weaving

Chapter 1443 I Only Have One Thing

"That bastard Yang Yanchang!" Liu Tichun cursed angrily.

The rebel leader waved his hand to stop him from continuing his tirade and said to the crowd, "Yang Yanchang deserves to die, but now is not the time to criticize him. Let's discuss what to do next."

Li You reminded him from the side, "Grand Marshal, aren't we going to wait for General Tian and General Liu a little while?"

"We won't wait any longer." After saying that, Chuang Wang added, "Let's save two seats for them; they should be here by now."

He looked at the people in the command tent and asked, "Tell me, what should we do now?"

Liu Zongmin, with a dark and serious expression, sat silently next to the rebel leader, drinking water as if he had no intention of participating in the discussion.

Yuan Zongdi looked left and right, and seeing that no one spoke, he couldn't help but say, "Either we fight with all our might, drive back the government troops, and return to Zhuxian Town; or we should withdraw our troops quickly, join forces with Uncle Gao, and then plan our next move."

"Hanju is right. We need to decide whether to fight or retreat as soon as possible," Liu Tichun also commented.

Just then, the curtain of the commander's tent was lifted, and Wu Ruyi hurriedly entered to report: "General Tian and General Liu have arrived."

Tian Jianxiu and Liu Fangliang followed Wu Ruyi into the command tent. Liu Zongmin was the first to speak: "Li You, please repeat what I just said to Yufeng and Mingyuan again."

Upon hearing this, Li You immediately stepped forward, took Tian Jianxiu and Liu Fangliang's hands, and led them to a corner of the command tent. While pouring water, he recounted the situation in Zhuxian Town that he had just heard from Liu Zongmin.

A moment later, Tian Jianxiu and Liu Fangliang understood. They sat down on the two empty chairs in front, and Tian Jianxiu immediately asked, "How was it decided now?"

"It hasn't been finalized yet. There are mainly two opinions right now. Military Advisor Song..." Yuan Zongdi briefly explained the previous discussions.

Liu Fangliang glanced at Tian Jianxiu, who nodded in acknowledgment, and then said, "Grand Marshal, Yu Feng and I feel that it's no longer appropriate to stay in Kaifeng."

Clearly, the two had already exchanged views before entering the command tent and had basically reached a consensus, which is why Liu Fangliang made that statement.

"Mingyuan, tell us all your and Yufeng's thoughts in detail," Liu Zongmin said.

"Yu Feng and I discussed this matter before entering the command tent."

Liu Fangliang went straight to the point: "We have an absolute advantage in troop strength, but that is also our disadvantage. We have a large army, and our food and supplies are also being consumed at an alarming rate. With such a large army, we should move quickly rather than slowly. We should sweep away the fallen leaves in autumn and take Kaifeng in one fell swoop, occupy the whole of Henan, and then we can plan for a bigger future."

He swallowed hard and continued, "Right now, although our army is large, we are unable to capture Kaifeng. We are already in a stalemate with the government army, wasting food and supplies without making any progress. As our food supplies dwindle, we are running out of food sooner or later. This will affect the morale and fighting spirit of our army."

Furthermore, although our army is large, the majority of our troops are newly recruited, and many of them are not yet familiar with our tactics. We need to practice them carefully before they can unleash their full potential.

This is why Yu Feng and I felt we shouldn't stay in Kaifeng any longer!

Liu Zongmin seemed very interested in his words and pressed on, "Then where do you think we should go? Back to Funiu Mountain, or somewhere else?" Liu Fangliang looked at Tian Jianxiu again and said with a smile, "Yufeng, you can tell us the rest."

Tian Jianxiu smiled first before speaking: "Mingyuan and I have discussed it. If everyone thinks this is the right thing to do, then while the government troops are scattered in all directions and have just occupied the Dragon King Temple, they are in a state of high spirits. We will pretend to launch a counterattack to force the government troops to switch to defense."

Then, we will divide our forces into several routes. This will allow us to gather supplies along the way, force the government troops to split up and pursue us, making it difficult for them to launch a combined attack on any of our forces. We can also take this opportunity to return to Zhuxian Town and bring out Uncle Gao's old camp.

"How should these paths be divided?" Liu Zongmin continued to ask.

Tian Jianxiu did not look at Liu Fangliang, but turned to look at the rebel king sitting next to Liu Zongmin. Seeing him nod to him secretly, he smiled and said, "Mingyuan route, mainly cavalry, will go east through Chenliu and then north to create the illusion of attacking Kaifeng to confuse the government army. Then it will turn east, go south near Lanyang, pass through Qixian, turn west, pass through Tongxu and Weishi, and go straight to Xuzhou to meet up with Li Guo."

I led a group of infantry and cavalry, heading west past Zhongmu, towards Zhengzhou, taking Xingyang, then turning south past Mixian, and entering the territory of Henan Prefecture, taking Dengfeng, Yanshi, Yiyang, and Songxian, gathering grain along the way back to Funiu Mountain;
Then the Grand Marshal will personally lead the main force of the cavalry straight to Zhuxian Town, where they will meet up with Gao Yigong. After that, they will head south to Pengzudian, then turn west to Xuzhou to join forces with Li Guohou. The Grand Marshal will then protect Gao Yigong's old camp as they travel through Xiangcheng, Baofeng, and Lushan, before returning to Funiu Mountain. The government troops will certainly not dare to stop them.

Li Guo's troops, on the other hand, left Xuzhou and headed south through Linying, Yancheng, Wuyang, Yexian, Yuzhou, and Nanzhao, gathering provisions along the way back to Funiu Mountain.

Finally, Commander Liu led the main infantry and cavalry force to cover the rear, preventing possible pursuit by government troops, and then rushed to Zhuxian Town to provide support. After rescuing the old camp, they went straight to Weishi, then turned west, passing through Weichuan, Changge, Xinzheng, Yuzhou, Jiaxian, Ruzhou, and Yiyang, before returning to the Funiu Mountains.

Tian Jianxiu spoke so much in one breath, yet he didn't feel thirsty at all. He added at the end, "Commander Liu's troops not only have to keep the government troops by the nose, but also support the Grand Marshal's troops, and also carry out as much grain as possible. In fact, their task is the most arduous."

His gaze swept from the rebel leader to Liu Zongmin, then over Niu Jinxing, Song Xianze, Yuan Zongdi, Liu Tichun, and others, observing their reactions.

"Strategist, what do you think of Yu Feng's strategy?" Chuang Wang asked Song Xianze for his opinion.

While listening to Tian Jianxiu explain the strategy, Song Xianze had been pondering it in his heart. Now that the King of Chuang had indeed asked him, he replied calmly, "Grand Marshal, I think General Yufeng's strategy is well thought out. The division of the troops into several routes is detailed enough, and there is nothing wrong with it. It's just that the number of troops in each route still needs to be carefully considered."

Upon hearing this, the rebel king nodded and said, "Jiexuan, what's your opinion?"

Liu Zongmin said as soon as he opened his mouth, "I have no objection, but there is one thing you have to promise me."

"What's the matter?"

“Let’s switch. I’ll lead the troops to reinforce Uncle Gao, and you’ll lead the main force to cover the rear and provide support.”

The rebel leader was taken aback, looked at him and said, "We'll talk about this later. Is there anything else to add?"

"I don't have much to say, just one thing: I'm afraid Zhang Cheng won't teach us how to retreat easily."

Yuan Zongdi chimed in, "Didn't the strategist suggest bribing Zhang Cheng with gold and silver?"

Inside the command tent, after hearing his words, everyone's eyes turned to Liu Tichun...