During this period of siege, Li Zicheng did not really have any leisure time. As usual, he went out to the west gate of Yanli Village early to watch the soldiers drill. Accompanying him to watch were Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others. In addition to watching
In addition to soldier training, I also visit other places.
However, when they walked to the fields outside the city, even though it was the season for autumn crops to grow, when everyone looked up, they saw that everything was bare, and the few remaining seedlings had turned a little brown.
It is sparse and half-dead, with sandy soil still exposed in some places.
"How's it going at Cao Ying?"
Li Zicheng suddenly asked Niu Jinxing on the side, but everyone was stunned.
However, Niu Jinxing knew Li Zicheng very well, and he quickly reflected on it and said: "I heard that Cao Ying's food supply is now in some difficulty, and many soldiers have begun to go out to thresh grain..."
The so-called threshing actually refers to going out to plunder among the rebels. However, after Li Zicheng ordered strict military discipline, the idea of threshing was basically abandoned in the camp. However, inside Cao's camp, they still went their own way.
Li Zicheng frowned slightly. He knew that the weather was dry for a long time and the crops would naturally not grow. However, food and grass became a big problem. Although he had already issued a ban not allowing mules and horses to eat the people's crops, fodder was so difficult.
How could they resist it? Besides, Cao Ying had tens of thousands of mules and horses. If they were forbidden to break into the camp, they could not resist Cao Ying. They could only watch the autumn crops being eaten up by the mules and horses.
If that day comes, I'm afraid the food stored in the camp right now won't be enough.
It is not only difficult for the Ming army to continue the stalemate, but also for the rebel army. Everyone is just gritting their teeth and persisting.
After returning to the old camp, Li Zicheng asked everyone to stay and have dinner together. Hearing Gao Yigong say that Li Yan had been ordered to go out to collect grain and was back now, he smiled and said, "How was Lin Quan's harvest?"
Gao Yigong shook his head slightly and said: "Kaifeng is now in ruins, and the nearby farmland is deserted. Although General Li also captured two to three thousand kilo of grain and beans, it can't help."
"Some is better than nothing."
Li Zicheng sighed softly, and quickly summoned the generals who were breaking into the camp, saying: "You all already know that if we can't break through Kaifeng quickly now, and we can't
(First update M..)
We can solve the food and grass problem, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to tide over the current difficulties, especially in Cao Ying's camp, which already has very little food, so Luo Rucai must not be allowed to do his own thing."
Everyone couldn't help but nodded. Yuan Shizhong's incident made everyone feel a little shadowy. They didn't want the second Yuan Shizhong to appear again. Moreover, Luo Ru was the veteran and had many troops under his command. If he wanted to rebel, the threat would be
But it's too big.
But the current dilemma is also before everyone. The army is stationed around Kaifeng. The area is quite dilapidated. The food has been collected early. There is probably no food left within 200 miles. Moreover, the people in these places are also
They have all fled, and those who have not escaped may not be able to protect themselves, and will be even less able to support the rebels.
If the Chu army just relies on the civilians who are already short of food, it will not only be difficult to collect food, but also lose the hearts of the people. This is something Li Zicheng will not allow.
After discussing for a long time, no one had any good solution, but Li Yan seemed to have something to say with a somewhat hesitant expression.
Li Zicheng was very observant and said with a smile: "Lin Quan, if you have anything to say, you might as well say it directly."
"Yes, lord."
Li Yan was originally very cautious, but this time when he returned from collecting grain, what he experienced really made him deeply moved. He broke his usual cautious habit and spoke softly.
"My lord, the army of more than 100,000 people is besieging Kaifeng, but it has been unable to capture it. It is undoubtedly trapped here, and has lost the characteristics of the rebel army that comes and goes like the wind... It is not conducive to our army.
Next steps.”
"Oh? What does Lin Quan think our army should do now?"
Niu Jinxing's expression changed, and a smile quickly appeared on his face.
Li Yan said: "The only plan at the moment is to divide the troops and seize the territory. Now that the Ming army has given up supporting Kaifeng, our army naturally does not need to keep all the troops here. We might as well divide tens of thousands of troops and march along the east of Henan, Henan and Henan."
Attack in the south direction and occupy the states along the way. (This chapter is not finished yet!)
Chapter 389 Divide the troops and seize the territory
County, firstly, to shock the Ming Dynasty, secondly, to divide the troops and feed them, and thirdly, to lay the foundation for the future."
Li Zicheng immediately became interested. In fact, he also thought about dividing the troops, but he still wanted to continue to listen to Li Yan's analysis, so he smiled and said: "Please Lin Quan, please tell me quickly."
Li Yan smiled
(First update M..)
, cupped his hands and said: "Everyone, why do you think the Ming court is still struggling to support itself?"
Everyone immediately looked at each other and spoke quickly. Some of them said that the Ming Court had a deep foundation, some said that there were still some troops, and some even thought that the Ming Court's dragon veins still had their last breath...
.
However, Li Zicheng remained silent and did not speak for a long time. After a long time, he said meaningfully: "Is what Lin Quan said referring to water transportation?"
"That's right. My lord is wise."
Li Yan smiled slightly and said to Li Zicheng: "The reason why the Ming Dynasty can still persist at the moment is purely because of the continuous supply from Jiangnan. If the lord first sends people to occupy central Henan, eastern Henan and southern Henan, and then consolidate it
, then send tens of thousands of horses to collect grain from the enemy everywhere, take advantage of the gaps, call on the hungry people, go east to the Huai River, cut off the canal, and then go north from Kezhou to occupy various parts of Shandong. When the Ming Dynasty cuts off the water transportation supply, it will naturally be defeated without a fight.
Death."
Li Zicheng was not in a hurry to express his opinion, but fell into deep thought.
Song Xiance on the side said softly: "My lord, this plan is very clever. The battle at Zhuxian Town failed to eliminate the remaining Ming army. We might as well send people to attack eastern Henan, central Henan, and southern Henan to force the Ming army to fight. We should give it a shot."
Swing it."
There was no expression on Li Zicheng's face, so he looked at Niu Jinxing and said, "Qidong, what do you think?"
Niu Jinxing chuckled and said: "If we divide our troops and seize the territory now, I'm afraid something will be wrong."
Li Yan was stunned for a moment. He had thought about this strategy for a long time and didn't think there was anything wrong with it, so he asked, "Brother Qidong, please give me some advice."
Niu Jinxing said slowly: "Right now, our army is besieging Kaifeng. It's fine if we can't capture Kaifeng. However, Cao Ying clearly has different intentions. If we divide our troops at this time, I'm afraid it will give Cao Ying an opportunity to take advantage of it. Luo Rucai can't do it."
Yuan Shizhong is reliable."
When everyone heard this, they realized that the problem had gone in a circle and returned to this point again.
If the Chu army wants to divide its troops and seize territory, it must stabilize Cao's camp. But if it wants to stabilize Cao's camp, it must provide food. And to provide food, it must divide its troops and seize territory.
To put it bluntly, this has formed a dead knot, and breaking Kaifeng City is the key to breaking this dead knot.
(End of this chapter).
Chapter 389 Divide the troops and seize the territory