The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 385 Unpredictable
The Ming army camped in Linhuai.

The lights in the central army tent went out and then rekindled.

When Chen Wang arrived at the central military tent, the people inside were walking around and quickly arranging the furnishings inside the tent.

The hanging map was being replaced, and the sand table in the center had also been overturned and revised from Fengyang to the vicinity of Suzhou.

Sun Chuanting was standing in front of the sand table at this time, his brows furrowed, his face gloomy, examining the changing sand table.

To the east, black flags were densely spread over Lingbi, Hongxian and Wuhe counties, extending all the way to the near side of Suzhou City.

One after another, small black flags were continuously placed around Suzhou by the soldiers responsible for placing the sand table.

The black flags were so dense that the entire Suzhou area was almost blocked.

Moreover, Chen Wang noticed that black flags were constantly being placed in the city of Xuzhou.

Chen Wang looked around the central military tent. He only saw Hu Dawei, Fang Guoan, Xiao Shending and Zheng Jiadong.

The four of them were the generals in the army. Apart from them, there were no other generals.

Chen Wang sensed something and knew that Li Yan must have succeeded, but his face remained expressionless and he looked puzzled.

"Chen Shuai."

Hu Dawei was the first to notice Chen Wang walking into the tent, and immediately came forward to greet him.

Although the others also saw Chen Wang soon after, they all tacitly did not come forward.

None of them were familiar with Chen Wang, and they had never even spoken to each other. They were just colleagues.

The reason why Hu Dawei came forward was because he and Chen Wang had many interactions during the campaign to support the king.

Chen Wang arrived in time at the Battle of Jiazhuang, preventing them from being defeated.

In the subsequent series of battles, such as intercepting the Qing army from leaving the border, they fought together and could be called comrades-in-arms.

"I just got back to the camp when I received the recall order. I heard that there was an incident in the army. What happened that was so urgent?"

Chen Wang inserted the horsewhip into the belt around his waist, walked towards the sand table with Hu Dawei, and asked.

Hearing Chen Wang's question, Hu Dawei's face couldn't help but become embarrassed.

Hu Dawei turned his head, glanced at Suzhou on the sand table, and then turned back and said.

"Less than a moment after the military meeting ended, urgent news came from Suzhou."

Hu Dawei's expression was gloomy and his voice was terribly low.

"Suzhou was attacked by a large group of bandits and has fallen..."

Chen Wang's expression changed slightly, and then quickly darkened.

"Suzhou is behind our army, how could it be attacked by the Wanthieves' army?"

"Could it be...Xuzhou..."

Chen Wang paused for a moment. Suzhou was attacked, and he knew very well that it was Li Yan who sent troops from Fengyang to attack.

However, the Supervisory Office has not yet had time to report on the situation around Xuzhou.

“Not Xuzhou.”

Hu Dawei shook his head, moved a little closer, and whispered.

"The cavalry of the Wanze Army should have come from Lingbi in the east."

"But there's also trouble in Xuzhou."

Hu Dawei showed worry in his eyes and sighed with his head down.

"In Xuzhou, the Wanmin Army also left the city when they were attacked in Suzhou."

"The bandit army's attack on Suzhou was planned long ago. Both sides used beacon fires as a signal. When Suzhou was in chaos, the bandit army in Xuzhou rushed out of the city at the same time to respond and attack our troops deployed outside the city. Many of them have already broken out of the encirclement."

Chen Wang frowned slightly. He had expected the cooperation of the Wanmin Army in Xuzhou, but he never thought that the Wanmin Army could break out of the encirclement so easily.

"Most of the 10,000 bandit soldiers in Xuzhou City are infantry, with only 6,000 to 7,000 cavalry."

The city of Xuzhou was not an impenetrable fortress.

The news in the city was not a secret to Chen Wang, because the Supervisory Office had a base in Xuzhou City.

In addition, the Jinyiwei also set up a base in the city.

Although the Jinyiwei had almost become a toothless tiger during the Chongzhen period due to the deception of the Donglin Party, the weakening of imperial power, and the suppression of various forces.

But a toothless tiger is still a tiger, and a rotten boat still has three pounds of broken nails.

There are still many remnants of the Jinyiwei in major cities and towns, and their control over the local areas is still strong.

Whether in the interior or on the border, there are a large number of Jinyiwei spies and informants who travel to dangerous places, transmitting and eavesdropping on all kinds of information.

The Jinyiwei could not only serve as the emperor's sharp weapon in politics, but also as an arm of the army in war.

During the Wanli War to Aid Korea, the Jinyiwei brought back a large amount of intelligence about the movements of Japanese troops, which enabled the Ming army to almost always have an advantage in intelligence.

The reason why Sun Chuanting was able to calculate how many troops should be sent to besiege Xuzhou City was because the Jinyiwei had already clearly discovered the strength of the Wanmin Army.

