In Tangqiao, Pudong, by the Zhangjiabang River, the quiet Second Coast Guard Sanatorium Jiangnan was temporarily used as the headquarters of the newly established People's Liberation Army.

This project, which was funded and donated by the gentry of Jiangnan as a tribute to the coast guard soldiers, was built naturally and beautifully, just like a Jiangnan garden.

However, no matter how beautiful the environment was, it could not make the staff at the headquarters slow down their pace or calm down.

Now, inside the two-story pink-walled and black-tiled building of the General Staff, the combat staff were arguing over the combat plan sent from the front line.

A scientific and thorough combat plan has always been an important magic weapon for our soldiers to defeat the enemy!

Usually, the combat plan is formulated by the staff based on the strategic policy of the mission, and is drafted by the front-line combat troops after careful analysis and judgment of the enemy and our own situation.

Originally, after receiving the combat order, the front-line troops could "ignore the orders of the emperor" and make their own combat plans within the circle drawn by their superiors.

But after receiving the telegram, the General Staff required the combat department to report the combat plan in a timely manner, and it could only take effect after approval by the headquarters.

Of course, the battlefield changes rapidly, and the General Staff can only ask for a detailed combat plan for the first phase. Subsequent combat operations only require a rough plan.

What caused the staff to argue so much was the second phase of the operational plan.

"How arrogant! Do they think they are Chen Qianzhi?" The opposition said in agony: "We must not let them underestimate the enemy and advance rashly!"

"Chen Qingzhi led several thousand soldiers from the southeast into the Central Plains where the warriors and horses are strong. He fought dozens of battles, big and small, and never suffered a single setback. He then entered Luoyang!" There were also many people who supported the battle plan of the frontline troops. "Isn't our army much stronger than Chen Qingzhi's? And we have the strong support of Tangshan City behind us. Why can't we plot against the capital?"

"But Chen Qingzhi returned in defeat. Why? A solitary army cannot succeed. This has been the case since ancient times!" The opposition shook their heads and said, "We don't need to take this risk. The First Army has already been undergoing adaptation training in Xingang City. Once navigation is restored, we can land and fight as soon as possible. Then we can attack the capital!"

"But what Zheng Cai said makes sense. This is the first battle of our army. We should show our military prowess! How can we just take a beating and not fight back?" The supporters said, "Our strategic policy is to allow commanders to be proactive. If the opportunity is right, we can take advantage of the situation and launch a counterattack. Besides, they are not really going to attack Beijing. They are just forcing the main force of the Beijing camp to fight."

"This goes against our strategic direction and we cannot agree to it!"

"We also have to consider the mood of the frontline troops. In the face of a major war, we cannot dampen their enthusiasm..."

"What about the mood of the main force?!"

"It is a soldier's duty to obey orders!"

"Alpaca, double-standard dogs are real dogs!"

~~

Chief of the General Staff Ma Yinglong closed the door of his office, and the quarrel outside finally died down.

Zhao Hao sat in his office chair, holding his pipe in one hand and his other hand on his waist, looking at the map of Gyeonggi on the wall. He asked, "What do you think?"

"I think both are fine." Ma Yinglong said with a smile: "Based on the results of the deduction, no matter which plan is chosen, the chances of success are very high. Of course, in comparison, it is safer to hold on and wait for help, but the defensive counterattack plan has a higher profit."

"That's right." Zhao Hao nodded, flashing his charming brown eyes and said, "The northern Beijing camp plus the border troops have more than one million people. If Zhu Yijun is allowed to fight like a fuel-fuel tactic, the losses will be too great."

Ma Yinglong nodded, he knew that the commander-in-chief was referring to the losses of the government troops.

But in Zhao Hao's eyes, they were all the country's precious human resources, not to mention that they were an army trained by Qi Jiguang?

"Yes, although we know our own strength. But the problem is that Wanli doesn't know, the government troops don't know, and the people of the world don't know. We really need a victory that will leave the enemy with no excuses and deep despair. Only in this way can they realize that they have no chance of winning, and only in this way can we strike the first blow to prevent a hundred blows! And avoid more meaningless killings." Ma Yinglong nodded.

"Yeah." Zhao Hao nodded slightly, wisps of green smoke rising from his pipe, making his face look even more fatherly. "The new plan on the front line is indeed more effective in publicity."

In fact, the common people under the rule of the group do not know how powerful they are. Only when they see with their own eyes how desperate the government troops will be in front of the weapons in their hands, will they truly break the cage of their thoughts and realize that they are the masters of the world!

"But we can't let them eat it all. We have to leave enough prey for the main force." Ma Yinglong smiled bitterly, "Otherwise, the First Army will be filled with resentment."

"Uh." Zhao Hao responded, squinting his eyes and staring at the map for a while, then said in a deep voice: "Limit their combat radius to 100 kilometers. Not even one meter more!"

"Yes!" Ma Yinglong responded in a deep voice.

"Besides, if Wu Da wants to beat them up in the future, I won't stop him..."

~~

The twentieth day of the first lunar month in the nineteenth year of the Wanli reign.

Just after the Lantern Festival, the right-wing army, which was farthest away from Tangshan, broke camp despite the severe cold.

