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In the Yuewang Temple in Zhuxian Town, Cao Ying's military advisor Ji Gui was rebuked by Niu Jinxing, but he did not get angry but laughed and said, "The Grand Marshal is broad-minded and acts uprightly. Our general also knows this, so he came to join the Grand Marshal and join us in this righteous cause."

Niu Jinxing raised his lips slightly, and smiled, saying, "The most urgent task is to find a way to defeat the enemy in the north."

As he spoke, he looked at Song Xian Ce who was standing beside him and said, "Xiance, you have always been good at planning military strategies. Do you have any good ideas for this? Point out a clear way for us."

Song Xian thought for a moment, then stroked his beard and said, "The Art of War says, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger.' However, we know very little about the Xuanfu Army in the north, which is disadvantageous to us."

However, he changed the subject and continued, "Even so, it seems that our army still has a great advantage over the Xuanfu Army."

"Oh." Ji Gui showed a puzzled look on his face and said, "What are the advantages? Mr. Song, can you tell me in detail?"

"Ha ha……"

Song Xian's strategy smiled mysteriously, and then said: "I will tell you all about it for your reference. If there are any shortcomings, please correct me, Zi Yu."

  "Our army has several times more horses than the Xuanfu army. We can divide and encircle them, or fight them in rotation to wear down their physical strength and morale. This is one of the ways.

Our army has just captured Shuipo and gathered more than 100,000 government troops in one fell swoop. Their morale is high and their military spirit is strong. With the power of such a great victory, they will be invincible. This is the second reason.

Our army now has sufficient stocks of food, fodder, artillery stones and gunpowder. Even if we fight the Xuanfu army for several days, there will be no problem. In addition, there are many newly captured artillery and muskets in Shuipoji. The advantage of artillery stones is the third.

Finally, the people of Zhongzhou are loyal to the Grand Marshal and are gathering from all directions. This is a sign of destiny. With such a constant supply of young and strong men, there is no pressure even if we fight day and night. This is the fourth reason. "

After Song Xiance finished speaking, he looked at everyone with a smile on his face and said, "With the above four advantages, even if we cannot fully grasp the strength of the Xuanfu Army, we don't need to be afraid. As long as we have the right strategy, the chances of victory are still in our hands."

Although Ji Gui usually looked down on Song, a dwarf who was born as a fortune teller, after listening to his analysis, he could not help but nod his head in approval and said, "Mr. Song's analysis is thorough and comprehensive. In just a few words, he explained the situation between the enemy and us clearly. Zi Yu is impressed!"

"Ha ha……"

Luo Rucai also laughed and said, "Military Advisor Song is really amazing. Your few words are worth thousands of troops. They immediately gave me confidence. I can't wait to charge and chop these dog-like government troops from Xuanfu into pieces."

Tian Jianxiu seemed to have something to say. He looked up at Liu Zongmin, then glanced at Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion. Seeing that they were both looking at Luo Rucai and others calmly, he swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

As expected, Liu Zongmin waved his hand to stop the discussion and said, "Everyone has just talked about the pros and cons of this, and Song Junshi has also analyzed the pros and cons of the enemy and us.

But how exactly should this battle be fought, how should the soldiers of each camp be assigned, which unit should attack which camp of the government army, which general should cut off the government army's retreat, and which general should harass the city of Kaifeng so that they dare not leave the city to support the Xuanfu army, these are all things we need to discuss and finalize. "

After hearing Liu Zongmin's words, everyone fell into silence and the hall instantly became quiet.

Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, glanced at Wu Ruyi, who immediately understood and stood up to introduce to everyone: "According to the investigation of the scouts, there is a Xuanfu military camp in Xianggong Temple, ten miles north of Zhuxian Town. Judging from the scale, it should not have more than 10,000 people stationed there. Although the camp is not very large, there are flower hedges and ditches all over the outside of the camp, which seems to be difficult to attack."

Wu Ruyi had been working in the old mansion of the Chuang army. He usually followed Li Zicheng and was in charge of intelligence reconnaissance. He continued, "In the northwest, there is an abandoned village fifteen miles upstream of the Jialu River. There are also government troops stationed. Judging from the scale of their camp, it seems to be comparable to Xianggong Temple. There are no more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, and outside the camp are also crisscrossed with flower hedges and ditches."

When he got to this point, he swallowed his saliva and continued, "Finally, there is Daguantou Village, fifteen miles to the northeast. There is also a government army camped there. The terrain there is very dangerous, and the government army has also built many hedges and trenches outside."

