Dolgon, who had been upgraded to the Qing Emperor Amma, tried in every possible way to postpone the time of a full-scale war between the north and the south, so as to advance his three major layouts of "pacifying the northwest, reforming the nine banners of the army, and developing the Guanwai".

And in Nanjing, the capital of Emperor Hongxing, at this time, there was a group of warlords who entered Beijing to participate in the pilgrimage, and they were vigorously encouraging Hong Xingye to go on the Northern Expedition, and it was getting better and better!

Because in this view, time is not on the side of Daming......

"Your Majesty, the way of using soldiers has not been perfect since ancient times. And from the north to the south, there are few people who have achieved complete success, and only the Taizu of this dynasty has a great talent and strategy, and can achieve great success. But today's world is very different from the last years of the Yuan Dynasty. The Dongyu occupying the Central Plains and Yanyun were different from the Mongolia at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongolia at the end of the Yuan Dynasty was already decaying, and the interior was falling apart and the struggle was endless, so it was a dry bone in the mound, and sooner or later it was swept away by Emperor Taizu Gao. However, today's Donglu is a newly established state, starting from Nurhachi, and passing to Fulin for only three generations, and the kings such as Dolgon and Duoduo, who really hold great power, are only two generations...... It's time to thrive!

If Your Majesty, in order to ensure the success of the Northern Expedition, first straightens out the interior, and then refines the soldiers and horses, and does not hesitate to spend three or five years, is he not afraid that the Eastern Empire will also use these three or five years to rectify and develop, and become more vigorous?

Therefore, in the opinion of the ministers, if the Northern Expedition is to be successful, it is necessary to act as soon as possible, and before the development of the Eastern Expedition is vigorous, it will take three or five years to go all out and succeed in one fell swoop. If I miss these three or five years, I am afraid that my southern dynasty will become more and more ruined, while the northern land will flourish......"

The one who said the above was Shi Kefa of the military gate of the seven provinces of the governor!

Because of his good performance when Zhu Cihong ascended the throne, Shi Kefa can barely be regarded as a loyal minister now.

The reason why he is barely a loyal minister is because the handwritten letter from Gao Yushun brought back by Ji Kun from Xuzhou has been confirmed to be true!

The letter was indeed written by Gao Yushun, but the content of the letter ...... I don't know if it's true! Anyway, Ji Kun couldn't figure it out - this guy was a lawyer earlier, and then a cool official, and he could be regarded as reading countless people, and he had developed a pair of fiery eyes to see people. But even his sharp eyes can't tell whether Shi Kefa and Huang Degong have any intention of rebelling?

And Zhu Chunjie, the commander of Jinyiwei, also couldn't figure it out, although he sent spies around Shi Kefa and Gao Jie, but he never got a report of the two of them contacting Gao Yushun or Zhu Cizhao.

But at the same time, Wu Sanfu, who led his troops to capture Xiangyang, secretly reported that Zhu Cizhao, Gao Yushun, and Yuan Guifei had been secretly released at the end of the eighteenth year of Chongzhen, and were personally escorted out of Xiangyang Mansion by Song Xiance, the military division...... Moreover, many people know about this matter among the officers and soldiers of Dashun who surrendered or were captured, so it should be credible.

In addition, Wu Sanfu didn't know that Ji Kun and Jin Yiwei were investigating Shi Kefa and Huang Degong, nor did he know that Gao Jie secretly reported Shi Kefa and Huang Degong.

Wu Sanfu and Shi Kefa, Huang Degong, and Gao Jie have no intersection, and they have no contacts, so it is impossible to fabricate a crime to frame Shi Kefa and Huang Degong. And Wu Sanfu has never made a small report on anyone in front of Zhu Cihong......

So this case is really a bit confusing!

"Shi Qing," Zhu Cihong, who was sitting behind a desk in the East Warm Pavilion of Fengtian Palace, just looked at Shi Kefa with an expressionless face, "Do you think Donglu will be thriving?" ”

Shi Kefa was sitting on a chair and "alone" with Zhu Cihong, and when he heard Zhu Cihong's question, he nodded and said: "Your Majesty, the minister has been in Qufu for a long time, and he has been paying attention to the changes in the situation in the north every day. According to the observation of the ministers, since the establishment of the two green flags in the east and the practice of the method of dictating the fields in Shandong, Beizhili, Shanxi, Henan and other places, the situation has become more and more stable, the people have stopped fleeing, agriculture has gradually resumed, and the rebels everywhere have become more and more difficult day by day. If the Northern Expedition starts within the year, there should still be a considerable chance of winning, and if it is delayed for another three or five years, I am afraid that there will not be much chance of winning......."

