On the second day after King Kelei of Ceylon came to the throne, the Ming Dynasty scout cavalry who was sent to investigate the deserters of Flangji returned.
The one who went on the mission this time was a reconnaissance cavalry team led by Huo Shijian and Tian Dongxin. Huo Shijian was smart and meticulous, and he was highly valued by Zhang Yanling and Chen Shi. So he was sent to lead people to detect the traces of the deserters of Fo Langji.
Quite suitable.
Zhang Yanling's initial idea was just to find out the specific movements of the Folangji people. The number of Folangji people who escaped from the Port of Colombo was not small, more than a thousand. On that day, it was only confirmed that they had left the Port of Colombo and escaped. But this
The news has not been confirmed. Chen Shiyi led a team to search inside and outside Kulumbo City, but did not find out the opponent's movements in detail.
Such a large number of enemy troops, and they are regular French soldiers with firearms, cannot be taken lightly. If they do not go far, but cats are waiting for an opportunity to attack somewhere, it is very likely to bring harm to our own side.
heavy losses.
The number of soldiers and horses in the Armada is actually wrong. It only has more than 3,000 troops. There is a gap between the ship and the military camp, which may give the opponent an opportunity. Although Zhang Yanling judged that since the Fo Langji people had left in such a hurry,
, must have made up his mind to escape, and did not have the courage to do anything else. However, based on the principle of caution, Huo Shijian was sent to lead a cavalry team to confirm whether the other party had truly escaped.
It would be best to watch them head to the west coast of Ceylon Island and watch them leave Ceylon Island by boat to truly confirm that they escaped.
On the day of the negotiation with the Ceylonese, Huo Shijian took thirty cavalry scouts and searched westward. Today is the fourth day, and Huo Shijian and the others, who thought it would take several days to return, are back.
"Why did they come back so soon? Didn't you find any trace of them? Or did they not go far at all?"
Zhang Yanling subconsciously felt that something was wrong. When she saw Chen Shiyi bringing Huo Shijian to see him, she blurted out and asked.
Chen Shiyi smiled and said: "What did I say? This is what the Duke must ask. Brother Huo, is it exactly what I said..."
Huo Shijian also laughed and said, "Master Chen really understands Mr. Hou."
Zhang Yanling frowned and asked, "What are you talking about?"
Chen Shiyi then told Zhang Yanling the whole story. Chen Shiyi had asked the same question when he met Huo Shijian.
The reason is very simple. The Port of Colombo is more than 400 miles away from the west coast of the island, and it takes seven or eight days to go back and forth. Huo Shijian's mission is to find the Fo Lang soldiers and horses, and track and find out their movements. It will take at least seven or eight days to come back and report the results.
.It’s only been four days since I came back, something is obviously wrong.
"Huo Shijian, please report it to the Duke." Chen Shi said.
Huo Shijian nodded, saluted Zhang Yanling respectfully and said, "I'm reporting to you, my subordinates discovered the troops of the Folangji people two days after leaving the city. They were one hundred and fifty miles west of here, heading towards
Marching westward, the number of people is about 3,000."
Zhang Yanling said: "They escaped one day earlier than you set out. You traveled for two days, and they walked for three days. How come they only walked 150 miles? Didn't they have horses and carts? The number of people is wrong too.
Ah. Kled said they only have more than a thousand people, why are there so many more?"
Huo Shijian nodded and said: "My lord, I don't know. They are a mixture of horses and infantry. There are only two or three hundred cavalry, and some donkeys pull carts with a lot of things piled up. People also sit on them, but how fast can the donkey cart go? There are so many people."
It’s because there seem to be a lot of expatriates from the Flemish Kingdom. They seem to have kidnapped a lot of women to follow them. The number of soldiers alone is worthy of the number.”
Zhang Yanling nodded slightly. The Fo Langji people were not willing to leave anything behind. It was just a matter of taking away the expatriates. They actually took away many people from Ceylon. Such a team could only cover one hundred and fifty miles in three days.
It's excusable.
"Now that we have caught up with them, why didn't we keep an eye on their movements as planned? Did they discover the trace?" Zhang Yanling asked.
Huo Shijian patted his chest and said, "How is that possible? Are my subordinates so careless? They didn't notice us at all. I asked Dong Xin to follow them with more than 20 brothers, and my subordinates came back to report the matter on their own."
