Griffin Commander in the Late Ming Dynasty

"It seems that I have to think of a solution..."

Ignoring the carefree SOP on the side, Scarecrow made secret plans.

"Sop, I have a plan. If it goes well, you'll have a chance to win a big battle."

"Huh? But the commander didn't give any orders?"

".....Forget it, it's okay, just have fun."

The last chapter should be due to a power outage that caused my backup to have problems. A paragraph was repeated, but the problem is not serious. I will update it today.

Volume 291: Chapter Chapter : Assassination Plan

After Ma Shouying led his troops to continue fleeing, Cao Bianjiao's cavalry kept chasing them and pursued them for more than a hundred miles to Tuanfeng County.

Fighting a war is not like treating someone to a dinner. What matters is that you are ruthless even if you are on the right side. Although the organization of the bandits' old camp was still intact, the whole situation was already irreversible when the cavalry in the main formation were killed and started to flee.

After the difficult sowing and farming, Cao Bianjiao's cavalry now only have to harvest.

Since the defeat, Ma Shouying had run more than 600 miles with the old camp. It was extremely frustrating. The few thousand remaining soldiers in the old camp were running to the point of collapse.

"No, the horses of these dog soldiers are better than ours. We can't outrun them."

He Jin spat. The continuous escape made him depressed. Although everyone in the old camp of bandits had a horse, so did Cao Bianjiao's cavalry, some even had two horses each. With the same equipment for both sides, the competition was about the quality of the horses and their fighting will.

I have to say that the people of the Gezuo Fifth Battalion are really good at running. Cao Bianjiao was also impressed. These people were able to distance themselves from him despite the disadvantage of being on war horses. How many times did they run to achieve such proficiency? Did they learn from Clearlove?

The people of the Gezuo Fifth Battalion were also full of grievances. Under normal circumstances, with their proficiency in escaping, the government troops would have been chatting with others and saying that they had met a cavalryman yesterday. He used inertia to drift through the corners and his car was very fast. But who would have thought that Cao Bianjiao could keep up behind him? They were so exhausted from running that they had to find a way out.

"At this point, it's not a good idea to keep running like this. We have to distract the officers and soldiers."

Ma Huihui was equally exhausted. He knew very well that this was not a solution. After their position was locked by the government troops, once the enemy's large force arrived, they would face a comprehensive encirclement and suppression. By then, they would be in real trouble.

"Everyone knows that we need to divide our attention, but the key is how to divide it. Mr. Chairman, think of a way."

None of them have very good brains, so the task of being the think tank of the team can only be handed over to Ma Hui to find a solution.

"I have a plan, to save Zhao from Wei"

"For the stomach? What does that mean? Can you explain it more clearly, Mr.

Several people looked puzzled, while Ma Huihui's face was full of contempt, so this bunch of illiterates really were... I told you to read more, but you insisted on raising pigs.

"The so-called siege of Wei to save Zhao is about attacking the enemy while saving yourself. It is definitely not possible for us to just run away like this. But if we divide our forces and attack Zhouzhen, Shangdian and Suzhou respectively, the officers and soldiers will definitely send troops back to rescue us after we ask for help from many parties. In this way, we can delay the officers and soldiers and buy time for us to escape."

"Oh...Now that you put it that way we understand."

Although the leaders present here have never been to school and don't know the principle of "Besieging Wei to Save Zhao", they are all old hands when it comes to dirty tricks. Ma Huihui's strategy sounds good, but in fact, isn't it just selling out teammates and letting them attract firepower to buy time for yourself to escape, and then when teammates are caught, I just laugh and kill them, right?

They are all too familiar with each other, but the problem is, it is not easy for him to explain this kind of thing, and, who should he sell out his teammates?

Everyone can say nice things, and there will always be sacrifices at such critical moments, but no one wants to be the one who is sacrificed.

No one spoke, and Ma Huihui continued to make arrangements, asking the fifth and third battalions to attack Zhouzhen and Shangdian, and the rest of us to attack Suzhou.

