prosperous age

"Rusong, unfold the map."

Li Chengliang gave an order, and Li Rusong and Li Ruzhang naturally did as they were told. Each of them pulled one end and safely displayed the huge map of the southwest.

"Lord Luo, this is the southwest map. This is Baoshan."

After quickly locating the place, Li Chengliang pointed at the place on the map and said the name of the place.

As they were about to engage in a head-on decisive battle with the Burmese army, they naturally could no longer hide their previous arrangements. They had to inform Mu Changzuo and Luo Rufang of his combat plan against Burma in detail so that they could fully cooperate with his plan.

"What? There are 50,000 troops stationed in Mengding Prefecture?"

When Li Chengliang told him about his deployment of troops, especially when he said that there were only more than 80,000 Ming troops assembled in Baoshan and Shidian, but there were still 50,000 in Mengding, Luo Rufang could not help but scream.

Mu Changzuo, on the other hand, was quite calm. He actually already knew about the troop mobilization and food allocation, but he didn't know the role of this army and the timing of its mobilization.

Now, Li Chengliang is finally going to reveal the truth.

"Originally, I planned to lure the Burmese army to Baoshan and Shidian to tangle with them. After the main force of the enemy crossed the Lujiang River, Mengding would send out surprise troops to attack Mubang, Mengmi and Mengyang, complete the east-west encirclement of the Burmese army and annihilate it in one fell swoop.

But now that the navy has been mobilized, there is no time to complete such a layout."

Li Chengliang said with some regret.

"Commander-in-Chief Li, is our army capable of carrying out such an encirclement and annihilation campaign?"

It sounds encouraging, but Luo Rufang is familiar with the combat nature of the Ming army, so he naturally has some worries and doubts.

“In fact, there is no need to encircle and annihilate them. As long as we take advantage of the terrain and seize key hilltops, we can block the Burmese army in the mountains of western Yunnan.

How does he sustain an army of 200,000 or 300,000 people with food, drink, and defecation every day?"

Li Chengliang could see Luo Rufang's worry, but he had already taken all of this into account, so he replied calmly.

"Weide, you don't know that the Burmese army's military supplies are either looted in Ming territory or shipped from Myanmar.

As long as the governor's special forces block this passage, the Burmese troops in the encirclement will be in chaos due to lack of food and grass, and they will be completely destroyed without our attack."

Mu Changzuo on the other side understood Li Chengliang's plan and made them kill each other for food and grass.

Well, in order to get food, the Burmese army did anything at that time.

Li Chengliang had used this kind of surprise tactic many times in Liaodong in the past, and he was very familiar with it at this time.

"As long as we strike quickly, there is still a lot to be done."

Finally, Mu Changzuo analyzed, but he didn't say the whole story, that is, this plan was very bold and Mu Changzuo himself did not dare to carry it out.

If you fail to throw a left hook well, you will trap an entire army.

Don't try to encircle and defeat the enemy, but instead let your army be divided and surrounded into two.

"So, I asked the lord to contact those merchants some time ago. They should have many guides who are familiar with the terrain."

Li Chengliang said with a faint smile.

Upon hearing this, Mu Changzuo nodded slightly, knowing that Li Chengliang had made up his mind, so there was nothing to say and he could just do as he was told.

"What to do now?"

Knowing that the plan had changed because of the navy, Luo Rufang just wanted to know what Li Chengliang was planning now.

"We launched the attack ahead of time. We originally planned to let Xian Gui resist in Lujiang City for a month. Now we can only let him abandon the city ahead of time and retreat to Baoshan City."

Li Chengliang said, "It will take another half a month for the news to arrive. We should try to attract as many Burmese troops as possible to cross the river, and we also need to prepare some boats for them."

Mu Changzuo nodded slightly, but also felt it was a bit difficult.

You have to do it, but you also have to do it too obviously.

"Does Jingcheng know?"

Just when Mu Changzuo was thinking about the feasibility of the plan, Luo Rufang suddenly asked.

"Capital?"

Mu Changzuo suddenly looked up at Luo Rufang, and then at Li Chengliang.

  He also wanted to know the answer. Such a bold tactic would be fine if it succeeded, but if something went wrong...

I don’t dare to think about it, I don’t dare to think about it at all.

Mu Changzuo just thought that Li Chengliang was too bold to dare to carry out such a plan. He didn't know that Li Chengliang often did this in Liaodong, and such surprise tactics were actually successful because of Li's army.

The saying that there will always be brave men when there is a big reward is true in every era. In order to get the reward after victory, the Li family servants fought very hard.

It might be a bit of an exaggeration to say that they could defeat a hundred with one, but the charging cavalry was truly invincible.

At this time, Li Chengliang just glanced at Luo Rufang and said calmly: "The capital will not object."

