weaving

Chapter 1188 Do you dare to issue a military order?

On May 17th, the sky was clear and cloudless.

But on the vast land between Zhuxian Town and Shuipoji, there was another strange scene. Clouds of gray-white smoke continued to rise and lingered for a long time, accompanied by flying dust and sand, flying all over the sky, almost reaching the point of covering the sky and the sun.

This day is destined to be an extremely extraordinary day for the two thieves Chuang Cao in Zhuxian Town and the governors and generals of the Ming army in Shuipo Ji. The fate of many people will be affected and will undergo irreversible changes!

Zhang Nai, an outstanding young general of the Chuang army, stole the limelight today. Hundreds of thousands of bandits from both the Chuang and Cao armies were watching their performance, and the sound of "boom" was endless in the ears.

Although they were all eager to try, they never got the chance to show their skills and could only watch Zhang Nai's artillery battalion fighting fiercely.

In order to test the Baoding army led by Yang Wenyue and Hu Dawei, Liu Zongmin, the chief scout of the Chuang army, launched three surprise attacks during the intervals between artillery bombardments. Because these three surprise attacks were also intended to paralyze the Baoding army, the most elite infantry were not sent out, and naturally they failed to break through the Baoding army's camp defenses.

However, the three surprise attacks launched by Liu Zongmin were not without effect. Through these attacks, the morale and combat effectiveness of Yang Wenyue's side were tested, which were obviously weaker than those of General Hu Dawei.

"Tell Zhang Nai's firearms battalion to keep firing. Don't be stingy with the gunpowder and shells. Return all the gunpowder you fired today."

While Liu Zongmin sent someone to pass on the message to Zhang Nai, he also summoned generals including Liu Tichun, Ren Jirong, Li You, Bai Minghe, Xie Junyou, and Tong Shoushan to prepare for the general attack in the afternoon.

Soon, all the generals came to Liu Zongmin's tent. They all looked very excited and seemed to be looking forward to the upcoming general attack.

Tong Shoushan and Xie Junyou entered Liu Zongmin's central military tent together. Seeing that Liu Tichun, Ren Jirong and Li You had arrived before him, he hurriedly greeted them and then sat down on the empty stool next to Liu Tichun.

"General, you have to argue with General Liu. As long as we are sent to fight first, my 'Shanzi Camp' will definitely win the first place for you."

Liu Tichun did not reply directly, but looked at Ren Jirong, Li You, Xie Junyou and others, and then said softly: "Although the government troops are weak, they cannot be defeated in one blow. Don't be too confident in front of General Liu."

While they were talking, Bai Minghe also entered the military tent. Before anyone could say hello, they saw Liu Zongmin lift up the door curtain and the chief sentry Liu Zongmin strode into the tent.

Everyone hurriedly stood up to greet him, but Liu Zongmin just waved his hand casually, signaling everyone not to be polite.

After the rebel army respected Li Zicheng as the "Grand Marshal of Civil and Military Affairs who advocated righteousness from heaven", various rules were gradually established, and everything began to have regulations, no longer as casual as before.

But Liu Zongmin did not care much about these. Although he strictly abided by the rules like other generals in front of Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, when he was in charge of the overall situation, he would keep things simple or avoid them if possible.

However, among the entire rebel army, only Liu Zongmin was the most impartial. No matter who fell into his hands, no one could plead for mercy. Even if Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, spoke to him, he might not give face.

Therefore, if we only talk about prestige in the rebel army, apart from Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, the most prestigious is this chief sentry Liu Ye. Even Luo Rucai, the "Cao Cao" who formed his own camp, is in awe of him.

Ever since Liu Zongmin entered the military tent, none of the generals said a word. They all sat upright without looking to the side. Even Liu Tichun sat on the stool very properly.

"Are all the camps ready?"

"Reporting to Master Liu, Tichun is ready, just waiting for the Master's order."

"Let the boss know that our 'Shanzi Camp' is clamoring to take the lead!"

"Ready."

"I'm ready too."

Liu Zongmin's eyes lingered on Tong Shoushan. His eyes were sharp but without any emotion, so it was impossible to tell what he was thinking from his eyes. "Tong Shoushan, how many cavalry and infantry do you have in your Shanzi Camp now?"

"My Lord, the Shanzi Camp has 800 cavalry warriors and 4,000 brave infantrymen. I would like to lead the charge and help the Grand Marshal and Mr. Liu break through the Baoding Army camp."

Liu Zongmin didn't know much about Tong Shoushan. He only remembered that he was a deserter from the Ming army and joined the group after they captured Luoyang City. However, since he joined the group, he has indeed performed very well. With the help of a dozen or twenty old brothers, he has made many contributions and is now a general with thousands of troops under his command.

"Can you guarantee that we will capture the Baoding Army camp?"

Hearing Liu Zongmin's question, Liu Tichun's heart skipped a beat and he hurriedly reached out to grab Tong Shoushan's trouser leg, but missed.

"Of course I dare. Even if I, Tong Shoushan, have the courage of heaven, I would not dare to deceive Master Liu in front of the battlefield!"

As soon as Tong Shoushan finished speaking, Liu Tichun cried out in his heart: "It's over."

"Do you dare to issue a military order?"

"Why don't you dare."

Tong Shoushan did not show any fear when he was talking to Liu Zongmin. He continued, "However, if our Shanzi Camp cannot break through the Baoding Army Camp, we will accept any punishment from the General.

I only ask one thing of you, Master..."

"What's the matter?"

Tong Shoushan said seriously, "Please spare this big head on my neck, even if I am just a small pawn, I will help the Marshal to conquer the world."

Liu Zongmin was very satisfied with his performance. He had also heard of the reputation of "Shan Ye", but after all, he came to join the team after entering Henan, so he was not as reassuring as the brothers in the Old Eighth Team.

But on second thought, Tong Shoushan has been quite loyal and capable since joining the gang, so this is a good opportunity to test him and see if he is really loyal to King Chuang or if there is any cunning element in him.

If Tong Shoushan is truly loyal to King Chuang, he can be of great use in the future; if he is just a cunning and slippery person who only knows how to talk but actually has other intentions, this is a good opportunity to get rid of him.

Having made up his mind, Liu Zongmin said to him very seriously: "Since you have volunteered so actively, I will allow you this time. At noon, your Shanzi Camp will be the first to attack. I will only give you three quarters of an hour. If you fail to break through Yang Wenyue's front camp, I will punish you!"

"Yes, Shanzi Camp follows orders."

Liu Zongmin ignored him and turned to Liu Tichun and said, "Erhu, you will command Yang Wenyue. Li You and Xie Junyou will attack from behind the Shanzi Camp. If the Shanzi Camp breaks through Yang Wenyue's front camp, you will attack immediately and charge directly into his mid-camp to defeat Yang Wenyue in one fell swoop.

If the Rushanzi Camp cannot attack Yang Wenyue's front camp, Li You will follow. If Li You cannot, Xie Junyou will follow. Finally, you, Liu Erhu, will follow. In short, 'Yang Wenyue must be defeated today'!"

"Yes."

"Ren Jirong, Bai Minghe, you two are responsible for attacking Hu Dawei's troops. Remember, although your area is not the main attack direction, you must not be perfunctory in front of the battle. You must make sure that Hu Dawei cannot spare any time to rescue Yang Wenyue."

"Yes. Please rest assured, sir."

Liu Zongmin said solemnly, "Remember, if any of Hu Dawei's men go to support Yang Wenyue, I will chop off your heads. Do you understand?"

"The general will know!"