"Divide the troops? How to divide them?" Seeing Fan Wencheng and Hong Chengchou offering suggestions at the same time, Dorgon suddenly became excited.

"Mr. Fan, please tell His Majesty about your plan," Hong Chengchou began to be humble.

"No, let Mr. Hong speak." Fan Wencheng also became polite.

"Gentlemen, please write it down and I will read it together." Dorgon said in a good mood.

Fan Wencheng and Hong Chengchou picked up the pens they had used to write, and each leaned over the table to start writing.

The two of them finished writing almost at the same time and handed the written paper to Dorgon at the same time.

Dorgon held a piece of paper in each hand and started reading at the same time.

Fan Wencheng and Hong Chengchou's plans were exactly the same.

They divided Dorgon's nearly 30,000 troops into two.

Among them, 20,000 troops camped outside Guangning City to tie down Li Dingguo's main force in the city.

The remaining nearly 10,000 troops bypassed Guangning City and first captured Zhong'an Fort, Zhenning Fort, and Longwan City near Guangning.

If there are defenders in the city, there must be food reserves.

We can capture these cities in the same way as we captured Zhenjing Fort, and use war to support war.

If these cities are not guarded, then move south quickly.

First, capture the post stations along the way and cut off Wang Yongji's post road.

Then capture the nearby fortress, cut off Wang Yongji's food supply, and use war to support the war.

Seeing this, Dorgon raised his head and asked: "The castle near Guangning is already empty. If the fortress in the south is also in this situation...how can we support the war with war?"

"No," Hong Chengchou said directly, "I once served as a governor in the Ming court and I know the grain route very well."

"The existence of a castle near the grain route has two purposes. One is to provide early warning for the grain route, and the other is to provide temporary protection for the grain transport team."

“Even if all the guards of Li Dingguo’s other castles are withdrawn, the guards near the grain route will not move, otherwise it will be tantamount to destroying their own grain route!”

After listening to Hong Chengchou's analysis, Dorgon nodded and continued reading.

After the food supply was cut off, Wang Yongji had only two choices.

One was to return to rescue, and the other was to order Li Dingguo to open up the food supply route.

If Wang Yongji returns, the siege of Liaoyang and Shengjing will be lifted.

If Li Dingguo was ordered to open up the grain route, Dorgon would have the opportunity to have a decisive battle with Li Dingguo.

Seeing that Dorgon had finished reading the contents of the paper, Fan Wencheng began to add: "In addition to what is written on the paper, I have something else to say."

"Please speak, Mr. Fan!" Dorgon said with a smile.

Before that, he saw no hope of winning the battle.

After reading the contents of the two pieces of paper, he wished he could divide his troops immediately and fight a battle to win it.

Fan Wencheng said: "After your Highness divides his troops, you need to pay close attention to the situation in Guangning City! If Li Dingguo divides his troops to support the south, then your Highness must also divide his troops to support, otherwise the 10,000 troops heading south will be in danger."

"Of course." Dorgon nodded. "Anything else?"

"Yes," Fan Wencheng continued, "In order to completely disrupt the situation behind Wang Yongji, the 10,000 troops heading south can cut off the post roads and food routes and then choose one of the three cities of Dalinghebao, Songshan and Jinzhou to besiege."

"According to the spies, these cities were originally guarded by thousands of soldiers. As the battle line moved forward, Wang Yongji drew a lot of soldiers from them."

"If the remaining troops are not numerous enough, it will only be a matter of time before we are conquered by the Eight Banners Army."

"Of course, we don't necessarily have to attack the city at that time. We can also attract the Ming army to come over and surround and attack the reinforcements."

"Well, Mr. Fan's suggestion is very good!" Dorgon praised him generously, "You are worthy of being my Sleeping Dragon!"

When Hong Chengchou saw that Fan Wencheng received praise but he did not, he felt a little jealous.

After thinking for a while, he suggested: "Your Majesty, I also have something to say."

"Oh?" Dorgon deliberately showed a surprised expression, "What does Mr. Hong want to say?"

Hong Chengchou said seriously: "I have analyzed Li Dingguo's war experience and military style since he entered Liao, and found that he relies on three things."

"The first is to be good at disguising oneself, especially impersonating an Eight Banners soldier. Please ask Your Majesty and the main generals under your command to agree on some verbal codes. When you meet, not only should you check the seals and ribbons, but you should also check the codes."

"The second is to retreat deliberately frequently, lure the enemy deep into our territory, and win by ambush. Your Majesty, please tell your generals that when you see Li Dingguo retreating, don't rush into anything, and don't rush into pursuit. Instead, you should proceed steadily and cautiously."

"Third, he likes to make long-distance raids... Your Majesty, please tell your generals to send out a large number of scouts to investigate the surrounding situation at any time and in any place to prevent Li Dingguo from making a surprise attack."

Every time Hong Chengchou spoke, Dorgon nodded seriously.

This is not only a respect for Hong Chengchou, but also a recognition of Hong Chengchou's views.

Hong Chengchou's analysis was well-reasoned and there was no reason for him not to believe it.

In fact, even if Dorgon did not agree with Hong Chengchou's point of view, he would not show it.

Sometimes saying the right thing doesn't necessarily mean you have real ability, and saying the wrong thing doesn't necessarily mean you have no ability.

After all, Hong Chengchou once served as the governor-general of four provinces and the governor-general of Pingliao in the Ming court, so he must have some abilities.

After Hong Chengchou finished speaking, Dorgon stood up, walked in front of Hong Chengchou, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Well, Mr. Hong, every word you said makes sense. It has enlightened me and benefited me a lot. You are worthy of being my phoenix chick!"

"Your Highness, you are too kind. This is just my one-sided opinion. Li Dingguo may not be that kind of person." Hong Chengchou said politely.

"It's almost certain!" Dorgon bowed deeply to Hong Chengchou and said, "On behalf of the emperor and the Qing Dynasty, I would like to thank Mr. Hong."

"Your Highness is so courteous to the wise and humble. I am deeply grateful." Hong Chengchou's eyes were moist with excitement.

Dorgon exchanged pleasantries with Fan and Hong for a while, then summoned all the generals to give orders and dispatch troops according to the plan.

......

Guangning City.

Li Dingguo was standing in front of a huge map, analyzing the next move of the Jiannu.

Liu Wenxiu and Gao Wengui stood on his left.

Ren Qi, Zhang Qi, Liang Min, Huang Zhenshan and other leaders of the Yuyuan Army stood on his right.

"What do you think the Jiannu will do next?" Li Dingguo asked without raising his head.

"I thought they would go south to disrupt the food supply of the Ping Liao army!" Liu Wenxiu said incisively.

Gao Wengui shook his head: "Our army has already fortified their defenses and cleared the fields. They will not be able to obtain food supplies in a short period of time. If they want to go south, they will need to extend their food supply route. Our army is here, and by then their food supply route will be exposed to our army!"

Li Dingguo raised his head: "If I were Dorgon, I would choose to divide the troops!"