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Chapter 1296 Sixty thousand against three hundred thousand?

"Marshal, this thief Cao...is he really willing to surrender?" Just by listening to the voice like a broken gong, you can tell that Zhang Guangda couldn't help asking the question.

However, these questions did not need to be answered by the Earl of Yongning himself. The military officer Zhang Mingyuan directly replied: "Liu Jinhai had already established contact with Cao before. He sent Liu Yuchi to Guide Prefecture to take the opportunity to show goodwill to Cao and find out some information about the thief. He did not expect him to appease so easily."

Zhang Mingyuan added: "As long as Luo Rucai's Caoying bandits stay in Guide Prefecture and don't come to Zhuxian Town to help the bandits, it will be enough for our Yongyi Army!"

…………

“How generous!”

Cao Shixi gave a thumbs up and whispered to Zhang Dechang beside him: "It's still the Yongning Earl's brave army. 60,000 soldiers are not afraid of fighting against 300,000 or 400,000 bandits."

Zhang Dechang just smiled at him and didn't say anything.

Cao Shixi, who had made himself look foolish, did not feel the slightest bit embarrassed. With a smile on his face, he picked up the tea bowl on the table and drank it all in big gulps, looking as if he was still not satisfied.

The personal soldier of Earl Yongning who was serving beside him hurried forward and refilled the teacup on the table in front of him.

Of course, this is just an insignificant episode and will not have any impact on today's military meeting.

…………

"Generals, have you heard and understood the situation between the enemy and us?"

"clear."

"I can hear you clearly."

"I understand!"

Hearing the question being asked personally by Earl Yongning, the generals sitting below nodded in response.

"it is good."

Yongning Bo looked calm and composed, but his tone was very dignified: "Since you have heard it clearly, let's discuss how to fight this war.

All of you here are the military commanders and deputy commanders of various battalions. You have a lot of experience in leading troops to fight in battles. What do you think about the current battle? Please express your opinions here.

Please do not hesitate or hold back, and speak freely. Do not worry about whether your thoughts are correct or not, but feel free to express your thoughts without reservation. "

"Although our army is composed of warriors who have fought many battles and can be regarded as the absolute elite of the Ming Dynasty, the enemy's forces are several times larger than ours. Even if they are not as elite as us, they have an absolute advantage in numbers..."

Zhang Dechang, deputy general of the Baodu Biao Camp, was the first to speak: "My Lord, I think we should strictly guard the camp's defense line while urging the court to send more reinforcements to ensure safety."

After hearing his words, Earl Yongning's face was full of smiles as usual to show his encouragement, but he did not express his opinion. He just kept glancing at the generals in the tent to see who would come out next to offer suggestions.

"What Vice General Zhang said makes sense."

Zhang Guodong's words made Zhang Dechang, who had just spoken, look delighted. Even one of the six battalion generals who was trusted by the Earl of Yongning affirmed his suggestion. How could he not be complacent?

But Zhang Guodong's next words frightened him: "However, although the enemy army has hundreds of thousands of soldiers, they are actually a mob, most of whom are hungry people they have taken with them. They are no different from lambs to be slaughtered on the battlefield.

The only ones who can fight in the enemy army are the old ones and some border troops who surrendered to the enemy. Their number should be around 50,000 to 60,000, which is actually comparable to our army's strength. The difference will not exceed 20,000 to 30,000 at most. There is nothing to be afraid of!" Zhang Dechang was about to speak out to refute himself, to prove that he was just expressing his concerns, not that he was afraid of fighting.

But before he was ready to say anything, he heard Henan General Chen Yongfu say, "But the military report shows that the rebels have trained hundreds of thousands of new soldiers. I'm afraid they should not be underestimated."

Zhang Guangda then took over his words and said, "Most of the bandits' new recruits are young and strong men drawn from the hungry civilians. Most of them have never been trained. Although they are equipped with swords and guns, most of them are not wearing armor. Such new recruits pose limited threat to our soldiers on the battlefield."

He turned to look at Hu Zichen and Wei Zhice, and said, "Zhice, Brother Hu, you have fought with the bandits before, so you must know more about them than us. Tell us what you think."

After hearing this, Wei Zhice smiled first, but did not rush to speak. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Hu Zichen and signaled with his eyes that he should speak first.

Hu Zichen had no intention of speaking in public today. He had originally wanted to listen to the opinions of the generals of the Yongyi Army so as to increase his understanding of them and take the opportunity to improve his own knowledge. However, the current situation in the tent did not allow him to remain silent any longer.

"As several generals have said, the bandits are indeed a motley crowd. The elite troops in their army are the thousands of old bandits who have been following Blind Man Li. The rest are mostly border troops from Shaanxi who were defeated in recent years and surrendered to the bandits, as well as some government troops from Henan and other surrounding areas."

Hu Zichen hesitated for a moment, as if thinking about what to say. After a moment, he continued, "However, the morale of the rebel army is very high. Although they still have many shortcomings in the battle formation, they are quite fearless. Even if they are holding a pointed stick, they dare to charge into the battle formation desperately."

He finally added: "I really don't know how the thieves trained them?"

"What else?"

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Chen Yongfu continued, "It's nothing more than forcing me to die!"

He put the tea bowl in his hand down heavily, making a "dong" sound, and then continued angrily: "Those people who were held hostage by the bandits have no clothes to cover their bodies, and they rarely have enough food. They may become starving corpses at any time.

In order to get food for themselves and their families, they had to charge desperately in front of the battle. Otherwise, not only would their families starve to death, but they themselves would also be killed by the swords of the bandit squad, and their families would also be implicated. How could they dare to fear death? "

"The thief is really abominable."

Zhang Guangda cursed angrily: "These thieves really deserve to be killed..."

"More than just death..." Wang Pu also said, "In my opinion... all these thieves should be cut into pieces!"

"Cough...cough..."

Earl Yongning was afraid that they would gradually divert the topic of the day, so he coughed a few times and said loudly: "Today's topic is the war with the rebels. We will not mention other irrelevant matters today."

He then said to Wei Zhice: "Zhi Ce, you have been fighting with the bandits for a long time at a critical moment. How strong are they? You have some understanding of them. Tell us your opinion today."

Since the Earl of Yongning had named him, Wei Zhice naturally could not make any more excuses. While preparing his words in his mind, he tapped the table with his hand, signaling the Earl's personal soldier who was serving beside him to pour his empty cup of cold tea.

"The bandits have a strict military appearance, and their soldiers fight bravely. They have some rules when they advance and retreat. In my opinion, they are not ordinary bandits. It is obvious that there must be soldiers in their army who help them practice military formations and tactics."

Seeing that everyone was listening attentively, he continued, "Moreover, the rebel has also realized the benefits of guns and cannons. Although the guns and cannons in his army are not very sophisticated, they are numerous. He also understands the benefits of concentrated firing of guns and cannons, and has set up a separate firearms battalion."

"What a pity...the bandits' firearms camp was blown up by you, General Wei!"

Wei Zhice smiled politely at Wang Pu, not blaming him for interrupting him. He first picked up the teacup on the table beside him and took a sip before continuing, "Although many of the cannons of the firearms battalion of the rebels were blown up by our Tengshe battalion at a critical moment, there are still some large and small cannons in other parts of the rebel army. They will form a new firearms battalion soon."

"However, although the bandits have many artillery pieces, they are nothing to be feared!"