Zhenjiang.

Hong Chengchou had to handle the handover with the new Pingnan general and the county king Le Kedehun, and he also had to introduce him to the customs and military and political affairs of various places in the south of the Yangtze River, so he crossed the river to the north almost ten days later than Duoduo.

After crossing the Yangtze River, it was getting late, so his fleet anchored in Jiangbei, preparing to sail north after dawn and return to Beijing along the canal.

The temporary residence of the Hung University Scholar was set up in the famous Jinshan Temple.

At this time, it was not the Qing Dynasty more than a hundred years later, Hong Chengchou was not Gaozong Hongli, and there was no group of Yangzhou salt merchants who were good at speculating on the intentions here, and naturally there would be no high-ranking monks to fight with Hong University, saying that there were only two ships in the river, one for fame and one for profit.

By the way, the salt merchants in Yangzhou at this time have almost become a historical term. After decades of wanton seizure of the city by the Nanzhong salt industry, the sales scope originally called "Yin'an" by the salt merchants has long been defeated by the high-quality and inexpensive Nanzhong refined salt, and the life of the salt merchants is also stormy. Salt merchants like Jiang Chun, who had seen it early, changed their ways quickly, and took the opportunity to be called the agents and distributors of Nanzhong Salt Industry.

Not long ago, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang and other places were sacked twice by the same group of people from the Ming army and the Qing army, and they were even more dilapidated. Not to mention that there is no salt merchant to run an errand to receive Shangguan, it is the dinner of Scholar Hong, and it is just a vegetarian meal. Hong Chengchou's entourage couldn't stand it anymore, and was about to go into the city to buy some famous dishes and meat in Zhenjiang to accompany the adults, but was stopped by Hong Chengchou.

"We live in this pure place of Buddhism, which has caused a lot of trouble to the great monks. How can you still use meat and wine here?! Don't make a mistake! Go down! ”

So, Scholar Hong had his simple dinner under an oil lamp. After that, he even ordered someone to look for the abbot with a lantern.

"Great monk, the lower officials passed by Guibao Temple by the holy order, and there was a lot of disturbance. Come to someone, take the fate book! ”

The book of fate is the account book of the temple's fate, and it can also be equivalent to the donation directory of the sponsorship. Nowadays, many newly built or rebuilt temples also have stone monuments, memorial walls and other objects similar to the donations of good men and women. For example, there is such a joke, "The monk makes merit back, encounters a tiger, is very afraid, and hits it with a cymbal." Again, cast another piece, and so on. He swept away with the scroll, and the tiger hurried back to the cave. The tigress in the cave asked why, and replied: "When I met a monk who was rude, I only disturbed him with two thin pieces, so I grabbed a thin edge and had to run." "Listen, the fate book makes the man-eating tigers in the mountains afraid!

Seeing that this powerful Lord Hong was going to give alms to Jinshan Temple, the abbot was so busy that he ordered the guest monk to take a beautifully decorated book and come over, "Your Excellency, please." ”

"The student Hong Chengchou donated 1,000 yuan of sesame oil to Guibaosha, and there were some gold leaves for decorating Buddha jewelry." Hong Chengchou waved his book very magnificently, and wrote down the amount of his donation.

"If you worship the Buddha sincerely, you will be able to attain the Three Jewels and Three Bodhi as soon as possible." The abbot saw such a big hand, although he said that his family did not love money, the more the merrier, and he had to spit out a few words of praise from the lotus.

Hong Chengchou flipped through this book at will, but inadvertently saw a line of crooked and unorthodox bad words on the first few pages. "The letter girl Ao Lei Yilan donated 2,000 yuan of sesame oil, and there were 200 taels of gold, a number of red sapphires, ivory, gold leaves, and four strings of red bamboo and stone prayer beads to worship the Buddha. And give a set of clothes for the four seasons of the whole temple monks and monks, and pray that the Buddha will give my husband and wife all things smoothly and the children and grandchildren will be large. ”

Seeing that Lord Hong saw this page, Abbot Rao was practicing Buddhism, but he was also a little flustered.

"My lord, this is a year ago, the seventh lady of Liang Guogong went to the temple to burn incense, pray for Liang Guogong, and ask for a son for herself." The abbot stuttered a little. Everyone knows that the scholar in front of him and the whole family of Liang Guogong are two rival camps of ice and fire.

