The stubborn disease of party strife at the end of the Ming Dynasty could by no means be solved by killing all one party, nor could it be eradicated overnight.

The Donglin Party and the Fushe are active members of the party struggle, but they think that if they are eliminated, there will be no party struggle between the government and the opposition, which is a fool's dream. Freezing three feet is not a day's cold, and it is even more difficult to thaw.

Officials forming parties and holding together interests have become a kind of officialdom culture. There is still a long way to go to completely change this phenomenon.

Yang Dingqing and Shen Tingwen are both famous families in the south of the Yangtze River, and they are not satisfied with each other when they lose their official positions, and they walk out of the regent's hall with each other's fingers and fingers.

Hou Xuanyan looked at the sand table alone, and couldn't calm down for a long time, if it dragged on, it would naturally be advantageous. But the north fell, and the idea of dragging down the enemy was too cruel to the people in the occupied areas.

The strength of the military division of any emerging dynasty will turn from prosperity to decline, especially the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

At the beginning of entering the customs, they were really invincible, whether it was Li Zicheng or the Ming army, they were all overwhelmed by them. There are many reasons for this, but if you talk about a weak army, no matter how many conditions you give him, you can't beat the momentum in the early days of entering the customs.

But the Manchurian Jiannu had a congenital deficiency, and their soldiers were too few, so few that they were outrageously few. When entering the customs, there were only 100,000 Qing soldiers, including the Han Eight Banners and the Meng Eight Banners like the King of Sanshun. There are tens of thousands of people in the Eight Banners who can really put on armor and go out, and after several battles, there are not a few people who die of illness in battle.

After entering the customs, these people entered the residential areas of our Han people as conquerors and victors, and enjoyed preferential privileges of greater or less. The prosperity and comfort of the land of China far exceed the imagination of these people. They are intoxicated by the various pleasures that are thousands of years ahead of them, and they cannot extricate themselves. There is no longer the fierceness and bloodthirstiness and courage to use one's life when entering the customs.

Moreover, at that time, the plague was rampant in the north, and many Manchu generals died of smallpox. There are also Dolgon and others, who are obsessed with women and gradually wear out their ambitions. At the beginning, Duoduo went to Jiangnan and searched for beautiful women in Jiangnan for the two brothers to enjoy. The children who inherited their titles lacked experience in battle. Dolgon, Duoduo and others, at the age of ten, followed the Nurhachi battle array to charge, but after entering the customs, the Baylors were under the care of hundreds of maids, enjoying a comfortable life of clothes to stretch out their hands and food to open their mouths.

Dolgon and others have also realized the crisis, but fortunately, the Han people lack everything, that is, there is no shortage of traitors.

The policy of using the Han to control the Han was being carried out quietly, and Wu Sangui was repeatedly defeated, but he was appointed as the governor of the five provinces. Governor of Shaanxi, Gansu, Sichuan, Huguang, and Henan Military Affairs. Moreover, Zhang Dayuan, Wang Fuchen, Li Benshen, Liu Zhong and other Han generals were dispatched, and each led elite soldiers from Shaanxi, Shanxi, Liaodong, Henan, and Shandong to follow Jierharang southward in order to pacify the southern soldiers and horses for a long time. Having said that, a discerning person can see at a glance that this is just a self-preservation division to prevent the Northern Expedition of the Ming Army.

The traitors all used their lives, and they had long forgotten that their homeland was clear, and they were determined to work for the Manchus.

Hou Xuanyan naturally knew about these situations, and the situation had reached this point, and every decision seemed crucial. However, whether the decision is correct or not can often be known only after the actual battle.

A big war that affects the overall situation, once it starts, the entire Jiangnan will take action. He needs to discuss with the three scholars and the household department first, once the fight starts, how long can he fight on his side.

Thinking of this, Hou Xuanyan rode to Wenyuan Pavilion, the spring breeze in Jinling was extraordinarily sultry, and the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers.

When I came to Wenyuan Pavilion, the three scholars who had just returned from the Regent's Hall, as well as a group of officials, gathered here.

Seeing Hou Xuanyan's arrival, they were all a little excited, and thought that the result had been announced.

Hou Xuanyan was just angry and drove them all out. Now he is chasing after him again, to discuss with others, but fortunately he is very thick-skinned and doesn't care.

