weaving

"Hu Shuai, I haven't seen you for a long time and you are still so healthy."

Hu Dawei looked a little disappointed. He sighed before saying, "Since I joined the army, I have been invincible and rarely failed. I didn't expect that this time when I entered Henan to help suppress Li the bandit, I would fail repeatedly and become a fleeing general twice.

Alas... I am ashamed, so ashamed!"

"Hey, General Tiger, how can you say that? This is not the fault of the war, but the enemy is too strong, and Governor Ding's deployment is not very good. Under the situation of water and food being cut off, General Tiger has still been able to lead his troops to hold on until now, which is a great achievement."

Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng grabbed Hu Dawei and checked his injuries. He said excitedly, "Zhang Cheng, you... shouldn't have saved me... shouldn't have saved me!"

"What kind of words are you talking about?"

Zhang Cheng supported Hu Dawei, but his eyes turned to Lin Fangping and Hu Zichen. Lin Fangping stepped forward and explained, "General Hu refused to retreat and led his troops to fight back against the enemy twice. He was hit by the enemy's cold arrows and was injured in the left leg and right arm. The military doctor has treated him. It's not serious. He will be fine after a few days of rest."

Zhang Cheng nodded, and then said to Hu Dawei: "General Hu, don't say those discouraging words anymore. As long as you are alive, you don't have to worry about not having a chance to kill the enemy.

Now the governor Zhang Fuzhen is in Kaifeng City. General Tiger, you can rest here for a while and take a breath, then go to Kaifeng to report to Governor Zhang. From now on, stay with Governor Zhang. When your wound is healed, we can fight the bandits side by side again. "

"Ugh……"

Hu Dawei sighed deeply, remained silent, and let Zhang Cheng support him and walk into the camp.

…………

Zhang Cheng settled Hu Dawei not far from his own tent and asked him to rest for a while in the tent. He would hold a welcoming banquet for him in the evening, while he himself went to meet Lin Fangping in the tent.

"Yes, you fought well, Xiao Linzi. You captured a great general of the rebel army for me."

Zhang Cheng continued happily: "How is Hao Yaoqi doing?"

"He seemed very unconvinced and kept cursing there."

"Oh. How do you curse?"

"I can't learn it. He has nothing good to say. He keeps accusing me of playing tricks and even says he wants to fight me with real swords. He just won't accept it and wants to die. He keeps saying he wants me to kill him with one blow."

"Hahaha……"

"Hao Yaoqi is a man. Do you think it is possible to make him submit to our Yongyi Army?"

Everyone in the big tent was silent, all eyes were focused on Lin Fangping. After all, he was the only one who had any interaction with Hao Yaoqi, and the others had never even met him, let alone persuade him to surrender.

Lin Fangping lowered his head and thought for a while before saying, "I think it's difficult."

"Disaster?"

Zhang Cheng smiled and said, "Since we came to the throne in the eleventh year, what have we experienced that was not difficult?"

"Marshal, how about I go and talk to him first?"

Yongning Bo glanced at Sun Shixiang and waved his hand, saying, "Hao Yaoqi is a crude warrior. You can't reason with him."

Chen Zhong then interjected, "Marshal, let me give it a try!"

"No."

Yongning Bo waved his hand and said, "Fangping, clear out a military tent and surround it with wooden fences to detain Hao Yaoqi."

"Yes."

"You have to eat with him three times a day. Remember... just eat with him. Don't ask any questions and don't answer any questions."

Lin Fangping was stunned when he heard this, but he didn't ask any more questions. To him, "I just do what my uncle tells me to do. There's no need to ask why."

Zhang Cheng then asked him about the situation of the remaining prisoners of the Chuang army. Lin Fangping answered truthfully that everything was done according to the previous instructions of the Earl of Yongning. After the wounded were treated, they were given a full meal first, and then it was up to each of them to choose whether to stay or leave. Those who left were given four steamed buns, and those who stayed were temporarily placed in the "prisoner camp."

The "Prisoner Camp" is a new camp established by the Earl of Yongning. According to the Earl's order, all prisoners captured in the future, as long as they are willing to stay in the Yongyi Army, will be temporarily incorporated into this camp. They will enjoy the same treatment as new recruits, without any difference. After being observed for a period of time, they will be assigned to other camps to make up for the casualties in the battle.

However, few of the rebel soldiers were willing to stay, and most of them chose to return to the King of Rebellion, whom they admired and loved. Just like this time, Lin Fangping captured Hao Yaoqi and hundreds of rebel infantry and cavalry in an ambush, and only a few dozen people chose to stay.

"It doesn't matter."

