?"

Old Traitor Wu, Wu Guogui, and Xia Guoping were all silent. They felt that what Fatty Lu said was reasonable, but also felt that the matter was too risky.Han Daren was furious in his heart, and secretly scolded Fatty Lu that he would entrap Zhongliang when he became a villain, deliberately turning black and white, and blocking the way for future generations to make progress.In the end, it was Xia Guoxiang who suggested: "Father-in-law, my son-in-law thinks that both Yifeng and Daren are reasonable, so we should also be prepared in this regard and send two ambushes at the same time, one to go to Mangou to flee to Anlu. An ambush in Hougang along the way, and an ambush in Dongshi, the only way for Mangou to escape to Yiling, so that no matter which direction Mangou breaks out from, we can be sure of it."

"Is there so many troops from me?" Old man Wu gave his idiot son-in-law a wicked look.

"Grandfather is right." Fatty Lu was flattering too, "Our army has fewer soldiers and more soldiers. Although our army is stronger than Mangou in field battles, this advantage will disappear if we divide our troops too much. Moreover, when Mangou breaks through, Jingzhou's granary and arsenal will inevitably be set on fire. Our army's logistics is weak. It is a pity that these food and supplies have been burned. We must immediately send an army into the city to take over the rescue. In terms of the deployment and distribution of troops, we are indeed very stretched. "

The traitor Wu nodded silently, agreeing with Fatty Lu's judgment, while Wu Guogui pondered: "In this way, our army must face an either-or choice, or the judgment is right about the direction of Mangou's breakout, and we must concentrate our efforts to inflict heavy losses. Man Gou, either made a mistake in judgment, and could only get an empty city of Jingzhou, which could not seriously damage the last main force of Man Gou in Huguang."

"That's right, that's the truth." The old man Wu nodded, sat up straight again, and said seriously: "Then tell me, should we choose the northeast or the west? Should we choose to deploy the ambush in Hougang or Dongshi?" ambush?"

"My lord, the general insists that Man Gou will go to the northeast to break through." Han Daren was the first to say impatiently: "The general is willing to lead an army to Hougang to ambush, if Man Gou doesn't go this way, the general will lead the army .”

The old traitor Wu did not speak, but turned his gaze to Xia Guoxiang, who hesitated for a moment, and replied: "Father-in-law, although my son-in-law thinks what Yifeng said makes sense, Mangou's side may not be the same as Yifeng's analysis, and it will be relatively safe." I don’t want to go to Anlu, but retreat to Yiling. So my son-in-law still thinks that Mangou is the most likely to break through to Anlu.”

"Father, it's not that the child is dissatisfied with the son-in-law, it's just that he said it too mysteriously." Wu Guogui also stood on the opposite side of the son-in-law mercilessly, and said seriously: "He believes that Mangou will go to Yiling to break through. On the basis that the dog will do the opposite, let’s not say that the Man Gou may not choose to do the opposite, but whether the Man Gou can consider this move is probably two things to say. So the boy supports Han this time. General Daren, I would like to lead an army to Hougang to ambush."

"Yifeng, your son-in-law doesn't like my father-in-law very much." The old man Wu laughed treacherously, and smiled at Fatty Lu: "Even your father-in-law doesn't support your judgment, what else do you have to say?"

"Son-in-law still thinks that Mangou will break through to Yiling." Fatty Lu ignored Wu Guogui's ugly face, but said seriously: "Because there is another reason, it's not that Mangou can't defend the city, it's just that Jingzhou's special terrain determines Man Gou can't stick to it. If Man Gou succeeds in breaking through to Yiling, although the food and grass are not enough to hold on for a long time, the terrain of Yiling is more steep than Jingzhou, easier to defend and harder to attack, and there is no fatal point like the Wandi. It can continue to contain the main force of our army—Grandfather, I think you know that the most precious thing for us and Emperor Mangou now is not military power and food, but time!"

"This time, I agree with Mr. Maoya's student's judgment." Wang Shirong finally opened his mouth and said seriously: "If the main force of our army can't wipe out the main force of Jingzhou, it won't be able to get in touch with Sichuan, and it won't be able to initiate an attack. A full-scale counter-offensive. If the main force of Mangou withdraws to Anlu, even if our army cannot wipe them out, we can still achieve the strategic goal of opening up the Yangtze River waterway, which is very detrimental to Mangou.”

"However, if the main force of the Manchus succeeds in breaking through to Yiling, Yiling can replace Jingzhou and become Mangou's new nail in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and continue to play a role in restraining our army. , Emperor Mangou is also embarrassed to punish them for serious crimes. So this time, I agree with the judgment of Mr. Maoya, a student, that Mangou is most likely to break through to Yiling!"

"Then let's set up an ambush in Dong City." The old man Wu smiled treacherously, pointed at Wu Guogui, and said with a smile: "Guogui, your son-in-law proposed the plan, and I will leave it to you to lead the troops to Dong City to set up an ambush." .”

Hearing the old traitor Wu's words, Han Daren, who finally had a chance to make his mark, was inevitably disappointed. Wu Guogui was also very anxious, and hurriedly asked, "Father, you..."