As soon as Ma Shouying said this, the brothers suddenly understood. Who are the subordinates of the Fifth Battalion and the Third Battalion? They are the subordinates of Lin Yangcheng and He Yilong. These two are now dead. The two battalions have also suffered heavy losses. They are completely raised by stepmothers. The leader is gone. If you don’t be cannon fodder, who will be?

After the two men died, they were so busy fleeing that they had not had time to annex their troops. Now, there is no need to annex them. They can just throw them out as bait.

Of course, they couldn't do it too obviously. Their troops also had to attack Suzhou to distract the officers and soldiers.

Cao Bianjiao was very powerful, but he did not have enough manpower. His 3,000 cavalrymen suffered hundreds of casualties in the clash with the enemy. The bandits' move of splitting them into three groups really made him feel very uncomfortable.

Ma Huihui felt that this was not safe enough, so he ordered his brothers to go into the mountains and split up into small groups, further increasing the difficulty of the officers and soldiers' search.

"Damn it! These bastards are so slippery!"

Although Hong Chengchou's large army is about to arrive, Cao Bianjiao has to send out troops to rescue as they have been attacked in many places. Otherwise, those useless civil servants will report it to the emperor and he will be in big trouble. This gentleman is not like the previous emperors. This guy is a lunatic. If he says he will do something to you, he will really do it.

"Sir, now there is a crisis everywhere, should we still chase after them?"

The adjutant looked at Cao Bianjiao with some hesitation.

"Why are we still chasing them? Divide our forces and prepare for rescue. We'll think of a solution after Marshal Hong's men arrive."

This division of troops gave the bandits a chance to catch their breath. In Suzhou they were able to regroup and take a breath. Although the people of the fifth and third battalions were certainly killed, it was not a big problem. It is better to die than to have a friend. Moreover, under the circumstances at that time, if they didn't lose some soldiers from the old battalion, maybe everyone would have killed.

Cao Bianjiao was extremely angry, but there was nothing he could do. However, it was not a big problem. Since the opponent's position was basically determined, he only needed to wait for Marshal Hong's large force to arrive and start a thorough encirclement and suppression of the opponent.

But he wants to wait, and some people don't want to wait.

Scarecrow has been sending scouts to keep a close eye on the battlefield situation here, secretly hoping that the bandits can escape. What a joke, if they don't perform well, how can my KDA improve?

She was so anxious when she saw the government troops chasing the bandits, and she cheered for them crazily. In fact, although Cao Bianjiao's troops were able to defeat the Gezuo Fifth Battalion, it was really a pipe dream to catch up with the other side and wipe them out. But Scarecrow was too concerned, as this was her first key debut, so naturally she wanted to win perfectly, and the highlight was that Qin Shihuang defeated Tyson and won with a punch.

Although this group of cold weapon cavalry's encirclement and suppression capabilities can be said to be better than nothing, but what if? The situation on the battlefield is ever-changing. If something unexpected happens, if any of these five leaders is killed by a cold arrow, who will make up for the KDA I owe?

Now, watching the bandits escape safely, the scarecrow has only four words in his mind: "It's getting better."

Since you can't make use of the opportunity I gave you, I'm going to start doing my job well.

After suffering heavy losses, the bandits fled all the way to the Yinghuo Mountain area, where they planned to recuperate.

There are many mountains and the terrain is complex. There are hundreds of mountains alone. In this era, it is extremely difficult for the officers and soldiers hiding here to search the mountains and catch them!

But in fact, it was because the input-output ratio of the government army was too low. On normal days, they would not invest so much to deal with the bandits. Although the bandits could enter the mountains, they did not engage in production and would only hide on the edge of the Yinghuo Mountain area. If thousands of soldiers from the old camp hid in the mountains and could not get supplies, they could only rely on hunting and collecting wild vegetables and fruits and live a life of savages. This was not a big deal. The most important thing was that the war horses of the old camp could not be fed and would starve to death.

The old battalion's soldiers are good at rapid transfer as everyone has a horse. If they lose their horses and their advantage in speed, then the old battalion will be completely ruined. Without the ability to transfer quickly, the old battalion will pose no threat and will be easily caught up and encircled by officers and soldiers.

