On the winding road, dense crowds of people and horses were crawling slowly on the ground like a black dragon. The road in southern Huguang was not wide either. There were chariots and horses in the middle, and people walking on both sides. Those chariots and horses occupied the entire narrow road, and people on foot were walking.
The taxi soldiers had no choice but to walk on the fields beside them. The dry land was mainly planted with newly sprouted vegetables. A large number of feet trampled on them, and naturally not a single vegetable was left. Even the land they turned over was trampled.
Zhu Yong rode on his horse and looked at the messy vegetable fields on the roadside, and said to his general: "The road is narrow and it is difficult to avoid trampling on the crops. Go tell the local officials and ask them to compensate the farmers who have suffered losses."
A subordinate behind him casually responded. Asking officials to pay the people money is probably just an empty talk. Zhu Yong also understood in his heart, but it is necessary to at least show off when stepping on farmland. Because farming people like the Han people have been doing this since ancient times.
Since then, agriculture has been attached great importance to, and anyone who destroys crops will be regarded as dishonest. When Cao Cao's frightened horses trampled the crops, they had to cut off their hair to apologize.
The large army was heading north. Occasionally, there were people on horseback running in the opposite direction on the roadside. They were mostly heralds and the like. A horseman ran from the front to the position of the Chinese army. He dismounted on the roadside and knelt down on one knee to report. Zhu Yong
The others also left the large group and walked to the roadside to stop and listen to the report.
Tan Ma inquired about news from Cili and other counties, but found that the rebels still showed no signs of retreating.
A general next to Zhu Yong blurted out: "Should the rebels stay in Cili County and wait for work, waiting for us to go over and fight?"
"If that's the case, it would save trouble." Zhu Yong said, he thought for a while and then said, "Send people to the forwards to pass the order: Whenever there are valleys on the road, ferries and bridges, troops must be left to guard them. If the woods are more than half a person high, people must be left behind.
Beware of bandits setting up ambushes for sneak attacks. Those who underestimate the enemy and are lax will be punished by military law!"
The general just now said again: "We still have several days to travel, and I estimate that the traitor will escape within these few days."
Zhu Yong nodded slightly, noncommittal.
His judgment was similar to that of his generals. He believed that the rebels would most likely run westward back to the mountains to escape before the official army arrived. Otherwise, the rebels would have no choice but to die. Cao Shan, the eunuch who oversaw the army, and the new commander
Wang Zhen, the ceremonial eunuch and eunuch, is also in the army. Now Zhu Yong does not dare to be too greedy for merit, and has already planned to deploy the war in accordance with the emperor's wishes.
If the rebels retreat into the mountains, they must first send envoys to Shizhou, Yongshun Division, and Baojing Division in the west to let the local chieftains work together to suppress the bandits. If these chieftains want to show their loyalty, they may send some troops to help; however,
In Zhu Yong's view, their biggest role was to block the rebels from escaping into the mountains in the west. At that time, the main force of the government troops advanced from the east. Although the terrain in the northern part of the Wuling Mountains was rugged and complex, they were tightly surrounded and the rebellion was suppressed.
It's just a matter of time.
Of course, there is a small chance that the rebels will not run away and may find a way to defeat the invading government troops. That is why Zhu Yong ordered the forwards to be on guard to avoid being ambushed and attacked. If the rebels do not flee within a few days, the main force of the government troops will
Quickly move to Yongding Guard. Once the troops in Yongding Guard City increase, they will be able to control the surrounding areas. The rebels will have no way to escape. It will be easier to slowly deal with the rebels in Cili Shimen and other places.
.
"Command all the troops to speed up the march." After thinking about it, Zhu Yong gave the order to the messenger who was accompanying him.
As soon as he reached Yongding Guard, he stopped panicking and cut off the rebels' retreat. The longer the delay was, the better it would be for him. In a few days, Yuezhou's soldiers would also arrive, and he would be sure to win with a pincer attack from both ends.
…
Although the two armies have not met yet, the war has already begun. After Zhang Ning fought several battles, his feeling about the war was that most of the time he spent marching, setting up camp, making fires for cooking, washing and drying clothes, etc.
trivial matters, but the passionate scenes of thousands of troops fighting occupy the least amount of war content.
On the issue of whether to fight or retreat, on the surface, the decision-makers have already reached a conclusion, but Zhang Ning knows that people have not really made up their minds yet. Many times, war is not about competing with opponents, but more importantly, defeating oneself; internal fighting has always been
It is something that requires more technology.
Everything seems to be business as usual in Cili City now, and the environment is still so peaceful. Only the people's emotions can feel the approach of the beacon fire and smoke. The military generals all suggested to capture Yongding Guard before the official troops arrived.
Yongdingwei, Zhang Ning's eyes were fixed on its location on the map. The circle drawn in ink representing the Acropolis was a bit blurry, the result of the location on the paper being touched many times by fingers.
The first destination of Zhu Yong's men must be Yongdingwei. Zhang Ning could hardly think of any reason for Zhu Yong not to take control there first. The focus of both sides once again focused on this small acropolis.
It's strange to think that Zhang Ning valued this acropolis when he first launched his army. He even named the first troop "Yongding Camp". It turned out that it was indeed a crucial place. He felt that he was really prescient.
