"Second General, it's not dark yet, and the officers and soldiers have gathered in advance. What should we do? If we inform the soldiers of the retreat plan in advance, I am afraid that the morale of the army will collapse immediately! But if we hide it from the soldiers and fight to the end,
I'm afraid..."
Bai Wenxuan and Cai Shirong were already secretly making preparations for their retreat.
At least the relatively sophisticated equipment and belongings, as well as the fine grains from the grain and grass, especially a small amount of precious meat, were secretly packed and shipped, ready to be carried away by the trusted army.
The advance attack on the camp by the officers and soldiers obviously disrupted the bandits' steps and pushed Li Dingguo to the edge of life and death.
"Suspend the retreat plan! The whole army will defend the camp! I don't believe that the official army will be willing to fill in the lives of people and attack our camp with more than 20,000 people if they have Hongyi artillery!
Even if there are more officers and soldiers than us, and the ordnance is better than us, we still have the advantage of the defensive side. Even if some earthen walls and fences are blasted to pieces, it is still better than fighting in the open field on the plains!
According to my observations in the past two years, Shen Shuren is a kind man who loves his soldiers as much as his children. If he was sure of victory, he would definitely not be willing to fight with us and lose lives! He would definitely want to win more beautifully!
We just pretended that we hadn’t received Father’s order to retreat, pretended that we were not well informed, and didn’t know that a major change had occurred on the Dongting Lake side, and we were still ordered to defend and block it!”
When Bai Wenxuan and other generals heard this, they were stunned for a moment and couldn't react for a long time.
What kind of operation is this? You already know that your rear is collapsed, but you still pretend not to know? How can you pretend? And even if you pretend, the enemy won't know that you are pretending?
Bai Wenxuan couldn't help but persuade: "I'm afraid this plan is a bit... whimsical. The general is not opposed to it, but I'm afraid it will be in vain. If it is delayed for a long time, there will be more casualties in the end."
Bai Wenxuan usually wouldn't dare to talk to Li Dingguo like this, but today Li Dingguo's thoughts really made him feel dangerous and urgent, so he had no choice but to be rude.
In addition, earlier today, when Zhang Xianzhong's messenger came to deliver the order, Bai Wenxuan was also present, so he knew what Zhang Xianzhong brought to Li Dingguo.
From the lines of Zhang Xianzhong's orders, Bai Wenxuan was able to keenly observe some clues: the eight kings' trust in the second general seemed to be gradually crumbling due to several consecutive defeats and leading the army astray...
It was this change in Zhang Xianzhong's attitude that allowed him to relax his courtesy towards Li Dingguo.
Fortunately, Li Dingguo didn't care much about red tape. He was currently focusing all his energy on analyzing the battle situation and did not pay attention to Bai Wenxuan's straightforwardness.
He just thought carefully about Bai Wenxuan's suggestion without regard to the situation, and finally insisted on his own opinion:
"To be honest, I'm not sure how to 'pretend not to know when I already know that we're going to withdraw', but I believe that persisting is the best choice. Only when we actually fight can we adapt to the situation and seize the opportunity to deceive. If we really can't catch it,
It’s also God’s will.
Don't say any more, just carry it out like this. Normally I can listen to your advice more, but in times of crisis like this, I can only decide on a path and follow it to the end without any doubt! Shen Shu people are suspicious people, and the more suspicious they are, the more suspicious they are.
Maybe it will give the enemy who is pretending to be stupid more opportunities."
Bai Wenxuan had no choice but to execute it. There was inevitably a thought in his mind: If it turns out to be right in the end, that's it. If it is wrong and causes unnecessary losses to the army, then he must make it clear in front of the eight kings afterwards.
…
…
Li Dingguo's order was quickly implemented.
The 20,000 bandit troops in the camp were actually blocked by the news that "the Eight Kings asked them to withdraw their troops immediately and go south, and the navy and navy had already surrounded them." They still had the fighting spirit to stick to the camp and block the entrance of the lake.
Some of the old battalions of the direct lineage with high morale are even fantasizing until now: "The second general has not attacked the city or launched an attack in the past few days. He must be showing weakness and wants to lure the officers and soldiers in Chenglingji who are eager to save the city to take the initiative to attack, so that we can lay siege to the city."
To fight for reinforcements, the real purpose is to annihilate the official army and reinforcements."
It can only be said that Li Dingguo is still very good at running the army. The morale and popular support of the troops he personally led have always been maintained very well. Although they are obviously at a great disadvantage, the people below do not even know that their own side is at a great disadvantage.
It is also a skill to make one's own soldiers have incredible self-confidence.
Although there is an ancient saying that "a proud soldier will be defeated", what has been feared in wars since ancient times is actually the arrogance of the commander, not the arrogance of the soldiers. If you can ensure that the commander is calm and the soldiers are arrogant, it will only increase their courage and become a good cannon fodder, but will not
Something went wrong.