"Humph."

Liu Zongmin said indifferently: "I thought this group of Xuanfu soldiers were very capable, but in the end they are still a bunch of cowards. They dare not come out to fight us, so they built a camp like a bastard so that they can hide inside."

He first glanced at Luo Rucai, then turned to look at Li Zicheng, and said in a deep voice: "When the government troops stretched their heads out, we had to hit them with a stick. Now that they have shrunk their heads, we have to hit them hard with a stick as well."

"Yes, we have to hit him hard with the hammer. Only this time, if we hurt him, he will know how powerful we are and won't dare to come so close to provoke us in the future."

Luo Rucai seemed to be still not satisfied. He said to Liu Zongmin jokingly, "Jiexuan, don't you agree?"

Liu Zongmin knew what he meant, but Luo Rucai deliberately replaced the word "a stick" with "a hammer", obviously making fun of his previous background as a blacksmith.

However, although he looked down on Luo Rucai, he also knew that now that the war was imminent, he must prioritize internal unity. Even if he looked down on Luo Rucai in every way, he had to endure it for the time being.

"That's right, Rucai. What you said really hits the nail on the head. But it's a pity that these years have been a day of blood on the head, but I have forgotten how the hammer hit me back then. Tell me, is it hateful or not?"

Luo Rucai just wanted to take the opportunity to tease Liu Zongmin, so why would he get entangled with him here for too long? He immediately turned to look at Li Zicheng and said, "Brother Li...oh...no, I should call him Grand Marshal..."

Li Zicheng looked at Luo Rucai, and for a moment he couldn't figure out whether he did it on purpose, or it was a mistake, or if he was testing him again and again.

However, Li Zicheng, who was very good at dealing with people, immediately interrupted Luo Rucai with a smile on his face, and said to him very politely: "Rucai, there is no need for us to be so hypocritical between brothers. Grand Marshal is what they call him..."

Li Zicheng raised his hand and pointed at the generals in the hall, then continued with a smile and said politely: "...between you and I, it is better to call each other brothers. Otherwise, you call me 'Grand Marshal' and I call you 'General', how distant it would be."

"Ha ha……"

Luo Rucai burst into laughter, but as soon as he stopped laughing, he said very respectfully: "Grand Marshal... No, call me Brother Li. It's more intimate and less confusing to call you Brother Li."

"Really?" Li Zicheng also said happily, "That's how we should be intimate. Our two camps are united. It's not like I lead you and you lead me. There's no need to address me as 'Grand Marshal'."

The King of Rebellion was using these words to warn Luo Rucai, but he also had the intention of testing him. On the surface, he was trying to get closer to Luo Rucai, but in reality he was testing the issue of leadership.

As expected, Luo Rucai was stunned for a moment after hearing what Li Zicheng said, but he reacted immediately. He smiled calmly and said, "Okay. Brother Li, you decide. I will follow your instructions on how to fight this battle."

"Hey, Rucai, you are always known for your resourcefulness. You have to give me a good idea this time!"

"Brother Li, are you making fun of me?"

The smile on Luo Rucai's face also became a little unnatural. He smiled awkwardly and said, "Brother Li, everyone knows very well that I only have some clever tricks in my big head. When encountering major events, I still have to rely on you, Brother Li, to make the decision."

  Seeing him like this, Li Zicheng stopped being polite to him insincerely. After all, in such a situation, it would be fine to just give in. But if he gave in three or four times and the other party finally refused to give back his cards, what would he do? It was not uncommon for him to end up making things worse!

"We have been through all kinds of hardships in the past ten years. What happened to Cao Wenzhao back then? He was such a fierce man, and he led Liao soldiers who were ready to kill Tartars. But he was killed by our brothers."

Li Zicheng's eyes were full of confidence, and he continued, "Just like Mr. Song said, I have the advantage in today's battle. Whether it's the manpower, food, or morale, as well as guns, ammunition, everything is better than their Xuanfu Army.

Therefore, this battle is a sure win for us. Now all we need to discuss is how to fight. For me, the only thing we can do is to lose fewer soldiers."

Young General Zhang Nai, because of his outstanding performance in the Firearm Battalion, was now qualified to participate in the military meeting. He stood up, clasped his fists to everyone, and then said, "Grand Marshal, General, Zhang Nai thinks that we can imitate the way we defeated the Baoding Army and keep an eye on one of the Xuanfu Army's camps and bombard them day and night. How can we be afraid that they will not flee?"

"correct."

