On December 25, the fifth year of the Great Ming Dynasty, the weather was gloomy, and thick clouds like cotton wool were piled up in the sky, covering the sky tightly. ++++ Although it was already three o'clock in the morning, the light was still dim. Under the heavy clouds, the tall walls of Ningyuan City stood tenaciously, as if supporting the heaven and earth.

Before the war came, it was always very quiet. Yuan Chonghuan stood on Ningyuan City, looking at Juehua Island in the distance, and fell into deep thought.

Zu Dashou asked, "Sir, are you worried about Juehua Island?"

"Yes, Juehua Island is a prerequisite for the victory of Ningyuan City's defense battle. Jiannu is already hungry. I heard that there has been murdering people there as military rations. If there is no Juehua Island, Jiannu will definitely attack the city with all his strength. It is hard to say whether our 20,000 people can block Jiannu's attack. This winter is particularly cold, and the sea water near Juehua Island is frozen, so you can directly reach the island without a ferry. Jiannu found that Ningyuan City is difficult to capture, and he will definitely give up and take advantage of it, so he turned around to attack Juehua Island."

"Since there is a shield for Juehua Island, what else is there to worry about?"

"There is a ship on Juehua Island. If the guards find that Jiannu is invincible, they will definitely ship the food onto the ship. Jiannu has no naval army, so they can only sigh. If the troops are in trouble, Jiannu will definitely not be willing to accept it and will turn around to attack Ningyuan City."

"Why would you strictly order Juehua Island not to retreat?"

"Do you think I don't want it. A few days ago, the senior high-ranking man in Jiliao asked me to withdraw the people and grain and grass from Juehua Island back to Ningyuan City. I used the excuse that the ground was frozen and slippery, and it was difficult to transport grain and grass, and Ningyuan City was too small to accommodate the people. When this was heard on Juehua Island, it would inevitably arouse their suspicion. If they were strictly ordered not to retreat, what if it was counterproductive?"

"What's counterproductive?" Jin Qien, the magistrate of Dutun, was patrolling the city. When he saw the two of them chatting on the city wall, he walked over with a smile.

Yuan Chonghuan gave Zu Dashou a wink and concealed: "We are talking about Ningyuan's defense. We analyzed the reasons why Jiannu won every battle. Jiannu could win in the field. The reason is well known; while the ability to win in the siege was due to collusion between inside and outside, and the city was lost by Xiaozu. General Zu said that before the war, Jiannu would have to be rescued in the city. He would rather kill 100 people by mistake than let one go. I was afraid that the killing poke was too heavy. Some people were forced to Jiannu's side."

Jin Qien frowned, then smiled and said, "What Jiannu did in Liaodong is angry and resentful. Lord Yuan just keeps his mind at ease to do it in detail. I promise that the people will never turn to Jiannu."

Yuan Chonghuan smiled and said, "Mr. Jin is familiar with the people's sentiment. After saying this, I feel relieved to let General Zu arrest Jiannu in the city and do some careful work."

Jin Qiwen said: "I have another plan. If the city is not allowed to offer the city in detail, we can stack stones and sand bags in the city gate. Even if the net is leaked, we will retreat. Even if the stones piled up in the door gate, we will retreat. Even if there are thousands of fine works, it will take time to carry sand and gravel. We can gather and annihilate them. Just as the city gate is blocked, we will have no way out."

"I have said a long time ago that I will live and die with Ning Yuan, and I have never thought about retreating. General Zu, are you afraid?"

"My Zu Dashou has not known how to write the word "fear" over the years."

"It seems that you don't know how to write other words." Yuan Chonghuan knew that Zu Dashou was a rough man and ignorant. He joked.

The three of them laughed together.

Yuan Chonghuan said: "I want to go and see the defense of Juehua Island. Are you willing to accompany me?"

The two of them agreed with gaze.

After a while, more than a thousand cavalry left Ningyuan City and headed straight for Juehua Island.

On the way, Zu Dashou secretly asked Yuan Chonghuan why he brought so many people to Juehua Island? Yuan Chonghuan whispered. He was afraid that the soldiers and civilians of Juehua Island would understand his intention, so he cut him into pieces and took these soldiers to gain courage.

Ningyuan City is right by the sea, less than forty miles from Juehua Island. After walking for a while, many soldiers were stunned. Wherever the sea went, I looked into the distance and there was ice everywhere.

A personal soldier got off the horse, walked to the ice surface, stomped his feet hard, and there was no abnormality on the ice surface. He got on the horse again, galloping on his horse, and did not find any danger.

He replied to Yuan Chonghuan: "Mr. Yuan, the sea surface has frozen, the ice surface is very thick, you can ride a horse across the sea."

Yuan Chonghuan nodded, and everyone let go of the reins and ran towards Juehua Island.

At first, everyone was worried that so many horses would step on the ice and the ice would break and collapse, but listening to the sound of horse hooves and there was no abnormality on the ground, they felt relieved and felt the strange feeling of stepping on the ice across the sea.

The scouts of the garrison of the Juehua Island garrison had already discovered their traces, came up to check their identities, and led the way in front and brought them back to Juehua Island.

Juehua Island consists of one main island and three small islands. The name of the main island is Juehua Island, and the three small islands are called Mopan Island, Zhangshan Island and Yanshan Island. The command center of Juehua Island - the command yamen is on the main island.

The commander-in-chief Wang Xifu heard that Yuan Chonghuan was here to inspect the work, so he hurriedly went out to greet him.

Yuan Chonghuan smiled and asked, "General Wang, it feels good to be a local emperor on Juehua Island."

