Li Zicheng asked Luo Rucai for his opinion and said: "Laiheng's method of taking a side attack is a strategy that no one has thought of. However, the coalition forces have strong enemies in the north and south, so it may not be easy to break out in the direction of Chengtian Mansion.
During this period, we not only have to race with Fu Zonglong, but also have to break through the blockade of local defenders, social soldiers, and rural warriors, and also have to deal with Zuo Liangyu's interception on the southern front. The battle must be very fierce. What does Commander Cao have to say about this?"
Indeed, as Li Zicheng said, the Allied Forces of Cao Cao were surrounded by enemies from the north and the south. Although they had conquered Ruyang and other prefectures, counties and cities, it was still difficult to supply food to an army of more than 20,000 people.
The coalition forces were going to Huguang to break out, and they couldn't carry too much food along the way.
It is indeed very difficult to carry out such a light battle, but also have to fight against the pursuit and interception of the army along the way, complete the feigned attack on Chengtian Mansion, fight back to Henan Province, and then find an opportunity to set up an ambush to eliminate Fu Zonglong halfway.
"There is no business in this world that is guaranteed to make money. If we don't invest some capital in it, how can we expect it to make a splash on its own?"
Luo Rucai had already agreed with Li Laiheng's strategy in his heart, and he was sure that based on Li Zicheng's knowledge and understanding of him over the years, Lao Li must know that he was in favor of this move of "making an impact in the east and attacking in the west".
Lao Li asked for his opinion at this time, mostly out of respect for Cao Ying, and also to highlight his status and honor as deputy commander in front of the generals.
Although Ji repeatedly reminded him to be wary of Li Zicheng, Lao Li seemed to be really open-minded and courteous to others, which not only gave him enough face, but also made him easy to get along with.
well!
If his intentions were not so deep, even if he really joined Li Zicheng, what would he do if he became a rich man?
The generals discussed the details of the battle plan for a long time. Li Laiheng repeatedly analyzed the three factors of weather, geography, and people, so that everyone accepted and agreed with his strategy.
This plan is very risky, and requires the rebels to travel long distances and move quickly. However, whether they are in the camp or Cao camp, since they are called "thieves" and "robbers" by the army, of course they are the best at this.
In terms of "walking", it is several times stronger than the official army.
The rebels finally made up their mind to fight. As Li Zicheng's orders were conveyed one after another, the soldiers all knew that our army was about to make a big move. The morale that had been depressed due to too many casualties in the battle of Shangcai Camp gradually improved.
Wang, recover.
At the same time, the officers and soldiers on the other side of Xiangcheng and Yancheng showed another scene.
Fu Zonglong sent many spies to the Runing Prefecture in the south to spy on the military situation. Most of them were caught and killed by the rebels' rangers, but a few spies went to nearby villages to inquire about information from the people.
Many of these villagers had received relief from Li Laiheng. At this time, they followed Li Laiheng's instructions and told the spies of the government and army: Zuo Liangyu was succeeding step by step in the south of Runing Mansion, and he would definitely defeat the bandits. Although the bandits
There are many people and horses, but they are just a mob, and they are trapped in the Shangcai and Ruyang areas. It seems that within a day or two, the army will definitely win.
The spies brought all this good news back to the city, and the officials, gentry and celebrities in Henan finally relaxed a little. They changed their attitude again and began to hurriedly urge Fu Zonglong to take the initiative to attack and completely wipe out the intruders.
But Fu Zonglong is a very cautious person, and he saw how Yang Wenyue was defeated because of fighting alone, so he insisted on withstanding the pressure of local officials and gentry and refused to go to war. He just continued to send troops to consolidate the defense.
A solid defense line was deployed to the north, preparing to trap the rebels here.
The news brought back by the spies strengthened Fu Zonglong's determination. He thought that since Zuo Liangyu was actively cooperating, the bandits would have no way to escape. At this time, attacking forcefully might force the bandits to fight with trapped animals, so why not
After they ran out of food, they tried to annihilate Fu Zonglong before he realized that he had learned the lessons of Yang Wenyue's defeat at every turn, but in the end he had the same plan as Yang Wenyue before.
But this was not something Fu Zonglong could resist with his own strength. Chongzhen cherished his troops and food and salary so much that, except for the emperor Yang Sichang who was willing to pay him enough money, the emperor never gave other governors but food and salary that could barely support the battle.
Just supply.
With only such a small amount of food and salary, even if Fu Zonglong wanted to attack, it would be difficult for him to feed his general officers who were becoming more and more like a warlord vassal.
If these general officers cannot be fed, what kind of battle can be won with Fu Zonglong's supervision alone?
Fortunately, the current situation is very optimistic. Fu Zonglong estimates that as long as the rogue bandits are surrounded for a few more days, their food and morale will be on the verge of bottoming out. Even if there is no fierce battle by then, it is expected that as soon as the army presses forward, the rogue bandits will collapse from within.
.
Since Fu Zonglong arrived in Luoyang, he would go to the Yamen and the local Fu in Henan in the afternoon every day to meet with officials, exchange information, or discuss important matters.
Today, Henan Governor Li Xianfeng, Henan Governor Gao Mingheng and others came to see Fu Zonglong on time. Everyone had joy on their faces, as if victory was in sight.
The topic they discussed today was how to reward the Qin Army. Although the Qin Army was more skilled in fighting than the local soldiers and horses in Henan, their military discipline and appetite were also greater than those of the local Chen Yongfu and Gao Qian.
Rewarding is easier said than done, because it requires money, and what the court lacks most is silver. From top to bottom, except for the prince's palace, which is full of gold and silver, there is a shortage of money everywhere.
This time the Qin army came with 20,000 men. He Renlong and Niu Chenghu were both famous generals at that time. He Renlong in particular was both good at fighting and very greedy for money. If you give him less money, I'm afraid it won't work, but if you give him more money, it will be fine.
There is a question of how to apportion.
After Li Xianfeng and Gao Mingheng came over to discuss with Fu Zonglong for a while, they decided to use the very tight Henan vassal treasury to first provide part of the emergency response, and then ask His Highness the King of Zhou in Kaifeng to reward part of it. If there is not enough left, there will be no backing from the local area, so it doesn't matter.
The money is forcibly distributed among wealthy households and firms.
Everyone felt that although Yang Wenyue and Hu Dawei were defeated, the overall situation was still in favor of the government and army. Now that all the troops of the government and army were gradually arriving, the total force was almost double that of the rogue bandits, and they formed a very upper hand.
The siege situation was such that after the bandits ran out of food, they could pounce on them from all sides and annihilate them all, ending the situation that had remained unresolved for ten years.
But Fu Zonglong was also very worried that the bandits would continue to take advantage of their ability to "walk" and escape from the cauldron of the army. He said uneasily: "Although now is a good opportunity to make meritorious services and become a marquis, I am also worried that the bandits know that they cannot fight against us.
He ran away in all directions and poisoned the place."