"Do you say you can fight, how long you can fight, what scale you can fight... Come on, come on, let's talk freely. ”

Baiguan looked at the skinless and faceless Yue Guogong, smiled knowingly, and began to discuss and calculate it enthusiastically.

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At this time, outside Xiangyang Mansion, the yellow sand was blowing and the smoke was billowing out.

Zheng Zunqian was trapped in the small city of Xinye, and Kong Youde kept attacking day and night, making this dilapidated small city full of holes.

Between Xinye and Xiangyang, there is a double ditch, and the terrain is dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack.

The soldiers and horses at Shuanggoukou were Zhejiang soldiers recruited by Hangzhou City, and they joined forces with Gu Yanwu, totaling 50,000 people.

Zhang Bin, the deputy commander-in-chief, looked at Gu Yanwu and asked: "Yi Xingbo is besieged in Xinye, Kong Youde is strong and strong, if we lose our rescue, not only may we not be able to rescue Yi Xingbo, but we may all be trapped outside the city." ”

Gu Yanwu has a very good set of training recruits, and his talent for making decisions in battle has not yet been revealed. Although Zhang Bin, the deputy commander-in-chief, admired his intelligence, he did not trust his ability to command the troops. I was afraid that he would be angry with his scholars and bury the lives of 50,000 troops.

Gu Yanwu said in a condensed voice: "Zheng Zunqian is a general, and Jiangsu and Zhejiang have restored the old people, and they can't help it." And once Xinye is lost, and the whole army of Yixingbo is destroyed, then Nanyang will completely become an isolated city. The 200,000 troops of the loyal battalion have become a lone army because of this, and in case of misfortune, these reinforcements from you and me will all be dusty. ”

Zhang Bin stroked his palms and raised his feet, scratching his ears and cheeks anxiously: "You should think of a way to get the best of both worlds, which can not only save Yi Xingbo, but also not fight with a strong enemy." The disparity between the enemy and us is too great, and fighting hard is tantamount to sending them to death. ”

Gu Yanwu's face sank like water, he couldn't see the joy, anger and sorrow, and said softly: "Now the victory or defeat is not something that tens of thousands of us can control, our life and death all depend on the governor of Yinxi." ”

"What do you mean?"

Gu Yanwu looked at him and said word by word: "The lonely army is deep, it seems to be advancing vigorously, but in fact, it is terrifying step by step. Today's war situation is just six words: retreat can live, advance must die. ”

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In Xinye City, Ye Shimao had died in battle, and Zheng Zunqian was covered in blood, holding a steel knife, leaning on the city wall to rest.

The little soldier came over and said, "General, the Qing soldiers outside have come up again, and we are surrounded by more people." ”

Zheng Zunqian's eyes suddenly opened, his tired color was swept away, and he said in a loud voice: "Encircled? Just because they also want to surround me Zheng Zunqian, they are also worthy! Gather all the centaurs in the city and fight with me out of the city. ”

The little soldier was stunned and said, "Out of the city? ”

Qin Ze, the guerrilla general next to him, persuaded: "General, if you abandon the city, won't you die faster?" ”

Zheng Zunqian was not afraid, and laughed loudly: "The military rations in the city have long been exhausted, rather than being trapped here in a nest, it is better to go out of the city and kill one to earn one." ”

Seeing that the commander had nothing to hide and told him frankly about the exhaustion of food, the Ming army at the head of the city became open-minded. The suspicion in their hearts was confirmed, and instead of being angry, they looked away.

Infected by Zheng Zunqian, the extremely tired Shaoxing soldiers regained their fighting spirit.

"We are willing to follow the general, and die outside the city than die of starvation inside the city."

Qin Ze struggled to stand up, endured the knife wound on his body, and just wanted to wave the command flag, only to see a large army rushing from the north, covering the sky and the sun, and raising the loess like a tide. At the head of the castle, they all felt the shaking of the earth and the mountains.

Qin Ze's face turned bitter and said, "General, we don't even have the qualifications to fight this time." ”

The little soldier beside Zheng Zunqian had sharp eyes, his face flushed, and his tone was sharp: "General! That's our Loyalty Camp! Haha, Lord Block has withdrawn his troops and returned. ”

Heroes have the ambition to make up for the sky, not to be brave, not to be greedy for the merits of a city, and not to act with will.

Plug Yinxi, a real hero.