In the late Ming Dynasty, rising from the grassland

Chapter 243 The Return of the King

"Rui Lang, why are you back?"

"Your Majesty..."

"Great, the king is back!"

Seeing Lin Rui coming back with only a dozen or so riders, everyone was shocked and excited at the same time. Na Muzhong even threw herself into his arms.

"The Ming army did not send troops and horses back to support the capital. It was enough to have Zhou Meng there, so I rushed back overnight."

Lin Rui explained with a smile that he would naturally not say that he was worried about Xin Na Mu Zhong. He had just run nearly a thousand miles in a day and a night and came back to fight, hoping to preside over the next decisive battle.

Although everyone guessed that the king was worried about the princess, they naturally would not say it out loud, so they did not ask any more questions. At this moment, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, including Namuzhong, who suddenly became relaxed.

She couldn't eat or sleep well these past two days, not to mention how worried she was.

"How about it? Did the Ming army agree to a decisive battle?"

As soon as he arrived at the big tent, Lin Rui couldn't wait to ask.

"Rui Lang, there's no rush at this moment, why don't you take a rest first?"

Namuzhong felt distressed when she saw the exhaustion on his face.

Other generals also agreed, obviously seeing that the king was very tired.

"No, I can hold on, let's discuss things first!" Lin Rui waved his hand, obviously not wanting to delay for a moment.

"Well, the Ming army has not responded yet, but there is no sign of retreat. A while ago, they abandoned the two camps in the north and south, and all retreated to the camp in the east. They also retreated twenty miles. At that time, they should They want to retreat.”

Namuzhong could only point to the sand table in the middle and introduce it.

After saying that, he couldn't help but ask: "Rui Lang, do we really want to fight the Ming army? Don't you always say that defeating the enemy without fighting is the highest level in the art of war?"

At this time, the Ming army is definitely running out of food. It can be said that we are already sure of victory. Doesn't it give the other side a chance to take the initiative to fight decisively now? "

After Namuzhong asked, everyone else looked at Lin Rui, as if they wanted to listen to the teachings.

"From the current point of view, victory without fighting is indeed the safest and most powerful. But looking to the future and considering the overall situation, it is most beneficial to defeat the more than [-] Ming troops in an upright manner."

Lin Rui did not explain in too much detail, because these are generals and do not need to consider politics.

Now that they are still in the growth stage, instilling too much political structure into them will be counterproductive and affect their military talents.

After all, a real military strategist does not need to consider political issues, only how to win the war.

Those who need to consider military and political issues comprehensively are military strategists and do not need to lead troops to fight.

Everyone obviously didn't have the talent of a military strategist, so they all listened in confusion, but seeing that the king didn't elaborate, they didn't dare to pursue it any further.

Na Muzhong had no choice but to change the subject and asked again: "Rui Lang, the Ming army has not responded for a long time. Do you think they will accept the challenge?"

"It's hard to say. Anyway, it's just a matter of these few days. Let's just wait." Lin Rui shook his head.

If the opposing coaches were Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangsheng, based on their historical performance, they would definitely fight to the last drop of blood for the Ming Dynasty without hesitation, but this is not necessarily the case for Hong Chengchou, an old dog.

It probably depends on Chongzhen in the end. After all, the historical battle of Songjin was the decision made by Chongzhen.

However, it was already the 15th year of Chongzhen's reign, and the situation in the Central Plains was out of control. Only then did Chongzhen want to fight, so that he could take away the soldiers and horses from Liaodong and return to the Central Plains to suppress the bandits.
But it was only the beginning of 13, Luoyang and Kaifeng had not been breached, and Li Zicheng had not grown beyond control, so he did not know whether Chongzhen had the courage to take a gamble.

However, Chongzhen was really entangled at this time and could not make up his mind.

In the court, all civil servants chose to remain silent in the face of Chongzhen's inquiry, and no one dared to make any substantive suggestions.

After all, once they support a decisive battle, they will definitely be held accountable if they lose.

However, if you suggest giving up Xuanfu Datong, retreating to Juyongguan, and slowly trying to figure it out, I am afraid that countless people will criticize you verbally and writtenly.

Finally, after procrastinating again and again, until the army only had half a month of food, Emperor Chongzhen finally made up his mind and ordered Hong Chengchou to lead the army to fight to the death with the rebels.

At the same time, he once again issued an order to seize the love, and promoted Lu Xiang to the rank of Minister of the Ministry of War, the censor of Zuodu of the Supervisory Yuan, and gave Shang Fang a sword. He was also the governor of the military affairs of Henan, Shaanxi, Huguang, Shandong, Sichuan and other five provinces, and was responsible for suppressing bandits.

Because the situation in the Central Plains had begun to get out of control at this time, Zuo Liangyu was defeated by Zhang Xianzhong in Fang County, and Li Zicheng also defeated Nanyang and Ruzhou, two important towns in the Central Plains, which finally reminded Emperor Chongzhen of Lu Xiangsheng.

After receiving the imperial edict from Emperor Chongzhen, Lu Xiangsheng was grateful for the emperor's great kindness and knew that the situation in the Ming Dynasty was extremely critical, so he directly sold all his family property, recruited tens of thousands of Xiangyong again, and rushed to Henan.

At the same time, Hong Chengchou also led eight general soldiers to launch a decisive battle with the Chinese army.In the wilderness at the junction of Xuanfu and Datong, there were nearly 30 troops from the two armies, one in the south and one in the north, with clear lines. The black heads could not be seen to the end.

Lin Rui left almost all the [-] garrison troops stationed in the camp, and was obviously fully prepared for defeat.