We only need to search the outer areas and strictly block them, and we will definitely be able to catch them all in one fell swoop, but the key is that we have no money.

The manpower and material resources required for the siege were too great, and the Ming court was simply unable to come up with so many resources given its current situation.

But, just because you can't do it doesn't mean I can't. The bandits can hide in the mountains because the other side cannot detect their location. But, what if their every move is under the eyes of others?

The scouts had been monitoring their movements from high in the sky, which allowed the Scarecrow to see the route into the mountains of Ma Huihui and others clearly, as if the map had been opened. However, Xiaotou was not considered to have opened it, and since the old camp had not discovered it, how could it be called opened?

In the eyes of the scarecrow, the other person was already dead.

In the Suzhou government office, Suzhou prefect Li Zhiqiu was in the study, sitting on the armchair with his eyes closed. His right hand was placed on the desk and tapping lightly on the table, making a rhythmic sound in the quiet study.

Next to Ji Haoyan sat a worried-looking aide, who was his confidant. He had just conveyed the news of the fall of Changzhou to Li Zhiqiu.

"Is the situation in Changzhou true?"

"Reporting to the Lord, it is absolutely true. After the thief Jiang entered Changzhou, he was like a killing god. He killed all the generals of the guards in Changzhou, wealthy businessmen, and high-ranking officials. There were so many heads rolling. Now the generals of the guards have sent messages to you, asking you what you are going to do."

Li Zhiqiu said unhappily, "Ask me what to do? Jiang Han is so aggressive that even the imperial army can't do anything to him. What can I, a civil servant, do? Instead of asking me, you might as well ask them what they are thinking."

The staff said: "The intention of each guard is naturally to keep their wealth. Everyone has seen the fate of several guards in Changzhou after they surrendered. They had to hand over their land after surrendering. Tens of thousands of acres of land were exchanged for only a few hundred acres of their own land. Who can bear this? They definitely cannot surrender."

Li Zhiqiu nodded. This was indeed too much. Although the purpose of surrender was to ensure safety, if the tens of thousands of acres of fertile land under his name were exchanged for this little thing, it would be like a palace turning into a ruined courtyard. Whoever lived there would be miserable.

The staff continued, "From my perspective, Jiang Han is ruthless. The officers and wealthy businessmen in Changzhou are the best examples. He kills people as soon as he enters the city, without giving anyone face. If he takes Suzhou, our lives will be in danger."

Having said that, Jiang Han's fighting power is really too outrageous. The 70,000 troops of the imperial court couldn't do anything to him, so how could his small number of people in Suzhou Prefecture possibly defeat him?

Li Zhiqiu said irritably: "This guy is really... Then what should we do? Follow or go against?"

"It's good to be compliant, but everything is about profit. Although my life is saved, the profit Jiang Han gave me is too little, or even nothing. He even made us pay for it. Who would be willing to be compliant? As for the rebellion..."

The aide was silent for a while, then walked up to Li Zhiqiu and said in a low voice: "I have followed you for many years, and I have no way to repay you for your kindness. I have only been able to work hard all these years. Now you are in trouble, I have no choice but to help you. I have a plan, and it depends on whether you have the courage to do it."

Li Zhiqiu looked at the aide's serious expression and knew that he was up to no good, so he asked, "Tell me what you think!"

The staff member's eyes flashed coldly, his face showed a fierce look, and he said, "Fall into the water!"

"Now Jiang Han's troops all rely on him, and he is protected by the army on land, so it is difficult to attack him. But it is different in the water. It is easy to dodge an open spear, but difficult to guard against an arrow from the dark. We have received reliable information that Jiang Han will go to Changzhou to inspect the situation in a while. By then, we can make arrangements in the river..."

The assistant said as he gestured a shape.

"Underwater Dragon King Cannon!"

Li Zhiqiu was surprised at first, but then calmed down: "This is a good idea, but where can I get the cannon?"

"Some guards produce this stuff in the water supply department. Just give it to them. We just need to find out the travel time and route of that thief Jiang."

