After seeing Zu Zepu, Fu Shancha and Yao Changzun honestly reported: "It is indeed Deng Ming who personally leads the army, but he does not have many troops in his hands, it may be just a few hundred family members, and most of the tasks of guarding and patrolling are to let the grass robbers in Shandong be in charge, so we can break through." ”

Deng Ming felt that Zu Zepu, who claimed that he had tens of thousands of troops, would not believe it, and it was better to put it simply, if he could defeat the mobile troops of the Yamen, the governor of Shandong, then he would be able to better mobilize the central forces of the Qing court in Xuzhou; Fu Shancha immediately agreed to this request, and they felt that the danger of exposure to the truth was relatively small, and the two sides hit it off.

Fu Shancha and Yao Changzun's reports are similar to Zu Zepu's guesses. After receiving an urgent report from the Qingzhou Mansion that the troops they sent had been wiped out, Zu Zepu concluded that this was definitely not a Shandong Xiangma, and if Yu Qi still had such a strong combat effectiveness, he would never hide it earlier. Deng Ming landed on the side of the Bohai Sea this time, and the Qing army had no naval division, and Zu Zepu had forcibly relocated all the residents along the coast to the interior, so he had no ability to give early warning.

"Thanks to you." Zu Zepu's troops were mainly besieged in Yuqi, and the only ones that could be called up were Du Biao and part of the Shandong Admiral Biao Battalion. After careful inquiry, it was determined that Deng Ming was the main force of Shandong heroes, Zu Zepu thought that without further ado, he should immediately launch an attack and drive the Ming army into the sea.

Because there was no sailor to investigate, Zu Zepu didn't know if Deng Ming had any backup. After all, the other party is the most powerful one in the anti-Qing alliance, Zu Zepu thought differently, and felt that the other party might have brought a large army. Since the Sichuan-Shaanxi standard battalion did not see it, there was only one possibility, that is, the enemy was unloading ships on the seashore and trying his best to build bridges, pave roads, and build warehouses.

"The thieves actually dared to cross the sea to attack my Shandong, they really deceived me and no one." While mobilizing the army, Zu Zepu sent an urgent report to the imperial court, saying that Deng Ming led an army of 100,000 to land in Laizhou, and he was determined to lead Shandong athletes to meet it. If you report the number of people more, you will naturally get more credit. Deng Ming's prestige accumulated over the past few years is also a temptation for Zu Zepu, if he can defeat Deng Ming, then he can become a famous general of the Qing court.

Of course, Deng Ming's reputation was also a deterrent to the Yamen of the Governor of Shandong, and after hearing that the Governor had decided to attack, many of his staff members became worried, for fear that stealing chickens would not lead to a loss of rice. But Zu Zepu disagreed: "Governor Li's 200 cavalry can rush over, which shows that Deng Ming's foothold is not stable now, and it is when he is weak, and half of his tens of thousands of troops may still be at sea." I am familiar with military books, and I know that the landing is definitely not so fast, so if I don't fight him now, what will I fight when the other horses are ready? ”

On October 6, Zu Zepu arrived at Qingzhou Mansion with his 1,000 governors and 500 soldiers from the Shandong governor, in addition to more than 1,000 green battalion armor soldiers and more than 2,000 unarmored soldiers. Zu Zepu expected that on the 9th, he could concentrate 5,000 troops and horses to storm the gray port station, cross the Jiaoshui River, and open up the connection with Jiaodong.

After a short stop in Qingzhou, Zu Zepu continued to advance and went straight to the Jiaoshui River, intending to occupy a position on the west bank to observe the enemy situation first. If his judgment was wrong, Deng Ming's follow-up troops had already arrived in large numbers, and Zu Zepu could also defend firmly and use the Glue River to defend.

……

At this time, the mobile forces of Qingzhou Mansion had been completely wiped out by the Ming army, and the Ming army scouts had been scouting to the side of Qingzhou Mansion without hindrance; And when Zu Zepu's team approached, the Ming army found that the Qing army was scouting in all directions, and immediately realized that this was the Qing army's reinforcements.

After Deng Ming received the news at the Gray Port Station, he immediately convened a military meeting.

"What Zu Zepu can use is the standard battalion in his hand, this army has not fought for many years, and when he fought against the righteous army before, the standard battalion was not the main force. The main force of the Qing army in Shandong has been surrounding Yu Qi's cottage, and it will not arrive here so quickly. Deng Ming immediately came up with a plan that had been prepared: "The rebels left Sancheng to protect the east of the river, and I led all the three walls and rangers, as well as the main force of the rebels, to cross the Jiaoshui River and go to Qingzhou Mansion to meet Zu Zepu." ”

Gao Yunxuan and the others were obviously not familiar with Deng Ming's tactics, and when they learned that the Qing army was coming, their first thought was that they should defend on the side of the Glue River.

"With the strength we have, we can't defend everywhere." Although Deng Ming armed many heroes in the rivers and lakes, they had not yet had time to establish a subordinate organization, nor had they trained in battle formations. If the Shandong Righteous Army defended the river, the Ming army would never be able to sleep at night, and it was not known when and where it was broken through by the Qing army.

The Min army was still loading and unloading ships, setting up warehouses and military stations, and although Deng Ming could transfer them, then even the rear route would become unstable - if the battle was unfavorable now, Deng Ming could still count on retreating back to the coastal areas under the tight control of the Min army and retreating to the ships, and if the Min army was transferred, if the beachhead was terminated by a certain Qing army, the situation would be even more complicated.

