Chapter 1847 Renzijuan Debate on the Gains and Losses of Feng and Liu

Liu Dongyang laughed loudly and said, "Sir, are you testing the rank of a junior general?"

 Liu Dongyang certainly did not believe that Feng Tang would not understand the entire war situation.

 What does a handsome person do? It means being familiar with the weather and geography, knowing the troops well, strategizing, and making the final decision. As for charging into battle, that is a matter for the people below.

Although Feng Tang is not the head coach of the North Route Army, as the head coach of the West Route Army, every move of the North Route Army will also affect the changes in the entire West Route War situation. It is impossible for him not to care and understand.

You must know that your side is facing the most powerful enemy of the entire Nanjing Puppet Dynasty - the Xuanfu Army. The Xuanfu Army is a powerful force on all nine sides, and it is also the backing of the remnants of the Datong Army led by Sun Shaozu.

Although the Xuanfu army's eastward march was not complete, Niu Jizong brought out almost all the essence of the Xuanfu army, leaving only 120,000. With the large army, Niu Jizong took away more than 90,000 people. It can be said that the strength of such an army is no weaker than the 120,000 northwest army led by Feng Tang, or even worse.

Those who do not plan for the overall situation are not enough to plan for a region. How can a commander not know this truth?

As the commander-in-chief of the Northwest Army and the West Route Army, Feng Tang also knew that it would not be easy to completely eliminate Niu Jizong's Xuanfu Army, and it would depend on the cooperation of the North Route Army. However, the current situation of the North Route Army made him worried, and he We cannot yet comment on the situation of the Northern Route Army.

You must know that the moment he led an army of 120,000 from the northwest to the east, it has already aroused doubts and worries among many people.

In the past, large-scale military operations like this would generally be led by civil servants, assisted by military generals, and supervised by censors. However, this time it is related to the fate of the country, and the cabinet and the Ministry of War have also made several plans. In order to avoid Encountering constraints on the battlefield and delaying the opportunity to fight, he made an exception and allowed himself to lead the 120,000 troops.

If you want to continue to dictate the court's arrangements for the Northern Route Army, you will really be breaking a big taboo.

Although he could not interfere with the imperial court's deployment of the North Route Army, it did not affect Feng Tang's concern for the North Route Army's actions. Seeing that Liu Dongyang was so familiar with the North Route Army's actions, he came to test him.

“Oh, if you want to say it’s a test, then so be it.” Feng Tang said with a smile.

"If you say that the Zongshui River is wide and deep, it can barely be justified, but now is the winter and spring season, and even the Zongshui River is not a problem. Now Su Shengdu is huddled in Jizhou City, and Jizhou City is east of the Zongshui River. This shows that his army has already crossed the Jun River. The Solu River to the west of Zaoqiang is just a small river. Now many river sections have dried up. If it is summer, the river originates from the junction of Qinghe and Wucheng. It is possible that the Huanglu River overflows and merges with the Solu River in Songmen Town. The water potential is not small, but it is all on the boundary of Fucheng downstream, and now the Huanglu River has become fertile farmland for the local people. Plant food and wait for harvest. This is the most reliable treasure land in this area."

Liu Dongyang showed off deliberately and kept all his treasures, which made Feng Tang also look at him with admiration.

Feng Tang knew the march and action route of the North Route Army as well as the surrounding situation. He also specially found someone in advance to recruit a guide who was familiar with the Hejian and Zhending areas to introduce the situation to him so that he could master the North Route. I thought I was very familiar with the area east of Zhending Mansion and south of Hejian because of the movement of the army. I didn't expect that Liu Dongyang, who had only been here for two months, was so familiar with the situation in the north.

 “Then Dongyang, what do you think Su Shengdu’s purpose is in stagnating in such an arrangement?” Feng Tang asked.

Although Liu Dongyang is arrogant, he is not a big talker on such military matters. He can talk about geography, but he dare not speak nonsense when it comes to Su Shengdu's military deployment arrangements. After all, he does not understand their considerations. , we can only make some inferences from the current situation we have. There are many uncertain factors here.

Seeing Liu Dongyang's hesitation, Feng Tang laughed and said, "Why, are you still hiding it in front of me?"

"How can the general dare to show off his broom in front of your lord?" Liu Dongyang said in a sour tone, and then said: "The general thought that Su Shengdu was worried about the threat of Linqing enemy troops, so he hesitated, but Shanxi Zhenwu Logically speaking, a large army of ten thousand should not be so cowardly. The enemy troops in the old city only have a few thousand people. Once the old city is captured, although it cannot be said to cut off the canal, it will definitely pose a substantial threat to the enemy forces in Texas. Su Shengdu has full power to divide his troops. It is not impossible to block Linqing from reinforcing the enemy, and even if the plan is right, it is not impossible to surround the point and call for reinforcements..., maybe we are still worried that You Shilu will take money from the bottom of the cauldron, right?"

 Liu Dongyang spoke harshly, and Feng Tang also frowned.

Mutual distrust, improper cooperation, and even dragging each other down and adding insult to injury are taboos for military strategists. What this kind of cooperation with friendly forces needs most is a strong commander to coordinate and control, but now the Northern Route Army lacks this. The current situation, even if You Shigong comes, may be difficult to resolve.

