The result of the defeat of the main force of the Shun army in the field at Beizhili caused a series of upheavals. From May to June, Beizhili, Shandong, Henan and other areas that had previously submitted to Dashun rebelled one after another. The Ming army Chen Weifu, Tian Xiong, Liu Hongqi and other troops who were ordered to recover Henan set off from Runing Mansion to the north. For example, Sang Kaidi, the prefect of Guide Prefecture, and Ding Qiguang, the younger brother of Ding Qirui, the former Ming Governor, jointly arrested the magistrates of various prefectures and counties appointed by Dashun in Guide Mansion to welcome the Ming army into the city.

In late May, Li Chengdong, who was chased by the Ming army and had nothing to hide in Huguang, fled to Henan with dozens of horsemen, and Guang Wenlu returned to Henan with Jinghe's former camp and joined up with the rest of the soldiers and horses, with more than 20,000 people, and the strength completely exceeded the Shun army remaining in Henan. However, Li Chengdong colluded with Han Jiadi in Xuzhou, Li Hao in Yuzhou, Liu Xuan in Xiangcheng County and other bandits to cause chaos in various places, so Henan has not yet been able to be truly pacified.

In view of the changes in the current situation, Zhao Dangshi immediately reclassified the temporary command structure at the army level and clarified the responsibilities.

Shaanxi, divided into three armies, namely Zhao Dangshijun, Hou Dagui and Xu Huijun.

Originally, Guo Ruke's army was merged into Zhao Dangshi's army, and as a result, Zhaodang's army had a total of 47,000 soldiers and horses from Qihun Camp, Zhenxiao Camp, Qingtong Camp, Ma Wannian, San Tan, Zhao Guangyuan, Zhang Yingyuan, Wang Yuncheng, Song Ji, Ma Tiebei, Zhao Ronggui, Liu Gui, Li Jiyu, etc., and various departments in northern Sichuan. Among them, the Zhenxiao camp returned to Shaanxi in the near future after two months of repairing and replenishment.

Xu Huijun's lineage of the Xiaojie Battalion, the Changhong Left Battalion, and the Changhong Right Battalion remained unchanged, plus Huang Degong's 12,000 men, totaling 18,000 soldiers and horses.

Hou Dagui's army added the Feijie Left Battalion, the Feijie Right Battalion, the Changning Battalion, the Zhongguan Battalion and the Heren Jibu Horse Army separated from the Qingtong Battalion on the basis of the original Wuyu Battalion, Jinghe Zhong Battalion, and Yichong Battalion, totaling 12,000 soldiers and horses.

In Henan, a new army of Guangwenlu was established, with jurisdiction over the Jinghe Front Battalion, the Changhong Front Battalion, Tian Xiong, Liu Hongqi, Ding Qiguang, Xu Dingguo and other units, totaling 21,000 soldiers and horses.

In terms of Nanzhili, a new army of Zuo Mengeng was established, which governed the Zuojia Army and Fang Guoan and Yuan Shizhong, with a total of 32,000 soldiers and horses. However, the situation in Nanjing has not yet been decided, and if the follow-up progress goes smoothly, Liu Zhaoji, Zhang Tianlu, and other troops around Nanjing will be integrated, and the scale of the army will be further expanded.

In terms of Huguang, Liu Shijun was newly set up as an army, with jurisdiction over the Wuya Battalion and the Guoan Battalion, and at the same time cooperated with the Huguang Commandery Yamen, counting the united soldiers, there should be 34,000 soldiers and horses.

In Sichuan, Wang Laixingjun was still in charge, with jurisdiction over the training barracks, Jinghe rear battalions, Liu Jiayin, Zeng Ying and other departments, with a total of 13,000 soldiers and horses. Because Wang Laixing sat in Chongqing Prefecture and the military affairs were inclined to southern and eastern Sichuan, the military administration of Chengdu and northern Sichuan was mainly based on Sichuan to lead the yamen, with 20,000 soldiers and horses.

In addition, there are local forces such as Sun Chuanting in northern Shaanxi, Cao Pu Liu Zeqing, and Liu Liangzuo in Anlu, most of whom have ambiguity with the Hongguang Imperial Court and have no clear minds, so they have not sent orders to them for the time being, asking them to obey the command.

Shaanxi has always been regarded by Zhao Dangshi as the key direction of warfare, and the number of Ming troops here is also the highest among other provinces. The Shun army that defended the city of Xi'an was less than 30,000, and Zhao Dangshi besieged Xi'an with heavy troops, intending to lead the Shun army to Shaanxi, and the main force of the siege was Zhao Dangshi and Xu Hui's two armies, which were more than twice as many as the Shun army, which was more than enough. In addition, Hou Dagui's army left Guanzhong in late May and began to march to Shanxi, which was the result of Han Gon, Ma Guangchun, Zhou Yuji, and Lü Yue asking Zhao Dangshi for his life.

