stubborn thief

Chapter 654 Yulin Plan

Bang!

Liu Chengzong threw the tiger heavily onto the grass.

This was their third wrestling match.

Liu Shizi was tired of having an interpreter to communicate on his behalf. When words failed to make him understand, actions did the same for him.

So he brought the tiger to the soft grassy courtyard of Huayan Temple, and started wrestling with the tiger in the style of Baoding fast wrestling.

The king of beasts who came out from the white mountains and black waters was not polite to him at all and almost knocked him to the ground, making him fall in a dusty mess.

With this kind of structure and strength, no one else would be able to bear it.

But Liu Chengzong had learned the proper Baoding wrestling skills from Cao Yao, and wrestling the untrained tiger was like a joke to him. The stronger he was, the harder the tiger was thrown.

However, after only three rounds, Liu Shizi didn't want to play with the tiger anymore. He turned around and called Bai Wen to pick out a few strong bows, and several people started shooting at the haystack.

There was no other reason. The Later Jin Dynasty made Tiger and other fish-skin soldiers fight in armor, and he wanted to test Tiger's skills.

Tiger obviously has never learned how to wrestle, so he is relying on brute force to fight him. There is no point in throwing him down again.

It is an objective fact that he is strong and heavy. The reason why he can't beat him is that he is at a disadvantage in terms of technique. If he continues to beat him, he will have learned his technique and will surely beat him to a pulp.

After all, Cao Yao joined the Firearms Camp in Baoding Prefecture, which was responsible for training in guns and cannons. He learned wrestling just for fun, as a hobby in itself.

As for Liu Chengzong, he has always looked down upon martial arts.

His master Liu hired a martial arts master for him so that he could pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi in the future, and then serve as a local official with both civil and military skills, so that he would have the power to intimidate the local military officers.

It's not for him to be a martial artist.

  Besides, he was born in the Ming Dynasty, not the Yuan Dynasty. The imperial court did not ban swords, spears, and halberds, and we can afford to buy weapons, so why learn martial arts?

So I never learned any martial arts, and all I learned were the flail, hammer, bow, horse, sword and spear.

When he met Cao Yao and came into contact with wrestling, his identity was transformed into a front line forward.

The purpose of learning martial arts at that time was different. The purpose was not to fight, but to use it.

If you encounter an unarmed enemy on the battlefield, or if the fight is at a stalemate, you can use an unexpected move to knock your opponent to the ground, grab the knife and stab him to death.

So wrestling is different from using various weapons, and he is not an expert in this area.

Archery is the tiger's real skill.

Moreover, Liu Shizi could clearly see that Tiger's approach was different from his.

They cherish their finely crafted war bows and forged steel arrows.

He drew the bow slowly and gently, carefully, even afraid that the bow arm would make a sound; but he drew the bow fully, held it steadily, and shot very accurately.

It was obvious that he was treating the haystack as some large prey, and every arrow pierced through it.

Liu Chengzong asked several Yulin cavalrymen to test Lao Hu's sword and spear skills. To be honest, his skills were average, but his physical fitness was still very strong.

If Tiger had not been sent to the battlefield in the south of the desert right after being drafted, but had been given a little training in the army, he would have been comparable to the veterans who had served for many years.

He had also seen the three Liaodong Hounds. They looked similar to the Chinese Hounds, but seemed stronger and had longer fur. Apparently, they had evolved such characteristics in order to withstand the cold climate of Northeast China.

Liu Chengzong had the tiger taken away and temporarily kept in the Huben Camp to train the military dog ​​and learn to speak.

Afterwards, he asked Bai Wenxuan to come over and bring his guards to walk with him on Shaolingyuan.

The group rode on the plateau, and when the view was wide and they could see Xi'an City in the distance, Liu Chengzong asked, "It's just to escort a few sets of armor and a few people. Yang Qi asked you to make this special trip, which is a waste of your talent."

