weaving

Chapter 1541 Is there a remedy?
It was evening on the 12th day of the intercalary 11th month of the 15th year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty.

Suning County, Hejian Prefecture, Jinan.

After receiving the imperial decree to express his gratitude, Zhang Cheng, the Right Commander-in-Chief of the Central Military Commission of the Ming Dynasty, the Commander-in-Chief of Xuanfu Town, the General of Zhenshuo, and the Earl of Yongning, officially became the Commander-in-Chief of the Western Route Army of the loyalist forces of the Ming Dynasty.

After Bian Yongqing finished reading the imperial edict, he smiled and came to the Earl of Yongning, saying, "This humble servant pays his respects to the Earl of Yongning."

Zhang Cheng gave a wry smile: "Lord Bian, this battle is going to be tough."

Bian Yongqing smiled slightly awkwardly, looked at Zhang Ruoqi beside him, and said, "With Vice Minister Zhang assisting in military affairs, the Earl of Yongning will surely be even more powerful. What is there to fear from the Tartars?"

Following his lead, Zhang Cheng asked, "In that case, I should thank Vice Minister Zhang for his recommendation."

Zhang Ruoqi understood what the Earl of Yongning meant. With a fawning smile, he stepped forward and said, "Lord Bian, please forgive my ignorance. What virtue or ability do I have to dare to assist you in military affairs? I've only come to learn from you."

He then said to the Earl of Yongning, "Please forgive my presumption, Earl. In my opinion, in this world, no one can surpass you in the ability to command troops and fight battles. Even Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting are inferior to you."

"Now that the barbarian invaders have entered and are wreaking havoc on the capital region, if you, my lord, do not shoulder this heavy responsibility, how can we talk about defending against the barbarians, how can we protect the capital region, protect the Emperor, and safeguard the people of the capital and Shandong!"

Since ancient times, no one likes to be polite, and no one dislikes being flattered. Even someone like Zhang Cheng, the Marquis of Yongning, who has traveled through time and lived two lives, is not immune to this custom!
“Taking on heavy responsibilities is no problem. As long as it benefits my Great Ming and the Emperor, what does my reputation matter?” The Earl of Yongning first expressed his loyalty to Emperor Chongzhen with a rhetorical question, and looked at Bian Yongqing as he said this.

However, he then changed the subject and looked at Zhang Ruoqi, saying, "But now the loyalist army is divided into two routes, east and west. Although on the surface, both routes have tens of thousands of loyalist troops, as you all know, the invading Tartars number between fifty and sixty thousand."

Moreover, they were a group of men with many horses, sometimes together and sometimes apart. They would split up to plunder, but if they encountered an alarm, they would immediately regroup and arrive within a day or two, even if it was a hundred miles away.

In the eleventh year, I followed Governor Lu to defend the emperor. However, due to our weak forces, we were besieged by the enemy at Julu. Although we fought valiantly and killed over ten thousand slaves, we eventually ran out of supplies and manpower. Of the more than ten thousand soldiers, only a little over a thousand survived.

Zhang Cheng's words were addressed to Zhang Ruoqi, but they were also meant for Bian Yongqing.

After a pause, he continued, “You may think that my two armies, one in front and one behind, are supporting each other. But the two armies are not under each other’s command. How can they keep in constant contact and cooperate closely?”
If one side encounters the enemy or is surrounded, while the other side remains unaware, how can a rescue be possible? Even a rescue might be impossible, let alone a pincer attack on the enemy.

His words made Bian Yongqing turn pale, and even Zhang Ruoqi, who was originally full of confidence, panicked and his lips began to tremble slightly.

"Does the Earl of Yongning have any remedial measures?" Bian Yongqing blurted out.

Zhang Cheng glanced at Bian Yongqing, said nothing, and walked straight to the map of the capital region hanging on the side wall. He stared intently at the map, looking as if he was deep in thought.