Zhang Yanling pondered: "Do you have any ideas? Do you want me to send troops to pursue you?"
Huo Shijian scratched his head and said with a smile: "I knew I couldn't hide it from the Duke. That's what my subordinates thought. At their speed, we can definitely catch up with them if we send cavalry to pursue them now. In three days, we can definitely catch up with them."
. We can definitely catch up with them before they escape. Forget it, my subordinates, they travel fifty miles in one day, and it will take at least eight or nine days to reach the west coast of the island. If we send troops now, we will catch up in three days."
Zhang Yanling frowned and looked at Huo Shijian without saying anything. Huo Shijian was a little at a loss when Zhang Yanling saw him, and looked at Chen Shiyi in confusion.
Chen Shiyi chuckled and said: "My lord, I think Huo Shijian's words are true. In three days, our cavalry can cover 500 miles, and we can definitely block them at the seaside."
Zhang Yanling said solemnly: "I don't doubt that we can catch up with them. However, do we need to fight them head-on in the wild? That is the question."
Chen Shiyi mused: "I understand what I mean. You don't want to cause trouble. We'll wait until we have a firm footing on Ceylon Island. We don't want to engage in a firefight with the Folangji people, lest our brothers be injured and die in battle, and the number of troops will be reduced. The imperial court has occupied the land."
Our reinforcements, you think you need to be more cautious, these menial positions understand."
Zhang Yanling sighed and said: "As long as you understand. I don't doubt that our thousand cavalry can defeat them, but we will definitely suffer casualties. Don't forget that the Folangji people have firearms. If our cavalry makes a surprise attack, we will be able to defeat them."
Without the advantage of artillery, we can only face the enemy head-on. This is what I don’t want to do at the moment. Our soldiers
We are not strong enough to get reinforcements of ships and troops, so we can only rely on the more than 3,000 troops and horses now. There will be a fierce battle ahead. I must act with caution. You know, even if we fight all the way here, once we are finally defeated,
Everything will be taken back by the Francois. I have to be careful."
Chen Shi nodded and said: "I understand the difficulties faced by the Duke of Guo. Let's just keep fighting. The Duke of Guo is working hard every day and is heartbroken. In this case, just follow the orders of the Duke of Guo."
Zhang Yanling nodded. He knew that Chen Shiyi was disappointed, but this was the only way to handle the matter.
Huo Shijian couldn't help but said: "My lord, my subordinates have something to say."
Zhang Yanling frowned and said, "What are you going to say?"
Huo Shijian said solemnly: "My lord, once these Folangji people cross the sea and escape to Guli Port, they will be released. Soon we will attack Guli and we will still have to fight them. Now there is such a great opportunity to annihilate them in the
Ceylon Island, why don't you do it? After they escape, won't you have to face them in the future? Your subordinates believe that when they are annihilated on Ceylon Island, they will never be allowed to escape calmly. This will not only not affect the overall situation, but it will also be harmful to the overall situation.
favorable."
Chen Shiyi glared and shouted: "Huo Shijian, are you out of your mind? Mr. Geng Guo speaks like this? Are you more thoughtful than Mr. Guo?"
Huo Shijian bowed and said, "I don't dare. I'm just unwilling to let them all retreat."
Chen Shiyi shouted: "Still silent? The Duke has already made it very clear. Are you crazy?"
Huo Shijian said in a deep voice: "I understand the concerns of the Duke, but I just feel unwilling to do so. I think that even if I pay some price, it would be better than letting them go. The Fo Langji people have collected a lot of property, and in the
We escaped like this right under our noses, wouldn't it be too easy for them? My subordinates still believe that annihilating them would do more good than harm."
Chen Shi was so angry that he kicked Huo Shijian over and raised his hand to slap him. He cursed loudly: "You brat, we have followed the Duke for many years and no one dares to be so presumptuous. I'm afraid you are crazy. You are questioning this."
The Duke’s decision has come. I’m so confused. I’m looking for a fight!”
Chen Shiyi cupped his hands and said: "My lord, I didn't teach him well. This bitch talks nonsense and has no respect. I will punish him severely when I turn around. Don't be angry, my lord."