Bai Wenxuan lagged behind a little, and upon hearing this, he immediately clasped his fists and said, "General, your words are sincere. Since you have appointed me to serve in Mo Nan, I will do my best to carry out my duties."

Liu Chengzong didn't smile, his face was still serious. He just shook his head and said, "It's just you and me. There's no need to call me Marshal. I'm tired of hearing that. I'm a few years older than you, so just call me brother."

Liu Chengzong was not familiar with Bai Wenxuan. At that time, Zhang Xianzhong was surrounded in Zhuanglang, and the official appointments were all based on Liu Tichun's retelling of a list of powerful generals in the West Camp, which made Bai Wenxuan ranked among the lieutenant generals.

But in fact, Bai Wenxuan is younger than Liu Chengzong.

He joined the Western Camp in the fourth year of Chongzhen and had a certain status from the beginning. When Zhang Xianzhong arrived at Hezhou Wei, he just promoted him to the rank of captain, but Liu Chengzong promoted him to the rank of lieutenant general.

You can say this is a lucky guy.

But Bai Wenxuan's family was more unfortunate. He came from a good family and was supposed to be the son of a good family that inherited the tradition of farming and studying.

Their family was full of scholars. His grandfather was not only a scholar in Wubao, but also a student on government stipend who was given one stone of rice every month.

His father was also a student, but he failed to pass the imperial examination. In fact, until Liu Chengzong had already started his army, Bai Wenxuan's father was still preparing to take the examination for the scholar in Wubao, eating the rice provided by his grandfather.

As for Bai Wenxuan, because he only loved to wield swords and guns and did not study hard, his father sent him to a friend's house to herd sheep so that he could experience a life without studying.

This family are the kind of honest scholars who firmly believe that books are the golden house. After all, scholars will not starve even if the sky falls.

He had neither property nor business acumen. His family was small and the fields were cultivated according to the quota exempted by the court. It didn't matter whether drought came or not. Anyway, the land was small and he didn't have to pay taxes or do labor service. Twenty acres of land was enough to feed himself no matter how much he planted.

I spend my days devoted to reading.

As a result, in the fourth year of Chongzhen, the emperor abolished the exemption for students.

The old man in the family had been receiving rice taxes all his life and had never been subject to corvee labor. When he suddenly learned that his children and grandchildren were going to be forced to perform corvee labor, he was so angry that he kicked his legs.

His father had never taken any responsibility, and the sudden change soon frightened and angered him so much that he fell ill.

Then the house collapsed.

Later, Bai Wenxuan became a bandit and joined Zhang Xianzhong. At first, he used a pseudonym and called himself Yu Gong.

He held a high position in the West Camp for a very simple reason. He was big and ate a lot, so it was natural that he had extraordinary strength. More importantly, he was educated. In the West Camp where many rough men gathered, he was one of the few intellectuals, so he was promoted quickly.

But even so, Bai Wenxuan seemed too young among the generals in the Marshal's Mansion.

Even Ren Quaner is older than him.

After hearing Liu Chengzong asking him to call him brother, Bai Wenxuan stammered, "This, Marshal..."

"Don't worry about this or that."

Liu Chengzong waved his hand indifferently, and then said: "Is there anything in urgent need at the Mo Nan Governor's Office that needs to be sent by the Marshal's Office?"

"Commander-in-Chief Yang didn't mention this."

Bai Wenxuan was very smart and knew what Liu Chengzong meant by asking him to call him brother, which was to win him over. So he added, "There is a shortage of everything in Monan, but we can get by without it. If there is really a shortage... the paper in the Governor's Office is not enough." Liu Chengzong thought for a moment and said, "I see. When you return and pass by Yan'an Prefecture, please send a letter to General Zhang on my behalf. He can solve this problem and get him to restock the gunpowder from there."

Unexpectedly, Bai Wenxuan said, "Marshal, Governor Yang had thought about buying things from northern Shaanxi and selling things to northern Shaanxi, but Yulin Town is in the middle..."

