Chapter 73: The Northern Expedition Can't Be Too Hurry
Only ten days after the wedding, Li Laiheng returned to Guide from Kaifeng. Li Zicheng expressed his kindness to him and agreed to Li Laiheng's request to take his newlywed wife Luo Yanqing to live with him in Guide.
After all, they are newlyweds, so such a small request is not too much. In addition, the Cao Ying cavalry originally commanded by Luo Yanqing has now been reorganized into Zhang Pili's command and followed Li Laiheng to Guide Mansion.
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Originally, Chu Chuang's cavalry suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Dangshan. Hao Yaoqi and Ma Baobiao, who were the main force of Li Laiheng's cavalry, suffered more than half of their casualties. Now that they were supplemented by Luo Yanqing's "dowry" cavalry, it was a kind of goodwill shown by Luo Rucai.
On the night they entered Shangqiu, Guide City, Fang Yiren, Gu Junen, Hao Yaoqi, Ma Bao, Chen Yongfu and others went out of the city to welcome Li Laiheng back. They had prepared a sumptuous dinner for Li Laiheng, but Li Laiheng just
After eating some hastily, Luo Yanqing was asked to choose some of her favorite dishes, and a small table of dinner was prepared for Luo Yanqing to have a quiet dinner slowly.
After he simply ate two large cakes, he summoned all the important civil and military officials to the temporary camp in Shangqiu City to discuss matters. I heard that the Chu army had captured Xuzhou City without a bloody battle and cut off the north-south water transportation.
, he was very happy; he asked about the whereabouts of Gao Qian and Shi Kefa, and Xu Du replied that Gao Qian had already plundered Xuzhou city day and night before the army arrived in Xuzhou, and then took Shi Kefa and fled south with the army.
Li Laiheng was of course very happy that Chen Zilong, Fang Yizhi, and Xu Du, three scribes with great reputations, came to join him. However, when he saw these three people surrounding Fang Yiren, as if they were his staff, his expression changed.
Changed slightly.
However, when Li Laiheng heard that the person in the middle was Fang Yiren's cousin Fang Yizhi, he showed a look of surprise again. Fang Yizhi learned from the strengths of many experts and was very knowledgeable in the study of Western mathematics, physics and other things.
He has delved deeply into it, and of course he is a figure of vital importance to Chu Chuang.
Chen Zilong is a major leader in the southeastern literary world, and unlike Hou Fangyu and others, he is an honest, loyal and courageous person. Treating him well can weaken the resistance of a large number of middle- and lower-class scholars.
Although Xu Du's reputation is not as good as that of Fang Yizhi and Chen Zilong, at the meeting, he talked about the situation in Xu Huai with insightful eyes and left a deep impression on Li Laiheng.
Li Laiheng clapped his hands and asked Zhang Pizhu to take three rosewood boxes from the soldiers, each containing a gold-sprinkled folding fan with an ivory fan bone and an emerald fan pendant.
He took the folding fan with both hands and handed it to Fang Yizhi, Chen Zilong and Xu Du one by one, and said with a smile:
"Winter is coming soon, and it is really not in line with the season to give folding fans. But you also know that although Chuangjun's finances are much better than before, money is needed everywhere. Although we have seized many rare and exotic treasures from several palaces,
But most of the valuable belongings have been resold through the channel of Kendeji. I only have these things on hand now, and they were given to me by the generalissimo after the wedding."
"Thank you! Thank you so much! The commander-in-chief is so attentive, but the students are so disrespectful. I feel so ashamed."
Li Laiheng also asked his soldiers to give a fur-collar coat to the generals present, including Chen Yongfu, and said:
"The folding fan is from the Zhou Palace, and there are calligraphy and paintings by Shen Shitian, Qiu Shizhou and Zhu Zhishan on the fan. The coat was seized by King Chuang from Sun Chuanting's military camp. It was probably used by the generals of the Qin army. Many were seized and rewarded You have given me a lot, everyone has a share, and everyone has a share, General Chen, the same goes for you, there is one more thing you can give to your son later."