Zhu Cihong knew that what Shi Kefa observed was a scene of the increasing prosperity of the Chuxing Dynasty after the restart—fewer people, more land, and more profit (cultivation and warfare), and all kinds of complex production and social relations were swept away, and everything became very simple.

For a northern scholar like Shi Kefa, this kind of simple and nascent society is probably more ideal than the nascent stage of capitalism here in the Southern Ming Dynasty, right?

"Shi Qing," Zhu Cihong said, "I also want to settle the Central Plains as soon as possible and recover the old capital." However, the Northern Expedition required at least three or four hundred thousand troops and millions of people, and it took several years to do so...... I'm afraid that the food consumed in a single day of fighting will be measured in tens of millions of stones, right? If we take into account that there are still many people in the north who need relief, the imperial court needs to prepare more food. ”

The 300,000 or 400,000 army itself has to consume no less than 2 million stone of grain in a year (the specific number also takes into account the number of livestock in the army), and if there is no waterway to transport grain, but to rely on land or part of the land route, the grain and grass required for a year is multiplied by five on the basis of 2 million stone, and the supply may not be completely guaranteed.

And this amount of grain, before Huguang's grain production is fully restored, it is more difficult to supply it - it is not that the imperial court cannot receive so much grain, but it is difficult to balance so much grain.

"Your Majesty," said Shi Kefa, "the strategy of the Northern Expedition has been written in the recital presented by the minister...... It doesn't take hundreds of thousands of troops, millions of people, or years. Only one brigade of divisions is needed to cross the sea and base the mountains and seas to lead the elite soldiers of the East to the battle. The ministers can raise elite troops to the west, along the river (Yellow River) and march, directly take Zhongzhou, and then enter Shanxi, join forces to represent the king, and then His Majesty will take the position of the prince of the country to recruit Wu Sangui to return to the dynasty. How dare Dongyu still entrench in Yanjing? How could the Northern Expedition not succeed? ”

Shi Kefa's plan sounded good, and there was a possibility that it could be realized—as long as it landed in Liaoxi, the battle to take Shanhaiguan would attract Dolgon's main force. Then the warlords of Shandong and Huaibei and the Tang king of Nanyang can sweep Henan together. After Henan is in hand, the situation in Shanxi will certainly change drastically, and the anti-Qing righteous army will definitely rise in momentum. And Wu Sangui, who was shrinking in Ganshan, took the opportunity to raise troops against the Qing Dynasty, why worry about the big thing?

"Shi Qing," Zhu Cihong asked, "how much food do you need to send troops from Shandong and Huaibei to the west?" How many people? How many livestock? How much can you raise on your own? ”

"Your Majesty," Shi Kefa said, "Shandong and Huaibei had failed to harvest grain last year, and all the armies relied on sweet potatoes to satisfy their hunger, and many people fled, which is indeed very difficult. This year's spring sowing situation is not good, the weather is dry and rainy, it is estimated that there will still be a poor harvest, and when the green and yellow are not harvested, the government will need to release grain to help the famine. Therefore, I am afraid that the armies will not be able to raise much food and grass...... However, the people and cattle were still able to raise a little. ”

Zhu Cihong lowered his head and thought about it, and said: "This year, there is rice from Hubei Ransom Field, and maybe there will be customs grain tax to arrive." By the end of the winter, Gunda should be rich...... Before winter, there is no food to muster. So Shi Qing can go back and prepare first, and come back in the autumn, and then I will discuss the Northern Expedition with you. ”

Although Shi Kefa's historical performance is not very reliable, Zhu Cihong feels that the plan he proposed has a certain degree of feasibility...... At least there is no problem in landing in western Liaoning and capturing Shanhaiguan!

Zhang Huangyan has been operating on Juehua Island for a year or two, and has built a city on the island where troops can be stationed, built a large number of warehouses, and built a wharf for a large number of ships to dock.

The army and grain and grass can go to the island with a tailwind at the end of summer this year, and walk directly to the Ningyuan Acropolis after the sea freezes in winter...... No matter how strong the Ningyuan Acropolis is, it is not a fortress, and it cannot withstand the continuous bombardment of the twelve-pound Hongyi cannon.

Once Ning Yuan falls, can Dolgon send troops all the way to save it?

Even if you don't carry out a field battle, you don't stick to Ningyuan, and you just retreat to Juehua Island, you won't lose money!