On the rolling Yangtze River, Zhu Yihai was sitting on a boat. The boat was anchored in the middle of the river. It was a Yangtze River sand boat, a merchant ship for transportation.
This is near Zhenjiang, and he is fishing on the deck.
However, the dignified supervisor certainly did not come to Zhenjiang to fish on a whim. He took the risk and came here because he actually wanted to see the Qing army crossing the river up close.
Ruan Jin very boldly proposed a land and water advance in Chongming and quietly sneaked to Zhenjiang. When the main force of the Qing army in Duduo Boluo crossed the river and returned to the north, he made a half-crossing attack and launched a combined land and water attack.
But Zhu Yihai rejected it.
This plan is indeed bold, but too whimsical.
After Duduo and Boluo joined forces, they led more than 20,000 Eight Banners elites back north this time, along with no less than 100,000 surrendered Ming troops and other troops.
Not to mention Zhenjiang, which is close to Jiangning, and Yangzhou in the north of the Yangtze River, which still have heavy troops stationed at this time.
To attack such a large army secretly, Zhu Yihai must summon all the troops of the Northern Expedition to be able to fight. But if you gather 50,000 to 60,000 troops and rush to Zhenjiang, are Duduo and Bolo dead? Is Hong Chengchou dead?
Will they not notice any movement?
And if the land camp is not mobilized and only the navy is mobilized from Jingjiang in Chongming, even if there are only 20,000 to 30,000 naval troops, thousands or even more ships will be dispatched. With so many ships traveling on the Yangtze River, even if
You can only sail at night, but you can't escape the eyes of both sides of the river.
It would be a dream to reach Zhenjiang silently from Chongming and then attack halfway across the river.
But if you can't be secretive and use your bow to fight, there is no chance of defeating the Qing army. Even if the Qing army does not have a navy, think about how the Qing army crossed the Yangtze River southward a few months ago. You will know that although the Yangtze River is
Natural danger is not a panacea.
It is impossible for Zhu Yihai to make this kind of all-or-nothing gamble.
But, he still came.
But they only brought a few boats, disguised as merchant ships, and kept a distance.
As he expected, Dodo was no fool.
Hundreds of thousands of people crossed the river on horseback, and they were well prepared.
Those who took the lead were those who were on guard and reconnaissance along the coast, and there were fleets of sailors on the upstream and downstream rivers to support them. After a few days of tossing, the army officially crossed the river.
Countless large boats and small boats transported soldiers and horses across the river. The scene was very spectacular.
Zhu Yihai just watched from a distance.
Historically, when the Tatars in Beijing discovered that not only had the Ming Dynasty not perished, but the King of Lu in eastern Zhejiang soon supervised the country, and the King of Tang in Fujian proclaimed himself emperor, and their momentum was getting stronger and stronger, they immediately transferred Boluo to lead the army south again the following year.
The expedition went all the way to Guangdong, destroying the two small imperial courts in Zhejiang and Fujian.
After the Qing army withdrew its troops again, Emperor Yongli appeared again.
"Let's go back."
Zhu Yihai suddenly lost his mind and took the risk to come here to fulfill his wish. He saw how powerful the Qing army was at this time and the strength gap between the two sides was still very large.
Go down the river and return to Chongming.
After returning to Chongming, Zhu Yihai promoted himself to the title of Crown Prince, Taibao, Minister of the Ministry of War, Yushi of the Right Capital, General of the Governor-General Military Affairs, Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army Commandery, Commander-in-Chief of Jiangnan, Jiangbei, Water and Land Officers, Yibing Ma, and Taixing.
County King.
It was officially announced that Zhu Wu was the ninth younger brother of King Lu, also known as Zhu Yiwu.
The Lu vassal had granted 23 princes successively. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were eleven kingdoms including Juye, Zouping, Dong'a, Changtai and other eight kingdoms without heirs. The kings of Baoqing, Fuping, Changde and Taixing all entered.
King Jielu.
The last King of Taixing was Zhu Yihai's father. He inherited his elder brother's title and was promoted to King of Lu. There is no legend about King Taixing.
Now Zhu Yihai was unwilling to give up the identity of Zhu Wu, so he officially named Zhu Wu the Prince of Taixing County.
Everyone is quite accustomed to this.
However, Shen Chenquan and others who were familiar with Zhu Yihai's style of operation and even understood the operations of the Northern Expeditionary Army knew that Zhu Wu's identity was not only a cover-up, but also very convenient for the Supervisory State to directly control the Northern Expeditionary Army, that is, the imperial camp's pro-army. .