Han Gon had the highest status in the Zhao camp, and after defeating Dang Shousu, he took the lead in suggesting to Zhao Dangshi to attack Shanxi when he reported on his work.

"Shanxi is adjacent to Shaanxi and Henan, if you take it, you can enter the north of Zhili and Shandong, and you can retreat along the river and along the mountains to fortify, which is not only a barrier, but also a ladder." Han Gon said, "In addition to the old field camps, most of the thieves and soldiers are gathered in Henan and Shaanxi, and now these two provinces are under the control of our army, and Shanxi is empty, just to seize it." ”

Ma Guangchun also said: "Our army has taken all the land south of the Yellow River in Henan, as long as we divide a group of troops and horses to Shanxi, we can echo our army in Henan, and southern Jin and northern Henan can be connected immediately, which is beneficial to the overall situation of our army." ”

In order to guard against Zhao Dangshi and other Ming troops in the south, when the Shun army marched into Beijing, it left more troops in Shaanxi and Henan, but because Shanxi was close to Beizhili and could take care of it in time, and the Shun army itself marched too quickly and did not deploy in time, so it did not leave an organized army. The only Shun army in Shanxi was Zhang Tianlin, the general who guarded Datong Mansion, with 10,000 troops, and was responsible for maintaining the road from northern Shaanxi to Beijing. If the Ming army quickly advances into Jinzhong and Jinnan, there will be no strong opponent in a short time.

Zhao Dangshi discussed the war situation with Gu Junen and Xu Yixian earlier, and also set his sights on Shanxi. It is expected that if the Shun army returns to Shaanxi from northern Shanxi, then the Ming army that enters Shanxi will become a wedge, which can threaten the belly and back of the Shun army at any time, and it is a strategic surprise army.

"The Anxi Wang's division is deep in northern Shaanxi, and there is no help from the left and right, if our army responds in Shanxi, it is bound to greatly relieve the pressure on his army." Ma Guangchun continued, "And Shaanxi has a lord in charge, and the thieves can't set off any storms." It is better to send troops to take this strategic place in Shanxi as soon as possible, which is excellent for military deployment, collection of money and food, recruitment of new soldiers, boosting morale, and inspiring people. ”

Zhao Dangshi nodded and said: "What you said is reasonable, but there are not enough troops in Shanxi this time, first, you can't control the situation, and second, you can't pose a strong threat to the enemy, only your four battalions are definitely not enough." As he spoke, his eyes swept back and forth, glancing back and forth at the generals.

"Lord, my subordinates are willing to go to Shanxi!"

Zhao Dangshi originally intended to make Xu Hui the leader of Shanxi, he is a native of Shanxi, with a calm personality, tenacity in combat and rich experience in leading troops independently, so he is the most suitable candidate. But before the words came out, suddenly, a loud shout resounded through the camp tent, and looking at it, Hou Dagui was majestic and high-spirited, and stepped forward.

"Old Hou, ...... you" Zhao Dangshi involuntarily moved to Hou Dagui at Xu Hui's fingers, "You want to go to Shanxi?" ”

"There is no joke in the army, and the subordinates have the confidence to open up the territory of Shanxi for the lord!" Hou Dagui patted his chest and said, then looked around at the rest of the generals, looking at the posture of giving up on me.

It's not surprising that Hou Dagui will come out. He has always been keen on power and has the courage to perform, and although he has been studying in the Unified Power Inspection Institute for half a year, although he has smoothed out some edges and corners, his daily and nightly leisure has nourished his inner desire to make meritorious contributions. In addition, in the previous Henan Campaign, he presided over the overall situation and achieved great results in annihilating tens of thousands of Shun troops and recovering most of Henan, which made his confidence unprecedentedly strong.

In Zhao Yingzhong, no one has ever dared to compete with Hou Dagui, not to mention that his reputation is as high as the sky. Even Xu Hui was just silent at this time.

Hou Dagui and Xu Hui's status in the army is inseparable, although Zhao Dangshi's heart belongs to Xu Hui, it is not good to press back Hou Dagui, who took the initiative to ask for his life, for no reason. So he looked at Xu Hui and hoped that he could open his mouth to fight for him, but Xu Hui obviously had no intention of fighting with Hou Dagui and was always silent.

Zhao Dangshi waited for a long time, and saw that none of the generals in the account came out after Hou Dagui, and the governor was a foregone conclusion. Thinking that Shanxi's military operations were not too difficult, Hou Dagui had the experience he had learned from the battlefield in Henan, and he should be competent, so he immediately pushed the boat down the river and said with a smile: "Old Hou is loyal and brave, Shanxi, I will hand it over to you." ”

Hou Dagui resolutely said: "Wrap it on my old Hou!" ”

In the next few days, Hou Dagui finished reorganizing the army, and immediately led the army to break away from the main force besieging Xi'an Fucheng, and drove eastward, planning to enter the southwest of Jin from Fenglingdu in the middle of the pass. But just as Hou Dagui's army was on the march, Zhao Dangshi received a message, which came from northern Jin.

