****
The heavy rain stopped, and Meng Ke was about to break camp and push towards Shangqiu, when he received an urgent report from Qin Mu;
Qin Mu only scrawled a few words in the letter: "Be careful of enemies digging embankments."
The six red letters written in ink made Meng Ke tremble with fear. His main force had been advancing northward along the Yellow River. He originally wanted to use the Yellow River waterway to reduce logistical pressure. If the Qing army really dug up the Yellow River embankment, the consequences would be disastrous.
For this reason, Meng Ke urgently summoned Prime Minister Hui Deng, Jin Shenghuan, Hu Shouliang, Guo Yunlong, Yan Yingyuan, Qin Zuoming, Qin Zuoming and others to discuss countermeasures.
Prime Minister Hui Deng said: "Grand Governor, now is the season when the Yellow River has the most abundant water. Once the Qing army digs out the Yellow River levee, the consequences will be self-evident. Moreover, it is not difficult to dig up the Yellow River levee. There is nothing we can do to stop it. All we can do is avoid the flood as quickly as possible.”
Yan Yingyuan said: "Grand Governor, the matter of digging the embankment is just the speculation of King Qin. It would be easier if it can be confirmed that Duduo really had this intention. We can use this to set a trap for Duduo."
Meng Ke asked calmly: "What do you think, General Yan?"
Yan Yingyuan said: "Grand Governor, as the saying goes, a man who chases a deer cannot see the mountains. If Duduo really wants to dig up the Yellow River embankment and flood my 100,000 troops with floods, then all his thoughts will be focused on this plan. In other words In other words, he will actually be constrained by his own plan, and he may even turn a blind eye to other things in order to achieve this plan. "
"What General Yan said makes sense, please continue."
"Grand Governor, since the Northern Expedition, we have been marching along the Yellow River. The Qing army has not breached the embankment in the past few days. One possibility is that they did not think of this method; another possibility is that they have too much appetite and want to use this to make me ten All the main forces were wiped out, and the situation was reversed in one fell swoop;
But in fact it is not easy to annihilate my 100,000 main force, because the terrain in this area is relatively flat and open. After the embankment breaks, the river water will spread out quickly and slow down. Therefore, the Qing army's embankment breach location must not be too far away from our army. "
Meng Ke nodded and said: "According to what you said, Duduo rushed to attack my forward army in the rain precisely because our forward army prevented him from approaching my main force to dig embankments."
"It is possible that General Hao's forward is sixty or seventy miles away from our main force. If Duduo digs a dike sixty or seventy miles away, it will give us enough time to react. Moreover, these dozens of miles away are enough for us to The water has become relatively gentle. As long as our army finds a high ground, it is possible to escape the impact of the flood. Duduo intends to destroy our front line, perhaps because he is looking for an opportunity to pass by the main force of our army and break the embankment."
Knowing the shortcomings of the Qing army's dike breaking plan, it is not difficult to take advantage of them.
Meng Ke's heart flashed. If Duduo really regarded this move as his last trump card, he would not use it easily without being completely sure.
You can then turn around and use this plan as bait to hook him. Make him want to stop.
So how can we hook Dodo
***
Compared with Duduo, Luck Dehun, who guarded the Heluo area, had relatively little maneuvering space. Last year, Ma Yongzhen took advantage of the Qing army's deployment of troops to suppress the civil unrest in Guanzhong to retake Nanyang. Since then, the actual power of the Qin army has expanded to the Yuzhou area.
This time Ma Yongzhen made a comeback and led Gao Yigong, Ling Zhan, Zhang Nai, Wu Ruyi, Liang Tao, Liu Tichun, Zhao Jian, Li Jiu, Hong Dazhuang, Shi Qing and other Qin army generals. They assembled 80,000 troops and launched a mighty northern expedition from Nanyang, aiming directly at Yuzhou City.
Yuzhou City. Luck Dehun gathered 26,000 cavalry. The people and horses were noisy and the battle clouds were thick. Before the Qin army could kill them, a tense atmosphere had enveloped the whole city.
In the prefectural government office, Luck Dehun, Mele'er Jinnara, Hetuo, Fucha Jixiha, Zhumala, Jueluo Langqiu and others were urgently discussing how to deal with Ma Yongzhen's army;
Although Luck Dehun was less than thirty years old, he had been fighting for many years. He was also the great-grandson of Nurhachi and one of the eight iron-hatted kings of the Qing Dynasty. He had all the troops in the middle under his control. His fingers moved slowly on the simple map. Moving slowly southward, it finally stopped at Wanmaping, fifty miles south of Yuzhou.
Jueluo Langqiu was startled and said: "Your Majesty, what does this mean?"
Luck Dehun replied firmly: "My king's intention is very clear. We will fight Ma Yongzhen at Wanmaping."