Now that he has added these titles, it is further convenient for Zhu Wu to directly command the imperial camp.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Five Armies of the Ming Dynasty was originally responsible for commanding the troops, while the Commander-in-Chief of the Ministry of War, the Admiral, and the Chief Military Officer were responsible for combat operations. Now Zhu Yihai added the Minister of the Ministry of War to his vest, and the Governor-General of Military Affairs was in charge of the military affairs of the Commander-in-Chief of the Five Armies. The water and land officers in the south and the north of the Yangtze River, the righteous soldiers and horses, and the general officers and soldiers are equal to the unity of the power to unite the troops, the power to mobilize the troops, and the power to command.
The commander-in-chief of Jiangnan Water and Land Officials and Volunteer Soldiers further delineated the scope of his command. The entire Yangtze River bank was under his jurisdiction.
He can do things here without going through the imperial cabinet, the Ministry of War, the Governor's Office, etc. in terms of procedures. It is more convenient and easier to use than the title of supervisor.
"When will His Highness set out to go south?" Xu Shiqi came to urge him again. He was now very worried that the Governor-General and Military Affairs General would suddenly have other arrangements, such as going to Jiangbei, or leading the navy up the river to Anqing, Huizhou or even Jiangnan and Huguang.
If Zhu Yihai doesn't start his journey, he won't be practical.
"Should the war in Huguang begin? I wonder if Zhu Dadian has successfully taken over the local military and political power in Huguang. Among the three governors of Huguang, only Du Yinxi, the governor of Huguang, is the only one who has passed the test. We still don’t know whether they can cooperate with Zhu Dadian?”
"There is also Ma Jinzhong, who was formerly a subordinate of Zuo Liangyu. Wang Jincai is in Yuezhou. He Tengjiao recruited him to surrender before. Can he listen to Zhu Dadian's orders now?"
"Can the various units of the Zhongzhen Battalion unite as one and attack Jingzhou with all their strength, and can the official army of Changsha Yuezhou and Ma Jinzhong and other units attack Wuchang as planned?"
The more Xu Shiqi listened, the more he felt bad, so he quickly interrupted Zhu Yihai, "Your Highness, Huguang is thousands of miles away. Your Highness has already formulated a strategy. He also sent Zhu Dadian to supervise the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu, Chuan, and Henan, and also arranged for Zhang Ge's troops to go to Jiangxi. Supervisor, I went to the Governor of Huizhou with Huang Daozhou, everything that needs to be arranged has been arranged, and the next step is to have no doubts about the appointment, and the good news of Jinghou."
Supervisors and governors were also sent, as were admirals and general soldiers. They even dispatched elite soldiers and generals from the Northern Expeditionary Army, allocated food and salaries, sent envoys to deliver edicts and reward local officials, recruit and reward local rebels, etc.
"Your Highness cannot stay on the front line for a long time, and the imperial court also needs His Highness to preside over it. The reform of the feudal system, the abolition of the guard military household system, and even the change of the tax system are all urgent matters, and they cannot be separated from the presiding of His Highness. ."
Zhu Yihai nodded.
"That's right. When the Battle of Jingzhou and Wuchang begins, we have to make more noise and attack Hangzhou. All the civil and military officials in the Qiantang River are feeling uncomfortable and can hardly control themselves."
After getting up, Zhu Yihai looked in the direction of Nanjing again.
Although Nanjing is not far away, it is not the time yet.
Turning back to look at Jingjiang, Huang Binqing now led the Zhejiang Navy to garrison Jingjiang. Zhu Chenggong, Ruan Mei, and Liu Shixun were sent there to oversee the army and consult with the army and deputy admiral.
From Huang Binqing, who had already submitted to accept the adaptation, he couldn't help but think of Fang Guoan in Yanzhou.
This guy is still a warlord to this day. He secretly got King Yiyang to call himself the supervisor of the country in Longyou and other places. After several warnings from Xing Zai, this guy kept making excuses in every possible way, but refused to be honest.
This time when I go back, I have to deal with Fang Guoan first.
There is also Zheng Zhilong of Fujian, who monopolizes maritime trade and secretly supports Hong Chengchou's mother. He exchanges private letters and sends food and troops to Fujian on several occasions. Zheng Zhilong just fools around and delays, and even appoints local officials without permission.
and expand armed troops and horses at will.
Anyway, it is clear that he wants to take advantage of the chaos and become the King of Fujian.
