Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Six: The Strategy to Meet the Enemy
As soon as I heard that there was an intruder coming from the outside, everything had to be moved according to this intruder. Naturally, Zu Xiangyang's affairs had to be done as quickly as possible, and everyone's affairs were either delayed or stopped immediately.
Here, the Jin Yiwei also quickly found Meng Zhangming and Fan Xianchao who were still arguing about the city defense. They were still arguing over whether to solve the city defense of Cangzhou City first or to unite with the defense lines of other surrounding prefectures and counties.
Jin Yiwei was very distressed. He quickly said to the two of them:
"Two generals, Your Majesty has urgently summoned all of you to meet the Holy Spirit."
"What's the matter?" The two of them were startled and asked in unison.
"As far as I know, there seem to be intruders, and there are quite a lot of them. The two generals should go to see the saint quickly, so as not to keep His Majesty waiting for a long time." After saying that, the Jin Yiwei immediately retreated.
Meng Zhangming and Fan Xianchao stopped arguing. In any case, no one was convinced by the argument, so it was better to stop and see His Majesty.
On Zhu Ling's side, Wang Jiayan, Huang Bodang and Zu Xiangyang had arrived one after another and were studying a map of the surrounding area. Huang Bodang and Zu Xiangyang were both civil servants, so naturally they were waiting on one side.
Zhu Ling relied on the little military knowledge in his mind and began to think of ways.
Outside the door, Jin Yiwei quickly stepped inside to report that Meng Zhangming and Fan Xianchao had arrived at the door. Zhu Ling directly asked them to come in. Meng Zhangming and Fan Xianchao then hurried in.
As soon as they came in, they heard Wang Jiayan's words: "Cangzhou is adjacent to the river in the west, so it is unlikely that intruders will attack from here. But the east and south are very offensive, and more scouts should be sent to these two directions to investigate. If
Once there is a battle, except for our defense of the city, the battle locations will inevitably be in the east and south."
The two of them also walked closer and listened. After all, they had only read some military books at best and only went to the battlefield once. But Wang Jiayan was a general who had actually been on the battlefield, and he was also a Jinshi in the second year of Tianqi.
, so being able to be both literary and martial can completely describe Wang Jiayan.
In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, Wang Jiayan was promoted to Shao Situ, and a year later he became Right Sima. His Majesty ordered him to handle military and political affairs. On the day of the appointment, he climbed up the tower and inspected everywhere. On a snowy night, he was alone carrying a lamp.
Lanterns were used to patrol the city on foot, but no one knew. On the second day, it was announced who would be responsible for the duty, and the soldiers were all convinced.
Therefore, Wang Jiayan was quite prestigious both among the officials and among the soldiers. Even though Fan Xianchao was the son of the elder, he still respected him with respect.
"The most troublesome thing for us right now is that we have too few troops, and most of them are cavalry. Wang Qing also knows that once the cavalry is used, the daily consumption of food and grass will not be a small amount. Given our current situation, we are still quite worried." Zhu Ling.
What matters most is logistics. He knows very well that logistics is often the issue in battles.
In many wars, one side loses due to logistical problems. An army hundreds of times larger than the enemy's army will suffer a major defeat due to insufficient supplies of food and grass. It may even fail to recover and directly perish.
They didn't dare to gamble now. They couldn't send out the cavalry because they still didn't know the intruder's movements. The strongest thing about the cavalry was their mobility. If they didn't control the enemy's whereabouts first and instead exposed their own whereabouts, it would be a big defeat.
"We have too little information, and the surrounding prefectures and counties are not even under our control at all. They probably have their own little ideas. This situation is quite unfavorable to us." Huang Bodang also stepped forward and said.
, according to his own understanding, the two neighboring counties have not had much contact with Cangzhou, let alone at this time.
What he is most worried about now is that if the surrounding prefectures and counties cannot be controlled, they will instead become a gathering point for intruders. On the one hand, they will definitely hide the news, and on the other hand, they may send people to investigate their details.
"The last general thinks that we should first send people to control the surrounding prefectures and counties. If there is resistance, kill them all!" Fan Xianchao heard that Huang Bodang was so worried and thought that this was an opportunity. So he immediately stepped forward and said loudly
.
After hearing Fan Xianchao's words, Zhu Ling did not answer but glanced at Wang Jiayan first. Wang Jiayan was also somewhat unwilling to agree, but just put on a thoughtful expression.