"Xiaguan and Li Weiru have also been friends for many years, so the great monk does not need to panic. Unexpectedly, Li Weiru's hands are so generous, even in the inner house, such a big hand! Hong Chengchou gently unveiled the words, but the shrewd monk vaguely smelled a trace of sour vinegar from the words. Originally! You are a scholar, what kind of appeasement, but you only donated 1,000 silver dollars, and the seventh lady of the family made a move of 2,000 silver dollars, and there are even ruby sapphires and ivory and so on. Not to mention, even those little novices who do rough work in the temple, and the fire workers have a four-season dress.

"Is this Li Weiru's seventh lady still childless?" Hong Chengchou asked casually, if he could find out the inside story of Li Shouhan's family from the abbot's mouth, it would be an unexpected gain. After Li Huayu's death, there was no more powerful and legitimate heir to the Nanyue Army. If there is any means that can be provoked to cause infighting among the Nanyue army for the position of heir, it will be a great joy for the Qing army.

"My lord doesn't know that although this Seventh Lady is an outsider, she is also an innocent person, like a golden jade. She already has a son under her knees, and she is asking for a son for everyone in the mansion of Liang Guogong, oh, aunts and wives. ”

That's a surprise! The relatives around Hong Chengchou couldn't help but be curious. Historically, in the palace and in the courtyard of the deep house, women have hoped that their son can become the only male in the family so that he can inherit the family business. In order to achieve this goal, women have developed a variety of methods. But this seventh lady did the opposite, brazenly asking for children for other women in the inner house, is this a dizzy or a pretentious gesture?

"The adults don't know, the little monk said that this seventh lady is a person who has turned into an outsider, and he also has a point. She herself is said to be the princess of a certain tribe in the bitter cold land of the extreme north, and was sent to the palace of the Duke of Liang to make peace. Naturally, my knowledge is different from that of my Central Plains woman. ”

"I see!" Hong Chengchou secretly screamed bitterly! From the abbot's words, he quickly sorted out a clue. "It turns out that the reason why the barbarians of the Sauron Department were able to become armor almost overnight and have as sharp and sophisticated weapons as our Eight Banners army is that in addition to trading with the merchants of Nanzhong, I am afraid that it is more than the means of this Seventh Lady!"

Hong Chengchou experienced Huang Taiji's expedition to the north to conquer the Sauron Department, and after winning a big victory, he was unfortunately hit in the thigh, and as a result, he struggled for a long time, and finally died in the prime of life. "Come to think of it, most of the reason why the barbarian son of Sauron was able to carry out trade with Nanzhong also came from this Seventh Lady."

The various divisions of Sauron have always been famous in Liaodong for those who dare to fight and die. Even in the Eight Banners of Manchuria, there were also many soldiers from the Sauron Department who served as dead soldiers. These people are a sharp sword and a sledgehammer for the Eight Banners of Manchuria to suppress the Eight Banners of Mongolia, deter the Eight Banners Han Army, and suppress the newly surrendered soldiers and horses. However, now this sharp sword has become Li Shouhan's dagger in the land of Longxing in the Qing Dynasty!

After the soldiers and horses of the Eight Banners entered the pass in a big way, the land of Liaodong was empty, and the Sauron tribes, which had gradually recovered their vitality, under the leadership of Bomu Bogol, provided them with training and equipment for the soldiers and horses of the two garrison brigades, and at the same time provided them with artillery support, and acted as a backer for them, they began to attack frequently in the south and west directions.

To the south, it was to harass and plunder the various towns of the Qing army in Liaodong, and to attack the Mongolian 49 Banner tribes in Horqin. Everything is like a copy of the Qing army in Liaodong and Guannei, robbing daily necessities, plundering population, taking away cattle, horses and camels, and burning tents and pastures.

Advancing westward, the spearhead is directed at the walled cities established by the Rakshasas who did not capture at the beginning! Although compared with the almost strict military discipline of the Eight Banners of the Qing Army, the soldiers and horses of the Sauron Department can still be worthy of the comment of the four words "rabble", but the Sauron Division, which is equipped with weapons of the Eight Banners made in Nanzhong and has a small number of firearms in its hands, is no longer as effective as it was back then.