After all, field battles are not about having more soldiers and horses, the better. Not only may these garrison troops not be able to help, but they will cause chaos and affect the young infantry. Therefore, it is more appropriate to stay in the camp than to go out to fight in the field.

Therefore, the Chinese army only went into battle this time with 14 infantry battalions and [-] cavalry, with a total strength of [-]. Even the red cannons and French cannons were left in the camp.

Because Lin Rui was already accustomed to commanding infantry and cavalry to fight together, he felt that there was no need to rush into the firearms unit to avoid making mistakes and adding unnecessary fuss.

Therefore, the Chinese army at this moment overwhelmed the Ming army in terms of military appearance and momentum alone.

The 20 phalanxes were divided into two rows, front and back, arranged neatly. All the soldiers were wearing red military uniforms and standard weapons, and their faces were filled with youthful enthusiasm.

The [-] cavalry were led by Namu Zhong, Takuyan, Ebutu, and Laozhangren Chatu respectively, and were located on the left and right wings of the infantry.

Compared with the neat military formation of the Chinese army, the Ming army was much more chaotic. The eight generals and their respective troops were divided into eight parts, with more and less.

Except for Wu Sangui's [-] Guan Ning cavalry who looked decent, the others were infantry mixed with cavalry. It was like a vegetable market, and it never calmed down.

On the other hand, on the Chinese side, except for the Mongolian cavalry on both sides who were whispering to each other, almost no one among the [-] infantrymen in the middle spoke and remained quiet.

Although it was his first time to command so many people in a decisive battle in the wild, Lin Rui actually didn't feel much nervous.

Because he knew that Hong Laogou on the opposite side was also commanding so many people in an upright decisive battle for the first time.

Compared with Hong Laogou, he had experienced the original three-party battle and accumulated a lot of experience. On the other hand, it was the first time for Hong Laogou to get on the sedan chair, so he should be the one who was nervous.

After all, there is a huge difference between chasing down rebels and this kind of upright field battle.

Indeed, at this moment, Hong Chengchou and the eight general soldiers looked at the neat square formations of the Chinese army and felt very weak.

Because everyone is familiar with the art of war, their troops and horses are not very good, but they know that this kind of formation with tens of thousands of people as one person is definitely much stronger than this messy formation like theirs.

"Don't worry, everyone. The thief army is just a showpiece. It's useless. General Wu, the Guan Ning cavalry under your command is unstoppable. So you will take the lead and lead the cavalry directly into the center of the thief army. All the soldiers will Then lead the army to take advantage of the situation and defeat the bandit army in one fell swoop!"

Hong Chengchou said slowly, obviously the situation of the Ming army left him no choice but to let the most elite Guan Ning cavalry lead the charge, and then let the general soldiers lead the way with their elite servants, while the ordinary soldiers Rush behind.

There is no way, field battles are no better than fortified battles, and letting ordinary soldiers rush to the front is asking for death, because as long as a small number of people collapse first, the 10,000+ army will be defeated like a mountain, and they will be crushed thousands of miles away, with no chance to start again. Organized.

Therefore, the other seven general soldiers had no objection to this, but Wu Sangui was a little unhappy. He cupped his fists and said: "Supervisor, the cavalry of the rebel army has been placed on the left and right wings. Once I lead the cavalry to attack the enemy's infantry formation, the enemy will be attacked." The army's cavalry is bound to directly attack the left and right flanks of our army, so how can our army resist?"

"Could it be that General Wu's ten thousand Guanning cavalry can ensure the safety of the left and right wings of my army by then?"

"Yes, General Wu can block all the way at most. Instead of doing this, it is better to clear the way for the army and penetrate directly into the middle of the rebel army. Our army can quickly enter the rebel infantry formation and entangle them.

At that time, the opponent's cavalry would no longer dare to charge unscrupulously. As long as our army can defeat the enemy's infantry first, we can take advantage of the situation to attack the camp and win! "

The other seven general soldiers immediately began to refute.

"In this way, if our army fails to defeat the enemy's infantry first, I'm afraid not a single one of our 12-strong army will be able to escape."

Wu Sangui glanced at the seven people and said calmly.

Sure enough, everyone's expressions changed and they stopped talking.

Seeing this, Wu Sangui then said: "So to be on the safe side, the [-] Guanning cavalry below cannot take the lead in the charge, but must stay at the end to hold down the battle for the army. Only in this way, once defeated, the opponent's cavalry will not dare to Only by pursuing them unscrupulously will you have the opportunity to retreat to the valley."

"Hmph, that sounds nice, but I don't believe you will cover our retreat when the time comes. I'm afraid you can't run faster than anyone else." Yang Guozhu snorted coldly, obviously not believing Wu Sangui.

Although others were also afraid of death, they also did not trust Wu Sangui to protect them when the time came.

"What an impudent person. We are facing a powerful enemy and a battle is imminent. You don't want to kill the enemy and serve the country, but you are here discussing the matter of escaping. This disturbs the morale of our army. Is it true that the sword of Shang Fang, who is the governor, can't kill you?"

When Hong Chengchou saw that they were ignoring him, he drew out Shang Fang's sword and shouted sharply.

Only then did everyone react and apologized one after another.

The Ming army was still debating how to fight, but the Chinese army on the opposite side had already sounded a long trumpet sound, and the 20 infantry squares began to slowly advance forward and press forward.

The expressions of Hong Chengchou and the eight commander-in-chiefs all changed drastically. They no longer dared to be nagging, and they all hurriedly returned to their own formations.

(End of this chapter)