Jinan Prefecture is two hundred and forty miles away from Anping Town.
In order to achieve the effect of speed in battle, Zhu Guobi ordered the army to speed up its march.
Liu Kongzhao objected: "No, our army has a lot of baggage and cannot march quickly."
Zhu Guobi insisted: "Then we should travel light."
Liu Kongzhao pouted: "Throw away all the baggage?"
"Of course we can't throw it away! What I mean is to put the baggage behind. When the time comes, our main force will go first, and the baggage will follow slowly behind."
It would have been fine if he hadn't said this. After he finished speaking, Liu Kongzhao's voice of opposition became even louder: "That's even worse. Li Dingguo is best at attacking from behind. During the Battle of Daling River in Liaodong, he went hundreds of miles behind and arrived at the city of Shenyang. Not only did he disrupt the Jiannu's plan, he also killed many of the enemy's generals in battle."
"If we put the baggage train at the back, wouldn't that give Li Dingguo an opportunity?"
After Liu Kongzhao's reminder, Zhu Guobi also realized that doing so was extremely inappropriate.
However, they could not march quickly with all the baggage, and if they continued to delay, the main force of the Ping Liao army would arrive.
This was the first opportunity he had to defeat Li Dingguo before the main force of the Ping Liao Army arrived.
Don't give up easily.
After discussion, the two decided to put the baggage on the ship and have the navy escort it.
Li Dingguo had no navy, so even if he went around, he would not be able to attack the ships on the water.
After some arrangements, the "King's Loyalty Army" set off.
The infantry and cavalry were lightly armed and marched towards Anping Town at the fastest speed.
......
September 4th afternoon.
The garrison troops in Anping Town had received the news before Li Dingguo arrived.
They split into two groups.
Some people returned to the city to prepare for defending the city.
Another group of people came out of the city to drive away the merchants.
At that time, Anping Town was known as the Little Suzhou and Hangzhou, and a large number of merchants and materials gathered outside the city.
Their purpose in driving away the merchants was to prevent the supplies from falling into Li Dingguo's hands.
On the streets near the Anping dock, soldiers shouted, "The enemy troops are coming. Everyone take your supplies and leave immediately."
A merchant who had just arrived asked the man next to him: "Hey man, who are the bandits they are talking about?"
The man lowered his voice and answered, "It refers to the troops that obey the orders of the imperial court in the capital."
"They are obviously government troops, why are you calling them bandits?"
"Because there are traitors in the court, those who obey their orders have become traitors."
"Oh, I see."
Before they could finish their words, a soldier walked up to them and asked, "What are you talking about? Why don't you leave when I tell you to?"
"Sir, calm down. We are just thinking about where to go."
The soldier said coldly: "Of course he went south. Running north is considered aiding the enemy army. Once discovered, he will be beheaded and his goods will be confiscated."
"Yes, yes, we'll leave now."
Driven by the soldiers, the merchants arranged people to load the goods back onto the ship.
The entire dock was suddenly in chaos.
Some merchant ships quickly packed up and prepared to leave under the pull of trackers.
A merchant ship had just arrived and was planning to dock near the pier.
Soon, the water surface became a mess.
The soldiers kept driving until dark, but still failed to drive away all the merchant ships.
The next morning, they continued to go out of the city to drive out the merchants.
Soon after leaving the city, scouts brought news: the enemy army was twenty miles away.
The soldiers outside the city immediately returned to the city and were ready for battle.
On the morning of September 5th, Li Dingguo led his troops to Anping Town.
He did not attack the city, but came to the dock outside the city.
There were still many merchant ships on the water at this time.
Li Dingguo took a rough look and found that the widest part of the water was more than 20 zhang, and the narrowest part was only more than 10 zhang.
All ships on the water were within the range of muskets and bows and arrows.
With his order, the Ming army lined up along the river bank.
Under the threat of their soldiers, the merchant ships were forced to dock.
After waiting for an hour, Zhu Cixiong and Li Xianzhong also arrived at the shore.
Zhu Cijiong was a little confused: "Are you planning to cross the river?"
Li Dingguo replied: "Yes."
"Where are you going? What are you doing?"
"Hehe!" Li Dingguo smiled and took out a map, pointing to a place name on it and said, "Our deep penetration this time will definitely attract the main force of the rebels. I plan to lead the main force of the rebels here and fight them decisively."
Zhu Cijiong saw the place name clearly and read it out softly: "Liangshan Ji..."
Li Dingguo nodded: "Yes."
Zhu Cijiong shook his head: "Isn't that inappropriate? I heard that there are many waterways there. We don't have a navy and we don't have ships. How can we defeat the rebels?"
Li Dingguo pointed to a place next to Liangshanji and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. There are only trees here, and no water."
"What is this place?"
“Locals call it the Elm Garden.”
"Oh!" Zhu Cijiong suddenly realized: "Before entering Liao, you and Wang Fuzhi put down the Yuyuan Rebellion together. So it was here."
Li Dingguo nodded: "Yes, it is here."
When mentioning the Yuyuan Army, Li Dingguo thought of its leaders Liang Min and Fan Ciwu.
They died in battle in Liaodong and their bodies were buried in Liaodong.
He had long wanted to visit Liang Min and Fan Ciwu's families, but never had the chance.
Now that I have returned to Yuyuan, this idea has become even stronger.
Li Xianzhong asked nearby: "What about food and grass? We only brought seven days of rations with us this time. If the main force of the rebels doesn't catch up with us in three days, we can only gather food on the spot or retreat directly."
Li Dingguo calmly shook his head and slowly explained: "Don't worry, this is not a problem. After the Yuyuan Army surrendered to the court, they were sent to Liaodong. Those who survived were promoted and made a fortune, and those who died in the battle also received a large amount of pension silver."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
