"The people who survived and lost their land represent the will of the people!" Qin Liangyu said in a tired voice.
She has hardly had a good night's sleep since taking over as governor of four provinces.
Recruiting soldiers, training them, forging weapons, preparing food and fodder, and deploying troops took up so much of her energy that the 70-year-old veteran felt an unprecedented sense of fatigue.
Qin Liangyu continued to ask: "Our army has only 60,000 soldiers, while Zhang Xianzhong has 200,000! If we want to win the war, we must first win the hearts of the people. Therefore, this battle must be fought around the hearts of the people!"
The generals present nodded subconsciously. Zhang Xianzhong had a strong military force. Although most of them were civilians, they were numerous and powerful.
Sichuan General Liu Jiayin sighed: "Zhang Xianzhong brought 200,000 people into Sichuan, and he has obviously won the hearts of the people."
"No!" Qin Liangyu shook her head: "In fact, there are not so many people who really follow Zhang Xianzhong wholeheartedly. Most people are swept up in it and have no choice. At first they just want to save their lives and make a living, but after a long time they get used to this kind of life."
"In the 16th year of my dynasty, Zhang Xianzhong captured Wuchang and then massacred the city. Although I did not see it with my own eyes, it is said that the land was stained with blood and the floating corpses covered the river."
"Zhang Xianzhong not only killed officials and wealthy people, but also ordinary people! His reputation for killing people has long been spread!"
Liu Jiayin was puzzled: "If Zhang Xianzhong was going to kill the people, why didn't the people flee in advance?"
"Run? Why run? Houses and fields are the lives of the people! It would be better to kill them than to let them abandon their houses and fields and run away. Ordinary people don't have carriages. How far can they run with food on their backs? How many days can the food they carry last?"
"This is also the reason why when Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong came to kill them, most of the people who fled were wealthy, and few ordinary people escaped."
I see...
The generals present had a better understanding of Zhang Xianzhong.
"Then...how do we win the hearts of the people?" asked Qin Liangyu's nephew Qin Yiming.
"Take back Zhongzhou! Zhang Xianzhong must have slaughtered people in the city after he captured Zhongzhou. As long as we take back Zhongzhou and let the people in the city spread the news of Zhang Xianzhong's evil deeds, we can win the hearts of the people, and then Sichuan can be defended."
It would have been fine if Chungju wasn’t mentioned, but everyone fell silent when the place name Chungju was mentioned.
Zeng Ying in particular had just fought a fierce battle with Zhang Xianzhong's godson Sun Kewang in Zhongzhou and had to retreat to Fuling after being defeated.
How to counterattack when you can’t even defend yourself?
The most crucial thing is that Zhang Xianzhong has too many troops!
Under the tactic of human wave, they were no match for Zhang Xianzhong at all.
Qin Liangyu took out a map of Chongqing, opened it, pointed to Zhongzhou (now Zhongxian) and said, "Zhang Xianzhong's 200,000 troops set out from Zhongzhou and divided into two groups. One group attacked Changshou by land, and the other group attacked Fuling by water."
"The main force of our army consists of three parts. Fuling has about 30,000 soldiers, Changshou has less than 20,000 soldiers, and there are 10,000 Xidong soldiers gathering in the Shizhu area. It is expected that they will be able to set off in one or two days."
"Even if we gather all our forces to fight against one of them, our army will not have the advantage in numbers. This battle will be difficult!"
Qin Liangyu's worries were not unfounded, as the total number of troops under her command was less than 60,000.
Zhang Xianzhong had 200,000 soldiers and horses, and he would have some left over even if he exchanged three lives for one.
So when Qin Liangyu told the actual situation, the Ming army generals all fell silent.
After a while, Qin Liangyu saw that everyone was a little discouraged, and said, "It's not that we can't fight, but we need to take a gamble!"
"What are you betting on?" Liu Jiayin asked.
"I bet the defenders and the people can hold the city!" Qin Liangyu pointed to Fuling on the map and said, "Fuling is located at the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Wujiang River. The terrain is flat but not open."
"If Zhang Xianzhong wants to capture Fuling, he will definitely use boats to cross the river. When he crosses the river, our army will not attack, but pretend to be weak and let him attack the city."
"The defending soldiers and the temporarily recruited civilians only need to hold out for one or two days. When Zhang Xianzhong's army is exhausted, the soldiers in the city will rush out and use their elite troops to attack his exhausted vanguard, which will inevitably be defeated."
"Not to mention that he has 160,000 soldiers, even if he had 260,000 soldiers, he wouldn't be able to stop the defeat!"
"If this happens several times, Zhang Xianzhong will surely be seriously injured."
After hearing this, everyone began to think about the feasibility of the plan. After all, they had been defeated twice in a row. If they did not think of a change,
After a moment, Zeng Ying spoke up: "Your Excellency the Governor, I think this plan is not feasible."
"Why?"
Zeng Ying was silent for a while and then said, "Zhang Xianzhong is good at using spies. He would send spies into the city every time before attacking. When the defenders were recruiting civilians to defend the city, these spies would take the opportunity to blend into the team. Once Zhang Xianzhong arrived, they would immediately open the city and surrender."
"As far as I know, Wuchang, which was said to be impregnable, was lost in this way. Zhongzhou...was also lost in this way. I lost two thousand soldiers and horses, ah!"
Qin Liangyu's originally shining eyes dimmed.
It would have been fine if Zhang Xianzhong had more troops, but he actually used such a strategy, which is simply unsolvable.
etc...
Qin Liangyu searched the room and finally her eyes fell on Wang Zhong, a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Wang Zhong, a captain of the Imperial Guard who had been silent, stepped forward, clasped his hands, and said, "Governor Qin, there is no solution to this plan!"
"The Jinyiwei can certainly catch spies, but the prerequisite is that there are people available and there are arrangements in the city in advance. I only brought a few followers with me when I entered Sichuan this time, and there are only a dozen Jinyiwei in Fuling City."
"Relying on these people to catch spies is like looking for a needle in a haystack. It's impossible!"
"The most crucial point is that these spies are hiding among the people, and it is difficult to identify them one by one!"
The room fell silent again.
I finally found a feasible solution, but unexpectedly I was stumped by another problem.
spy!
How to catch a spy?
Without spies, it would have been difficult for Zhang Xianzhong to capture the cities along the Yangtze River.
The walls of cities along the Yangtze River are mostly made of stone, so if you want to attack a city, you must use a ladder. In addition, there is abundant rainfall and a humid climate along the Yangtze River, especially in Chongqing, which is humid all year round, so gunpowder is very susceptible to moisture.
If the gunpowder gets damp, it means that various firearms cannot be used!
The cost of attacking the city with ladders and cold weapons can be imagined.
"Both Fuling and Changshou cities are facing the problem of traitors. If it is not resolved, it is only a matter of time before the cities are broken!" Zeng Ying added.
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