In fact, Du Tong still wanted to delay, but the emperor was generous this time. He not only provided Baoding Town with various military supplies, but also issued a reward of 200,000 taels of silver. He really had no reason to refuse, so he had to advance under the urging of the eunuch Hou Gonggong, the supervisor of the army.

It wasn't that Du Tong was afraid of fighting. At this point, he had to show his true colors. It was just that the commander knew his men's temperaments too well. In such a cold day, they should stay indoors. Who would be willing to go out on the road in the wind and snow? And they had to pull a thousand-pound red cannon and equally heavy ammunition and baggage.

Although the 30,000-strong army set out in batches for the sake of reward money, the officers and soldiers could only walk 20 miles a day at most, and had not yet crossed the Chaobai River on February 2.

"These past few years have been really weird." Du Tong rode on his horse, watching the soldiers using their guns to pound the ice, struggling to make cracks. He couldn't help but frown and said, "On the seventh day of the lunar calendar, the river opens, and on the eighth day of the lunar calendar, the swallows come. It's already the fourth day of the eighth day of the lunar calendar, and the ice on the river is still so hard."

"Isn't this a good thing?" Eunuch Hou Yonghou, who was wearing a sable cloak and sea dragon earmuffs, smiled and said, "Just lay some hay and you can cross the river."

"Don't worry, Grandpa." Du Tong suppressed his annoyance and forced a dry laugh, saying, "It's not a big problem for horses to cross this ice surface, but if the camp goes over it, it will probably collapse, so we still have to build a bridge."

"Oh, it will take several more days to delay us!" Eunuch Hou was so angry that he twisted his waist on the horse's back.

Du Tong's lieutenant general Du Zida said with an apologetic smile: "Eunuch, please be patient. It's useless to arrive early. You won't miss the date you agreed to meet."

"They are moving as slowly as a turtle all day long. How can we not be anxious?" Eunuch Hou said with a bitter smile, "General, you are too cautious. They are just a bunch of rioters with a few guns. With our army, we can crush them into powder!"

"Military orders are like mountains. We must follow the emperor's will and the commander-in-chief's orders and launch attacks from three directions at the same time, so that the rebels will be distracted."

Du Tong smiled, hiding his contempt. He knew that this damn eunuch wanted to steal the credit. Fortunately, the emperor learned the lesson of the Tumu Fortress and strictly ordered the eunuchs not to interfere with the command, otherwise the damn eunuch would have taken the command right away.

At this time, a team of scouts came galloping back from the front. A young officer wearing cotton armor and a bronze helmet dismounted from his horse on the other side of the river, slid across the ice gracefully, came to Du Tong and saluted, "Father, I'm back!"

It was Du Wenhuan, the son of Du Tong! He was only eighteen years old, eight feet tall, with a wasp waist and a monkey back. Anyone who saw him would praise him, a good man of the Ming Dynasty!

"Yeah." Du Tong asked expressionlessly, "Did you encounter rebels on the way?"

"Not even one." Du Wenhuan said regretfully, "I wanted to compete with them in gun skills."

"What are you going to do?" Du Tong snorted unhappily, "Have you found out the enemy situation?"

"We have found out." Du Wenhuan nodded, took out a copper cylinder from his arms, raised his hands high and said: "The rebels don't seem to have cavalry, they only use muskets on the blockhouse to prevent us from getting close. But outside the range of the muskets, we can see clearly with a telescope!

Du Wenhuan took it, unscrewed the lid, and took out the hand-drawn defense map inside to take a closer look. "The rebels still haven't repaired the city wall?"

"Yes, father. They only built some small towers and dug many trenches. There are no other fortifications." Du Wenhuan knew his father's temper. After thinking for a while, he added: "They have abandoned all the farms. The town in Caofeidian is also empty. They should all be concentrated in the industrial and mining areas in the north."

"Yes." Du Wenhuan responded. From the map, the rebels actually dug a 20-mile trench to connect the Dou River and the upper reaches of the Qinglong River, which flowed north and south.

A trench of twelve or thirteen miles long was dug on the south side to connect the lower reaches of the Dou River with Nanhu Lake. In this way, a complete moat was dug by utilizing the natural river channel.

No wonder the city wall was not repaired quickly, it turns out all the effort was spent on this.

It was just the dry season in winter, and the north had been suffering from drought for years, so the two rivers were completely dry. What was the point of digging such a trench?

"I really don't understand..." Du Zida couldn't help but laugh: "They don't think that digging trenches and building city walls have the same effect, right?"

"It seems that the old saying is true, seeing is believing." The generals laughed when they heard this. Without the protection of the city walls, the trenches could be easily filled by the attacking troops, causing the defenders to completely lose their geographical advantage.

"These southern barbarians are so boastful that they have completely frightened us!"

"Yes, maybe on the sea, they can win some battles relying on their strong ships and powerful guns. But once they get on shore and engage in hand-to-hand combat, their true colors will be exposed!" The generals finally became optimistic about the prospects of this battle.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Eunuch Hou was so anxious that he scratched his head and said, "General, let's cross the river!"

"Cross the river!" Du Tong finally made up his mind to win a beautiful victory to reverse the absurd public opinion.

When the commander was full of confidence, the 30,000-strong army also had a new look. They quickly crossed the Chaobai River and arrived at the Liangcheng Defense City of Qianhu, 70 miles away, five days ahead of schedule.

This is where he launched his attack!