In his previous life, he was just a small clerk and had no connection with the war. In this life, he was mostly a scholar and a civil servant, and he had no experience in this area. His strategic vision was not so much innate as it was the logical thinking of a normal IQ.
The reason why Zhu Yong's army wants to occupy Yongding Guard is very simple. As soon as the army is placed at Yongding Guard, it will cut off the rebels' retreat. Judging from the method Zhu Yong used to occupy Luxi when fighting the Miao people, he is very good at using this method.
Method. The reason why Zhang Ning's generals have repeatedly suggested that Yongding Guard should be captured as soon as possible is not complicated. They can defend, fight, and retreat in Yongding Guard. If they really can't fight, they can run away. This is also everyone's opinion.
But Zhang Ning had already planned to give up this place that the two armies must compete for. If the enemy was only Zhu Yong's officers and soldiers, he would definitely want to capture this place first; but the enemy is not only outside, but also inside.
First of all, Zhang Ning wanted to use the Yongding Acropolis to defeat the enemy internally. There was no way out if he abandoned it. The so-called abandonment of the city to survive was a helpless move.
Secondly, the entire "Yongding Camp" has not yet reached its full capacity, with only more than a thousand people. This number of troops cannot be divided and must be used together. The small number of troops originally stationed in Shimen and Lizhou were also transferred to Cili County.
Gather. If Yongding Guard is captured now, where should the main force be deployed? If it is in Yongding Guard, then Cili, Shimen, and Lizhou will completely give up once Zhu Yong's army arrives. Zhang Ning's army will be blocked in Yongding Guard from the east and retreat.
What's the difference between fighting in the mountains? Now that we have made up our minds to fight to the death with the government and the army, taking this decision as the starting point, the Yongding Guard loses its strategic significance. Anyway, Zhang Ning and others can't count on the anti-evil sect to support them with food and grass. It's better than the three
The county is rich in materials.
There are different opinions on how to fight this battle. What Zhang Ning can do is to clarify his thoughts and clues.
He has always believed that a person's destiny is largely determined by his personality. According to reports, the biggest weakness of Libra people is that they are easily indecisive and have insufficient pressure tolerance. Zhang Ning is skeptical about the zodiac sign, but feels that this statement
There is also a certain truth, so at critical moments you must be clear about your determination and overcome your weaknesses.
Now that you have made up your mind to fight, you should consider tactics rather than retreat, right?
There was a lot of discussion in the signing room. Zhu Yongjun was advancing step by step and was imminent. Everyone believed that something must be done now and they could not just sit here and wait. The best action was of course to attack the Yongding Guards.
Zhang Ning had been silent for a long time, and finally took two shots. When everyone turned around, he said: "We can't fight the Yongding Guard. Although the Yongding Guard only has a few hundred troops, we don't have many troops.
And there is not enough time. Zhu Yong’s army will arrive in ten days at most. If we are unable to capture the Acropolis in a few days, and the government troops occupy Cili County and attack from the rear, we will have no barrier by then and will only be defeated or even broken up."
Chen Gai, the official of Baihu, said: "Didn't the Ordnance Bureau build cannons? Have they been finished?"
"I tried one yesterday and it exploded. The other cannons are still being checked for problems." Zhang Ning said calmly. This thing is not made up. It did explode. The explosion was earth-shattering and many people know it; but the reason is probably only
Only then did Ma Dapeng find out that Zhang Ning didn't know exactly how he made the cannon explode. Maybe it was because of the increased amount of gunpowder?
Zhang Ning added: "Even if we have artillery, we can capture the Buyongding Guards within a few days. It will take time for us to march, and we can't guarantee that we will break down the door immediately when we reach the place. The power difference between the newly made mortar artillery and the returning artillery is not too big.
It will take time to blow open the city wall."
He was not explaining it specifically to a hundred-household official, but actually to everyone present. He also saw the scene in front of him. Yesterday, everyone kept saying that they were willing to fight to the death with the government troops, and today they eagerly suggested to fight the Yongding Guards here;
Isn't fighting Yongdingwei a route back to the mountains? That's how people are. People who truly regard death as home are not found everywhere. Zhang Ning doesn't blame them. You can't ask everyone to be a sage who throws his life and sheds blood. If you yourself
It's six thousand, but for the one thousand that goes to attack the army, I believe everyone can still be of one mind.
"Zhu Yong definitely wants to capture Yongding Guard!" A general said categorically. It seems that the martial artist is not stupid, and a brave man can still use his brain. "We can't defeat Yongding Guard, how should we fight this battle?"
Zhang Ning said: "First, wait for work to prepare, repair weapons, and strictly enforce military discipline; in addition, let the county officials summon the civilians to repair the city wall fortifications. The Miao people have agreed to form an alliance with us. The previous Miao envoys talked with me in secret and were willing to work with our army to deal with Zhu.
Brave. Once we find out that the Miao army is going north to join the battle, we will defend the city first; if the Miao people do not come for a while, we can temporarily fight to the northwest in the direction of Jiuxiwei."
At this time, Zhang Ning knew that no matter what, he had to come up with a way to let everyone know what to do. This is the obligation of the leader. Naturally, he would not express his inner thoughts, even if it was an internal discussion;
Honest people are bound to be duplicitous, because the relationship between people is not that simple.