After the day's military meeting, Wu Shigong felt physically and mentally exhausted. And in today's military meeting, the amount of information Wu Shigong received was so great that he could not fully digest it for a while, and even felt at a loss.

Feel.

Wu Shigong finally learned from the military meeting how many Qing troops were besieging Jinzhou. But the information about the Ming army was quite vague. The intelligence came from three sources, one was a messenger sent by Jinzhou's ancestor Dashou who risked his life; the other was from the Mongolian tribe.

We inquired with the caravan and found out; we also found out about the frontline military fortresses such as Ningyuan, Xingshan, and Songshan.

But Wu Shigong was surprised to find that in this intelligence, there was no news of reconnaissance at all. Logically speaking, in order to ensure the reliability of the intelligence, it is necessary to send several reconnaissance detachments, or even large forces, to conduct fire reconnaissance on the Qing army, and obtain the information of the Qing army.

There is no information on the number of troops, troop deployment and combat characteristics, but the Ming army has no such information at all. Moreover, the Ming army, from the governor Hong Chengchou to the military supervisor Gao Qiqian, down to the major generals, are all veteran generals who have experienced battles.

It is impossible to ignore this kind of reconnaissance, which shows that the Ming army has no courage to send out fire reconnaissance troops and has lost the means to grasp first-hand intelligence.

Therefore, the information about the Qing army is quite confusing and vague. The number of people ranges from 100,000 to 300,000, and the deployment is also confusing. The tactics of the Qing army are also based on the deployment of the Qing army in the previous Battle of Daling River City.

Presumably, such intelligence gathering work completely left Wu Shigong speechless.

The deployment of the Ming army was also very different from what Wu Shigong had judged. Wu Shigong was surprised to find that the Qing army had been besieging Jinzhou for more than three months now, and his own Runing army stationed in Henan had already rushed to Shanhaiguan.

, but many troops of the Ming Army have not yet arrived.

Such efficiency in troop deployment made Wu Shigong speechless. I wonder if the independence of each Ming army is too strong? Or are they too careless about the assembled Qing army?

Now, the commander of Jiliao Governor Hong Chengchou has moved to Ningyuan before leaving the customs. Three armies, including Zuo Guangxian, the commander of the reinforcements and suppression, Ma Ke, the commander of the Shanhai Army, and Wu Sangui, the commander of Ningyuan, also accompanied Hong Chengchou there. During today's military meeting,

, Hong Chengchou ordered Wu Shigong, the commander-in-chief of Runing, and Liu Zhaoji, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, who were already at Shanhaiguan, to collect supplies and ask them to move to Ningyuan before July. They must first assemble the five-legged army with a total of 90,000 horses.

As for the other Ming armies, either they have their own garrison areas and are difficult to mobilize, or they are still far apart, so they can't catch up in a matter of seconds.

The situation between the enemy and ourselves made Wu Shigong very unsure about the prospect of fighting. He knew himself but did not know the enemy, and with the number of 90,000 to at least 100,000, Wu Shigong no longer had any hope of defeating the Qing army.

The only thing that surprised Wu Shigong was that the deployment of the Ming army that Chang Qiu told was surprisingly similar to the actual deployment of the Ming army that was told in the military meeting. While he greatly admired Chang Qiu's energy, Wu Shigong kept the Ming army secret.

I was speechless again.

Obviously, Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, also clearly saw these shortcomings, so in the military meeting, he clearly stated that the Ming army's primary campaign goal was to rely on these 90,000 troops to defeat the Qing army's interception and encirclement.

They fought their way out and transported a large amount of grain, grass and supplies to Zu Dashou in Jinzhou City at all costs, dragging the Qing army into a protracted war and causing the Manchu Qing to retreat due to lack of logistical supplies.

Therefore, this campaign goal has completely given up on defeating the Qing army in battle. Hong Chengchou only wanted to save Jinzhou City, maintain the integrity of the Ningjin Defense Line, and prevent the war situation in Liaodong from deteriorating further.

Although this campaign goal is quite conservative and discouraging, Wu Shigong calculated it from the perspective of a bystander and found that this campaign goal is actually the most feasible. If the current situation is maintained, annihilating the Qing army is completely

It's just a fool's errand to take such a risk and push the fully transparent Ming army into a decisive battle. On the contrary, it is an extremely risky behavior.

Maintaining the integrity of the Ningjin defense line, preventing the Ming army from collapsing on the Liaodong battlefield, using a protracted war, and using the Ming Dynasty's sufficient logistics to bring down the Qing army, is a wise choice to seek victory in a stable manner.

However, in this military meeting, Wu Shigong discovered the discord. Gao Qiqian, the supervisor, proposed that Hong Chengchou should see the opportunity for a decisive battle, hoping to engage in a pincer attack with Zu Dashou's troops in Jinzhou City in order to win a big victory.

The reasons for the supervisory army to rise and fall are also sufficient, and his views also represent the court. Mainly the views of Emperor Chongzhen. The most important thing is: the Manchu Qing Dynasty cannot afford to delay it, and the Ming Dynasty cannot afford to delay it either. So what Hong Chengchou thinks

"Sufficient logistics for the Ming Dynasty" is already difficult to achieve.

Fortunately, Gao Qiqian still respected Hong Chengchou's choice because he was also very clear-headed. If the Ming army went to aid Jinzhou City, the Qing army would be able to mobilize at least 40,000 to 50,000 troops in addition to the necessary troops to besiege Jinzhou City.

