When the remnants of the Manchurian dead returned to Beijing City, the assassination mission failed, and the news of Balza and others being killed reached the ears of Dolgon in Beijing City, it was April 27 in the first year of Zhongxing in the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, there were only five short days left before Dolgon's original expedition to the south.

"Assassination failed?" Dolgon's brow furrowed, a little disappointed.

"Let's go down!" Dorgon swept away a few dead soldiers who had fled back to report the news, and did not mean to blame much.

After all, the Ming Emperor lived in the heavily guarded Nanjing City Palace, and it was impossible to infiltrate the palace to assassinate, only when the Ming Emperor went out on patrol could he have a chance, and the success rate was not high.

Assassination is only one of the means, although it is a pity to fail, he is also full of confidence that he can wipe out the remnants of Jiangnan in one fell swoop.

"It's good! This time the king personally led the troops to the south, but I want to see if you are the little emperor of the Ming Dynasty, or this king is powerful! Dolgon smiled coldly, yes, what the little emperor has done since he ascended the throne does make him jealous, but in his eyes, the little emperor is just a fifteen or sixteen-year-old yellow-haired child, he Dolgon is eloquent, since the first expedition at the age of fourteen, he has been fighting the world for eighteen years, invincible, and is the real lord of the world!

Outside the pass, 80,000 Mongolian iron horsemen entered the pass and were rushing in the direction of Beijing. This is the last troops and horses that the Mongols can draw out in addition to the necessary stay, counting the 120,000 Mongolian iron cavalry that have already entered the pass, a full 200,000 Mongolian iron cavalry have entered the pass, accounting for more than eighty percent of the entire Mongolian steppe.

On the other side, there were also 20,000 Manchurian Eight Banners entering the pass, most of whom were newly recruited, aged between fourteen and fifteen.

These fourteen-year-old Manchu men, although their age sounds like they are still very old, but the Manchus are already known for their strong physique, plus they have lived on horseback since childhood, and their combat power is not much worse than that of ordinary Manchurian soldiers, counting these 20,000 horses, there are 100,000 people in the Manchu Eight Banners in the Guan, which is more than the number of people in any major war since the founding of the Manchurian country, which shows the importance that Dolgon attaches to this southern expedition.

On May 2 of the first year of Zhongxing in the Ming Dynasty, Dolgon summoned the Manchurian, Mongolian and Han generals.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come for us to unify the world in the Qing Dynasty, this time the king has decided to personally lead the army to the south, and all the generals must work together, and they will be able to set foot on the remnants of the south of the Yangtze River in one fell swoop and achieve hegemony!" Dolgon was full of spirit and confidence, and for the victory of this southern expedition, he concentrated all the troops and horses that could be drawn from the entire Qing Dynasty, and there was no reason not to win.

"The regent is mighty, and the Qing Dynasty rules the world!" All the Manchurian generals cheered excitedly, full of fighting spirit, the Qing Dynasty has been resting for five months since the return of the prince of Yu Duoduo to conquer Li Zicheng a few years ago, and finally the war is about to start again, this time it is a battle to dominate the world, which makes people's blood boil.

"Herald! The army is on full march! Dolgon's right fist was clenched, his face flushed with red light, and his fighting intent boiled.

This was not only the moment when the Qing Dynasty ruled the world, but also the moment when he Dolgon achieved hegemony.

An hour later, the regent of the Qing Dynasty, Dolgon, led more than 90,000 Manchurian Eight Banners, 180,000 Mongolian Eight Banners, and 400,000 Han Banner troops from Beijing City, and marched south to Shandong, preparing to join the Azig Department in Shandong and go straight to the south of the Yangtze River.

Due to the heavy weapons such as red-clothed cannons, Dolgon had already ordered people to be transported to Dezhou, Shandong first, and the Qing army marched very fast, entering Shandong in less than four days, and joined the Azig department, since then, the Qing army reached 800,000 people, the momentum was huge, including 300,000 Manchurian and Mongolian iron cavalry, 500,000 Han banner army, more than three times that in history.