His deliberately mysterious demeanor made Bian Yongqing even more uneasy. He glanced at Zhang Ruoqi and followed closely behind, standing beside Yongning Bo without daring to make a sound, for fear of disturbing Yongning Bo's contemplation.

Zhang Ruoqi followed, still seemingly unconvinced, and retorted, "Last year, under the walls of Jinzhou, we also defeated the Jurchen cavalry. At that time, you didn't have this many troops under your command!"

“It’s different.” The Earl of Yongning uttered only four words and then fell silent. After a moment, he continued, “During the Battle of Jinzhou, it wasn’t just my Xuanfu border army, nor was it just the border army of the three towns of Xuan and Da. At that time, strong armies from the border towns of Xuan, Da, Ji, and Liao gathered together, along with fierce generals such as Wu Sangui, Zu Dashou, Cao Bianjiao, and Wang Tingchen.”

Even so, Bai Guang'en was lost, Liu Zhaoji's troops were almost wiped out, and Li Fuming's troops were reduced to only about a thousand men. The remaining generals also suffered heavy losses, some of whom have yet to recover to their former strength.

Zhang Cheng turned around and looked at Bian Yongqing and Zhang Ruoqi, saying, "From the surface, the number of troops from the capital garrison plus the various reinforcements has far exceeded 150,000."

However, the number of troops left to guard the capital alone was no less than 70,000. Adding the losses incurred earlier and the troops stationed in various prefectures, the total number of government troops on both the eastern and western routes combined was only 60,000, mostly infantry.

Divided into two routes, the government troops numbered only around 30,000, while the invading enemy forces numbered at least 50,000 to 60,000. How could a single force possibly withstand such a large-scale attack? If reinforcements were not timely, they would surely be surrounded and routed.

"Didn't the Earl of Yongning report several great victories the other day? I heard that he also repelled the enemy cavalry in Hejian today. Surely he can't be so easily defeated?" Bian Yongqing asked again.

Zhang Cheng smiled wryly and said to him, "Lord Bian, you are unaware of this."

"The great victory that Zhang Cheng reported earlier was actually only against small groups of enemy cavalry, at most a thousand or so. The reason for doing so was twofold: first, to reassure the emperor, and second, to boost the morale of the court and the loyalist army."

At this point, Bian Yongqing and Zhang Ruoqi remained silent. They had no other ideas and stared blankly at Marquis Yongning, Zhang Cheng, not knowing what to say.

After a while, Bian Yongqing finally spoke up: "Now that things have come to this, what should we do next?"

Zhang Cheng looked at Bian Yongqing and said, "We can only take it one step at a time."

He turned back to look at the map on the wall, pointed to a place, and said, "Linqing is a key point for the Grand Canal transport, with a large amount of grain stored there. It is also a gathering place for wealthy merchants, and its wealth is substantial. It should be a place that the enemy will definitely attack."

“Yongningbo, a crucial location for grain transport…Linqing…cannot afford to be lost,” Bian Yongqing said anxiously.

Zhang Cheng pointed to the map and said, "According to today's scouts, the vanguard of the enemy cavalry has reached the area around Xingguantun and Fuzhuangyi in Jiaohe. Judging from the route, it seems to be heading towards Linqing."

"What should we do? If Linqing falls to the enemy cavalry, the grain transport will be disrupted, the capital will be in turmoil, and His Majesty... His Majesty will surely be furious!"

"Don't be anxious, Lord Bian."

Zhang Cheng calmly said, "Now, the imperial court has ordered Liu Zeqing, the general of Shandong, to lead his troops back to Linqing to provide assistance, and I have also ordered Luo Rucai, the general of Guide in Henan, to lead his troops to provide assistance to Linqing."

Linqing City was already well-defended; with the troops of Liu Zeqing and Luo Rucai stationed there, it certainly wouldn't have been breached by the enemy cavalry!

Bian Yongqing's expression softened slightly, but he was still muttering to himself, "This is very good, very good. Linqing... it is truly not to be lost."