"Two palace masters, this is a good opportunity. I wonder if you two have any ideas." Zhou Shixiong handed the information to Zheng Dong, mentally complaining about the slow speed of ancient information transmission, which was enough to make most of the information lose its due effect.
Zheng Dong and Fan Gandi gathered together to read the detective report. Fan Gandi frowned and said, "Master Ji, a good opportunity is indeed a good opportunity, but we may not be able to do what we can with our few troops." Fan Gandi's worries are not unfounded. , Zheng Yiguan's nearly 20,000 troops did not follow Zheng Zhuang to attack Hexi Prefecture, but were stationed near Heping City. The specific reason is unknown.
Zheng Yiguan's troops were not as numerous as those of Ji Hongchang, Fan Gandi and Zheng Dong. However, the troops in the hands of the three were a standard miscellaneous army. Nearly 50,000 people were composed of soldiers from eight prefectures. Composition, if you exclude the more than 20,000 peasant troops, there are only 24,000 to 5,000 that can really be regarded as regular soldiers. Not to mention Fan Gandhi's lack of confidence, Zhou Shixiong didn't think it was a good idea to use a miscellaneous army to attack Heping Mansion, which had a strong army.
Seeing the two of them frowning and thinking, Zheng Dong picked up a feather fan and shook it, looking exactly like the younger version of Zheng Yiguan. "You two, I have a clever plan to defeat the old thief." Fan Gandi and Zhou Shixiong raised their heads and looked at Zheng Dong. Zheng Dong, who had received the attention, continued to shake with great satisfaction.
When the two of them saw Zheng Dong putting on airs, they flattered him very intelligently and made Zheng Dong feel comfortable. "You two, the old thief Zheng Yiguan has stationed a large number of troops in Heping City. Heping City is naturally difficult to break, but Heping Mansion doesn't know a city. This city is more useful than Heping City." Zheng Dong marked on the map with a feather fan. After a moment, the two of them took a closer look and found out that Zheng Dong was talking about Chunmei City at the junction of Heping Prefecture and Hexi Prefecture.
"Palace Master Zheng, please stop being a snob and speak frankly." Fan Gandi had just made fun of Zheng Dong and started to feel a little impatient. Zheng Dong was bored if he knew about it, and said with a smile, "Zheng Zhuang is attacking Hedong City, which is about two days' journey from Chunmei City, and three days' journey from Chunmei City to Heping City. Chunmei City guards the area between Heping Prefecture and Hexi Prefecture. the only channel.¡±
Zheng Dong mentioned these elements, and Zhou Shixiong immediately understood what he meant. If Chunmei City is captured, Zheng Zhuang who enters Hexi Prefecture to fight will be cut off from his retreat, and immediately form a pincer attack situation. Even if the people who occupy Chunmei City are Without sending troops to attack Zheng Zhuang, Zheng Zhuang would not be able to escape the dilemma of running out of food and supplies.
Similarly, after occupying Chunmei City, Heping Mansion may not dare to send troops to attack, because Zheng always has to be on guard against Shanluo Mansion in the north sending troops to retaliate. Once a large army is used to attack Chunmei City, Shanluo Mansion will definitely send troops to attack Heping Mansion. When the time comes, not only will Zheng Yiguan be unable to save Zheng Zhuang, he may not be able to save himself either.
"Exquisite." Zhou Shixiong couldn't help but admire, amazed by Zheng Dong's strategy.
"It's indeed a good plan, Master Ji, send troops!" Fan Gandi also figured out the key and said to Ji Hongchang with a smile.
"Send troops." In this sneak attack on Chunmei City, Zhou Shixiong only brought 10,000 troops, of which 5,000 Langshan troops were definitely going, and another 5,000 elite troops were drawn from the Taiyuan and Beijiang coalition forces led by Fan Gandhi. Only eight cannons were carried, as there were only eight elephants. In order not to affect the speed of the advance, Zhou Shixiong could only leave most of the artillery in Ningping City.
