"The lower-ranking official was ordered to supervise Ning Jin. He has been here for more than a year. He has also searched and investigated everywhere in daily life to understand the local situation. It happened that the supervisor had some insights on the matter of Yizhou that the supervisor had just inquired about. Now the subordinate officials threw bricks and jade for the supervisor to consult. If there is any inappropriateness, I hope the supervisor and Mr. Chen will correct me!"

A map of Liaoxi was placed on the desk in the study room in the backyard of the Military Preparatory Office. Hong Chengchou, Zhang Dou and Shen Shiyu were watching around the desk.

Zhang Dou, who was about 30 years old, was originally a chief officer of the Ministry of War. He was diligent and capable and good at planning. Last year, Zhu Youjian issued an order to withdraw the military supervisors of various departments, which were eunuchs, and instead selected suitable officials from the Ministry of War and the Jinyiwei to send them to the military supervisors of various departments. Because Zhang Dou had no foundation in the Ministry of War, he was sent outside the pass where no one wanted to come.

The former military eunuch Liang Dynasty, who was originally a military supervisor in western Liaoning, was greedy and domineering, and even Zu Dashou was not taken seriously. He often asked generals for money and property under the banner of noble people in the palace. It was very unpopular in western Liaoning, which made the military supervisor hated by generals and soldiers, and made Zhang Dou, who succeeded the Liang Dynasty, unpopular everywhere.

Zhang Dou had a long prediction of all this, so while facing all kinds of cold faces, he often went out for casual clothes to understand more about the situation in western Liaoning.

"Yuheng just says something. One person has a short plan, three people have a strong plan. As long as the loyal and loyal country is in charge, how can there be an inappropriate statement? I know that the situation here is complicated, and it is very difficult for Yuheng to create a situation, but because of this, my personal talent is revealed! When the situation is stable in the future, I will report to the priest impartially to those who have made contributions!"

Hong Chengchou said warmly.

He has been in the world for a long time and naturally understands Zhang Dou's difficulties. Not to mention a military supervisor, even if he, an imperial commander and a great scholar, would be quite difficult if he did not have external help.

"The subordinate officials thanked the superiors for their kindness and became court officials. They should put state affairs first, and the subordinate officials did their duties. Half a year after they came to Ningjin, the subordinate officials accidentally learned from others that there was an enemy in Yizhou, so they tried their best to inquire about this matter, and finally knew about it. There were five full-formed cattle records in Yizhou, 1,500 people, belonging to the Inlaid White Banner, led by a Jialazhangjing, with a team of horses and a remaining infantry. The farmland in Yizhou was roughly tens of thousands of acres, mainly pioneered along the north bank of the Daling River to facilitate the use of river water to irrigate. Nearly 3,000 Han men and women were plundered to farm for him. The city of Zhou was built against the Daling River, less than a hundred miles away from Jinzhou, like a sharp blade hitting the throat of western Liaoning. It poses a huge threat to Jinzhou! The officials speculated that Jianlu used Yizhou as a frontier and hoarded food, grass and supplies here for war. Once the slave chief found out that the time had come, he would mobilize troops to attack Jinzhou and Songshan line to seize the entire western Liaoning, open the gateway to the northeast of our Ming Dynasty, and then go straight to Yuguan! The officials thought that the war would probably happen within two years. If this was the case, the capital would hear the police day and night! If the supervisor wanted to rectify the Ningjin border affairs, Yizhou would be the place to take!"

Zhang Dou leaned forward and pointed his fingers at Yizhou and its surrounding areas on the map and talked freely.

Hong Chengchou stroked his beard and focused his mind for a while. He looked at Shen Shiyu and nodded slightly, approving Zhang Dou's analysis.

"What Yuheng said is very reasonable! When I left Beijing, I learned from the Ministry of War that the slave chief was gathering heavy troops to conquer the surrounding Mongolian tribes in order to expand his strength. His ultimate goal was to attract the entire western Liaoning area of ​​our Ming Dynasty. The emperor also asserted that the Jianlu Western Expedition would be completed within this year, and it is very likely that the heavy troops would be gathered next year! Therefore, taking advantage of the shortage of troops in Yizhou, this city needs to be seized at any cost within the year, so that it cannot become a bridgehead and supply area for Jianlu to go south!"

After clarifying the important strategic position of Yizhou, Hong Chengchou made up his mind.

"I'm going to ask the military supervisor, in your opinion, how many troops do the official army need to use to capture Yizhou? How many soldiers and generals of Ning Jin obey orders? Those who are generals are not concerned about victory, but are first considered defeat! It is said that the eight banners of Jianlu are very brave, and the Ning Jin army is afraid of the enemy. Is the morale of the army available? Since the supervisor has made a decision, he must consider it comprehensively. This battle is also a key battle that concerns the overall success or failure in the future. It is important, so it is best not to act rashly!"

Although Shen Shiyu was extremely convinced of Hong Chengchou's determination, he was not clear about the moral strength of the Ningjin official army, so it would be better to be cautious in this battle. If he was defeated, Hong Chengchou would not only be unable to gain a foothold in western Liaoning, but his future career would also be cast a shadow. Therefore, he tactfully expressed his views while asking Zhang Dou and reminded Hong Chengchou not to rush.

