weaving

Chapter 1213 Does he think he is stronger than Zuo Liangyu?

"I don't know if God is blind, but we were not thorough enough in our maneuvers. First, we thought of using artillery and stone attacks to force Lao Zuo to flee, but we didn't expect him to escape in advance. Second, we didn't expect the border troops of Xuanda to suddenly attack, and they took away a lot of troops for no reason."

Song Xiance interjected, "Grand Marshal, although it did not go as expected, we did defeat the more than 100,000 government troops at Shuipoji and shattered the court's plan to attack from both the north and the south. Although we failed to capture Zuo Liangyu, it is a great pity. But after all, we no longer have to worry about being attacked from both sides, and we can free up our hands to deal with Xuanda's army in the north. This is a great victory for us!"

Li Zicheng said to Zongmin again: "So I said that Lao Zuo was able to escape the net. Although it was our fault, it was also God's will that he should not die here."

Song Xiance smiled mysteriously and said confidently, "In fact, I told a fortune yesterday and I knew Zuo Liangyu would not perish just like that."

Liu Zongmin was half-believing and half-doubting, and complained to him, "Old Song, this is your fault. If you knew it earlier, why didn't you say it earlier? If you had said it earlier, I wouldn't have wasted so much energy."

"hey-hey……"

Song Xiance still spoke mysteriously: "If I say this too early, it will weaken the morale of the army and make the soldiers unwilling to fight. Secondly... I can't reveal the secret, lest I be punished by the gods."

Everyone talked for a while and agreed that not capturing or killing Zuo Liangyu would be like letting a tiger go back to the mountains, and that a great deal of energy and manpower would be required in the future to completely eliminate him.

Finally, the topic inevitably returned to the north of Zhuxian Town...

"Although this battle was a victory at the beginning, it defeated the enemy in front of Shuipoji in one fell swoop, and eliminated the danger of the government troops being attacked from both the north and the south. It is indeed worth congratulating."

Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, changed the subject and said, "In the next battle to besiege Kaifeng, we will have to face Zhang Cheng from Xuanfu head-on. If we don't defeat the government troops outside the city first, we won't be able to besiege Kaifeng. We must fight the next battle with all our strength so that we can capture Kaifeng as soon as possible."

Song Xiance stroked his beard and said nothing. He did not know Zhang Cheng from Xuanfu very well, so he did not dare to speak falsely, lest he would damage his image as a military advisor in the minds of King Chuang and the generals.

"In the eleventh year, our team had just grown stronger, but Zhang Cheng was able to take advantage of us. I have long been unwilling to accept this, but I didn't expect him to dare to come to Kaifeng again. I will let him know how powerful Grandpa Liu is!"

Tian Jianxiu looked at the furious Liu Zongmin, stepped out and said with a smile: "General Liu's words really touched the hearts of our brothers. If we had not been careless and thought we could easily take Kaifeng, and had not led the army to come, we would have fallen into his trap. Now when we think about it, we feel indignant."

He first spoke up for Liu Zongmin, and when he saw that Liu Zongmin's face had recovered and he was no longer as angry as before, he changed the subject and said, "But there are two points that cannot be ignored.

First, Zhang Cheng dared to march straight ahead and set up camp twenty miles north of our army. If he is not stupid, he must have some basis for doing so. We should not underestimate him.

Second, before their main army moved, they first used their elite cavalry to approach our camp, so that our spies could not get more than ten miles away from the camp. This shows that their troops are not incapable of fighting, and are even better than the Shaanxi troops led by Fu Zonglong and Wang Qiaonian. "

Liu Fangliang also said: "Yufeng is right. The border troops coming from Xuanda cannot be ignored."

"Even if they are stronger than Fu Zonglong and Wang Qiaonian's Shaanxi soldiers, so what?" Li Guo seemed to be very dissatisfied with Zhang Cheng in his heart. He continued, "According to the spies' report, there are only about 40,000 to 50,000 people in the north. Even if the defenders in Kaifeng are included, there will be no more than 80,000 combat-capable soldiers at most.

We have already taken down the 200,000 government troops at Shuipoji, so why would we be afraid of his mere 40,000 or 50,000 troops? Even if all of them are combat soldiers, we can still wear them out!"

Liu Zongmin looked at Li Guo with a serious expression and said, "Humph, it is impossible that they are all combat soldiers. At least 30% of them are auxiliary soldiers and menial servants."

Li Zicheng did not comment on their words, but turned his head to Song Xiance, the military advisor, stared at him, and said, "Military advisor, what do you think?"

"I suggest that, regardless of whether Zhang Cheng from Xuanfu has a strong army, we should be cautious in dealing with the situation of our royal army, so as to avoid the current favorable situation being reversed by a battle."

Li Guo was still a little puzzled by this and said, "My army just defeated more than 100,000 government troops at Shuipo. How could the imperial court gather so many troops in such a short time? We can take advantage of the situation to defeat Zhang Cheng in the north and then besiege the city to force the Kaifeng eunuchs to surrender."

"Yes."

  Liu Zongmin said: "I think Buzhi's idea is very good. He should use this great power to attack northwards and fight all the way to Kaifeng. I don't believe that he can stop us from besieging Kaifeng with his tens of thousands of border troops from Xuanfu.

Could it be that Zhang Cheng thought he was stronger than Zuo Liangyu and was really trying to stop a chariot with a mantis arm? "

“Otherwise…otherwise…”

Song Xiance stroked his pitifully sparse beard and continued, "Jiexuan, Buzhi, it is precisely because our current situation is very good. Not only are our troops strong, but what is even more rare is that the Grand Marshal's prestige is at its peak, attracting heroes from all over the world to join him. He has become the common ruler of the world, and is destined to ascend the throne and rule the world in the future.

At this critical moment, all actions of my royal army must be cautious and prudent. If we are not careful, the current good situation may be ruined.

Moreover, you and I both know that after defeating the hundreds of thousands of government troops at Shuipo, it is extremely difficult for the imperial court to mobilize such a large number of government troops in a short period of time. Therefore, in the land of Zhongzhou, apart from our royal army, there are only tens of thousands of government troops in the north. Why should we rush and take risks to attack?"

After listening to Song Xiance's analysis, everyone in the hall nodded in agreement. Even Liu Zongmin praised him, "It has to be Song's military advisor. His thinking is much more thorough than that of us rough guys."

To be honest, these people didn't have any goals in the past. They just took one step at a time and conquered states and cities everywhere. In fact, they just wanted to have a full meal.

But now it is different. All of them have different ideas in their minds. That is to assist Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, to conquer the world and rule the country. In that way, all of them, the earliest contributors to follow the dragon, will be granted the titles of dukes and marquises.

From then on, not only will you bring glory to your ancestors, but you will also be able to ennoble your wife and children, inherit the title, and bless your descendants for generations to come. The most important thing is to be listed on the list of meritorious officials, leaving your name in history for future generations to admire and worship...

This is a blessing that can only be earned after many lifetimes. Who can refuse and withstand such temptation?

Therefore, when the generals heard Song Xiance talking about the rash use of troops, which might even affect the King of Chuang's plan to conquer the world, they all fell silent, which was understandable...