Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 181 How will you respond to my powerful punch?

Wang Aoyong, the governor of Yunyang, bowed to the commander-in-chief and fiddled with the war chess after getting his approval.

"The enemy troops have been advancing like a whirlwind, capturing numerous prefectures and counties. Their momentum is strong. Our troops, having recently returned from defeating the Eastern Tartars, are exhausted and scattered across the Central Plains. It's difficult for us to unite our forces at once. We simply cannot compete with the enemy troops right now..."

It would be better to build a strong camp and fight a passive battle, with the government troops as the main force, and the local gentry and militia as the auxiliary, to weaken the enemy's spirit and slowly erode their vitality..."

"No, the enemy army has been attacking cities and strongholds and has already surrounded Ruzhou. We must not allow them to continue their rampage. Thanks to the bravery of the Ruzhou garrison, the enemy army would have already reached the Fu clan in Luoyang. If Prince Fu were to suffer, how could we bear the consequences?"

Song Yihe, the governor of Huguang, retorted, and his words touched Yang Sichang's heart.

Although Yang Sichang was not favored by the emperor, he could be forgiven by the emperor even if he made some mistakes.

However, if it were not for the "supernatural power" of the Black Flag Battalion in wiping out the Red Turban bandits at such a "lightning speed", it would still be difficult to escape the blame for the fall of Fuzhou.

"Don't mention the strategy of delaying the war anymore." Yang Sichang turned his head and looked at Song Yihe. "Hefeng, do you have any good plan to destroy the bandits?"

"I believe that although the rebel army is powerful, they have killed innocent people indiscriminately and have been cruel and tyrannical. They have caused countless good gentry and common people to flee their homes. This has already angered heaven and people, and it will not last long.

I think we can grant the right to organize militias to the gentry who have lost their homes, and use the money of the gentry from other places to train local soldiers. Even if we destroy the beggar bandits in the future, the militia will not take advantage of the opportunity to expand. "

"Your suggestion is sound, but it will take some time to train the militia. How is this different from a strategy of delaying the war?"

"General, you may not know this, but the bandits have ravaged Henan several times, and the local officials and gentry have long since built strongholds for self-defense. Every household has servants and strong local militias. All we need is additional money and food, and some training, and we can raise several armies to suppress the bandits."

"Yes, you are right. However, we still need to ask His Majesty for a decision. We will have a result within three to five days..."

Yang Sichang stared at the sand table intently. If the gentry and militia could be trained quickly, tens of thousands of soldiers would be added, and the strategy of encircling and suppressing the beggars would be smoother.

Suddenly, a man holding a wooden stick pointed at the sand table, like a dagger inserted into Runing, and then extended northward along the line constructed by "Runing & Luoyang" until it stopped in Ruzhou.

Connecting Ruzhou and Runing, Yang Sichang's eyes suddenly widened, and he felt that he had discovered a soft spot in the enemy's tight armor.

"The bandits attacked cities and strongholds along the central Henan River, stretching the counties and cities like a long snake. However, they forgot that the seemingly dangerous venomous snake was actually riddled with holes!"

Yang Sichang looked up and saw that the speaker was the one who had made great contributions in chasing the western bandits and was promoted to a higher level, and was then transferred from Lu Xiangsheng by him.

Yang Shien, the general of Huguang.

“The bandits have indeed won victory after victory, but they have to leave behind minions to defend the cities they capture. As the bandits continue to divide their forces to garrison cities, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to capture new cities with their dispersed forces.

"Every time the bandits advance, they suffer even greater casualties. They have been besieging Ruzhou for several days, yet the army and civilians are still trying to hold on. This is enough to show that the bandits are at the end of their rope!"

General Yang's speech was like a gust of wind that dispelled the fog in his heart, and Yang Sichang felt that his confused and sluggish thoughts became clear and smooth.

The Long Snake formation is a fierce attacking formation that uses the high mobility of the front and rear support to encircle the enemy's troops. However, if the mobility of the supporting troops is lost, the powerful Long Snake will become a laughing stock and be defeated one by one.

Yang Sichang was previously somewhat afraid of the powerful "begging bandits" and found it difficult to pacify this group of bandits.

However, Yang Shien's meticulous analysis allowed him to see through the bandits' weak nature.