"It's originally 400 miles from Guihua City, but now we have to go around for more than 1,000 miles, and there's also the Maowusu Lake in the middle. It's even worse than selling it in Shanxi, but Shanxi is not our own country."

"Be patient." When Liu Chengzong heard about Yulin Town, he shook his head and said, "We can't fight the two towns of Yulin and Ningxia this year."

Of course he knew that the existence of Yulin Town would bring great trouble to the trade routes between Shaanxi and Mo Nan.

The Marshal's troops were running all over Shaanxi, and the Yulin border troops, which were short of mobile forces, did not dare to fight.

If the escort team of the Marshal's Office dares to pass through Yulin, then let alone the border troops in the camp, I'm afraid even the flag troops in the fort will dare to enter the entrepreneurial mode.

Liu Shizi was also afraid of the Yulin Border Army. He looked miserable when he thought of them. "It's easy to attack Yulin Town. I guess Yulin City is a little harder to attack. As for the surrounding forts, one battalion can sweep through them and bring back 20,000 surrendered soldiers."

"But right now, the Marshal's Office has 140,000 or 150,000 soldiers who need food, and if there are tens of thousands of surrendered soldiers, how can we support the troops?"

Bai Wenxuan understood as soon as he heard it. The soldiers who ate food obviously did not include the Mongolian troops south of the desert.

He thought about it, and wanted to relieve Liu Chengzong's worries, so he said, "What about attacking Shanxi? With General Fu here, it will be easy to break into Shanxi from the south of the desert."

"I don't think so."

Liu Chengzong shook his head decisively: "Don't underestimate Fu Renxi. The easiest people to deal with in this world are those who are upright, either with a heart as hard as iron or with all hope lost. In short, give him some leniency and treat him as an enemy and fight him squarely."

"And Fu Renxi is flexible and unpredictable. When you attack the fort, he scolds you for not being a good friend; when he opens the door and lets you in, he closes the door and beats you."

As Liu Shizi spoke, he recalled the loyal deputy commander of Yanshui Pass a few years ago, and couldn't help but smile, saying, "That guy is just a lazy guy. He does business with us just to make a living. He has long been alienated from the court. If things go wrong, he might have sent people to rob all the gentry and wealthy families in the area."

"But if we really regard him as a traitor and ask him to open the gate and let the soldiers in, he will let us know that there is a hero in the old Fu family."

Liu Chengzong knew Fu Renxi's twisted mentality too well.

He didn't understand it so well when they were getting along with each other before, but later, after getting to know many dead officials, he gradually understood this mentality.

The environment is bad, my abilities are limited, and I still have some ideals in my heart. However, I am unable to realize my personal values ​​due to the objective environment. I have no other choice but to live my life positively, do my job well, and ignore the extra things.

If the whole of Shanxi was conquered, with only Fu Renxi's defense zone left, Liu Chengzong was confident that he could take him down with just one letter.

Anyway, he is still guarding the border as usual. It doesn't matter who he is guarding the border for.

But if the first target was his defense zone, then he would have a real chance to realize his dream of becoming a hero.

"What's more...if we invade Shanxi, there are still Ming troops in Shanxi."

Liu Chengzong smiled. The intelligence of one person could definitely not compare to the intelligence of the entire Huben Camp.

Whether it is attacking Shanxi or Henan, the best time is at the turn of summer and autumn this year. We should break in, occupy them, and try to get the food grown in the fields to supplement military supplies.

But that opportunity was ruined by the plague, and they have no chance to enter Shanxi and Henan this year.

After all, no matter how large the land is, it takes time to grow food.

Of course, you can also gamble that Shanxi and Henan have enough food to feed an army of 200,000, but this is completely unnecessary for Liu Chengzong at this stage.

