Although the Qing army abandoned by Nikan, Kong Youde, and Geng Zhongming on the south bank of the Huai River had many elite troops, but because of their lack of morale and no fight, Zhou Shixian did not accept their surrender at first. After the soldiers of each battalion took a round and all their hands were covered with blood, in order to avoid the Qing army's green camp soldiers and vassal soldiers in the future, the Ming army stopped attacking and captured nearly a thousand Qing troops.

However, after evacuating Fengyang, the more than 2,000 elite soldiers led by Nikan, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming did not encounter any strong obstacles again.

They galloped all the way and defeated thousands of ambush troops from Ma Shiying's troops near Shouzhou, but because they could not find enough boats, they could only continue to advance westward.

After all, the Qing army had basically figured out the Ming army's chief officers on the south bank of the Huai River through the reconnaissance of the whistle cavalry during these days. Nikan knew that Liu Liangzuo was near Huoqiu, so he didn't take the other party seriously at all, especially when he had just defeated Ma Shiying's ambush troops.

Poor Ma Shiying originally thought that he could attack an ambush and wipe out these Qing army defeated soldiers in one fell swoop, and from then on he was proud in front of the prince-consort. Unexpectedly, the situation was wrong at the beginning and he was directly killed by Nikan.

Well, that's right, four thousand soldiers and horses were ambushed, but they could be discovered in advance by two thousand Qing troops, and then defeated in one fell swoop, killing and wounding nearly a thousand people. If the Qing army hadn't been interested in fighting, there would probably be more than this number of casualties in the end.

If Ma Shiying had not had a backup plan, ran faster, and took back the boats near Shouzhou in advance, I am afraid that Ma Shiying would have to take all the crimes of defeating soldiers and letting the Qing army go.

If two crimes are punished together, let alone whether the official position can be preserved, it is a big question whether this life can be preserved. Zhou Shixian is not a good person.

On the other hand, Liu Liangzuo was not prepared at all. He even dared not attack when facing the last cover of the Qing army, nor did he take back the fishing boats and merchant ships on the Huai River in time. In the end, the Qing army successfully crossed north within his defense zone.

These were naturally all within Zhou Shixian's expectations. After all, he did not set up an ambush in advance and cut off the Qing army's raids, but sent Zhang Hong to pursue them in order to take the opportunity to remove one of the two unstable factors, Liu Liangzuo or Liu Zeqing.

It can only be said that Liu Liangzuo was not lucky, so Nikan ran westward. Moreover, this guy's performance was really incompetent. Although Ma Shiying suffered a defeat and suffered heavy casualties, he still dared to fight a serious battle with the Qing army. But Liu Liangzuo didn't dare to move at all.

God knows how excited Ma Shiying was when he learned the news. He originally thought he was going to be punished, but compared with Liu Liangzuo, Ma Shiying was simply the conscience of the Ming Dynasty.

After Zhou Shixian received the news of the defeat of the two generals in the West, he immediately made a punishment. Such things must be decided immediately and cannot be tolerated, otherwise it will be a fatal blow to Zhou Shixian's reputation and prestige. If used properly, the legal principles will be determined, which will greatly improve morale and military discipline.

With the remnant power of the new army's victory, Zhang Hong led his troops directly into Huoqiu City, catching Liu Liangzuo off guard. This army could even defeat the Qing Tartars, and was ordered by the prince-in-law Zhou Shixian. Who dared to object to his waste army?

After all, under the propaganda of Zhou Shixian's tacit approval, on the battle of the south bank of the Huai River, the Ming Dynasty defeated 30,000 Manchu and Tartars, killed more than 10,000 Eight Banners soldiers, and nearly 20,000 Green Camp soldiers, which was a complete victory, but more than 10,000 were killed or injured on its own.

Political propaganda and public opinion propaganda have a huge role in many cases. If Zhou Shixian did not occupy this high ground, the Qing Dynasty would occupy it. Isn’t the so-called “Jourchen Man invincible” just the political propaganda from hundreds of years ago? It still plays a role now.

Zhou Shixian did not make a decision on the final punishment of Liu Liangzuo. He planned to throw this hot potato to Emperor Chongzhen. After all, the enemy is in front of him, unless it is a crime of death, he should not kill a general in the army at will.

Otherwise, what would Gao Jie think? What would Liu Zeqing think? What would Huang Degong think? What would the soldiers and generals under them have? Will anyone have a strange intention and want to surrender?

Political issues are never simple, and political issues on the battlefield are even more complex and difficult to decide. Zhou Shixian cannot win by himself, so he must make appropriate compromises.

However, compromise is a compromise, and Zhou Shixian will not lose any action he should have.

The Huoqiu area where Liu Liangzuo was stationed was soon taken over by Gao Jie. Some of the troops were returned to Gao Jie, some were supplemented into Ma Shiying's army, and some were held by Zhou Shixian himself, especially the elite servants under Liu Liangzuo.

Ma Shiying was indeed a clear person. Zhou Shixian did not punish him too much. He naturally removed some false positions on the surface and convinced the public. In fact, Ma Shiying's position in the Huaihe River defense line was not affected at all, and he also supplemented the lost troops.

After clarifying the main trend of the Qing army, Huang Degong's troops immediately went north to fill the problem of Gao Jiexi's dispatch and the empty defense force after the loss of the new army. Huang Degong's troops were greatly improved by Zhou Shixian, and the other party was also very cooperative. Now the armored soldiers under his command are close to 6,000.

As for Zheng Chenggong, after making such great achievements, he also successfully took over the defense of the river section west of Xuyi of the Huai River. To the east of Xuyi, he continued to be responsible for the water camp under Liu Tao.

Everything seemed to be arranged in advance, and every step was linked, which made Liu Zeqing, who had always been unpopular but did not dare to have any dissent, became more cautious. He was very worried that if he made a mistake, the consequences would be the same as Liu Liangzuo.

Of course, he would not dare to rebel or surrender to Qing. He would not have to die even if he was like Liu Liangzuo. If he dared to rebel or surrender to Qing, he would probably not be able to save him even if the Heavenly King came.

It can only be said that on the battlefield, only those who win battles have supreme authority and deterrent power. Since the Qing army has been won by the new army trained by Zhou Shixian, then the Ming army on the entire Huaihe River no longer has anyone to watch and think about investing in Qing.

In particular, Zhou Shixian's means of winning over and suppressing these generals, the deployment of the entire battlefield, and the constraints between the various departments made these people dare not act rashly.

Moreover, with such clear rewards and punishments and sufficient money and food, the soldiers of the army were convinced, and what they did was even more blameless. Even if someone had a strange intention, it was another matter to see such a situation.

This is the morale of the army and the hearts of the people. Most of the people who have been in the history of the Qing Dynasty were corrupt, and no one dared to go against the trend under Zhou Shixian's nose!
Chapter completed!