What's more, when the troops were sent to fight against the soldiers and horses of the Eight Banners and attack the walled city of the Rakshasas, there were always soldiers and horses and instructors of the Nanyue Army accompanying them to suppress the battle and supervise the battle. "That group of soldiers and horses did not obey the order, and the soldiers and horses of the department and the tribe to which they belonged were immediately disqualified from trade!" Not only will you lose the number of victories, but your clan will also be unlucky. In the ice and snow near the Arctic Circle, the Sauron tribes have enjoyed the benefits of trade with South China over the years, and they are used to eating sweetness, and it is naturally unbearable to go back and endure the hardships. It is true that there are several groups of soldiers and horses, who do not listen to orders, do not attack when they should attack, and rush out with a howl when they should not attack. As a result, the blood of the captured human head had not yet coagulated, the tribe was disqualified from trade, and the decision to punish the individual for invalidating the military merit was notified to the whole army. As a result, the tribe struggled in the bitter cold for half a winter, and the tribe fled to join the other tribes. With such a lesson from the past, who dares to rely on his own courage and disobey the orders of the army?

Gradually, with the establishment of military discipline orders among the soldiers and horses, the walled cities of the Rakshasa people were pulled out one by one under the bombardment of the eight-pounder cannons and mortar rockets of the Nanyue army. Every time a Rakshasa city changed its flag on the map, it marked that at least hundreds of miles of hunting grounds and pastures were under the control of the Nanyue army.

Although Scholar Hong didn't know what the significance of expelling the Rakshasas to the west was, he could always see some of these things in the secret reports of military intelligence every once in a while because of the continuous small-scale attacks of the Sauron's troops and horses, and the small groups and multiple ways carried out small knife cutting and bloodletting attacks on the Qing army's old nest in Liaodong.

"Although it is not a major problem for the heart, and it is not a physical disease, it should not be taken lightly." This is his comment on the military situation in northeastern Liaoning. However, he couldn't figure out how to deal with these Sauron soldiers and horses. They are not like the Ming army that will collapse at the touch of a thousand miles, or even surrender in front of the horse, nor like the Nanyue army, which will come to you head-on with the banner of a dignified array. However, it is a bit like the various units of the peasant army in those years, always governing the enemy by walking. After conquering a town, it was ransacked. They were even more picky eaters than when the soldiers and horses of the Eight Banners entered the customs and plundered. When they returned to Heilongjiang with a full load and a satisfied heart, when the Qing officials and generals returned to the burned and plundered city, they were angry and hateful to find that the iron nails used to build the houses had been carefully pulled out of the wood by these Sauron barbarians, gathered and taken away.

"For a long time, he confronted the main force of the Liang Guogong headquarters on the Yangtze River, and was restrained by Mrs. Li in the mountainous area of Lunan, and the land of Longxing in Liaodong was frequently harassed by the Sauron Department. The veterans of the division are tired, and the food and morale do not belong to me. At that time, I will be defeated! ”

Returning to the meditation room where he stayed, Hong Chengchou couldn't sleep for a while, so he took out the map from his bag, looked at the map under the candle, opened his notes, and looked for the names of places that appeared in the military newspaper one by one on the map.

Once he found the names of the places in his notes on the map one by one and marked them with cinnabar, he unconsciously soaked his underwear with sweat. It was already early autumn weather, and there was a few drizzles outside, and he was actually shocked into a cold sweat!

On the map, Huguang, Jiangxi and other places, Songjiang Prefecture, and the border area between Fujian and Zhejiang are all the territories controlled by the Southern Guangdong Army, and Fujian and Liangguang to the south are the deep-rooted places of the Southern Guangdong Army.

A Yangtze River, in Shanghai County, in Wusongkou, is like two big locks, firmly locking the Yangtze River. If it weren't for the ruthless determination to drive the Nanyue Army guarding Songjiang Mansion into the sea after taking office, I was afraid that the gunboats of the Nanyue Army's naval division would swim upstream, cruising back and forth on the river in the area of Zhenjiang, Yangzhou, and Nanjing, cutting off the waterway communication between the Yangtze River and the canal. In that case, Scholar Hong and Prince Duoduo will either be escorted by a large army of soldiers and horses when they return to Beijing, or they will secretly cross the Yangtze River!

Not far from the mouth of the Yangtze River, Tamna Island, is also the anchorage of the naval division of the Southern Guangdong Army. Not only was a large number of gunboats stationed, threatening the coasts of Wuyue, Qilu and other places. It is also an important place for the material transfer of the Nanyue Army. The food and materials that supported the soldiers and horses of Luma Hongshan in the north were transferred from here. Fur Dongzhu sheng golden ginseng from thousands of miles from the Heilongjiang River Basin, as well as a lot of horses, are also to be ashore here to breed. What's even more terrible is that not only can materials be transferred from north to south here, but also to the east, it is even more fatal!

