In the Marquis Mansion of Changxing, Li Qing and Geng Bingwen were sitting opposite each other.
Without any courtesy, Li Qing went straight to the point: "General Geng, do you have a candidate?"
Although it is an exhibition match, with a team of hundreds of thousands of people, if there is no advance planning, the fake match is likely to turn into a real match.
Geng Bingwen said in a deep voice, "I have decided on the list. The deputy commander-in-chief will be Li Jian, the prince-in-law. This man was once a general of the Duke of Wei, had a close personal relationship with King Yan, and was also King Yan's brother-in-law;
The commander-in-chief Pan Zhong and Gu Cheng, the forward commander Yang Song and Liu Sui;
When King Yan was training with the old Duke, he often hung out with these people and had a good relationship with them."
Li Qing nodded slightly, "Do they know the details?"
"You know a little bit." Geng Bingwen said, "Some words cannot be explained too clearly, but they are not fools, they are all veterans on the battlefield. As long as I make some arrangements on the battlefield, they will understand the meaning."
He took a sip of tea and said calmly, "Victory and defeat are common matters in military affairs. With the temper of the current emperor, he still dares to depose all these veteran generals in the army just because of a battle?"
If that’s true, I’m afraid tomorrow’s sky will also change.”
Li Qing's heart trembled, and he felt that this little Zhu was not suitable to be the emperor.
Not only did he indulge the civil servants, but all the military generals were also disobedient.
It's no wonder that in just one year, civil servants have climbed onto the nobles' heads to shit on them. With such a big change, these generals are naturally angry.
Li Qing thought for a while and asked: "We are all our own people. I think we need to reduce casualties as much as possible. What do you think, General Geng?"
"That's natural." Old God Geng Bingwen said, "I have made clear arrangements to allow some people to disappear appropriately."
“The right amount of missing?”
Li Qing scratched his head and immediately realized that this was to demobilize some soldiers under the available rules to achieve the purpose of reducing the number of soldiers.
Although he didn't know how to operate it specifically, he knew that it would not be difficult for Lao Geng.
You have to be a veteran, you can lose with such a level of skill!
The two discussed it all afternoon and began arranging military supplies the next day.
…
It was so convenient to use troops internally. Even though the two of them took their time, it only took about ten days to complete the preparations for the war.
On the day of the expedition, Zhu Yunwen led hundreds of civil and military officials to send the army outside the city. The standards were very high.
"Geng Aiqing, Li Aiqing, I will leave all the power to suppress the rebellion to you." Zhu Yunwen said seriously, "Don't let me down!"
"I obey the decree." The two of them raised their hands in unison, "I will do my best to live up to the trust entrusted by the Holy One."
Seeing that the two of them were full of confidence, Zhu Yunwen felt very relieved and said: "King Yan is my imperial uncle after all. He has no eyesight on the battlefield. Please keep an eye on me, please, don't let me carry the person who killed my uncle on my back."
Crime."
The last time King Xiang was forced to death, it could be said that King Xiang committed suicide out of fear of crime and had nothing to do with him. But if King Yan was killed with real swords and guns on the battlefield, Zhu Yunwen would not even be able to quibble.
Xiao Xiaozhu is still not ruthless enough after all!
Geng Bingwen was stunned. It took him a long time to come to his senses and said, "I obey your order."
…
An army of 130,000, known as 300,000, set out from the capital.
In late August, we arrived at Zhending.
After setting up camp, Geng Bingwen ordered a small team to inquire about the situation. After learning that King Yan was ready, he immediately called the commander of the vanguard capital.
In the handsome camp.
Geng Bingwen looked at the sand table and pondered for a long time, and then said grandly: "The King of Yan likes to fight with virtuality and reality, and reality with reality. Although we are many in number, we must not be careless;
Yang Song, you take nine thousand cavalry to find out his background first."
"General..." Yang Song said dryly, "Commander, aren't the nine thousand cavalry a little... few?"
"Huh? That's quite a lot." Geng Bingwen shook his head with a smile, and then solemnly told, "Swords on the battlefield have no eyes, and you must not hurt King Yan. This is the emperor's instructions;
At the same time, I don’t want anything to happen to you, do you understand?”
Yang Song was stunned, and then he showed an expression of disbelief. He was about to say something, but was interrupted.
Geng Bingwen patted his shoulder and said seriously: "Do you understand?"
"Tomorrow... I will understand." Yang Song nodded, but he was a little worried, "Commander, will this..."
