King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 490 Marshal Zhu

"Thirteenth Master, please get up quickly!" The imperial envoy who announced the decree immediately stepped forward to help.

Holding the imperial edict in hand, Zhu Jinghong stood up slowly, and then said: "Before the battle, you should be commensurate with your position..."

After saying this, Zhu Jinghong slowly turned around, faced the generals and said: "From now on, you all call me Commander-in-Chief!"

"Greetings, Commander-in-Chief!" Hou Jing was the first to respond. He was also sent here by his boss today.

As soon as he started the ceremony, everyone present knelt down on one knee and addressed themselves as "marshal" when paying homage.

Zhu Jinghong's face was full of smiles, and his contentment was beyond words.

He was so happy that he was noticed by the imperial envoy who passed the order. When he returned to Beijing, he would report the situation and help Zhu Jinghong once again consolidate his "shallow-minded" character.

"Everyone get up!"

"What do you call the imperial envoy?"

"Ten... Commander-in-Chief, Minister of Rites and Rites, Wai Lang Ying Shaozhang!"

Passing the imperial edict to the accompanying guards, Zhu Jinghong said cheerfully: "It turns out to be Mr. Ying. You have come a long way and the carriage is tiring. In the evening, I will host a banquet to welcome you!"

"Thank you, Marshal!"

After making arrangements here, Zhu Jinghong looked at everyone and said, "Let's all disperse. When we get back, inform the guards and department chiefs to come to my commander's tent tonight to discuss matters!"

"As ordered!"

Wherever Zhu Jinghong is, his tent will be placed there.

Therefore, after the generals dispersed and the imperial envoys were sent with the order, they could only follow Zhu Jinghong and continue their journey in the wilderness.

During the two hours in the afternoon, Zhu Jinghong received at least hundreds of situation reports, including the positions of various ministries, enemy situations, small-scale battles, emergencies encountered by various ministries...

Zhu Jinghong ordered people to record everything no matter how detailed it was, and at the same time changed the markings on the map he carried.

I have to mention here the staff team that Zhu Jinghong created for himself.

He selected eight deputy qianhu from the bodyguards to mark and record for him, and they were also responsible for analyzing the battlefield situation.

These eight people are all under thirty. They can be regarded as the younger generation in the army, and they are relatively smarter.

It is precisely with the participation of these people that various ingenious plans can be formulated to allow the entire northward march to advance in an orderly manner.

Soon the sun sets, and all the troops start setting up camp one after another, preparing to have dinner and go to bed early.

Due to the strong support from the Mongolian tribes, the entire team had a large number of pack horses and brought enough supplies.

In addition to necessary supplies such as food, grass and horses, they also carried military tents, bedding and other items to allow the encamped troops to rest soundly.

Every day the army marches more than forty or fifty miles. Now the northward plan has been implemented for eleven days. The army is nearly 500 miles away from Yumen Pass, and more than half of the entire northward plan has been implemented.

The night meeting is to summarize the day and adjust the tasks for the next day.

Under Zhu Jinghong's leadership, all military units became a machine, operating according to predetermined plans every day.

When the various ministries began to set up camp, the generals came to the commander's tent one after another.

Zhu Jinghong's command tent is located at the left guard of Yulin, which is the front position of the entire "group army".

That's right, Zhu Jinghong organized all the armies into a large group, with five front armies below.

They are the Qinghai Xingdusi cavalry at the front, the Jurchen cavalry on the east wing, the Tibetan cavalry on the west wing, and the Mongolian cavalry to the south.

He placed the most important Northern Four Guards and Beijing Camp Guards in the center of the entire group, and he was personally responsible for commanding them.

The first to arrive at the commander's tent were the commanders of the Northern Four Guards, followed by the commanders and generals of the "front armies".

The seats have been arranged in the commander's tent, and everyone sat down individually, and then talked in twos and threes, and the topic of discussion involved military affairs and war situations.