Wang Xifu sighed and said, "Mr. Yuan, don't make fun of me. I'm almost worried now. I didn't expect that this winter will be so cold that the sea between Juehua Island and Ningyuan City will be frozen, and the cavalry can drive straight in. If Jiannu attacks, how can this island be defended?"

"Don't worry, I'm not here to discuss with you how to guard the island?"

"I wonder what kind of tricks are there for you?"

"Let me introduce the situation of Juehua Island first. Although I am Ningqian Bing, I only care about Qiantun and Ningyuan before, and I don't know much about Juehua Island."

"As for the order, sir. There are four battalions stationed on Juehua Island, with a total force of 8,753 people, 386 war horses, more than 3,000 family members of the family, totaling 9,062 people. There are 9 tiger squat cannons, 6,755 bird guns, 4,865 powerful crossbows, and melee weapons mainly consist of big swords, as well as a small number of long spears, maces, etc. The food is 250,000 stones."

When Yuan Chonghuan heard that 250,000 stones of grain had been accumulated on the small Juehua Island, he was shocked at first, and then he was overjoyed. So much food was enough to feed the hungry wolf of Nuer Hachi. Suddenly, Yuan Chonghuan realized that Wang Xifu had said less and asked, "Wait, why don't you talk about the boat?"

"There is no ship. The weather is too cold, the hull is frozen in the ice and cannot move. Besides, didn't you say that the Ji Liao General made Lord Gao strictly prohibit us from evacuating? So, the ships are not included."

Yuan Chonghuan's face was silent, but he was overjoyed. The boat was frozen and the food was transported away, so it was easier for Jiannu to snatch the food and grass, and Jiannu would not have the idea of ​​attacking Ningyuan City after feeding it. Now Ningyuan City was easily saved. His reputation as a lone hero was spread, so that there was more sufficient reason to stay outside the pass and continue to ask for money and food from the court. How could he be unhappy if he gained both fame and fortune?

"Sir Yuan, look, how should we guard Juehua Island?"

"What do I think about guarding the island? First, will Jiannu come to attack the island? The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty are afraid of the cold. Are Jiannu not afraid of the cold? The cold weather is frozen. The ghosts grind their teeth. The most comfortable thing at this time is to guard the charcoal brazier and drink tea and fight? Wait for the spring of the next year. Second, when will Jiannu come to attack the island? The sea is frozen now, but no one can tell the matter of God. For a few days, the sun will rise and the sea will thaw, and Jiannu sighs. Or there is only a thin layer of ice shell left on the sea. As soon as the Jiannu cavalry goes on the ice, they fall into the water. You can

I have sat down to pick up military merits. Third, Jiannu is not afraid of attacking the island now. You can dig ice moors. There is a very narrow road ahead, only 15 miles. If the road here is dug, Jiannu will not be able to get through. Fourth. Don’t forget that there are Ningyuan defenders. Jiannu goes south, and the primary goal must be Ningyuan City, and he will not pay attention to you at all. If they notice you and want to attack Juehua Island, we can send troops from Ningyuan. Attacks between the east and the west, Jiannu will be defeated immediately. General Wang, waiting for military merits like this is rare in a century. What are you going to worry about?"

Wang Xifu was a military general and didn’t have so many tricks in his heart. After hearing Yuan Chonghuan’s right, he nodded and praised: “After all, I’m a person who has drunk ink, and I just see the problem clearly. When the lord said this, I feel relieved.”

Yuan Chonghuan sneered in his heart: "Silly pig, you can't even deceive children like this. You actually believed it ten percent, which made me feel no accomplishment at all. Gao Di has ordered the withdrawal of troops from outside the pass. If there was no real information to confirm that Jiannu had a major military operation in recent times, he would be able to withdraw his troops if he was full."

Not everyone on Juehua Island believes Yuan Chonghuan's words, at least the guerrilla general Wu Tianmeng doesn't. Wu Tianmeng has been a thousand households near the capital for many years and has seen all kinds of people. He knows what is credible and what is not credible. He looks at Yuan Chonghuan with suspicious eyes, but because of his small official position, he dare not question it.

There are many people who think the same as Wu Tianmeng. Yuan Chonghuan thought to himself: "I can't bear to leave my children but can't get a wolf, and I can't bear to leave my wife but can't get a waste. It seems that I can't spend a lot of money, but I can't fool the people on Juehua Island to block the knife for me."

He said: "There are few soldiers in Ningyuan City, but in order to help defend Juehua Island, I still leave 400 personal soldiers to help you guard the island."

Personal soldiers are the most combat-capable and loyal soldiers in the army. The combat power of a personal soldier is equivalent to ten ordinary soldiers. Under normal circumstances, they will not be allowed to die.

When they heard that Yuan Chonghuan had kept his personal soldiers, the soldiers on the island felt relieved. With Yuan Chonghuan's personal soldiers, it was difficult for them to abandon their children. They didn't know that the cruelty of Yuan Chonghuan was that he had no scruples. Ordinary generals would never dare to let their personal soldiers be abandoned. On the one hand, it was difficult to train their personal soldiers, and on the other hand, if they abandon their personal soldiers, they would easily lose their battles if they abandon their personal soldiers. But Yuan Chonghuan was not afraid.

Yuan Chonghuan's seemingly reasonable nonsense tricked the people on Juehua Island and also deceived his own people.

A young general stood up and said, "Mr. Yuan, the personal soldiers who stayed on Juehua Island need to be led by a general, so let me lead them."
Chapter completed!