"General Fan is a little impatient. If we want to control them, we can't just rely on killing people. What we need to do more is to convince people with virtue and make them surrender to Your Majesty from the heart and be loyal to the Ming Dynasty."
Huang Bodang stood up and refuted Fan Xianchao's words. Although it was a bit unpleasant, Zhu Ling and Wang Jiayan agreed.
"Huang Zhizhou."
Fan Xianchao was obviously unhappy, and immediately refuted in a cold voice: "It's time now, and your sage's words are no longer effective. If I had listened to you and convinced others with virtue, I'm afraid Cangzhou would have been conquered long ago."
What he said was indeed filled with some pride as the son of the elder. He did not take this official who had just been promoted from Tongzhi to Zhizhou in his eyes at all, and even retorted loudly in front of His Majesty.
"General Fan, step down! Your Majesty is here, what are you talking about!" Wang Jiayan immediately scolded him, which was considered to be a way to save Huang Bodang's face. Fan Xianchao reluctantly retreated after hearing the scolding.
Go down.
"Of course General Fan's words are reasonable, but the idea of convincing people with virtue is still very important. If you want to kill them if you think they are disloyal, wouldn't it mean that all the officials in the Ming Dynasty have to be killed?"
At this time, Zhu Ling, who had been silent, finally spoke. Although his words seemed to defend Fan Xianchao, the meaning was still to support Huang Bodang.
"While we have time for these debates, it is better to quickly come up with a way to defend against the enemy."
"Your Majesty, I have read some books about astronomical phenomena before and learned a little bit. According to my observation, heavy rain will definitely fall in two days. If the war can be postponed to that day, as long as we fight in the field, with our cavalry
The advantage will definitely defeat the intruder!" Huang Bodang did not get angry because of this, but expressed his thoughts again.
"Two days from now?"
Zhu Ling also felt that this was a good time. The cavalry were more than two meters tall when riding on war horses. As long as they could lure the intruders out and force them to fight in the field. When heavy rain poured down and blocked their vision, the cavalry suddenly
A rush to kill will definitely cause them to panic instantly and lead to a huge defeat.
Heavy rain will also make their bows and arrows useless, and the bow soldiers will naturally lose their power.
"According to my opinion, it is better to quickly send out scouts to find traces of this enemy. In addition, all food in the city must be managed in a unified manner immediately. People's buying and selling of food must be supervised by the government. Secondly, nearby weeds must be harvested and stored in time to be eaten by war horses.
.”
Wang Jiayan didn't talk nonsense. Thirty thousand thieves were a formidable enemy to them, so they couldn't afford to be careless.
"Then follow what Wang Qing said, the rest." Zhu Ling then turned around and told several people: "Meng Zhangming and Fan Xian went to Guan Ning's army at high speed. Each man led 1,500 cavalry, waiting for orders at any time.
.”
"Yes!" The two responded and knelt down to obey the order.
"Huang Bo is the ancestor Xiangyang! You two quickly stabilize the hearts and minds of the people in Cangzhou City, and strictly monitor the entry and exit of the city. No suspicious people are allowed to leave or enter the city. If someone causes trouble in the city, they can be dealt with easily! Do you understand?"
"Understood!" The voices of the two civil servants were also very loud at this time.
After the four people left, Sima Jingru hurried back. Seeing that there was no one in the lobby, he realized that he was late. He quickly took off his armor, took off his weapons, and went inside to report.
"The last general, Sima Jingru, is here to see Your Majesty. I'm late."
"It's not too late, come in quickly." When Zhu Ling saw that Sima Jingru had arrived, his face immediately lit up and he let him in.
"The discussion just now has been decided. The current situation is that Meng and Fan have led the troops and are waiting for my order; Huang Zu and Huang Zu are in charge of all affairs in Cangzhou City in case of wartime situations."
"Then what will be the mission?" Sima Jingru asked carefully.
"Your mission is the most important. I have asked Wang Qing to send a large number of scouts. Once their traces are discovered, they will be led out of the field. At that time, you will be the main force to charge directly. Meng and Fan will attack from both sides.
The deterrent effect of the cavalry is huge, especially when facing enemies who have just put down their hoes not long ago, the Guan Ning cavalry must break through their psychological defenses from the heart."
The more Zhu Ling talked, the more excited he became. He couldn't stop talking when he talked about such a scene.
"As long as someone in front retreats and desperately runs backwards, no matter how many troops they have, once the front and rear are crowded together, it's time for you to defeat the enemy!"