Under the sunset, Tongguan is shrouded in the afterglow, the beacon smoke rises on the pass, and there are a few crows in the distance, which are miserable and miserable, and people can't help but feel a little sad.

A group of soldiers of the Great Righteous Army, with knives and guns in their hands, were driving a group of Qing soldiers forward, those Qing soldiers had their hands tied behind their backs, and they were only wearing single clothes, walking dejectedly one by one, as if they had completely accepted their fate, and they only cared about moving forward, but there was no intention of resisting.

Everyone pushed forward, and when they saw the blood and water gathered on the ground, and the corpses that could be seen everywhere, they stepped on it as if they were nothing, and the numb look on their faces seemed to be completely accustomed to this harsh environment.

When everyone arrived at the edge of a river beach, the first soldier glanced at the people around him, waved his hand lightly, and saw that the soldiers had kicked all the Qing soldiers to the ground, held down their bodies, and rested their long knives on their necks.

"Kill!"

With a cold voice, the soldiers raised their long knives extremely skillfully, aimed at their necks and slashed down, and after a bloody light, these dozens of Qing prisoners were cleanly dealt with.

Ning Qianqiu in the distance looked at this scene, his face did not fluctuate in the slightest, it was really too much during this period of time, under his strong attack, the Great Righteous Army captured the large and small passes from Luoyang to Tongguan almost regardless of casualties, and the losses along the way were extremely heavy, and when they arrived at Tongguan, they used their lives to pile up a passage alive.

According to Ning Qianqiu's calculations, after the 50,000 Great Righteous Army defeated Tongguan, there were only less than 30,000 new troops left, at least more than 20,000, all of whom had fallen on this bloody road.

Of course, all this is worth it, the eighth and ninth divisions of the Fu Han Army have received the Ruzhou, Xuzhou, and Chenzhou prefectures left by the White Lotus Sect, and advanced their troops to Luoyang City, although there are still 30,000 Qing troops in Luoyang at this time, but anyone with a discerning eye can see that the fall of Luoyang City is just around the corner.

For Liu Ruhan, although on the surface he was oppressed by Ning Chu, he had to attack the city in such a disregard for life and death, but deep in his heart, despite the death of so many people, he also thought that it was all worth it, the reason was very simple, under their rapid attack along the way, the day of taking Xi'an Mansion was getting closer and closer.

Correspondingly, the Qing army reinforcements did not have time to rescue Xi'an, Nian Qianyao and Yue Zhongqi's northwest army is still in Qinghai, and there is still a Gansu in between, and the troops of Sichuan and Shaanxi Mongolia have long been transferred to the northwest army, and it is difficult to raise for a while.

Once the Great Righteous Army can take Xi'an, it is possible to pacify the northwest, and when he Liu Ruhan takes the land in the middle, he can take Sichuan in the south and enter Shanxi in the east, and the space for maneuver will be greatly strengthened, and he will no longer have to be caught between the Qing court and Ning Chu.

It is in this mentality that Liu Ruhan is so desperate to fight Tongguan, even if the casualties are large, he will not be reckless at all, the reason is to be able to occupy Xi'an as soon as possible.

"Congratulations to the Han King for a thousand years, now that Tongguan is in possession, Guanzhong is no problem."

Ning Qianqiu looked at Liu Ruhan, who was proud of the spring breeze, but he sneered in his heart, and allowed him to live a good life for a few days, and when Ning Chu completely digested the south, he would have the energy to look at the north.

"Your envoy is polite, these days thanks to the help of your envoy, our army can fight to Tongguan." Liu Ruhan's tone was light, and he didn't seem to hear any joy, anger and sorrow.

Ning Qianqiu clasped his hands into fists and saluted, and then said in a low voice: "Since His Majesty the King of Han has reached Tongguan, my task has been completed, and I came here today to ask His Royal Highness the King of Han to resign and return to the court." ”

Liu Ruhan nodded lightly, looking at Ning Qianqiu with a hint of temptation, "The military strength of the Puppet Qing Dynasty in the northwest is still at its peak, and when Nian Qianyao's northwest army comes, I am afraid that it will be difficult for my righteous army to resist, and it is not known whether this place in the middle of the pass can be taken......

"His Majesty the King of Han has fierce generals like rain, and the soldiers and horses are strong, so why worry about Nian Qianyao?" Ning Qianqiu remained silent.

Liu Ruhan glanced at Ning Qianqiu fixedly, and took a deep breath, "I think that the general trend of the world is now in the hands of Dachu, and it is difficult for the Great Righteous Army to seek a place to survive. Please also let your envoy know that my righteous army has always stood on the side of the imperial court! ”

Ning Qianqiu fell into silence, he had to think carefully about Liu Ruhan's words, but the relationship was quite far-reaching, and it would even affect the emperor's strategy, so he didn't dare to make any promises in person.