At this time, Zhu Jinghong was patrolling around on horseback, mainly to check the camping conditions of various ministries, especially matters such as sentrying at night, which must be strictly investigated.

After everyone arrived, he returned to the handsome tent in time.

"Ten... so handsome!"

Not to mention the generals, even the people around Zhu Jinghong have not had time to get used to changing their names.

Of course, his little mistake also reminded the generals present that they would know what to call him later.

After the shouting ended, Zhu Jinghong, dressed in military uniform, walked into the commander's tent, and dozens of generals present stood up.

Passing through the crowd, Zhu Jinghong arrived at the top of the military tent.

"Greetings, Commander-in-Chief!" Everyone saluted in unison.

After sitting down, Zhu Jinghong took off his iron armor and said, "Without courtesy, please get up!"

Everyone then stood up and sat back down at Zhu Jinghong's signal.

"Tonight I inspected the Yulin Right Guard, Xiaowu Left Guard, and the Mongolian tribes. Generally speaking, all the tribes are doing well, but some details are not perfect..."

"First, there are still people in Mongolia's Namu tribe who have set up tents randomly. Su and you will explain..."

Zhu Jinghong glanced at the person below. Su He looked solemn when he was pointed out. He didn't know how to explain it at this time.

How to set up camp and quickly meet the enemy is something that has been said many times, but now we have to accept the punishment if we do it again.

"I'm not strict, please punish me, Commander-in-Chief!"

"If you don't have strict control, have you ever strictly controlled it? This is a march, and the emphasis is on military orders. Your subordinates..."

Although it was not about the person, but being scolded by Zhu Jinghong was not really a pleasant feeling.

Most of the people present had been scolded by him, and every time this happened, everyone would have lingering fears, fearing that it would be their turn next.

Su He was criticized, and finally sat back down in embarrassment, already thinking about how to clean up his subordinates after returning.

"The second one is the heroic left guard. Li Shunyi, you are so majestic..."

Li Shunyi, who was called, is the commander of Xiaowu Zuowei. At this moment, he has walked out of the train to listen to the training.

After reprimanding several people in succession and pointing out several problems discovered, Zhu Jinghong officially began the military discussion.

His "staff officers" moved out a map with detailed enemy and enemy situations marked on it, and one of the staff officers explained it.

The general in charge of introducing today is named Feng Ziying. His father is the first-grade Shenwu general and the prince's chief security officer, Ninghou Feng Tang. He resigned as the left governor of the Central Military Governor's Mansion five years ago.

Feng Tang originally had four sons. The eldest son died in the northern expedition with Zhu Xianming in his early years. The second son, Ren Jingying, died on the garrison road. The third son died in the battle with Zhu Xianming twelve years ago, so Feng Ziying is the only one left now.

This is because Zhu Jinghong is not familiar with the original work, and Feng Ziying has not followed the path of Long Jinwei, so they only met recently.

In fact, Feng Ziying, like Jia Lian, was a prodigal son for the first twenty years, spending his days in brothels or troupes.

Feng Tang's title was high enough and he was not afraid of losing his family. In addition, he was the only child in the family, so he did not strictly control his younger son.

It stands to reason that Feng Ziying will continue to be a dandy. Things took a turn when Jia Zhen had her leg broken.

He went to Jia's house to see Jia Zhen in person and knew how badly Jia Zhen was beaten, so he decided not to mess around anymore.

So Feng Ziying decided to join the army, and his father asked for grace from the emperor, and was recruited into the bodyguard army as deputy Qianhu.

A man who had never surrendered to the army went directly to serve as a deputy to the imperial guards, which clearly shows the emperor's sympathy for Feng Tang.

Feng Ziying did indeed live up to her expectations. She worked hard to study the art of war in the army and consulted her colleagues and superiors for advice, and she was promoted rapidly.

When Zhu Jinghong was in charge of the army, he seized the opportunity to make bold suggestions, which gave him the opportunity to preach in public today.

