Wanjun rested for half a day in Hongdong County and counted all the troops and horses in hand. Among the five troops and horses, Li Guo's troops suffered the greatest losses.

Li Guo believed that he could not defeat Li Laiheng in leading the army, and he wanted to compete with Li Laiheng. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect. Of the thirty regiments Li Guo participated in the attack, more than twenty were crippled and lost their combat effectiveness.

After Wan Jun arrived at the west bank to take over the command, he gave up the attack and used tactics of luring troops first, then artillery battles, and finally using rocket launchers to clear the ground. This strategy broke the situation in Pingyang in one fell swoop. Li Guo was impressed both in his heart and in his eyes.

However, after the war, in the Hongdong camp, every time Wan Jun praised other generals, Li Guo felt a little more bitter. Although Wan Jun attributed the defeat to the Qing soldiers' mastery of new firearms, Li Guo still couldn't accept it.

"Am I, Li Guozhen, no better than Li Laiheng?"

Lu Dayong's troops, who suffered the least casualties, rested for half a day, counted their troops, and sent troops to Huozhou to reinforce Wu Sanqi's troops.

Li Guo rushed to the Central Army's tent and saw that Liu Tichun was also in the Ten Thousand Army's tent. He didn't care about how many people there were. He clasped his fists at the Ten Thousand Army and said, "Sir, I would like to ask you to go to Taiyuan. I remember when King Chuang and I marched from Shanxi.

Walk through there.”

Wan Jun said, "General Li Guo's desire to fight is commendable, but your troops have suffered too many casualties, so it is better to stay in Pingyang and garrison. The Permanent Department's casualties are not heavy, and we can rest for two days before setting off."

Li Guo knew that what Wan Jun said was right, but he was unwilling to accept it. His face turned red but he could not speak. When Wan Jun saw Li Guo's appearance, he guessed that he had suffered a loss at the hands of the Qing army. He was probably unwilling to accept it, so he pointed

The chair on the side said, "General Li, please sit down for a while while I talk to General Liu. I have something to discuss with you."

Li Guo went to the chair and sat down. Wan Jun continued the conversation he had with Liu Tichun before Li Guo came in, "Can you find out who it is?"

Liu Tichun said, "It's not a big problem. The military personnel on duty have records, and they are always in groups of four when watching from the air. As long as you find out who is on duty at the same time on the ground, you will know who it is as soon as you ask."

Wan Jun said, "Very good, then find out as soon as possible. You can handle this matter!"

Liu Tichun said, "Why would the head of state interrogate a fallen soldier?"

Wan Jun said, "This is different. It should be regarded as the first air force soldier of the Chinese Army to die in battle. It is worthy of commemoration."

Liu Tichun nodded, "I'll do it right away!"

When Liu Tichun left the Chinese army tent, Li Guo said, "I wonder what the president wants to discuss?"

Wan Jun called someone to change the tea for the two of them. After the guards left, he opened his mouth and asked, "Is there something on your mind, General Li?"

Li Guo was stunned when he heard this, and then said quickly, "No, it's nothing."

Wan Jun said, "Forget it, your soldiers suffered too many casualties, so we have to stay in Pingyang. You can serve as my staff and we can go to Taiyuan together!"

Li Guo felt a chill in his heart. This was the general who led the army and was directly demoted to Zan Hua. His eyes turned red and his voice trembled as he said, "The head of state, the firepower of the barbarians was too strong this time. I was careless. Please give the head of state another chance!"

"

Wan Jun said, "What are you thinking about? It will take some time for your troops to regain their combat effectiveness. During this time, you can serve as my staff and accept some new tactics, such as Li Laiheng's line tactics."

Li Guo was already secretly competing with Li Laiheng in his heart. Now that Wan Jun was using Li Laiheng as an example, he became more and more unwilling to accept it. He sighed, "It's embarrassing to say that Laiheng is in Yunnan. Ten thousand men can defeat 300,000 men, but I have lost an army."

."

Wan Jun said, "Do you also want to be like Li Laiheng and become famous all over the world for fighting more with less?"

Li Guo's face turned red and he told the whole story, "I feel ashamed to say it. I think back when I was fighting with King Chuang, Li Laiheng was my adopted son, and it was I who taught him how to lead troops in war. Now my adopted father is not as good as him."