Seeing that Ning Qianqiu didn't speak, Liu Ruhan understood a little in his heart, and said proudly: "If your envoy has doubts in his heart, then there is no need to say much, since my great righteous army can reach Guanzhong, then even if there is only one soldier left in the future, he will die in Guanzhong!" After that, he didn't care about Ning Qianqiu anymore, and turned around and left directly.

Ning Qianqiu looked at Liu Ruhan who was leaving, his face couldn't help but be a little gloomy, although this person acted absurdly, he had lofty ambitions, and he would not be a great enemy in the future. It's just that how to deal with the White Lotus Sect, the emperor and the ministers have already had an opinion, so they won't say more.

However, this time Liu Ruhan did not let Ning Qianqiu go back like this, he sent someone to send a letter, which was handed over to Ning Yu, and asked Ning Qianqiu to bring it back, Ning Qianqiu was not easy to take it apart rashly, and presented it to Ning Yu after returning to the capital.

Ning Yu opened the letter, looked at it briefly, and a trace of coldness appeared on his face, he had long expected that Liu Ruhan did not have the heart to live under others, but he did not expect the other party to be so arrogant, and he boldly proposed to take Tongguan as the boundary, the east of Tongguan belongs to Ning Chu, and the west of Tongguan is the land of the White Lotus Sect, and the two families form an alliance to fight against the Qing court.

The intention in the letter is clear, that is, to no longer recognize Ning Chu as the master, but to seek self-reliance.

"Your Majesty, what does this thief mean?" Cui Wancai was a little curious.

"Hehe, a whimsical person, here is a fool to talk about dreams......"

Ning Yu sneered, and then handed the letter to Cui Wancai, "Liu Ruhan thought that if he won Guanzhong, he would be able to watch the snipe and clam fight...... Even if it's not good, you can divide the world into three parts, this is arguing with me! ”

Cui Wancai took the letter, read it carefully, and smiled dumbly, "This thief can't see the situation in the world clearly, now Chu and Qing are two sides, only one can survive, if he wants to be a fisherman, let him do it, and when my army settles in the Central Plains in the north, send a small official to make it surrender!" ”

"Well, let him take a good look! Let him guard the northwest for me first, and after he dominates the world in the future, he will just give it to a prince to raise. ”

Strictly speaking, Liu Ruhan's behavior did not exceed Ning Yu's expectations, but Ning Yu was still a little uncomfortable with this kind of behavior, so he immediately convened the cabinet and the Privy Council ministers to announce a news - that is, the Western Expedition.

"Expedition to the West?"

Ning Zhongyi was a little excited when he heard this, the Privy Council formulated a plan for the westward expedition very early, and later Ning Yu rejected it on the grounds of insufficient troops, and everything that happened later was a strategy formulated on this basis, and now seeing Ning Yu relieved, Ning Zhongyi thought that the time was ripe for the westward expedition.

"Your Majesty, at this time, the Western Expedition is the right time, we are also competing with the White Lotus Sect for time, if Liu Ruhan occupies Guanzhong, he will definitely pay attention to Sichuan, although it is not the best time to enter Sichuan at the moment, but it can't be delayed for a long time."

After listening to the Privy Council's plan, Shoufu Ning Zhongjing immediately spoke out against it, "Your Majesty, this is definitely not a good opportunity to go west, and now that the war in the south is quite smooth, why bother with this effort?" Increasing the pressure of money and food? ”

As everyone knows, the Fu Han army in Fujian has begun to prepare for the war in Liangguang, and the army of more than 50,000 people has been assembled, preparing to completely occupy Liangguang in one go before this year, so as to achieve the goal of completely occupying the southeast, so the relevant materials have poured into Fujian like water.

If the expedition to the west is set off at this time, at least five infantry divisions need to be expanded, and although these five divisions are not enough to completely crush Ning Chu's finances, but after all, they will disrupt the current development, which is extremely unwise in Ning Zhongjing's opinion, as long as it is steady and steady, it is only a matter of two or three years to recover the entire south, so why take such a risk?

Ning Yu smiled slightly, "The Western Expedition is not a one-time rush, the newly formed Twelfth Division can prepare ships in Yichang, and take Fengjie by land and water, and smash this nail into Sichuan, and my goal will be achieved." ”

This time it made everyone a little confused, this has been attacking Sichuan since ancient times, in order to avoid being trapped in the mountains and forests, how can it only take Fengjie today?

