weaving

Inside the Yongning Earl's tent outside the new city, Zhang Cheng still seemed unwilling to let go of Eunuch Fang Zhenghua. He continued to ask aggressively, "Eunuch Fang, if our division is at a disadvantage in the decisive battle with the bandits, should we retreat to rest and prepare for another battle, or should we fight hard until the entire division is defeated? If our division is defeated, Kaifeng will fall into the hands of the bandits, and they will occupy the land of Zhongzhou, allowing the bandit Li to command the other bandits, establish a system, appoint officials to govern the people, and compete with the imperial court. Then... how will we deal with it?"

"This……"

Fang Zhenghua was speechless again. He stammered, "Then what do you think, Earl Yongning?"

Zhang Cheng looked at Fang Zhenghua's embarrassment and knew that he should not be pushed too far, so he stopped making things difficult for him and said to everyone, "I think that our division can rely on a strong camp and strong stronghold to defend with all its strength to wear down their spirit and weaken their morale. When their food and grass are exhausted and their spirit is gone, their morale is low, then our division can turn defense into offense and force them to flee."

"May I ask Lord Yongning, if the enemy does not come to attack me, what shall I do?"

Zhang Cheng smiled and glanced at Fang Zhenghua, then replied, "If the enemy does not attack me, I will continue to fight them. The enemy has several times more troops than me, so if we fight them, the advantage will be on me, not on the enemy.

What's more, our division has the support of the entire Ming Dynasty, and has the convenience of transportation via the great rivers. Xuanda, Jingji, and Shandong can all provide support, and there is also grain that can be transported over at any time to relieve our division's worries."

When Lord Yongning said this, he glanced at Fang Zhenghua and saw that he was lost in thought. He smiled and continued, "So... our top priority is not how to repel the thief Li..."

Before Zhang Cheng finished speaking, the governor Zhang Fuzhen asked him, "If it's not to repel the bandit Li, then what is it?"

"Governor Zhang, I think the most urgent task is to stay outside Henan Province."

“Outside Henan Province…?” This time even Bian Yongqing raised the question.

"Yes."

Zhang Cheng said to them confidently: "My division has been holding off the thief Li at the foot of Kaifeng for a long time. I think we can take this opportunity to keep the thief Li here and make him unable to stop.

At the same time, please mobilize the troops from the surrounding provinces to block the main roads from Henan to other provinces, so that the two bandits Li and Cao cannot escape, and the bandits Xian and the five bandits Ge Zuo in the Yinghuoshan area cannot enter Henan. In this way, the various bandits will not be able to communicate with each other, so they can be eliminated one by one. "

Wang Pu seemed to understand Zhang Cheng's meaning, and he said first: "Yongning Bo's intention... is to trap Li the thief to death in Henan..."

"That's right. Henan has suffered from drought, locust plagues, and wars. Many prefectures have fallen into the hands of bandits, and many fields have been left barren. Many people have fled, and the area is in ruins.

If the imperial court can mobilize as many troops as possible and trap Li the bandit in Henan, over time, when the food and grass he has plundered are exhausted, he will be defeated and destroyed. The more people he has today, the faster he will be defeated in the future. "

"Although Earl Yongning's plan is good, it has two major difficulties."

Zhang Fuzhen shook his head slightly and continued, "Back then, the commander-in-chief Yang Wuling's strategy of 'setting up a net in four directions and six corners' was based on this idea, but it ultimately failed to materialize.

The first difficulty is to cooperate with other provinces and to be able to close the gap; the second difficulty is to have an army that dares to fight and can hold the main force of the bandits tightly, gradually consume them, and finally wipe them out completely. "

"Yes. As Governor Zhang said, the troops blocking the surrounding areas are indeed the key."

Zhang Cheng looked at Bian Yongqing, smiled and continued, "Sun Baigu is about to take up his post in Xi'an. He used to be the governor of Shaanxi and has some prestige and connections there. If he is given a year or so, it won't be difficult for him to train a Shaanxi army. Even if he can't confront the bandits head-on, it shouldn't be a problem for him to defend Tongguan, Wuguan and other passes.

Furthermore, although the bandit Zuo Ping fled from Shuipo Ji, he fled on his own and was not defeated and fled by the bandit Li. His main force is still there. If he can successfully retreat to Nanyang, or even to Xiangyang, it will not be difficult for him to recover as he once served as the general of Hubei. At that time, he can be sent north to guard the Luyang Pass in Nanyang, and then threaten Ruzhou, and even attack the bandit Li's lair in Funiu Mountain.

