Although Li Zuting strictly ordered his subordinates not to discuss the recruitment matter, the news still spread like wildfire.
Not only the soldiers at the grassroots level were talking quietly in private, but even a few small leaders gathered together in twos and threes to talk about the matter. For a group of people who were extremely trapped, it was easy for them to be succumbed to any hope of survival.
Attracting. But even so, they still have to look at the decision made by Li Zuting himself.
But at such a critical moment, Li Zuting showed hesitation.
At the same time, Yuan Su and his party arrived in Nanyang on April 6th. They have been paying attention to the activities in the mountainous area these days. For them, if they can really get Li Zuting's surrender with a piece of news, then naturally
This is the best result. Of course, everything is not that simple, and everyone knows this.
After waiting until April 11th, Nanyang still did not receive any news about the militia in the mountains. Either Chen Ergou, who was released to spread the news, was rumored to be dead, or perhaps the militia remained in the mountains.
In the team.
This was actually expected by Yuan Su and his party. They did not fully expect to rely on Chen Ergou to bring back the news to convince Li Zuting, so they immediately started to arrange the second step of the plan. From this day on, every day
They will arrange people to spread a new round of news in villages and towns around the mountainous area. On the one hand, they will continue to expand the influence of the government's recruitment. On the other hand, they will create rumors that Li Zuting is in contact with the government and the army about recruitment. Once the conditions are negotiated,
, he will lead his troops out of the mountains and return.
This rumor will become the trigger for civil strife among the three militia groups in the mountainous area. The key lies in how to spread the news to the mountainous area. Regardless of whether Guan Yunzheng and Ge Xingyu believe the news or not, they were already ostracizing Li Zuting, and now they have this
False words will inevitably lead to more intense and large-scale exclusionary actions.
As Yuan Su said at the beginning, this surrender plan was originally a long-term operation. Even if it takes ten days and a half months or more, we must keep waiting. Anyway, the Zhengfu Army is now
There is no other way to take control of the mountainous area. Apart from holding the defensive line to block the emergence of the civilian army, no one has the courage to enter the mountain.
Until one o'clock in the morning on April 28th, Yuan Su was resting at the Nanyang Chamber of Commerce Guest House, when there was a hurried knock on the door. He got up sleepily, and the first thought in his mind was that something urgent must have happened.
Moreover, this urgent matter is probably related to the mountain militia.
"Come in." After putting on a coat, he weakly called out.
The person who pushed in the door was the adjutant Du Yu. His face was also a bit confused, and it was obvious that he had just been woken up.
"Captain, there is news. Several of Li Zuting's men were arrested in Yangji." Du Yu said with some excitement.
"Oh? Really? What exactly happened?" Yuan Su stood up and asked seriously.
"The message from Yangji said that yesterday afternoon Guan Yunzheng and Ge Xingyu jointly launched a sneak attack on Li Zuting. Li Zuting's troops were defeated one after another, and the troops were scattered and fled. One group of troops went all the way north, and finally broke through the encirclement and escaped.
They went to the mountainous area. The message also said that these people took the initiative to find the town of Yangji and surrendered to the officers and soldiers stationed there." Du Yu quickly described the matter briefly.
"This is good news. Hurry up and gather everyone for a meeting at the headquarters. I'll be there shortly." Yuan Su said with some excitement. This was a turning point in the civil unrest in the mountainous area of southern Henan.
Ten minutes later, Yuan Su drove to He Fenglin's headquarters. After receiving the notice, Jiang Baili, Dai Fengxiang and others rushed here to wait. Not long after Yuan Su entered the conference room, He Fenglin looked sleepy.
He walked in slowly. He Fenglin lived here at the headquarters, but he arrived later than everyone else, which was obviously a bit of neglect.
Yuan Su did not care about He Fenglin's negative attitude and immediately asked Du Yu to introduce the news he had just received in more detail.
What is currently certain is that there were a total of 89 militiamen captured in Yangji Town, two of whom claimed to be Li Zuting's confidants, one was named Li Dian, who was Li Zuting's secretary, and the other was Li Zuting's
The captain of the escort team. The captain of the escort team still has several gunshot wounds on his body. Although his life is not in danger at the moment, he still needs immediate rescue.
Judging from the condition of the guard captain, this group does not seem to be faking surrender. Jiang Baili believes that with the quality of the civilian army, it is impossible to risk trying to surrender, not to mention the current situation, even if they fake surrender, they will not get much benefit.
"Just now, Yangji sent another telegram reporting Li Dian's confession. According to Li Dian, Guan Yunzheng and Ge Xingyu suddenly launched an attack on them without any warning, and they reached the foot of Hexi Mountain in just three hours.
In the chaos, everyone did not fight. Li Dian chose to evacuate to the southwest out of desperation, and then turned north. In the early morning, they encountered another army who did not know whether it was Guan Yunzheng or Ge Xingyu.
After the battle, we finally managed to escape. After going down the mountain, after counting, only eighty-nine people were left. When we were desperate, we decided to surrender to the nearest army." A staff member of He Fenglin's division made some additions to everyone present.
