"What? They're going to retreat south already?"
Zhang Xianzhong quickly received the news, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
"Why are you running so fast?"
The soldier who relayed the order was also somewhat dissatisfied.
This soldier was not a canal worker, but a proper officer, and even one of the few remaining elite officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.
He followed Yuan Chonghuan to Goryeo, hoping to make a name for himself.
Who knew that as soon as they set foot on Korean soil, before they could even get a full night's sleep, they would have to head south.
"What on earth is going on?!"
When Zhang Xianzhong saw him like this, an excited look quickly appeared in his eyes.
"This is what it means to have high morale in the army!"
His adolescent delusions kicked in again, and he jogged over and stopped Yuan Chonghuan.
“Old Yuan, I don’t think you can just run away like this.”
Zhang Xianzhong did not treat Yuan Chonghuan as an outsider.
In his view, they were all friends who had gone crazy together.
"If we just run away like this, won't the situation in Goryeo get even worse?"
Upon hearing this, the King of Goryeo felt a glimmer of hope: This guy can actually be reliable sometimes after all.
He nodded quickly and said:
“This gentleman is right, we can’t just leave like this.”
Yuan Chonghuan frowned and asked coldly, "Zhang Xianzhong, what do you mean by that?"
"Let me tell you, the Jurchens' previous actions were nothing more than a ploy to lure the enemy deep into their territory."
"They could head south at any time!"
"Staying here is just waiting to die!"
Zhang Xianzhong shook his head dismissively.
"What Jurchens? In my opinion, they are nothing but chickens and dogs."
Yuan Chonghuan sneered twice, but didn't reply at all.
He had had enough of Zhang Xianzhong.
"I can't control what you say," Yuan Chonghuan said after a moment.
"Anyway, I'm leaving!"
After saying this, Yuan Chonghuan turned and walked away into the distance.
Upon seeing this, the canal workers quickly followed.
They didn't want to come to Goryeo, but they had no choice but to follow the army eastward, even though they really didn't want to fight.
Now that they have an excuse, they naturally won't stay any longer.
The Ming soldiers who were escorting them, however, did not leave.
They looked at Yuan Chonghuan, then at Zhang Xianzhong, their hearts filled with conflict, unsure whether to leave or stay.
Although Yuan Chonghuan was the commander-in-chief, Zhang Xianzhong was the supervisor and also the apprentice of that Master Gao.
If we leave him here unattended, will the emperor forgive them when they return to the capital?
The King of Goryeo also did not leave.
He looked at Zhang Xianzhong with anticipation: "This... Lord Zhang, what brilliant plan do you have?"
The King of Goryeo watched Zhang Xianzhong cautiously, hoping that he really had a solution.
But as soon as Zhang Xianzhong opened his mouth, he knew he was overthinking things.
Zhang Xianzhong said with a smile:
"Isn't that simple? Once Yuan Chonghuan leads his troops to retreat, the Jurchens will definitely lead their troops to pursue him."
"I will then lay an ambush around them with troops and slaughter them without leaving a single survivor, hahaha."
In the end, he even started showing off his Peking Opera singing style.
The King of Goryeo sighed inwardly, "Well, this kid's pulling this trick again!"
"Not to mention that the Eight Banners cavalry were already formidable, ordinary soldiers could not hide from their eyes at all when they were lying in ambush."
"Even if you laid an ambush and succeeded in the surprise attack, Yuan Chonghuan has already taken away the main force!"
"How can the remaining old, weak, sick and disabled possibly defeat the barbarians?"
Although the King of Goryeo was quite intelligent, his eyesight was not very good.
He mistook the canal workers that Yuan Chonghuan had taken away for the main force of the Ming army.
They mistook these truly capable elites for the old, weak, sick, and disabled.
No wonder the Goryeo soldiers shattered at the slightest touch.
Zhang Xianzhong completely ignored him.
He turned to look at the Ming soldiers behind him, tilted his head and pondered for a moment before speaking:
"My lords, do you intend to stay with me and make a name for yourselves, or will you join Yuan Chonghuan and become shameless villains?"
After hearing this, the hundreds of Ming soldiers all felt that these words should not have come from Zhang Xianzhong's mouth.
If a civil official said that, it would make perfect sense.
But they didn't have time to think too much at that moment.
Soon someone gritted their teeth and said, "Commander Zhang, we'll do it with you!"
"That's right, the bestowal of titles and privileges upon wives and children will take place today!"
After Zhu Youjian ascended the throne, he listened to Gao Qingyun's advice and spent heavily on military spending, which finally yielded some results.
At least the officials and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty knew that as long as they won a battle, the emperor would reward them handsomely.
Zhang Xianzhong was overjoyed upon hearing this.
"Haha, I knew this speech was stolen without any problem...uh cough cough."
He almost let something slip, so he quickly changed the subject.
"In short, you will split into four teams and lie in ambush at four different locations."
“Give those Jurchens a performance of being surrounded on all sides.”
Zhang Xianzhong's words were pure nonsense, but the Ming soldiers looked around and found that the arrangement actually made a lot of sense.
There are indeed four small hills nearby, just enough to hide them.
Moreover, these hundreds of people were divided into four teams, with each team consisting of around a hundred people, making it even less likely for the Jurchens to discover them.
Several Ming army captains exchanged glances, a sense of excitement rising within them.
"Could it be that we really have a great chance of winning this battle?"
However, the King of Goryeo was not so excited.
"Sigh, judging from the way this Lord Zhang looks, he's asking for death."
"But no matter what, it's a good thing that he's willing to stay and fight. Let's try anything, even if it's a last resort!"
The King of Goryeo shook his head slightly, then walked up to Zhang Xianzhong and said to him earnestly:
"Lord Zhang is indeed a renowned general; his arrangements are truly well-organized!"
"In that case, I won't bother you any longer. I'll return to the city now and await your good news!"
After saying this, he turned and ran back into the city, ordering his men to guard the fast boats left behind by Yuan Chonghuan.
"Once that Zhang Xianzhong is dead, we'd better run away as soon as possible."
"I can't worry about the future of Goryeo right now. I'll just have to take care of my own life first!"
After the King of Goryeo left, the captains gathered around Zhang Xianzhong.
"Supervisor Zhang, that Goryeo prince might not be very reliable..."
They immediately began to report on the King of Goryeo.
But Zhang Xianzhong simply shook his head.
"Don't worry about him. As long as he doesn't surrender the city directly, it won't have any impact."
He glanced at the captains, a strange smile suddenly appearing on his face. "You've all come over just in time; let me give you a buff."
None of the captains understood what he was saying.
"Dominate the server? What's that?"
Zhang Xianzhong laughed strangely:
"Master Gao once told me that I'm not very bright, but I'm incredibly lucky."
"I have four good adopted sons by my side who will help me conquer the world in the future... cough cough, help me do things."
"In short, I'm now recognizing you all as my godsons."
"Don't worry, as long as you acknowledge me as your godfather, I guarantee you'll be invincible on the battlefield!"
"Especially when it comes to fighting the Jurchens, that's a perfect match for them."
These words were so outrageous that the morale of the Ming soldiers present visibly plummeted after hearing them.
Some people even cursed inwardly, "What kind of apprentice did Master Gao produce? How could he be so crazy!"
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