Zhang Cheng looked at Lin Fangping, who looked unconvinced, and said to him, "The government troops have a bad reputation. They don't have enough food, they are always abused, and they are often taken captive. No wonder they don't want to stay."

"Humph."

Lin Fangping still said stubbornly: "That's the style of the official army in other camps. My Yongyi Army is not like that!"

"Haha. They don't know how our Yongyi Army is doing. How can we blame them for this?"

"In my opinion, Master, you shouldn't be so nice to them. When we caught bandits in the past, we always killed them with a single blow. There's no need to cause such trouble today."

Zhang Cheng looked at the stubborn Lin Fangping, smiled at first, and then patiently explained to him: "Before the expedition, I told you in the Military Academy that the 'prisoner policy' is an important military strategy for our army to disintegrate the Li bandit.

What we are facing now are no longer the petty bandits who occupied the mountains and acted as kings. The reason why they were beheaded in public was to serve as a warning to future generations.

But now it's different. We are facing the two bandits Chuang and Cao. They have more than 300,000 bandits. Even if only 30% or 40% of them can fight, there are still about 100,000 people. We can't kill them all.

We are now implementing a lenient policy towards the bandits who are willing to lay down their arms. We will not kill or humiliate them, nor will we confiscate their personal property. We will provide medical treatment to the wounded, and properly dispose of the bodies and belongings of the bandits who died in the battle, and allow them to decide voluntarily whether to stay or go.

In this way, the bandits who choose to stay will surely surrender to us sincerely, and those who choose to go back, whether they return to their hometown or return to the bandit Li, will spread what happened here.

As time goes on, the mighty and brave military power of our Yongyi Army and our policy of treating prisoners well will surely be known to the world. By then, no matter which bandit army is fighting against us, they will surely be tempted to take chances, and as long as the war is slightly defeated, they will inevitably want to surrender.

After all, if you surrender and become a prisoner, you will not die, you will have enough food to eat, someone will treat your wounds, and you will be given money to return home. If it were you, would you lay down your arms and surrender?"

"No, I will never surrender to the bandits!" Zhang Cheng looked at Lin Fangping and scolded with a smile: "You little bastard, I want you to think about it, will the bandits lay down their weapons and surrender to me because of these benefits?"

"If it were me, I would definitely be the first to lay down my weapon and surrender."

"Hahaha……"

Everyone in the military tent burst into laughter because of Lin Fangping's amusement.

…………

At this moment, the adjutant of the central army, Zhang Mingyuan, lifted the curtain and entered the military tent. He handed a stack of documents to Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng, then stepped aside and waited for Zhang Cheng to ask questions.

Zhang Cheng didn't care at first, but after taking a look, he became excited and said with a smile: "Chuang Xiazi finally can't wait any longer!"

Chen Zhong was the first to react and asked, "Marshal, is there a war?"

Zhang Cheng stood up and handed the stack of documents to Sun Shixiang, saying, "The rebels from Chuang and Cao are coming out in full force, intending to divide and besiege the three camps ahead of me."

"Li the thief wants to pull out the three nails we planted in one fell swoop!"

"Humph. They think it's too simple."

Zhang Cheng stood in front of Sun Shixiang, raised his head and said, "They don't have the strength and courage to remove three nails at the same time."

"My Lord, what do you mean...where will the thief Li attack first?" Sun Shixiang asked.

Zhang Cheng did not rush to answer him, but walked straight to the map on the side of the military tent. After staring at it for a moment, he asked softly, "Chen Zhong, where would you go first?"

Chen Zhong hurried forward, stared at the map for a while, and then replied: "If it were me, I would either take Liuzhuang or attack Daguandi."

"Xianggong Temple is the closest to Zhuxian Town and is right in front of the thieves. It poses the greatest threat. Why not take it first?"

"Marshal, you are testing me."

Chen Zhong looked at the smiling Earl of Yongning and replied sternly, "Although Xianggong Temple poses the greatest threat to the thieves, it is located in the middle of the road. Once there is an alarm, the rear and the left and right roads can all rush to help, so it is not easy to capture. If it were me, I would send a strong army to pretend to attack Xianggong Temple, but actually send the main force to the east to capture the key point..."

As he spoke, he pointed to the "critical point" on the map and continued, "This is located on the side road, which is easy to divide and intercept reinforcements. It will be isolated and a heavy attack may be able to break the stronghold."

"Then why isn't it Liuzhuang, since they are both on the wing?"

Lin Fangping immediately moved his hand to Liuzhuang and said, "Of course, it is not impossible to attack Liuzhuang, but Liuzhuang is located on the west side, and behind it is Xinghuaying, which is convenient for our army to rescue. It is also close to the Jialu River, which is not very conducive to the enemy's detour."

