On the tenth day of April in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng, who ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, personally led the 400,000 Dashun Army soldiers to the east.

Liu Zongmin and Zhu Youjian's sons Zhu Ci, Zhu Cijiong and Zhu Ci followed the army on the expedition. There was another person in the army, Wu Xiang. Li Zicheng did not kill Wu Xiang's family, but sent sergeants to kill Wu Xiang's family.

All the family members were taken into custody, and Wu Xiang's son Wu Sangui was guarding Shanhaiguan. Li Zicheng knew this. In this expedition, bringing Wu Xiang into the army would definitely be effective at the critical moment.

Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance stayed in the capital to stabilize the situation in the capital.

There are 200,000 troops stationed outside the capital, distributed in Xingzhou, Yingzhou, Tongzhou and Changping, forming an encirclement situation around the capital. Once there is danger in the capital, Dashun troops stationed in various places will rush to the rescue quickly.

In addition, Li Zicheng also sent an army to Daming Mansion secretly. The main task of this army was to monitor Zhang Dongtao and Li Yan who were stationed in Kaifeng Fucheng. They would not take the initiative to launch an attack on Kaifeng Fucheng, but once Zhang Dongtao and Li Yan advanced

If there is any movement or sign in North Zhili, this army will be the first to launch an attack, defeat Zhang Dongtao and Li Yan, and stabilize the situation in North Zhili.

Strictly speaking, the total strength of the Dashun Army no longer numbered one million. After capturing the capital of the Ming Dynasty, under the instruction of Li Zicheng, Liu Zongmin carried out a large-scale integration of the Dashun Army and abolished many new battalions.

Sergeants, these laid-off sergeants were transformed into farmers on the spot and began to engage in farming and other matters. Both Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin realized that it was too difficult to feed an army of millions.

Converting some of the new battalion's sergeants into farmers on the spot can make up for the lack of population in Beizhili. Through the work of these laid-off sergeants, food can also be harvested. This is a win-win situation.

After the integration, the total strength of the Dashun Army remained at about 700,000, of which 400,000 were elite troops. Among the 400,000 troops led by Li Zicheng during the Eastern Expedition, 350,000 sergeants were among the most elite sergeants of the Dashun Army.

When he went on the expedition, Li Zicheng was full of confidence. Through intelligence from all parties, he learned that the Denglai New Army stationed in Shanhaiguan had a total strength of no more than 100,000. With 400,000 fighting against 100,000, Li Zicheng was confident enough to win.

...

Shanhaiguan, General Military Mansion, Wing Room.

"You may not have thought that the 400,000 Dashun Army led by Li Zicheng only set off from the capital on the tenth day of April. This was unbearable for Liu Ning, who was hiding in Tianjin Guard. One hundred thousand soldiers were secretly stationed in Tianjin Guard. It was difficult to keep it secret.

It's too big, but fortunately Liu Ning did a good job and didn't leak any information."

There was a smile on Wu Zongrui's face, and he didn't feel nervous at all about the impending war.

Liao Wenru, Zeng Yongzhong, Shi Kefa, Hong Chengchou, Qiao Mingjun, Wu Sangui, Gao Qiqian, Huang Degong and others stood aside, with different expressions on their faces. Everyone knew the importance of this battle, so their faces were a little solemn.

After Wu Zongrui finished speaking, Liao Wenru spoke next.

"Sir, I feel that according to the speed of the Dashun Army's march, the war will begin from April 13th to 14th. Tianjin Guard is three hundred miles away from the capital. At this moment, Liu Ning should be ordered to immediately start from Tianjin Guard.

Let’s set off and rush to the capital.”

The rest of the people nodded. The Intelligence Department has been investigating the deployment of the Dashun Army. Li Zicheng stationed 200,000 Dashun Army sergeants on the outside of the capital to take precautions. The defense of the capital should be very strong.

It was quite difficult for Liu Ning to lead 100,000 Denglai New Army soldiers to seize the capital, and it was even more difficult to capture the capital before Li Zicheng led the Dashun Army to fight with the Denglai New Army stationed at Shanhaiguan.

Therefore, even if the 100,000 Denglai new troops led by Liu Ning set off from Tianjin Wei immediately, they may not be able to seize the capital before Dashun's army attacks Shanhaiguan.

The smile on Wu Zongrui's face gradually disappeared, and he looked at everyone.

"Everyone, do you think it is too difficult for Liu Ning to seize the capital? It is almost impossible to seize the capital before the Dashun Army and our Denglai New Army start fighting. After all, Li Zicheng has deployed many troops around the capital.

Two hundred thousand soldiers."

Before Wu Zongrui finished speaking, everyone nodded involuntarily.

"Yes, you have expressed your true thoughts, then I will continue. Li Zicheng led 400,000 Dashun Army sergeants, and they are the most elite sergeants, to launch an attack on Shanhaiguan. There are only 100,000 Denglai New Army sergeants stationed in Shanhaiguan.

, the military strength is somewhat weak, it is better to dispatch Liu Ning to Shanhaiguan and use 200,000 Denglai New Army soldiers to fight the 400,000 Dashun Army."

Everyone nodded again.

Wu Zongrui let out a long sigh.

