Shen Yi and his party left this unknown town on horseback. As soon as they arrived at the gate of the town, Ling Su, who was guarding outside, followed Shen Yi on horseback.
"Mr. Shen, you came out so quickly."
Hongze Lake is close to the Western Front. Shen Yi came to Hongze Lake to see Zhao Lu. Ling Su naturally had to send people to protect him. In fact, there were two thousand-household battalions of the Huaian Army outside the town at this time to guard against the small town.
If something happened suddenly, they would immediately rush in to save people.
Shen Yi sat on the horse, glanced back at the town behind him, and said, "It's just a matter of a few words. We can't chat for too long."
Ling Su hesitated for a moment and asked, "Has General Zhao relented?"
Shen Yi shook his head: "I don't know."
"I have said what I should say. What exactly the Huaihe Navy will do is the Zhao family's business and I have no control over it."
Having said this, Shen Yi paused and said slowly: "However, regardless of whether the Huaihe Navy will take action or not, our battle plan remains unchanged. We must prepare for the worst and deal with Qi people with all our strength."
Ling Su lowered his head slightly and said: "Mr. Shen, my subordinates have been thinking about this war these days. As you said, the one with the greatest pressure from this war should be on the Eastern Front. My subordinate's idea is that if we all come together then,
If we forcefully attack the Eastern Front and there is not much pressure on the Western Front, my subordinates would like to lead troops across the Huaihe River and attack the enemy's flanks."
Shen Yi was silent for a while and shook his head slightly: "It's too risky."
"If the Qi people attack Huai'an again, they will probably be like a lion fighting a rabbit. No matter it is the eastern or western front, the pressure will not be too small. My opinion is that you should try to hold on to the western front. If
If you have spare strength, support the Eastern Front."
Having said this, Shen Yi hesitated and said, "But when the fight starts, I'm afraid I won't have the energy to take care of the west. By then, General Ling, you will be the supreme commander of the west. As long as it suits the battle situation, no matter what decision you make before the battle,
You can all do whatever you want."
Shen Yi looked calm and said: "No matter what happens, you and I will bear it together."
Hearing this, Ling Su sat on the horse and clasped his fists respectfully at Shen Yi, with a rather excited tone: "Thank you, Mr. Shen, for your trust!"
"My subordinates must fight this battle well!"
Shen Yi and Ling Su walked side by side, reached out and patted the shoulder of the second-ranking figure in the Huai'an Army, and said slowly.
"Fight this battle well, and the next battle will be on the north side of the Huaihe River."
After saying this, Mr. Shen shook the reins and said: "Okay, I have to rush back to the Eastern Front. I will leave the affairs of the Western Front to you, General Ling. If anything happens, please inform me in time.
Let’s exchange what we have.”
Ling Su clasped his fists respectfully: "Subordinates understand."
Master Shen jumped on his horse and whipped his whip, leading a group of followers and gradually ran eastward from the main road.
Ling Su and others followed for a quarter of an hour, then looked at the backs of Shen Yi and others, gradually moving away.
After Shen Yi walked away, Liu Mingyuan, the acting commander behind Ling Su, looked at the direction Shen Yi was going and said, "Mr. Shen is too partial. For more than a year, whenever there is a war, he basically goes there.
When we run eastward, we rarely sit on our western front."
Hearing this, Ling Su frowned, glanced back at this subordinate, and shouted: "Why are you so crazy? This time the Qi people are preparing to land from the coast. It is obvious that the eastern front is the main battlefield. Naturally, Mr. Shen should go there.
,Besides, when we crossed the river and conquered Qi on the western front last time, Mr. Shen didn’t sit on the western front?"
Liu Mingyuan was a member of the Qianhu family of Linhaiwei in the past. He was much older than Xue Wei. He was also one of the first people in Linhaiwei to follow Shen Yi, so he dared to complain about Shen Yi behind his back.
After being scolded by Ling Su, Liu Mingyuan lowered his head slightly and said nothing.
Zhang Meng coughed and said with a smile: "In my opinion, Mr. Shen believes in General Ling's ability and is not worried about General Xue, so he spends most of his time in the east. He has no intention of favoring one over the other."