"The deployment of defense in Xuzhou was decided by the governor himself. How could they break out of the encirclement in such a short time?"

There were actually more than 13,000 soldiers and horses besieging the city. Including the auxiliary soldiers and civilians recruited to dig trenches and fill the camps, the number even swelled to more than 30,000.

The plan to besiege Xuzhou City was made by Sun Chuanting himself.

Sun Chuanting had already planned in advance where to dig trenches, where to set up camps, where to leave cavalry, and where to place artillery.

Chen Wang has already looked at the plan. Sun Chuanting is worthy of being a famous general. The deployment he made can indeed be said to be flawless, and there are almost no flaws to be found.

Chen Wang asked himself, if he were to arrange everything himself, he would definitely not be able to do it so perfectly.

But the current result is that the Wanmin Army broke out of the encirclement outside Xuzhou on the first day, which is obviously wrong.

No matter how powerful the Wanmin Army is, they will not be able to break out of such a siege in one day.

Hu Dawei's expression was slightly solemn, and he seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Almost at the same time, the angry curse of Sun Chuanting, who was in front of the sand table, attracted everyone's attention.

"The country is in danger and in turmoil. How can we allow him to stay here if he is still corrupt and committing crimes at this time?"

Sun Chuanting's eyes were red, his teeth were gnashed, his gaze was as sharp as a blade scraping bones, and his anger was almost pouring out.

Hu Dawei lowered his head and whispered.

"If the arrangements outside Xuzhou City are in accordance with the governor's plan, there will be no worries."

"But the situation is that the commander in charge of the siege..."

Hu Dawei didn't finish his words in the end, but through Hu Dawei's words and Sun Chuanting's remarks, the situation was actually very clear.

The generals who besieged the city withheld food and wages, and oppressed the soldiers and civilians. They did not complete the digging of trenches and fortresses on time as originally planned, which resulted in the escape of the Wanmin Army in Xuzhou City.

"Chen Wang..."

Sun Chuanting came to his senses from his anger and saw that the money had been credited to Chen Wang's account.

Seeing Chen Wang's figure, Sun Chuanting couldn't help but feel a little relieved.

Although the situation is difficult, fortunately he still has some cards in his hand that he can play.

Chen Wang's reputation is so great that he can serve as a stabilizing force, and the strong soldiers and horses under his command can also ensure the safety of the battlefield.

"Greetings to the Governor."

Seeing Sun Chuanting's eyes, Chen Wang stepped forward and saluted.

Sun Chuanting suppressed his anger and his attitude softened. After looking at Hu Dawei who was standing next to Chen Wang, he said.

"I'm sure General Tiger has already told you something about the current situation."

Chen Wang nodded and replied.

"I already know the general situation, but... Suzhou City..." Chen Wang paused and looked to the left and right.

Sun Chuanting raised his hand, tapped lightly on the sand table in front of him, and then raised his hand again.

Inside the military tent, a group of soldiers who were originally busy stopped all their actions and turned around to walk out of the tent.

However, in just a few breaths, except for the four generals Hu Dawei, Fang Guoan, Xiao Shending, Zheng Jiadong, as well as Sun Chuanting and Chen Wang, there was no one else in the entire central army tent.

Sun Chuanting pointed to the place beside him. Chen Wang understood and, after bowing again, he walked straight over and stood beside Sun Chuanting.

"Yesterday at 11:00 pm, Suzhou City had already fallen. The news came from the camp south of the city."

Sun Chuanting had a blank expression on his face and a sinister look in his eyes.

"Just as you entered the military camp, the second wave of messengers from Suzhou had just left."

Sun Chuanting's voice was hoarse and low, and he sounded extremely tired.

"Suzhou City... has fallen..."

"The city was ablaze, thick smoke covered the sky, and all the food and grass in the city were burned..."

Sun Chuanting clenched his fists and closed his eyes.

He was filled with anger, worry, and guilt.

What is infuriating is that in such a dangerous situation, when the country is in turmoil and the mountains and rivers are in ruins, there are still people who do not think about the danger and try to make money, making the situation even more difficult.

The worry is that with food supplies burned and the retreat cut off, the army's morale is shaken and the army might be in danger.

What he felt guilty about was that he failed to live up to the trust placed in him by the Emperor...

At this moment, let alone rescuing Fengyang, even preserving the troops under his command is probably a luxury.

Chen Wang was not surprised at all. Although the efficiency of the Wanmin Army exceeded his expectations, it was not a big deal.

Chen Wang looked solemn, calmed down a little, and asked.

"I wonder how many days the army's food and fodder will last?"

"Nine days."

Sun Chuanting gave the answer without hesitation.