"With 200,000 Denglai New Army soldiers and 400,000 Dashun Army sergeants, we can indeed guarantee a complete victory, but have you ever thought about it. Once Li Zicheng senses the danger and desperately evacuates towards the capital, we can guarantee that we will pursue him."

Come on, when the time comes, Li Zicheng will no longer want the capital and evacuate directly to Shaanxi. Can the fifty thousand soldiers led by Luo Dianming ensure that Li Zicheng's retreat is completely blocked?"

"Li Zicheng has been in the army for fifteen years. Every time he encounters danger, he is able to turn it into safety. This fully shows that Li Zicheng has been able to detect any dangers on the battlefield and has a complete set of ways to protect himself. Therefore, the deployment of my new army in Denglai

, must be absolutely strict and block any escape route for Li Zicheng."

Having said this, Wu Zongrui looked at everyone.

"Everyone, let me analyze the several aspects that you are worried about one by one. Of course, if you feel it is inappropriate, you can refute it. Today we must finalize all combat deployments. There will be no adjustments unless there are special circumstances."

Wu Zongrui's finger pointed to the capital city on the map.

"Li Zicheng deployed 200,000 Dashun Army sergeants around the capital. This deployment seems reasonable on the surface. If the capital encounters danger, the sergeants stationed nearby will immediately rush to the capital to protect it. At the same time, they can quickly report to Li Zicheng who is on the expedition.

But upon closer inspection, it is full of loopholes."

"Which of the ten fingers is stronger when spread out or when they are brought together to form a fist? Needless to say, everyone knows that Li Zicheng led an army of 400,000 to the east, and he led the absolute main force in the expedition. The remaining sergeants had relatively weak combat effectiveness.

Moreover, Li Zicheng secretly sent an army to Daming Mansion in an attempt to contain Zhang Dongtao and Li Yan, which made the power of the Dashun army even more dispersed and easily defeated by their opponents."

"In fact, at this time, the best way to station the army is to deploy all 200,000 troops in Tongzhou, Wanping and Daxing areas. The north does not need to be taken care of. No one will threaten the capital. With such a shrinkage of troops, if the Dashun Army goes eastward,

After winning the battle, it will be easy for the Dashun Army to stabilize the situation in various places in Beizhili. If the Dashun Army encounters a defeat and retreats to the capital, it will be supported and will not be in chaos."

"Li Zicheng dispersed his troops in places such as Changping, Shunyi, Tongzhou, Liangxiang and Yingzhou, which was equivalent to abandoning his martial arts. The Denglai New Army soldiers led by Liu Ning could easily defeat the Dashun army stationed in Yingzhou and Tongzhou.

Directly capture the capital, and after capturing the capital, Liu Ning can calmly deploy and block Li Zicheng's westward escape with powerful troops."

"Of course, we cannot say that Li Zicheng's deployment is unreasonable. That is because Li Zicheng would never have imagined that one hundred thousand soldiers of our Denglai New Army would set out from Tianjin Wei to launch an attack on the capital."

Having said this, Wu Zongrui lightly knocked on the table.

"Let's talk about the second question. When the Dashun Army will arrive at Shanhaiguan after setting off from the capital, Wen Ru believes that the Dashun Army can arrive at Shanhaiguan in about four to five days. Such a judgment is based on common sense.

According to the analysis, there is no problem, but Wen Ru ignored one of the most critical issues. What is Li Zicheng's current status? He is the emperor of the Dashun Kingdom. The emperor's travels must be pompous, not to mention Li Zicheng who has just ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor."

"According to my estimates and analysis, it will take at least eight to nine days for the 400,000 Dashun troops led by Li Zicheng to arrive at Shanhaiguan. Therefore, Liu Ning can act calmly and seize the capital in the most secure way."

"Finally, let's talk about the third issue, which is also the most critical issue, and that is the disparity in strength between the 400,000 sergeants of the Dashun Army and the 100,000 soldiers of our Denglai New Army. I don't think this is a problem."

"Master Gao and Mr. Huang have already introduced the main ways in which the Dashun Army launches an attack, and they summarize it into two major characteristics. One is that the sergeants of the new battalion charge at the front to test the opponent's strength. Once they realize that the opponent is strong,

, the sergeants of the old battalion will carefully choose the method of attack. The second is to launch an intensive charge to completely overwhelm the opponent in terms of momentum. They are equipped with a special supervising team to improve the morale of the sergeants and also deter those who attempt to retreat or escape from the battlefield.

sergeant."

"These two offensive characteristics of the Dashun Army have no effect on our Denglai New Army. If Li Zicheng sticks to this fighting method, he will be seeking death."

When Wu Zongrui said this, Liao Wenru, Qiao Mingjun and Wu Sangui kept nodding. Of course they knew that an intensive charge was courting death when facing Denglai's new army.

Hong Chengchou, Gao Qiqian, and Huang Degong were a little confused. They didn't know the combat methods of Denglai's new army, so they naturally had some doubts.

Wu Zongrui didn't want to explain too much, he waved his hand.

"Okay, everything in this analysis has been analyzed. The established combat deployment will not be adjusted. If special circumstances arise, the combat commander can make small-scale deployment adjustments based on the situation."

"Everyone, do you have any other opinions?"
Chapter completed!