Henan, Guide Prefecture.

At this time, a large number of soldiers and horses were gathered in Guide Mansion. At this time, Zhu Chunchen's 150,000 troops had all gathered in Guide. It was obviously Zhu Chunchen's careful consideration to transfer all the troops and horses from Kaifeng and Runing to Guide.

He knew very well that whether in Kaifeng or Runing, he would not be able to get rescue from Hong Chengchou in time.

Although Henan and Xuzhou appear to be very close to each other on the map, for now, the reinforcements from Kaifeng are still blocked at the Ningling line and cannot reach Shangqiu.

Most of Zhu Chunchen's troops are now in Shangqiu, Xiayi and Yongcheng. Zhu Guobi's troops are also in Bozhou and Luyi. At this time, Hong Chengchou's troops are in Xuzhou and Xiaoxian.

It can be said that at this time, all the soldiers and horses of the Ming army in the north of the Yangtze River had been gathered in the two prefectures of Guide and Xuzhou.

In Shangqiu City, Zhu Chunchen frowned and read the military report. The deputy general on the side asked: "My lord, what do you mean by Governor Hong?"

Zhu Chunchen put down the military report and rubbed his eyebrows: "It's a little difficult for Hong Chengchou to support us. In front of Xuzhou and Xiao County are Fang Yunchu's four towns, and Zhou Yuji's four towns are in Pi County. He may go south to Suqian at any time.

One hundred thousand people have to face Fang Yunchu and Zhou Yuji's eight towns, and Hong Chengchou's situation is more dangerous than ours."

The deputy general couldn't help but said: "My lord, you can't say that. We are facing Zhao Yuqi's eight towns."

Zhao Yuqi!

Zhu Chunchen felt a headache when he mentioned this name. He also boasted that he was a famous general in the world who was familiar with military books and could command hundreds of thousands of troops across the world, but Zhao Yuqi was not easy to get along with.

Moreover, Zhao Yuqi's reputation was gained through battle after battle. From the New Army to the present, he has become a well-known general in the Datong Army and even in the world. His ability is beyond doubt.

Zhu Chunchen realized the ruthlessness of Zhao Yuqi's military style just after his encounter with Zhao Yuqi in Guide.

Zhu Chunchen and Zhou Yuji fought against each other in Shandong. If Cao Wenzhao used his troops for justice, Zhou Yuji used his troops for surprise, and Zhao Yuqi used his troops for deception.

Zhao Yuqi's army entered Guide from Caoxian County and Shanxian County, and then fought with Zhu Chunchen one after another in Gegang, Taoyuanji, Xinji, and Dingjiakou. Zhao Yuqi's troops did not seem to have any forward-moving momentum in their offensive, and even said that many times

It seemed that everyone was at a disadvantage, but it happened that Zhao Yuqi won in the end.

You may not know when your retreat will be captured by Zhao Yuqi's cavalry. Maybe you thought you were sure of victory one second, but Zhao Yuqi's back-up force will follow the next second.

This gave Zhu Chunchen a headache. He was still more willing to fight Zhou Yuji. After all, the two sides had been familiar with each other for so many years. Now that he met Zhao Yuqi, a general who had been in charge in Japan for several years, he felt at a loss.

At present, tens of thousands of soldiers in Kaifeng were held back in Ningling by Zhao Yuqi and Zhao Yuqi's main force in front of him. Zhu Chunchen felt that it was really difficult to defeat, so he called Zhu Guobi back and even asked Hong Chengchou for help.

However, Hong Chengchou's situation was no better than his own, which made Zhu Chunchen difficult to make a choice. He now had the urge to cross the Huaihe River and run to the south of the Yangtze River.

Zhu Chunchen was uncomfortable, and Hong Chengchou was even more uncomfortable. Zhu Chunchen had an army of 150,000, and Zhu Guobi had tens of thousands of people who could support him. But what about Hong Chengchou?

In such a big place as Xiaoxian, Xuzhou, Pixian, Junning, and Suqian, he has 100,000 people to watch, but he is facing the eight towns of Fang Yunchu and Zhou Yuji. Isn't he under more pressure than Zhu Chunchen?

But even so, Hong Chengchou was still thinking of ways to support Zhu Chunchen, because if Zhu Chunchen could not support it, he would not be able to defend Xuzhou. Until now, Hong Chengchou did not know that Zhu Chunchen planned to run to Huainan or even Jiangnan. He

I still want to join forces with Zhu Chunchen to defend Huaibei.

It happened that Chongzhen, who was in Yingtian Mansion at this time, was also worried about the war in Huaibei. He was not worried about anything else. He was simply worried that without the hundreds of thousands of troops in Huaibei, his throne would be unstable.

Therefore, when the situation in Huaibei seemed to be bad, Chongzhen wrote to Zhu Chunchen and Hong Chengchou respectively to inquire about the situation, and vaguely revealed his idea of ​​​​letting the two lead the army to retreat to Huainan.

Zhu Guobi strongly agreed with this: "My lord, if our army retreats to Huainan, we can rely on the favorable terrain of the Huaihe River to set up a defense line, which is enough to stop the Datong rebel army."

