Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 227 Our Strategy (Two chapters in one)

Huang Taiji surrounded Jinzhou and Songshan, and the situation in western Liaoning was critical.

The emperor and other officials who caused all these disastrous consequences not only did not reflect on their mistakes, but instead urgently ordered the government troops in southern Liaoning to rush to Jinzhou for assistance.

At the same time as the imperial court issued the transfer order, it also gave rewards to the soldiers who had made great contributions: the commander of the Beiwei Army was promoted to general, and the other generals were promoted.

However, rewards were rewards, but rushing to Jinzhou's aid was extremely difficult. There were only 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers and horses in southern Liaoning, and rushing to Jinzhou and Songshan would be just sending heads to the Nu chieftain.

The emperor and the other officials did not care. Although they knew that the chieftain was good at besieging a point and attacking reinforcements, they still urged the government troops to go to the rescue.

Although the governor stationed in Dengzhou also wanted to rush to Jinzhou for assistance, the government troops in southern Liaoning were divided into two. Most of the government troops went deep into the enemy's territory alone with the intention of attacking Gaizhou, and the Beiwei army also wanted to take a boat deep into Liaozhong.

The remaining 10,000 reinforcements from Baoding and Nanzhi had just arrived in Dengzhou, and they did not dare to rush to Jinzhou alone.

The governor of Shandong and the governor of Denglai also wanted to control these arrogant and fierce soldiers who "acted on their own initiative", but they could not even control the ordinary government troops, let alone the fierce soldiers of the Beiwei Army.

The script conceived by the Beiwei Army has been written -

The main force landed on the coast in large ships, using the ruins of former fortresses and cities to establish landing bases and build a stable base for supplying troops and food.

A small number of mobile teams drove a limited number of river boats deep into the Liaozhong Plain, frantically killing the remaining Eight Banners Tatars and rescuing a large number of slaves who fled to southern Liaoning.

Even if the Nu chieftain returns to support upon hearing the news, the main force of the Beiwei Army can rely on fortresses and ships to hold on, and the temporary battle flag can also attract volunteer players from all over the country to come and fight to the death, and bleed the Jiannu people well.

The script should have developed like this: the large and small ships that the Beiwei army had been waiting for for several days basically arrived at Xinkou, Fuzhou.

But just as the players were about to set off, the military commander suddenly gathered all the generals to discuss urgent military affairs.

Something bad is happening ahead!

All the generals gathered together, except for the Beiwei Army, which had more than ten "deputy generals" accompanying Zhang Xianzhong to the meeting.

The Manchu leader personally led the main force of the army for hundreds of miles and suddenly appeared in southern Liaoning.

More than 20,000 government troops who advanced lightly lost more than half of their strength and could only hide in the mountain valleys to survive. They urgently needed reinforcements from all directions.

The defeated soldiers, their faces covered in scars and bruises, wept and knelt before the generals, begging for help. "I beg you, Daotai, General, please save our Marshal!"

In front of all the civil and military officials, "Wild Bull" quickly stepped forward, grabbed the collar of a defeated soldier and pulled him up, "When did the Tartars arrive? How many troops did they have? How far are they from Fuzhou..."

"I, I only know that we were ambushed yesterday, and the chieftain personally led his army to pursue us for dozens of miles. The Tartars should be a hundred miles away from Fuzhou, oh no, maybe eighty miles. I wonder how many soldiers and horses they brought with them..."

"Is it one hundred miles or eighty miles?"

"Little one, little one really can't remember..."

"Useless! You brought back few useful intelligences. What's the use of you!" Bison pinched the soldier's collar and pushed him forward. The latter slid two and a half steps like a rag being thrown away.

"The slave chieftain arrived in person with his army, and we were powerless to stop him. He was extremely arrogant. He captured us and then released us, and even asked us to pass on a message. He said that all the government troops were useless, and only the Beiwei Army was the heroes of the time. He wanted to personally fight against the Beiwei Army's elite soldiers..."

The other defeated soldier lowered his head even lower, and beads of sweat the size of beans on his forehead flowed down his cheeks, mixed with tears and dripping from his chin to the ground.

"Ha, it seems that even the Nu Chief is afraid of my Beiwei Army's reputation."

"The chieftain has arrived in person, and our allies are surrounded. What suggestions do you have?"

He sent people to bring out the defeated soldiers who reported the news. Bingbeidao pretended to be calm, but in fact his heart was already in turmoil. He felt thirsty and reached for the cup full of hot tea, but his hands were shaking. He was afraid that if he held the cup unsteadily, the generals would see his weakness. He touched the rim of the cup and then retracted his hand.