As for the southeast, we can ask Fengyang Governor Ma Shiying to dispatch a part of the government troops to Guide Prefecture to set up defenses and prevent the bandits from moving south after encircling and suppressing the Xian bandits. At the same time, we can dispatch Shandong Liu Zeqing to Guide Prefecture to prevent the Li bandits from joining forces with the Xian bandits, so that we can suppress them separately. "

After listening to Zhang Cheng's specific suggestions, everyone nodded continuously and praised that if they could really make arrangements in this way, all parties would fulfill their responsibilities and it would not be difficult to eliminate the bandits.

Guardian Zhang Fuzhen shook his head, smiled and said to Zhang Cheng softly: "I highly praise the proposal of Earl Yongning, but I am afraid that the parties will not be willing to obey, and will end up following the same fate as Yang Gebu."

Zhang Cheng smiled slightly: "We all lament that we don't have the ability of Lord Yang. We can't compare with Lord Yang in any aspect. It's just 'do our best and leave the rest to fate'."

Zhang Fuzhen sighed softly and said, "But if this happens, it will be hard on the people of Zhongzhou!"

Zhang Cheng smiled but said nothing. Bian Yongqing continued, "This is the only solution. Zhongzhou is already so devastated. Most of the people have fled their homes, and the rest are being held hostage by Li. If we can really trap Li in Henan Province, it would be a good strategy."

He glanced at Zhang Cheng, Zhang Fuzhen, and Fang Zhenghua, and said, "Let the people of Zhongzhou suffer for this. Just think of them as serving the country."

Fang Zhenghua said at the right time: "When the war here is over, we can petition on behalf of the people of Zhongzhou and ask the emperor and the court to exempt them from taxes for three years. This can be regarded as a little compensation for the people of Zhongzhou."

After listening to their words, Zhang Cheng cursed in his heart: What a bunch of beasts, they are almost all dead, who will be given tax exemption then?

But he didn't dare say these words out loud. He still had to play along according to the situation. Who doesn't know how to do that?

"Mr. Fang is truly a kind-hearted person. If he can really do this, it will not be in vain for the people of Zhongzhou to sacrifice their homes to help them in distress."

Zhang Fuzhen also said, "Okay, okay. Director Fang is thoughtful. I will definitely add my name to the list when the time comes."

After he finished speaking, his eyes wandered over Zhang Cheng, Bian Yongqing, and Fang Zhenghua. After a moment, he said, "This governor intends to submit today's military strategy in a letter to the court. As for the subsequent results, we can only leave it to fate."

"This memorial from Governor Zhang should be signed with my name."

Bian Yongqing also said, "We will also write a letter to the emperor and report the strategy we discussed today."

"Mr. Bian's book, please write our name as well." Fang Zhenghua also said to Bian Yongqing.

The general policy at the strategic level was thus determined, but the specific operational details naturally needed to be further discussed.

…………

After everyone left, only Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng and Baodu Zhang Fuzhen were left in the headquarters, and serving on the side were Yongning Earl's military officer Zhang Chengfang and personal staff officer Liu Chengzu.

"Lord Yongning, now that there are no outsiders present, if the Li bandits attack in large numbers, can the camps in the front hold out? Give me a definite answer."

Zhang Cheng did not answer him directly, but said with a smile: "Governor Zhang, since there are no outsiders here, you should stop calling me 'Emperor Yongning'. It seems a lot more distant. It would be more intimate if you call me 'Zhongchen' like before." "Hahaha..."

After hearing this, Zhang Fuzhen was in a good mood and said, "Okay, then I will respectfully obey your command."

"That's how it should be."

"Zhongchen, how confident are you in fighting the bandits this time?"

"Haha. Whether we can defeat Li the bandit is not the question for now. As for defending Kaifeng City, I am 100% sure."

"Oh. Loyalty, are you so sure?"

Zhang Fuzhen's eyes revealed a trace of disbelief, and he continued: "There are 200,000 or 300,000 bandits. If they all come to kill us and surround and kill each of our front camps, how should we respond?"

"Yes." Zhang Cheng continued with a firm look in his eyes: "Commander Zhang, although the enemy is numerous, the battlefield is so small. They can surround each of our camps separately, but when they attack the camps, they cannot attack all of them, so the enemy that each of our camps has to face directly is not that many. Besides, there are five layers of flower fences, three deep trenches, and two thick walls outside each camp. How can they be easily broken?"

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Please be at ease, Governor Zhang. I had anticipated that there would be a major battle with the bandits, so yesterday I distributed sufficient food, fodder, and gunpowder to the front camps. Even if we are surrounded by the bandits for ten days or half a month, there is nothing to worry about.

If Li the thief is really not afraid of casualties and dares to launch an attack on the three camps in front of us, I will punish him so much that he will be beaten to a pulp and eventually he will only be able to sigh and regret his decision!"

