Chapter two hundred and seventy-six true good generals
Qianli Xue, who had white fur on all four hooves, trotted up a gentle slope. Zhang Ning, who was sitting on the horse, suddenly felt that his vision was wide open. He looked down and saw green trees, yellow leaves, brown soil, and shining lights. The white light of the paddy fields is a colorful autumn color. Most of the rice in the paddy fields has been harvested, and the water surface is exposed; in some difāng that have been harvested early, shallow new buds have sprouted on the rice fields, like spring buds. Fresh green.
But when he looked back, the situation behind him was very different. He saw the road was filled with dust, and a black crowd of people and horses were coming towards him. "Please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster! . Idyllic tranquility in the army The difāng that appeared disappeared and there was only noise.
Zhou Mengxiong, who was riding on horseback, said: "The army camp on South Road has withdrawn. It is reported that a lot of things have been discarded. I am afraid they want to avoid the war."
Several other generals agreed, because this was not the first time that Huguang officers and soldiers fled. Last time more than 10,000 people defended Changde and fled immediately; so it is not unusual for them to flee again.
At this moment, a general scolded his horse on the hillside and rushed up. The attention of several people on the hillside was attracted and they all looked sideways. After waiting for a while, the general finally climbed up the hillside and jumped from mǎshàng to the general. He came down and said with a salute: "They are building a pontoon bridge on the river... I report to the prince that we have finally discovered that the officers and soldiers are using boats to build a pontoon bridge on the Xiangshui River."
Zhou Mengxiong asked: "Is the news true?"
The general said: "The last general saw with his own eyes that there were three pontoon bridges that were being built."
At this time, Senate President Zhu Heng couldn't help but express his own opinion: "Perhaps our deployment of troops to Yiyang was discovered by investigators. The current order for the South Route Army to retreat was directly issued by Wuchang, otherwise the local commander would not Dare to retreat without permission. In my opinion, the main battle force of the official army should be the North Road, and the purpose of the South Road is to take advantage of the opportunity to capture Chenzhou and then attack our back; and once they know that the first battle will take place in the south , it should be a situation that we don’t want to see. Therefore, it is very useful to temporarily retreat to preserve our strength.”
Zhu Heng was very cautious in what he said. He just said, "It's extremely capable." In fact, what the upper echelons of the Suzaku Army are most wary of now is not being able to seize the south road of the official army, which will make this raid in vain.
People in Zhouwéi were talking a lot, Zhang Ning just nodded occasionally to deal with it, and was also thinking about the current situation. The only thing he could see, except for his own men and horses behind him, was the autumn scenery of the countryside, and his judgment could only be based on the information Tongguo got. Jinháng abstract reasoning. The opinions of the military attachés and generals are still very important. They will directly affect and remind Zhang Ning. However, Zhang Ning has always been a person with independent opinions. He needs some time to clarify his thoughts.
After a while, Zhang Ning asked: "In addition to the main road where we chased and the officers and soldiers evacuated, there should be an easy way to the west bank of the Xiang River?"
Zhu Heng thought for a while and then replied: "There is another main road. Now in the dry season, several small rivers are shallow, and there are more than one difāng that can be waded through on foot."
Zhang Ning said: "We are still dozens of miles away from the enemy's main force. If the infantry follows us, we are afraid that the enemy will lose their baggage in desperation and run directly from the pontoon to the east bank. In that case, we will break through the Xiang River to pursue the South Route Army. It is very difficult. I have an idea. I can send the cavalry regiment to take another route, attack directly on the west bank of the Xiang River, and burn down the pontoon bridge being built on the river. In this way, the main enemy force will not have time to cross the river before engaging our army. They are still in the West Bank, and this battle must be fought again."
After Zhu Heng thought deeply, he turned to look at Feng Youxian and said, "It's great if General Feng can destroy the pontoon bridge. I'm just worried that the officers and soldiers will predict that we will destroy the pontoon bridge and cut off the retreat, so they will station troops to wait for work."