"The laws of the Ming Dynasty are clearly written, and if you do things according to orders, the guilty will not be punished." Geng Bingwen said, "Go and execute it!"
Yang Song felt relieved, clasped his fists and said, "The last general will take orders."
Seeing that the person was gone, Li Qing couldn't help but ask, "Commander, can General Yang understand the deeper meaning?"
"Don't worry." Geng Bingwen smiled, "Don't think that only civil servants are smart, and military generals are not stupid either. Just wait and see, Yang Song will never let us down."
Li Qing nodded and said no more words.
Only 9,000 of the 130,000-strong army were sent to fight, and the rest were stationed in place and did not move. Geng Bingwen was worthy of being a veteran general, and he was indeed cautious enough.
On the third day, several of Yang Song's soldiers came back in despair, crying and saying, "Commander, something bad has happened. King Yan attacked us at night and we suffered heavy losses!"
"How much does it weigh?" Geng Bingwen asked calmly.
"More than eight thousand cavalry... ah no," the soldier muttered, "more than eight thousand war horses were captured."
They are all old men and they still understand language arts.
"Bastard!" Geng Bingwen was furious, "Where are the Yang Song people?"
"Commander made him...he was also captured." Yang Song's soldiers were about to cry, "Commander, we were attacked by a sneak attack, and we didn't show our combat power at all. King Yan is too yin."
"Useless thing." Geng Bingwen kicked the chair over and shouted: "Get out, get out!"
"Yes, yes, yes." Several people ran out as if they had been granted amnesty.
Geng Bingwen took a few steps back and forth and said in a loud voice: "Here comes someone."
The soldiers opened the camp tent, cupped their hands and said, "What are your orders, Commander-in-Chief?"
"Go and call Commander Pan Zhong."
"Yes." The soldier responded with his hand, and about a quarter of an hour later, Pan Zhong came to see him.
"What are your orders, Commander-in-Chief?"
"Yang Song has been captured. You take 30,000 brothers to rescue him. Remember, don't hurt King Yan." Geng Bingwen said, "If you can't rescue him, don't come back."
"Ah? This..."
"Go quickly!"
"The last general takes the order." Pan Zhong said yes bravely.
Five days later, Pan Zhong's soldiers returned and reported the results of the battle: 27,000 of the 30,000-strong army were captured, and Pan Zhong also became a prisoner.
Li Qing secretly praised: No wonder the fourth child is talking about Uncle Bingwen, this Uncle Bingwen is really awesome!
Lao Geng rushed to send troops to Lao Si, and even sent generals there. This service attitude... he couldn't enjoy it either!
But it should be said that Lao Si is also very good. He can catch the cakes fed by Lao Geng completely. This is a technical job!
Geng Bingwen was so angry that he twitched his beard and cursed: "You useless thing, why are you still standing there, get out of here!"
"Commander...Commander." Pan Zhong's soldier said timidly, "The King of Yan has issued a letter of war to you."
"Oh?" Geng Bingwen was startled, then said, "Bring it to me and see."
Pan Zhong's soldiers quickly took out the letter, presented it with both hands, and retreated.
Geng Bingwen tore open the envelope, and Li Qing joined in.
The battle letter is very simple, with only one sentence: decisive battle on the Hutuo River!
In addition, three torches are drawn below.
Li Qing frowned and asked, "Is this a code word in the military?"
"No." Geng Bingwen said, "It's probably a decisive battle at night."
Immediately, he shook his head again, "It should be more than that. Damn, why did you draw three? I am an old man in his sixties, and I have to play guessing games with him. This is too much!"
Li Qingqian smiled and said, "As the saying goes, repeat again and again and never again. I guess King Yan is also afraid that the commander-in-chief will not be able to explain to him when he returns."
He was also a little puzzled. The fourth child was good at fighting, but he was not playing tricks. What was the point of doing this?
The two of them studied the torch for a long time. Suddenly, Li Qingfu reached into his heart and said: "Commander, I seem to understand."
"What is it?" Geng Bingwen asked.
"Three are the people. What King Yan means is that he will light a lot of torches at night, which is similar to a plan to empty the city. We only need to fall into the trap and retreat in a hurry."
Li Qing explained, "The army retreated hastily at night. Under the dark lights, it is normal for more deserters to desert. King Yan is thinking about us. In this way, it just meets the appropriate number of disappearances set by the commander before!"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Geng Bingwen said flatly, "The fourth child is not so thoughtful."
"Commander, it's entirely possible!" Li Qing said, "Just because King Yan doesn't have such a thoughtful mind doesn't mean he doesn't have counselors around him."