My life skills in Daming Liver - Chapter 695

c681 what people want

Li Chengliang felt a little bitter in his heart. He actually knew very well that the gap between himself and the military power in the southeast had widened. In this case, waiting for work was the best choice.

But the matter of fighting has never been just a military consideration.

Even from a purely military perspective, Mingting could no longer afford it.

Since they can no longer afford to consume, they must make a breakthrough. Only by achieving certain results can morale be boosted, and only by occupying part of the southeastern territory can the war continue.

Therefore, as the weaker side, Mingting needs to attack first.

Li Chengliang looked at the map and said: “My plan is to withdraw part of the troops facing Xuzhou on the front battlefield, break through from the flank, that is, from the direction of Linyi, and attack the eastern area of ​​Xuzhou.”

Everyone was a little surprised. Li Chengliang’s plan was obviously too radical.

Completing a “strange plot” such as a surprise attack is an extremely dangerous move in a war of this scale.

First of all, the mobilization of troops will cause the weakness of the defense line. In a war of this scale, the grassroots commanders on each front who are facing each other know the enemy very well. If they want to conceal the opponent and quietly withdraw the main force, it is almost impossible. It is impossible.

Not to mention that Su Ze is famous for being good at using spies.

Li Chengliang pointed to the map and said: “In order to achieve this strategic goal, our army can temporarily retreat and give way to Weishan Lake and even Zaozhuang.”

Everyone was even more surprised. Between Xuzhou and Jezhou, Weishan Lake is a large lake with many strongholds along the lake. It is considered a rare natural hazard in southern Shandong.

Zaozhuang was the frontline city of the Ming Dynasty in southern Shandong, and it was also the supply support for the entire Xuzhou Campaign.

But in this way, this plan is indeed feasible.

Withdrawing the troops from the front line and facing the temptation of Zaozhuang, even if the southeastern army guessed that Li Chengliang had taken away the main force, they would definitely be unable to resist investing their troops to occupy Zaozhuang.

If the southeast sends troops to occupy Zaozhuang, the defense line will inevitably change, and more weaknesses will be exposed at that time.

Moreover, as the southeastern army advances, the military line will inevitably be lengthened, and the number of units on the overall defense line will inevitably decrease.

The front lines between Xuzhou and Shandong are long, and now it’s Southeast’s turn to make a choice.

It is impossible not to attack the weak Zaozhuang, but if troops are deployed to attack Zaozhuang, there will inevitably be flaws in the long Xuzhou defense line. Then you have to bet on which direction the Ming army will attack.

Sure enough, after Lin Liangjun on the front line learned that Zaozhuang’s troops were empty, the staff in the southeast also began brainstorming.

There is no progress on the front line, and both sides are a little anxious. Now that Mingting is taking the initiative to sell the weakness, there is no reason not to attack this key point.

In Lin Liangjun’s view, Zaozhuang is the gateway to the Ming Dynasty’s Shandong defense line. After breaking through Zaozhuang, he can attack Jeju City. Li Chengliang is obviously too confident in himself. If this move fails, he can directly take Jeju City.

But fighting requires preparation with both hands. The defense line is like a slingshot. In many cases, withdrawing part of the defense line will reduce the overall pressure and make the remaining defense line more stable.

Moreover, this proactive withdrawal of defensive forces is more likely to be Li Chengliang’s deployment of troops in other directions and preparation for offensives in other directions.

The staff officers were also very entangled. They knew that the other party was trying to play tricks, but faced the temptation of Zaozhuang, they had to swallow it.

Lin Liangjun could only order the entire line to pay close attention to the gathering of enemy troops, and asked the intelligence station to quickly find out the direction of the Ming court’s main attack.

Lin Liangjun personally led the main force to attack the area along Zaozhuang.

At this time, in the staff office under Li Chengliang, Tong An was sorting out the battle map.

After being appointed as a staff officer by Dai Bailu last time, Tong An first followed Dai Bailu to Shanxi, and then was transferred from Shanxi to Lanzhou, but on the way he heard the news that Lanzhou had surrendered to Southeast.

Next, Dai Bailu’s new army was transferred back to the capital, and then participated in the Shandong battle.

After several twists and turns, Tong An, a combat staff officer who had become a monk halfway through the Imperial Academy, was merged into the staff department directly under Li Chengliang and became a combat staff officer responsible for specific combat plans.

What makes people feel even more dumbfounded is that Tong An is a well-trained scholar. His learning ability is different from those of consultants who became monks halfway, and he is quickly qualified for most jobs.

Although he cannot participate in the discussion of core battle decisions due to his seniority, he can still have access to a large amount of information on specific military mobilizations. After all, these decisions still need to be implemented in detail, such as how to withdraw troops from frontline positions and how much to withdraw. Withdraw, in which direction to retreat and in which direction to assemble, these specific orders need to be formulated by the combat staff, that is, people like Tong An.

Although Li Chengliang also formulated some confidentiality guidelines, for example, specific major battle orders would be split into several parts and assigned to different combat staff to formulate detailed plans.

However, because of his serious work, Tong An was often entrusted by his colleagues for help. Over time, he quickly became keenly aware of the entire plan.

After determining the entire plan and the direction of troop deployment, Tong An quickly copied the plans and stuffed them into the sealed wax pills pretending to be casual.

Before Tong An left for Shanxi, Lu Tianshou, the director of the Capital Intelligence Station, personally visited him.

Lu Tianshou told Tong An about the relationship between Shen Yiguan’s uncle and nephew and Southeast, and later the relationship between Wang Shizhen and Southeast. Only then did Tong An understand that the Shen uncle and nephew who were kind to him and Wang Shizhen were both Southeast’s spies.

Tong An was relieved now. Lu Tianshou asked him to join the Southeast Intelligence System, and he naturally accepted it.

After delivering the news, Tong An seemed to have lifted a big burden from his heart. He no longer wanted to worry about whether Ming Ting would die or live.

Now Tong An only has one idea, and that is to end this war as soon as possible and reunite them as soon as possible.

There were many people who had the same idea as Tong An. A detailed defense map of Zaozhuang and information on military dispatches along the way soon appeared on Lin Liangjun’s desk.

After clarifying the main direction of the Ming army’s attack, Lin Liangjun felt more confident. While leading his troops to attack Zaozhuang with all his strength, he also ordered to strengthen defenses near Zaozhuang.

This time Lin Liangjun brought out all new equipment and weapons and immediately launched a fierce offensive against Zaozhuang.

In early June, when Li Chengliang led the army into Linyi, Zaozhuang was in danger. At this time, Li Chengliang had no choice but to cross the Yellow River and attack the Suqian area east of Xuzhou.