The so-called underwater Dragon King Cannon sounds intimidating, but it is actually a mine. During the Korean War in the Wanli Dynasty, the Ming Navy relied on these things to sink many Japanese warships. The navy saw that they were useful, so they increased the purchase quantity and asked the garrisons to help them produce them. With the structural strength of today's wooden warships, it is difficult to resist the destructive power of this thing. Once it is hit by a bullet, it will soon sink.

"There are only two ways for the enemy to reach Changzhou. Each journey will take at least three or four days. By then, we will send our spies to investigate. This amount of time is enough for us to make arrangements."

"This is a great plan." Li Zhiqiu nodded in approval of the plan. The cost of such a direct assassination is almost negligible, and it sounds like the success rate is very high!

"Besides, that thief Jiang doesn't know it was us who did it. If it works, you can immediately submit a letter to ask for credit. If it doesn't work, then we won't suffer any loss. We just need to keep silent. Even if that thief Jiang knows everything, he can't figure out who did it, right?"

The aides became more and more excited as they spoke, and Li Zhiqiu was also inspired to listen more and more and felt that it was more reliable.

"In this case, this matter must be kept secret and not known to too many people. You are the one who will contact the guard post, and you must find someone you can trust!"

The staff nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, sir. We promise that they are all our people and will never leak any information. This time, we will make sure that Jiang the thief will not return!"

Volume 292: Chapter Chapter : Hong Chengchou, are you kidding me?

"Going to Henan?"

He Jin and others were a little surprised when they heard Ma Shouying's proposal.

"Master Ma, why are we going to Henan for no reason? I heard there's a locust plague in that place, and it's very poor. There's no money to be made there."

What is the most important thing for bandits? Profits, money, food, and territory. What is the current situation in Henan? The hungry people over there are afraid that the bandits are ready to rob them. Who would go there, not only will they work themselves to death, but they may not earn anything?

“Everyone, listen to me first.” Ma Shouying gestured to indicate that everyone should listen to what he had to say. Several people did not speak, waiting to hear his reasons.

"Although we have shaken off the government soldiers, the main force of the dog government troops has already arrived in Fengyang. I have received news that the main commander this time is the man named Hong. He is very difficult to deal with. Now that we are seriously injured, if we fight him, I am afraid we will not end up well."

"Well, then we just need to hide in the mountains for a while. Why do we have to go to Henan?"

Liu Xiyao was puzzled.

"Everyone, what do we lack the most now? Food? Money? None! What we lack the most now is people!"

"After the battle with that damn Jiang Han, most of the starving people under my command ran away. After being chased by the soldiers, many of them ran away again. Now, only the soldiers from the old camp are left with us. With such a small number of people, it will be difficult for us to gain a foothold as long as the government troops are ruthless in encircling and suppressing us. The most urgent task is to increase the number of people. Henan is now suffering from a drought, and many people have starved to death. The generals and officials over there are easy to deal with. With our abilities, we only need to make a call, and a lot of people will follow our rebel army."

"Can....."

Many people were still hesitant, and several leaders discussed it endlessly. Some supported it, while others opposed it, and they even started arguing.

"Wait, what's that noise?"

Just as everyone was arguing, Ma Shouying stopped everyone and listened carefully. He seemed to hear an unusual noise that sounded familiar.

"There's nothing going on, Master Ma. Stop beating around the bush. To be honest, I will never go to Henan. It's as poor as a dog..."

Before He Jin finished his words, a mortar shell fell from the sky and landed in the military formation not far away. The violent explosion swept up a large amount of soil and directly knocked over the people who were arguing.

Ma Shouying struggled to get up and spat out the dirt in his mouth. He then remembered what the familiar sound was. It was the sound of the artillery shells fired by that bastard Jiang!

"Everyone, pay attention! The Jiang thief's army is coming!!!"

Not far away, the Scarecrow quietly watched the development of the battle. She had let these people escape before, and now she was chasing them for thousands of miles. She must make sure these bandits survive!

