On the tenth day of April, Li Zhi stood in the Chinese army tent at Fanjiazhuang Military Camp of the Huben Army, wearing the red uniform of the commander of the Huben Army.
Li Zhi had received the emperor's imperial edict and was preparing to attack Li Zicheng who occupied Henan.
Of course, according to the Pegasus Express from Han Jinxin's informants, Li Zicheng is not in Henan. He has led 100,000 rebel troops into Shaanxi. Now the province of Shaanxi is already in a state of excitement. As soon as the intruders arrive, the people all rise up, open the city gates, and beat gongs.
Drums were played to welcome the intruders. Except for a few big cities such as Xi'an, other places in Shaanxi could be said to depend on the message.
Li Zicheng was a hero in troubled times, but he kept his promises. He promoted the policy of exempting taxes all the way in Shaanxi and killed the gentry to divide the land, which made the poor farmers in Shaanxi extremely excited. Li Zicheng's personal prestige reached its peak.
It is said that when Li Zicheng returned to his hometown of Mizhi, thousands of people welcomed him. Li Zicheng displayed the royal guard of honor stolen from Kaifeng City and returned home in great splendor.
Of course, the grain and money confiscated in various counties and counties in Shaanxi were continuously transported to Henan, and the hundreds of thousands of rebel troops in Henan no longer had to worry about food and salary issues.
With the food and salary, Li Zicheng can continue his myth of "the king of Chuang comes and refuses to pay for food".
Li Zhi looked at a large sand table in the North China Plain and nodded.
The sand table is five meters long and four meters wide. It was made by the young cadres of the staff according to Li Zhi's design. The sand table is made of rice and glue and contains all the mountains and rivers of Shaanxi, Shaanxi, Beizhili, Henan and Shandong.
It was done. Li Zhi has sent many surveyors to various places to conduct geographical reconnaissance and master the secret roads in dangerous areas over the years, so he has sufficient information to make such a sand table.
With such a large sandbox, the combat arrangements for the crusade against Li Zicheng can be accurate to the kilometer level.
Li Zhi raised his head and asked the generals in the tent: "Everyone, what do you think of this expedition against the intruders?"
After hearing Li Zhi's words, the generals in the tent started talking one by one. Everyone was whispering around the big sand table, but no one stood up and said anything for a while.
Hong Chengchou suddenly stood up, raised his hands and said, "My lord, I think this time we cannot fight."
Li Zhi nodded and asked, "Why does Deputy Chief of Staff Hong think so?"
By virtue of his performance as counselor in previous battles, Hong Chengchou had been promoted to deputy chief of staff, and his status was similar to that of an ordinary regimental commander.
Hong Chengchou cupped his hands and said: "The Duke of Guo has clearly learned that our tiger and benign troops are now more than capable of observing the law. If we attack, it is really not enough."
Hong Chengchou cleared his throat and said: "The borders of my town and four provinces seem calm, but in fact there is a turbulent undercurrent. North Korea has just been conquered, and two groups of North Korean nobles are full of hatred for us. In the south, there are 160,000 Jiangbei troops watching eagerly, ready to go at any time.
Maybe it can go north and bite us."
"Our Huben Army nominally has 100,000 men, but in fact it only has 60,000 veterans. The 40,000 new recruits have been trained for less than a month and cannot fight in battle. The 60,000 men in Tianjin can deter the Jiangbei Army and form a balance with the Jiangbei Army. If we attack
If we go out to fight with the intruders, Jiangbei's army will definitely take advantage of the situation and attack our southern part of Shandong."
"At that time, my 60,000 soldiers and horses will have to deal with hundreds of thousands of bandits and 160,000 Jiangbei troops at the same time. I'm afraid there is a risk of overthrow."
Hearing Hong Chengchou's words, all the generals' faces froze and they looked at the sand table carefully.