Intercept the Ming army.

Even though Hong Chengchou's 90,000-strong army was the most elite of the Ming army, the commanders of the Ming army who were frightened by the Qing army still believed that in terms of combat effectiveness, the comparison between the Qing army and the Ming army was at least one to four, so

The combat effectiveness of the Qing army was equivalent to the 200,000 troops of the Ming army. Compared with the Ming army in terms of strength, it still had an absolute disadvantage.

If under such circumstances, the Ming army could still break through the Qing army's interception and transport grain, grass, and supplies to Jinzhou City, it would actually be considered a great victory. Therefore, Gao Qiqian, who knew the military affairs, did not demand Hong Chengchou to go.

Do things beyond your capabilities.

Therefore, Hong Chengchou finally determined the general strategy of the Ming army's operations in the military meeting, which was one word - stability! Never divide the troops, never advance rashly, just step by step, relying on the military forts in front as cover, gradually

It is located close to Jinzhou City.

"Commander Wu!" Wu Shigong suddenly heard someone shouting from behind him. He turned around and saw that it was Liu Zhaoji, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong who had also left the governor's office. "Will Commander Wu be free later? Come and hang out at the humble residence for a few words?"

I have prepared a small amount of wine, and I want to get to know you, the hero of the great victory in the river."

"You're welcome! You're welcome!" Wu Shigong quickly bowed his hands and saluted Liu Zhaoji, "Today I have to take advantage of the time to go to the military quarters to collect food and wages, but I may not have time. Mr. Liu! How about tomorrow?"

Before the end of today's military meeting, Hong Chengchou gave Wu Shigong and Liu Zhaoji a warrant to go to the munitions office in Shanhaiguan to collect grain and supplies. Wu Shigong was afraid that something might happen to the munitions place, so he wanted to strike while the iron was hot and take the grain and supplies back to the camp.

.But after receiving it, it was necessary to entertain the military supplies, so Wu Shigong could only temporarily decline Liu Zhaoji's kindness.

"Why should we be in a hurry when we receive food and salary? I just saw that the commander-in-chief cares a lot about General Wu. The military supplies will never make things difficult for him. So what if General Wu waits for a whole day?" Liu Zhaoji was still very enthusiastic. Because this time it is him and you.

Ning Jun went to Ningyuan together, so Liu Zhaoji also wanted to deepen his relationship with Wu Shigong.

"That's not good! You always have quick hands and slow hands when doing this!" Wu Shigong said with a smile.

"Do you have quick hands? Do you have slow hands?" Liu Zhaoji was not very used to Wu Shigong's modern words for a while, but he quickly understood Wu Shigong's words literally. So Liu Zhaoji immediately said happily: "Haha——! Wu

The commander-in-chief is really funny! It doesn’t matter, we have never been short of food and pay in Liaodong!"

"Really?" Wu Shigong was a little unbelievable. It had been so many years since he traveled to the Ming Dynasty, and he had never met anyone from the court who paid his food and salary readily, so he was a little skeptical of Liu Zhaoji's statement.

"Absolutely so! Liaodong has always been where the army gathers. Although there are some restrictions on garrison and guard posts, we never dare to neglect the soldiers who are going to fight. Otherwise, who will work hard for the imperial court?" Liu Zhaoji replied.

What Liu Zhaoji said is true. Because he has to fight against the powerful Qing army, the supply of food and salary to Liaodong has always been a priority. Although the supply of collateral generals like Ma Wenlong and the military households of the Liaodong Guard Station may not be complete in the past, the supply of food and salary to the fighting soldiers has always been

It is to open up the supply. Especially after the governor of Jiliao was captured by mutinous soldiers and committed suicide due to lack of food and salary, the imperial court did not dare to embarrass these troops who were about to fight the Qing army.

In this case, Wu Shigong was also interested in chatting with Liu Zhaoji for a few more words, so he asked again: "General Liu, I have another problem that I would like to ask you for advice. The auxiliary troops I brought this time have too many horses, and the Military Supplies Department

The grain and grass we receive are always somewhat insufficient. Mr. Liu is a local, does he know where I can buy some grain and grass?"

This time, in the imperial court's transfer order, 7,000 troops and horses of the Runing Army were recruited, and the horses were also calculated in units of one thousand. According to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, no matter how many troops were sent out, they would be counted as the number of troops in the transfer order.

The supply of food and grass will be based on the number. If there are too many people, the general leading the troops will have to find a way to solve the problem.

The Runing Army dispatched 17,000 men and more than 10,000 horses this time. Especially the fodder for the horses. One horse needs enough food to be equivalent to three to five people, so the food and fodder of the Runing Army

Supply is quite tight.

Although Hong Chengchou did take good care of Wu Shigong. In his order, he gave Runing's army 10,000 men half-year's military pay, another 10,000 men's food for a month, and 2,000 horses a month's fodder, but these are not enough for you.

Half of what Ning Jun needs.

So Wu Shigong wanted to use the silver he carried to buy the previous batch to replenish the supply of grain and grass and increase the army's storage. But this person was unfamiliar with the place and had no idea where to buy so much grain and grass, so he took advantage of this opportunity.

, I just want to ask Liu Zhaoji, who is based in the local area.

"How much will General Wu need? If it's a small amount, some can be distributed among the lower armies." Liu Zhaoji said politely.
Chapter completed!