Not far to the east is Korea, a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty. If Zhang Xiaohu, the commander of the water division, was a pirate who had accumulated years on a whim, he led the water division to pounce on North Korea. With the weakness and decay of the Korean soldiers and horses, how can they resist the wolf-like naval division of the Nanyue Army? At that time, there is something in Korea, and the Great Qing will save it or not?!

Sit back and watch North Korea be broken by the Nanyue army? Where is the face of the Great Qing Dynasty placed? However, if you don't save North Korea and let North Korea sit idly by as if it was broken by the Qing army back then, not only will the Qing Dynasty lose face in front of the Mongolian tribes, Usizang and other foreign vassals, but militarily, the Nanyue Army will directly erect the cannon under Liaoyang City!

But if you want to save North Korea, how many soldiers and horses will you have to go? Where do you draw it from? How to plan the grain and grass, and where to find the military salary? If there are fewer soldiers and horses, it is undoubtedly to send meat to the Nanyue army that is waiting for work, and if there are too many soldiers, it will affect the battlefields in the Central Plains. What's more, how to raise military salaries and rations?

Before you know it, the candle is burning until the wax oil drips. A drop of wax oil fell on Hong Chengchou's hand, and he suddenly woke up.

"The Qing Dynasty is really where the luck is, the ancestors bless! Rao is Li Shouhan is quite good at sailors, but he also forgot the usefulness of North Korea for a while! At present, it is better to hope that Yue Le, the prince of An, can drive out all the accomplices of the western thief Zhang Xianzhong, and our army can gradually regain the initiative when it occupies the upper reaches. ”

After Zhang Xianzhong's death, the Qing army and various local armed forces in Sichuan achieved a tacit understanding and walked in unison in the military operations against the Great Western Army. Gradually, the troops of Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, Ai Nengqi and other four adopted sons, Ma Yuanli, Bai Wenxuan and others, who had recovered their original surnames, were compressed to southern Sichuan. As long as one step forward, the Qing army could drive the remaining 100,000 people of the Great Western Army to Yunnan.

Yunnan is a place with vast and sparsely populated population, many mountains, little land, and difficult to be self-sufficient. When Sun Kewang and the others arrived here, they stepped into the Jedi. The possibility of joining forces with the original Dashun Army has been knocked out, not to mention, the survival of his own family will be affected.

"Hey! Easy first, then harder! Thinking of this, Hong Chengchou woke up the napping scholar (?) He ordered him to lay paper and grind, pick up the lights, and he wanted to write a letter to Yue Le, Prince An, who was far away in Sichuan, asking him to drive Sun Kewang and others into Yunnan as soon as possible!

"Once the remnants of the Western Thieves entered Yunnan, the days were full of miasma, insects and ants, the geographical location was mountainous, the people were barbarians, and the Mu family were all enemies of the Western Thieves. At that time, there is no need for my army to enter and suppress, these three things can kill the Western Thief Taiban! ”

"The prince is guarding the upper reaches of the river, and he is out of the Three Gorges to the east, Jingxiang, Wuchang, Jiangxi, all the way can be determined!"

A letter was written, signed and sealed, and ordered someone to seal it with fire paint, and then hurried to Sichuan overnight to present it to Prince An Yue Le.

In the upstream matter, Hong Chengchou felt that with the talent and ability of Prince An Yue Le, it should be easy to drive Sun Kewang and others into Yunnan to fight against Mu Tianbo in Mu Wangfu, and the weather and geography of Yunnan.

And at present, how to break the threat of the Nanyue Army to the water transportation of the Yangtze River, and then find a way to interrupt the supply line of the Nanyue Army, Hong Chengchou scratched his shaved head, and couldn't think of a way to search for dry intestines for a while.

"Alas!" He sighed, "Perhaps, General Pingnan's approach is right. After breaking through Songjiang Mansion and expelling the Nanyue Army to the East China Sea, the Yangtze River waterway can be used by us. ”

He looked far to the east, where the clouds were still thick and an autumn rain was brewing.

"I hope that General Pingnan will be able to successfully capture Songjiang Mansion in this battle, and settle Jiangnan in one battle!"