Feng Youxian clasped his fists and said: "The main force of the army has just withdrawn from the camp. More than 20,000 people will soon arrive at the riverside. It is impossible to trap the cavalry regiment if we don't have enough troops. The general does not dare to say that he will be able to get close to the pontoon bridge.
Set fire, but make sure to bring the cavalry regiment back intact."
When he said this, there was basically no risk in this mission. Zhang Ning made a decision immediately: "The cavalry regiment immediately dispatched, detoured to the bank of the Xiang River, destroyed the pontoon bridge, and then rushed back to look for the Chinese army."
Feng Youxian raised his arms and said seriously: "The general will get the order!"
Zhang Ning added: "Order the whole army to speed up the march. There is no need to waste time setting up camp or sleeping in the open in the middle to save time."
The distance between this place and the Xiang River is only fifty or sixty miles in total. As long as the army fails to cross the Xiang River within tomorrow, they will have to face the Suzaku Army in battle. The so-called sleeping in the open can only last one night; when it gets dark,
The former army had just stopped to rest and build simple defenses. Therefore, Zhang Ning and other officials became much more vigilant at night. They withdrew most of the scouts and deployed them in the camp to prepare for night attacks, and ordered the soldiers not to disarm at night.
, ready to fight at any time.
Fortunately, the whole night was uneventful. It seemed that the army had no intention of launching a night attack. Perhaps they were in a hurry to find a way to avoid the Suzaku Army and had no time to fight back. Zhang Ning and others overestimated their fighting spirit.
Early in the morning, people made a simple breakfast and hurried to continue marching eastward. However, Zhang Ning still took some time to hold a cautious "flag-raising ceremony" because if nothing unexpected happened, the decisive battle would happen today. He hoped that
Morale can be as high as possible.
Now Zhang Ning's only concern is whether Feng Youxian's cavalry troops will destroy the floating bridge. He hopes that luck will favor him, and he also hopes that Feng Youxian will not let him down.
When the posts were ready to start marching, Zhang Ning finally received the urgent report from the front. The messenger shouted "good news" from all the way. Zhang Ning couldn't help but feel happy, and Turán felt like a big stone had fallen from his heart.
Feng Youxian's handwritten report: There were garrison troops on the river bank, and the cavalry regiment fought with them yesterday evening. After about an hour of fierce fighting, they overcame the army's defenses. They suffered little damage and no gain, and they set fire to the bridge that night.
The fire on the river was so bright that it was as bright as day. The cavalry regiment had completed its mission and was rushing back along the original road.
A smile appeared on Zhang Ning's lips, and he couldn't help but happily smiled at the people in Zhouwéi: "I may have misjudged Feng Youxian, a true and good general!" He imagined the scene on the Xiang River last night in his mind.
The fire is soaring into the sky, as bright as day, it must be a beautiful and spectacular sight!
As a result, the main infantry force of the Suzaku Army pursued eastward, and Zhang Ning was sure of victory. He ordered the forward scouts to quickly search for the main force of the official army along the pursuit road and keep an eye on their movements.
The decisive battle seems to be imminent. This time, the officers and soldiers mainly come from important towns. Intelligence has learned that they are equipped with heavy weapons such as Tianzihao General. During the decisive battle, Zhang Ning's matchlock phalanx has a certain strength, especially the cavalry.
The regiment has not returned yet; but the artillery technology of the army is backward, although it is powerful but very heavy, so it is difficult to maneuver. As long as the Suzaku Army does not take the initiative to approach, the heavy weapons of the army will not have time to transport to the battlefield.
Zhang Ning believed that Feng Youxian's light cavalry had enough troops to rush back before catching up with the official camp.
Today's weather is clear and the sun is bright but not hot. It is the season of autumn and the air is crisp. The army is progressing very smoothly and quickly on the wide official road. The central part of Huguang is mainly flat terrain, with some hills and gentle and low hillsides, which are very dangerous.
Zhang Ning is looking forward to this "fair" contest.