Of course, several other "consultants" who work with him also have their own legendary experiences. They are all leaders of the younger generation. After about a few minutes, Feng Ziying voluntarily left after introducing the situation. At this time, Zhu Jinghong coughed twice.

Everyone knew that this gentleman was about to express his opinion, so they all held their breath and listened quietly.

Different from the previous training, Zhu Jinghong was much kinder at this time, and he said calmly: "What Feng Qianhu said just now shows that the enemy's various departments have intentions to shrink..."

"I thought that after the harassment all the way, now that we are halfway through the journey... the enemy would want to have a big fight!"

Hearing this, most of the people present nodded, and they also had such a premonition.

Now that the army has traveled more than 500 miles from the border, it can be regarded as an expedition. This is the right time to take action.

After getting up and coming to the map, Zhu Jinghong drew a circle on the distribution of his own troops with his hand, and then asked: "Where do you think...they will focus their attack?"

Everyone was silent for a while, then Sun Shaozu stood up and said, "Commander, I thought... the enemy troops are all cavalry and will not directly attack our infantry, so they should attack our cavalry first!"

"This can cut off our army's wings, and weaken our defense. If our cavalry loses too much, it will be difficult for our infantry to move forward!"

The cavalry provided a warning and defensive umbrella of seventy or eighty miles, allowing the infantry to march in relative safety.

In fact, these words of Sun Shaozu could also be thought of by Yang Longshan and others present, but they did not respond so actively.

Not everyone is like Sun Shaozu, who is too eager to be promoted to a higher position. Most people still focus on stability.

"What do you think?"

The people who felt the deepest about this incident were the departments of Qinghai Xingdu Division who were at the front.

Even if Zhu Jinghong doesn't mention this matter tonight, Yang Longshan, who is in charge of the command, will take the initiative to report it.

So when Zhu Jinghong asked, Yang Longshan stood up and replied: "Commander, among the cavalry from all directions, our army is the strongest, but it is not stronger than the tens of thousands of troops on the opposite side!"

"If our headquarters is severely damaged, it will be extremely unfavorable for our army's strategic deployment!"

Walking to the center of the military tent, Zhu Jinghong reminded: "Given the current situation, how do you think the enemy will fight? Give me some specific views..."

"The enemy's three main forces, Wanhu, are currently deployed in..."

Yang Longshan spoke carefully, and everyone present listened carefully, while the other three army commanders were thinking seriously.

Zhu Jinghong continued to walk around the military tent, listening carefully as he walked. This kind of military meeting happened almost every day.

Working together, everyone expressing different opinions, and thoroughly analyzing issues from all directions are the basis for his consistent victory.

After Yang Longshan finished speaking, he saluted Zhu Jinghong and sat back.

"Commander, I have something to say!"

The man who stood up to speak was named Tan Shiwu. He was the commander and commander of Qinghai Xingdu, and he was now responsible for commanding the Jurchen tribes in the west wing.

"Say!" Zhu Jinghong was standing on the east side of the military tent.

"The three main forces were mobilized and tens of thousands of households were mobilized. They made a big fanfare for fear that people would not know about it. I thought... maybe it was a plan to attack the east and attack the west!"

"The Jurchen tribes under my command are weaker than those led by Lord Yang. If the enemy's army is deployed with easy things first and difficult ones later, then our army..."

The leading generals of the Jurchen tribes were also there. After hearing Tan Shiwu's words, they all felt much more at ease. Finally, their area was taken seriously.

Next, Tan Shiwu explained his judgment, which was a reasonable guess based on the existing information, but the result was very different from what Yang Longshan said.

In addition to Tan Shiwu, Sun Shaozu, who commanded the Tibetan tribes, and Zhou Quanhui, who returned to the southern front to command the Mongolian tribes, all expressed their own opinions.

After the four front army generals spoke, Zhu Jinghong asked everyone present for their opinions. Only Jiang Qingsheng, the commander of Habayashi Left Guard, expressed his opinion.

By this time, half an hour had passed for the whole discussion.

