Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 840 Wang Ziteng made up his mind
Outside Daliang City, Zuo Daying,

The patrolling soldiers were shuttling back and forth between the tents, and on the official road to the south, ten miles away, many scouts were also lying in ambush for alert.

In the night,
The moonlight shines down,

Everything was quiet on the official road, and no one came here.

inside the account,

Jia Lian had just taken his seat when his uncle called out to him before he could even settle down. How could he say this? He knew that those people were difficult to deal with, but he was forced to rush over. Before he knew it, they had already rushed out to kill him.

I was confused as I went in and out, and I had no idea how the fight was going on. I was finally rushed out by the crowd. Looking back, I saw corpses and blood all over the ground. At that time, I didn't think too much about it. I just thought that after I got out, I should come back quickly.

When my uncle asked me what I thought, how should I answer? I didn't have any thoughts, so I stood up and prepared to say something perfunctory.
"General, I think what General Wang said just now is just a reference. The enemy has a large number of people and about 100,000 armored soldiers, but I think their strength is not that strong. After returning to the camp, I counted the soldiers and found that only more than 2,000 people were lost, and more than 1,000 were injured. The result of the battle is that we broke through the enemy's army. Of course, they may also show weakness to the enemy!"

This was also why Jia Lian was more careful. He knew that he would need to count the troops after returning. He thought the losses would be huge, but unexpectedly, the casualties were less than 20%. He also said that it was still unclear whether this was true or not. If it was not right, there was still a way out.

Jia Lian's words made the surrounding generals think deeply. It seemed that they were not really elite. They were ordinary people before and followed the bandits for a while. Even if they were wearing armor, they were just strong on the outside but weak on the inside. Therefore, there was still much room for improvement.
The commanders present looked at each other, all with the same intention, but after waiting for a while, no one spoke. Hu Le was impatient, so he stood up, clasped his fists, and bowed;

"General, I think this matter can be urgent or slow, but more importantly, our purpose of going south is important."

Although Hu Le was a bit reckless, he was thoughtful and thoughtful. He just started it and threw out some ideas.

"Oh, tell me, what is urgent and what is slow?"

Wang Ziteng was interested. It was good to have an idea. He spoke it out for discussion. It is said that three people are wiser than one person. There is some truth in these words.
Hu Le did not hide anything. This matter concerned the safety of the army, so he had to have a safe plan.

"General, the so-called urgent means that tomorrow, we will march south as planned, and kill the enemy troops directly while they have just arrived and have not yet established a firm foothold, engage in direct combat, and relieve the siege of Linshan County. The slow means that we will keep our troops here, or march three times a day, and rely on the troops of Linshan County to weaken the enemy's spirit, and then we will attack them with all our might."

In fact, there is no clever trick, it is just a matter of fighting early or late, and the secret letter does not mean this, but General Peng on the opposite side does not want to fight head-on and lose troops, so he retorted;
"General Hu's words are just to attack early and attack later. The secret letter said that if the county city is lost, then we will defend Daliang City, and if it is not lost, we will lead the army to control the county city. But now, there is no mention of the county city being besieged, so we can advance or not."

This means,

He just didn't want to send out troops. The troops from Hedong and Hexi counties were all stationed on the north side. If they were wiped out in one battle, how could he live up to his elder brother's trust? So he said it in a tactful way, but his meaning was clear.
Even Jiedushi Lu nodded frequently after hearing this, and felt a little moved. There is always death in war. The 50,000 soldiers and armors in Daliang City are the result of Lu family's years of hard work. The loss is too great. How can they be compensated? Now that the court has made arrangements, what is the subsequent solution?

"That's wrong, General Peng. The consequence you're talking about is that we will just sit back and watch Linshan County fall into the hands of the enemy. If those bandits of the Taiping Sect take over the county, they will get supplies, and the most important food and fodder, which are life-threatening."

General Sizhou Heyong immediately interjected that waiting for the opportunity to fight would inevitably leave behind trouble. Although it was unknown how much grain was stored in Linshan County, with so many people in the Taiping Sect, the consumption must be huge. It was possible that they came here just for the grain in the county city.

Therefore,
General He's words made all the commanders in the tent look solemn. The civil unrest in the south of the capital was caused by years of drought, which resulted in a complete failure of the grain harvest and thousands of starving people. This led to the Taiping Rebellion. Although there were 300,000 people, the cost would be huge. If their food supply could be cut off, the rebel army would surely be defeated.