Liu Tichun had seen the power of the Firearms Battalion, so he also interjected, "This time in Shuipoji, Xiao Zhangnai's Firearms Battalion has seized a lot of artillery and muskets. I'm afraid they are more powerful than before."

Yuan Zongdi also said: "There are only three camps of the Xuanfu Army facing us, and they are far apart from each other, which makes it easy for us to divide and surround them and defeat them one by one. If we can make Xiaonai's firearms camp work day and night to focus on one place, it seems that it will not be difficult to defeat them!"

Seeing that everyone had the same idea, Li Zicheng couldn't help but look at Liu Zongmin, as if asking for his opinion.

"I think Xiao Naizi's idea is good, but we need to carefully consider which of the three camps of the government troops to take first."

As soon as Liu Zongmin finished speaking, Yuan Zongdi spoke up: "Xianggong Temple is the closest to Zhuxian Town. Logically, it should be a place that our army must attack. I think the government troops will also think of this, so the defense here must not be weak."

Li Guo, a tiger, also said with a smile: "Han Ju, what you mean is to take them by surprise. The government troops think we will attack them, but we will surround them but not attack them. Instead, we will concentrate our forces and attack them where they are least prepared."

"Yes. This is called 'attacking the enemy when they are least prepared'!"

Luo Rucai clapped his hands fiercely and said loudly: "Han Ju's method is feasible. Brother Li, you decide where we should attack first. My Cao camp is willing to fire the first shot."

Ji Gui was stunned again when he heard this, and couldn't help but blame Luo Rucai in his heart: "My grandfather, why did you ask to go to the battle? This is the first battle when the morale of the government troops is the highest, the will to defend the camp is the most determined, and the artillery fire is the most powerful and fierce, and the casualties will be heavy. Why bother to fight for this thankless task?"

However, when he looked at Luo Rucai, he saw that he looked calm and there was no unnatural look on his face, as if he was not worried about the outcome at all.

"Rucai, there is no rush as to which battalion will go into battle first. We need to determine where we will attack first in order to make a breakthrough!" King Chuang ignored Luo Rucai's request for battle, but instead asked for his opinion on where to attack first.

"Hehe." Luo Rucai thought for a moment and said, "The Xianggong Temple in front is the closest to me. It is the place that will bear the brunt of the attack. The defense must be the most stringent and cannot be attacked.

The camp on the banks of the Jialu River in the northwest should be preparing to break through our Dishui dam. Their military strength must not be underestimated. They also have the responsibility to protect the water source. Their defense will not be relaxed and cannot be attacked.

The only thing is Daguantou Village in the northeast, which has the advantage of terrain and is the farthest away from us. It is not a place that our army must attack. I think the defense here will definitely not be as tight as the other two places.

In my opinion, we should send a special force to each of the other two places to contain the enemy, and send more hungry people to disguise as infantrymen to launch a feint attack, so that they dare not send troops out of the camp to rescue other places.

I will send out all my main forces, half of them will be used to besiege Daguantou Village, and the other half will go around to the back to block the retreat of Xuanfu Army in Daguantou Village, and at the same time block the way for their reinforcements. In this way, there will be no worries about Daguantou Village not being captured!"

After listening to Luo Rucai's deployment, Li Zicheng nodded continuously, secretly praising in his heart: "After all, it's still Cao Cao, who is much more knowledgeable than others. It seems that after taking Kaifeng, I really should consider that matter!"

Tian Jianxiu also reminded Li Zicheng at this time, saying: "Grand Marshal, according to what Tong Shoushan said just now, the elite cavalry of the Xuanfu Army in the north has been sent elsewhere. I think we should send more scouts out of the camp first, and after verifying the actual situation of the Xuanfu Army camps, we can finally decide how to fight."

After listening to Tian Jianxiu's words, Li Zicheng also felt that it made sense, but he did not express his opinion. Instead, he looked at Song Xiance and Li Yan, his eyes full of inquiry.

Song Xiance smiled slightly and said, "I fully agree with the general's proposal to attack Daguantou Village first."

After he finished speaking, he quietly tugged at the corner of Li Yan's clothes, reminding him that he should also express his attitude. Li Yan immediately understood and said, "General Yufeng said that we should take this opportunity to explore the details of the Xuanfu Army. Li Yan thinks it is necessary."

Seeing that no one had any other opinions, King Chuang said, "Okay. Let's go back to the camp for now, reorganize the troops, rest and recover our strength. When the scouts come back, we will immediately organize the army to go into battle." (End of this chapter)