Hong Chengchou raised his small stick and placed the chess pieces representing the 160,000 Jiangbei Army and the 300,000 Breaking Army in the southern part of Shandong. The border line in the southern part of Shandong suddenly became very precarious.
The generals looked at the two chess pieces, their faces changing color.
Zheng Kaicheng shook his head and said: "My lord, this battle is indeed impossible to fight. Although most of the Chuang army is a mob, there are also many horse troops. After Sun Chuanting was defeated by the Chuang army, at least one of the hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers
Thousands of people have joined the bandits. Now the army has enough armor and horses. If they attack our infantry formation with their horses, I am afraid tens of thousands of people will not be able to stop them."
"Without 40,000 people, we can't stop the invading cavalry army."
"But now Jiangbei Army and Hongyi have bought thousands of heavy artillery, and somehow learned our standard rifles. There are not 40,000 people in the south, and they can't defend it no matter what."
"Tianjin, Northeast China and North Korea must leave 10,000 people stationed there no matter what."
"No matter how you look at it, our troops are not enough."
Li Laosi looked at the sand table and said thoughtfully: "However, now the Jiangbei Army has recruited tens of thousands of blacksmiths who can make muskets from all over the country, and they are producing standard rifles day and night. If a war starts at this time, the Jiangbei Army will only have a small number of standard rifles.
.The further time goes by, the stronger Jiangbei Army’s equipment will become.”
"By the time our 40,000 new recruits are trained, all Jiangbei Army will be equipped with standard rifles."
Listening to Li Laosi's words, all the generals frowned.
The Huben Army's armaments have indeed been continuously strengthened over the years, but the enemies are also becoming stronger as they face the pressure of survival. What is even more frightening is that as Li Zhi continues to expand his territory in the south and north, Li Zhi has more and more enemies. As before, Li Zhi has more and more enemies.
It was different when we only occupied Tianjin. Now, once Li Zhi's troops are sent out, the empty rear area is likely to be besieged.
It can be said that Li Zhi used the population of Tianjin and Shandong to fight against all the forces in Northeast Asia.
This does not include the European colonists like Hongyi who were making trouble.
Li Xing walked around the map and suddenly asked: "Brother, will those warriors from the Japanese country take advantage of the chaos and stab us in the rear?"
Li Zhi's fleet commander Lu Hu was as good-tempered as ever and said with a smile: "The second general is too worried. Even if Japan wants to attack, their backward fleet will not be able to cross the Korean Strait. Even if our iron-clad ships ram, they can destroy the Japanese."
All the Anzhai boats were knocked over."
Li Xing heard Lu Hu's words and said no more.
Li Zhi looked at the sand table, raised a stick, moved Li Zicheng's 300,000 soldiers and horses to the position of Shanxi, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, if we don't send troops to attack the thieves, I'm afraid the thieves will gather from the east and west to attack Shanxi.
Now that Li Zicheng's reputation is at its peak, the people are desperate, and the defenders in Shandong may be unable to resist. If the intruders are allowed to go to Shanxi again, the intruders' armament and strength will reach a higher level."
"By that time, I'm afraid there will be big problems in the entire Ming Dynasty. When the intruders have the power to sweep the world, we, one town and four provinces, will not be able to survive alone."
"So no matter what, we must restrain the intruder and not let him continue to expand."
"Sending troops this time is a must-fight, not only for the Ming Dynasty, but also for the survival of our town and four provinces."
When the generals heard Li Zhi's words, they all fell silent.
"Soldiers will block it, and water will cover it. Let's test the firepower of the intruders and the Jiangbei Army first!" Li Zhi put down his support staff and issued an order seriously: "Forty thousand recruits will be stationed in Tianjin to continue training, so as to intimidate Xiaochi. Choose 30,000 veterans as our army.
The South Route Army is stationed in the southern part of Shandong to guard against the Jiangbei Army. Another 30,000 new soldiers are sent as the West Route Army to march westward to attack the intruders."
