weaving

Chapter 1169: Marching South

"General Wang, General Li, have you ever seen such a good show of people vying for the lead in battle?"

"It's one-of-a-kind... It's truly one-of-a-kind."

Wang Pu’s acting skills are truly extraordinary, but it’s a pity that he was not born in modern times, otherwise the two emperors of film and television would definitely not be able to escape from his control.

He opened his mouth wide, and continued with an exaggerated expression: "Otherwise, why is our old prince willing to follow behind the Earl of Yongning? It's because he believes in our Yongyi Army. As long as he follows the Earl, even if our Datong Army is wiped out, our old prince will not regret it at all!"

"That's right. I, Li Fuming, only obey the Earl of Yongning. As long as you give the order, I will not compromise and will fight wherever you point me. Just like what General Wang said, I will defeat my Shanxi army and even if I, Li Fuming, die on the battlefield, I will have no regrets."

Seeing Wang Pu and Li Fuming singing the same tune to show their loyalty, Jiang Mingwu also clasped his fists and said, "Master, my life is also yours. If you point east, I will never go west. If you tell me where to attack, I will definitely conquer it even if I have to sacrifice my life."

Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng looked at Wang Pu, Li Fuming, and Jiang Mingwu with a smile on his face, his face full of praise, but in his heart he was also filled with emotion...

Once upon a time, he was a small character who couldn't even speak in front of Wang Pu and Jiang Mingwu, but now he has become a local lord who can make them bow down to him wholeheartedly.

  It's true - the world is unpredictable and fate plays tricks on us!

However, Earl Yongning did not become complacent because of this. He reminded himself more than once in his heart that everything today was hard-earned and he must hold on steady, lest the gains of several years of hard work be lost overnight.

Just like this battle with Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, he had been planning it for months...

In Zhang Cheng's opinion, the most important thing is not to defeat the bandits in one battle, but to first steadily establish himself in an invincible position, and then slowly wear down the morale of the Chuang army. Unless there is a major turnaround, he will use the most stupid method and forcibly drag down and cripple the Chuang army.

"I am very pleased that you three have such trust in Benbo."

After Zhang Cheng finished speaking, his face suddenly darkened. After glancing at all the generals in the hall one by one, he said in a deep voice: "This time we are fighting the bandits, both sides have many soldiers and horses, even more than the last time Liaodong fought against the Tartars. It is not something that can be dealt with by one battalion or one general, nor can we win a complete victory in one battle.

So, you don't have to fight for the first battle. There will be plenty of battles for you to fight in the future. I am not afraid of you fighting for it, but I am afraid that if you suffer losses from the bandits in the early stage, you will not have the opportunity to fight in the big battle later!"

After hearing Zhang Cheng's words, all the generals were silent...

"Generals, listen!"

Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng said in a serious tone, "Lin Fangping..."

"The end will be here."

"You will send all the Yu Lin and Hu Wei out to Ben Bo, and use the teams as the basic unit to press southwards and cover the battlefield, so that the enemy's scouts cannot get close, so that our Yong Yi army's camps can move south to seize the key points and set up camps for defense."

"Here."

"One more thing. Select a team of sharp cavalry and try to bypass the bandit camp. Contact Ding Qirui and Zuo Liangyu in Shuipoji as soon as possible and inform them of our army's movements to reassure them!"

"Here."

"Qinglongying Zhang Guodong..."

"The end will be here."

"Guodong, your Qinglong Camp will have dinner at 3 pm tomorrow, and move out at 3 pm. Go south along the Jialu River and seize the abandoned village where Chang Zhengcheng and his men were stationed as your base."

"Here."

"Guodong, I want you to be like a nail, nailing Benbo there, and wait for an opportunity to destroy the dam that the enemy army used to block the Jialu River."

"Yes. Please rest assured, Marshal. My Qinglong Battalion will never fail in our mission."

"Wei Zhice from the Teng Snake Camp..."

"The end will be here."

"Zhi Ce, your Teng Snake Camp also starts eating at 3 pm and breaks camp at 5 pm. Then you march south and seize the key point 28 miles away. You build fortifications and camps to threaten the right wing of the enemy army." "Yes."

"Chen Zheng from the White Tiger Camp..."

"The end will be here."

"Chen Zheng, your White Tiger Camp moved south half an hour later than them and occupied the Xianggong Temple fifteen miles away as your base."

"Here."

"The Xianggong Temple is only ten miles away from the enemy's Zhuxian Town camp. The reason why I asked you to advance half an hour later than Guodong, Zhice and the others is that I hope they can attract the attention of the enemy army and make it easier for your White Tiger Camp to seize the Xianggong Temple. So you must advance quickly and seize the Xianggong Temple quickly. Once you occupy the place and set up a battle formation in front, you can build a camp."

"Here."

"Xu Yousi..."

"exist."

"Go back tonight and prepare for the mobilization. At 3 p.m. tomorrow, all militia members will set out and follow Chen Zheng's White Tiger Battalion to the Xianggong Temple."

"Here."

Zhang Cheng's second brother-in-law Yang Shijie stood at the last position. Although he had a noble status and was the actual helmsman of the Mangshan militia, Xu Yousi was nominally the commander-in-chief of the militia, so he ranked after Xu Yousi, and it was natural for Xu Yousi to accept the military order.

Yang Shijie has always dreamed of becoming a general. When he first met Zhang Cheng, he persuaded Zhang Cheng to join the army. Later, he was also the most active one in the militia's anti-bandit operations around Mangshan.

As small gangs of bandits in the surrounding areas were wiped out one after another, Yang Shijie truly experienced the joy of killing the enemy on the battlefield. Earlier, he had asked his brother Yang Shibin and Lin Fangping to lead troops to rescue Kaifeng, showing his determination to fight the bandits. Unfortunately, he was dissuaded by Yang Shibin and Lin Fangping.

So, now that he heard that his militia would follow Chen Zheng's White Tiger Battalion to fight in the central route, he was not only excited in his heart, but the expression on his face was clearly revealed.

"After arriving at Xianggong Temple, the soldiers of the White Tiger Camp will form a battle array in front to prevent the bandits from attacking. Xu Yousi, you will lead the militia to build the camp in the back. You can dig three wide trenches first, and build more chevaux de frise in the trenches and at the intervals. Only then can we build the camp wall with peace of mind."

"Here!"

"what?……"

Xu Yousi accepted the military order calmly, but Yang Shijie's expression was very interesting. His excitement had not yet completely faded, but his eyes were full of disappointment. He opened his mouth wide as if he wanted to say something, but when he saw his brother-in-law's serious expression, the words could not come out.

Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng ignored him and said in a deep voice: "Send out all the cavalrymen from the camps heading south, and cooperate with the Yulin Cavalry and the Tiger Guard Cavalry to block the enemy's scouts in the south, and make sure they can't spy on our army's movements."

"Here!"

Wang Pu, Li Fuming and Jiang Mingwu exchanged glances and asked, "My Lord, what should we do?"

"Haha, you are all tired from marching all the way. It's just right that the camps are heading south. You can lead your troops to Xinghuaying, Nanguan and other places for a while to rest for a day or two. When the front line is stable, you can make arrangements."

The three of them looked at each other, then clasped their fists and nodded in response to the order.

"Marshal, the Yanhe Camp has not received the military order yet!"

"Chen Zhong, you will lead the Yanhe Camp to set out at noon tomorrow and enter Xincheng with my headquarters as a reserve force for the time being."

"Here."

(End of this chapter)