On the night when he asked his subordinates to use his deception, Shen Shuren slept well until dawn.
But Lin Chengcheng, who was burdened with a heavy burden, could not sleep all night.
Although before midnight, Liu Sandao came back to report. He also presented gold jewelry worth 300,000 taels of silver that Zhang Xianzhong had paid in advance through Li Dingguo. He said that Zhang Xianzhong had made an appointment to deliver the balance the next day and asked the Lin Development Department to release it.
But Lin Chengcheng obviously didn't dare to completely believe these promises. He covered his hands with jewels and gold, and all he could think about was "Will Zhang Xianzhong paralyze us? In fact, since he believed that the army's ammunition logistics supply was out of stock,
Will they break out immediately that night and catch us by surprise?"
With this worry, Lin Chenggong asked the sentries in his camp to be more vigilant, and tripled the number of people on duty to keep a close eye on them at all times. As a result, there was no movement until daybreak.
Helpless, after dawn, he had no choice but to quietly go to Chen Shuren's central army tent to report back with Liu Sandao and the property worth three hundred thousand taels with dark circles under his eyes.
He doesn't have the guts to secretly give away all his property. Not to mention that Liu Sandao is not his subordinate at all, he is just pretending. Both of them want to make progress in Shen Shuren. How can they secretly steal the money?
.
Therefore, it is better to be honest and let Shen Futai make the allocation. I believe Shen Futai will also be considerate.
"...Reporting to Futai, this is the situation. Zhang Xianzhong has been silent for the rest of the night, but he probably believes that our army is short of ammunition and has difficulties in supplying. The general cannot guess what Zhang Xianzhong will do next."
Lin Chengcheng and Liu Sandao explained the matter clearly. Chen Shuren, who was having breakfast beside him, was not surprised at all. He casually greeted the two of them to sit down in the tent, quickly added two sets of bowls, and ate together.
Chatting over breakfast.
Lin Chengcheng and others were flattered. They had never had an equal meal with a governor-level person since the imperial edict.
Chen Shuren's breakfast is not luxurious. When fighting in the army, he usually eats the same food as soldiers, with at most some canned food to supplement it. This morning, he ate honey condensed milk in a porcelain can.
, served with salted fish vinegar rice balls, pickled vegetables, and a few eggs.
Except for eggs, which need to be simply boiled, other foods do not need to be cooked over a high heat. At most, the boiled eggs should be soaked in hot water and heated up.
Chen Shuren did this, on the one hand, to set an example, boost morale, and prevent extravagance and disunity in the army.
On the other hand, it is also to cause less trouble to logistics. Especially in recent days, he has warned the army to fire as little as possible. The number and time of cooking stoves in the camp have been strictly restricted.
So that when those who are interested can observe, they can notice that "there are absolutely no 20,000 troops in the Chenshu camp."
As we all know, experienced generals can estimate the number of enemy troops by counting the number of stoves in the enemy's camp. Therefore, Sun Bin's strategy of increasing troops and reducing stoves can work.
However, with the two armies stationed in a fixed position, it was impossible for Zhang Xianzhong to count the stoves at a close range in Chen Shuren's siege camp, so he could only count the cooking smoke. How many puffs of smoke there were and how long they burned every day could be counted.
from.
The Chenshu people used canned food instead of cooking and pretended that there were few people. This bureau had been planned for several days. Ever since they stopped attacking the city with high-density firearms that day, they had already reduced the smoke. It was not just a temporary idea today.
So I did a full set of acting, and my acting skills were absolutely realistic.
Lin Chengcheng and Liu Sandao ate canned food from the porcelain jar together, while Shen Shuren cleared his mind and put down the tachyon stirring the honey condensed milk and said:
"If it were me, I wouldn't have made any moves last night, and I probably won't make any moves today - the new siege camp in the west of the city is stationed with your troops. Zhang Xianzhong only found out about this news last night, right?
?