If it was replaced by generals like Jiao Guangqi and Cai Shirong leading the army before, I am afraid that due to Shen Shuren's psychological offensive and external propaganda, it would have collapsed long ago.
(Note: A arrogant soldier must be defeated. This comes from "Book of Han Wei Xiangzhuan": "Those who rely on the greatness of the country, are proud of the people, and want to see power over the enemy are called arrogant soldiers, and those who are arrogant will be destroyed." Combined with the context, it can be
It can be seen that the arrogant soldiers here refer to "the troops that arrogantly bully the monarchs/commanders of other countries because of their own country's large country and large population". They are the "soldiers of the arrogant master". The key harm lies in the arrogance of the ruler, not the arrogance of the small soldiers.
mad.)
The official army and the bandits soon started a fierce battle to attack the camp. After the Hongyi artillery firepower was prepared, the Shen Army's bayonet and musketry teams also stepped forward one after another and began to advance one by one, using the stacking method to fire to suppress it.
The Hongyi artillery blasted open many holes in the camp. All the troops who tried to block the entrances fell to death under the attack of the cannon team. They could only retreat to the low rammed earth walls and trenches that had not yet been blown down.
Wait until the officers and soldiers are approaching before attacking.
Considering that the terrain of the gap was not wide enough after all, Zuo Zixiong did not dare to use cavalry to conflict easily, so he decided to use heavy armored infantry to fight hand-to-hand to seize the mouth. Once successful, the bayonet and gunnery team would then move forward to seize the wall and rely on the wall.
The wall fired into the camp.
He prepared this tactic for Chen Shuren, who didn't say anything, but said without hesitation: "You don't need to ask me about adapting to the enemy and commanding tactics. There are specialties in the art, so you have to believe in tactics."
Own."
Chen Shuren is very clear about the boundaries of his abilities. He is not good at tactical command level things. He only needs to control the overall strategic direction and attack strategies.
If a person with a literary background insists on micromanaging tactics, it will only bring disaster. What is the difference between that and "letting the machine gun position advance fifty meters"?
Zuo Zixiong actually didn't ask for instructions in such detail in the first place. It was because he was tricked by Li Dingguo in the strategic deception a few days ago. He always wanted to atone for his sins, so he was cautious to this extent, and he was also a little loose in tactics.
not open.
Soon, as the elite soldiers of the Ming army wearing iron-clad cotton armor stepped forward to attack the gap in hand-to-hand combat, the main force of thieves who had been hiding behind the dilapidated bunker also emerged again, and the two sides quickly entered into a meat-and-mortar battle.
The Ming army was better equipped and had heavy artillery to frighten some of the enemies in advance, so their attack momentum became even more powerful. They fought for lives with swords and guns, and soon became fierce.
After a while, hundreds of corpses were dropped in front of several gaps, but Li Dingguo's troops still fought to the death, and reserve troops continued to pour in. Such momentum made the officers and soldiers suspicious of life.
Why don't these enemies know how to be afraid?
During the chaos of the battle, Li Dingguo personally held up his sword and went to the front line to supervise the battle. He shouted encouragement at the top of his lungs. The officers and drummers around him also encouraged and encouraged, beating the drums and shouting the motivational slogans that had been explained in advance:
"Brothers, hold on! Your Majesty has already conquered Changsha! Prince Ji's palace has captured tens of millions of taels of treasure! Your Majesty's main force will arrive to support us in one day!
The officers and soldiers have been clinging to us! We will kill them without leaving a single piece of them alive! As long as we fight to the death today, everyone will be heavily rewarded by then! Those who died in battle will receive a hundred taels of compensation for their families!"
When the rebels shouted this, some front-line soldiers of the Shen Family Army who did not know the truth began to doubt their lives. They thought that Li Dingguo's troops were really just a bait. After Zhang Xianzhong solved Changsha, he would come over for reinforcements——
In fact, Zhang Xianzhong had already understood the situation. Seeing that Chen Shuren had arrived so quickly and the warships had an absolute advantage in surface power, how could he dare to come to Baling to join forces with Li Dingguo? Of course, he asked Li Dingguo to run as fast as he could.
Go south quickly to meet him.
It's a pity that these problems are not something that front-line soldiers can clearly see and understand. Li Dingguo's internal incentive deception was very successful, and the fighting suddenly became anxious.
Even though the army had an absolute advantage in terms of casualties, and the close combat cannons and artillery combined to achieve an exchange ratio of at least five times, Zuo Zixiong still felt a little distressed about the loss.
The bloody battle lasted for more than a quarter of an hour. Zuo Zixiong looked at the face of Shen Futai who was watching the battle several times. Seeing that Shen Shuren had no expression on his face, he didn't know whether he thought he fought well or was a coward.
So I suggest again:
"Sir, it seems that Li Dingguo is very strict in running the army. Do the thieves not know that they are about to be divided and defeated individually? So that their morale has not been discouraged? How about temporarily retreating today, and then use other methods to attack the heart, and slowly find out
What’s the truth about people’s hearts in the enemy camp?”
