Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 247 Article Chen
After being interviewed by the former deputy commander-in-chief of the Yongwei Battalion Zhang Kui and Huang Zhen, the deputy commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan, who had been promoted to the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan, Hong Chengchou had a brief interview with Zhang Kui and others, and then brought Shen Shiyu Joining the Chinese army in the long cavalry with a group of personal soldiers, they left the customs and set foot on the Liaoxi Corridor.

"Principal, how did the Wu family come to their senses? To have sent so many cavalry to go out with Governor Hong, the imperial court is not afraid that the main force of the Wu family will leave the customs and gather with the ancestors to make trouble?"

Huang Zhen, who sent Hong Chengchou off and returned to the Guancheng Arrow Tower, asked puzzledly.

"Your Majesty has a clever plan, how can the famous Hong Hengjiu be so easy to get along with? There are too many ways here, so let's stop thinking about it! Lao Huang, according to the assignment of the supervisor, you will take the craftsmen in the customs to the Shahousuo in a few days. Expand the barracks over there, and strive to complete the project within this year, and the food and salaries needed by the craftsmen will be delivered by the imperial court soon. I am wondering if the Holy Majesty wants to use troops against Jianzhou? Otherwise, why did he suddenly want to expand the barracks? But it’s very close to Ningyuan and Jinzhou! Tsk tsk! If we really go to war against Jianzhou, it will be a great opportunity for us to make meritorious deeds! At that time, we will also participate in the battle, maybe we can get a title and pass it on to future generations!"

Zhang Kui stroked his thick beard under his chin and couldn't help thinking about it.

Shahousuo is located between Shanhaiguan and Ningyuan, with the sea to the east. It is a small-scale fortress. At present, [-] soldiers are stationed, led by a thousand generals from Shanhaiguan.

According to Hong Chengchou's instructions, Shanhaiguan should expand the barracks of Shahousuo as soon as possible. The new barracks must accommodate at least 3 people, and it must be completed before March in the 11th year of Chongzhen.Warehouses for storing grain, grass and luggage should also be prepared for more than 3 people. After the completion, the Ministry of War will arrange special personnel to deliver military supplies. As for why the barracks were expanded, Hong Chengchou did not say much.

It has to be said that Zhang Kui's sense of smell is very keen. Hong Chengchou ordered the expansion of the Shahousuo barracks to prepare for a possible attack on Jianzhou in the coming year.

If it really starts with Jianzhou next year, with 10,000+ troops plus at least 30 civilians, it is impossible for nearly [-] people to rush to the front line of Jinzhou at once. Jinzhou will not be able to bear it at all, and the army must be transferred in batches to the front.

In Hong Chengchou's plan, even if there will be no large-scale war next year, the expansion of the Queen's House is imperative, because the conquest of Jianzhou is a matter of time, and the right way is to make sufficient preparations in advance.

After the expansion is completed, he will request to transfer tens of thousands of troops in the pass to the barracks of Shahousuo, put pressure on Zu Dashou in Jinzhou, and force him not to act rashly, and then call back the Jinzhou army in batches to control the Ming army in the pass. Moved forward to Songshan area, gradually weakening the strength of Liaoxi Group.

When Hong Chengchou sent back the secret memorial before leaving the customs, Zhu Youjian was in the Qianqing Palace looking through the statements of the two important officials, Sun Chuanting and Chen Qiyu, about the strategy of Jianzhou next year.

In the memorial, Sun Chuanting first thanked the emperor for awarding his mansion in the capital, and expressed his gratitude to the emperor for sending his family from Daizhou to the capital. He knew that this meant that he would return to Beijing soon. He has worked in the capital, and at least he is a first-rank position above Shangshu.

Sun Chuanting holds a positive attitude towards the war that may occur next year.The suggestion he put forward in the memorial book coincides with Hong Chengchou's: attack Guo by false routes.Taking advantage of the heavy troops gathered on the front line of Jinzhou, using force as a deterrent, completely disintegrated the power of the Liaoxi Group, and blocked the bottomless pit of Liao's salary, so that the imperial court can invest more money and food to improve people's livelihood.

