Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Six: Sending Off Li Thief
King Chuang was unable to attend the meeting due to an arrow wound, and the military meeting was chaired by the commander-in-chief Liu Zongmin on his behalf. After all, King Chuang had already made a decision on the withdrawal of troops, and the actual situation was also the same. No one had any opinions.
But now that the official army has advanced to the original camp position of the cavalry, which is only more than a mile away from King Chuang's camp, how can we ensure that they will not be pursued by the official army when they withdraw.
Liu Fangliang said: "Jixuan, I think we still need to fight. First, the officers and soldiers will be pained and frightened, so that they will not dare to pursue my army."
Liu Zongmin didn't speak. He looked at Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others and said, "Mr. Niu, what is the best plan for Military Counselor Song?"
Niu Jinxing said: "It would be shameful to retreat without fighting, but we still have more than 20,000 troops in our army, but we don't have enough food and grass. We really can't stay with the army for a long time under Kaifeng City."
He turned to look at Song Xiance, and then continued: "Instead of fighting another battle, why not divide the army into three groups, each with more than 6,000 soldiers, and retreat to each other to cover each other, and Master Liu
The cavalry is wandering around the periphery, and I don’t expect the officers and soldiers to dare to catch up with them.”
Liu Zongmin looked at Song Xiance again and asked with a smile: "What do you think, Military Advisor Song?"
Song Xian pondered the strategy before speaking: "I think what Ju Ming said is feasible. Our army does not need to fight with the officers and soldiers. It should eat immediately, reorganize the army after dinner, and break camp before noon.
Gu Ying's troops marched west first to confuse the officers and soldiers, and then turned south after passing Xinghua Camp; General Liu Tichun led the majority of the Chinese army and then set off to protect King Chuang all the way south.
The army led by General Liu Fangliang set off last, and the three armies and horses supported each other. The army passed through Xincheng and Zhuxian Town, and then to Weishi County where it first destroyed several villages and replenished some grain."
When he said this, he looked at Liu Zongmin and continued: "Please also ask Mr. Liu to lead the cavalry and horse team to break the rear of the army to prevent the army from pursuing our army.
Based on the information from the past few days, I estimate that the number of cavalry under Zhang Cheng's command is not that large, no more than two thousand. Even if Chen Yongfu's troops from Henan are included in the reinforcements, they will not be as large as those in the hands of Commander-in-Chief Liu Ye.
There are many horse teams.
Mr. Liu can lead the cavalry with light equipment and three days' rations, stay here to intercept the officers and soldiers who may pursue my army, and when the sky turns dark, they can rush to catch up with my army heading south."
Liu Zongmin also nodded. He quite agreed with what Song Xiance said. Seeing that no one else had any other opinions, he turned around and entered the inner tent to consult with Li Zicheng.
…………
On December 27, the thirteenth year of Chongzhen's reign in the Ming Dynasty, there were thunderous cheers on the west wall of Kaifeng City, followed by cheers on all four walls, and the soldiers and horses guarding the city ran to tell each other.
"The intruders retreated..."
"The bandits have retreated..."
After a while, bursts of gongs, drums, suonas, and firecrackers came from all the streets in Kaifeng City. People were generally excited. They relied on their tenacity to repel the tens of thousands of bandits.
King Zhu Gongzhen of the Zhou Dynasty also quickly received the letter, and he hurriedly sent an order to pay homage to the ancestral temple in person to thank his ancestors for their appearance, to protect the city of Kaifeng, and to protect the vassal lineage of the King of Zhou.
At the same time, he sent an order to the Inspector Gao Mingheng. He was able to repel the bandit army this time because all the officials in the city worked together and had the courage to do their jobs. All the officials who participated in the city's defense were meritorious officials. He should personally write the report to the court and serve as a tribute to all officials.
Ask for a reward.
He even ordered the official Cao Kun to go out of the city to look for Zhang Cheng and others. In addition to offering some condolences, he also told Zhang Cheng not to be careless in case the bandit army suddenly came back unexpectedly.
However, Zhang Cheng knew that the retreat of the Chuang army was true. Although the Chuang king Li Zicheng was now in Henan, he was famous and powerful, but in fact his foundation was not solid and his wings were not yet full.