With his caution, how could he not verify it again during the day? He would definitely have people observe from a distance at the top of the city and keep watching. Once it is discovered that the men and horses in your camp are ordnance, and the armor and stomach are inconsistent with what he said, Zhang Xianzhong will
Suspicions will arise.
In addition, the scouts and messengers sent by Zhang Xianzhong have been cut off since last night and cannot return to the city, right? Zhang Xianzhong will definitely not be reconciled and will wait and see for another day, hoping to confirm the Hengshan Guards from the scouts he sent.
The battle situation there will confirm whether Wang Shangli really destroyed our army's ammunition supply.
Therefore, what you should be most worried about during the day today is whether any of Zhang Xianzhong’s scouts want to infiltrate into the siege and return to the city. As long as Zhang Xianzhong’s intelligence sources are cut off, there will be a time when he can’t sit still.”
Lin Chengcheng and others were quite anxious at first. Seeing Mr. Futai being so calm and composed, they suddenly felt relaxed and their confidence increased a bit. Lin Chengcheng plucked up the courage to ask:
"I dare to ask Lord Futai, what do you think...will Zhang Xianzhong finally break out towards our camp, or will there be other ways to deal with it?"
Chen Shuren shook his head: "I can't even think of coming out, but our army will be prepared as soon as possible, with high forts and deep ditches, and defenses on all sides. No matter which side Zhang Xianzhong breaks out from, we will try our best to hold him back and immediately support him from all armies.
In addition, if he is suspicious and insists on waiting and watching for one more day, it will also be good for our army. I have urgently notified General Zuo to return to the division as soon as possible and bring back the troops and horses that were sent to Hengshan Guards as soon as possible. As for General Zhu’s cavalry, they will be sent back during the day.
When they arrive, let them get some sleep first, and they can be mobilized at any time in case of war. Our army will only become more and more abundant, so you have nothing to worry about."
After Chen Shuren said that, he glanced at the gold and jewelry sent by the other party for the last time, roughly asked about the value, and then ordered: "Since it is for you, you can accept it with confidence. I have never sent hungry soldiers and used tricks.
If used well, there will be additional income, and those who use the plan can naturally share the benefits.
Of these three hundred thousand taels, you two will leave one hundred thousand taels of jewels, each of you fifty thousand. The remaining one hundred thousand taels will be given to the officers at all levels in the two battalions as rewards, and they can also use them to purchase equipment. The last one hundred thousand taels
, distributed to ordinary soldiers——
However, I have my word first, whether I give rewards to officers or give gifts to soldiers, it must be in my name, and it must be done before the battle to avoid leaking the secret in advance."
Shen Shuren also knew that if all the money that had gone into the hands of others was taken back, it would definitely cause resentment among the troops.
Because the mental account in which this money exists has changed, everyone is loss averse. It will be very painful to put money in your pocket and then take it out. It would be better not to get it in the first place.
Therefore, they should pay out what should be paid, and they should ratify what should be ratified. The only thing is that they should accept Chen Shuren's favor and know that the money was given because of Chen Shuren's order, not from Lin Chengcheng or Zhang Xianzhong.
The troops must be loyal, and they must also be loyal to Shen Shuren, and cannot be loyal to the generals below.
Of course, there is no need to be loyal to Chongzhen.
After Lin Chengcheng received the order, he was also very happy. A stone fell to the ground in his heart, and he immediately obeyed everything.
…
After that, the whole day and night passed very quietly.
Zhang Xianzhong was indeed suspicious. After throwing stones and asking for directions that night, he had to confirm the composition of the army in the west of the city and the total strength of the army the next day.
Although the method of confirmation may not be as expected by Shen Shuren, in short, in the end, he actually came to the conclusion that "the officers and soldiers are indeed dispersed, their logistics is disrupted, and now it is a time of emptiness."