The generals seemed lost in thought, while the Beiwei army's main and deputy commanders took small stools and sat in a corner of the room, whispering to each other, sometimes happy, sometimes serious...

"The Nu chieftain is powerful. It is better to abandon Fuzhou and temporarily go to Jinzhou and Lushun to avoid the Nu chieftain's attack. When the Nu chieftain's troops and food are exhausted, the Eastern Tartars will retreat. Even if they leave soldiers to defend the city, we can recapture it."

"Countless people have just been settled in Fuzhou. Are you going to abandon them?" A guerrilla from Liaodong shouted loudly.

"Abandon the city but not the people. You can order the people to retreat to Changsheng Island or to Jinzhou Lushun."

"There are still 10,000 reinforcements from Dengzhou that have not arrived. Counting our own troops and the elite soldiers of the Beiwei Army, 20,000 to 30,000 men might be able to defeat the Jiannu."

"Three years ago, when the Eastern Tartars invaded Korea, it was Chief Nu himself who led an army of 100,000 men, forcing the King of Korea to kneel three times and kowtow nine times, ultimately forcing the nation to submit completely.

This is the Khan of the Tartars who has won countless battles. He must be accompanied by a hundred thousand Tartar soldiers! Even if I give you thirty thousand soldiers, can you defeat a hundred thousand Tartars?

"You have to fight even if you can't beat him."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at him in awe. The person who spoke was not the commander of the Beiwei Army, Zhang Xianzhong, but a "deputy commander" He Lusi.

From the perspective of both civil and military officials, "He Lusi", also known as He Lusi, was originally a grain farmer in Liaodong. All his brothers died in battle following Governor Li, making his family a loyal and heroic one.

This man also followed General Li to the north to fight against the enemy at the beginning of the year and made many meritorious deeds. He was previously a guerrilla soldier, but now he has been promoted to lieutenant general and is one of the deputy commanders within the Beiwei Army.

The Beiwei Army is really strange. With thousands of soldiers, there are more than a dozen deputy generals, and they say that this kind of brainstorming has always been their tradition.

"But even if we include auxiliary troops and surrendered soldiers, we only have a combat force of just over 20,000. If we rashly head north to relieve the siege, we will only fall into the Nu chieftain's trap of surrounding and attacking the reinforcements."

"We will definitely fight, but there's no need to save those idiots who are seeking their own death."

"No help?"

Everyone was stunned. If they didn't rescue their allies, they would just be abandoning the city and running away, but why did they have to fight?

Could it be that a counter-attack also counts as fighting the Tartars?

However, the next words of the Beiwei Army's deputy commanders were shocking.

They neither rescued the besieged friendly troops nor planned to confront the enemy head-on. Instead, they adopted the strategy of "he fights his, I fight mine" and rushed straight to the Liaohe River to "exchange homes" with the enemy.

Of course, this plan is actually outdated, and it is a "special edition" specifically for the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, the moment players heard that Huang Taiji was personally leading an expedition to southern Liaoning, they promptly modified their plans.

They sat in a circle, oblivious to the surroundings, letting the other officers and soldiers argue until they were red in the face.

A detailed map of Liaodong was spread out and placed on everyone's laps. Everyone pulled the corners with one hand and started pointing at the map with the other.

At first, some players thought that Huang Taiji's arrival in southern Liaoning was a good opportunity to adopt the home-changing tactic. Even if southern Liaoning was completely lost, the people could escape to the surrounding islands in time, while the players had already messed up the Liaozhong Plain.

"No, the Qing cavalry is extremely mobile. As soon as word of an attack on Liaozhong spreads, Huang Taiji will withdraw his troops to reinforce. By then, it will just be a game of hide-and-seek, with both sides exhausted and unable to achieve any results... Other players don't want to go to waste like this without any merit."

"Then let's just fight head-on? We have the battle flag to revive, and thousands of players have at least tens of thousands of lives. We can wear the Tartars out anyway."

"It's a bit difficult. After the second resurrection, you won't be equipped with armor. You just crawled out of the ground with bare hands, and equipping yourself with weapons takes time."

"I don't think there's any need to worry. According to the game's intelligent settings, even mortals would be terrified to see a group of strong men crawling out of the ground."

"You're overthinking it. If Huang Taiji brought a hundred thousand troops, their battle formations alone would stretch for over ten miles. Besides the officers with telescopes, only the soldiers in the front rows could see the 'resurrection miracle'. If they ran away shouting, 'Wow!' the supervising troops would cut them down with a single blow."

