The first day of July in the twenty-fourth year of Chongzhen.
Li Dingguo, who was far away in Guangning, received a military order from Wang Yongji: Li Xianzhong would go south to join the main force of the Ping Liao army, and Li Dingguo would guard Guangning to guard against possible invasions from the grassland.
He was stunned for a moment, then regained his composure.
The news was not very surprising to him.
If he were the governor of Ping Liao, he would do the same.
Before leaving, Li Xianzhong came to Li Dingguo and said with sympathy: "Li Dingguo, it seems that I can't continue to fight side by side with you."
"Indeed," Li Dingguo also expressed some regret, "but there is nothing we can do about it. After all, there is only one main battle line."
"If the enemy moves south from the grassland when we are besieging Shenyang, how will you respond?" Li Xianzhong changed the subject and asked.
"Of course we will fight back against the enemy with our generals and block the water with our earth." Li Dingguo replied.
"You only have 20,000 soldiers under your command. If the enemy has more troops than you, how can you stop them?"
Li Dingguo thought for a moment and said, "The advantage of the Mongols is pulling. I have both infantry and cavalry under my command. Even if they have more troops than me, they can't take advantage of me."
"What if the other side is the Eight Banners of the Jiannu?" Li Xianzhong asked again.
"This... this is indeed a problem," Li Dingguo nodded, "I will make a decision based on the specific situation."
Li Xianzhong hummed and said, "If it doesn't work, you can retreat from the enemy's front first, and then fight them after the reinforcements arrive. If the court investigates your crime of cowardice, I will use my connections to help you get rid of the crime."
"Oh, thank you very much in advance." Li Dingguo smiled.
"I'm not kidding you," Li Xianzhong said seriously, "If something happens to you, Guangning will be lost. Yizhou next to Guangning, Dalinghebao in the rear, and Songshan Jinzhou will also be in trouble."
"Then the situation in Liaodong will become out of control."
"Don't worry, I have a plan to deal with it." Li Dingguo said confidently.
"In that case, I won't waste any more time talking." Li Xianzhong jumped on his horse and clasped his hands towards Li Dingguo. "See you later."
Li Dingguo also clasped his hands together and said to Li Xianzhong loudly: "Have a safe journey!"
"Gee!" Li Xianzhong whipped his horse and rode away.
Li Dingguo withdrew his gaze only after Li Xianzhong's back disappeared into the distance.
Turning around, he saw the helpless and unwilling expressions of Liu Wenxiu and Gao Wengui.
Li Dingguo asked with a smile: "What's wrong with you?"
"Of course I am unwilling to accept this," Liu Wenxiu sighed, "They go to the war to make contributions, but they leave us here guarding the gate."
"Yes," Gao Wengui followed up, "If I don't fight, I won't have any achievements. If I don't have any achievements, I won't have money and I won't be promoted. I really can't accept this."
"It's okay," Li Dingguo comforted him, "They fight theirs, and we fight ours."
"Who are we fighting?" Liu Wenxiu leaned closer to Li Dingguo. "The Mongols?"
"It could also be a coalition of Jiannu and Mongolians."
“They may not come!”
"They will definitely come!" Li Dingguo's mouth curled up slightly, "Dorgon and Fan Wencheng are not reckless people. Instead of fighting to the death with the main force of the Ping Liao army, it is better to use the strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west."
"On the surface, they are fighting against the main force of the Ping Liao army, but in reality they are bypassing Liaoze from the north and attacking us. As long as they defeat us, the retreat of the Ping Liao army will be cut off."
Liu Wenxiu thought for a moment, "What if they don't come?"
"Sometimes it is not up to them whether to come or not," Li Dingguo said meaningfully.
"If they come, their military strength will definitely be greater than ours." Liu Wenxiu was a little worried.
"Don't worry, I never use force to win." Li Dingguo thought for a while and asked, "Li Chengdong who surrendered to the Jian Nu was under Gao Jie's command, right?"
"Yes," Liu Wenxiu nodded.
"Prepare some more of the general flags with the word Gao on them that you often use. They might be useful." Li Dingguo instructed Gao Wengui.
"Yes, sir." Gao Wengui was about to turn around and leave when Li Dingguo called him back.
"Don't worry, I haven't finished yet." Li Dingguo said with a wicked smile, "Make some flags according to the surnames of all the generals and commanders of the Ping Liao army."
Gao Wengui blinked and thought for a while: "Where is the governor's flag?"
"Do you need to ask? Just do it." Li Dingguo replied.
"Okay, I'll arrange it right away." Gao Wengui ran away with a smile on his face.
Liu Wenxiu almost dropped her jaw in shock: "This... Is this even possible?"
"Any questions?"
"The Jiannu have been fooled in a similar way before. How can they be fooled so easily if they are fooled again? Moreover, this is only a temporary measure. Once the enemy reacts, it will be useless and we will be unable to repel the enemy."
"This is indeed a temporary measure," Li Dingguo did not deny, "My purpose in doing this is not to repel the enemy, but to make the enemy suspicious."
"What do you doubt?"
“I suspect the information they received earlier was wrong.”
"you mean..."
"That's right. There are some strange things about He Jin's death and the Jiannu's advance straight into Dalingh River. We cannot rule out the possibility that there are spies within the Ping Liao army." Li Dingguo seemed to be thinking about something.
Liu Wenxiu snorted, "If there is a spy, it must be named Wu."
"Shh!" Li Dingguo raised his right index finger to silence him. "You can't say anything without evidence."
"If you don't want to tell me, then don't tell me. Anyway, I don't like him."
"There are many people I don't like, but you can't say they are all spies, right?"
"It's different. The only one in the Ping Liao army who has any connection with Jian Nu is Wu Sangui. He has the motive to betray his allies."
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