"Hello everyone, I want to play a game with you. The name of the game is, Guess Whose This Is. I will shuffle the body parts of everyone and you guess whose organ this is. How about it? Doesn't it sound fun?"

The sop with a scarlet face stopped in front of an old soldier and proposed a creepy game.

......

In the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Chongzhen was extremely anxious. The sudden invasion of the Jiannu army caught him off guard and disrupted all his plans. Now, the battle situation in Miyun was already bad. The Beijing camp had spent two full days without coming up with an aid plan. During this time, the defenders of Miyun had all been killed by the Qing army.

Wu Aheng’s case was still under investigation, but the problem was that the Qing army had already advanced deep into Beijing and was almost reaching the outskirts of the capital.

The cabinet and the six ministers in the Qianqing Palace were also extremely anxious, especially the Minister of Rites Yang Sichang. Due to the rampant banditry in the interior, he had always advocated peace talks with the Jiannu and sent a fortune teller to negotiate with Huang Taiji. Everything was going well, but now...

Chongzhen looked at Yang Sichang and said coldly: "Yang Sichang, didn't you say that the slave chief Huang Taiji would not enter the pass?"

You swore at the beginning that Huang Taiji and I had an agreement that we would definitely not enter the Pass. Now, how do you want to explain it?

A few months ago, Huang Taiji was eager to take action outside Shanhaiguan, with an attitude of "I'm about to come in". At that time, many court officials suggested sending more troops to Liaodong to compete with Jiannu. However, Yang Sichang still advocated peace, believing that it would be better to wait until the Central Plains was completely quelled and resumed development before fighting a decisive battle with Jiannu.

Yang Sichang's proposal was severely criticized by Huang Daozhou, a bachelor of the Imperial Academy. Huang Daozhou, an expert in Neo-Confucianism, relied on his solid theoretical foundation to comprehensively prove that Yang Sichang's proposal for peace talks was against the will of heaven and against human ethics, from the principles of heaven to legal principles, from the national level to personal hygiene. In the end, Huang Daozhou even angrily criticized Chongzhen: "If the loyal and the treacherous cannot be distinguished, then the evil and the righteous will be mixed. How can we govern?"

Chongzhen was furious. "You scold Yang Sichang, so scold Yang Sichang. What do you mean by scolding me?" He demoted Huang Daozhou six levels in a row and transferred him to Jiangxi Province as a local official far away from the capital. This was also a disguised way of protecting Yang Sichang.

After this incident, Yang Sichang did not dare to openly seek peace with Huang Taiji, so he had to send someone to contact him privately. Huang Taiji's attitude was also quite good. He replied that he was willing to negotiate and would immediately lead his troops back to his hometown to spend the winter after the negotiations were successful.

Yang Sichang told all this to Chongzhen, who was very happy and felt safe. He could now deal with the thieves in the south. But no one expected that Huang Taiji would take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack!

Seeing Chongzhen's questioning, Yang Sichang wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I never expected that the chieftain would break his promise."

The ministers in the court cursed Huang Taiji for his insidiousness and cunning, but Huang Taiji did want to negotiate peace. He had just entered the pass last year and had just returned. The looted property needed to be digested, and the bannermen still needed training to be transformed into combat effectiveness. Negotiating peace was indeed a good thing for Huang Taiji, but when he learned that the Ming Dynasty had sent heavy troops south to wipe out the bandits, and that the bandits headed by the Gezuo Fifth Camp had been beaten so badly that they didn't even recognize their mothers, Huang Taiji finally could not sit still.

Throughout history, whenever the Ming Dynasty was about to quell the bandits, the Qing army would enter the pass and move south at an inopportune time, forcing the main force of the Ming army to move north, thus giving the bandits in various parts of the Ming Dynasty a chance to breathe.

This does not mean that Li Zicheng and other bandits colluded with Huang Taiji, but Huang Taiji's unilateral consideration. He knew very well that he could not let the Ming Dynasty have a chance to breathe. Once the Central Plains of the Ming Dynasty was stable and recuperated for a few years, these dogs of Tartar would have a hard time in the future...