"

Wanjun

Only then did I know that the two of them had such a relationship. I guess Li Guo felt that the younger generation was more famous than the elders, and he couldn't save face. He comforted him, "Li Laiheng fought Shabu chieftain soldiers. Naturally, they are incomparable with the Manchu and Qing soldiers."

of."

Although Li Guo comforted himself in this way, Li Laiheng was famous in the Chinese army, and Li Dingguo, who made a surprise attack on the central defender on a snowy night, was called the two most famous generals in the Chinese army. This was something Li Guo could not change.

Li Guo said, "No matter what, being able to defeat three hundred thousand with ten thousand is Li Laiheng's ability. I am convinced!"

Wan Jun nodded and said, "Indeed, I didn't expect that we could actually use line tactics. It's very good."

Seeing that he had praised Li Laiheng once, Li Guo's old face turned red. Wan Jun hurriedly changed the subject, "How about you serve as a staff officer with me and get familiar with fighting with the new firearms unit? It will be very helpful for you to lead the army in the future. I'll wait for you.

Once all the troops and horses are restored to their fighting strength, I will still appoint you as my general."

Li Guo stood up and bowed his head and said, "The kindness of the head of state will never be forgotten. Li Guo would like to change his name to Li Chixin and serve the head of state loyally from now on."

Wan Jun stretched out his hand and said with a smile, "Just serve China with courage and loyalty."

In the afternoon, the Chinese army began to move its camp, and the army slowly marched north along the Fen River Valley. The waists of the Taihang Mountains and Luliang Mountains tightened around Fenzhou Prefecture, dividing the north side into the Taiyuan Basin.

After the Qing troops retreated to Taiyuan, they placed heavy troops in Lingshi County to guard the road into Fenzhou Prefecture.

It was freezing cold in the mountains, the Fen River was in the dry season, and its transport capacity was less than half of its usual capacity. After a trial attack, the Chinese army saw no opportunity to take advantage of it, so they withdrew their troops to the Huozhou area to wait for the artillery and rocket launchers.

While Huozhou attracted the main force of the Qing army, Wanjun ordered Chen Xinmin of Henan to send troops from Taihangxing to attack Lu'an Prefecture.

On the second day of setting up camp in Huozhou, the low wind howled and rolled up the camp flags.

Unknowingly, heavy snow began to fly, and the snowflakes were as big as goose feathers. In less than half an hour, Huoshan Mountain in the distance was covered with snow, and the sky and the earth were pure white.

Wan Jun stood on the hill outside the camp, looking at the heavy snow in the sky, and said calmly, "When it snows heavily, Wu Zhenchaoha will have an even greater advantage in defense. I am afraid that the situation in Shanxi will not open up until next year."

Snowflakes flew into Wan Jun's neck, and the patches were cold. Wan Jun wrapped himself tightly in his cloak, and his mind was filled with thoughts.

This heavy snow in the sky is very similar to the time when I set off from Lucheng to Danfeng, when Zhang Xiaoyan was still alive.

Thinking of Zhang Xiaoyan, Wan Jun sighed and looked up at the sky, with large snowflakes falling on his face, "I think there must be more weeds on Jinzhong Mountain this year!"

The old friend has passed away among the mountains, and the west wind brings snow every year.

At this time, a soldier galloped over on horseback and said, "Report!"

When Wan Jun came to his senses, a personal guard handed over the information. Wan Jun looked at it and said happily, "Okay, okay!"

After putting away the military report, Wanjun returned to the Chinese army camp and summoned General Liu Tichun, "This is the information sent by He Dingchuan."

After Liu Tichun and others saw it, they were overjoyed and said, "Great, now we can point directly at Taiyuan."

Wan Jun nodded and said, "He Dingchuan has captured Fenzhou Prefecture from Yongning. The Qing army in Lingshi County withdrew to Taiyuan two days ago and will immediately send troops to attack Taiyuan!"

The large group of soldiers and horses, with Lu Dayong's troops as the vanguard, crossed Lingshi County and entered the Taiyuan Basin.

The Taiyuan Basin is sandwiched between the Luliang Mountains and the Taihang Mountains. The northern side of the basin gradually shrinks into a trumpet shape, and Taiyuan Prefecture is located on the mouth of this trumpet.

