weaving

Chapter 1358: Victory or defeat depends on this battle

On July 27, after Luo Rucai and Ji Gui agreed on the strategy of appeasement, they held a banquet at Cao Cao's camp in Suizhou that night, warmly entertaining Liu Yuchi, Liu Jinhai, Kaifeng guerrilla Chen De and others.

During the banquet, Luo Rucai behaved very enthusiastically, and got close to Liu Jinhai and others as if they were a family. He toasted them frequently, and his earnest words constantly expressed his sincerity in surrendering. He also made it clear that he was joining Caoying to serve the Earl of Yongning, and definitely not the imperial court.

July 28th, at noon.

Guerrilla Chen De, carrying Ji Gui's handwritten letter and Luo Rucai's roster of Cao's camp, led more than 900 elite cavalrymen under his command and rode out of Cao's camp, heading straight for Kaifeng.

July 29th, noon.

Cao's generals Wang Long and Luo Dain each led a thousand infantrymen and left the camp under the guidance of the cavalry left by Chen De, and went to Chenliu and Tongxu respectively to station and receive orders.

August 1st, afternoon.

Yang Shengzu, the general of Cao's camp, led two thousand elite cavalrymen of Cao's camp, and left the camp under the leadership of the cavalry left by Chen De, and hurried to Qi County to await orders.

It turned out that at the dinner for Chen Dexing, Luo Rucai personally stated that in order to demonstrate his sincerity in submitting to the Earl of Yongning, he was willing to send the elite troops in the camp to assist the Earl of Yongning in the battle.

During the banquet, he and Ji Si cooperated very well...

Luo Rucai declared that he would gather all the elite infantry and cavalry of more than 10,000 troops and march to Zhuxian Town to contribute to the decisive battle between Yongning Earl and Chuang's army, in order to show his determination.

Ji Si suggested that Cao's army had just come under the command of Earl Yongning, and the generals in the army were not familiar with Earl Yongning's men, and the two armies had not yet unified their commands. If the entire army went to help Earl Yongning, accidents might occur, which would be bad.

Therefore, Ji Si suggested that some elite infantry and cavalry could be sent to station in Chenliu area first, and wait for the military order from Yongning Earl before taking action. In this way, the chaos caused by the full deployment of the army could be avoided, and a small contribution could be made to Yongning Earl.

Liu Yuchi was already very familiar with Ji Si, and Luo Rucai had now agreed to submit to the Earl of Yongning, thus fulfilling the mission he had undertaken on this trip. Naturally, he had to speak in support of Ji Si in order to return the favor.

Chen De's main responsibility on this trip was security work. As long as he could ensure Liu Yuchi's safety, everything else was not his job and he naturally would not say much.

Everything was proceeding step by step according to Luo Rucai and Ji Gui's plan...

…………

August 1st, early Si hour.

The area several miles around Laofufen Village, nine miles north of Xianggong Temple, was already bustling with noise. The shouts and scolding of various small chiefs and officers had already filled the air, mixed with the neighing of horses and mules, and the creaking sounds of various large and small carts. It was as lively as a bustling market in a big city.

To the north and northeast of the old mansion, there were teams of people and horses advancing against the rising sun. Among them were only a few cavalrymen, most of them were infantry, and even more were ragged servants and hungry people. Many of them were still walking barefoot on the slightly hot sand.

Even though those hungry people looked staggering and about to fall, they were either pushing small wheelbarrows or a dozen people pushing large carts together.

Of course, the rebel army had limited vehicles of all sizes, and most of the hungry civilians and servants were carrying shoulder poles with two heavy baskets of dry food, or gunpowder and shells, as well as the armor and weapons of the cavalry.

There were also many hungry people who could not carry anything on their shoulders, but they were not left empty-handed. They all carried large and small bags on their backs. Some people were carrying door panels, which were also filled with various military supplies and weapons.

If you look down from a high place, it looks like a nest of ants trying to move, which is a very spectacular scene! However, it is a pity.

They were not trying to move, but were being forced by swords and axes to walk towards a bloody killing field that would be more horrible than hell. Most of them would become the protagonists of this killing field - the objects to be killed!

In fact, the killing had already begun when they were driven out of the camp. Anyone who could not walk had already become the "chicken" in the "killing the chicken to scare the monkey". They had died tragically under the swords and axes of the rebel army and lay quietly in the camp that was about to be emptied.

Even those hungry people who were a little slower could not escape the bloody slaughter by the swords and axes in the hands of the rebels, which were already stained with blood and turned dark red, and fell on the way to the bloody killing field.

…………

"Grand Marshal, the western front's long trench at the Yuyuan bend was attacked by government troops."

Li Zicheng was stunned when he heard the news, and asked hurriedly: "How many troops are there in the government army? Are they the main force of the Yongyi Army from Xuanda?"

"According to reports, there are about 1,000 to 2,000 soldiers, fewer on horseback than on foot. Judging from the color of their flags, they should be government troops from Baoding, not from the border troops from Xuanda."

Li You clasped his fists and continued, "There is another group of government troops. Judging from the color of their flags, they seem to be the troops of Hu Dawei from Baoding. There are about 2,000 infantry and cavalry, and they are fiercely attacking Dang Shousu's camp in Lijiazhai."

Li Zicheng's face became more suspicious. He asked, "Is there no movement on the eastern trench?"

"There is no news from General Mingyuan."

Li Zicheng nodded slightly relieved and said, "As long as it's not the main force of the Yongyi Army from Xuanda, Yufeng can still handle it, so there's no need to worry."

He turned to look at Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance beside him and asked, "Military Advisor, isn't that right?"

Song Xiance waved his folding fan gently and said with a smile, "Even if the Yongyi Army cavalry comes, they only have three or four thousand men. Although Yufeng has recalled half of its troops, there are still more than ten thousand soldiers, including three thousand cavalry alone, not to mention more than twenty thousand hungry civilians and servants. It is definitely not a problem to deal with several thousand government troops."

Niu Jinxing also nodded and said, "What you said is correct."

Niu Jinxing now speaks less and less, and is simply "thrifty with words". He is extremely cautious every time he makes a suggestion, for fear that one of his negligence may arouse the suspicion of King Chuang and he may lose his future position as prime minister.

King Chuang then asked Li You: "Have Li Yan and Li Guo's troops returned?"

"Reporting to the Grand Marshal, Master Li and General Li have returned to their troops as ordered."

Song Xiance couldn't help but interrupt at this time: "Grand Marshal, if Li Guo's entire division withdraws, the food supply route from Funiushan to Zhuxian Town will be completely cut off."

"I can't take care of it!" Li Zicheng said very bluntly.

He then added: "The victory or defeat here will all be decided by this battle."

Li Zicheng turned and looked towards Kaifeng in the north, and said in a clear voice as if he had a plan in mind: "The whole army will go forward, first defeat the Xuanda border army in front of us, and then advance northwards to capture Kaifeng in one go. All the food in the city will be ours."

"Then we can divide our forces to seize the surrounding prefectures and counties, hold high the banner of the 'Fengtian Initiative', command the world, and unify the Central Plains!"