weaving

Chapter 1178 The Key to Success or Failure

In the Yuewang Temple in Zhuxian Town, after Li Zicheng appeased Hao Yaoqi, he discussed with the officers and generals for a while. Except for Hao Yaoqi and a few others, most of the others tended to act cautiously.

Finally, the chief sentry Liu Zongmin spoke up: "Prince Chuang, I think the more times like this, the more we need to brace ourselves. We'll start bombing them early tomorrow morning, and then we'll start fighting. We'll directly attack the government army camp at Shuipoji and push forward with all our might. If we can defeat them in one fell swoop, we can focus on dealing with the government troops coming from the north."

"Jiexuan's idea is good, but I don't know if he can defeat the government troops in Shuipoji in person."

After listening to Luo Rucai's words, military advisor Song Xiance also spoke up: "General Jiexuan said exactly what everyone thinks. In my opinion, we can deploy more artillery and main forces in the direction of Yang Wenyue's Baoding Army. The Baoding Army is the weakest in Shuipoji. If they can't withstand our offensive, they will surely flee."

Yuan Zongdi was very supportive of what Song Xiance said, and said: "Master Liu and the military advisor are right. We should pick the weak ones first. We should attack the Baoding army first. As long as we can open a gap here, we can take the opportunity to disrupt the armies of Ding Qirui and Zuo Liangyu."

"Lin Quan, what are you thinking? Why don't you say anything?"

Li Yan didn't want to express his opinion, but now that the King of Rebellion has personally called his name, he can no longer keep a low profile, so he can only say: "Yan also thinks that our army cannot wait for the arrival of government reinforcements. The strategy of Master Liu and the military advisor is indeed the only solution at present."

Li Zicheng nodded, then turned his gaze to Luo Rucai and asked him, "Rucai, what do you think?"

"Brother Li, I think Jiexuan and Military Advisor Song's method is feasible. Yang Wenyue is a coward. If our army fights more urgently, he will definitely lead his troops to flee first, just like he did in the burned shop."

Luo Rucai added, "Brother Li, if the Baoding troops attacking Yang Wenyue are dissatisfied with the ant's legs, my Cao camp can attack first."

After hearing what Luo Rucai said, Liu Zongmin and others' faces changed immediately, but before they could react, Li Zicheng smiled and said, "With Jiexuan and the others here, how can we let the first battle be given to the brothers in Cao's camp?"

He then turned to Liu Zongmin and asked with a smile, "Right, Jiexuan?"

Although Liu Zongmin looked down on Luo Rucai in his heart, he did not dare to show disrespect to the Grand Marshal in front of everyone, so he could only say: "Yes. It's all up to the Grand Marshal's orders."

Li Zicheng ignored him and shouted loudly: "Zhang Nai."

The young general Zhang Nai immediately stepped out, clasped his fists and said, "Zhang Nai is here, please give the order, Marshal."

"Your firearms battalion should not rest tonight. I will allocate another 5,000 servants and menial workers to you. Before the morning hour tomorrow, you must gather all the artillery opposite the Baoding army camp. When the morning hour arrives, all the artillery will bombard Yang Wenyue together. I will give you one hour. At the morning hour, the entire army will attack, break through the Baoding army camp, and capture Yang Wenyue alive."

"Yes, Zhang Nai has received the order."

Now that the big strategy was decided, Li Zicheng no longer needed to ask for other people's opinions on the remaining specific matters. He just assigned them one by one...

Liu Zongmin was in charge of commanding the army attacking Baoding. Liu Fangliang cooperated with Luo Rucai's Caoying to launch a feint attack on Zuo Liangyu's troops, preventing them from sending troops to rescue Yang Wenyue. Ma Shiyao, a lieutenant general of Chuangying, and Wang Long and Yang Mingqi of Caoying were responsible for launching a feint attack on Ding Qirui's troops.

Yuan Zongdi's troops and Cao Ying's general Yang Shengzu stayed behind the main battle formation to guard against the mysterious Ming reinforcements to the north - Zhang Cheng's troops in Xuanfu, so as not to be caught off guard by them. Li Zicheng even made arrangements for how to collect the various materials abandoned by the Ming army, how to search for the escaped Ming army, and how to deal with the prisoners.

However, Li Guo, who was almost second only to Liu Zongmin in the Chuang camp, was not sent out by the King of Chuang to carry out the task of attacking the government army. Instead, he was left behind with Gao Yigong's old camp as the general reserve of the entire army.

Finally, the King of Chuang asked louder, "Where is Hao Yaoqi?"

"Grand Marshal, I'm here."

King Chuang looked at him and said, "I will give you an order to lead your men to keep an eye on the Baoding army from the side and rear. No matter where they flee, you must keep an eye on Yang Wenyue and Hu Dawei. It would be great if you can destroy them, but even if you can't, you must force them to flee in panic and not let them have the energy to rescue Ding Qirui and Zuo Liangyu."

"Okay, Grand Marshal, just sit back and wait for our good news."

Hao Yaoqi happily accepted the order, but in the blink of an eye he felt something was wrong. He turned around and asked, "Hey, King Chuang, what should we do if Yang Wenyue, that old turtle, doesn't lead his troops to flee?"

Li Zicheng's face turned pale when he heard this, but he still smiled and said to him: "Yang Wenyue is as timid as a mouse and fears me like a tiger. How can he not be defeated if I attack him fiercely and fiercely?"

When Hao Yaoqi heard what King Chuang said, he agreed with him and said happily, "Good, good, good! Hu Dawei is also a famous general in the court. It's worth it for me to capture him!"

King Chuang ignored him and turned to Li Guo, saying, "Buzhi, except for the 5,000 cavalrymen who are attacking the Baoding army, I will leave all the elite cavalry in my army in your hands. Don't worry about the rest. If we really defeat Yang Wenyue's Baoding army, you can attack from the flank to drive away the Baoding defeated soldiers and attack the left army camp."

"Yes. Don't worry, Grand Marshal."

"Remember this, if you fail to defeat the Baoding army, you must not attack rashly!"

"Yes, I'll make a note of it."

Li Zicheng looked at Liu Zongmin and said, "Jiexuan, although whether we can defeat the Baoding army is the key to tomorrow's success or failure, we should not force ourselves. If things are impossible, we should stop in time and make other arrangements."

"Don't worry, Marshal. If Yang Wenyue really resists, I will use up all our wealth."

Li Zicheng knew Liu Zongmin's character. Although he was known for his bravery, he was not a reckless man. He was originally worried that he would get so excited about killing that he would not care about anything. Now that he had his promise, he could naturally feel relieved.

…………

Just as Li Zicheng, Luo Rucai and others were holding a military meeting at Yuewang Temple, Yang Wenyue, the former governor of Baoding stationed in Shuipoji, also received news from Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning.

Coincidentally, Lin Fangping, deputy general of Weiyuan Battalion of Yongyi Army, sent a total of five teams of troops, who took a detour to Shuipoji to look for Ding Qirui, Yang Wenyue, Zuo Liangyu and other officers and generals. However, only three teams of troops broke through the defense line of the bandit general Hao Yaoqi's troops, and two of these three teams actually fell into the camp of Baoding Army, and only one team also entered the camp of Commander Ding Qirui.