Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 943 Zhang Xianzhong's Comments

Zhang Xianzhong walked forward with a smile and his eyes fell on the map on the table. He was stunned at first when he saw it clearly, and then he understood what was going on from Wu Xiang's explanation.

After hearing Wu Xiang's words, Zhang Xianzhong's eyes rolled around. He didn't want to get involved in the argument between the uncle and nephew of the Cao family. After all, he was different from the people present. They were all from genuine official army backgrounds and were all border army generals. Although he, Zhang Xianzhong, had also served in the border army, the problem was that when he was in the border army, he was just a small leader, and his status and position were far inferior to theirs.

More importantly, Zhang Xianzhong was almost killed by a military staff for breaking the military rules. He was expelled from the army and returned to his hometown. Not long after, he joined Wang Jiayin and others in a rebellion. Afterwards, Zhang Xianzhong, as one of the first rebels, quickly expanded after Wang Jiayin's death. By the time Gao Yingxiang was defeated, Zhang Xianzhong had become the nominal leader of the rebel army, with hundreds of thousands of people under his command and extremely powerful.

Among the people present, except Wu Xiang, Zhang Xianzhong had fought with everyone else. They were mortal enemies before, but now they have become colleagues. Zhang Xianzhong knew very well that he was different from others. He had always been extremely low-key in front of these people. He usually smiled before speaking, and even often acted in a flattering manner. A man has to bow his head under the eaves, and a real man can bend and stretch. Zhang Xianzhong understood this truth too well.

"General Wu, all the generals, you are all famous and capable generals of the Ming Dynasty. You have rich military experience and your ability to command battles is unmatched by ordinary people. The tactics you use are so unique and innovative that I, my brother, cannot even begin to catch up with you! How can I compare with you with my level? Not to mention your guidance..."

"Haha, Bingwu is being modest." Wu Xiang said with a smile, "We brothers are indeed veterans in fighting, but you, Bingwu, are not bad either. You were invincible in the five provinces back then. I didn't experience it in Liaodong, but they have fought against you before."

Pointing at the others, he said, "After Bingwu started his army, he was able to stand out among the heroes of the world, command hundreds of thousands of troops, and fight for more than ten years. Who in the world doesn't know Bingwu's ability? Besides, the past is the past. Now Bingwu and I are generals in the same dynasty, and we are all one of us. Why should I be so modest? Anyway, I have nothing to do today, so why not comment on the battle between Cao Shuai and his nephew? With Bingwu's ability, I am qualified to do so."

"This..." Zhang Xianzhong smiled bitterly. Although what Wu Xiang said was true, what he didn't want to hear the most was his past as a bandit. Although Zhang Xianzhong was indeed very powerful when he was a bandit, and he was also known as the Eight Great Kings, if it weren't for the current emperor who suddenly appeared, maybe he, Zhang Xianzhong, might have a chance to succeed.

But now all these are things of the past. Zhang Xianzhong is no longer a bandit, but an official of the Ming Dynasty. He not only has a title, but also a military rank and position. In Zhang Xianzhong's heart, he only wants to keep this wealth and glory. How could he have any thoughts of competing for power and fighting for power?

Now Wu Xiang asked him to comment on the tactics, which really embarrassed Zhang Xianzhong. If he said it was good, it wouldn't work. If he said it was bad, it wouldn't work either. Zhang Xianzhong even regretted why he came here at this time. If he had known this, couldn't he have come later?

"General Wu is right. Brother Bingwu is quite capable in fighting. I suffered a great loss from you in the battlefield. With your ability, you are qualified to comment." Zuo Liangyu smiled and echoed. Zhang Xianzhong cursed you in his heart. Why are you saying this, Zuo Liangyu? Didn't I almost defeat you or even capture you alive? How come you still remember this incident after so many years? You are still a general in the army. Where is your tolerance? Where is your tolerance?

Besides, you were enemies in the first place, and it was a fight between you and me on the battlefield. Moreover, he, Zhang Xianzhong, and you, Zuo Liangyu, had no friendship, so you naturally had to use all your strength in a fight. To put it bluntly, it would be normal even if the outcome of life and death was decided on the battlefield. Why bother about it until now?
As Zuo Liangyu finished speaking, Cao's uncle and nephew nodded silently. Although they disliked Zhang Xianzhong, they did not deny his ability to fight. Compared with the more famous Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong was more flexible and cunning in fighting, and his tactics were frequent and difficult to deal with. Even though they were opponents before, they still acknowledged this.

Even Huang Degong, who disliked Zhang Xianzhong the most, was like this. He had a high degree of recognition of Zhang Xianzhong's abilities. Since he was here today, it would be fine for him to comment on it.

Faced with such a situation, it was impossible for Zhang Xianzhong to refuse anymore, and he could only agree with a wry smile.

He put down the basket in his hand, stood in front of the table and looked at the terrain on the table again, and then asked some questions. You must know that Zhang Xianzhong had never been to Liaodong, and he knew nothing about the war in Liaodong. As a qualified general, he naturally had to understand these things first, otherwise how could he lead the troops to fight?

No one concealed the questions from Zhang Xianzhong. Zuo Liangyu explained them to Zhang Xianzhong personally. And because the previous terrain was drawn by the uncle and nephew of the Cao family with tea, it was now blurred. Zuo Liangyu simply took out the tea set and spread it out on the table. He then re-drew the terrain around Jinzhou, pointing and explaining, and told Zhang Xianzhong the actual situation.

After listening for a while, Zhang Xianzhong finally understood Zuo Liangyu's explanation. He then stared at the table and asked after a moment's silence, "Just now, General Zuo said that this battle drill is limited to the attack and defense of Jinzhou? And the deployment of troops is that the Jiannu is superior to our army?"

