It was the end of Xu Shi, and Xu Baisheng was studying the topographic map of the Jiqing area in his study. When he learned that the monkey was visiting, he came to the gate in person and warmly welcomed him into the study.
"Brother Hou, I heard that you were transferred back to the military camp to serve, and I was planning to invite you to join our army and attack Jiqing together!"
The monkey cupped his hands and said: "Thank you Brother Xu for your kindness, but I want to attack Zhenjiang with Wang Da and Geng San. This is the march plan we have come up with. I am going to ask Brother Xu for details!"
After saying that, he handed over the letter.
Xu Baisheng reached out to take it and looked at it for a while, his eyes shining brightly.
"This plan is extremely clever! Don't worry, I will cross the river to attack as soon as possible and cooperate with you!"
The monkey was stunned for a moment, and was secretly shocked: "What's going on? Do you still need Xu Baisheng to cooperate with this plan?"
"Brother Xu is too complimentary. In fact, I think using gunpowder to burn the ship is quite risky. I really can't make up my mind. I wonder what Brother Xu thinks?" he asked tentatively.
Xu Baisheng pondered for a long time and said: "Logically speaking, there should be no problem, but if we can consider the time a little more, we will be more sure!"
"Time?"
"Yes, just calculate the time for you to cross the river, so that the Yuan Army Navy returns to Dantu Town in the evening. It will be more convenient to operate in the dark!"
The monkey's heart suddenly flashed.
In Xu Baisheng's words, he mentioned that the enemy navy will return to Zhenjiang!
In other words, the enemy navy will leave Zhenjiang!
Coupled with Xu Baisheng's words of cooperation, he instantly understood what Liu Bowen meant by asking him to wait for a good opportunity!
This opportunity was exactly when Xu Baisheng attacked Jiqing and the Zhenjiang navy went to Jiqing to rescue him!
But how did he know that the Zhenjiang navy would definitely go to aid Jiqing?
Isn't the enemy afraid of Jiangdu's army raiding Zhenjiang? How dare he leave without authorization?
Ah, right!
The warships were assigned to Xu Baisheng and Shanzhu, so in the view of the Zhenjiang defender, there were no warships in Jiangdu, so it was impossible to cross the river for a sneak attack!
If a cargo ship or merchant ship is being mobilized, the movement will be extremely loud, and their careful operations can detect it in advance.
They don’t know that there are more than a thousand boats at Xiyuan Pier!
In an instant, the monkey grasped Liu Bowen's overall plan, raised his hands to Xu Baisheng and said: "Thank you, Brother Xu, for the suggestion. I will go back and think about it again, and then submit it to the king!"
Xu Baisheng returned the favor and said, "You're welcome. If you can capture Zhenjiang, it will also help me attack Jiqing."
After Monkey left Xu Mansion, he went straight back to his own mansion. Wang Da, Geng San and Yang Ying had been waiting for a long time.
Monkey told the three people about Liu Bowen's plan.
Wang Da was stunned for a long time and said: "In other words, when Xu Baisheng crosses the river to attack Jiqing, the Zhenjiang Navy will go to rescue him?"
Monkey said: "Yes, in their opinion, there are no warships in Jiangdu, and there are no merchant ships or cargo ships recruited, so it is impossible to cross the river, so naturally the precious 10,000 naval troops will be used to support Jiqing!"
Wang was very happy: "Then we take the opportunity to cross the river in a small boat and catch them by surprise?"
The monkey smiled and said: "Exactly!"
Geng San suddenly said: "Where is the food and grass?" In cross-river operations, the transportation of food and grass is always the biggest problem.
The monkey said solemnly: "Each person brings five days of dry food and sets off lightly!"
Geng San was shocked and said: "After Liu Bowen asked us to cross the river, he burned the boat, and now he doesn't bring any food. Then we are in a dead end!"
The monkey said slowly: "So before we run out of food, we must capture Zhenjiang!"
Yang Ying smiled slightly and said: "This strategy is called breaking the cauldron and sinking the boat. It was used by the ancients. It was to put people to death and survive!"
Wang Da laughed and said: "Okay, have fun, this is how fighting on the battlefield should be! The only thing I don't understand is that in the plan, we only attack three gates when we attack Zhenjiang, but leave the west gate. What does this mean?" p>
The monkey said: "This is a heart attack strategy. As long as we attack the city fiercely in three directions, they will be afraid. If there is a way out at this time, won't they run for their lives?"
Wang Da slapped the table and said with a smile: "Damn it, these scholars are so calculating. Let's show this plan to the king tomorrow!"