"Captain Yuan, this is what you wanted. This group of militiamen has started a civil strife, which is a great thing for us." He Fenglin said with a smile, but his smile always seemed a bit cynical.
"The top priority is that we should immediately escort Li Dian and others back to Nanyang for interrogation. If the fighting in the mountain is really fierce, we can take the opportunity to launch an attack and try to wipe out all these thieves in one go." Du Yu said to Yuan Su.
"People must be brought back, but we don't have to take action in a hurry." Yuan Su said calmly.
"That's true. Regardless of whether they are fighting or not, I will not send people into the mountain at this time. Even if Li Zuting and his group are missing, the remaining Guan Yunzheng and Ge Xingyu will still have two to three thousand people.
, there are too many dangers in this ravine, and the enemy is in the dark but we are in the clear." He Fenglin quickly expressed his intention. As far as he was concerned, didn't he say that he didn't trust Yuan Su at all, even if there were only a few left in the mountain?
Even if there were hundreds of civilian troops, he would not order the troops to enter the mountains.
First of all, he knows the basics of his troops very well. If they fight head-on or stick to the defensive line, they may still have some combat effectiveness. Once it is time to march and fight, let alone entering the mountains, even moving and fighting on the plains will quickly become chaotic.
No. After all, his army is just an old-style army. Every operation consumes a lot of manpower and material resources, but the efficiency is extremely shameful.
Yuan Su just glanced at He Fenglin. He had been in Nanyang for almost half a month and had already figured out He Fenglin's temperament. Although the other party had a good reputation and had made achievements in suppressing civil unrest, he was still a person after all.
A petty person. He ignored He Fenglin and continued: "Now we should wait. Since Li Zuting's troops fled in all directions, they must not only escape to Yangji. When there is news from other places, we should first report these
People come together and then take the next step.”
Dai Fengxiang nodded and said: "What the governor said is absolutely true. Even the captain of Li Zuting's escort has surrendered. It can be seen that this civilian army has been greatly affected by the news we spread before. As long as we can gather other people, these people can
Surrendering can be regarded as recruiting Li Zuting in name. Even if it is just a fragmented team, from the overall perspective, it is still an excellent gimmick. At least it can be regarded as recruiting another civilian army!"
Wen Qin echoed and said: "That's right, that's right. At least our officers and soldiers have regained their momentum."
Hearing these words, even He Fenglin showed some interest. Although he did not want to send troops, if Yuan Su could successfully recruit Li Zuting's troops, he would be able to take some credit from it.
Yuan Su said calmly: "Don't forget the purpose of our trip. Li Zuting's team alone is nothing. Now that we are here, we must clear out all the mountainous areas in southern Henan, together with Guan Yunzheng,
Ge Xingyu must be completely eradicated."
Jiang Baili, who had been silent, nodded in agreement and said: "Yes, this is the real purpose of our trip. I know what Governor Yuan means. The purpose of gathering Li Zuting's remnants is just to gain a head start and create pressure on Guan Yunzheng and Ge Xingyu. Regardless of what happens next.
Will Guan Yunzheng and Ge Xingyu have differences, or will they have their own plans? At least the surrender of Li Zuting's remaining troops has become a sign."
Yuan Su showed a smile and said: "Brother Baili has seen through it all. Yes, that's what I mean. On the one hand, it is necessary to create pressure by recruiting the remnants of Li Zuting's troops. Even if Li Zuting's vitality has been seriously injured, he can still serve as an official."
The vanguard of the army, with this unit taking the lead, our officers and soldiers will not be blind when entering the mountains; on the other hand, it also shows an example and proves that our officers and soldiers are sincere. A two-pronged approach, preparations with both hands, and then it depends on Guanyun
That’s right, Ge Xingyu’s attitude.”
He Fenglin couldn't help but interrupt and said: "Captain Yuan, according to what you said, if Guan Yun is upright and Ge Xingyu refuses to surrender, in the end we will have to go into the mountains to annihilate him? Oh my, it's not that I don't want to cooperate. This is because
No one wants to miss the credit in front of them. It’s just that you, Governor Yuan, don’t know something. There are so many dangerous places in these deep mountains and old forests. Even if Li Zuting’s troops are the vanguard, they are still no match for the thieves.”
Yuan Su said lukewarmly: "Master He, I haven't said what the next step is yet, why are you so anxious now?"
He Fenglin expressed his stance without giving in at all: "In short, if we still have to go into the mountains to use troops, at most our troops will only assist Governor Yuan in suppressing the formation on the outside, but they will never step into the mountains."
Yuan Su glanced at He Fenglin coldly and said without changing his tone: "Our army has been fighting in southern Henan for more than a year and has been unable to deal with the banditry in the mountainous areas. Now we have an excellent plan in front of us.
Li Zuting's troops are leading the way, and we only need to take detours and wait for opportunities to launch a general attack, which is enough to destroy Guan Yunzheng and Ge Xingyu in one fell swoop. With a short time of effort, we can not only get rid of it once and for all, but also achieve great achievements that others cannot expect."