As early as when he received the news that Suzhou was attacked and the food and grass were burned, Sun Chuanting had already sent someone to summon the general in charge of logistics to find out the remaining food and grass.

"Nine days..."

Chen Wang looked at the layout on the sand table, observing the direction of the situation.

The Xuzhou Wanmin Army has opened up the road and basically cut off the food supply route from north to south.

The river is frozen, so water transport is naturally impossible. Land transportation can only be changed to the eastern route.

However, on the eastern front, there were traces of Wanmin Army activities in Lingbi, Hongxian, Wuhe and other places, and all food routes had been blocked.

Suzhou City was captured, all the food and fodder were burned, and now the army has only nine days' worth of food and fodder left.

"How many bandit troops are there in the attack on Suzhou?"

"The scouts reported that there were more than 10,000 cavalrymen, and the whole field was filled with flames, like a fire dragon."

On the other side of the sand table, Fang Guoan stepped forward a little and answered.

"Ten thousand cavalry..."

Chen Wang looked solemn.

"What do you think about the current situation?"

Sun Chuanting held the sand table with his hands, his eyes fixed on the location of Suzhou.

The flames flickered and jumped back and forth in Sun Chuanting's eyes, making it difficult to detect his true thoughts.

"The situation is critical now. If the news of the food supply being cut off leaks out, it will surely cause the army's morale to waver."

Chen Wang's eyes narrowed slightly. The question raised by Sun Chuanting was an opportunity for him.

Although he already had an idea in his mind, Chen Wang still pretended to think about it.

After a long silence and observing the layout on the sand table for a long time, Chen Wang finally spoke to break the silence in the tent.

"If it is up to me, we should immediately dispatch a group of elite cavalry to the north. As long as we can recapture Suzhou and then surround Xuzhou again, we can open up the grain route again."

"The Wanthieves' army succeeded in their surprise attack at this time. They just captured Suzhou and are at their most relaxed moment. They definitely could not have expected our army to return and attack."

Suzhou is the most crucial stronghold on the line between Xuzhou and Fengyang.

As long as Suzhou is occupied, there will be a guarantee, a guarantee that can ensure that in the worst case scenario, when the army is defeated, it can safely withdraw to Henan.

What Li Yan wanted was to surround the point and attack the reinforcements, not only to wipe out the Ming army in Fengyang, but also to defeat the reinforcements.

But how could Chen Wang let Li Yan really get his wish?

From the beginning of the Battle of Fengyang, Chen Wang had only one goal from beginning to end.

That is to enable the Wanmin Army to achieve its original strategic goal - to annihilate the main force of the Ming army in Southern Zhili in one fell swoop.

There is only this one purpose.

The reinforcements and troops cannot suffer heavy losses, and cannot be defeated as happened in history, with most of them being killed.

Sun Chuanting cannot die yet.

After years of management and planning, Chen Wang has gained Sun Chuanting's trust and stabilized his power.

If the coach is changed again, everything will be unpredictable.

Although Sun Chuanting still had a large number of soldiers and horses under his command, most of them were remnants of the defeated army and surrendered refugees, and their combat effectiveness was worrying.

This can be seen from the speed of advancement on the Fengyang battlefield.

Sun Chuanting trained his troops strictly, clearly distinguished between rewards and punishments, and took advantage of the successive victories to maintain high morale of the army.

However, these situations could not last long due to the lack of pay and food.

This time, the Hanzhong Army under Chen Wang's command has always been the real main force in the southward support and suppression.

Chen Wang has already figured out the truth clearly.

Keeping the reinforcements will not affect the overall situation.

Once the Ming army in Fengyang City is destroyed, the prestige of the Wanmin Army will reach its peak, enough to sweep across the entire southeast!
The food supply in Fengyang City has run out, and this is a fact that everyone knows.

Soon, the Ming army in the city will make their final stand.

According to the last letter sent before Fengyang was closed.

When there are only ten days of food left in Fengyang City, the Ming army will light the beacon fire and break out of the city, hoping that reinforcements can attack at the same time, cooperating from both inside and outside.

If they choose to return to Suzhou, it means giving up the plan to aid Fengyang.

Whether the defenders in Fengyang City can break out will all depend on themselves...

Chen Wang slowly finished explaining his plan, and then turned his gaze to Sun Chuanting.

Inside the central military tent, everyone's eyes were focused on Sun Chuanting.

As long as Sun Chuanting nods.

Everything will proceed along the route planned by Chen Wang...

It was eerily quiet inside the central military tent.

Everyone was waiting for Sun Chuanting's decision.

……

"History of Ming Dynasty·Biography 157":
Dawei was a lieutenant and had the most reputation. When he became the commander-in-chief, the enemy's power was growing stronger. He led only a few thousand men and could not make any great losses. However, he fought in dozens of battles and died in the service of the king. People praised him highly.