Zhu Chunchen looked at the map with some worry: "If we retreat to Huainan today, will we retreat to Jiangnan tomorrow?"

"Besides, Governor Hong has already sent a letter saying that he will come to support our army. Once we retreat, we will trap Governor Hong."

Zhu Guobi was a little helpless after hearing this, and asked him to ignore Hong Chengchou and run away. He didn't have the courage, and Hong Chengchou wanted to send troops to help. It would be really unethical to withdraw at this time.

"My lord, your majesty's vague intention is to have our army retreat to Huainan. Is there something wrong with Yingtian?" Zhu Guobi changed his mind.

Zhu Chunchen was also a little worried about the situation in Yingtian, but he thought that Yingtian was at least in Jiangnan, so no matter how bad the situation was, it couldn't get much worse, so he said: "In this case, I will reply to your Majesty a letter and ask about the situation in Jiangnan first."

Hong Chengchou, who received inquiries from Chongzhen at the same time, sternly refused to evacuate to Huainan or even Jiangnan. In his letter, he pointed out the important strategic significance of Huaibei, especially Xuzhou, and proposed that the imperial court must stop the Datong rebels at the Xuzhou line and even fight with them here.

The profound significance of the strategic decisive battle carried out by the Datong bandits.

There is nothing pretentious or fussy about this letter. It is straightforward and clear at a glance.

Chongzhen saw it very clearly, as did Yang Sichang, Shi Fenglai, and Wen Tiren in the cabinet. Hong Chengchou's plan was to hold Datong in Huaibei. Even if hundreds of thousands of people were killed, he would still hold Datong in Huaibei and prevent him from going south.

.

Hong Chengchou even bluntly said that as long as he can fight a large-scale war with Datong in the strategic location of Xuzhou, no matter whether he wins or loses, Datong will not be able to go south in the next few years, which will buy enough time for the court to maneuver. At least the court can

The south recruits good talents and strengthens its troops, so that Datong will not take advantage of the trend and attack all the way south to Yingtian.

Wen Tiren, Shi Fenglai and Yang Sichang all recognized Hong Chengchou's strategic thinking. In their view, being able to hold Datong back for several years with hundreds of thousands of people would undoubtedly be very beneficial to the Ming court and them personally.

In this regard, although Chongzhen was still a little worried that once the hundreds of thousands of troops were defeated in Xuzhou, the Datong traitors would go directly south, but seeing that his cabinet elders supported it, he nodded and passed it.

In any case, Hong Chengchou's idea is always worth a try. If you can't retreat to Huainan without a fight, then the Ming Dynasty really doesn't want to lose face.

Not only the cabinet members, but also the ministers of the Ming Dynasty in Yingtian Mansion also highly recognized Hong Chengchou's idea. In their opinion, instead of letting Datong attack Huainan and everyone would be frightened, it would be better to contain Datong in Huaibei. Anyway, Huaibei is peaceful.

It doesn't matter to everyone, it doesn't matter if it's broken.

If it is possible to hold off Datong for several years with hundreds of thousands of Qiuba's lives, wouldn't everyone have a few more years of good life and continue to make money and live in debauchery?

Ever since, Hong Chengchou's idea of ​​launching a strategic decisive battle with Datong on the Xuzhou front in Huaibei was unanimously approved by the Ming court. Zhu Guobi was helpless after hearing the news. He really wanted to retreat to Huainan or even Jiangnan. Here,

What's the point of fighting between Huaibei and Datong?

However, Hong Chengchou advocated a decisive battle in Huaibei, and Zhu Chunchen agreed when he saw that both the emperor and his ministers agreed. Zhu Guobi's objection was meaningless, so he was forced to accompany the two of them in the decisive battle with the Datong Army in Huaibei.

In early August of Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Chunchen fought against the main force of Zhao Yuqi's troops in Shangqiu and Xiayi. The two sides combined to engage in fierce battles with more than 170,000 people. Zhu Chunchen finally withdrew to Yongcheng with his main force, and Zhu Guobi also moved his troops from

Bozhou moved all the way to Suzhou.

Now Zhu Chunchen, Zhu Guobi, and Hong Chengchou once again formed a triangle of defense, which also meant that the Ming court had given up the entire land of Henan.

With Zhu Chunchen and Zhu Guobi withdrawing from Henan and entering northern Jiangsu, the first step of the strategy in the Datong Central Plains Theater was completed, which not only consumed part of Zhu Chunchen's troops, but also drove Zhu Chunchen out of Henan.

Xiayi, Datong Zhao Yuqi's troops were temporarily stationed here.

At this time, Zhao Yuqi held eight towns in his hands. In addition to the six towns under his own command, there were also two towns that Fang Yun came to support. With the power of the eight towns, Zhao Yuqi completed the early planning, and then went out with Fang Yun.

, Zhou Yuji communicated with his subordinates.

"The focus of the Battle of Huaibei is not on Kaifeng and Guide, but on Xuzhou. By capturing Xuzhou, the entire Huaibei is under control. At present, there are nearly 300,000 troops of the Puppet Ming Dynasty in the areas surrounding Xuzhou. Their strength cannot be underestimated.