To the north of the trumpet mouth are Datong and Xuanfu, the first of the nine important towns in the Ming Dynasty.

The Taihang Mountains and Luliang Mountains extend to the northwestern part of Shanxi, where they border the Yinshan Mountains and Yanshan Mountains. The mountains become gentle and the terrain

The shape is chaotic and the mountains are intermittent. In order to prevent the Mongols from the north, the Ming Dynasty built two lines of defense here.

The Great Wall on the north side is the first line of defense, and the south side extends from the Yellow River in the west to Ningwukou, Pingxing Pass, and connects with the Great Wall at Juyong Pass to form the second line of defense.

Wanjun wanted to attack the capital from the north of Shanxi. There were two routes. One was to occupy Taiyuan and then go out to Jingxing to capture Zhending Prefecture and Baoding Prefecture.

The second step is to occupy Taiyuan, break through the second line of defense to the north, capture the Xuanfu of Datong, and then fight out from Juyongguan.

When Li Zicheng marched into Beijing, he took the Jingxing line with his troops and marched from Zhending Prefecture and Baoding Prefecture. He personally led the main force to attack Ningwuguan. Shanxi general Zhou Yuji died in the battle at Ningwuguan and captured Datong Xuanfu, starting from Juyongguan.

Attack Beijing from the north.

No matter which way you take, Taiyuan City is a place you must pass.

The army entered Fenzhou Prefecture, and He Dingchuan's vanguard had already arrived in Qingyuan County, which was only seventy miles away from Taiyuan City.

The Qing army had withdrawn its main force to Taiyuan City. In the cold weather, it forced civilians to dig trenches and lay out earthen walls and wooden fences on both sides of the Fen River.

Wanjun rested for a day in Fenzhou Prefecture, and then went to Qingyuan County to join He Dingchuan.

The Chinese army advanced to the outside of Taiyuan City. Seeing that the Qing army was heavily defended, they camped eight miles outside the city, dug trenches and earthen walls, and arranged wooden fences to resist horses. They surrounded Taiyuan City without attacking.

The two armies faced each other for several days. It was New Year's Eve. Starting from the afternoon, Wan Jun took Li Guo, He Dingchuan and others to visit various camps in the army to express condolences.

It was not until evening that everyone returned tiredly to the Chinese army's tent.

After entering the tent, the generals gathered around the stove to warm their hands and said bluntly, "Suffer!"

After talking for a while, his hands and feet became warmer. Lu Dayong said, "It's really hard to fight in this season. My hands and feet are covered with frostbite."

All the generals responded in unison, and Li Guo said, "I think back then, when I and King Chuang raised an army, we were in the ice and snow in northern Shaanxi..."

Liu Tichun interrupted, "Northern Shaanxi is not considered north, and the further north is called bitter cold."

Before Li Guo could speak, Liu Tichun added, "It is said that farther north, there is no grass growing and no sun can be seen all year round."

Wan Jun cursed and said, "It's all nonsense."

The generals fell silent for a moment, and Wan Jun grabbed a pen and paper and drew while saying, "While I have nothing to do during the Chinese New Year, I'm here to popularize your geography knowledge."

"Look, this is the earth. Within the circle of the North Pole and Antarctica, there will be polar day and night phenomena, which can last up to half a year. In other words, we can't see the sun in two seasons a year. How can we not see the sun all year round?

"

"..."

"Besides, there is no grass growing. There is indeed a large area of ​​Gobi from Yinshan Mountain to the north, but further north."

Wan Jun drew a circle and pointed, "This is the North Sea where Su Wu shepherds sheep. From here to the north, the entire Siberia is covered with large coniferous forests."

Wan Jun put down his pen and said, "Are you talking about hearsay and nonsense?"

The generals looked at the army in confusion. After waiting for a while, Liu Tichun asked, "What ball?"

Wan Jun said, "Earth!"

He Dingchuan said, "Why is the head of state so familiar with the north? Have you been there?"

Wan Jun said, "I've never been there."

Li Guo said, "You have never been there, head of state. How do you know that the north is a ball?"

Wan Jun was speechless for a moment when he was asked. He was silent for a while and said, "Send the order to celebrate the New Year and rest the entire army for three days."
Chapter completed!