But unlike in history, the Ming Dynasty did not have Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo, who were big traitors with heavy troops, to defect to the enemy and betray the country, so that the Qing army not only had nearly 300,000 more horses out of thin air, but also quickly took Jianghuai, and advanced the battle line to the Yangtze River with lightning speed. did not lose the hearts of the people in Jiangnan because of the ruthlessness of Emperor Zhu Yousong, the emperor of Hongguang, but under the governance of Zhu Cihong, they united as one, and it is unknown who will die in this decisive battle.

Although preparations had been made for a long time, the news that Dolgon had led 800,000 Qing troops south still shook the entire Jiangnan. Between the prestige of the Ying Long Army, although the people talked a lot, it did not cause any panic.

Hundreds of officials of the imperial court gathered in the Jinluan Palace, all with heavy faces.

"Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from Shandong, and the regent of the Qing Dynasty, Dolgon, led 800,000 Qing troops, 300 red-coated cannons, and more than 240 cannons of other types to the south, with a huge momentum and menacing!"

"I already know that the danger of these countries is only a war, and I plan to lead my army north to fight a decisive battle against the Qing captives."

"What! The emperor plans to drive a decisive battle with the Qing captives! Ma Shiying and the others were shocked.

"The emperor can't, we will never agree with the emperor's adventure. Qing captives are strong, it is not suitable to fight hard, when the defense is the mainstay, there are Huai River and the Yangtze River moat, enough to resist the Qing captives, the emperor's ninety-five honor, it is a matter of the survival of the Ming Dynasty, there is really no need to risk going north to fight a decisive battle with the Qing captives! ”

"The ministers seconded the proposal, and they will never agree to the emperor's risk-taking conquest!" Almost all ministers came out against it.

Faced with Zhu Cihong's plan to personally conquer and fight a decisive battle with the Qing army, Ma Shiying and others were definitely caught off guard, after all, in the original discussion, it has always been defense-oriented, and the emperor has never revealed this plan before, and it is shocking to suddenly say it at this time.

"You also know that it is a matter of the survival of the Ming Dynasty, have you ever thought that Jianghuai is second only to the south of the Yangtze River, and the people are more than 10,000,000, if you let the Qing Dynasty go all the way south, even if the Yangtze River moat can block the Qing Dynasty, Jianghuai will inevitably be ravaged, and even occupied by the Qing Dynasty, when the time is only a river away, the Qing Dynasty will be like a sword hanging over my Ming head, my Ming will not be able to move, and the good situation established by my accession to the throne for a year will no longer exist, and the matter of recovering the lost land in the north is even more far away, and the Ming Dynasty cannot afford such a loss."

"Although the Qing Dynasty has an army of 800,000, I also have 120,000 Yinglong troops and other more than 300,000 troops to fight, and there are strong cities such as Xuzhou as a backing, so I may not be invincible!" Zhu Cihong's face was calm, but extremely determined, which was what he had always planned.

Although if it is fully defended, Zhu Cihong is fully sure that the Qing army will not be able to cross the Yangtze River moat, but it also means giving up the rich land of Jianghuai, once the Manchu Qing Dynasty occupies Jianghuai, its power will inevitably expand even more, and it will also cause panic among the people in Jiangnan and people's hearts to fluctuate, which Zhu Cihong will never allow.

This decisive battle can be said to be related to the national fortunes of the Ming Dynasty and the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and the victory of the Manchu Qing Dynasty will be even more unstoppable, and the Ming Dynasty will lose a good opportunity to continue to develop, and the consequences are unpredictable. But if the Ming Dynasty wins, not only can keep the Jianghuai, but at least can recover Shandong, the Manchu Qing will not be able to go south within a few years, then Zhu Cihong will be able to free his hands, truly implement reforms, erase all hidden dangers, let the Ming continue to grow and develop, and finally completely crush the Manchu Qing.

Ma Shiying and the others were silent, and the loss of Jianghuai was indeed not something that Da Ming could bear.

"Your Majesty, even if you want to fight a decisive battle with the Qing captives, you should assign a general to go." Liu Zongzhou has always been fearless of war, and took the lead in compromising and standing up.

"Okay, I've made up my mind, and it's imperative to go to the pro-conquest!" Before others could express their opinions, Zhu Cihong gave up and said very firmly.

"Retreat!"

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