As for Wang Shangli's delay in sending a messenger back to report the Hengshan Guard's battle situation to him face to face, although Zhang Xianzhong felt a little uneasy, he finally tended to believe that "Wang Shangli must have sent someone, but the scout was afraid of death.
I saw that there was also an army camp in the west of the city besieging the city, so I didn’t dare to infiltrate.”
After all, Lin Chengcheng only contacted him secretly and agreed on "mutual non-aggression". Wang Shangli still didn't know about it, which is not surprising.
So in the end, Zhang Xianzhong discussed with Bai Wenxuan and other generals, as well as Li Dingguo, and came up with a plan to leave the city for a decisive battle and steal the camp.
On July 16th, which was also the third day after the battle on the Hengshan Guard side, in the early morning, Zhang Xianzhong finally encouraged the troops in advance, made meals in the middle of the night, ate at the fourth watch, and went out at the fifth watch.
In order to fight smoothly and ensure surprise, he also played some tricks - Zhang Xianzhong did not intend to give Lin Chengcheng the three million or five million taels to buy the trip, and he did not believe that Lin Chengcheng was willing to keep his secret for free.
He left the city this time not to escape for his life, but to have a decisive battle with the Shen Shuren, at least taking advantage of the Shen Shuren's ammunition supply shortage to severely damage the main force of the Shen Shuren!
Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong's real goal was to attack the northwest corner of the Hengzhou siege camp. To be precise, the western section of the northern camp. He wanted to defeat that part of the Ming army first. If the rest of the Ming army came to help, they could also defeat it.
Fueling tactics.
However, to attack the northern camp normally, one should open the north gate of Hengzhou City and send troops, but Zhang Xianzhong chose not to open the west gate this time. Instead, he chose to open the west gate.
He did this because he was worried that the Ming army at the north gate would be more careful at night. Even if they were several miles away, if the city gate was opened here and the army gradually poured out, the Ming army would discover it in advance and be prepared.
After all, the city gate is only a small size, and at most ten or eight rows of soldiers can pass through it at any time. If tens of thousands of people want to leave the city, it will definitely take a quarter of an hour to pass, and the suddenness will be lost.
In contrast, Lin Chenggong outside the west gate, since he had made the plan to "let the cashier go", should not be surprised in advance, so Zhang Xianzhong first let the main force leave the city and re-formed their formation outside the west gate.
Then follow the west wall to the northwest corner to cover up and attack the Ming army's northern camp.
When Zhang Xianzhong chose this route, his internal generals still didn't understand it. For example, Li Dingguo advised him: "Father, our army still has more than 40,000 people in the city, nearly 50,000, and quite a few soldiers.
Although they are not elite, if they go southwest and break out along the Xiangjiang River Road in the future, they can still keep up with the marching speed.
If we travel to the northwest, although the distance to the Central Guizhou Road to Shu is shorter, there are more mountains and ridges to climb along the way, and I am afraid that more of my subordinates will be left behind."
However, Zhang Xianzhong ignored this advice because he was already mentally prepared for the newly attached troops in Huguang to fall behind.
In his opinion, if these newly recruited troops in Huguang could kill as much as possible with the main force of the Shenshu people in the attack on the northern camp of the official army, and lose more lives of the official army, they would have made their money back.
The value of their existence is to consume the officers and soldiers, making them even weaker when they later want to chase the main force of his direct lineage old camp!
So he completely ignored Li Dingguo's persuasion and insisted on sending troops like this.
On July 16th, at five o'clock in the morning, Zhang Xianzhong's army, except for the reserve force of about 10,000 people who stayed in the city, and the other about 40,000 people, all left the city and formed a neat formation a few miles opposite Lin Chengcheng's camp.
Of course Lin Chengcheng had discovered it a long time ago, but he pretended not to notice it and stood still. At the same time, Pegasus whispered to Chen Shuren, which was updated in real time.
