Zhu Hongyu tapped his knuckles on the table and said.
"Currently, the Qing government's military strength in the southern country is empty. There are not enough Eight Banners troops to supervise the battle, and the combat effectiveness of the Green Camp troops is extremely limited."
"Our army should try to seize this strategic window and take advantage of the Qing army's failure to react to weaken the Qing court and expand the strength of the Ming Dynasty."
When the generals heard this, they all looked at Zhu Hongyu, wanting to know what he meant.
Zhu Hongyu just smiled slightly and said.
"First of all, we need to make sure that our army's first priority is to persuade the wavering Geng Jingzhong to surrender."
"Let Geng Jingzhong raise his flag to fight against the Qing Dynasty, encourage him to attack Jiangnan, where the Qing Dynasty is empty, and prevent our army from the first wave of counterattack by the Qing Dynasty's heavy army group that will press down from the north."
"Buy time for our army to expand and recuperate, and calmly mobilize our troops to expand outward!"
The Ming army fought hard for many years and mobilized thousands of miles. Even with the convenience of water transportation, the armies were exhausted.
Need to rest!
Although Zhu Hongyu now has many recruits who have completed basic training, he will not let the newly established recruits be directly dragged onto the battlefield to fight the main force of the Qing army without the support of veterans.
When new recruits go to the battlefield for the first time, it is best that the intensity of the battle is not too high.
Fighting a dozen bandits or grass bandits, or the Green Camp of the Qing Army might be a good choice.
During the period when the main veterans of the Ming army were resting, someone had to step forward and take up the overall situation of resisting the Qing Dynasty and share the pressure for the Ming army.
Otherwise, the Qing court would not give the Ming army time to rest and recuperate!
Therefore, Zhu Hongyu targeted Geng Jingzhong!
He did not believe that the Ming Dynasty had completely wiped out the Eight Banners of Qing Dynasty in Jiangning and severely damaged the Green Camp troops in Jiangnan. Then Geng Jingzhong could not hold back his temper when an empty Jiangnan was placed in front of him.
Not everyone has Zhu Hongyu’s strategic determination!
As long as the Ming Dynasty can persuade Geng Jingzhong to surrender, even the southern country will be shaken.
…
Fujian is not far from the south of the Yangtze River. Geng Jingzhong, who stayed in Fuzhou City, was an important official of the Qing court who received the detailed battle report of the battle of Qixia Mountain almost immediately.
Looking at the records of the Qing court's losses in this battle in the battle report, his eyes shone with brilliance.
He seemed to have seen an opportunity!
Give yourself a chance to wear a white hat!
During the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition, the Eight Banners in Jiangning were completely wiped out, leaving Jiangnan empty.
If I raise the flag at this time, there is a high probability that I can capture the entire Jiangnan before the court reacts.
By then, he will have the population and wealth of Jiangnan. He can advance and conquer the world, or he can retreat to Fujian...
Thinking of this, Geng Jingzhong became increasingly unable to sit still.
Of course, the biggest reason why Geng Jingzhong was tempted was that the defeat in the Battle of Qixia Mountain made him see the weakness of the Qing court.
And the decline in combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners soldiers!
The soldiers of the Eight Banners who were said to be invincible were nothing more than that!
The biggest gain of Zhu Hongyu's Northern Expedition was the annihilation of 7,000 Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners and the elimination of most of the Qing government's effective forces.
That is, he peeled off the invincible tiger skin of the Eight Banners.
Let everyone in the world realize that the current Eight Banners soldiers are no longer the invincible Eight Banners soldiers they once were.
The Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners soldiers can also be annihilated by organized forces.
As a foreign dynasty, the Manchu Qing lost the military deterrence it relied on before it deeply colluded with the Han landlords and gentry and reached a tacit understanding of governance.
What will happen next can only be imagined!
Geng Jingzhong was not the only one in the world who had dissatisfaction with the Manchus.
In other words, there are only a few people in the world who are absolutely loyal to the Manchus.