"To sum up the discussion just now, there are three points. The Junggars must either attack Qinghai Xingdusi, the Jurchen tribes with weaker troops, or the Tibetan tribes in the south..."

"According to your respective strategies, Qinghai Xingdusi, Jurchen tribes and Tibetan tribes can be compared to the head, body and tail..."

"If you hit the head, the tail will come, if you hit the tail, the head will come, if you strike the body, the head and tail will come..."

This summed it up well, and everyone agreed with it.

After returning to his position and sitting down, Zhu Jinghong continued: "Now I want to ask you, can the tail be reached when the head is hit? How long will it take to get there?"

"When you hit the tail, how long does it take to reach the head?"

No matter how well-conceived the strategic plan is, it ultimately depends on its execution. If the execution is not in place, no matter how much you talk about it, it will be empty talk.

Seeing that everyone was silent, he heard Zhu Jinghong say: "Recently, I have strictly inspected the military discipline, and I have also mobilized many emergency operations for you and the subordinate units!"

"The result... is really not satisfactory. I'm going to ask you to make more improvements. I don't know if you have made any changes!"

Of course, improvements have been made, but it's hard to tell whether the changes are effective.

"Now I order..." Zhu Jinghong's tone suddenly became severe.

Upon hearing this, everyone present stood up and faced Zhu Jinghong to listen to the instructions.

"There is a distance of forty miles between the head and the tail. No matter whether the enemy attacks the head or the tail, the support unit is only given two seconds. If it cannot be done, go down and find a way!"

Twenty kilometers is given half an hour. Nowadays, the cavalry is equipped with one person and three horses as standard. Although it is difficult to complete this task, it is within the range that can be overcome.

This indeed raised a difficult problem for the cavalry generals, and it would be a headache for them after they returned.

"The generals of all armies, the Northern Four Guards, and the generals of the Beijing camp are staying. The others can go back!"

Everyone said goodbye and left, and most of the people in the scene were suddenly missing.

"You must be curious. Someone mentioned just now that all fronts can shrink their defense lines, so that the enemy has no chance to take advantage of it, but I didn't pay attention to it!"

Everyone present was really curious. If it had happened in the past, they would have reminded him again, but Zhu Jinghong has won many battles this month, so they have full trust in Zhu Jinghong.

"I think...their target is probably not the cavalry!"

Zhu Jinghong didn't take it for granted and said bluntly: "For our army, the most important thing in an expedition is the supply of food and grass!"

"Our army's food and fodder, except for those carried by the various ministries, are escorted by two men from the Beijing camp!"

The 10,000 soldiers of the two guards in the Beijing camp escorted two-thirds of the entire army's food and grass, which was indeed a very important part.

"Look, everyone, the two guards of the Beijing camp are at the rear. Recently, there are only cavalry from Tibetan tribes. In comparison, the defense is relatively weak!"

"The Junggar people are making large-scale maneuvers in the front. I think it is very likely that they are attacking in the east and attacking in the west, but their real purpose is to provide food and fodder for our army!"

Everyone nodded. They had indeed not thought of such a higher-level strategic concept.

"So I think we can't shrink our troops, we just have to expose our weaknesses, lure him to attack, surround him and annihilate him!"

"So all your cavalry units must be prepared to support the two guards of the Beijing camp, but don't let the news out for the time being!"

"Yes!" everyone answered.

After giving this order, Zhu Jinghong smiled again and said: "What is true is false and what is true is false. No one can tell how the battle will be fought before the war begins, but as long as we are fully prepared, we will definitely be able to defeat the enemy!"

At this time, Sun Shaozu was the first to answer: "The commander-in-chief is invincible and invincible... Our army will win this battle!"

Compliments were everywhere for a while, and the atmosphere was relaxed and joyful.

"Oh... By the way, we are hosting the imperial envoy tonight, so please stay together!" Zhu Jinghong said with a smile.

"Yes!"

[ps: Easter egg at the end of the chapter, the latest battlefield situation map! 】

(End of this chapter)