weaving

"General Hu, after we defeat the bandits, we'll have plenty of time to catch up with you."

Seeing that Wan Guangjin's identity had been confirmed, General Zuo Liangyu, who was in charge of suppressing bandits, did not want to watch the two of them chatting here any longer. He only heard him continue to say to Ding Qirui: "Commander-in-chief, what does Earl Yongning have in mind? How many days do we have to stay here? When can we attack the bandits?"

Before Ding Qirui could say anything, Fang Guoan shouted softly, "Our camp is now out of water and food. I'm afraid we can't even hold out for a day, let alone a few days."

As he spoke, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Ding Qirui, saying, "Commander-in-Chief Ding, why don't we not wait any longer and charge over today to fight these bandits to the bitter end!"

When Fang Guoan mentioned the issue of water and food shortage, Hu Dawei and Yang Dezheng both sighed secretly. Zuo Liangyu looked quite calm. Among the four major armies, he had the largest number of troops. But he had his own plans in mind. If the limited food and grass were supplied to his elite troops, he could hold on for another two or three days.

However, if the water shortage problem cannot be solved within three days at most, and there is no food supply, his left camp will probably be defeated.

  Sure enough, Ding Qirui's face darkened. In his heart, he blamed Fang Guoan for his rude words. He actually raised this question at such a critical moment. Wasn't he trying to embarrass him?

But as a military commander, although his ability did not match his position, he was not stupid. Ding Qirui knew that this was not the time to lose his temper. He could only suppress his dissatisfaction and comforted him kindly: "Don't worry, General Fang. No matter how difficult it is, we will hold on for another day or two."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Wenyue continued, "The Earl of Yongning has just defeated the Jiannu in Liaodong. His troops are all veterans who have experienced many battles, and they have been granted military names and camp numbers by the current emperor. Now they have set up camp in the north of Zhuxian Town, less than 20 miles away from the rebels, and are ready to attack the rebels together with me.

How can we give up such a good opportunity so easily? We will hold on for three days even if we have to eat dirt. Once the Yongning Earl's army has gained a firm foothold, we will be able to defeat the rebels in one fell swoop with the combined efforts of both sides.

At that time, we can seize the food and grass from the rebel army. You should know that they have been wreaking havoc in Henan Province for many years. Except for the isolated city of Kaifeng, the entire southern bank of the Yellow River has been plundered. Although they may not have brought all the food with them, the food and grass they need for their hundreds of thousands of troops is by no means a small amount. I think it must be enough for the expenses of the soldiers in our camps."

After hearing his words, everyone nodded their heads, as if the food and grass in the rebel army were already beckoning to them. Only Zuo Liangyu said, "Blind Li's army must have sufficient food and grass. I'm afraid it's not that easy to rob them!"

"Does Commander Zuo mean that you are afraid that Earl Yongning will compete with us for the bandits' food supplies?"

General Yang Dezheng continued indifferently: "I heard that the rebels abandoned a lot of food and grass under Kaifeng in order to confront our army, so the whole army came to Zhuxian Town. Now Yongning Bo is also coming from Kaifeng. I believe he has obtained the food and grass left by the rebels, and he will definitely not compete with us for the food and grass in the rebel army."

  Zuo Liangyu just shook his head when he heard this. He thought that Yang Dezheng's idea was pure fantasy. Which general would be dissatisfied with having too much food and fodder when leading troops to fight outside?

Of course, “the more the better”!

However, he was too lazy to engage in a meaningless argument with him at this moment. Zuo Liangyu was concerned about when to attack the rebels. He said to Ding Qirui: "Commander-in-chief, our camp has run out of food and grass. If we only maintain the main cavalry, we can still hold out for two days. If we hold on for longer, I'm afraid it will cause a camp riot!"

"Camp roar? No, a 'camp roar' must not happen!" Before Ding Qirui expressed his opinion, Yang Wenyue was already a little panicked.

Indeed, the Ding, Yang, Zuo and other camps are now out of water and on the verge of running out of food. If a "camp roar" occurs in any camp at this time, it will spread rapidly like a plague until the entire division is defeated...

  Ding Qirui was obviously much more stable than Yang Wenyue. He was able to keep his composure. He raised his hand and stroked his beard and said, "Each camp please report, if the food is distributed in limited quantities, how many days can we last at most?" After hearing this, Hu Dawei and other generals all lowered their heads and remained silent, as if they were silently calculating in their hearts how long their own food and grass could last?

"Three days."

Hu Dawei was the first to speak: "We only eat porridge every day, with some wild vegetables, grass roots, tree bark, etc., to barely keep ourselves alive. We will have one full meal before the war, but we can only last three days at most."

"Well. Then I can hold on for three days." Yang Dezheng also spoke.

Fang Guoan first glanced at Zuo Liangyu before he said, "Then I'll hold on for three days too."

He seemed unwilling to give up, and emphasized again: "Three days, only three days. If we fail to defeat the enemy army, then we will have to wait for Blind Li to come and chop off our heads."

  Ding Qirui also knew everyone's difficulties. In fact, his battalion was also running out of food and grass. But under the current situation, who would dare to withdraw his troops?

The army was already hungry and tired. If they took the initiative to withdraw, they would inevitably be pursued by the rebels' elite cavalry. Everyone would then rush to escape, but countless souls would be lost under the trampling of each other.

  Even if these generals, governors-general, and generals had their own elite soldiers to protect them, they might be able to escape with their lives. But even if they escaped the butcher knife of the rebels, how could they escape the accountability of Emperor Chongzhen?

Unless some troops can deploy in advance and escape first, leaving all friendly forces to the bandits, in that case, perhaps most of the elite troops can be retained and there will be a chance to rise again in the future.

General Zuo Liangyu, who was in charge of suppressing bandits, had originally planned to do just that. He led his troops to flee to Xuchang first, leaving Ding Qirui, Yang Wenyue and others behind to cover his retreat, so that Li Zicheng could not pursue him with all his strength.

  But the sudden arrival of Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng's Yongyi Army shattered his wishful thinking. Perhaps this was God's will!

Ding Qirui's eyes rested on Zuo Liangyu, and he asked him kindly, "General Zuo, can you hold out for another three days?"

"Disaster!"

Zuo Liangyu completely ignored the expectations in everyone's eyes and refused outright.

"General Zuo, I can provide you with 10 stones of grain. Please consider the overall situation and hold on for three days!"

Zuo Liangyu looked up at Ding Qirui. He knew in his heart that at such a critical moment, it was extremely rare for Ding Qirui to allocate ten stone of grain to him. Although it was like "a drop in the bucket" to him, the commander-in-chief had already said so, how could he not cooperate?

"Ten stone of grain, what good is that?"

Zuo Liangyu expressed his dissatisfaction first, then said: "Okay. Since Commander Ding has said so, I will tighten my belt when I go back and do as Tiger Commander said, 'Only eat one meal of porridge a day, and add some wild vegetables to keep me going.'" (End of this chapter)