"How is this possible?" Not only Jueluo Langqiu, but Zhumala, Hetuo, and Jixiha were also shocked. Jueluo Langqiu said anxiously, "My lord, you must not do this. Wanmaping is flat. , Ma Yongzhen’s troops are several times stronger than mine, and they can all be deployed. Is it inappropriate for the prince to choose to fight Ma Yongzhen at Wanmaping?”
Jueluo Langqiu was born in Zhengbai Banner and was actually equivalent to the supervisor sent by Dorgon. His words still carry a lot of weight.
Zhumala also said: "Your Majesty, the general also thinks that we should try our best to avoid a decisive battle with Ma Yongzhen now. Summer harvest is coming soon. Now we can delay it as long as we can. The longer we delay, the more beneficial it will be to our army."
Luck Dehun replied: "Look, this is Yuzhou. Ma Yongzhen's army will attack Yuzhou in two days. If our army abandons Yuzhou, what if Ma Yongzhen does not go north to attack Luoyang, but goes east to attack Ye County, Xiangcheng, Jiaxian, and Xuzhou can immediately coordinate with the Mengke troops on the eastern front to form an east-west pincer attack on Kaifeng. In this case, do you think we can abandon Yuzhou? "
"Of course not."
"Yes, no. Yuzhou is a strategic location connecting the Xiangyang Basin and the Central Plains. Once our army gives up, Ma Yongzhen can break through eastward and point his troops towards Kaifeng.
Yuzhou must be defended, but don’t forget that our 26,000 troops are all cavalry. If we stay in Yuzhou and defend, Ma Yongzhen’s 80,000 troops will be trapped and die in the city as soon as they arrive. Our army does not have much food and grass. Once trapped in the city, he would starve to death if he could not survive for a few days.
Therefore, instead of being trapped in Yuzhou, it is better to take the initiative to leave the city and take advantage of our cavalry. Ma Yongzhen does not have many cavalry, and the terrain in Wanmaping is flat, which is extremely beneficial to us. Therefore, I decided to fight Ma Yongzhen in Wanmaping. . "
After Luckdehun finished speaking, Jueluo Langqiu, Zhumala, Hetuo, and Jixiha were speechless for a moment. It sounded like what Luckdehun said was very reasonable, not to mention that the strength of the Qing army was riding and shooting. It's not about defending the city.
Finally, Luck Dehun added: "According to the situation, after Ma Yongzhen's army went north, there were not many defenders in Xiangyang. If we lose in Wanmaping, we can use the speed of the cavalry to quickly attack Xiangyang. Ma Yongzhen will definitely not miss our army. If you give up defense and attack his rear, you will be in a dilemma and the whole army will be in chaos. "
"Okay, this is a good idea." Zhumala couldn't help but cheer loudly. Indeed, the Qing army is better than speed. Why do they have to wait for the Qin army to attack, bypass Ma Yongzhen's army, and quickly attack his rear?
After Luck Dehun ordered, one thousand men and horses were left to guard Yuzhou, while the remaining 25,000 cavalry roared out of Yuzhou City and headed towards Wanmaping.
Ten miles south of Wanmaping, Ma Yongzhen's 80,000-strong army was advancing northward with billowing yellow dust. Once the Qing army's movements were reported by reconnaissance and cavalry, Ma Yongzhen was unambiguous and immediately sent Li Jiu and Shi Qing to lead 5,000 cavalry to stop the enemy. , when the army advanced to the vicinity of Wanmaping, the enemy troops gradually approached, so Ma Yongzhen ordered the army to set up camp and set up defenses.
Gao Yigong asked Ma Yongzhen: "Grand Governor, do you think Luck Dehun is here to fight our army, or is he using harassment tactics to delay our army's march?"
Ma Yongzhen replied confidently: "I think it is both, and Luck Dehun's goals are not necessarily limited to these two. From here to Nanyang, the terrain is flat, which is very beneficial to his cavalry."
Gao Yigong was stunned for a moment and asked in surprise: "What the Governor means is that Luck Dehun may turn from defense to offense and attack my rear?"
"He will definitely not be able to conquer such an important town as Xiangyang, but as long as he kills Xiangyang, the whole country of Qin will be shocked. He only needs to loot outside the city and achieve his goal. In that case, we can still abandon Xiangyang. , continue the Northern Expedition?”
With such an urgent matter, Gao Yigong saw that Ma Yongzhen's expression remained unchanged and couldn't help but ask: "Has the Governor already expected that Luck Dehun would turn from defense to offense and had a good countermeasure in mind?"
"My countermeasure is very simple. Eliminate Luck Dehun so that he has no chance to attack Xiangyang."
This is a good countermeasure, but is Luck Dehun so easy to eliminate? Where did Ma Yongzhen get her confidence
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ps: In the last two days, I am calling for monthly votes and a goal to keep sixth place. Brothers, let’s see how Ma Yongzhen digs a hole for Luck Dehun to jump in. Please support me with monthly votes!
Asking for a monthly ticket!
.(To be continued...)
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