"All the possibilities you mentioned exist, but now if Su Shengdu hesitates to move forward, then You Shilu will be a little embarrassed on the front line of Wuqiao in Jingzhou." Feng Tang pondered: "Or attack Deping and Ling County first?"

"Sir, it is of little significance to capture Deping and Ling County, and it will also delay supplies. The Datong Army can rely on canal shipping and maneuver with ease. As long as the enemy is blocked under Dezhou City, the Jizhen Army will be easily trapped." Liu Dongyang shook his head.

Feng Tang nodded slightly. Liu Dongyang's considerations were reasonable. The section from Dezhou to Linqing was the enemy's key defense area. Now the entire canal was under his control. He could easily use shipping maneuvers. Unless a large army was used to siege the city, otherwise It is difficult to threaten key passes like Dezhou, and You Shilu's Jizhen Army cannot achieve such a goal without the cooperation of Su Shengdu's Shanxi Army.

After thinking about it for a while, Feng Tang simply didn't bother to think about it anymore. It was useless to think about it. In the final analysis, the Northern Route Army had to solve the problem by itself. For him, what was more important was to win the battle in front of him.

"Dong Yang, since you know the situation on the northern front so well, you should be more confident about our own situation, right?" Feng Tang rubbed his chin, "There are only 30,000 soldiers left in the 120,000-strong army. We are still on the way, but we will arrive within three days. As a pioneer, do you have any good suggestions?"

“It depends on how big your appetite is, sir.” Liu Dongyang smiled proudly.

Feng Tang laughed, "So what if you have a big appetite, and what if you have a small appetite?"

"If you have a big appetite, let's feint a shot at Shanxian and Caoxian, and attack Xuzhou directly from Xiayi to the east, catching Chen Jixian off guard. His little Huaiyang Army can show off in front of others, but it's not enough in front of our Northwest Army!" We can go to Xuzhou within half a month!"

 Liu Dongyang's arrogant words made Feng Tang couldn't help but feel his heart beat.

It must be said that this suggestion was very bold. Chen Jixian wrote to him and asked him not to enter Xuzhou, and he agreed, because the court seemed to be in secret contact with Chen Jixian, and seemed to hope to win over Chen Jixian and let him fight against Niu Jizong behind his back. , if you launch a surprise attack now, you may not be able to defeat it in one go.

Liu Dongyang looked down upon Chen Jixian's Huaiyang Army, and so did Feng Tang.

No matter how Chen Jixian boasted that his Huaiyang army was unparalleled, his army was all derived from the Fifth Military Camp.

As long as they stay in the Beijing camp for ten years, no matter whether it is the Jizhen Army, the Liaodong Army, the Datong Army, or the Xuanfu Army, they will all turn into soft-footed shrimps. How can they live in a comfortable life and wait for death? A strong army is coming?

Even if the surprise attack failed and he attacked hard, Feng Tang was still sure of taking Xuzhou in one go. The only thing he wasn't sure about was that it would be difficult to annihilate all the Huaiyang army. If he couldn't annihilate them all, and the enemy would completely fall to Niu Jizong's side, maybe Will cause some trouble.

But the key is that the imperial court has already given me an order, so that I can't touch Xuzhou for the time being. If I disobey the order, maybe I can excuse myself at this time by saying that I have not accepted the emperor's life, but I will definitely be liquidated when I return to the court in the future. , Feng Tang had to consider this.

Liu Dongyang was overjoyed when he saw a glint in his boss's eyes. He thought he had persuaded the other party. He was about to persuade him further, but he heard Feng Tang wave his hand, "So what if you have a small appetite?"

Liu Dongyang felt a little regretful, but did not hesitate. He immediately said: "Then it would be easier. Fight steadily, cross the Yellow River, capture Caoxian, Dingtao, and Chengwu, and force Niu Jizong to mobilize troops to fight. We can use our mobility on this front and local supply advantages, mobilize their troops, and wait for opportunities to defeat them during the mobilization.”

“What if Niu Jizong refuses to leave the canal?” Feng Tang asked again.

"That's fine. If we capture Caoxian, Dingtao, and Chengwu, the Xuanfu army will lose room for maneuver in southern Luna. Do we still want to defend Jinxiang and Yutai Niu Jizong?"

 Liu Dongyang was very restful and his tone was full of confidence.

"If we don't attack Jining, we will capture Jinxiang in the south of Jining, Jinxiang, Yutai, and even the strategic points guarding Jining. Then we will control the line along Heshui River. Guting Town is the first line of the Xuanfu Army. There are grain storage areas everywhere, and there are many sluice gates all the way from the collapse site to Luqiao Town. How dare he not defend it? He has to fight if he doesn't, otherwise the canal will be in my hands!"

 Liu Dongyang was in high spirits, obviously he had been planning for this war for a long time.

"Guarding the canal certainly brings transportation benefits, but it also puts them in a bind that they have to defend. It is up to us to decide when and where this battle will be fought, unless he dares to use all his strength. Let us have a big battle, but does Niu Jizong dare to be so desperate?"

Feng Tang stroked his beard and smiled. He admired Liu Dongyang's invincible heroic spirit. In comparison, Liu Baichuan was more calm and sophisticated, but a little less aggressive. Tu Wenxiu was more ruthless and fierce, but a little more aggressive. Reckless, Liu Dongyang has the best of both worlds.

 (End of this chapter)