"Your Majesty, why are you entangled with the enemy here?" Zheng Zhuang's number one general, Zhao Zhongshi, didn't understand what King Qingdu was doing. Zheng Zhuang glanced at his direct general, shook his head and said, "Zhongshi, what are you talking about Yu Lin?" Which one is stronger, Wei or Zheng Zai¡¯s clan soldiers?¡±
As the governor of the Yulin Guards, Zhao Zhongshi naturally had to defend the Yulin Guards and curled his lips disdainfully, "Zheng Zai is just a weak scholar who doesn't know how to train troops. His subordinates are all losers, how can he compare with the Yulin Guards. "
Zheng Zhuang looked at the soldiers and horses of the two armies fighting in the distance, nodded slightly and said, "Zhong Shi, I ask you again, which one can better utilize the combat power of the Yulin Guards, siege or field battle?"
Zhao Zhongshi said that others were like wine sacks and rice sacks, but of course he was not the same type of object. He immediately understood what King Qingdu meant. "The king of Qingdu is wise, and the general will understand."
Zheng Zhuang was very patient with his most powerful general. When he saw that he understood his intention, he smiled and said, "It's good that Zhong Shi understands. I am also very afraid that Zhong Shi will complain that I don't hesitate to fight."
Zhao Zhongshi scratched his head and smiled awkwardly, "Why would the King of Qingdu make fun of the junior general?" King Zheng Zhuang of Qingdu laughed heroically because he saw that the Northern Army was beginning to collapse. Victory ends.
He deliberately put up an siege posture under Hedong City, forcing Zheng Zai to constantly mobilize troops from Shenglong Mansion to relieve the siege. The purpose was to eliminate the effective strength of the Northern Army in the field battle. The two sides have fought several times in the past ten days. Although the Northern Army has more than twice as many troops as the Habayashi Guards, the battle situation has always been under his control.
Zhao Zhongshi saw that Yu Linwei had the upper hand, and quickly handed over to Zheng Zhuang, "King Qingdu, the general has left."
¡°Go ahead and be careful."Zheng Zhuang waved his hand and told Zhao Zhongshi to go. When Zhao Zhongshi left the tent, Zheng Zhuang clapped his hands and said, "Come, please come over to Ou Boda. "
Soon, Ou Boda came to the big tent and saw Zheng Zhuang kneeling on one knee and saluting, "Ou Boda of Guangnan Prefecture pays homage to the King of Qingdu."
"Get up." Since Zheng Zhuang forced Li Shenzong to abdicate and proclaimed himself Prime Minister and General of the Li Dynasty, he was actually the actual ruler of the Li Dynasty. Therefore, all palace masters must give a half salute when they see him, which is a simplified etiquette compared to meeting the emperor.
"Thank you, King Qingdu." Ou Boda is already the acting head of the palace. His father Ou Yuansheng has been ill for a long time, so of course it is impossible for him to lead troops on the expedition. Ou Boda, who went on the expedition for his father, was recommended as the heir by Ou's father-in-law, and only waited for Ou Yuan After Sheng hangs up, he can ascend the throne.
"Boda, your men seem to be very active these days. Are your hands itchy?" Facing Ou Boda, Zheng Zhuang assumed the posture of a superior. He knew in his heart that Guangnan Mansion, which had always belonged to the royalist faction, It is difficult to be bribed by oneself.
"The King of Qingdu was laughing at this. The general was leading troops for the first time. He often looked at the head but not the tail. He made a mess in the camp. He was afraid that he would be punished by his father when he went back." After completing the necessary etiquette, Ou Boda couldn't talk to Zheng Zhuang. He is arrogant but not humble, and has a bit of a sense of disobedience.
"Boda is too humble. I was even more unbearable when I led the army for the first time. I was also whipped ten times by my father. I think it is far less relaxed than Boda." Since Zheng Zhuang has blacklisted Guangnan Mansion, he will definitely not Put on a bad face at this time. After taking Shenglong Mansion, the next target of attack will be Guangnan Mansion. It is necessary to paralyze the enemy.