"Exactly!" Zuo Liangyu nodded and said, "The Jiannu are extremely strong in field battles. Although our Liao army can fight, they are no match for the Jiannu in field battles. But the Liao army is not without advantages. Jinzhou City has high walls and thick walls, and it also has cannons and other firearms for defending the city. As long as they hold on, it will be extremely difficult for the Jiannu to break through Jinzhou." "In addition, our Liao army is not without any chance. After all, the geographical advantage is in my hands. This is how Zushuai defended Jinzhou before. Huang Taiji failed to take Jinzhou after several attacks, and finally had to implement siege tactics to force Jinzhou to surrender. But as long as Jinzhou City has enough food and grass and is determined to defend the city, the other side can do nothing to Zushuai."

Zhang Xianzhong understood it in his heart. He had heard about the situation of the Battle of Jinzhou in Beijing. At the beginning of that battle, Huang Taiji had the upper hand, but later, because of the alliance between Li You's new army and Zheng Hongkui's navy, the two armies crossed the sea and attacked the north, which turned the rear of the Jiannu in Liaodong upside down and even triggered a major rebellion within the Jiannu. In the end, they recaptured Pi Island and defeated the joint naval forces of the Jiannu and Korea, forcing Huang Taiji to return and abandon Jinzhou.

In fact, the key to this battle was not Jinzhou, but the entire Liaodong war situation. If we only look at the battle of Jinzhou alone, neither Huang Taiji nor Zu Dashou fought well.

Let's not talk about Zu Dashou. It would have been fine if he couldn't defeat the elite Eight Banners in a field battle, but when faced with the pressure from Huang Taiji's army, Zu Dashou had no means of countering at all. He just kept defending Jinzhou, retracting his head and limbs like a turtle, and allowed the enemy to besiege Jinzhou.

Moreover, although Jinzhou had a lot of food at that time, there were also many soldiers and civilians. Even if so many people had one meal a day, it would be an astronomical number. Zu Dashou had suffered this kind of loss before. The last time he was besieged by Huang Taiji, it was the same. In the end, after defending the city for a long time, all the food was eaten up. What would happen to Zu Dashou? This is something he has experienced.

It is often said that every failure makes one wiser, but Zu Dashou was such a bad guy. He was a great general of Liaodong, but he fell into the same pit twice in a row. Zhang Xianzhong looked down on such a fool. If he were Zu Dashou, he would never fight like this. Isn't this cutting off his own retreat?

As for Huang Taiji, Zhang Xianzhong did not think he was anything special. Although the elite Eight Banners under Huang Taiji had strong combat effectiveness, they quickly captured many Ming army fortresses after the war began, repelled the reinforcements of the Ming army, and besieged Jinzhou with their superior military strength.

But the problem is that Huang Taiji couldn't fight any further after reaching this point. He had the upper hand and surrounded Jinzhou, but he still couldn't take it. Huang Taiji could only fight with Zu Dashou, one besieging and the other defending, to see who would finish the food first and who would not be able to hold on. Is this a war? It's just like playing house. If Zhang Xianzhong had led his troops to fight like this, he would have been finished long ago.

"My two Generals Cao, should I attack or defend?" After looking at the chart for a while, Zhang Xianzhong looked up and asked Cao Wenzhao, his uncle and nephew.

"Attack, just pretend you are Huang Taiji. We have surrounded Jinzhou City. Now you know how to take it back." Without waiting for Cao Bianjiao to speak, Cao Wenzhao spoke first.

Zhang Xianzhong reached out and touched the broken beard on his chin, and thought for a moment, "If we attack like this, it won't be that difficult to take Jinzhou."

"Haha, you are so arrogant when you yawn like a toad!" Huang Degong said dissatisfiedly, "Marshal Zhang thinks he is more powerful than Huang Taiji? Jinzhou City was built by General Sun in the past. It is an important place in Liaodong. The defense is so strong. The Jiannu attacked Jinzhou several times but failed to break through. How can you, Marshal Zhang, take it down?"

"Hushan, don't talk nonsense. Although Bingwu is not Huang Taiji, I have heard of Bingwu's abilities. Since Bingwu can say this, he must be confident. Why don't you listen to Bingwu in detail?" Wu Xiang interrupted Huang Degong hurriedly and glared at him. Huang Degong shut up immediately. He was Wu Xiang's direct subordinate back then, and Wu Xiang was Huang Degong's old superior. Although he was not convinced by the old superior's words, he did not dare to refute.

Wu Xiang said to Zhang Xianzhong in a friendly manner: "Bingwu, don't worry about what Hushan said. He is just like that. He has a bad temper and is a little impatient, but he has no bad intentions. By the way, Bingwu just said that it is not difficult to take Jinzhou. Why don't you tell me in detail how to take Jinzhou."

Zhang Xianzhong smiled, stretched out his hand and tapped the teapot representing Jinzhou City, and then said: "In fact, my method is very simple. There are only a few ways to attack a city. The first is to attack the city head-on regardless of casualties. The second is to find an insider, and make an agreement with the inside and outside to open the city gate and take it down. The third is to make a feint to the east and attack in the west, and take the city by surprise. The fourth is to divert water to attack and break the city. The fifth is to imitate the Mongols and throw rotten corpses into the city to cause a plague to break the city..."

Zhang Xianzhong spoke slowly and counted on his fingers one by one. As his words came out, everyone couldn't help but nod their heads. What Zhang Xianzhong talked about were methods of breaking into the city. As experienced generals, they certainly knew it. But although the method was good, there were many limitations in its implementation. Could it be that Zhang Xianzhong was just talking about it on paper?

(End of this chapter)