"Since you are so confident, I will rest assured."

Zhang Fuzhen finally felt relieved. He smiled and said, "Tomorrow, I will set off back to the camp and go to Kaifeng to serve as your grain supervisor."

"Governor Zhang, why are you so anxious? It won't hurt to stay with me for a few more days."

"Oh, that's not necessary." Zhang Fuzhen waved his hand and said, "It would be useless for me to stay here. I can only cause trouble. It would be better for me to go back early and be a good grain supervisor to provide logistical support for you, Zhongchen."

"Hahaha..." The two looked at each other and laughed.

…………

"what?"

Liu Zongmin, the chief sentry of the Chuang army, stared with eyes wide open, his face full of disbelief, and shouted, "Who did you say... died in the battle?"

Tong Shoushan, a subordinate of General Liu Tichun, the general of the rebel army, replied tremblingly: "Master Liu, it was Hao...Hao Yaoqi..."

"Are you sure Hao Yaoqi is dead?"

"My Lord, General Yaoqi and I were chasing Hu Dawei together. It was going smoothly. Hu Dawei fled all the way to Chenliu and we chased him all the way. But we never expected that we would be ambushed by the government troops in Banpodian..."

"What?" Liu Zongmin's face was full of disbelief. He interrupted Tong Shoushan and asked anxiously, "Does that dead tiger still have the energy to set a trap for you?"

"No...it's not an ambush by Tiger Dawei."

Li Zicheng waved his hand and said calmly, "Your name is Tong Shoushan, right? Don't worry, drink some water and take a deep breath, then tell me the details."

Although Tong Shoushan had seen King Chuang many times before, to appear next to him at such a close distance was truly "the first time for a young lady to get into a bridal sedan"!

He suppressed his slightly excited and nervous mood, and gulped down two large bowls of water in a row before he quenched the thirst in his throat. He then took deep breaths and finally evened out his breath.

Tong Shoushan was also very burly, not inferior to Liu Zongmin, and was very conspicuous standing in the big tent. Just as he clasped his fists and was about to report, he heard the voice of Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, coming again: "You are quite big, I don't think you are much shorter than Yaoqi."

He waved his hand and ordered the guards beside him: "Go, get him a wooden stool so he can sit down and talk."

Before Tong Shoushan could say a few polite words, a slightly delicate little wooden stool was brought to him. He forced a smile on his bearded face to express his gratitude, and sat down very obediently but generously.

"Grand Marshal, Master, Master Liu..."

Tong Shoushan has indeed grown a lot in these days in the camp. Although he still looks careless in appearance and behavior, he has indeed grasped the details very well.

Just like he called him "Grand Marshal" first, and then naturally the second in command "General Liu Zongmin", but Tong Shoushan also did the three words "never forget his roots", and finally he even brought his own master "Master Liu Tichun", which can be said to be very thoughtful and perfect.

"...I and General Yaoqi were chasing Hu Dawei's Baoding Army all the way. Thinking of the Grand Marshal's teachings, we did not push them too hard, lest they turn back and fight, causing unnecessary damage. We just chased them non-stop in a pretentious manner, giving them no time to rest.

But General Yaoqi... he was afraid that Hu Dawei would run away, so he refused to just chase him from behind. He insisted on leading the cavalry to the front to capture Hu Dawei alive, but left all the infantry to us.

Although Shoushan was worried about the safety of General Yaoqi, he did not dare to urge the infantry to run quickly. He was also afraid that his brothers would get tired and be controlled by the government troops. As a result, he fell behind General Yaoqi.

Originally, there was nothing to worry about. Although they occasionally met a few wounded cavalrymen on the road, they kept receiving information from General Waving the Flag. Although Hu Dawei was also a fierce general, he did not dare to turn back to fight with General Waving the Flag. He just ran around like a mouse.

But I didn't expect... When we were near Banpodian, we were taking a break when we received the news that General Yaoqi had been ambushed by the enemy's army and was surrounded and unable to escape.

I was worried about the safety of General Yaoqi, so I immediately called on my brothers to charge over, but the government troops were all cavalry, roughly estimated to be no less than two to three thousand cavalry. Although they fought desperately, they were unable to save General Yaoqi..."

Prince Chuang remained silent, but Liu Zongmin interrupted and asked, "So... you didn't see Hao Yaoqi die with your own eyes?"

"Yes, sir."

Tong Shoushan replied respectfully: "When I led my brothers to arrive, General Yaoqi was already trapped in the siege. I tried my best and lost hundreds of brothers but failed to save him. Only a hundred or so cavalry rushed out..."

"From this perspective...Hao Yaoqi was not necessarily killed in battle. Rather, his life or death is unknown." (End of this chapter)