weaving

"General, there is a huge difference here!"

In Cao Ying's tent, Ji Gui looked at Luo Rucai and explained to him, "General, please think about it. Even if we surrender to the court, we still need someone to mediate for us. And after surrendering to the court, we must find a big tree to hold on to, so that the general can have a smooth career and enjoy wealth and honor forever.

This is why we secretly contacted Ding Qirui and Zhu Dadian before. We wanted them to mediate for us in the court and to rely on them as supporters in the future. Now that Earl Yongning has taken the initiative to invite us, this is a rare opportunity. I hope the general will not hesitate any longer. "

"Why is it the Earl of Yongning who is being treated as a vassal instead of the imperial court?"

Although Luo Rucai still had doubts in his heart, under the guidance of Ji Gui's words, he no longer called Zhang Cheng "boy", but changed it to the respectful title of "Emperor Yongning", which shows that he had made up his mind.

“General, didn’t you see that Li Jiyu and Yuan Shizhong successively served under the command of the Earl of Yongning? Li Jiyu only had a few thousand soldiers and horses at the beginning, and the rest were starving people who were forced to flee. But now he is the commander of a battalion under the Earl of Yongning and a deputy general in the court.

Although Yuan Shizhong had only been in office for a short time, according to what Liu Yuchi said, the unit was currently being reorganized in Wu'an County, Zhangde Prefecture. Elite soldiers were still being selected to be led by Yuan Shizhong and formed into an independent battalion. All armor, weapons, guns and cannons were provided to them in the same way as other battalions, and even the food and wages were allocated by the Yongning Earl on a monthly basis.

The remaining dependents, servants, hungry people, and the elderly and weak will be resettled in batches in Xuanfu, Datong, and Shanxi. They will all be given land according to the number of people, and will be exempted from taxes in the first year. The taxes in the second and third years will be halved. In this way, there will be no worries. The general will only focus on killing the enemy and making meritorious contributions. Even if he cannot be granted the title of baron or marquis this time, with his ability, he may not be a marquis in the future!"

After hearing what Ji Gui said, Luo Rucai was quite moved, but still a little hesitant. He asked solemnly, "Old Ji, do you mean that Brother Li will never achieve anything great?"

"Yes, the Ming Dynasty is not doomed yet."

Ji Gui continued in a solemn and serious tone: "Although the King of Chuang can be rampant for a while, he is not an emperor. Even if he is admired by thousands of people, he is still a great hero, and in the end he will die and lose his reputation.

As for Jingxuan's West Camp and Geliyan's group, although they seem to be doing well, they can only protect themselves and there is no sign of them creating a new foundation."

He then changed the subject and said, "On the other hand, although the imperial court has suffered defeat after defeat, its foundation has not been damaged. The important taxation base in the south of the Yangtze River is still there. Last year, they just defeated the Tartars in Liaodong. Now they have time to clean up the Central Plains. General, don't you see that the army of King Chuang is blocked in Zhuxian Town and cannot advance an inch?"

"But right now, there are only a few tens of thousands of soldiers in Xincheng who can fight..." Luo Rucai still had doubts in his mind: "Can these tens of thousands of soldiers really withstand the hundreds of thousands of troops of King Chuang?"

"General, haven't you seen that the King of Chuang and the Earl of Yongning have been at a stalemate for two months? Although on the surface the King of Chuang still seems to be very powerful, he is already in a state of 'strong on the outside but weak on the inside'."

"Oh. How do you know?"

"Shuipoji defeated Ding Qirui and Zuo Liangyu in one fell swoop. That was the most glorious moment for the King of Chuang. If it weren't for the sudden appearance of the Xuan army led by Yongning Bo, I'm afraid that the King of Chuang would have taken over Kaifeng Prefecture and raised the banner of justice, commanding the world."

Ji Gui couldn't help but sigh when he said this: "Alas. It's a pity that such a good situation was ruined by the tens of thousands of border troops of Yongning Earl. This is also the reason why I urged the general to leave King Chuang."

Under Luo Rucai's suspicious gaze, Ji Gui continued, "Shuipo gathered no less than 120,000 or 30,000 soldiers, and there were also fierce generals such as Zuo Liangyu and Hu Dawei, but they could not hold out for even half a month. The King of Rebellion captured tens of thousands of soldiers and officers in one battle, and his reputation was rare in the world.

But when he met the Earl of Yongning, he stopped moving forward. For more than two months, he has been stationed in Zhuxian Town. Seeing Kaifeng City just a few dozen miles away, he can only sigh in despair. General, do you know why? "

He did not wait for Luo Rucai to answer and continued, "Although the Yongning Earl has only 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers and horses under his command, they are united and obey orders. They have excellent armor and weapons, and sharp guns and cannons. What's more rare is that they have enough money and food. After two months of stalemate, there is no sign of shortage." Ji Gui continued mysteriously, "On the other hand, it's different for the King of Rebellion. It is reported that a detachment has cut off the grain transportation route in Funiu Mountain. Even Li Yan's grain-collecting team was blocked by Li Jiyu. Food and grass are already insufficient. Hundreds of thousands of troops were originally the King of Rebellion's advantage, but now it has become a huge problem!"

"If you can beat them, then fight. If you can't, then run away. Isn't that how we have been fighting for more than a decade?"

"General, that was in the past. Now I can't leave."

"Why?"

"Li Zicheng now calls himself the true emperor, and is obsessed with ascending the throne and becoming emperor. His mind is full of dreams of ruling the world. Now the situation is very good. For him, he can only move forward and never retreat.

If he advances, there is hope for success. If he retreats, I am afraid that the good situation he has built since entering Henan will be completely lost, and there will be no such opportunity in the future to rebuild his current prestige. "

"From what you said, it does make sense. If it were me, I'd probably take a gamble too!"

Luo Rucai had been listening to Ji Gui's speech very seriously, and he was constantly thinking in his mind: "But Brother Li has hundreds of thousands of troops after all. If we attack them all at once, I'm afraid it won't be that easy to deal with. Who knows, we might really be able to break through the camp of Earl Yongning."

"so what?"

Ji Gui continued with a hint of contempt: "The key to this battle lies in the word 'food and grass'. Even if Li Zicheng can break through one or two camps under the command of Yongning Earl, it will be useless if he cannot get enough food and grass.

Even if the battle is not going well for Yongning Bo, he can still retreat into Kaifeng and rely on the strong city to defend. If Li Zicheng runs out of food and grass and cannot transport them in time, he will inevitably retreat. "

He added at the end: "Humph. Besides, if Li Zicheng could break through the Yongning Earl's camp, why would he wait until today when food and grass are running low to take action?"

Luo Rucai understood everything now, but he still had doubts in his heart, and said, "Even if that's the case, what difference does it make if we comfort them before or after the war?"

"This is the same as gambling. You can only place bets when the treasure cup is not opened. If the treasure is opened, who will allow you to place bets again?"

Ji Gui continued, "We want to surrender to the Earl of Yongning before the war to show our loyalty. If the Earl of Yongning wins, we will also be the first to make contributions. This is not a speculative move.

Moreover, if the Earl of Yongning is badly defeated in this battle, whether we should surrender or not, I am afraid we still need to see what conditions the court can offer before we can make the final decision!"

"Okay." Luo Rucai said loudly: "This matter... will be done as you say."

"General, now that you have decided to serve under the command of the Earl of Yongning, you must show some sincerity so that you can seek credit and be rewarded after the war!"

"What? What is sincerity?" (End of this chapter)