Obviously, Luo Rufang might have some talent in fighting. Although Mu Changzuo did not mention it, he himself thought of the risks of fighting in this way.

Although Li Chengliang's words could not put the two men at ease, they at least gave them reassurance.

Someone in the capital should know about this, otherwise he wouldn't have said that the capital had no objection.

There are only a few people who can make such a decision.

The first minister, the second minister and the minister of war.

Naturally, they could roughly guess whose connections Li Chengliang was relying on.

"Lord Mu."

At this time, Li Chengliang suddenly said to Mu Changzuo.

"My Lord, please give me your orders."

Mu Changzuo bowed consciously.

"Please ask Lord Mu to collect and deliver the food and grass from Mengding within three days. Is it possible?"

Because there was no plan to implement the surprise attack plan so quickly, Mengding Prefecture did not transport too much food and fodder.

To launch a surprise attack now, it is a prerequisite to bring at least half a month's worth of food and fodder with the army, and this depends on Mu Changzuo's allocation.

The amount of food consumed by 50,000 troops in half a month is not small, so Mu Changzuo did not reply immediately. Instead, he thought for a moment before nodding. He believed that the treasuries of Mengding and Zhenkang should be able to collect enough food.

"Take as much as you can get. If there is not enough, let them enter Mubang and Mengyang and collect food there."

Li Chengliang didn't care about anything else and directly stated his decision.

Everyone knows that collecting grain on the spot is not much different from letting soldiers rob grain.

However, Luo Rufang, the censor, did not say anything. There was no point in saying these things at this time. Winning the battle was the most important thing.

"Within three days, Xian Gui must abandon Lujiang City and lead his troops back."

Having said that, Li Chengliang turned his gaze to Mu Changzuo.

All the people in western Yunnan were his subordinates, and many orders were issued by him, which made their execution smoother.

"This"

Mu Changzuo had been thinking about this matter before. It was actually very difficult to do, but after hesitating for a moment, he nodded and agreed.

Anyway, just leave the matter to Xian Gui and let him act according to circumstances.

If he does it well, he will be credited for it; if he does not do it well, the fault will be his.

However, Li Chengliang was obviously more ruthless than they knew. At this time, he suddenly said, "I heard that Xian Gui's family is still in the city."

"Ok?"

Mu Changzuo's eyes immediately widened and he looked over in disbelief.

Yes, Li Chengliang had already thought of a way to ensure that Lujiang City was lost in a natural way.

The direct line is expensive in Baoshan City, and the forced line is expensive for rebellion.

The city and the ships naturally fell into Mang Yinglong's hands without arousing their suspicion.

"Ahem, Commander Li, your family has left the city today and is heading to Kunming."

At this moment, an inappropriate sound appeared, breaking the silence in the room.

"what?"

Li Chengliang narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this.

This is what he just thought of. Although it is a bit poisonous, it is indeed useful.

Such bad things happened a lot in the northern border towns, and everyone was used to it. Therefore, when Li Chengliang put forward his idea here, he did not think too much about it at first.

They don't have to do it, the Li family has to take responsibility for it.

As long as we win the battle, who would dare to pursue the matter?

But hearing that someone had left the city and ran away, this made things a bit difficult.

It is easy to stir up trouble. Just bump into someone's family by passing by and things can get out of hand. It is easy to start fighting and killing, and it is difficult to investigate.

Because as long as the person involved is dealt with, no one will seek justice for the dead.

But now that he's gone, if we chase him down, it's unclear whether the news can reach Lujiang City, and it's hard to find a reason.

Li Chengliang was very upset at this time because he was treated as a bad guy for no reason.

"Then I'll leave this matter to Lord Mu."

So Li Chengliang had no choice but to speak.

So, the three of them discussed the future war openly. Li Rusong sent a fast horse to Mengding and led the troops to carry out this mission.

Li Chengliang was worried about others.

Li Ruzhang would follow Mu Changzuo to Shidian to command the subsequent counterattack against the Burmese army. Only Qi Jimei and some other generals would be left by his side.

The personal guard team will also be divided into two, half of which will be led to Mengding by Li Rusong.

Li Chengliang trusted his servants more. These people had followed him through life and death and were obviously more trustworthy.

The discussion lasted for three hours, during which they studied the route of the march and the preparation of food and supplies before they finalized the complete plan.

During this period, military orders began to be issued.

By the time Luo Rufang dragged his tired feet out of the governor's headquarters, it was already dark.

However, before he got into his sedan chair, his attendant called him in a low voice.

"Master, there is news."

"What's the matter? Bring someone over here."

Soon, an officer was called from behind the sedan chair and knelt down in front of him to report: "Sir, I was ordered to follow the Xian family, but they turned around at Xiaoxigou less than 20 miles out of the east gate and took the small road to the direction of Lujiang City."

"Hmm, what."