"So, we have no choice but to listen to the government troops and retreat to Jinzhou to avoid the Tartars?"

"Why retreat? The Tartars are right here, and you're telling me to retreat. Even if I lose my life, I'll take a few Tartar dogs and wild boar skins with me!"

"Yes, yes. Although Huang Taiji was a Tartar, his military and political skills were among the best of the ancient emperors. Such a great figure has challenged us. A hearty and exciting decisive battle is just around the corner. How can we run away with our tails between our legs!"

"Our allies advanced recklessly and were ambushed, hindering us. The Nu Chieftain is also leading the army in person to join in the fun. So let's fight!"

"I still think a head-on attack is disadvantageous, and a flanking attack won't work. It's better to wait for reinforcements from other directions of the Ming Dynasty..."

"No, I think your thinking is too limited." He Lusi stretched out his hand and drew a horizontal line across the mountain between the two post stations in southern Liaoning. "We can simply land here by boat and build trenches and fortifications along the narrow hilly roads. Even if the Tartars had an army of 100,000, they wouldn't be able to break through our position in no time."

Everyone was stunned when they heard this, and looked carefully at the terrain on the map. There were only two official roads in the river-shaped hills.

If thousands of players with battle flags blocked the gap in the Sichuan area, it would be like locking up the entire wild boar tribe in an iron cage. No matter how good the ambush trap set by the Tartars was, they would have to fight it head-on according to the players' ideas.

"You want to land in reverse!"

"Oh my god, this is just like the Inchon landings—the North Korean army thought they had victory, but the UN landing stabbed them in the back. If it weren't for our help, North Korea would have almost lost everything."

Zhang Xianzhong, Breakthrough Man, Wild Bull and others looked at He Lusi in disbelief, and then looked at the "God's Hand" on the map. It seemed as if there was a thin line shining on the map.

"Great!"

They would poke at that point on the map with great skill, touch Horus's hair, pinch his cheeks, and even want to pull up his pants to feel the other little brother.

"Who are you! Get off my brother! Back off! Back off! Back off!" Bison pretended to cast a spell to exorcise evil spirits.

"Stop it, he's one of us." He Lusi opened his hand that was pinching his face with disgust.

"Wow, He Lusi, who usually likes to say some stupid things, actually understands strategy and tactics?" The breakthrough player was shocked. "Can you not be so smart? My brother is scared."

"A soldier should be treated with new eyes after three days of absence. I've been chosen as a commander many times. Even a pig would know a few tricks after enough actual combat." He Lusi half-closed his eyes arrogantly, tilted his head, and tilted his mouth. The pride and complacency brewing in his heart seemed like a juvenile alien about to burst out of his chest. "Just tell me if it's okay or not!"

"Sure! Of course! It's strategic and fun, who dares to say no!"

"Wait! I have a question." A player used a pen to trace the official road all the way south, then took the southern road of the peninsula all the way east along the coast, and finally pointed directly to Zhenjiang Fort (now Dandong), and then traced north to Shenyang.

"You mean, if their retreat is cut off, it won't affect the Tartars' detour back to the Liaozhong Plain?"

"Yes, even if we arrange for some people to go to Xiaojiaguan to block the southern route in advance, it will not stop the main force of the Tartars from breaking out. After all, there is only one resurrection battle flag, and coastal shipping also takes time. We cannot blockade both routes at the same time."

Zhang Xianzhong shook his head. "No, I think you're overthinking it. If this were a normal game, the AI ​​would have taken the path with the lowest cost, like evacuating directly or taking a detour."

But the AI ​​in Late Ming Fengyun is incredibly intelligent, almost like a real person from the late Ming Dynasty – imagine you were Huang Taiji, leading an army of over 100,000 to attack the enemy, only to find your retreat cut off. What would your first reaction be?

"I will withdraw."

"Bullshit! You're a complete nitpicker." 'Wild Bull' spitted. "If I were Huang Taiji, I'd definitely give them a good beating. Just a few thousand men and they dare to block my retreat. You're asking for your life! If I don't kill all these thousands of enemy soldiers, am I still the emperor of the Qing Dynasty?!"

"Huang Taiji's scouts will see that we only have a few thousand soldiers. An army of over 100,000 will run away when they see a few thousand Beiwei soldiers. So they might as well go to Siberia and plant potatoes."

"That's right." Zhang Xianzhong continued, "Leading the army in person is a great morale booster for the Qing Dynasty. If even the emperor had to retreat without a fight when encountering the enemy, then any Tartar who sees the Beiwei Army's black banner will flee without a fight.