Zhang Xianzhong saw that Lin Chengcheng's camp was quiet and thought that the other party had really fallen into a trap and was waiting for him to send someone to contact him and send him money to buy the passage. So Zhang Xianzhong sneered and waved his whip to direct the troops to turn north.
It was the fifth watch of summer, and the sky was already slightly brighter. Although I couldn't see things in the distance clearly, at least I didn't trample on the robes in front of me, and I didn't need to light a torch. Zhang Xianzhong chose the right time to go to war, and he touched the officers and soldiers.
When we were in front of the camp, the sky was just bright enough for fighting.
"Kill! Rush into the army camp! Kill Officer Shen Gou!"
"The army's gunpowder and lead bullets are no longer enough! Their supplies were burned by General Wang's troops! The dog-killing officer is at this moment! This opportunity cannot be missed!"
Zhang Xianzhong's army used the 15,000-strong Huguang New Affiliated Army as vanguard cannon fodder, and the 25,000-strong Shaanxi and Yulao Camps as the main force of the Chinese army, and they rushed toward the Shen Army's camp.
Although Shen Shuren had learned from Lin Chengcheng that Zhang Xianzhong had left the city a quarter of an hour ago, he did not know the specific direction of Zhang Xianzhong's attack at the beginning.
Even if there is a real-time update, it will take at least half an hour before friendly forces from other directions in Hengzhou City can be reinforced. Therefore, in the first half hour, the troops of Beiying can only defend themselves.
The defenders left by Shen Shuren in the camp in the north of the city totaled more than 4,000 people. In the first half hour, they really had to face Zhang Xianzhong's tenfold military advantage!
Although it is impossible for Zhang Xianzhong's 40,000 people to invest all at once, there will be a strategic reserve team one after another.
But no matter what, the bloody fighting soon spread across the entire front.
The Shen Army's battalion in the western section of the North Camp was the first to bear the brunt. The garrison was Lu Datou. He had more than 2,000 people under his command and only had 500 firearmsmen.
Facing the swarming Zhang Xianzhong's troops, Lu Datou's face was livid, but he still held the line calmly, forcing each of the firearmsmen to mount bayonets, and went behind the antlers of the picket fence, firing their guns in turn. Once surrounded by the left and right wings, he was ready to
Hold on to the village gate and fight with bayonets!
As the sound of the first burst of muskets rang out intensively, the morale of Zhang Xianzhong's troops who were frantically killing them was slightly suffocated - mainly the soldiers of Zhang Xianzhong's army. Before leaving the city, they were all informed that these days were the window for the army to be short of ammunition.
Expect.
As a result, it was clearly promised that the officers and soldiers would have no bullets, but when the incident came to be, they were fired upon. This would naturally lead to resentment and a little confusion.
However, the number of Lu Datou's campfire guns was too small after all, which made Zhang Xianzhong's army panic for a few minutes, and then regrouped the offensive, but the momentum was not as arrogant as it was at the beginning.
"Don't be afraid! This ammunition must have been kept privately by the officers and soldiers for emergencies. It will be used up soon! Keep killing! Fire arrows!"
As arrows rained down, some musketeers who were reloading behind the picket fence could not help but be wounded by the high-trajectory arrows falling from the sky. For a while, the inside of the Ming army's stronghold wall wailed again and again.
Lu Datou drew his saber and shouted sternly, ordering the wounded soldiers not to scream. At the same time, he urged the pikemen beside him to pick up the bayonet and musket of the wounded Paoze and continue shooting. It didn't matter even if he had never trained marksmanship. At this time, firepower density was the most important.
of.
He even set an example himself, rushing up to carry the gun of a killed turtle dove gunman, as well as the long-handled battle ax as a gun stand. The soldiers guarding Lord Bei set an example, and for a while, he rekindled the resentment of the same enemy.
Heart.
"Kill! Kill the thief Zhang! Avenge the fellow villagers in Huguang! Shen Futai's main force will come to rescue us soon! General Zhu's cavalry will arrive soon!"