"Oh, I almost forgot about Zu Dashou's role!" Huang Degong slapped his head, "With him around, we can avoid a lot of fratricide."
Li Dingguo said in a low voice: "A good blacksmith must be strong himself! Zu Dashou is indeed useful, but we can't put all our hopes on him."
"That makes sense!" Prince Ding Zhu Cijiong glanced at the four men's faces one by one: "Today I will rely entirely on you generals!"
"Your Highness, don't worry. With us here, the Jiannu will never be able to set foot in Fushun!" Huang Degong took the lead in expressing his opinion.
Although everyone's attitude was very pro-Jiannu, they could not avoid the most critical issue: who would command the battle?
Before, this wasn't a problem.
They are generals and Wang Yongji is the commander.
They just need to follow Wang Yongji's military orders.
But Wang Yongji was outside the city, and the few people were in a leaderless state.
If there is no unified command on the battlefield, they will be in a situation where they fight on their own.
It is very likely that they would be defeated one by one by Wu Sangui or the Jiannu.
"So everyone..." Zhu Cijiong looked at everyone: "Who will be the general who charges into battle? Who will be the commander-in-chief?"
"I only know how to charge into battle, but I don't have the ability to be a commander!" Huang Degong was the first to express his opinion.
"What a coincidence, me too." Li Xianzhong followed.
"Me too!" Liu Zhaoji responded quickly.
Of the four people present, three have already expressed their opinions.
Zhu Cijiong's gaze fell on Li Dingguo, who had not expressed his opinion.
Li Dingguo saw this and said quickly: "Your Highness, don't look at me! I have neither the ability nor the qualifications to be a commander-in-chief."
Zhu Cijiong spread his hands and said, "You all don't want to be the commander-in-chief, so someone has to be the commander-in-chief, right? Otherwise, who will take unified command?"
Huang Degong, Li Xianzhong, Liu Zhaoji and Li Dingguo did not speak, but looked at Zhu Cijiong at the same time.
Zhu Cijiong glared and said, "Why are you looking at me? I can give you orders, but the premise is that you must be prepared for annihilation."
The four people thought about it and felt that what Zhu Cijiong said made a lot of sense.
Although Zhu Cijiong stayed with Wang Yongji for a long time, he also learned a lot of theoretical knowledge about marching and fighting.
But it was only theoretical knowledge, and he had never actually commanded troops in battle.
If he were suddenly asked to command an army of tens of thousands, there is a high possibility that his entire army would be wiped out.
None of the five people present are suitable, how should we fight the next battle?
Everyone lowered their heads at the same time and began to think about this serious problem.
Seeing more and more Guanning troops gathering outside the city, Li Dingguo suddenly said, "I have an idea."
"What method?" Zhu Cijiong asked.
Li Dingguo pointed at Huang Degong and said, "The key to this battle is the cavalry. Most of General Huang's troops are infantrymen, so they don't have many opportunities to participate in the battle. Your Highness Prince Ding can follow General Huang out of the city and mobilize the troops from the center."
"I've already said it just now, I don't know how to give orders!" Zhu Cijiong spread his hands again, looking helpless.
It’s not that he doesn’t want to command, it’s that he doesn’t know how to command.
And the cabinet did not allow him to get involved in military power.
Li Dingguo insisted: "The Governor of Ping Liao is trapped outside the city, and the Ping Liao army urgently needs someone to rally the troops. The command can be handed over to General Huang, but the orders must be issued in the name of His Highness, otherwise the army's morale will be unstable."
"It's still the same problem..." Zhu Cijiong said helplessly: "I don't have military power!"
Li Xianzhong said: "The imperial court ordered us to discuss it together, but none of us will obey anyone else except you, Your Highness!"
"Yes," Huang Degong said, "Either I command the Ping Liao army in your name, or we fight on our own and are annihilated."
Zhu Cijiong hesitated for a moment: "How will this end?"
"Let's finish this first!" Liu Zhaoji also advised: "Besides...most of our men are from the Yongwei Battalion. Although it is not legitimate for Your Highness to command them, you will not be impeached too much."
"Just this time! It won't happen again!" Zhu Cijiong agreed reluctantly.
There is an essential difference between a general and a commander.
The general only needs to consider tactical issues, while the commander considers strategic issues and various logistics.
Huang Degong is a veteran of the battlefield and has commanded large military groups in combat.
Capable of serving as Governor.
But if he were really allowed to serve as governor, Liu Zhaoji and Li Xianzhong would definitely not accept it.
If it were Liu Zhaoji, Li Xianzhong and Huang Degong would not accept it.
The same thing would happen if Li Xianzhong were replaced.
Not to mention Li Dingguo.
In terms of background and military achievements, he was far behind Huang Degong, Liu Zhaoji and Li Xianzhong.
Letting him serve as the governor of Ping Liao would only exacerbate the internal conflicts within the Ping Liao army.
After discussion.
Everyone reached a consensus that Huang Degong would be in actual command, with Prince Ding Zhu Cijiong giving orders.
At this time, the troops have almost been assembled.
But there were differences of opinion on the issue of leaving the city.
Fushun is located at the junction of plain and mountainous terrain.
The terrain on the west side of Fushun City is open, and although the terrain on the east side is also relatively open, it is more complex.
There are limited places suitable for battlefields.
The most open area is in the east of the city, which will also become the main battlefield.
The second is the southeast and northeast directions of the city.
Everyone wanted to be the first to leave the city and deploy their troops on the main battlefield in the east of the city.
Although Huang Degong had the power to command, it was not easy for him to give orders directly.
Seeing that no one was in charge, Prince Ding Zhu Cijiong stood up without losing any time and said, "Commanders, I have an idea. I wonder if it is appropriate?"
"Your Highness, please speak."
"Draw lots!" Zhu Cijiong took out four pieces of paper that he had prepared in advance, put them on his palm and said, "There are one, two, three and four written on the pieces of paper, which is also the order for sending troops."
The four of them looked at each other and nodded at the same time.
If they delay any further, Wang Yongji's body will probably be cold by the time they reach the battlefield.
The four of them drew lots as quickly as possible and determined the order in which the troops would be dispatched.
Li Dingguo was the first to send out troops, and he chose to form his battle line out of the east gate.
Li Xianzhong was the second to send out troops.
He went out of the north gate and formed his battle array in the northeast direction of the city.
Liu Zhaoji was the third to leave the city. He went out of the south gate and lined up in the southeast direction of the city.
Huang Degong was the last one to leave the city.
Most of his men were infantrymen, and they followed Li Dingguo out of the city.
As the soldiers gathered to leave the city, a few of them stood on the battle wall to make a final observation.
At this time, the scouts brought news: Wu Sangui came out in full force and surrounded Wang Yongji's camp.
Huang Degong asked the scout: "Is there any news about the Jiannu?"
"There is dust flying in the distance east of the city, and a large number of black shadows are moving. They should be the Jiannu cavalry. Since all the scouts sent out by our army have never returned, we cannot be sure of the enemy's strength."
Huang Degong took a deep breath and said, "It looks like it will be a tough battle."
At this time, most of the Ming troops left the city and lined up outside the city.
Huang Degong said to Li Dingguo in the name of Zhu Cijiong: "His Royal Highness Prince Ding has ordered you to leave the city immediately to rescue Wang Yongji, the governor of Ping Liao."
"Yes, sir!" Li Dingguo asked loudly as he walked, "Can I borrow Zu Dashou?"
Zhu Cijiong said loudly: "Zu Dashou has been waiting outside the East City Gate for a long time!"
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