They fled to Gaizhou today, and will flee to Haizhou tomorrow. Will they even abandon Liaoyang and Shenyang the day after tomorrow and go back into the forest to live a bitter and cold life?

It's difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Huang Taiji and even the slave-owning Eight Banners will definitely fight for the sake of national destiny and morale. We can just hold out under the fortifications we've built, and our resurrected brothers won't have to worry about not having time to arm themselves.

"But what if they tear through our defenses, or if they fail to take us down and retreat?" Another questioner looked at Zhang Xianzhong, then at He Lusi, the person who proposed the strategy.

He Lu Si replied, "That's easy. If Huang Taiji can tear through our defenses, it means he'll have suffered tens of thousands of casualties. Even if they escape, they'll be a battered and battered remnant. Forget about conquering the Central Plains; even if they were to fight against the Ming army's weaklings, they'd have to give it their all."

We were developing steadily in southern Liaoning, and from time to time we sent some guerrillas to harass central Liaoning.

Secondly, if they retreat after losing 10,000 or 20,000 people, we can arrange several hundred or a thousand people to garrison Xiaojiaguan in advance, which can annoy them for a while and cause thousands of casualties.

Furthermore, this long journey is thousands of miles long, and half of it involves crossing mountain roads. It will be difficult to provide food and fodder for an army of more than 100,000. The Tartars will certainly suffer a lot of non-combat casualties. If they plunder Korean food and fodder, it will inevitably arouse resentment and resistance from the Koreans, and it will be easier for us to conquer Korea in the future.

Also, just because we're blocking the narrow road doesn't mean we won't send people deep into the Liaozhong Plain to conduct guerrilla warfare."

"Hahaha, Ming Dynasty Inequality was killed in one second. Is this version still playable without nerfs?"

The brothers smiled at each other immediately, and the air was filled with joy. Even the civil and military officials who were discussing military affairs on the side looked at them curiously.

He Lusi continued to add his strategic concept, "As long as we can withstand the first few rounds of the Tartar attacks, we can start a guerrilla war and kill people everywhere - when the owner is not at home, the cat at home is not yours to do whatever you want, right?
If the enemy crosses the defense line, we will gather our troops with battle flags and rush straight to Zhenjiang Fort and Kuandian Liu Fort, resurrect on the spot and stab the Tartars hard.

If they can't cross and choose to retreat by a roundabout route, once fighting begins at Xiaojia Pass, we'll immediately abandon our fortifications and head north to Gaizhou and Haizhou, wreaking havoc before the main force of the Tartars returns. When they return home and find their homes in shambles, do you think the slave owners will be furious?

"Hahahahahaha, I'm so angry just imagining it, let alone the person involved."

"What if the Tartars take over Fuzhou, Jinzhou, and Lushun, and then start farming?" People with doubts can always find a point of argument.

A man who seemed to be a graduate of an agricultural and forestry university retorted, "Huh? Military farms? Do you think crops don't have a growing season and that food production is simply a gift from heaven? Even if over a hundred thousand soldiers ate all their stored food and mules and horses to survive a single crop season, the food from these three military farms wouldn't be enough for them."

They could eat people, first the slaves who transported grain, then the lowly bond servants. Once all the people were eaten, the Tartars would be destroyed, and a world without the Eight Banner Tartars would be complete."

"Great!"

"The military pressure in other war zones isn't that great, so we should be able to allocate some troops here. We have a temporary battle flag here, brothers, just revive and warp!"

"So what are you waiting for? Go and exterminate the wild boar skin!"

"But we need to confirm the enemy's exact location. If the enemy is too close to the ambush point, our strategy cannot be implemented."

"Let's use a hot air balloon to check. The wind is blowing from the south right now. As long as we can determine the enemy's position, we can set off!"

While the delegates were still holding a civil and military meeting, the players outside had already set off for reconnaissance using a few hot air balloons.

Back to He Lusi's shocking proposal, which left all the civil and military officials stunned.

The Beiwei Army did not want any friendly troops, not even auxiliary troops, and only sent its own 4,000 elite troops north to contain the enemy.

"If the chieftain comes to help, you will be courting death!" Deputy General Lou Ting became anxious upon hearing this, and his eyes widened.

"The people in the three areas of southern Liaoning need the escort of government troops, the newly captured prisoners also need to be monitored, and Jinzhou and Lushun also need garrisons..."

"Then let's retreat together! The Nu chieftain is powerful, and it's not shameful to temporarily avoid the attack. Even if we only defend Nanguan and Lushun, we can still recover the lost territory..."