Zhang Yanling waved his hand and said: "Brother Chen, please stop playing these tricks in front of me. Do you think I don't know what you are doing? I know you also want to pursue and annihilate these Folangji troops. Otherwise, you won't
I will bring him to see me."
Chen Shi was red-faced, but he didn't expect that Zhang Yanling would see through this trick at a glance. Chen Shiyi and Huo Shijian had discussed it, put on a play, and expressed through Huo Shijian's mouth that he wanted to send troops to pursue the Folangji people. One by one, one by one
He asked Zhang Yanling to agree to pursue the enemy.
Because Chen Shiyi knew what Zhang Yanling was thinking. From the very beginning, Zhang Yanling never thought about a fight with the Fo Lang robot. The Fo Lang robot escaped, thus avoiding a street fight and a fight. This was exactly what Zhang Yanling wanted.
Plan. But Chen Shiyi and others actually wanted to annihilate the Folangji people, so they used a small trick.
"My lord, this... idea came from me and has nothing to do with Huo Shijian. If you want to be angry, just punish me." Chen Shiyi said with a blushing face.
Huo Shijian knelt down and kowtowed: "It's none of Master Chen's business, it's my subordinate's fault. Subordinate..."
Zhang Yanling shouted in a deep voice: "Shut up."
Huo Shijian trembled and quickly shut up.
"I know that you all feel that I have been quite hesitant in using troops recently, which makes you feel that I am not decisive enough. I have lost the vigor of the past. Chen Shiyi, right? Is this how you talk about me in private?" Zhang Yanling said.
Chen Shiyi was shocked. This was indeed what the generals were chatting about in private. He didn't expect that the Duke of Guo actually knew everything. It must have been the informer by Wang Hong. He didn't say anything, saying that he had only been with the Duke for a short time.
, I don’t really understand. I just don’t want to leave a comment.
"Being in a humble position deserves to be punished. A humble position shouldn't be talked about behind one's back. But there is absolutely no malice in a humble position." Chen Shi said.
Zhang Yanling waved her hands and said: "Of course I know you don't mean any harm. Alas, you still don't understand my situation and thoughts. When you are in my position and understand my thoughts, you probably won't look at me this way. I do
I am much more cautious, because I don’t want to fall short of my success, and I don’t want to take risks for small profits and spoil the overall good situation. I give you this view.”
Chen Shiyi said: "If you humble your position, you will die; if you humble your position, you will be punished."
Zhang Yanling shook his head and said: "Maybe you are right, maybe I am too cautious. What Huo Shijian said is not unreasonable. Letting go of these Folangji people is letting the tiger return to the mountain. We will inevitably encounter them in the future. Why not take advantage of it?
Now?"
Huo Shijian felt the seriousness of the situation and stopped insisting. He hurriedly said: "My subordinates are talking nonsense. Please calm down, Lord."
Zhang Yanling waved his hand and said: "Huo Shijian, if I give you three hundred cavalry, can you annihilate more than a thousand people in Fo Langji?"
Huo Shijian's eyes widened and he looked at Zhang Yanling blankly, not understanding what Zhang Yanling meant.
"What are you asking? You can't do it? Then say it clearly. There's no shame in it," Zhang Yanling said.
Huo Shijian suddenly realized that the Duke of Guo was going to lead the army to annihilate the enemy. He immediately shouted loudly: "I can do it, I will do it. Three hundred soldiers and horses are enough."
Chen Shiyi said in astonishment: "Master, what are you doing..."
Zhang Yanling said: "I can only send three hundred brothers to chase the enemy. Even if we fail, there is still room for improvement and our strength will not suffer much. Huo Shijian, since you proposed this matter, you will carry out this battle."
.If you say you can do it, then write a military order. If it fails, military orders will be dealt with. If you dare not issue a military order, the matter will be dropped and will not be mentioned again. I will only give you this one chance."
Huo Shijian shouted loudly without hesitation: "I would like to issue a military order. If I cannot defeat the enemy, I will raise my head to see you."
Zhang Yanling said solemnly: "Okay, the military order is like a mountain, and you must not go back on it. Huo Shijian, listen to the order. Immediately lead 300 cavalry to pursue Fo Langji's soldiers and horses. Be sure to annihilate all the enemy troops without making any mistakes. Otherwise, we will be beheaded according to the military order!"