"Go back and tell Li Xingzhong that I already know his intentions. The main force of the bandits is lingering around Luoshan County, so he can fight however he wants." Qin Liangyu said to Li Yong.
"As for the one-month food and fodder mentioned in the letter, I can also prepare it for him, but the journey is too long to transport it from Huguang to Henan."
Li Yong bowed and said: "The grain and grass can be stored in the Wuchang area, and there is no need to transport them to Henan."
"Oh?" Qin Liangyu smiled and said, "Aren't you short of food? Why don't you ship it to Henan?"
Li Yong bowed again and said, "General Li said that according to the current situation, the bandits will definitely enter Huguang again. Governor Qin, please take precautions."
Ma Wannian replied somewhat unhappily: "My grandmother is the governor of four provinces, it is not the turn of a small Baoding general to command how to use the troops!"
Li Yong lowered his head apologetically and said, "Yes, I said something wrong. Governor Qin, please don't take it to heart."
Qin Liangyu pointed at Ma Wannian and said, "Shut up! Li Xingzhong was just reminding me out of kindness. He didn't mean anything else."
Then he turned to Li Yong and said, "Go back and tell Li Xingzhong that I appreciate his kindness."
"Yes, I will take my leave."
"Don't be in a hurry to leave. It won't be too late to leave after dinner." Qin Liangyu wanted to keep Li Yong for dinner.
Li Yong bowed and said, "Thank you, Governor Qin, for your kindness. I will not eat. I must return to Fuyang immediately to tell General Li the news."
On August 11, Li Yong returned to Fuyang alone on horseback.
Li Xingzhong had already become impatient of waiting.
He and his soldiers went south to achieve something great. Waiting any longer would only waste the morale of the army.
"Your Excellency the General, Li Yong is back." The personal soldier told Li Xingzhong the news immediately.
"Let him in quickly." Li Xingzhong stood up while speaking.
The door opened with a creak, and Li Yong walked in looking sick.
"Have you seen Qin Liangyu?"
"Yes, Governor Qin said he could prepare food and grass for our army in Wuchang Prefecture, and said the main force of the bandits was in the Luoshan County area."
"Luoshan County..." Li Xingzhong spread out the map on the table, looking for the location of Luoshan County.
Luoshan County is 240 miles southwest of Fuyang.
Of course this is the straight-line distance, the actual distance is about three hundred miles (in clear miles).
According to the cavalry's marching speed, they will be able to reach the outskirts of Luoshan County in three to four days.
"General," said Li Shunzu, the deputy general of Li Xingzhong's central army, "I think we should attack the bandit Li Chuang first, and then the bandit Xian."
"Tell me the reason!" Li Xingzhong patted Li Shunzu on the shoulder and said.
Li Shunzu was the eldest son of Li Shizhong, and Li Shizhong was the eldest brother of Li Xingzhong.
In terms of seniority, Li Xingzhong is Li Shunzu's uncle.
Li Shunzu was the representative of the fourth generation of the Li family, so Li Xingzhong had high hopes for him.
"There are two reasons!" Li Shunzu pointed at the map and said, "First, Fuyang is 300 miles away from the Xian bandit in Luoshan County, and only 200 miles away from the Li Chuang bandit in Runan. From the perspective of military strategy, we should not abandon the nearby to attack the distant!"
"Secondly, the area around Luoshan County is full of muddy paddy fields, which is not conducive to cavalry operations. And our army of 15,000 people are all cavalry, so I think we should first attack Li Chuang thief to the west, and then turn south to attack Xian thief."
Li Xingzhong didn't say anything and looked at another person in the military tent: Cha Binxun.
Cha Binxun's grandfather was Cha Dashou, who was originally a servant of Li Chengliang. Later, he was promoted to deputy general of Liaodong due to his merits and entered the court with Li Rusong to suppress the Japanese pirates.
After Li Rusong's death, the power of the Li family in Liaodong plummeted, and Zha Dashou was also implicated.
Cha Binxun naturally lost his power.
When going south to establish his career, Li Xingzhong first thought of Li Shunzu, and then Cha Binxun.
In fact, there are still many descendants of generals serving in the army, but not in Liaodong.
For example, Liu Jun, the eldest son of Liu Jing, was in Jiangxi, and Ma Shunshang, the great-grandson of Ma Gui, was in Northern Zhili...
When Cha Binxun saw Li Xingzhong looking at him, he hurriedly said, "I think the terrain is not a problem. According to the report from spy Li Yong, there is a drought in Luoshan County this year. Not much rice is planted there, but a lot of corn and sweet potatoes are planted."
"Even paddy fields will not affect the cavalry's march, because it is time to harvest autumn crops, and the people have drained the water from the paddy fields!"
What Cha Binxun said is very true. In Luoshan County, the autumn crops are harvested around mid-August (lunar calendar). Farmers will drain the water from the rice fields about seven to ten days before harvesting the rice.
Li Xingzhong smiled and patted Li Shunzu on the shoulder: "The weather and terrain are important, but we must analyze the battlefield according to the actual situation!"
Li Shunzu lowered his head with a red face, feeling very ashamed.
He thought that he could lead troops into battle because he was familiar with military books and had fought in battlefields, but he was slapped in the face before he even went into battle.
Seeing that Li Shunzu was a little depressed, Li Xingzhong continued to pat his shoulder and comforted him: "These are not the main reasons."
Li Shunzu and Cha Binxun raised their heads at the same time and asked, "The main reason?"
"Yes," Li Xingzhong nodded, "Among the 15,000 cavalrymen in our army, only 1,000 are genuine Guanning cavalrymen. The rest are either infantrymen who switched to cavalry or newly recruited soldiers. The purpose of the first battle is mainly to train the troops. Xianthief is the weakest, so we'll start with him."
"Secondly, we have another mission this time."
"What mission?"
"Subdue Li Dingguo."
"Li Dingguo? The adopted son of the traitor?" Li Shunzu looked disdainful, "What virtue and ability does he have..."
"Shut up!" Li Xingzhong scolded sternly, "This is His Majesty's will. You must not speak nonsense."
"Yes, Sir General!"
Several people discussed it in the military tent again, and then began to prepare rations for the march.
As the descendant of a famous general, Li Xingzhong was well aware of the principle of speed in war.
So he sent soldiers with official documents to the prefectures and counties along the way that day, ordering them to prepare military rations.
The next morning, the army, carrying three days' rations, rushed towards Guangzhou (now Huangchuan County).
Guangzhou had not been captured by Zhang Xianzhong, so after receiving the official document, they immediately began to prepare food and fodder.
Two days later, Lee Sun-jo led the vanguard troops to Gwangju.
After arriving in Gwangju, he replenished his military supplies for five days and then led the vanguard troops westward until they reached the Zhugan River, 30 miles east of Luoshan County, where they stopped their march.
After setting up camp on the spot, they sent a large number of scouts to Luoshan County to gather information.
The next day at noon.
Li Xingzhong's main force arrived outside Guangzhou City and after replenishing five days of marching supplies, they also arrived at the banks of Zhugan River.
Zhugan River is a tributary of the Huai River. Due to the drought at the time, the water level of the Zhugan River was very shallow, and cavalry could jump over it on horseback.
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