"The Tartars have not seen any reinforcements coming north, so they will definitely send troops south. When they discover the fleeing people, everyone will be killed. We are harassing them from the north to help you contain the enemy."

"But you only have a few thousand people!" The other generals couldn't bear to watch the Beiwei army die.

"Someone has to do the rearguard action. If we only have the reputation of being a strong army but can't handle the call in times of crisis, then we don't deserve the title of heroes!"

He Lusi's emotions were sincere, as if the sad past of the fall of Liaodong appeared before his eyes, and warm tears rolled in his eyes.

"Let's go north together! He lost a scar as big as a bowl on his head, but he is still a brave man after 18 years!" Several generals spoke one after another.

"No. With your fighting power, do you dare to stand before the Nu Chief for a moment? Only I, the Beiwei Army, dare! We all bear the blood feud for the fall of Liaodong, and we are all determined to die. It is I, the Beiwei Army, who should personally lead the rearguard of this battle!"

Although He Lusi's words sounded vicious and like a mockery, all the civil and military officials knew that they were "harmful words with good intentions" that prompted them to give up the idea of ​​dragging their feet.

In this world full of chaos, there are always people who stand up to turn the tide and sacrifice themselves for the people to fight the enemy.

Today, no matter what the civil and military officials think, they all know that what Beiwei Jun said is the only feasible solution.

The only people to blame are the Tartars' cunning and viciousness, the government army's years of neglect, and the more than 20,000 friendly troops who advanced recklessly and were ambushed, almost ruining all the victories achieved in southern Liaoning.

"Commander He's words make sense." Although he still had doubts in his heart, Chen Jinghe had to agree when he saw that Zhang Xianzhong, He Lusi and others had firm expressions and no fear of death.

"I agree too." Yang Zhenwu said.

"Me too." Another general from Liaodong echoed.

As a result, more than half of the government troops agreed with the Beiwei Army's strategy of staying behind and risking their lives, and the rest of the government troops followed suit and reached an agreement.

Even if the military governor wanted to keep them, he could not change the unanimous wish of the generals and soldiers.

"Let's do as Lieutenant General He said."

In the evening, the Beiwei Army obtained the information sent back by the hot air balloon, and the sailboat had been docked on the shore for a long time.

The entire city's military and civilians were divided into two groups. One group took a boat to a place where they were in danger of death, while the other group headed south under the cover of darkness.

Before leaving, Chen Jinghe brought two Liaodong generals who were also "fed up with the court" to see him off, and asked Zhang Xianzhong to introduce the two sides to each other. Since they were all "corrupt factions", they understood each other tacitly after a few words.

But Chen Jinghe didn't understand one thing. The Beiwei Army was already the strongest army in the world. He could just sit back and enjoy the glory and wealth. Why did he have to put himself in danger?

Zhang Xianzhong remained silent, but He Lusi added meaningfully, "With a powerful enemy at our doorstep, if even heroes flee, who will stand up to defend our country?
Relying on winning the throne to enslave the people and the country is simply putting the cart before the horse. Only by winning the hearts of the people and saving the country can you truly win the world!

This is how the world should be, this is how it should be, this is how it should be!"

The Beiwei Army is gone, but the spirit of "saving the people and the country" they left behind is deafening.

Government troops, auxiliary troops, prisoners, and civilians marched south holding torches.

Feng Hanmin turned his head to look at Bei Weijun's back.

Chen Jinghe couldn't help but stop and look to the north.

The military commander riding on horseback couldn't help but turn his head to look back.

Hearing the crackling sound of burning torches, countless people could not help but stop and watch the warriors who were heading towards death walking further and further away.

They did not love money or women, and did not want to follow the government troops to escape to a safe area.

They gave up the power and status they had already gained, and were willing to sacrifice their lives just for a group of newly rescued strangers, a group of lowly captives, uneducated peasants, and civil and military officials who knew they were afraid of death.

All the Beiwei soldiers marched quickly and firmly, with their backs straight and their eyes fixed straight ahead, as if this journey was not to a desperate situation, but a road of hope leading to the future.

Feng Hanmin thought to himself that this was the true imperial army.

Chen Jinghe was convinced that if the Beiwei Army could survive, they would definitely seize this damn world.

The military governor also choked up with tears in his eyes, lamenting that the country was in chaos and there were loyal ministers!

They knew that the Beiwei Army was not afraid of the darkness of a powerful enemy, nor of the cruel night of war, because the Beiwei Army often said: "Why are we not afraid of darkness? Because tomorrow's sun will rise as usual."

(End of this chapter)