Yang Sichang sighed that Yang Shien was worthy of being a frontline witness of the long-term battles with the Western bandits and the rebels, and he had rich experience in suppressing bandits.

Even if the enemy troops win victory after victory, there is no invincible army in this world.

If so, it means his enemies are all weaklings.

The bandits' territory from Runing Prefecture to Ruzhou was like a long, thin snake.

They occupied the states and counties along the way, but lacked the talent to govern the local areas.

The rebel army treated the gentry and scholars cruelly and tyrannically, and no one was willing to join them, so they could only simply and brutally leave their minions to control the area.

"The enemy troops are transporting grain north from Runing. The two places are three or four hundred miles apart, and the long journey is very inconvenient. We can send out cavalry to rob and kill the enemy's grain train, forcing them to retreat and get the grain, thus relieving the crisis in Luoyang."

"Hmm..." Yang Sichang nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, and signaled Yang Shien to continue with his eyes.

The latter pointed to the center and said, "If the Qihuo rebels disband their forces and scatter to fight against our grain-maintaining teams, we won't have enough time to attack the city and capture the stronghold. This will buy some time for the various government troops to gather and for the local militia to train..."

Yang Sichang twirled his beard and pondered for a moment, "In your opinion, how many troops are needed to encircle and suppress the beggar bandits?"

"Although the rebel army claims to have 300,000 troops, from what I have seen, they only have about 10,000 elite soldiers, tens of thousands of followers, and 100,000 hungry civilians.

The only concern is the beggar bandits' elite warriors, whose total number should not exceed 4,000. If we want to set up a net to encircle and suppress the bandits from all sides, the main force must be no less than 30,000, and the other three divisions must each be no less than 20,000. 100,000 auxiliary troops should be feasible."

Yang Sichang frowned when he heard this. Yang Shien actually wanted to mobilize an army of 100,000?

Although Xiong Wencan had been gathering troops and food in Xiangyang for several months while he was "serving his crime" and waiting for the handover from Yang Sichang, there was still a lot of finishing work to be done.

As the saying goes, food and fodder must be prepared before troops move. For an army of 100,000, with a monthly salary of 1 tael and 2 qian for combat soldiers and 8 qian for auxiliary soldiers, each person must have at least 4 dou of food rations per month.

Fortunately, Huguang is a grain-producing area, and the price of grain is not high. The recent price of grain is nine cents of silver per stone of grain.

In Henan, the price is slightly higher at one tael and five cents per stone. As for the areas in Henan that are severely affected by drought, the price of grain has risen to two taels and eight cents per stone. In other areas where droughts have occurred all year round, the price of corn is even ten taels of silver per stone.

Even so, the food and fodder required for a hundred thousand soldiers and their horses and mules was no small sum. If the transportation losses of long-distance operations were taken into account, the military expenditure would be increased.

After serving as the Minister of War for two years, Yang Sichang had some understanding of military expenditure figures.

He estimated that an army of 100,000 would cost at least 200,000 taels of silver per month, not counting the additional military expenses of fighting.

No one can guarantee how long these beggar bandits can keep going. If they cling to their lives for a year, the government army will be financially bankrupt without even having to fight.

Most of the more than 7 million taels of silver raised by the imperial court as additional training pay was used to supply reinforcements to the nine frontier regions.

Chongzhen allocated him 20% of the training salary, plus the local old system of financial assistance, which should be enough for less than two million taels a year.

When Yang Sichang first left the capital, he also thought that the military expenditure of one or two million taels would be enough to wipe out the beggar bandits, and he was even more convinced that he could defeat the beggar bandits within half a year.

However, after arriving in Xiangyang and being "assassinated" once, he realized that the beggars were more ferocious than he had imagined.

This is not a stubborn disease that can be eliminated in half a year, but a group of brave rebels who are determined to seize the Ming Dynasty!

If the plan is really made according to Yang Shien's method, the military expenditure will last for seven months at most. If the intensity of the war is higher, the air force expenditure will probably be consumed in four or five months.

However, Yang Sichang thought this proposal was feasible.

We must go all out to wipe out these stubborn bandits, otherwise they will easily seize our weaknesses and cause one or two major incidents that will shock the government and the public.