"If my pro-army participates in the defense on the river, it will be scattered very loosely, and it will gradually be consumed, and once my pro-army is nailed to the glue river, the Qing army in Laizhou Prefecture may come to make trouble again."

After all, the battlefield that determines the overall situation is in Xuzhou and Jiangnan, and the purpose of Deng Ming's landing in Shandong is to win better fighters for the main battlefield. Deng Ming also did not bring many troops, and if he fell into a war of attrition, he would soon be in an embarrassment.

"Maybe we can lure the Tartars to the river first, and ambush them." Gao Yunxuan felt that it was safer to defend and counterattack.

"Otherwise, although Zu Zepu came boldly, my reputation is here, and when he arrives at the Jiaoshui River, he will definitely become cautious, for fear that he will be ambushed by us if he crosses the river recklessly. He may be tempted again and again, and it could easily turn into a war of attrition. "Deng Ming's landing this time is an adventure, so he doesn't mind continuing to take risks and completely messing up the situation in Shandong. If he suddenly became conservative at the last moment and let the Qing army in Shandong exert his strength against the Ming army, it would be a waste of success: "We will cross the river to attack him." ”

On October 7, the 17th year of Yongli, 480 guards of the Ming army and 1,200 Shandong heroes who crossed the Jiaoshui River marched westward, and set up camp five miles away from Zu Zepu's camp, and then wrote down their tactics and made an appointment with the other party.

"Our army is fighting quickly, but the enemy is long-lasting, if we don't finish this battle, the Laizhou Mansion Yamen will soon find that our army's rangers on the road have disappeared." Deng Ming wrote the battle book well, selected a soldier of the Green Battalion who did not know the peace between the Ming army and Fu Shancha, and asked him to send it to Zu Zepu. At the same time, let the cavalry prepare: "Zu Zepu came in a hurry, and the grain and grass should not be sufficient, I estimate that he will accept the decisive battle." If he doesn't accept it, we'll cut off his food and force him to fight a decisive battle. ”

"Why does the National Guild think that Zu Zepu will do his best to fight a decisive battle?" Wu Yue'er asked, Deng Ming was different from traditional generals, and she was also allowed to participate in military meetings.

Deng Ming was about to explain, but Wu Yue'er stopped him: "Guogong, let me think about it." ”

After a while, Wu Yue'er suddenly realized: "Because the ancestor thief also thinks that he is fighting quickly? ”

"Exactly." Deng Ming smiled and nodded: "He would never have thought that I didn't bring the army from Sichuan." ”

Deng Ming wrote this war letter extremely arrogantly and rudely, and Zu Zepu was furious after reading it, and tore the war letter to shreds.

After the green camp who sent the letter saw the governor of Shandong, he immediately reported the truth of Deng Ming's fifteen and fifteen ten, and heard that Deng Ming only had five hundred relatives with him, and the rest were all good men in Shandong, Zu Zepu laughed angrily: "Deng Ming'er, it is really too deceitful." ”

The messenger also reported that Deng Ming had taken all the officers of the Green Battalion who had captured him with him, saying that he wanted them to watch from the sidelines to see how vulnerable their Pus-Bag Governor was. Zu Zepu heard it, and added fuel to the fire; But Fu Shancha, Yao Changzun and other people who are the capital of Sichuan and Shaanxi are beside them, but their hearts are bright, knowing that Deng Ming is threatening himself not to contribute to Zu Zepu. If the Ming army is defeated and the officers of the Green Battalion are rescued by the Qing army, the agreement made by Fu Shancha and others will be revealed immediately. If Fu Shancha was in Li Guoying's army, or far away in Sichuan, even if there were some rumors, they would not be too afraid, and the commander would naturally shield them. At the moment, they are still in Zu Zepu's army, and no one can save them even if Zu Zepu kills them all.

"Deng Ming'er is arrogant to the extreme, even if you add those bandits, he doesn't have as many people as us." Zu Zepu's army did not arrive, and now with the Ganshan Green Battalion, it is only 2,000 people, but Zu Zepu did not see the combat effectiveness of the Shandong Righteous Army at all, and hurriedly replied: "Tomorrow's decisive battle." ”

After sending someone back the war letter, Zu Zepu said angrily to the officers: "The arrogant soldiers will be defeated, and Deng Thief is long-lasting, but he underestimates me like this." Tomorrow we will fight one of four or five people, and his men will have three heads and six arms, and they will not be our opponents. ”

Zu Zepu believes that the fact that the 200 Sichuan-Shaanxi Green Battalion can break through shows that the combat effectiveness of Deng Ming's personal guards is the highest, that is, the level of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Green Battalion, and even if his 2,000-odd people are not as good at fighting as Li Guoying's subordinates, they can definitely rely on numbers to gain an advantage.

Zu Zepu immediately made a military plan, and tomorrow the Sichuan Shaanxi Green Battalion and Shandong were raised on both wings, and his standard battalion was set up in front: "Deng Ming is so rampant, he will definitely take the lead in attacking." When he hit his head on my iron wall and broke his blood, the Sichuan-Shaanxi Governor and the Shandong Governor attacked them from both wings and annihilated them all. ”

"What if the Deng thief doesn't attack?" Fu Shancha asked. He pondered that if Deng Ming had a tendency to be defeated, he would hurry up and kill all the captured officers of the Green Battalion who were watching. There is chaos on the battlefield, and maybe no one will notice who did it, but I don't know if it's too late.

"Then you will outflank him on both flanks and attract him, and then the standard camp of this governor will break through from the center." If Deng Ming didn't plan to take credit, then of course he would put the Shandong bandits in the center and have absolute confidence in dealing with these enemies.

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