Liu Chengzong looked at Bai Wenxuan and comforted him, "But you don't have to worry in Mo Nan. I have a way to take Yulin Town. By next summer at the latest, Yulin Town will not be a problem."

Liu Shizi came from the Yulin Border Army, and he had already made arrangements for the Yulin Border Army in his mind.

As for large military towns like Yulin and Ningxia, he would never dare to swallow them up, but he could nibble at them.

His plan was to have Zhang Zhen send people in Yan'an Prefecture to contact the border garrison troops, and exchange them for fields and pastures in Pingliang, Yan'an, Qingyang and other places, in order to turn the Ming Dynasty's border troops into his small landlords.

It is impossible to swallow them all in one bite, but with dozens of households today and a dozen households tomorrow, Yulin Town can be hollowed out in a few months.

By next year, all the empty border forts will be left with only the city of Yulin, and the retired veterans inside will be unable to cause any rebellion.

As for the future, we will consider it later.

Anyway, in the short term, the side wall is of no use to him.

However, even if Yulin Town was taken over, Yulin still had to set up a guard army. The environment there determined that even if the border troops were withdrawn, there would still be a need to suppress bandits.

"Winter is coming soon. Shaanxi will send a batch of cashmere coats to Ordos. Go back and tell Yang Qi to contact Shuolei to do business."

Liu Chengzong thought for a moment and said to Bai Wenxuan, "Leave that tiger from the Black True Tribe here with me. Let him learn their language, and the officers of the Huben Camp should also learn their language. The south of the desert is very important. We will have a battle with the Later Jin sooner or later. The tribes of the barbarians are very good."

To be honest, when Liu Chengzong saw the tiger and learned about the fate of the Heizhen tribes who were captured, he wanted to provide weapons and armor to the Deer and Dog tribes, and even send instructors to help them form an army.

  It turns out that not only is our Grand Marshal's Office a large alliance of various scattered forces, but the retreat routes of the Later Jin are even more scattered than ours. Won't this cause sabotage?

Putting aside other things, it would be nonsense to say that the Deer and Dog Tribes, with their iron weapons and armor, could fight a draw with the Later Jin. However, these things could significantly increase the intensity of the war and make it difficult for the Later Jin to replenish its troops, which was also a very advantageous deployment.

Unfortunately, it's too far.

Even the Shilu tribe, which is closer to the tribes in the northern desert, does not border the southern desert.

What's more, the relationship between the three tribes in northern Mobei, especially the Chechen Khanate which was closer to the Later Jin Dynasty, and the Marshal's Office was not very close.

Forget about transporting the armor to the Greater Khingan Range. I'm afraid even the Chechen tribe in Shuolei couldn't get out and would be robbed.

Even if he was robbed, Liu Shizi didn't have the energy to raise an army and rush to the Kerulen River to get back his revenge.

His current idea is to prepare this move first, in case there is an opportunity in the future, even if he can deliver 10,000 forged steel arrowheads to Tiger's hometown, it can play a big role.

Speaking of Cao Cao, Cao Cao will arrive.

As soon as Liu Chengzong mentioned Zhang Zhen to Bai Wenxuan, he received a report from the Yulin Cavalry: "General, Zhang Zhen, the commander-in-chief of Yanqing Road, sent someone to say that Zhou Qing is here."

"Zhou Qing..." Liu Shizi narrowed his eyes and pondered for a moment, his mind still blank: "Who is it?"

The Yulin Lang beside him held a small notebook and ran his finger over it: "Reporting to the commander, Zhou Qing and Hun Tianxing Hui Dengxiang led their troops to camp in Hengshan, nicknamed Man Tianxing."

"The Marshal had ordered General Zhang to contact him and send a skilled fighter to Baode Prefecture to look for the family of Chen Qiyu, the governor of the Five Provinces."

"it is good!"

Liu Chengzong clapped his hands in delight and said, "The guests are here, and Xi'an City has been settled. Let's go! Let's go meet Chief Zhou."

good afternoon!