Manchu and Qing Dynasty, no matter how he cleans himself up, the shadow of the foreign regime cannot be washed away from him.
How many people are so mean that instead of being good people, they insist on being dogs and slaves of the Manchus?
It cannot be said that there are no such low-minded people, it can only be said that they are in the minority.
However, although Geng Jingzhong was moved, he did not make a rash decision. Instead, he invited his own advisers to discuss the matter.
The counselors wearing Confucian shirts and melon-pipe hats, led by servants, strode into Geng Jingzhong's study.
Geng Jingzhong handed the battle report in his hand to the counselor for viewing.
"Sir, please take a look at the news coming from Jiangnan!"
The counselor picked up the battle report handed over by Geng Jingzhong with both hands, and then started to read it.
Gradually, the expression on the counselor's face changed slightly.
He really didn't expect that Daming, who was so cold that his grave was covered with soil and was even slapped with two shovels, would be able to rise up again.
In the south of the Yangtze River, the Qing government suffered another heavy blow. The entire Yangtze River Navy was wiped out, and tens of thousands of the Green Camp in the south of the Yangtze River were annihilated.
Even the Eight Banners of Jiangning were almost completely wiped out!
Now, the Qing Dynasty is afraid that it will be in trouble!
However, whether the Qing Dynasty was in trouble or not was none of his business. He was Geng Jingzhong's retainer and counselor, not an official of the Qing court.
After reading this battle report, the counselor already knew what Geng Jingzhong wanted to do.
Otherwise, Geng Jingzhong would not have shown him the battle report, and would have shown his intention to ask for advice.
After thinking for a while, the counselor spoke.
"My lord, if you want to go further, it may be the best choice to raise your flag to rebel against the Qing Dynasty and march into Jiangnan."
"But before you advance into the south of the Yangtze River, you must first stabilize the rear!"
"The key points are, first, the Ming Dynasty in Guangdong, and second, Zheng Chenggong, a high official."
"Only by stabilizing the rear area first can we continue to make progress!"
Geng Jingzhong nodded slightly, as if to express his agreement.
Then he spoke to his counselor.
"Sir, instead of me, please go to Guangzhou!"
"I need to have a good talk with the supervisor of the Ming Dynasty to get some air!"
Geng Jingzhong made his own choice.
…
The fast horse that delivered the news set out from the south of the Yangtze River, crossed the river, and headed north along the Grand Canal.
The Qing Dynasty's scouting horses in the south of the Yangtze River traveled at an accelerated speed of 800 miles to deliver the news of the defeat of the Qing Dynasty to the center of the Qing Dynasty.
…
Beijing!
The temperature in Beijing is very low in winter, especially in the early morning, when the wind is biting and biting.
There was a heavy snowfall in the capital a few days ago, and overnight, everything inside and outside the city turned into a world covered in silver.
The streets were covered with thick snow, and crystal clear ice hung on the eaves of every house.
Before dawn, the three-tone drum sounded once.
A crunch!
The outer city gate of the capital was pushed open, and the wooden pillars made a creaking sound.
Several soldiers from the Green Camp of the Qing Dynasty, wearing thick cotton-padded jackets and dog-skin hats, shrank their necks in the cold wind, but they did not dare to complain at all.
A green battalion commander of the Qing army also shrank his neck and gave instructions.
"The movements were smoother and the snow near the city gate was swept away!"
"When daybreak comes, there will be noble people entering and exiting the city gate. If the noble people fall or startle their horses, we won't be able to save our heads!"
A large group of Green Camp soldiers agreed upon hearing this and began to work back and forth, each holding brooms and shovels to clear the snow at the gate of the city.
Gradually, even in the cold wind, the foreheads of these green soldiers began to sweat slightly.
At this moment, a cavalry suddenly appeared in the distance.
The three people in front and behind came on flying horses, carrying small flags representing their status as messengers behind them.
The horses' hooves trampled on the snow, and snow flakes flew up.
The face of the knight on horseback was red, and there were cracks on his face, which were cut by the cold wind like a knife.