"Zhao Yuqi looked at the map and tapped her fingers around Xuzhou.

"Currently our army is in Xiayi, General Fang's headquarters is in Xuzhou, and General Zhou's headquarters is in Pi County. In my opinion, the enemies of Xiao County and Xuzhou can be ignored for the time being. We will first make a circle and encircle Xuzhou behind.

Get rid of Zhu Guobi in Suzhou, then get rid of Zhu Chunchen in Yongcheng, and finally get rid of Hong Chengchou in Xuzhou."

"Send my idea to Mr. Fang and Mr. Zhou. We must come up with a decision as soon as possible."

Kuai Ma sent Zhao Yuqi's idea to Fang Yunchu and Zhou Yuji's camp. Neither of them made any sense to this plan. Zhou Yuji proposed that he could go south from Pi County and ignore Suining and go straight to Suzhou, but Fang Yunchu and Zhao Yuqi needed to hold him back.

The armies of Zhu Chunchen and Hong Chengchou.

After another exchange, the three commanders-in-chief of the Datong Central Plains Theater decided on the second phase of the Huaibei Campaign. Zhao Yuqi and Fang Yun came out to hold off Zhu Chunchen and Hong Chengchou, not giving them any chance to retreat, while Zhou Yuji led the army southward.

Insert Suzhou, eliminate Zhu Guobi's troops, and then cooperate with Zhao Yuqi to eliminate Zhu Chunchen in Yongcheng. Finally, the three families surrounded Xuzhou and eliminated Hong Chengchou.

On the seventh day of August in the seventh year of Chongzhen, Zhao Yuqi and Fang Yun sent out two troops to launch offensives in Yongcheng and Xuzhou. Zhu Chunchen and Hong Chengchou had to concentrate on dealing with the enemy on the front. In such an environment, Zhou Yuji led the Datong Army of the Four Towns to cross Henan and march down.

, go straight to Suzhou!

Tap tap tap tap...

Noisy footsteps sounded on the official road. At this time, businessmen were rarely seen traveling around Huaibei, and ordinary people were hiding at home and refused to go out easily.

Everyone knows that hundreds of thousands of troops from Datong and Ming Dynasty are fighting in this area. Who dares to go out?

As for the bandits and bandits, no one with any brains would dare to come out and look for trouble when they see the army in cotton-padded armor and carrying muskets that can be seen almost as far as the end of the road and the red flags of Datong.

Clatter, clatter, clatter, the sound of horse hooves hurriedly trampled on the bluestone slabs on the official road. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of Datong knights passed by the side of the army and headed straight ahead.

Zhou Yuji was riding on a war horse with a map in his hand. The deputy general on the side said: "General, our army has arrived here now."

Zhou Yuji said softly: "Shuanggou... we are already halfway through the journey. Good news. Tell the soldiers to hurry up. We will rush to Suzhou in the shortest time and pin Zhu Guobi to death there."

With that said, Zhou Yuji smiled at the generals on the side and said: "Earlier in Shandong, I fought with Duke Cheng Guobi, and this Zhu Guobi left a deep impression on me. He was the one who guarded the retreat for Duke Cheng Guobi and Governor Hong.

, it’s strange that the two of them are undefeated.”

"Let's go, take their back road!"

While joking, the army quickened its pace, with packhorses pulling carts full of grain, grass and baggage, as well as various artillery pieces, leaving deep traces on the official road.

Marching on the 6th day of August 13th of the seventh year of Chongzhen, Zhou Yuji's main force of three towns had arrived in Suzhou, and there was another town escorting a large amount of baggage, gunpowder, cannons and heavy firearms in the rear.

This is inevitable. If the army wants to march quickly, it must abandon its food and baggage. Whether it is hundreds of thousands of kilograms of artillery, or rockets such as the Hundred Tigers Running Arrows and Flying Fire God Crow, they all need to be pulled by pack horses. The speed of the pack horses

It would definitely not be fast. In order to ensure time, Zhou Yuji's main force marched directly into Suzhou with light equipment and simplicity.

At this time, Zhu Guobi, who was in Suzhou, was not aware of it. It was not that he did not send out scouting horses, but that all his scouting horses were sent to the front to explore the situation in Xuzhou and Yongcheng.

After all, Xuzhou and Yongcheng are right in front, and Hong Chengchou and Zhu Chunchen's combined army of more than 200,000 people are there. Is Datong stupid enough not to attack them but to attack itself?

Therefore, Zhu Guobi never expected that Zhou Yuji would ignore Hong Chengchou and directly go to Suzhou to find him.

There are only so many Ming troops in the entire northern Jiangsu and Huaibei. Zhou Yuji knows very well that he will not encounter any large Ming troops along the way. There are three cavalry battalions and more than a thousand cavalry in front of him as the vanguard.

Resistance, marching all the way, directly struck Zhu Guobi's heart.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of artillery was rumbling, and outside Xuzhou City, Fang Yunchu had already restored the original troops and horses of the six towns. The twelve artillery battalions in the six towns were divided into three batches and took turns to bombard Hong Chengchou's troops. At the same time, the troops in each town
To be continued...