The commander in the tent had an idea. If they could defeat the main force of the rebel army in one fell swoop and recapture all areas south of the capital, they would have made great military achievements, which might be no less than those of the old dukes in the past and could be passed down for three generations.

Seeing many people lowering their heads and talking about it, Hexi General Dong Dawang disagreed.
"General, nowadays, regardless of whether the Taiping Cult is elite or not, there are 100,000 armored soldiers. I estimate that the army behind them will not be without armor at all. Of the more than 200,000 main forces of the bandits, at least half of them are armored, which means there are 300,000 soldiers in total. If we want to tear the main forces of the bandits head-on and rescue the county city, how many troops will be lost? Whether we can achieve our goal is still uncertain. After all, as the secret letter said, there are many spies in the county city."

Although there was some intention to retreat, every word in his words made sense, and many people stopped discussing it heatedly. When two armies fight, they rely not on calculations but on courage. Everyone knows that the first push will be followed by the second and the third will be followed by the final exhaustion. Unfortunately, when the battle gets closer, the majority of people hesitate to move forward.

Even Wang Ziteng was a little hesitant at the moment. If they had to fight, they had to fight within three days. The county city could not be breached. If the rebel army occupied the county city and could not take it back in a short time, the Taiping Religion rebels would surely gain a foothold.
But if we don't fight, this trip will be a failure, so we still have to fight, but at this moment, we need Lu Jiedu's attitude. If he doesn't cooperate, there will be no chance of winning this battle.
"General Lu, what do you think?"

"this,"

Lu Daiyuan was also a little entangled at this time. It was not good for him to fight or not. If he fought, his subordinates would suffer heavy casualties and it would take him a long time to recover. If he did not fight, he would miss the opportunity. If the palace knew about the discussion in the tent, the consequences would be unpredictable.
So, I can only kick the problem back.

"General, I will obey your orders. Whether we fight or not, I will do my best."

The words were beautiful, but they were useless. Hu Le spit on them, but he actually looked up to this old man and spoke again.

"General, do you have anything else to say?"

"Oh, General Hu, please go ahead."

Wang Ziteng realized that he didn't get what he wanted, so he changed the person decisively.

"Marshal, generals, the imperial court is going south this time to completely suppress the civil unrest. Although the enemy army is powerful, there must not be many elite soldiers. They are just some rioters who have bathed and put on hats. If we fight hard, we will have plenty of opportunities. And I am not afraid of being laughed at by you. This time, I, Hu, want to earn a title for my youngest son at home. Military merit is rare and cannot be missed."

Almost everyone raised their heads, their eyes burning, especially the generals of the government army, who were restless and whispering to each other.
"Yes, General Hu is right. If we can make meritorious contributions this time, we can move up one step."

"Yes, they are just some rioters, why should we be afraid? Military merit is right in front of us, how can we let them go?"

"General Hu is right. If there is a chance, the title will be easily obtained. After all, Luo Yunhou is an example. He was granted the title of Guanneihou as an exception from the third-rank man."

The tent was filled with the sound of conversation. Several commanders had different expressions on their faces. Some frowned, some thought, and some looked angry.

Dong Dawang wanted to stand up and say something, but Peng Shiying grabbed his arm and shook his head gently.
At this moment, the atmosphere of all the generals in the tent was aroused by General Hu. Even Jia Lian and Wang Ren seemed to be somewhat tempted and it seemed that it was not impossible.

They came here just for military merit. They would be unwilling to accept the loss of soldiers and generals without any military merit after all the hard work they have endured for so long.

Even Lu Daiyuan, who was a little ambiguous just now, was thinking about the second son in his heart. The title and the governor can only be passed on to the eldest son. The second son is a commoner and has no title. If he asks the court for it, it may not be granted the title. But one thing is that although the court now controls the number of titles, it does not mean that it is blocked. Luo Yunhou was conferred the title of marquis in one battle. This is an opening made by the current emperor.
After all, after reducing the power of the Eastern Prince's Mansion, he successively reduced the power of the Northern Prince's Mansion, causing unrest in the people inside the Great Wall. However, Luo Yunhou won a great victory in the battle outside the Great Wall and then ascended to the throne of Guannei Hou, which indirectly stabilized the hearts of the nobles. Later, the orphan daughter of Lin Ruhai, the Imperial Censor of the Salt Inspection in Jiangnan, was given a gift and became an earl, which completely reassured the nobles.
Therefore, as long as the road is not blocked and the conditions for being granted a title are still met, even if the conditions are slightly improved, there is still a chance. In Dawu, there is only one thing: if the military merits are sufficient, then a title can be granted.