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the Sichuan region is steep and the jungle is closed, so if you directly attack along the water and land with the strength of three divisions, you can completely recover Sichuan Province and relieve the big trouble!"

Ning Zhongyi's idea is not a lie, mainly because Sichuan is indeed empty now, and if he can bring 30,000 people into Sichuan, it is not impossible to completely recover Sichuan. It's just that his thoughts are still very different from Ning Yu.

"Liangguang has always been the focus of our army, and our army must not ignore it, so it is the right way to ensure that the war between Guangxi and Guangxi is the right way, as for Sichuan, I think it is better to promote peace by fighting and take Sichuan Province."

After hearing Ning Yu's words, Cui Wancai's brows were raised, and he quickly peeked into the secrets - the key lies in the current governor of Sichuan.

Everyone knows that the current governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi is Yue Zhongqi, but it is almost equivalent to a false position, because the other party is still in Gansu, and it is a new position, so he can't meddle in the affairs of Sichuan and Shaanxi at all, so there are only two people who really decide the affairs of Sichuan now, that is, Cai Ting, the governor of Sichuan.

"Your Majesty means that we can co-opt this person for our use?"

Ning Zhongjing's brows relaxed, he didn't want to start a war on both sides at this time, he didn't worry about whether he would win the war or not, but the supply of logistics grain and grass on the two roads was really too much pressure, in fact, in order to supply the five divisions in Fujian, Ning Chu had already used about 200,000 people.

Ning Yu smiled slightly, in the shadow of the intelligence, the study of the Sichuan governor Cai Ting has been quite in-depth, it can be said that this person's origin is quite unusual, the family background is profound, he is the son of Cai Yurong, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, and the grandson of Cai Shiying, the secretary of the military department.

Strictly speaking, it was impossible to win over this person before this, and Ning Yu had no intention of doing so, but just this year, Cai Ting and Nian Qianyao had a discord, although Cai Ting became Yongzheng's henchman before Yongzheng ascended the throne under the recommendation of Nian Qianyao, but then an incident happened that made Cai Ting and Nian Qianyao turn against each other.

This matter is very simple, in fact, it is because Nian Qianyao has been the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu for too long, so that his own people are installed everywhere, and Cai Ting's personality is upright, and he inscribes the people that Nian Qianyao said are good, which makes many people lose their officials, which makes Nian Qianyao's cronies Wang Jinghao take revenge on Cheng Rusi, the former prefect of Kuizhou, who participated in Cai Ting's cronies, claiming that Cheng Rusi sold illicit salt and killed salt merchants. And Cai Ting was-for-tat, calling Cheng Rusi "the best official in Sichuan", so that the two sides faced each other.

Nian Qianyao was very dissatisfied with this, and he did not participate in Cai Ting's excerpt to Yongzheng, if it was placed in the past, Cai Ting would probably have been dismissed from office, but at this time, Yongzheng's opinion on Nian Qianyao has also changed.

As early as the beginning of the year, Yongzheng had repeatedly heard of Nian Qianyao's various behaviors in Sichuan, such as "those who have been to Shaanxi in Sichuan will be sent back to the ceremony today, and explain the rules and etiquette after taking office", "all officials tend to go to Nian Qianyao or send people to ask for peace or attach gifts to give gifts", coupled with Nian Qianyao's wanton placement of cronies when he was the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, has caused Yongzheng's suspicion and great dissatisfaction.

Now with the complete loss of power in Luo Buzang Danjin and the rise of Yue Zhongqi, Yongzheng's tolerance for Nian Qianyao has decreased a lot, and the two of them are very different, so they seem to be handed over to Shi Wenmian for trial, but Shi Wenmian understood Yongzheng's psychology, and tried his best to excuse Cheng Rusi, so that Nian Qianyao was even more annoyed.

"This person is evil to Nian Qianyao, and now he has Yongzheng's support, his arrogance can be seen, and he is even more dissatisfied with Yue Zhongqi, who took over, and in the situation of competition between the governors and governors, it can become a breakthrough for our army."

Ning Yu had a smile on his face, "This time our army is called westward marching, but in fact, the attention of the White Lotus Sect and the Qing court has been shifted to Sichuan, once the White Lotus Sect can't sit still, it will inevitably lead the army south, and when the time comes, the northwest army of Nian and Yue will have to fight even if they don't want to fight with the White Lotus Sect." ”

In Ning Yu's imagination, the northwest army of Nian Qianyao and Yue Zhongqi has always been a hidden danger, so the best way is to constantly create opponents for him, and if there is no Luo Buzang Danjin, then create a great righteous army for him.