weaving

Chapter 1347 Mangshan Militia

In Xinchengji, in the tent of Commander Zhang Cheng, the commander-in-chief of the military affairs of seven towns and the Earl of Yongning, all the generals looked at each other in surprise when they heard the words.

Some of them slapped their thighs hard, showing a look of sudden enlightenment, some were a little unwilling, and some secretly hated themselves for not thinking of this in advance...

"But... the soldiers are eager to fight. Now their morale is high and the army is ready. If we continue to wait for the enemy to surround us with long trenches, it may affect our morale. If the soldiers have no fighting spirit, what can we use to fight the enemy in the future?" Li Fuming couldn't help but say it.

"General Li, the soldiers are eager to fight, which is a good thing. But as the commander of a battalion, we can't fight according to the soldiers' ideas. Instead, we should see the overall situation and put the overall situation first. We should always look at the big picture. This is what the commander-in-chief often says, 'the overall situation'!"

Wei Zhice continued, "We must make it clear to the soldiers that today's patience is for greater glory tomorrow. Sooner or later, there will be opportunities to fight the enemy. Why rush to kill the enemy and gain merit now?"

Li Fuming blushed when his little thoughts were exposed. Just as he was about to fight back, he heard Wei Zhice say, "There are hundreds of thousands of bandits here, and it is impossible to kill them all in one go. Naturally, everyone has a share of this military achievement. It will not disappear for no reason if it is just there."

Finally, he narrowed his eyes and asked Li Fuming: "You said so... Li Shuai!"

Li Fuming was stunned by his question. He didn't have time to think carefully, and quickly replied: "Yes... General Wei is right. The bandits are powerful, with many times more troops than us, so their consumption of food and grass is naturally greater than our army."

Seeing that he was no longer determined to fight, Wei Zhice did not argue with him too much. He just smiled and said nothing more.

Seeing that everyone was either deep in thought or whispering, Sun Shixiang put down the teacup in his hand and said, "What General Zhice said is indeed the best strategy at the moment."

After he finished speaking, he turned his head and looked at the Earl of Yongning. He saw Zhang Cheng nodding slightly at him to show his agreement, and then he continued, "Although the enemy is powerful, our soldiers are brave, well-armored, and well-equipped with guns and cannons. If we fight them, we will surely defeat them in one fell swoop.

But you all know that war is dangerous and dangerous. Once a war breaks out, countless loyal and brave soldiers will shed their blood on the battlefield. Each of them is the commander-in-chief's favorite. How can we bear to let them take risks?

Although the plan proposed by General Zhice seems to be ineffective, it is actually the most beneficial to us. Now that Li the bandit is driving the hungry people to dig long trenches, they must be fed, and the consumption of grain has increased greatly. Moreover, their food supply has been cut off, and there is no profit in harvesting grain. It can be imagined that their defeat is not far away. "

Everyone heard it clearly at this moment, and they all nodded in agreement. No one stepped forward to volunteer for the battle. All eyes were instantly focused on Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, waiting for his final decision.

"Commander-in-chief, although our camps are in danger of being trapped by the long trenches of the Li bandits, we still have enough food and fodder to sustain us for more than a month. We also have excellent armor and weapons, and sharp guns and cannons. What's even more rare is that the morale of the troops is high and the soldiers are full of fighting spirit. Although the situation is dangerous now, we are not in danger."

Wei Zhice clasped his fists towards the Earl of Yongning and said, "General, what I am worried about right now is not the enemy's long trench, but the safety of the White Tiger Camp in Xianggong Temple!"

After hearing his words, everyone in the commander's tent immediately perked up. Everyone knew that Chen Zheng's troops in Xianggong Temple had been besieged for a long time, and now it was even difficult for even the news to get out. It was indeed an extremely dangerous moment.

"Chen Zheng's White Tiger Camp fought in the defense battle of Changling Mountain. Even when facing the Tartars that outnumbered them by several times, they did not lose their position. Now the Xianggong Temple camp has been operating for a long time and has sufficient food, fodder and medicine. I think it should not be in a life-and-death situation yet." Chief Governor He Biao said expressionlessly.

Sun Shixiang had not participated in the Liaodong Campaign, and had only heard about the situation at the time, but had not experienced it personally, so he did not want to speak about it, lest he say something wrong because he did not understand the actual situation. But he saw Hu Yiwen next to him seemed to be about to speak, and was about to pull his sleeve from below, suggesting that he should calm down and wait for a moment, but in the end he was still a step too late.

"What the General Governor said is correct, but if the bandits get angry and drive the hungry people to attack, General Chen will have few men after all, and his strength will eventually run out. I'm afraid he will be exhausted, so how can he hold on?"

He Biao ignored his questions, but his ignoring of them didn't mean that others would ignore them either.

As expected, He Zhenxiong was the first to speak: "Staff Officer Hu, you don't know that the ferocity of the Tartars is far beyond the level of the starving people on the other side. Even the old thief in Li Ni's army is probably incomparable."

Wang Pu, a shrewd man, also said, "Yes. The arrows of the Tartars seem to have eyes, and they aim at people's weak points. It's really impossible to dodge them."

He finally added: "In my opinion... only the veteran gunners who follow the commander in chief in our army can compare with him."

Wang Pu was the one who knew how to speak. Although he seemed to be praising the Tartars, he was actually praising Chen Zheng's White Tiger Camp and the veteran soldiers in the Yongyi Army. This was also equivalent to praising Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng - after all, these veteran soldiers were all trained by him.

Hu Yiwen was about to speak when he heard Liu Chengzu, who was sitting in the seat below him, say: "There is one more thing. The enemy can only drive the hungry people to attack the camp temporarily, but it cannot last long."

"Why is this?"

In response to Hu Yiwen's question, Liu Chengzu, as an eyewitness to the siege of the city by the rebels who drove the hungry people, patiently explained: "Although the hungry people have the lowest status in the rebel army, even worse than ants, they are still human beings after all, and as long as they are human beings, they will feel fear.

At first, the bandits' knives at their necks were a great threat, and the hungry people had to rush forward for fear of death. But once they found that the threat from the opposite side was far greater than the bandits' knives and axes, they would have a psychological collapse and immediately turn around and flee like headless flies.

After all, everyone is afraid of death, but no one wants to die. No matter if it's the swords and axes of the bandits behind you, or the bows, arrows, and guns of the government troops on the other side, it all depends on which side poses the greater threat. In the face of death, the only thing that matters is staying alive!"

Hu Yiwen was somewhat moved by what he heard, but he still said: "If that's the case, there are more than 100,000 hungry people in the enemy's army. I'm afraid General Chen's medicine will be exhausted and he will be unable to resist the enemy's desperate attack."

"When it comes to war, sometimes you just fight to the last breath. Until the very last moment, no one knows whether their side will win or lose."

Wei Zhice looked up at Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng and said, "General, I have another concern."

"You said."

"Commander-in-chief, the soldiers of the White Tiger Camp followed Chen Zheng to defend Changling Mountain. No matter their tactics or fighting spirit, there is no need for us to comment on them. But now I am only worried about one thing..." Wei Zhice glanced at everyone in the tent and continued, "I am afraid that the Mangshan militia that is helping to defend the mountain will be in turmoil under the siege of the bandits, which will be detrimental to Chen Zheng's White Tiger Camp's defense of Xianggong Temple."