"An Jing, I know what you all said. The court asked us to lead the troops here, not to rest in Daliang City, but to suppress the rioters. No matter how elite the Taiping Rebellion army is, I will not retreat without a fight. This time I will go south and kill them all."

Wang Ziteng had a cold face and a firm tone. He glanced at the commander in the tent to see his reaction.

"Yes, Marshal Ji." For a moment.

All the generals in the tent stood up and bowed. Many of the generals had red faces. Even the two generals from Hexi and Hedong stood up and bowed. This battle had to be fought.

Wang Ziteng was relieved. Since we had to fight, the enemy outnumbered us, so how to fight was the key. He pressed his hands down.
"Everyone sit down. Since we are going to fight, how and how to fight, let's decide on a rule today. Hu Le, you speak first."

This time, Wang Ziteng named and questioned each of them one by one. It was also the first time for him to lead troops. It was good to be cautious, but he had no idea how to fight.

"Yes, General, I have two plans. One is a frontal assault, with the cavalry breaking through the enemy's battle formation, and then the infantry following up. In one battle, we can inflict heavy casualties on the enemy, and it would be best if we can get them to the county city."

After a pause, he looked at the generals around him and continued;
"On the other side, the cavalry will be divided into two wings to pin down the enemy's left and right guards, and then two infantry will follow and look for an opportunity to charge in. Our main force will directly use the art of battle formation to take advantage of the enemy's strengths and attack their weaknesses. We will tear open the enemy's main force head-on. The cavalry will be divided into half and take advantage of the situation to kill them. This battle can be won."

Hu Le was a fierce general, having fought his way up from the rank of captain, and he understood battle formations best. Therefore, the simplest method was to defeat the main force of the enemy army. Otherwise, once the enemy had time to react, they might counterattack them with their large numbers.

This idea, the commanders present all understood, and they were silent, thinking carefully, not that the method was bad, but that the risk was too great, a battle would determine the outcome, if the battle was not determined, what would happen, General Dong Jiang of Hexi County could no longer hold back, he stood up and clasped his fists and said;

"General Jie, General Hu's method is good, but it is too risky. One is the number of casualties under his command. If we charge directly at them with our strength, we need the momentum to win the battle. What if we can't win the battle?"

As the saying goes, when two armies fight, they lose before they win. If you don't think about the way out, everything is over. Especially in my heart, I have a bad feeling. How can a group of rioters and rebels have so many armored people? Is there really no one behind them?

"General Dong, are you afraid?"

From behind Hu Le, General He Yong of Sizhou stood up and sneered, then bowed to Wang Ziteng who was sitting on the main seat;

"General, all the generals, the enemy has just arrived today. They are exhausted and have not yet established a firm foothold. Not only are they arrayed in the north of the county city, but the rear army is also besieging and attacking the city. This is a taboo in military strategy. The county city government army has been besieged, but has not been captured. If we confront them, the Taiping Rebellion army will be attacked from both sides. If we fight with all our strength, now is the best time."

General He's meaning was very simple. It is better to fight early than late. This would not only save the county city, but also determine the outcome in one battle. Although the 100,000 infantrymen were the government troops, they were also the brave soldiers that had been sent out from the capital camp in the past. Especially the nearly 40,000 defenders of Daliang City, they were the darlings of Jiedushi Lu and were no worse than the soldiers of the capital camp. As long as the main force of the Taiping Sect was defeated in this battle, then, not to mention the shock to the whole world, his wife and children would be within reach.

If we miss this opportunity and let the enemy army gain a foothold or take over the county town, the consequences will be unpredictable.
The other commanders were also weighing the pros and cons in their minds. Peng Shiying, the defender of Hedong, nodded in agreement, but he had to ask some questions, so he stood up and said;
"General, although what General He said makes sense, I still want to ask General He, the people in the south of Beijing have been in turmoil and have been in ruins until now, including General Gu Ping's troops in the south of Beijing. There is no news now. After 30,000 elite troops went south to relieve the siege of Linyuefu City, where is the defending general Qin Yunjiang? These two people together have more than 50,000 people. They can't be made of clay."

After he finished speaking, he immediately clasped his fists and said to the generals around him;

"Since there is no news, it means that the whole army was annihilated or defeated. This means that the Taiping Sect's bandits are not without any strength. What if we rush south with our entire army and fail to defeat the enemy's main force?"