Then everyone talked about the invasion of Xuzhou by the Chu army. Although there was no fighting in this battle because Gao Qian escaped with his army. But Li Laiheng heard that Gu Junen specifically praised Chen Yongfu's performance, saying that he took the lead and led the army with his son Chen De. A group of soldiers and horses were the first to rush into the Xuzhou city gate, so they turned around and said:
"I heard that Zhang Xianzhong recently attacked Wuling in western Hunan, opened the tombs of Yang Sichang and his wife and their fifth generation ancestors, opened the coffins and slaughtered the corpses, and also killed many people in the Yang Sichang clan. When I think of this, I feel that what Zhang Xianzhong did is really unnecessary .”
Hearing this, Gu Junen suddenly said in a tone of admiration: "Zhang Xianzhong is a mean and vengeful man, and he is really narrow-minded. I heard that the tombs of the Grand Marshal's ancestors were also dug up by Ming Dynasty officials, but the Grand Marshal said in his statement that he would never do this. He killed one person indiscriminately to vent his anger. He also treated General Chen with such generosity. In comparison, there is a huge difference between who is higher and who is lower."
Chen Yongfu also echoed: "Yes, the commander-in-chief is generous and benevolent. I have heard about the Eight Great Kings. Compared with King Li Chuang and the commander-in-chief, he is probably worse. If he also wants to overthrow the Ming Dynasty, I'm afraid it can only be regarded as a wishful thinking to fight against our army. From this little thing, we can see that his nature is hard to change and he will never be able to achieve anything."
Hao Yaoqi and Zhang Pizhu looked at each other. Both of them had always admired Li Laiheng, but Hao Yaoqi had higher qualifications and did not completely admire Li Laiheng like Zhang Pizhu.
Hao Yaoqi was not used to praising Li Laiheng's every word, and he had heard that Yang Sichang's clan was tyrannical in his hometown of Wuling, occupying land and oppressing the people, and the people were very angry. So he felt in his heart that Zhang Xianzhong even considered Yang Sichang's clan members If they were all killed, Yang Sichang's family deserved it. They had enjoyed blessings for so many years through Yang Sichang's prestige, and now they were retaliated against. Isn't it a cycle of heaven and retribution?
Fang Yiren also agreed with Li Laiheng's attitude. He could best hear the hidden meaning in Li Laiheng's words and knew that he was secretly attacking Chen Yongfu. But he also felt that now that the invasion of the army had become a trend, Li Laiheng's status compared with Chen Yongfu's Big advantage, in fact there is no need to use this kind of power tactics. Not only will it not have any big effect, but it will appear that Li Laiheng is not very resourceful.
But of course, this kind of words can only be said slowly and privately to the palace master in the future. On this occasion, Fang Yiren just said:
"Zhang Xianzhong was able to take Wuchang first and then go to Yuezhou. From being a lost dog chased and bitten by Yang Sichang and Zuo Liangyu to being the emperor and king in Changsha today, it was not because of our Huguang army that defeated Zuo Liangyu Is it? He is in a different league now, and he is causing trouble, and we will have to deal with it sooner or later."
Li Laiheng asked: "Well, how is the situation in Yuezhou?"
Gu Junen replied: "Gao Jiedu sent a letter from Wuchang. After the Huguang army resisted the sneak attack by Huang Shu and Niu Chenghu, Gao Jiedu led his troops to Yuezhou Prefecture. At that time, the eight kings went south from Yuezhou and headed to Xiying. Arriving in Changsha, Governor Li Qiande of Pianyuan, Liu Xizhuo, Governor of Huguang, and General Kong Xigui fled to Hengzhou with King Ji, who was enfeoffed in Changsha, and King Hui, who had fled from Jingzhou, to join King Gui. Then Zhang Xianzhong defeated Hengzhou again. Then we took Changsha and Hengzhou as our base and divided our forces to capture counties in Hunan."
Fang Yiren added: "The Western Camp was eager to capture all of Hunan and replenish its military resources. When it saw Gao Jiedu's army approaching Yueyangkou, it considered that the navy army was insufficient and could not compete with Liu Xiyao, Lin Chengcheng and other water camp generals, so
Since he abandoned Yuezhou and left, Yueyang entered the army's territory without fighting."