Sun Chuanting, who was in Shaanxi, had heard the warning early and maintained a high degree of vigilance against Jianzhou's annexation and conquest of various Mongolian ministries that began this spring.He believes that if Jiannu continues to expand, and if its expansion goes smoothly, its next step is likely to point to Xuanda, Yansui and other border towns. In order to deal with this very likely situation, the court will have to deal with these few Chubian Town invested a huge amount of materials and personnel.If things go on like this, I am afraid that there will be a second or third Liaoxi Group, and Ming will eventually be dragged down by the border affairs.

Instead of guarding against thieves for a thousand days, it is better to inflict heavy damage before they become powerful.

Sun Chuanting believes that the officers and soldiers from all walks of life have fought bravely with the thieves for many years and accumulated rich experience in battle.Coupled with sufficient food and salaries, complete armor, and the quality of firearms and weapons has also been greatly improved, the morale of both officers and soldiers is high. A big defeat is also absolutely impossible.

Sun Chuanting clearly mentioned in the memorandum that although Jianlu was tough and good at fighting, his two most fatal flaws were the small population and the lack of various materials.However, the Ming Dynasty has a vast territory and abundant military resources and materials. Even if the overall combat power of the officers and soldiers is slightly lower than that of Jianlu, Jianzhou cannot afford such a huge consumption due to the mutual losses of both sides through large-scale battles.

Zhu Youjian knew what he was thinking, which was to exchange human lives for human lives. Anyway, Daming had plenty of people, and even if ten were exchanged for one, the poor population of Jianlu could be exhausted.

One will succeed and all will die.In the eyes of these famous ministers, it is only right and proper to be prepared to die at any time in order to be paid as a soldier, not to mention that there is also a high amount of money for burning and burying.

In fact, this idea was very common at the time.Almost every ordinary soldier also felt that since he had the money and rations given by the court, he should die for the emperor.And Zhu Youjian, who came through time travel as a later generation and has an extraordinary respect for life, can't accept this view deep in his heart.

As for who will be the commander-in-chief of the army, the proud and arrogant Sun Chuanting did not propose a clear candidate, only saying that everything should be judged by the Holy Spirit.

In Sun Chuanting's eyes, whether it was Hong Chengchou, Yang Sichang, Lu Xiangsheng, or even Chen Qiyu who was far away in Jianghuai, although these people were all outstanding talents, they were not superior to him.

Hong Chengchou is old-fashioned but too tactful and cautious, and not strict enough to control his subordinates; although Yang Sichang is good at planning, he is short of making decisions before the battle, and relatively lacks battle experience; Lu Xiangsheng is loyal and brave, but has too much benevolence and lacks strategic vision. Its advantages; although Chen Qiyu is resourceful and far-reaching, he is easy to be complacent and underestimate the enemy, as evidenced by the battle of Chexiangxia that year.

Of course Zhu Youjian knew that Sun Chuanting wanted to be the commander-in-chief of the whole army, which also made him feel very embarrassed.

In terms of comprehensive ability in all aspects, Sun Chuanting is indeed not inferior to Hong Chengchou and others, and it can even be said to be slightly better, but Sun Chuanting's biggest shortcoming is that his qualifications are not as deep as Hong Chengchou.In this generation that has always paid attention to seniority, Hong Chengchou and others will be very dissatisfied if he orders him to lead the army as the coach.If there is a big victory, it is okay to say, but if the war is in a stalemate or a disastrous victory, then Sun Chuanting will face various impeachments and attacks, which is very detrimental to his political future.

This is also one of the reasons why Zhu Youjian wanted to conscript himself.

After he became the commander-in-chief of the whole army, he brought all famous ministers such as Hong Chengchou, Sun Chuanting, Yang Sichang, and Chen Qiyu to form a heavyweight think tank, ranked in no particular order, and gathered for public discussions before the war. The mutual hostility and hindering actions among these powerful people, even if the battle did not go well, or did not win a big victory in the end, none of the ministers of the DPRK and China would dare to point the finger at themselves as the coach.

Let's talk about it at that time, if it doesn't work, I will lead the army out of the customs once.Although he promised Lu Xiangsheng that he would no longer go on the expedition himself, things are always changing.Old Lu led the army out of Saipan to make a surprise attack, so he didn't have to be afraid of being reprimanded face to face by this loyal minister. At most, he would accompany him when they met again and promise that there would be no next time.

After putting Sun Chuanting's statement aside, Zhu Youjian picked up Chen Qiyu's memorial and flipped through it.

(End of this chapter)