Ou Boda claimed to be a great man of his generation, but he didn't see through what Zheng Zhuang was playing. When he saw Zheng Zhuang getting close to him, he thought Zheng Zhuang was trying to win over the Guangnan Prefecture clan, so he smiled disapprovingly and said nothing.
Zheng Zhuang sneered in his heart and pretended to be normal on the surface, and was about to pour a few more pornographic drugs to deceive the future master of Guangnan Palace to the end. Suddenly the guard's voice came from outside the tent, "Report, Heping Mansion urgently reports."
"Boda, since you still have business in the camp, I will not keep you here." Zheng Zhuang seemed not to have heard the report outside, and said to Boda with a faint smile. Ou Boda bowed respectfully and resigned again. No one knew what he was thinking.
"Come in." As soon as Ou Boda left the tent, Zheng Zhuang's face immediately darkened. After receiving the urgent report from the guard, Zheng Zhuang had a strange feeling in his heart. The content of this urgent report was very detrimental to him.
Three days ago, a Northern army with tens of thousands of troops marched north from the south of Heping Mansion along Dongjiang and Gaoyang to Chunmei City. They used artillery to blast open the east gate of Chunmei City and captured and killed all the three thousand heavy troops guarding the city. Only less than The patrol of a hundred people escaped. The defenders in Chunmei City included the Li Chao army and the Heping Mansion soldiers, so each of them brought the news that Chunmei City had been captured to their master.
Of course, it was the coalition forces dominated by the Lang Son Army that occupied Chunmei City. Lord General Ji Hongchang was standing on the top of the city inspecting. Neither Fan Gandhi nor Zheng Dong came. They were more cautious about their lives and only sent a few generals to assist Lord Ji Hongchang.
"Sir, all the artillery has been placed at the East City Gate and North City Gate, and the West City Gate and South City Gate have also been blocked." Zhou Er took the report sent by Qi Chu Pavilion and said to Zhou Shixiong after reading it.
"Is the gunpowder enough?" All the gunpowder in the warship sank into the water. If it wanted to be effective again, it had to be dried and re-added with sulfur and saltpeter. Fortunately, Nanding Mansion had a lot of inventory, otherwise Zhou Shixiong would have to make temporary gunpowder when he got the cannon. However, the battle last night was very fierce. Eight cannons bombarded almost continuously for more than two hours before blowing open the blocked east gate. The loss of soldiers in this battle was minimal, but the gunpowder was almost used up, and Zhou Shixiong was very worried about this matter.
"Sir, I just inspected the warehouses in the city and found that there is a lot of gunpowder in one warehouse, which is enough for use." Zhou Er has never really seen artillery siege. Last night was an eye-opener, and he had a great impact on the heavy artillery. interest of.
"Seriously, give me an order to have them search the shops in the city and collect all the charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter. Remember to keep it safe." Zhou Shixiong has never been interested in artillery, but now that he has artillery in his hands, the best proportion of black Of course, gunpowder must be obtained. At the same time, refining nitrate does not seem to be difficult, but it will greatly help improve the power of gunpowder, so naturally it must be obtained.
"Yes." Zhou Er turned around and conveyed the order to Qi Chuge who was following him. When Qi Chuge left, he glanced at Palace Master Ji Hongchang. He always felt that Palace Master Ji was very similar to the Marquis, but he couldn't tell. Like there.
Zhou Shixiong didn't have time to pay attention to what his subordinates thought. He walked around the city and returned to the city lord's palace to hold a military meeting to try to stop these arrogant soldiers from becoming careless.
"Sir, what should we do with these three thousand prisoners?" Before Master Ji could speak to others, Fan Xitong, the general of Taiyuan Prefecture who was responsible for guarding the prisoners, first caused a little trouble for Master Ji.
"Kill them all!" Zhou ?The hero replied calmly with a cold face, and the expressions of the generals sitting below changed drastically. Since ancient times, there have been ominous warnings about killing prisoners. Fan Xitong, who firmly believes in karma, looked at Ji Hongchang with wide eyes, unable to believe what he heard.