"Don't talk about it, you've made up your mind." The old man Wu interrupted with a wave of his hand, and said coldly: "Your son-in-law is the most thoughtful, and the most important thing for a father is time. At most, it is just to let Mangou in Jingzhou city live a few more days, and you can still achieve the purpose of opening up the connection with Sichuan. But if your son-in-law is right, but the father did not follow his advice and let Mangou break through to Yiling Succeed—then as a father, even if there is regret medicine, it’s too late to take it.”

Wu Guogui was stunned for a while, and then said weakly after a long while: "My child obeys orders." After finishing speaking, Wu Guogui turned to Fatty Lu again, gave Lu Fatty a fierce look, and threatened in a low voice: "If you let me go to Dong Shibai, Then you just wait for Lao Tzu to clean up!"

Fatty Lu shrank his head and didn't dare to say anything, while old traitor Wu laughed and said, "Well, if Yifeng makes a mistake in your judgment, I won't punish you, but let your father-in-law deal with you."

After all, the old traitor Wu and Xia Guoxiang laughed together, Fatty Lu and Wu Guogui laughed awkwardly together, and Han Daren lowered his head, renewing his jealousy and hatred for Fatty Lu—but what Han Daren did not expect was that the old traitor Wu had been secretly Paying attention to him, seeing that he was dissatisfied and secretly glaring at Fatty Lu, the old traitor Wu was not only not angry, but a little secretly happy, and said in his heart: "Okay, this little slicker Yifeng can even coax Lao Tzu and that idiot son around. The person who monitored him even sent one to be captured by him, and he would wear a pair of pants with him within a few days-if he didn't quickly cultivate an enemy for him, I really didn't feel at ease to reuse him further."
………………

The pre-war enemy situation analysis meeting was ended with all kinds of ghosts, and the night passed quickly. In the early morning of the next day, which was also the morning of the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month in Kang Mazi's 12th year, the main force of the Wu army, who was loose on the outside and tight on the inside, started the blocking battle. Before the preparations, Wu Guogui led [-] elite soldiers out of the camp. Under the cover of morning fog and snowflakes, they quietly rushed to the small town of Dongshi in the west of Jingzhou to ambush. Only a small number of troops were sent to monitor the movement of the Qing army in Jingzhou, and patiently waited for the Qing army to break through and escape.

The days in winter are short, and another day passes quickly. As soon as the first watch arrives, the sky is completely dark, and the wind and snow in the sky are even heavier.Seeing this situation, although the old traitor Wu ordered the whole army to continue to loosen and tighten secretly, horses did not remove their saddles, men did not disarm, dry food and weapons were always with them, and they were ready to attack at any time, but they were quite worried in their hearts - if Mangou didn't break out tonight, Then after tossing around overnight in this harsh weather, the physical exertion of the soldiers is definitely not that small.And if Fatty Lu really misjudged the direction of the Qing army's assault, then the Wu army who was basically unprepared in the northeast direction would not only be unable to stop the Qing army from blocking it, but even if they wanted to pursue it overnight, it would be much more difficult than usual.

Nearly two o'clock, the Qing army in Jingzhou was still silent. The generals of the Wu army who gathered in the big tent of the Chinese army were waiting for the military order, but they were already so cold that they rubbed their hands and stomped their feet, sneezing constantly. Although the old traitor Wu sitting next to the brazier was temporarily fine , but also felt very tired, and his eyelids kept fighting up and down.While Xia Guoxiang, Han Daren and others rubbed their hands and shrunk their necks, they inevitably glared at Fatty Lu and complained in a low voice. Fatty Lu understood that it was useless to explain, but he just closed his fat eyes slightly and pretended not to see it, waiting patiently for the urgent report.

In the middle of the second watch, there was still no movement in Jingzhou City. Although the generals of the Wu army did not dare to complain publicly, they inevitably murmured in a low voice. It's cold, it's like dripping into ice, and the soldiers are gathering in the open air, it's really uncomfortable, don't you see..."

"No hurry, just wait." Old man Wu replied without opening his eyes.

"Wait any longer, if Mangou doesn't break through tonight, then the soldiers will be miserable." Xia Guoxiang cried and said, "If you wait in the open air for nothing in this kind of weather, by tomorrow morning, I'm afraid at least half of them will suffer from frostbite. man."

Old traitor Wu still closed his eyes and refused to open them, but he hesitated in his heart, but at this moment, a loud voice suddenly sounded outside the tent, and a messenger rushed in, and before he could salute, he shouted loudly: "Qi My lord, for some reason, fires erupted all over Jingzhou City! The fire is so intense that you can see it clearly from here!"

"It's finally here." Old Traitor Wu finally opened his cloudy old eyes, and some relaxed and satisfied smiles appeared on his ugly old face.

"Which direction is Mangou breaking through?" Xia Guoxiang asked impatiently.

"Which direction is the dog going to break through?" The messenger was stunned, and replied with a mournful face: "Go back to General Xia, it's so far away, the villain can't see it."

(End of this chapter)