At first, Luo Rufang didn't react and was still nodding, but then he realized that Xian Gui's family had returned to Lujiang City, and there was something strange about this.

Lujiang will soon become a battlefield, why would his family go back?

In an instant, two words appeared in Luo Rufang's mind: "rebellion".

Yes, at this moment this is the only reason that can explain the strange trajectory of the Xian family's actions.

"You come with me."

Luo Rufang grabbed the officer's hand and walked towards the gate of the governor's headquarters.

Mu Changzuo just happened to come out at this time. Luo Rufang was a civil servant after all, so Mu Changzuo came out a step late and spoke a few words to Li Chengliang before coming out.

As soon as I went out, I saw Luo Rufang walking back with someone. I was surprised and stopped.

"Master, go back immediately. There is important news from Lujiang City."

Luo Rufang immediately said to Mu Changzuo, but only whispered in Mu Changzuo's ear after he got closer, "Lujiang City Line Gui is afraid of rebellion."

"what?"

Luo Rufang's words frightened Mu Changzuo, and he immediately turned around and followed Luo Rufang back.

Li Chengliang was naturally surprised that the two people he had just sent away came back, but he quickly let them in.

"Tell me the situation again."

Luo Rufang asked the officer to repeat what he had discovered, and the two people in the room were also shocked.

They are not stupid, so they can naturally guess the message revealed by this incident.

“What on earth is this expensive line for?”

Before Li Chengliang could say anything, Mu Changzuo exploded first.

  No matter what, Xian Gui, the garrison commander of Lujiang City, was an official under his command and a Han Chinese. He had actually colluded with the Burmese. Where could he put his face?

"I'm going to kill him."

Although Li Chengliang wanted to trick Xian Gui before, Mu Changzuo finally changed his mind and said that he would pass the plan on and let Xian Gui handle it himself.

The better military order has not been issued yet and is planned to be issued early tomorrow morning.

After all, this kind of thing is not urgent, and being too hasty can easily lead to accidents.

But Mu Changzuo never expected that Xian Gui would actually invest in Myanmar.

"Before Rusong came back, he said he would defend Lujiang City for a month, haha."

Li Chengliang had a meaningful smile on his face. He thought that the connection between Xiangui and Myanmar had existed for a long time. In his eyes, their purpose was to pretend to be honest people first.

The main force of the Burmese army arrived at Lujiang City, then suddenly surrendered and led the Burmese army to launch a surprise attack on Baoshan.

Well, copy Lu Liang’s tactics in Baoshan City.

What a good plan.

Li Chengliang was still sighing in his heart. If that was true, he would have fallen into their trap.

Fortunately, Luo Rufang discovered the clue.

"Someone, call Ruzhang over."

Li Rusong was going to lead his troops south tomorrow morning, so he had already gone back to rest. Naturally, Li Chengliang did not call his eldest son to come and carry out this task.

Soon, Li Ruzhang came into the room.

After entering and paying respect to Mu Changzuo and Luo Rufang, he heard Li Chengliang order: "Leave the city with your troops immediately."

As he spoke, he took off a gold medal from his waist and threw it into Li Ruzhang's hand.

"You lead the way, take Zhang'er and chase after Xian Gui's children. Set off immediately and chase them to the bank of Lujiang River and come back immediately."

These words were spoken to the officer as well as to Li Ruzhang.

"father?"

Li Ruzhang had many questions in his mind, but he only asked this one question before being driven out by Li Chengliang.

"He'll tell you on the way. Do as I say."

Li Chengliang ordered.

"Commander Li, this..."

Luo Rufang heard Li Chengliang's order just now, but he did not interrupt. Now that the person had left, he finally spoke.

"If he chases him away, Xian Gui will know that he has been exposed, and he will naturally start a rebellion immediately."

Li Chengliang said casually.

"Ah."

Mu Changzuo actually didn't quite understand, but now after listening to Li Chengliang's words, he understood.

He knew the order Li Chengliang gave to Xian Gui, which was to defend Lujiang City for a month.

If Xiangui surrenders to the enemy, the Burmese army will have two possibilities for the next step. One is to directly launch an attack on Baoshan.

The other option was to delay for a month, and then retreat to Baoshan City as ordered by Li Chengliang, and wait for the Burmese army to approach the city to act as an internal response and open the city gates.

Well, now they have no time to delay, so they can only force the line to be expensive and chase them down.

At this time, in a forest outside Lujiang City, Xian Lao San and Hanba gathered together to discuss what to do next.

Li Chengliang's plan had already been fully informed to Hanba by the third line leader.

"One month? Is that Li Manzi waiting for reinforcements?"

Xian Gui didn't know Li Chengliang's subsequent plan, so he only knew that he had to buy a month for Baoshan City, and naturally thought that they would have reinforcements arriving within a month. (End of this chapter)