weaving

Chapter 1278 What Lord Bo meant was...

"Now it seems that even if Luo Rucai is unwilling to surrender to the imperial court, at least he will not join forces with the rebel army again."

Liu Chengzu listened to Sun Shixiang's answer and nodded continuously.

Chen Zhong also agreed with this: "Because the rebel army failed to attack Daguantou and Liuzhuang, the army was already full of resentment. They all said that Cao Cao came up with this idea just to make it easier for himself to escape, but left the troops here to fight against the government army alone.

Now Luo Rucai has killed and injured many elite cavalrymen of the Chuang army. This hatred has been completely settled. I am afraid it cannot be easily dissolved!"

Zhang Guangda also said: "Besides, the rebel army lost a great general, so this account must naturally be attributed to Luo Rucai."

"You mean..." Chen Zhong suddenly realized, "Hao Yaoqi?"

"No."

Zhang Guangda went on quite proudly, "Although Hao Yaoqi was captured by us when we were chasing Marshal Hu, we fought all the battles. Now Luo Rucai has become a deserter among the bandits, so all the blame will naturally be put on him!"

"Yes." Chen Zhong said excitedly, but then he calmed down and said, "But Hao Yaoqi is not a direct descendant of the rebels, right?"

"Almost..." Zhang Guangda said carelessly, "Although Hao Yaoqi is not a close confidant of the Eighth Bandit Team, he is also a rare and powerful general under the old King Chuang. After the death of the old bandit Gao, Hao Yaoqi has been following the bandits. He was one of the eighteen riders who escaped from the battle at Tongguanyuan in the eleventh year. He also has a certain status in the bandit army."

"Master, it seems that Hao Yaoqi's head could be of use!"

There was a strange look in the eyes of Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng. He looked at Hu Yiwen who was sitting below him and couldn't believe that these words came from the mouth of such a weak scholar.

"After the traitor Hao Yaoqi was skinned alive by Tiger Marshal, his head had to be sent to the capital. It cannot be returned to the traitor Li."

"No need to return it to the thief..."

Hu Yiwen clasped his fists and said, "We only need to arrange for a few captives from the rebel army to accompany Hao Yaoqi in the execution. This way, the news that Hao Yaoqi was beheaded by our army can be spread among the rebels.

Before sending Hao Yaoqi's head to the capital, a team of elite cavalry could carry it every day and ride it in front of the two armies where the enemy's bows and crossbows could not reach, so that every enemy soldier could see Hao Yaoqi's head.

Sun Shixiang shook his head slightly, sighed secretly in his heart, and seemed to be hesitant to speak. Even Zhang Guangda, who was known for his heroism, showed a trace of pity between his brows, not to mention Chen Zhong, who was usually more tolerant.

But Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng didn't care. He smiled and said, "This move is just a little bit damaging!"

Hu Yiwen, however, did not seem to care, and said calmly: "'Warfare is the art of deception.' The art of warfare is not to take risks, but it does not stipulate that you cannot use certain methods to provoke the enemy."

"Okay. I'll leave this matter to you as you wish."

"Yes." Hu Yiwen calmly clasped his fists and accepted the order.

Looking at the people in the headquarters, Zhang Cheng continued, "Everyone has reached a consensus just now, and I understand what you mean. Now let's make some arrangements for the deployment of each department. You can help me check for omissions and fill in the gaps."

Seeing that he had finally gotten to the point, everyone was cheered up and answered in unison, "Yes."

"Since we already know where Luo Rucai's bandits are going, there is no need to conduct further reconnaissance. Quickly dispatch Chen De's cavalry to defend Xincheng."

"Yes." Lieutenant Colonel Zhang Mingyuan responded softly and memorized it in his heart.

"Send a message to General Hu to ask for his opinion and see if his Baoding troops have finished resting."

"Yes." "Order Wang Pu to immediately break camp and move the troops to Beiliangfen, three miles northwest of Xinchengji, to set up camp."

"Yes."

"Mobilize Li Fuming's Shanxi Army to move camp to Xincang, four miles northeast of Xinchengji."

"Yes."

"Shanxi Deputy General Jiang Mingwu's troops have moved into Chenliu City and are on standby at any time."

"Yes."

"Liu Chengzu, write a letter to Governor Zhang in Kaifeng to report the recent military situation and ask if he has any instructions. Also, ask if the Baoding troops under Governor Zhang can be transferred to the Xincheng front to participate in the battle."

"Yes." Liu Chengzu also responded softly.

The deployment strategies for each unit had been arranged, but Zhang Guangda raised a question: "General, even Zhang Dechang and Cao Shixi's Baoding troops have been deployed, why haven't Zhang Guodong and Wei Zhice's two battalions been deployed yet?"

Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng shook his head and said, "No hurry. Since they have already advanced to the front, it is better not to move for the time being. Maybe it will be useful in the future."

At this time, Li Jiyu also interjected: "Marshal Jue, you said last time that you would give our Xuanwu Battalion a good job. I wonder if it will be this time?"

Yongning Bo smiled and said to him, "Since it's a good job, there's no need to rush!"

Sun Shixiang looked at the Earl of Yongning with a solemn expression, clasped his fists and said, "My Lord, although the rebel army has surrounded the Xianggong Temple, many of its troops are still mobilizing and gathering. Why not take this opportunity to attack them? Perhaps we can catch them by surprise."

"inappropriate."

Yongning Bo immediately rejected his suggestion, saying: "Li Zicheng has been a thief for more than ten years, and he is still alive today, which shows his ability. He must have seen what we can think of, and he may be waiting for us to sneak into his pocket."

"So what the uncle means is..." Sun Shixiang looked confused.

"One word: 'wait'!"

Yongning Bo's answer was very clear and concise. He added: "Although Li the bandit has strong soldiers and horses, he is no longer the same as before. Moreover, since he entered Henan, he has been attacking cities and killing generals along the way. His morale is high and his army is full of enthusiasm. It is indeed difficult to deal with him.

However, although the setbacks he suffered in the battles of Liuzhuang and Daguantou did not cause any damage to his fundamentals, he no longer dared to underestimate the soldiers of my Yongyi Army. Now that he can display such a formation, I guess he will not launch a fierce attack on me in the short term.

Even so, let's just fight with Li the thief for a month first."

Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng raised his mouth with a sneer, and said, "We have tens of thousands of troops, and we have the shipping advantage of the Yellow River. If we can't outlast his hundreds of thousands of troops, I think we should stop fighting this battle!"

…………

On the vast battlefield from Xinchengji to Zhuxian Town, which is nearly 30 miles wide from north to south and nearly 60 miles long from east to west, the camps of the government troops and the bandit troops are intertwined, and light cavalry scouts are in frequent contact.

Compared to the initial encounter when they were ready to fight to the death, the cavalry scouts on both sides are much more polite now!
When they met, they would first shout and curse at each other from a distance, then ride their horses to a distance of fifty or sixty steps, shoot at each other with bows, crossbows and muskets from a distance, and then separate from each other to end the encounter.

In fact, it was not that they developed feelings for each other during the war, but the battle lines of the two armies were too close to each other. Such encounters occurred countless times every day, and everyone was tortured and exhausted.

This is how the battle method of determining victory or defeat solely by horseback archery came into being.