Most of the Laoba Troops that he can rely on are training the newly recruited more than 100,000 bandit soldiers in Funiu Mountain. Now in East Henan, only the less than 3,000 cavalry troops can be considered elite.
But among them are mainly local bandits and bandits and official cavalry who have recently taken refuge in Henan. Although they are quite capable, their internal integration has not been completed. If the battle goes smoothly, it will be fine. If there is a slight setback, maybe
In an instant, the birds and beasts will disperse.
This was also the reason why Li Zicheng, the King of Chu, was eager to retreat. He had already had enough to eat in Luoyang, so even if he did nothing in the next year, he would not worry about food.
Li Zicheng originally led his army to Kaifeng City to try it out because he was temporarily motivated. He did not want to really fight to the death with Zhang Cheng under Kaifeng City.
In his opinion, since Kaifeng city can't do anything, he should turn south and fight back to Ruzhou. When the army of hundreds of thousands is ready next year, he can attack Kaifeng again!
Now, when Zhang Cheng saw that Li Zicheng was about to run away, he originally strongly advocated pursuing him, but Liu Zongmin led a band of thieves and cavalry to block him in front. Although his cavalry was more capable and brave, there were only more than a thousand men, so it was difficult to fight against him.
He originally wanted to ask Chen Yongfu to cooperate with him in the battle, but now Cao Kun has brought an order from King Zhou, and he doesn't know if Chen Yongfu will join forces with him to chase the thieves.
After sending away Cao Kun, the minister of the Zhou Dynasty, Zhang Cheng invited Chen Yongfu and his son into the military tent. He said to Chen Yongfu: "Chen Shuai, I want to send off the thief Li. I wonder if Chen Shuai would like to go with me?"
"
Chen Yongfu had a slightly embarrassed look on his face. He had been in Kaifeng for a long time, and he was the deputy commander-in-chief of Henan Province. He would also be stationed in Kaifeng from now on. He didn't dare to disobey King Zhou's order this time, and it was really difficult to make a decision at the moment.
Chen De, however, was a newborn calf who was not afraid of tigers. When his father remained silent, he said, "Since Zhang Shuai has this intention, Chen De is willing to follow Zhang Shuai!"
"Hahaha……"
Zhang Cheng laughed and said: "Okay! It turns out that he is a traitor to the general, so let's send Thief Li off together and let him walk away in glory."
He turned to Chen Yongfu and said: "Chen Shuai, please sit in the camp for me and wait for the arrival of the artillery team led by Chen Jiugao, the commander of the Beijing camp. I will lead an army to see off Li Thief. Chen De is afraid that I will be alone.
In the past, I fell into the trap of bandits and bandits, so I reluctantly led the army to follow you. We share the merits, and if there is any fault, I will bear it alone!"
Chen Yongfu said with an embarrassed look on his face: "How can you ask Zhang Shuai to bear the responsibility alone? I didn't mean that."
Zhang Cheng smiled and said: "I also know Chen Shuai's difficulties. It's just that he only has more than a thousand cavalry under his command, and I still need Chen De to help me. The officers and soldiers led by the two guerrilla units of Cheying Formation and Jingying stayed in the camp outside the West City.
To prevent the thieves from fighting back.
I will only lead a thousand cavalry and an additional infantry to pursue the rebel army. If we can fight, I will fight. If not, I will lead the army to withdraw. Chen De's troops only need to support them from the side, Chen Shuai does not need to
Worry."
When Chen Yongfu saw that Zhang Cheng had said this, he had no choice but to say: "Hey, Zhang Shuai has decided to pursue Li Thief, and I will give my full support. Besides, Zhang Shuai's officers and soldiers are well-equipped and well-drilled, and they are indeed brave.
We can compare with the officers and soldiers of Henan Province.
It’s just that the bandits are accustomed to using deceit. They often pretend to be defeated and retreat, but secretly set up ambushes for the officers and soldiers to fight with them. Every time they fall into the trap, Commander Zhang must be on guard against them!”
"Thank you Chen Shuai for reminding me, I can learn from myself!"