"By the way, there is one more thing." Fang Yiren thought for a while and then said, "Zhang Guang, the director of the Ordnance Academy who supervises the construction of new artillery in Suizhou, has a good relationship with the Western monks in Wuchang. I heard from his letter that Zhang Xianzhong
Before leaving Wuchang, they took away many Western monks. Gao Jiedu's letter also said that the Red Team detected that Zhang Xianzhong was using Western monks in Changsha to supervise the construction of cannons, and they did not know where to attack the city."
oh?
Li Laiheng's heart moved. He knew that Zhang Xianzhong's thoughts on destiny became more and more intense after he conquered Wuchang, Yueyang, Changsha, and Hengzhou. Later, he ran into a wall in Sichuan and encountered strong resistance from the gentry and people of Sichuan. Along with this unbalanced thought on destiny, he finally
As a result, the Western Camp carried out brutal killings in several territories controlled by the Western Army in Chengdu Prefecture.
However, Li Laiheng didn't know that Zhang Xianzhong would be interested in the Jesuit missionaries in Wuchang Prefecture. Did he take the missionaries away because he valued the knowledge of the Westerners in making new cannons?
Hey, I don't know Zhang Xianzhong's "Heaven has all things and humans, but humans have nothing to do with heaven. Ghosts and gods are clear, and they think for themselves.", and "Human life is in me, and my destiny is in heaven. There are roads in all directions, and there is no escape from disaster.",
What would these perverted ideas of destiny fanned out by speculative literati like Wang Zhaoling look like in the eyes of Jesuit missionaries?
Li Laiheng shook his head. Zhang Xianzhong regarded himself more and more as a son of God with a destiny. He only hoped that with the changes in the strength of the intruders, there would be changes in the Xiying side, so that they would not repeat the same mistakes, destroying themselves and causing harm at the same time.
It has brought serious disasters to many people.
"Okay. Let's not talk about Zhang Xianzhong for now. The generalissimo has already decided on the strategy of the Chuang Army's Northern Expedition. Xu's side also needs to be prepared."
"ah!"
Everyone is very concerned about this issue. Those who have recently surrendered, such as Chen Yongfu, Chen Zilong, Fang Yizhi, Xu Du, etc. are particularly concerned about the next development of the Chuang Army and whether the Chuang Army can seize the world and establish a new dynasty.
So when everyone heard that Li Laiheng was about to tell King Li Chuang's Northern Expedition strategy, of course they all listened carefully.
"The Generalissimo used my strategy to advance two elite troops, Liu Fangliang and Yang Chengzu, to control the Yellow River and occupy Tongguan. Then he came to Taiyuan with a hundred thousand troops and ordered Luo Rucai to bring 30,000 troops into Shaanxi. Our task here is to first ensure Xuzhou
To ensure safety, cut off the Ming Dynasty water transport and north-south traffic, and then wait for the main force of the intruder army to control the river and seize the pass, go north from Xuzhou, take Jinan and Hejian, and join the Generalissimo in Baoding."
"Three-pronged Northern Expedition!"
Fang Yiren said in shock: "The Ming Dynasty has a deep foundation, and the Chuang Army has not yet gained an absolute advantage. Now the three-pronged Northern Expedition is not a good strategy. Deeply cultivate Henan and build a solid foundation. This is the right way."
Li Laiheng frowned and said: "I also mentioned this to the Generalissimo, but Sun Chuanting's strength is still there. If Sun Chuanting's troops are not completely wiped out, he can come back at any time. How can we talk about recruiting exiles and recuperating? What the Generalissimo means is
The purpose of heading north to Shanxi was to mobilize the last remaining strength of the Ming Army in the north and attract the Qin Army and Guan Ning Army to the southern Hebei area to eliminate them. The purpose of letting Deputy Commander Luo enter the Pass was to deal with Bai Guangen who had retreated to Guanzhong, and also to avoid
Sun Chuanting will return to Xi'an in the future and reuse the border people on the three sides as sources of troops to restore the strength of the Qin army."