Zhang Cheng looked at Chen Zhong who was talking eloquently, nodded with great satisfaction, and said: "No matter where the thief Li attacks, his teeth will be broken."

At this time, he looked at Chen De who was standing aside and said with a smile: "Chen De, you broke one of Thief Li's eyes and gave him the nickname 'Blind Li'. This time I will break all his old teeth and make him a toothless old thief."

"Hahaha……"

Everyone laughed for a while, and then Zhang Cheng waved his hand to call Zhang Mingyuan over and said to him, "Come, tell everyone about the arrangements made by the thief Li."

"Yes, handsome father."

Zhang Mingyuan had taken out a long and thin stick in his hand. He pointed at the marks on the map with the stick and explained: "According to the scouts' observation of the enemy's flags, the Xianggong Temple should be led by Li the thief himself. A rough calculation shows that there are about 40,000 enemy troops. The Liuzhuang side of Jialu River should be led by the enemy general Tian Jianxiu, with more than 30,000 enemy troops. And the Datou Pass side, judging by the flags, should be led by the enemy general Liu Zongmin, with more than 40,000 enemy troops."

"Is the strength of this bandit army accurate?"

Facing Chen Zhong's question, Zhang Mingyuan was not panicked. He replied with certainty: "General Chen, the strength of these three bandit armies is estimated by scouts observing from a distance. Although there are some differences, the difference should not be big. It's just that... we can't tell how many hungry people are mixed in with them, and it's hard to say whether there will be more troops in the future."

He raised the stick again and pointed at the empty space between Daguantou and Xianggong Temple, saying, "There is a bandit army here. Although there are only a few thousand of them, they are all cavalry. They are searching and advancing to the north. It seems that they want to cut off the connection between our central army and General Wei at Daguantou. There is also a cavalry force between Xianggong Temple and Liuzhuang, heading north."

Zhang Cheng stroked the stubble on his chin and asked, "Have you seen the flags of these two cavalry units? Who is leading them?"

"They are spread out widely, and the scouts dare not get too close. It is not clear who is leading the team."

"Marshal, these two cavalry units seem to want to cut in and split our army."

After listening to Chen Zhong's words, Zhang Cheng nodded and said, "Li's military strength is too great. Not to mention that he has 200,000 or 300,000 troops, even if he has 200,000 or 300,000 pigs, we won't be able to kill them all in a month or so.

Therefore, when we go to Henan to suppress the bandits, we must keep our composure, take each step carefully, and gradually destroy the morale of Li's army. We must accumulate small victories into a big one, and we must not think of getting everything at once."

He turned around, looked at the people in the tent, and said loudly: "Although there is no strategic location to defend around Kaifeng, the fortifications built by our soldiers are incomparable to those of other camps, and the sharpness of our artillery fire is also unmatched by the enemy.

Therefore, our division should give full play to its own advantages, use civil engineering, build strong camps and strongholds, so as to give full play to the advantages of our division's guns and artillery, use defense as offense, wear down the enemy's sharpness, and consume the enemy's morale. Only in this way can we win. "

Chen Zhong was a little worried. He whispered, "General, the enemy troops are numerous. I wonder if General Guodong and his men can withstand it..."

"Humph."

Zhang Cheng didn't take it seriously and said calmly, "We have all the food, fodder, and medicine. If we can't defend the city, we don't deserve to be called the 'Courageous Army' anymore!"

He stared at Chen Zhong and said, "Chen Zhong, you also participated in the Battle of Julu in the eleventh year. In your opinion, who is stronger, the bandits or the Jianzhou Tartars?"

Chen Zhong was stunned again when he heard this. He couldn't understand why the Jianzhou Tartars were suddenly mentioned again. However, in response to the question from Earl Yongning, he immediately replied, "Although the bandits have been invincible recently, they are still inferior to the Jianzhou Tartars."

"Ah."

Zhang Cheng nodded, indicating that he was satisfied with Chen Zhong's answer, and said to him with a smile: "In the battle of Jinzhou last year, Chen Zheng led the White Tiger Battalion under the fierce attack of tens of thousands of Tartars, and never retreated a single step, killing the Tartars and defeating them.

Now their three battalions have more powerful guns and cannons, and they have more gunpowder and shells. If we still can't hold our ground against bandits who are not as good as the Tartars, then we don't need to stay in Henan to suppress the bandits any longer. Let's pack up and go back to Xuanfu to retire."

Chen Zhong felt relieved after hearing what Zhang Cheng said, but Chen De beside him was worried and prayed in his heart: "We must hold on and never let Li the thief win."

Zhang Cheng saw his expression, but he was too lazy to explain more to him. After all, no matter how many words he said, they would not be as educational as the facts. After three to five days, everything would be clear. (End of this chapter)