This question,
It was like pouring a basin of cold water on the hot firewood, calming down the restless camp commanders.
Even Wang Ziteng narrowed his eyes. Both sides were right. Is there any safe way to have the best of both worlds? It would ensure that there would be no mistakes. As for the casualties among his subordinates, it was not surprising at all. A merciful man cannot command an army.

"General Lu, what's a safe way?"

As Wang Ziteng asked again, the generals shifted their eyes to Jiedushi Lu. Lu Daiyuan pondered for a moment. What both sides said made sense. Since they had to fight, they had to do their best, but they also had to worry about retreat. Thinking of the second son's title, he had to do his best.

"General, both generals have their reasons. Let's compromise. Tomorrow, we will send out troops. The camps here will remain untouched. I will divide my troops to guard the city and then set up camp opposite the main force of the enemy army to ensure safety. Finally, according to what General Hu said, we will do our best and decide the outcome in one battle. As for General Peng's idea, it may not be wrong."

Looking back, he saw Kang Mengyu, the Imperial Guards general sitting quietly at the back, and asked;
"General Kang, can the Imperial Guards fight?"

Kang Mengyu was stunned. The people in the tent discussed how it was his turn. However, since General Lu asked, he could answer. He stood up and clasped his fists and replied;

"Report to the governor, the imperial guards will never retreat."

"Okay. In this case, leave the imperial guards behind to support and keep things stable. Let Jia Lian lead the cavalry on the left wing to contain the enemy. Similarly, let Wang Ren contain the right wing. The remaining 100,000 infantry will use battle formations to cover the enemy and do their best to win the battle. If not, withdraw overnight."

This was a win-win solution, with both advances and retreats. Wang Ziteng was satisfied and looked at his generals. No one objected. Only Jia Lian remained silent. For some reason, he felt that Jia Lian was absent-minded.
"Jia Lian, do you have any opinion?"

Although Jia Lian was sitting there at this time, his mind had already flown back to the capital, and his heart was on Wang Xifeng. He didn't think she was a good person in the past, but after so many days, he felt restless all over. He thought of the joyful look on Fengjie's face on the bed and Ping'er's body. It was a pity that he didn't enjoy them properly before leaving.

When he was in a daze, he heard his uncle asking questions, but he didn't realize it. Wang Ren beside him saw him and nudged him with his arm. Then he came to his senses and quickly stood up and replied;
"General Jie, what General Lu said is very true. We need to attack and defend to ensure the possibility of an emergency. I also think that since we are there, we have to fight, but I think it is better to delay the timing of the fight. The enemy army in the county city will definitely attack the city again. If we kill them at noon while they are tired, it may be better."

This was also Jia Lian's flattering words. The timing could be chosen, but the duration of a day's march could not be concealed, so it was dispensable. The generals in the tent knew it well, but they did not care.
But Wang Ziteng listened to it. Timing is a good idea.

"Okay, since we have decided, I will give the order. At dawn tomorrow, we will cook and set up camp 20 miles north of Linshan County. At noon the day after tomorrow, the whole army will charge out. Jia Lian and Wang Ren will be in charge of the left and right wings. The center will be led by General Lu, and General Dong and General Peng will be on both wings. The left side will be led by General Hu, and the right side will be led by General He. We will look for opportunities on our own."

Almost as if he had issued a military order, all the generals in the tent stood up and received the order.

"Okay, go back and get ready."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief."

After discussion,
All the generals dispersed, leaving only Jia Lian and Wang Ren. The two stood up and walked forward, especially Wang Ren, who had a thick layer of brocade wrapped around his left arm.

How could Wang Ziteng not feel distressed? He asked;
"Wang Ren, is it possible?"

"Don't worry, uncle. This minor injury will definitely hold the enemy back."

Wang Ren shook his head. This battle concerned his uncle and his own future. How could he dare to retreat? This was a rare opportunity. Only Jia Lian had a worried look on his face. It was ok for him to lead an army alone, but he felt insecure leading an army in battle. How could he do that? He couldn't say it.

"In that case, be careful. You two want to contain the enemy. Don't worry about losing some soldiers. As long as the central army breaks through the enemy's formation, there will be no worries in this battle."

Wang Ziteng nodded with satisfaction. Before receiving the secret letter, he was also hesitant. But when he thought that if he returned empty-handed or lost the Linshan County City, the civil servants in the court would never let him go, he might as well give it a try!
"Yes, uncle, I will remember it."

(End of this chapter)