Zhang Yangquan was actually a little surprised when Jiangdu's army expanded to 200,000 so quickly.
However, after all, he had his word first, and his generals were eager to fight. When Shanzhu and Xu Baisheng asked for orders to cross the river south, he had no choice but to agree.
This was the first and most important battle of Jiangdu Army's strategy in Jiangnan.
Both Jiqing and Changshu have gathered powerful forces of the Yuan army. As long as they can defeat the Yuan army in these two places, they can immediately take these two points as the center and quickly capture large areas of the surrounding land.
In order to ensure the success of this battle, Zhang Yangquan assigned the most elite 100,000 troops to the two men, and almost all their needs for ordnance, warships, and generals were met.
In addition, when the army is engaged in large-scale foreign campaigns, it must also prevent others from taking advantage of the situation.
Among the remaining 100,000 troops, Zhang Yangquan allocated 20,000 to Li Er to lead. When Shan Zhu led an army of 50,000 troops, Li Er was responsible for guarding Tongzhou.
Fang Yuan led another 20,000 people to guard Zhenzhou, and Jiangdu City served as the capital, leaving 60,000 people to defend it.
So when the three monkeys came to the palace study and presented their plan for attacking Zhenjiang, Zhang Yangquan was not prepared to agree because there were not many troops available for them.
It wasn't until he read the plan of the three monkeys that his heart immediately changed.
This plan is naturally not Liu Bowen's simple plan, but a detailed plan written by Monkey after fully understanding the key points of the plan, with the purpose of each step clearly marked.
Zhang Yangquan stood up, patted the shoulders of the three of them, and said with a smile: "Very good, it seems that you have made great progress recently, this plan is very interesting!"
Wang Daxi said: "Then you agreed?"
Zhang Yangquan returned to the chair and sat down, saying: "Although the plan is good, we don't have enough troops. I can only transfer you 30,000 at most, and I can only use the leftover weapons from them. I don't have any artillery, but you still insist on it."
Do you want to attack Zhenjiang?"
The three of them looked at each other and said in unison: "Yes!"
Zhang Yangquan nodded: "In that case, you guys go and get ready for battle. Since you can't be discovered by the Zhenjiang defenders, I won't give you the troop deployment order yet!"
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The monkey hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, can we ask for some generals?"
Zhang Yangquan hesitated for a moment and said: "It's possible, but most of the generals have been passed by Xu Baisheng and Shanzhu!"
Wang Dashi asked anxiously: "Can you give us a few?"
Zhang Yangquan thought for a while, then waved his hand and said: "That's okay, you can convince yourself. As long as there are generals willing to follow you, I will order them to be transferred to your command!"
The three of them were overjoyed and immediately resigned and went straight to the military camp in the north of the city.
The first choice targets are naturally the two great generals Chang Yuchun and Bian Yuanheng. It just so happens that both of them are training soldiers on the main campus.
On a June day, the sun was blazing. When the three of them arrived at the school field, they saw sweaty soldiers everywhere.
The soldiers in this area had to participate in the cross-river war, so everyone was training very actively, taking off their shirts one by one, and yelling.
Looking around, there are dozens of formations training on the battlefield, including several cavalry formations. The sound of hoofbeats is loud and dust is flying.
The three of them rode horses and searched one by one before finding Chang Yuchun in a square formation.
I saw him taking off his shirt, holding a large stone lock in each hand, and leading the soldiers in strength training.
The three of them got off their horses and explained their intention to Chang Yuchun. Chang Yuchun put down the stone lock and asked, "Did the king ask me to follow the three generals?"
Wang DaDao: "The king said it's up to you to choose!"
Chang Yuchun cupped his hands and said: "I'm sorry, the general has promised Marshal Xu to join his southern expedition!"
Wang Da hurriedly said: "He has so many generals, and one more than you is not too much, and one less than you is not too much! Why don't you follow us, we will make you eat well and drink spicy food!"
The monkey glared at him and quickly changed his words: "We can make you a vanguard general! If there is an opportunity to make a mark, I will leave it to you!"
Chang Yuchun smiled and shook his head.
Geng San hurriedly said: "If you have any requests, just put them forward. As long as we can agree, there will be no objections!"
Chang Yuchun still shook his head.
Wang said angrily: "You don't look down on the three of us, do you?"
Chang Yuchun hurriedly held up his hands and said: "You three, don't think too much. I just promised to others first. I really can't obey the order. Please forgive me."
The three of them looked at each other and left in anger.