He didn't have much time to wait - if the beggar bandits really went after Prince Fu, even if the Luoyang defenders fought with their lives, they wouldn't be able to hold out for long.

The maximum time between the two is twenty days, any longer would be dangerous.

However, the problem of insufficient military funds is too fatal. If the war becomes a protracted war and military funds are cut off, the consequences will be disastrous...

"Eliminate the bandits" and "military expenditure" are like two different voices fighting in my mind.

The dilemma forced him to risk everything and fight the enemy army to the death.

Seeing Yang Sichang's gloomy face, Yang Shien added, "I've long heard of the Black Flag Battalion's bravery, and they've recently recruited 3,000 Hunan miners. I'm sure their strength has greatly increased... If the Black Flag Battalion launches its main attack from the east, the other three encirclement and suppression forces could be reduced by a total of 10,000."

"I think this is feasible. With the Black Flag Battalion receiving training pay, the commander-in-chief won't have to worry about their pay and food. This will also reduce military expenses for over 10,000 infantry and cavalry, and the 90,000 auxiliary troops will only need 70% to 80% of their pay..."

"70% of military expenditure..."

Yang Sichang thought to himself that according to this plan, the military funds for suppressing the bandits could barely last for ten months. "Once the fleeing gentry from various places are recruited and trained for more than ten days, our soldiers will be able to set up a net on all sides and put down the beggar bandits!"

"Great advice, Commander!"

Yang Shien pointed out, "The southern army marched out from Xiangyang, passed through Nanyang, attacked Wuyang, and cut off the enemy's center.

The northern army went south to join the troops in Kaifeng, and then went south to attack Linying to cut off its back. These two routes cut off the enemy's food supply and forced the enemy to return for a decisive battle.

The Western Army left Luoyang and headed for Dengfeng. If the enemy army attacked, they would defend the city and control the enemy. If the enemy army abandoned the city and returned to rescue, they would follow the enemy army and put them in a dilemma.

The Eastern Army's Black Flag Battalion will advance westward to Xinyang to seize prefectures and counties. With this four-pronged attack, we will surely defeat the Qihuo rebels!"

"However, there are many treacherous people in Henan who are greedy for small profits from the bandits. I am afraid that the movements of our troops advancing in four directions will be discovered by the bandits..." A staff member of the commander-in-chief reminded.

"Hmph, if it weren't for the treacherous people providing the bandits with vegetables and meat, how could the beggars and rebels have marched so fast and reached the city of Ruzhou? Anyone who aided the bandits in their attack must be severely punished!"

Several civil officials sighed and lamented the decline of morals and the decline of social order. They accused the treacherous people of forgetting their principles for the sake of profit and aiding the tyrant in his evil deeds. Not only did they not help the government troops to suppress the bandits, but they even shamelessly assisted the bandits in attacking the government troops!
Some people think that these treacherous people are spies of the rebels who are begging for their lives. It is better to kill a thousand people by mistake than to let one go. If one person leaks the secret, the whole family will be slaughtered. Killing a group of treacherous people mercilessly is the only way to stop the evil trends.

Some people believe that moral decline is due to insufficient education, and that education should be strengthened to enable people to understand what benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness are, what the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues are, and to correct people's minds.

Some people also wonder why the treacherous people and rebels "don't just starve to death in peace, but instead follow the example of the mantis with its arms raised."

If the rebels could just starve to death at home, the court officials would have less trouble and would not have to pay so much extra military pay, and the people of the world would not suffer from hardship.

After all, in their hearts, the beggar rebels are just short-lived rebels. Once the orthodox Ming official army appears, the rebel soldiers will be turned into powder!
"Cough cough..."

Yang Sichang cleared his throat, and the civil officials who had been discussing the matter finally withdrew, waiting for the commander-in-chief to make the final strategic summary.

The Southern Route Army is the main force of 35,000
Western Route Army 25,000

30,000 Northern Army

Eastern Route Army Black Flag Battalion 10,000

The armies were assisted by the gentry and local militia.

Twelve words.

Advance slowly and fight quickly, set up nets on all sides, and attack together to eliminate the thieves!

Yang Sichang bowed towards the capital and said, "Everyone, please do your best to serve the court!"

(End of this chapter)