In Yunnan, Wu Bikui, the chieftain of Wuding, took the opportunity to rebel and captured Dingyuan, Meitan, Wuding, Lufeng, Yao'an and other places. Mu Tianbo, the contemporary Duke of Guizhou of the Mu family in Shizhen Yunnan, and others quickly mobilized the chieftains of Shiping.
When Tianjiao Chieftain Wang Yangzu, Mengzi Chieftain Sha Dingzhou, Ningzhou Chieftain Lu Yongming, Jingdong Chieftain Diao Xun and other troops encircled and suppressed the rebellion, Zhu Yihai knew that Wu Bikui would soon be encircled and annihilated.
However, Sha Dingzhou, who participated in the encirclement and suppression, took the opportunity to launch a mutiny and rebellion in Kunming City afterwards. Mu Tianbo lost Kunming and fled, and Yunnan began the three-year Sha Dingzhou Rebellion.
As for the Kingdom of Tianfu in Sichuan, Zhang Xianzhong also controlled most of the area at this time, and had proclaimed himself emperor in Shu and established the Great Western Dynasty.
The situation in the rear area is not stable, but Zhu Yihai is now beyond his reach.
Before going south, Zhu Yihai summoned Su Song Governor Shen Youlong, Governor Wang Yongzuo, Inspector Gu Yanwu, Supervisor of Military Road Chen Zilong, Governor of Water Transport and Yingtian Governor Wu Yi, Governor of Huaiyang Shen Tingyang, and Navy Commander Ruan Jin in Chongming.
Everyone.
"The Fourth Naval Force, the overseas navy went south, the rest of the inland river and Yangtze River naval forces were stationed on the Yangtze River, Huaiyang, and the Zhejiang Navy was stationed in Susong, Zhexi and Zhejiang. The imperial army stayed in Shizhong Town, and Zhang Mingyang was commanded to station in the east and west mountains of Taihu Lake.
."
"Yongwei Town enters the Tianmu Mountain area to the west of Taihu Lake between Huzhou and Guangde. It is responsible for Huzhou, Guangde, and Ningguo, establishing a foothold and developing steadily."
Among the eight towns of the imperial camp, Zhu Yihai left two of the four army towns behind. Flag Bearer and Shenji Lianglu Town went south, while the guard army Yulin Town and the Ma Army Jinwu Town also moved southward from the overseas Dinghai Town of the Navy.
The inland river navy of the imperial navy was left in Fubo Town, and the newly reorganized Yangtze River navy and Zhejiang navy, plus Su Song, and the provincial and town camps reorganized by the rebel forces in Yingtian and Tianjin were divided into areas for defense.
Zhu Yihai left behind two land, one water and three towns, with a total of 16,500 combat troops and more than 4,000 auxiliary troops, plus more than 10,000 people from the two new naval towns.
He took away more than 20,000 people from the five towns of Yulin, Jinwu, Banner, Shenji and Navy Fubo. Among the more than 20,000 people, Zhang Mingzhen will also be sent to take 5,000 people to Jiangxi and Yuan Zongdi to take them.
The five thousand sent to Huguang actually equals half from each of the four towns except the Navy.
Zhu Yihai's imperial camp had nearly 15,000 troops left in the five towns and headed south.
When we divided our troops from Ningbo and headed north, we had three thousand soldiers and horses. After going around in a circle, the number of soldiers and horses increased twenty times, and finally there were still five times. Moreover, they were veterans of the first Northern Expedition.
"Your Highness, the main force of the Tatars has crossed the Yangtze River and returned to the north. Now the south of the Yangtze River is empty. Why don't we directly launch a major counterattack in the south of the Yangtze River. This is also to support the Huguang battlefield." Shen Youlong, Wu Yi and others couldn't help but persuade Zhu Yihai.
"The Tatars haven't gone far yet. If we make a big move here immediately, they will definitely lead them to go south again. Besides, I plan to go back to reorganize the rear first, and then attack Hangzhou. I can also coordinate and support the Huguang battlefield."
"Besides, we have just plowed Su Song. Now even if we hit him again, we won't gain much. If we hit him again, we won't be able to hold it for a while. So why hit him?" He smiled, "The mood of the gentlemen is
I can understand, but please bear with it a little longer. Let the Tatars occupy the county and county cities for a while. I will stay in the countryside for a while and work hard to train soldiers and horses, rectify the countryside, build up Baojia, and practice regiments.
Get up, and when the time comes, it will be a matter of course to attack the county below the city."
"When will the princes' provincial and town camp troops and rural brave regiments be trained, and when will we be able to truly launch a counterattack!"
