Chapter 119: On the verge of breaking out (first update)
"Fifty thousand versus thirty thousand, I have the advantage -"
Facing the generals, Zhu Yixi rested his hands on his back, smiled and said confidently.
As he spoke, he pointed at the map, pointed at De'an Mansion, and analyzed it carefully in pure Shaanxi dialect:
"In addition to our military strength, we have two major advantages."
"The spring rain is continuous and the cold rain is biting. The enemy's cavalry advantage cannot be used."
"Finally, we are waiting for work. We have been practicing for many days and our morale is strong!"
After talking about the three major advantages, he also talked about the enemy's three major disadvantages: "First, they don't know the true strength of our army; second, they are forced to make dangerous moves."
"Thirdly, the spring rains are continuous and the food route is blocked. We dare not delay, and we will definitely fight quickly. In this way, there must be a flaw."
"So, as long as we wait and wait, we will be able to win."
All the generals nodded, it sounded very reasonable.
"Commander, although the cavalry is not available, our firepower advantage is also difficult to use!"
You Shiwei said seriously: "On rainy days, firecrackers and artillery must not misfire."
Reasonably, all the generals nodded half in confusion and looked at General Xiao Zhu.
Obviously, in the past, whether it was to beat Ma Ke or become a tiger, it relied on the sharpness of firearms. Now this has become a short version, which makes people uncomfortable.
Seeing this, Zhu Yixi was not surprised, but smiled and said: "Can't we fight without firearms?"
this……
The generals felt a little guilty.
"Our army is like Mount Tai, with obvious advantages. What is there to be afraid of?"
Zhu Yixi snorted coldly and said dissatisfied.
These people are indeed fearful and careless. If they don't correct themselves, they will have endless troubles.
"The commander-in-chief is wise!"
The generals were awakened and rushed to respond.
After watching the others leave, Zhu Yixi did not sit back and wait, but began to patrol continuously.
Among the battalions, the firearms battalion was the largest, with a total of 5,000 people, including 2,000 artillerymen, more than 200 French cannons, and several red cannons that had arrived for many days.
The remaining battalions have about three thousand soldiers and horses.
In the Battle of Fancheng, everyone except the cavalry battalion took turns to engage in a siege battle to eliminate the waste and retain the essence.
There were more than 3,000 casualties, including the Yunyang soldiers of Hui and Wang.
The losses were not big, but it was a good training. The battalions worked together and united a lot. After many days of training, they finally began to shine.
"Defend my Ming Dynasty and eliminate the rebels——"
Listening to the loud slogans, Zhu Yixi was filled with emotion: "Look, after the attack on the city, the momentum has changed, and the slogans are full of murderous intent!"
The generals also smiled at him, he was indeed much stronger.
"But, this is not enough!"
Zhu Yixi said calmly: "Only after a bloody battle can the army be reborn and defeat the enemy."
"I pray that in the future, there will be a decisive battle, and I will go all out when the time comes."
After saying that, he stared at the generals and exuded great pressure.
Chen Yongfu, Zhao Guangyuan, You Shiwei, Li Jizu, Li Jingwu, Liu Tingjie, and Yan Guochao all raised their heads and said: "Swear to death to kill the thieves and serve the general army."
"Okay, if we work together, we have nothing to fear from intruders."
Zhu Yixi smiled boldly.
"Report, there is a letter from the scout. Baiwang's tribe is less than two hundred miles away from Fancheng."
"Two hundred miles? It's almost two days. It's so fast!"
"Get ready, the enemy is coming."
Zhu Yixi said in a deep voice: "I want to let Bai Wang go and never come back."
"As you command——"
On the tenth day of the third month, Bai Wang led an army of 20,000 troops and approached the Han River with great momentum.
More than ten miles away from Fancheng and Xiangyang, the army stopped and prepared to set up camp.
Although everyone could not hide their tiredness, they were the strong soldiers suppressing Zuo Liangyu, and the chaos soon stabilized.
"How brave you are, you dare to camp outside the city!"
Bai Wang climbed up to the watchtower and saw military camps stretching for more than ten miles outside Fancheng, with tens of thousands of troops mixed in among them.
When he first saw him, he was startled. When he took a closer look, he couldn't help but laugh at his subordinates: "He is really of the same line as officers and soldiers. I overestimated him."
All the generals were stunned for a moment, and then looked at him.
I saw that the military camps more than ten miles away were in order, but inside they were in a mess.
The soldiers were skinny, scattered, and had almost no combat effectiveness; the military tents were tilted, as if they could be blown away by a gust of wind; many mules and horses walked around casually, dropping dung from time to time...
"As the saying goes, a military camp is like a military formation. How can a general who cannot even organize the military camp be a good general?"
Bai Wang looked around and encouraged his morale:
"In the past, we have fought countless mediocre generals like this. Now that we have gathered three thousand veterans, we will definitely win this battle!"
For a moment, the generals recalled the past scenes of great victories and pursuit of the Ming army. They were very excited and shouted for a massacre in all directions.
What made the Chuang army even more excited was that with a casual attack, the water siege of Xiangyang was broken, and the inside and outside of the city began to connect.
Bai Wang believed that his side could not defend the city, so instead of entering the city, it was better to gather troops and annihilate the Ming army in field battles.
After all, Xiangyang City did not have that much food, so Feng Xiong agreed with this idea and left two thousand people to guard the city, and the remaining more than ten thousand people.
As a result, the total number of troops on the Chuang Army's side exceeded 30,000.
"General, are you going to let the two parties connect like this?"
Zhao Guangyuan said in confusion.
"To besiege Xiangyang, we have to waste troops and horses, and it is easy to be flanked by the invading army, so there is no need to waste more time."
Zhu Yixi chuckled, full of confidence.
"General Zhao, you don't know something."
You Shiwei stared straight ahead and sneered: "I'm afraid that Xiangyang City's soldiers and horses won't come out, so we'll deal with them all by then."
"That's right!" Zhu Yixi cheered: "We have been performing for many days before, and it's time to reap the rewards. We kill two birds with one stone."
"Pass my order, the troops will cook at the third watch and leave the camp at the fifth watch. Let's completely eliminate the fear of intrusion today."
"As you command——"
The military flag was fluttering in the wind, the drizzle began to fall again, the ground was muddy, wisps of smoke rose into the sky, and the aroma of rice wafted throughout the camp.
"Today's extra meal, vegetable pancakes with pickles, no limit, you can eat whatever you want, and each person will be given a bowl of wine."
"Long live, long live——"
The soldiers cheered, lined up happily to receive the food, and chewed it.
Everyone understands that they need to eat more at this time, otherwise they will not have time to eat on the battlefield.
"Hiccup..." In the grenade camp, Yan Guochao was chewing heavily. Most of the meatloaf weighing several kilograms in the pot in front of him had been eliminated.
The generals and commanders in the grenadier camp around him were stunned when they saw it. This was three kilograms of meatloaf!
"Look what I'm doing? You eat it too!"
Yan Guochao raised his eyebrows and said: "We are heavy in armor and holding battle axes. We can't do it without strength. When we go to the battlefield later, who told me that our legs are weak and our arms are sore? I will slap him with a big ear!"
"Eat more and drink less soup. When I went to the battlefield, I peeed so much that I couldn't hold it in my crotch."
"yes!"
The big men in the grenadier camp lowered their heads one after another, like pigs grazing on food, with great force, and the sound of chirping could be heard endlessly.