"The military strategy says: if you want to surround it, if you want to attack it, if you want to capture Yizhou, you need to use ten thousand soldiers; those who can fight in Ningjin's official army are all generals and servants, and it is unknown whether they obey orders. Alas, what the lower officials said just now is suspected of talking about war on paper. Mr. Chen's words are reasonable. If the commander first came to Ningjin, it is better to be cautious in everything!"

Zhang Dou, who was still energetic just now, became listless after Shen Shiyu mentioned Ning Jin's morale issue.

The existence of Jianlu in Yizhou has been more than a year or two. The Jinzhou official army allowed it to farm under its nose and defend the city. This attitude has shown everything: fearing the enemy is like a tiger, and just living by the way.

Even if the plan to seize Yizhou is perfect, if it is left to the Jinzhou official army, which has no morale and no effort, the result can be imagined. At that time, a defeat will probably be inevitable. As the commander and planner, Hong Chengchou is unbearable for losing his troops and land.

"Yuheng must not be discouraged. Since this official made this decision, how could he make a decision without considering the details? At present, we must investigate the daily movements of the enemy in Yizhou, the distribution of city defenses, where the warehouse materials are located, and there is no hurry to use troops. We will talk about it after the summer grain is harvested and dried and put them in the warehouse. As for the troops used to attack the city, did Yuheng think that the Ming Dynasty only had the Ningjin border army? Could it be that the Ningjin army was the private army of some people? Don't forget that western Liaoning is also the land of the Ming Dynasty!"

Hong Chengchou spoke with a cold expression.

Since the Jianlu of Yizhou has existed for a long time, and the main force of Jianzhou is busy with the western expedition, at least he has no time to take care of himself before the winter begins. Moreover, Huang Taiji did not expect that the official army would suddenly capture Yizhou, so it would not be too late to wait until everything is ready before launching an attack.

One month after the summer harvest, Zhu Youjian received a secret message from Hong Chengchou. The content was to request that 10,000 Yongwei Camp or Jingying go out to fight, to capture Yizhou, and to move the strategic depth of Jinzhou forward in preparation for the army's possible offensive against Jianlu in the coming year.

Hong Chengchou made a brief statement of what he had seen since his departure from the Secretariat and said bluntly that according to what he knew, the strength of Ning Jinjun was not as strong as the court officials thought, and the Guanning Iron Cavalry had long been dispersed into small groups. Although the Liaoxi Generals had a complex and difficult-to-understand relationship with Jianzhou, they did not turn to Jianlu as a whole. After years of fighting, many people on both sides had unresolved hatred, so Jinzhou and Jianzhou were still hostile, but the Jinzhou official army was weaker than that.

In the memorial, Hong Chengchou stated that Yizhou is not only very important in geographical location, but also according to the information he has received recently, there are more than ten warehouses built in the city, which are dedicated to storing food, grass and supplies. It is supposed to be the preparation for the Jianlu to attack Jinzhou in the future. Seizing Yizhou means cutting off one of the arm that Jianlu extends to Ning Jin, which also makes the Ming Dynasty take the initiative in the entire Liaodong strategy, and will greatly enhance the morale and morale of the Ming Dynasty's official army, and shock the western Liaoxi, which has a strong selfish desire.

Zhu Youjian immediately summoned Yang Sichang, Minister of War and two ministers from the left and right, and explained Hong Chengchou's intentions to them. Three officials from the Ministry of War expressed their support for Hong Chengchou's plan.

Because Yang Sichang and others knew that Jianlu's main forces were all expeditions in the west, thousands of miles away from Yizhou. When they received the news that Yizhou was destroyed, it would be at least a month later, and everything was a foregone conclusion.

Although Shengjing is a little closer, only a small number of troops remain behind, and even if you get the news, you may not dare to send troops to rescue him. Moreover, the news came to gathering troops to help, at least ten days have passed. During this period, the official army was enough to take down Yizhou.

"This battle is the first battle commanded by Hong Qing after he left the pass. It is also the first time that the official army has taken the initiative to launch a large-scale offensive against Jianlu since I ascended the throne. It is related to the battle against Liao that will start next spring. Therefore, this battle is only allowed to win but not defeat! The lion fights with rabbits and also has to use all his strength. I decided to send 20,000 Yongwei Battalions to fight, and then station them on the spot after capturing Yizhou to form a junction with Jinzhou. Because it is a siege battle, artillery must be brought more, so the car camp does not need to be used. The official army leaving the pass is led by Mao Yuanyi, deputy general of the Yongwei Battalion. The Ministry of War immediately began to prepare food and supplies. The baggage battalion must leave the capital in three days, and the army will set out in five days!"

Zhu Youjian decided to send heavy troops out of the customs to Hong Chengchou, so that the Liaoxi generals could see that there were more powerful force than Jianlu, completely dispelling their despicable thoughts at both ends of the head and rat, and also conducive to some subsequent actions carried out by Hong Chengchou in Ningjin.
Chapter completed!