"So the purpose of the Generalissimo's Northern Expedition strategy is not to focus on Beijing, but to create a posture to attack Beijing, so that Chongzhen can mobilize his troops southward, so that the invading army can adopt a favorable posture to eliminate and make an emergency landing in southern Shanxi and southern Hebei.
The remaining main regiments of the Ming army."
This is what Li Laiheng said. He also felt that adopting this method to force the Ming Army's field corps to land would also be beneficial to the future fight against the Qing army. But after the invasion army occupied Taiyuan, could they stop the car?
When he was in Kaifeng, he, Li Zicheng, Luo Rucai and others repeatedly emphasized the arduous battle of Dangshan and greatly publicized how powerful the Manchu army was.
During Li Laiheng's stay in Kaifeng, one of the most important things he did was to preach to others everywhere that the Chuang Army was "not competing with the Ming Dynasty for the world, but actually competing with the Donglu". The Liao Dynasty was more dangerous than Goguryeo and Khitan.
However, because of Li Laiheng's great victory at Dangshan, and most of the generals of the Chuang Army, including Li Zichen himself, they have not yet realized that the combat effectiveness of the Huguang Chuang Army is slowly undergoing qualitative changes.
Therefore, in Li Zicheng's view, since Li Laiheng was able to defeat the Qing army at Dangshan, then the stronger Central Plains invasion army would have to deal with the Qing army just like Zhu Yuanzhang in the early Ming Dynasty dealt with Can Yuan. It would just be a destructive matter.
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This optimistic attitude pervaded the entire Chuang Army, making Li Laiheng feel very uneasy. However, in order to prevent Chuang Jun from being unable to stop the car, he also made many preparations.
First, now the Chuang Army is taking Taiyuan with its main force, with partial divisions on three sides. It is estimated that at the same time that Li Zicheng occupied Taiyuan, Luo Rucai occupied Xi'an at most. If he wants to use partial divisions to sweep Gansu, Ningxia and other places, it will definitely take a long time. As for Ningxia
, Northern Shaanxi is uncertain, and Taiyuan is surrounded by enemies from both sides, so it will not be easy to go north to attack Datong, let alone rush into the capital without solving the enemy behind it.
Second, Henan has not been damaged by the bursting of the Yellow River's banks, and no large-scale yellow flood zone has formed in eastern Henan. This allows the Chuang Army's operating conditions in Henan to be much better than in history. Moreover, without the emergence of the yellow flood zone, Henan
The forces of the Tuzhai bandits have also been much reduced than in history. Except for Li Jiyu, who has sent all his family members to Kaifeng, there are basically no Tuzhai forces worth mentioning.
Third, without the Yellow River Flood Area in eastern Henan, the traffic between Henan and Shandong would not be easily cut off. Li Laiheng now controls Xuzhou, and there are basically no garrisons in Shandong. It is completely in a vacuum waiting for Li Laiheng to pick it up.
.Without the yellow flood zone, Henan and Shandong controlled by the intruders could be connected together. It is unlikely that Shandong was quickly recaptured by the armed officials and gentry because transportation was blocked by the yellow flood zone in history.
Fourth, although Li Zicheng did not copy Li Laiheng's business methods in Huguang, the suggestions in Chen Xin's letter and some of Li Guo's practices more or less transferred part of the "Suizhou model" to Henan. These administrative system innovations should also be strengthened
The dominant force of the Chuang Army in Henan.
"Time must not be too urgent. Time must not be too urgent."
Li Laiheng murmured to himself, it is now the eleventh month of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, and the main force of the Breaking Army is expected to launch the Northern Expedition and the Western Expedition at the end of the leap eleventh year.
Sun Chuanting's remnants of the Qin army, which numbered more than 30,000, had left Huaiqing Mansion and headed north in the name of resisting the Qing army and becoming the King of Qin in Beijing.
The Qing troops of Abatai and Turg have arrived on both sides of Beijing, close to the border, and have joined forces with the vanguard of the response troops led by Dorgon.
The Yellow River is frozen and the three armies are about to move. The time must not be too hasty.