His words gave the two of them a step down. Liu Mingyuan sat on the horse and said, "It's not General Xue who makes the decision in the east."
"The one named Su..."
"enough."
Ling Su turned around and gave Liu Mingyuan a fierce look.
"Why are you becoming more and more outrageous now? Mr. Shen just said that things and things are one, and now you say this, completely forgetting what Mr. Shen said!"
"Now, everything is imaginary, no matter the east or west front, or who is in charge."
"The most important thing is to fight this battle well!"
Liu Mingyuan still admired Shen Yi and Ling Su, but among the entire Huai'an army, he only admired these two people. Even Xue Wei was not convinced.
Hearing this, he clasped his fists at Ling Su, lowered his head and said, "I understand, I made a mistake. General, please punish me!"
"What shall I punish you for?"
Ling Su reined in the reins and returned to his horse, running towards the Lianshui camp.
"If you say something wrong, someone will naturally punish you in the future!"
After saying this, Ling Su flew away on horseback.
Zhang Meng touched Liu Mingyuan's shoulder and whispered: "Brother Liu, don't you remember the story about Shen Dadu Ying?"
When Liu Mingyuan heard this, his heart suddenly froze.
That’s right, Mr. Shen was able to find out everything about the private affairs of the two Qianhu households back then!
He couldn't help but shudder, patted Zhang Meng's shoulder, and said: "Brother..."
Zhang Meng pulled the reins and said, "Okay, don't say anything, just go back to camp and prepare for battle."
"Fighting this battle well is the right thing to do!"
………………
Eastern front, Xiangshui Camp.
After Shen Yi met with Zhao Lu, he rushed back without stopping. He first went back to the tent to take a nap, and then asked people to call Xue Wei and Su Ding over.
Soon, the two generals from the Eastern Front arrived in his tent. After the two saluted, Shen Yi waved his hand and motioned for them to sit down and talk.
After the two of them sat down, Shen Yi rubbed his temples and said, "As of today, more than 70,000 people have gathered in Haizhou, north of Huai'an."
"Based on the current situation, Haizhou's final gathering of troops may be around 100,000."
Mr. Shen opened his eyes, looked at the two people, and said: "According to the intelligence from the Di reporting department and the internal guards, the Qi people took action. It probably happened in the past few days."
"Tomorrow, a batch of gunpowder and armor will arrive in Huai'an."
"There should be five more warships from the Ministry of War in the next few days."
Shen Yi looked at Xue Wei and said, "General Xue."
Xue Wei bowed his head respectfully: "The end will be here."
"Once the enemy makes any move, you will command all the warships and engage in water battles with the enemy. I will hand over all the artillery and gunpowder to you. Hold them back for as long as you can. Remember, killing the enemy's physical strength is the first priority.
First things first.”
"Try to make them land at the maximum cost."
Xue Wei clasped his fists respectfully: "I will obey your orders!"
Shen Yi looked at Su Ding again and said: "As for General Su, you are in charge of the Central Army and coordinating the war. In addition to the war on the water of the Huaihe River, there are also blocking battles along the Huaihe River and landing battles that may occur along the coast.
."
Su Ding did not hesitate, immediately lowered his head and clasped his fists: "I will obey your orders!"
After saying this, he glanced at Shen Yi, hesitated for a moment and then asked: "Mr. Shen, I would like to ask, under what circumstances can we withdraw to Huai'an City and stick to Huai'an?"
Shen Yi took a deep breath and said, "The number of enemies landing exceeds 20,000."
"Consider retreating to Huai'an City."
Having said this, Shen Yi paused: "The specific situation is subject to my order."
Su Ding breathed a sigh of relief, lowered his head and clasped his fists again: "I understand!"
After thinking for a while, he added: "Is it possible to consider moving the people of Huai'an into the city, or let them move south?"
Shen Yi closed his eyes.
"I have contacted Master Zhang...Zhang Fuzun about this matter."
"The local government will take care of it in the next few days. All you need to do is fight, nothing else."