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Thirty miles southwest of Kaifeng City and five miles northwest of Xianggong Temple is the headquarters of the Fengtian Advocate Civil and Military Grand Marshal Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion.

Under the gaze of the King of Chuang, General Yuan Zongdi of the Chuang Army said, "Lin Quan's method is good, but this means that we have to divide our troops to other places. If the troops are divided, their strength will be weakened. I don't know whether this will be beneficial or detrimental to the battle in Kaifeng!"

After hearing this, Song Xiance shook the folding fan in his hand. He first glanced at Li Yan before speaking to help him out, "That's not the case."

Seeing that everyone's attention was drawn to him, he continued, "The counties and cities around Kaifeng were already conquered by our army, and there are no soldiers stationed there. It's just that we didn't leave any soldiers or horses to garrison there.

All the border troops from Xuan Da gathered outside Kaifeng City. Ding Qirui and Zuo Liangyu are like dogs that have lost their homes. They cannot pose a threat to us for the time being. At present, the imperial court has no troops to send to Henan, so Zhongzhou is now very empty.

If we want to send troops to the surrounding counties and set up officials to govern the people, we only need a hundred soldiers and some young and strong men, so there is no such thing as a weak force. "

Inside the headquarters, everyone started discussing after hearing Song Xiance's words. Some supported the strategy of dividing the troops and conquering the land, while others raised some opposing opinions.

They believed that although it would not take too many troops to occupy the surrounding prefectures and counties, once the government troops came to attack, should they go to rescue?
Once we go to rescue, we have to split troops from the main force. If we send too few troops, it will be useless, but if we send too many troops, it may affect the war in Kaifeng.

If they did not send troops to rescue, it would probably discourage the local people and damage the glorious image of King Chuang. This was the main reason they opposed it.

Facing the debate among the civil and military officials, Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, also frowned. He turned his gaze to Niu Jinxing and said to him, "Sir, what do you think of Lin Quan's proposal?"

Niu Jinxing was not in a hurry to answer. He first glanced at Li Yan and Song Xiance, then looked at Gao Yigong, Yuan Zongdi and other generals around the King of Rebellion, and then said: "Lin Quan's method is indeed desirable. However, for our army, the most urgent thing right now is how to deal with the Xuanfu Army in the north."

His eyes stayed on Prince Chuang, and he continued, "Why not report the plan of Military Advisor Song and Master Li to Generals Jiexuan, Yufeng, and Mingyuan, and ask for their opinions to see if there is a better way."

Niu Jinxing was a juren of the current dynasty. In addition to the knowledge of the literati of the Ming Dynasty, he also had many shortcomings that literati should have!

First of all, as he said just now, on the surface he was considering the overall situation, thinking carefully and comprehensively, and suggested that King Chuang listen to the opinions of generals such as Liu Zongmin and Tian Jianxiu, but in fact he did not want to offend either side.

This is a common problem shared by most intellectuals – the attitude of trying to protect themselves!

No matter how big or small the matter is, whenever there is a dispute, they will not easily choose sides to support either side, but will deliberately avoid making a decision with clever language and pass the ball to the next person.

Secondly, Niu Jinxing was introduced to King Chuang by Li Yan, and he in turn introduced Song Xiance to the Chuang camp. Relying on his profound knowledge of classics and history, Niu Jinxing was highly respected and trusted by King Chuang. He was almost the number one civil servant in the Chuang army, just like an imperial teacher.

But when he saw that Li Yan and Song Xiance were increasingly trusted by King Chuang, he developed a sense of crisis, fearing that the two of them would snatch his position. So he was secretly on guard against Li Yan and Song Xiance, and might even take the opportunity to suppress them.

Especially for Li Yan, because he was no worse than himself in classics and history, especially in strategy, he often made shocking remarks, and was highly regarded by King Chuang. Therefore, Li Yan's all-round talent in both civil and military affairs made Niu Jinxing most worried and jealous.

It was precisely because he had the above thoughts in his mind that, although he very much agreed with Li Yan's proposal in his heart, he did not give too much support openly, and even created a small obstacle in secret.

Niu Jinxing knew that Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu and other veterans around the King of Rebellion were all thinking about returning to their hometown in Shaanxi one day to show off their wealth in their hometown. Therefore, he suggested asking Liu Zongmin for their opinions. In fact, he wanted to use Liu Zongmin's mouths to block Li Yan's suggestion!

Although Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, thought that Li Yan's proposal was very good, he always believed that the time was not right. He always wanted to capture Kaifeng City first, then offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, and then appoint officials to govern the people and command the heroes of the world to overthrow the foolish Ming Dynasty court.

At this stage, the most important task is to defeat the Xuanfu Army and capture Kaifeng City. Everything else must be put aside, even matters that may affect this goal must be put aside for the time being.

So, when he heard what Niu Jinxing said, he thought for a moment and said, "Okay. Please write two letters to Jiexuan and Yufeng on my behalf to see what they think."

This time, Niu Jinxing agreed very readily. He would never delay or evade King Chuang's orders.

Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, looked at Song Xian Ce again and said, "Military Advisor, if we follow your plan, where should we gather our troops and which point should we choose for a breakthrough?"

Now that Li Yan's proposal had come to an end, King Chuang brought the topic back to Song Xiance's strategy.

Song Xiance had already heard what Niu Jinxing had said just now, and he had some concerns in his heart, so he said to King Chuang: "If Jiexuan and Yufeng have no objection, then I think we should gather our troops in one place and change the siege of three places into a joint attack on one point."

In recent days, battle reports from all parties frequently arrived at the headquarters, which really surprised Li Zicheng and made him feel a long-lost sense of crisis again. He began to worry that the border troops from Xuanfu would become a stumbling block on his road to becoming emperor.

Therefore, the King of Rebellion now regards Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning of the Ming Dynasty, and the Yongyi Army led by him as the most powerful enemy in his life. He is determined to defeat and crush them completely, otherwise he will have no peace day or night!
"Xianggong Temple?" King Chuang asked Song Xiance with a slightly hesitant look in his eyes.

"Exactly here."

Song Xiance pointed to the ground under his feet and said, "Xianggong Temple is in the middle. We can attack Liuzhuang and Daguantou from the left and right. Fifteen miles to the north is the central camp of the government army. Our army will gather here. We can attack Liuzhuang and Daguantou from the left and right at any time. And we can reach the central camp of the government army in less than half a day if we go north.

The most advantageous thing is that this place is only ten miles away from Zhuxian Town, so it is very convenient for our army to transport food and grass, and we will not be hindered whether we advance or withdraw to defend. "

After hearing this, everyone in the headquarters nodded and said "good".

King Chuang also nodded repeatedly. He asked Niu Jinxing to write down Song Xiance's words in the letter so that Liu Zongmin and Tian Jianxiu would know.

Finally, Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, said to the crowd: "Since our Chuangying entered Henan, our troops have grown more than tenfold. Even if we lose the tens of thousands of troops from Caoying, we can still dominate Henan.

The Xuanfu Army standing in front of us now only has tens of thousands of soldiers, while our army has no less than 100,000 soldiers, and there are hundreds of thousands of young and strong men. Even if one of them spits, they can drown the tens of thousands of Xuanfu Army under the city of Kaifeng. "

Finally, the King of Chuang said seriously: "When you return to the camp, reorganize your troops immediately. We will fight a decisive battle with the Xuanfu Army at Xianggong Temple to let them know how powerful we are!" (End of this chapter)