Chen Shuren gave Zuo Zixiong a thoughtful look, but he was not absolutely sure about these tactical judgments. After thinking about it, he felt that it would be a better choice to kill fewer people and destroy the enemy more easily.
, decided to take a steady hand and figure it out.
"I said that there are specializations in the art industry. If you think it is suitable, then do it. However, if you retreat, you must be careful of the bandits escaping tonight——
Maybe before Li Dingguo wanted to escape, he was afraid of being chased and destroyed by us, so he had to grit his teeth and pretend to be confident. If we can seize the opportunity, we can pay less and gain more than in this trapped beast fight.
Some results." Shen Shuren said neither praise nor blame.
Zuo Zixiong gritted his teeth, took responsibility, and ordered a temporary suspension. Then he also paid very sincere attention to the points reminded by his superiors. After retreating, he immediately asked Zhu Wenzhen's cavalry troops to organize patrols, go around and keep an eye on the sky for a while.
After dark, will Li Dingguo retreat with a false shot?
…
A fierce frontal attack on the camp came to an end for the time being. At least one or two thousand corpses were left on the battlefield, as well as more wailing wounded, the vast majority of whom belonged to Li Dingguo's troops.
If Li Dingguo hadn't deceived his own people and made them really think that "Zhang Xianzhong's plan is for the whole army to go north to join forces and take the initiative to attack and devour the Chenshu people." In addition, his side was desperate to jump over the wall to fight against the enemy. The morale of the bandit troops would never have been able to survive.
to this point.
After withdrawing their troops, Li Dingguo and his generals did not dare to neglect, and still maintained attention to the enemy's situation at all times.
No anti-theft
Not long after, Bai Wenxuan came to the Chinese army's tent and told Li Dingguo the bad news: "Second General, although the officers and soldiers have retreated, their cavalry's range of activities is even more aggressive than before.
Zhu Wenzhen has already circled to the south of our camp, and even planned to set up a new camp to the south of us. This is to surround and cut off our retreat. From this point of view, even if Zuo Zixiong withdraws his troops and does not attack the camp for the time being, the longer he delays,
The harder it is for us to break through.
And if we go according to the original plan and risk our lives to break out of the encirclement immediately, we will definitely not be able to covertly distance ourselves from the enemy. If we can't go five miles, we will be discovered by Zhu Wenzhen's cavalry, who will chase them!
I can’t even run away!”
"You mean, Zhu Wenzhen is bold enough to go around our retreat?" Li Dingguo twisted his eyebrows upon hearing this, and his face was gloomy for a long time. He rubbed his teeth back and forth a dozen times before he seemed to have thought of a countermeasure.
"It doesn't matter, things have reached this stage and are extremely dangerous. You can only treat a dead horse as a living horse doctor. Just take it one step at a time - you should immediately choose a few close friends to die. If you are willing to die, it is best to have family members.
He earns his salary as pledge from his father.
Then, I forged a few letters from my father to me, and asked them to secretly take the patrol cavalry to bypass Zhu Wenzhen, penetrate a little to the south, and then go north again, and be "accidentally" caught by Zhu Wenzhen! Do you understand?
!”
Bai Wenxuan felt a chill in his heart, and after pondering for a long time, he finally understood Li Dingguo's plan. He had no choice but to implement it quickly.
Li Dingguo's forged "Letter from Zhang Xianzhong to Himself" was copied several times and given to several "messengers" to take out. Once caught, either on the way out or on the way back.
If you catch them, you have to say that you are from the south.
These dead soldiers may not all complete the mission as Li Dingguo expected, and they may run away after infiltrating, but there are always some who can complete the mission.
On the shore of the lake south of Li Dingguo's camp, there soon appeared the sound of cavalry infiltrating into the dark, and the rumble of horse hooves of patrols, occasionally mixed with a few shouts of fighting, and cries of pain and begging for mercy.
Sure enough, less than an hour and a half later, some of the letters were seized by Zhu Wenzhen's cavalry patrol. Zhu Wenzhen only glanced at them briefly and immediately had them delivered to Zuo Zixiong.
Zuo Zixiong didn't dare to act on his own. For something that required using his brain to identify conspiracies, he immediately reported it to Chen Shuren for his superiors to make a decision.
Chen Shuren was originally ready to take a rest, but the oil lamp in the tent had not yet been extinguished. When Zuo Zixiong came in, he did not hesitate and immediately put on his clothes again.
"It turns out that Li Dingguo really didn't know that our navy had succeeded in cutting off their troop transport route? How could Zhang Xianzhong's messenger run so slow? Only now did he send the order to Li Dingguo?"
After Chen Shuren saw it, his first reaction was disbelief. However, he would not jump to conclusions blindly. Instead, he immediately called together the informants sent back by Zhu Wenzhen, Zuo Zixiong, and several staff members, and carefully
Cross-examine and discuss.
"Have you asked the courier? Is there just one messenger, or are there several? Why is it running so slowly? It actually took more than two days to get here from Changsha. Have you asked?"