weaving

Chapter 1342 Military morale is available

"How should the troops of the two bandits digging trenches be distributed?"

Lin Fangping raised the small wooden stick in his hand and pointed at the map hanging on the wall in front of him, saying: "After investigation, the long trench in the east is under the charge of Liu Fangliang, and under him are Liu Tichun, Ma Shiyao, Liu Rukui, and Ren Jiguang. There are more than 30,000 bandits, including about 4,000 cavalry. The long trench in the west is under the charge of Tian Jianxiu, and under him are Ren Jirong, Dang Shousu, Xin Sizhong, and Li Michang. The bandits are not much different from those in the east."

"Commander-in-chief, the enemy has only 30,000 troops on both the east and west routes. If we divide our troops to defend the trenches that are 20 to 30 miles long, the forces at each location must be weak. We should concentrate our main cavalry and attack them at one point. We will surely succeed." Li Fuming was anxious and asked for a fight again.

At this time, the commander of the standard camp, He Zhenxiong, said: "Each of the trench-digging bandits has 30,000 soldiers and horses. Even if their forces are dispersed, there is a military camp every five miles, each with several thousand bandit soldiers, and every other military camp, there are a thousand bandit cavalry.

Although our army launched a surprise attack and gained the upper hand, we may not be able to defeat them in one blow. Once we are entangled by them, reinforcements will arrive in less than an hour, and there will be more reinforcements after that."

Finally, he warned more carefully: "I'm worried that if we are not careful, it will lead to a decisive battle!"

Chen Zhong of Yanhe Camp said at this time: "The time for a decisive battle has not yet arrived, and our army is not ready for a decisive battle with the bandits."

Wang Pu said, "General, let's attack from both the east and west. This way, the enemy will be fighting on two fronts and won't be able to concentrate their forces to rescue just one place. This way, we can avoid a decisive battle with the enemy."

The look in Earl Yongning's eyes when he looked at Wang Pu was full of approval. This "big-talking general" who was famous for his cowardice now dared to volunteer to fight.

However, he also knew that the time for a decisive battle had not yet arrived, and Xincheng was not as strong as the two special forces from the east and west. After all, the two sides had limited military strength, and even if a major war broke out, it would be difficult to develop into a final decisive battle.

But the situation in Xincheng is very different. Hundreds of thousands of main forces from both sides are all concentrated in this area of ​​less than a hundred miles. All it takes is a battle of considerable scale. As the war becomes more intense and both sides continue to invest troops, it is very likely to turn into a battle that decides life and death.

Therefore, Earl Yongning still did not make a final statement, but looked at Sun Shixiang and Hu Yiwen, asking them with his eyes to express their thoughts.

"Commander-in-chief, I also think it's time to attack." Sun Shixiang continued, "As General Li said, if we continue to ignore the enemy's trenches, it will make us look cowardly and avoid fighting. Once the enemy mistakenly thinks that our Yongyi Army is weak and can be bullied, they may launch a general attack on General Chen's camp in Xianggong Temple early."

Zhang Cheng also nodded when he heard this. He looked back at Lin Fangping and asked, "Is there any unusual movement at the Xianggong Temple?"

"Reporting to the commander, the Xianggong Temple is surrounded by bandits. Our scouts cannot get close at all. Even if we have a telescope to spy from a distance, it is difficult to see what is going on over there."

Lin Fangping explained first, then said: "However, according to the interrogation of the tongue caught by the scouts, it is known that Chief Patrol Liu Zongmin is in charge of the command, and the three leaders Bai Minghe, Xie Junyou, Gu Ying, and Zhang Nai's firearms battalion soldiers are left here and dispatched by Chief Patrol Liu.

According to the scouts, there has been no major fighting at Xianggong Temple so far."

Zhang Cheng nodded, then looked at Hu Yiwen and said, "Gong Qiao, do you also agree to attack at this time?"

Hu Yiwen just nodded to show his approval, but did not say much nor put forward any strategies.

Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng stared at the map for a long time. After about a cup of tea, he finally took his eyes off the map and asked the officers in the tent, "Do you all agree to send troops to attack the trench-digging bandits?"

Li Fuming was the first to stand up and said, "General, let's fight. We have never been afraid of the Tartars, so what can we do to a bunch of peasant bandits!" "Yes, General. Since our army crossed the river, we have never had a head-on confrontation with the bandits. The men are getting impatient and are clamoring to go into battle and kill the bandits all day long."

Finally, Wang Pu said firmly to the Earl of Yongning: "General, the army's morale must be used and cannot be abandoned!"

Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, did not comment on this, but he also knew that what Wang Pu said was true.

…………

The current Datong Army is mostly composed of veterans from the Liaodong War, with the addition of officers drawn from the Yongyi Army to lead training, and is equipped with standard armor and firearms. It is a completely different place from the past, and its morale is high and they are eager to fight!

But Lord Yongning knew very well that there were too many enemy troops. A small-scale engagement would not matter. Once a major battle broke out, if they could not defeat the enemy troops in one go, their disadvantage in numbers would largely offset their advantages in equipment and training, and might even drag down their own soldiers, making them exhausted and ultimately defeated.

"The thieves can fail, even if they fail ten or a hundred times. As long as the gang of thieves are not dead, they can still make a comeback. But I cannot fail, because if I fail once, all those years of hard work will be gone. Not to mention it will be difficult to make a comeback, it will even be difficult to save my life!" Zhang Cheng was very clear about the situation he was facing.

Although he left thousands of elite soldiers, a complete military industry, and a complete set of business groups in Xuanfu Town, almost covering the entire Xuanfu Town.

However, he had too many enemies. Not to mention the external bandits and the Jian Nu who wanted to eat him alive, even the ministers and other high-ranking officials in the court would come to take a bite when he lost power in an attempt to get a share of the benefits.

And inside Xuan Da, he had even more enemies. Now he was relying on the powerful military force under his command and his own strong authority to barely suppress them and prevent them from causing trouble.

If our military strength is severely damaged, there is no guarantee that they will not collude with each other internally and externally, and use some underhanded conspiracy to suppress us bit by bit in order to gradually erode and devour us.

Yongning Bo would naturally not allow himself to face such a situation, so he secretly warned himself in his heart: "The time is not right, don't act rashly."

But Wang Pu’s words “military morale can be used but cannot be abandoned” are not without reason!

After a brief thought, Earl Yongning once again glanced at everyone in the general's tent and saw that they all had determined expressions, especially Li Fuming and Wang Pu. He didn't want to dampen their enthusiasm.

"Mingyuan, send someone to send a message to Daguantou and Liuzhuang, asking Wei Zhice and Zhang Guodong to come to the headquarters before noon tomorrow to participate in the military meeting."

"Yes, handsome father."

The Earl of Yongning then said to everyone in the tent: "The generals are so eager to fight, which shows that the 'military spirit can be used'. Let's fight against the rebels."

He went on to say: "Although we are not going to fight a decisive battle with the rebels, the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, so we cannot act rashly. I have summoned Generals Wei Zhice and Zhang Guodong to come to the headquarters.

Tomorrow at noon, we will discuss military affairs."

"promise!"