"Jiang Hao attacked and killed Zhang Tianlin and occupied Datong Mansion." Zhao Dangshi was concise and to the point, and said to Gu Junen and Xu Yixian, who were temporarily called.

The Shun army swept through the north, and Chen Yongfu, Tang Tong and other Ming generals surrendered to Shun one after another, and Jiang Hao was no exception. His family background is a general, the eldest brother Jiang Rang once served as the general soldier of Yulin, the younger brother Jiang Xuan was the deputy general soldier of Yanghe, Shanxi, and he was the general seal of the general commander of Ming Datong Town. After surrendering, he was controlled by Zhang Tianlin, the general of the Great Shun system, and now he betrayed, thinking that he was affected by the news of the defeat of the Shun army.

"Although Jiang Hao has troops, he can't stop the thieves, and he dares to rebel suddenly, maybe it has something to do with Beijing." Gu Junen judged.

Zhao Dangshi responded: "Mr. and I see the same, without the support of Wu Sangui or Tartar, Jiang Hao does not dare to do this." Instead, he said, "It's a bit noteworthy, Jiang Hao betrayed the thief and set up Zhu Dingshan, a descendant of the Zaoqiang King, saying that it was to continue the worship of the first emperor." ”

Xu Yixian said: "Jiang Hao has been trapped among the thieves for a long time, and I am afraid that he still doesn't know about the emperor's accession to the throne in Fan Jing. He added, "The lord said that Wu Sangui invited the Tartars to enter the customs, and the excuse was probably 'Lianyu Pingkou' to drive away thieves for Daming, although Jiang Huang was reckless in doing so, it was understandable." ”

Zhao Dangshi said: "Tartar is not credible, Jiang Hao will know sooner or later." He continued, "But for our army, his sudden rebellion has both advantages and disadvantages." ”

Gu Junen stammered and said: "Yes, Jiang Hao rebelled and established the king, and it can be seen that he has the heart to return to the Ming, and the head Hou is marching into Shanxi, just in contact with him, if we can join hands, it will be a great help." However, Jiang Hao killed Zhang Tianlin, and the passage to northern Jin was cut off, whether the thieves would go back to northern Jin and return to Shaanxi became a variable. ”

Xu Yixian said: "In other words, the thieves want to return to Shaanxi, and they can't go to the north of Jin, but can only go to the central and southern parts of Jin. For today's plan, it is advisable to recall Mr. Hou as soon as possible. ”

Zhao Dangshi shook his head and said: "Hou Dagui has already led his troops across the Yellow River at this moment, and it is not cost-effective or too dangerous to let him come back in a hurry." Shanxi will have to settle sooner or later, but things have changed, and I can wait to see the move. ”

"What are you going to do?"

"But I hurriedly sent a horse to Hou Dagui's place, so that he would not stay in Jinzhong and Nan, and immediately lead the army north."

"There is Jiang Jiu in Datong Mansion, if he has the same heart as our army, it would be good, if he has a different heart......"

"It doesn't matter. Don't forget that there is also Sun Chuanting's army in northern Shaanxi. Hou Dagui went north, did not go to Datong first, and transferred the army to the west to cross the river through Jiazhou, and could meet Sun Chuanting in Yulinwei. Gao Yigong and other thieves of Yulinwei can't wait for Li Chuang's main force, there is no point in defending Yulinwei, it is very likely to abandon the city and leave, Hou Dagui and Sun Chuanting join forces, and then go to Datong, even if he Jiang Jiu is hostile, he can also suppress him. ”

Gu Junen stroked his beard and said: "In this way, the purpose of preserving Sun Chuanting's army can also be achieved." ”

"When Hou Dagui is marching, I will send someone to Datong to appease Jiang Jiu, and it is best to bring him over. At that time, the three armies of Hou, Sun, and Jiang swept south and swept through Shanxi with the momentum of Jianling, which could still threaten the back of the thieves, and the effect might be better. ”

Gu Junen and Xu Yixian both sighed: "The lord's soldiers are like gods, and only one change of tactics can easily resolve the sudden situation, and further increase the chances of victory without changing the established goal, which is admired by his subordinates." ”

Zhao Dangshi frowned and said, "However, there are still two variables in it that are difficult to estimate. ”

Xu Yixian said one first: "Sun Chuanting." ”

Gu Junen coughed lightly and said one: "Beijing." ”

Zhao Dangshi nodded and said: "There is no perfect plan between things, so it is most appropriate and beneficial to act like this." We'll see what happens next. ”