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With the passage of time, the situation along the Yangtze River took on a new turn.

Because Zuo Menggeng's troops were scattered and demoralized, they were unable to continue the previous good momentum and were blocked by Gao Jie's troops in Taiping Mansion. And Li Zicheng, under the pressure of Chen Yongfu, stormed Jiujiang in an attempt to disengage with Li Yan's troops.

Although Gao Jie's troops fled from the north, their combat effectiveness was still very strong. His troops were based on the subordinates who rebelled in Shaanxi at the beginning, and at that time, they were able to fight with the elite of the Ming army to help suppress them, and their combat power was naturally higher than that of the Ming army in the south.

At this time, Zuo Mengeng and the others were very helpless, the road ahead was impassable, and there was Li Zicheng's pursuit behind them, so they had to start thinking about the future prospects. Therefore, after the main force abandoned Jiujiang and moved to Anqing, it began to contact Li Yan in Jiangbei to negotiate surrender. In their opinion, today, Li Yan is the most promising to win the championship, and the other forces are just accompanying the prince to study - no play.

Zuo Mengeng sent Jin Shengheng to Jiangbei to contact, after all, before Li Yan made his career, they also had a short friendship with Li Yan, although this friendship was not very good, but after all, it was also familiar. As for the conditions, there is only one condition, to maintain military power and sufficient food and wages.

At the same time, Gao Jie didn't have any enterprising intentions, he just blocked Zuo Mengeng, and he didn't have the idea of completely defeating Zuo's army. Moreover, Shi Kefa, who supervised the division in Jiangxi, also strictly ordered Huang Degong not to transfer troops to the north, on the grounds that he could not let the thieves take advantage of the situation to advance eastward and threaten the southeast because of a small loss. In fact, at that time, Zhang Xianzhong did not increase the pressure on the east at all, but still confronted the Ming army, and his target had been shifted to Sichuan.

Huang Degong didn't have much interest in attacking Zuo Liangyu, after all, Zuo Liangyu had an army of 200,000, which was not easy to provoke. Moreover, everyone knows the truth of raising a robber, the greater the threat of thieves, the more they will be relied on by the imperial court, not only is there no shortage of money and food, but they can also take care of local affairs. Besides, Gao Jie fought with him last year for grabbing land, and he was almost killed by Gao Jie. At this time, even if there was an edict from the imperial court, he would not cooperate with Gao Jie.

Not to mention Liu Liangzuo, he is on the front line of Fuzhou, far away from the Yangtze River, so naturally he will not go to find trouble. Moreover, recently, his brother Liu Liangchen, who had already surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, sent a letter saying that Li Yan's strength and the contradiction between the banners of the Qing court made him even more fond of Li Yan in the north, and he had already sent someone to Henan to inquire about the news. Li Yan now has troops in Huguang, and maybe when he will go down the river to the east, Nanjing will not be able to be saved. It's better for him to prepare in advance, so that he won't run out of ideas by then.

Jiangxi, Leping, the superintendent of the line.

Shi Kefa was ordered to come to Jiangxi to supervise the teacher, which can be regarded as very dedicated. Leping, where he was stationed, was really close to the front line, and Zhang Xianzhong's sailors supervised the construction of warships in Poyang Lake and trained for combat. If the front line is unfavorable, he, the superintendent of the cabinet, will become Zhang Xianzhong's prisoner.

Hou Fangyu took advantage of the time after dinner to see Shi Kefa, because he had come to ask Shi Gebu to send troops to attack Zuo Liangyu again. With Ruan Dacheng's return to power, he, the talented man who had expelled Ruan Dacheng, naturally couldn't live in Nanjing City, so he had to go to Shi Kefa alone. Shi Kefa was also polite and made him a dispensable staff member of the army.

When Hou Fangyu entered Shi Kefa's study, Shi Kefa was reading Tang newspapers from all over the country. Shi Kefa was outside, and he didn't have to deal with the recitals to the imperial court for a long time, and Shi Kefa could only look at the Tang newspapers in various places every day to understand the situation under the rule of Nanming.

"Students meet the overseer." Hou Fangyu bowed to Shi Kefa.

Shi Kefa put down the Tang newspaper and said casually: "Chaozong, don't be polite, sit down." ”

Hou Fangyu thanked him for his sitting, and then said cautiously: "Supervisor, the students came to visit late at night, and they still came for Zuo Liangyu. ”

"Chaozong," Shi Kefa interrupted Hou Fangyu's words and said, "Zuo Liangyu's rejuvenating of the Qingjun side this time is indeed not my Donglin proposition. Although inside and outside the court, the gateway has a deep view, but when the country is in danger, no one will dare to risk the great disapproval of the world and commit such disloyal and unrighteous acts. ”

Hou Fangyu nodded, and said again: "Then why didn't the superintendent let Jingnan Hou (Huang Degong) send troops to help the war?" According to the front-line report, because of Zuo Liangyu's sudden death, the morale of the soldiers and horses on the left was low, and they only knew how to loot everywhere, and they had no determination to advance eastward. Now that its sharpness has been blunted, if Jingnanhou and Xingpingbo (Gao Jie) join forces, they will be able to quickly quell the Zuo rebellion. If the imperial court appeases it again, it can get 100,000 elite soldiers, which can not only resist the eastward advance of the thieves, but also cross the river according to Li Yan in the north, which is really a few in one fell swoop. ”

Shi Kefa shook his head and sighed: "Last year, Huang Degong and Gao Jie attacked each other, and the two of them almost fought to the point that I persuaded Huang Degong to endure it temporarily. At this time, it is more difficult for Huang Degong to join hands with Gao Jie than to ascend to the sky, and the preaching of loyalty and righteousness is not as effective as the yellow and white things. ”

Without waiting for Hou Fangyu to speak, Shi Kefa continued: "There is also the Jiangxi defense line, and there must be no mistakes. The southeast tax is only 4.5 million, and even if it is levied, it will only increase by another 500,000. However, the four towns need to be paid 2.4 million yuan, the Beijing camp needs 1.2 million yuan, and the eight towns of Anfu, Wufu, Wenwu Caojiang, Zheng Hongkui, Zheng Cai, Huang Binqing, Huang Fei, and Servant Shan need to pay 2.4 million yuan. This is only military spending, in addition to this, there are hundreds of officials, and the state has used it. If the Jiangxi defense line is lost, Fujian and Zhejiang will be soldiers, and the imperial court's revenue will be greatly reduced. At that time, they will not even be able to pay the food and salary to the towns, who else will protect the southeast half of the wall? ”

"Then, why not follow Li Yan's example and distribute land to the generals." Hou Fangyu proposed: "If the soldiers have their own land, they can save a large part of their food. Moreover, in order to protect their own land, the soldiers will fight bravely to kill the enemy, and their combat power will be doubled, which is not comparable to the moon alone. ”

Shi Kefa waved his hand and admonished: "This kind of thing, there is no need to mention it in the future." There are many people in Jiangnan and few lands, and each field has its own owner, how can you take away people's land and property in one word? ”

"But the wind of Jiangnan dedication is very strong, and the gentry and large Toda properties are often tens of thousands of acres and pay less or no taxes. Even if it is levied, it will be added to the heads of the small people. Coupled with the exploitation of the officials, the people of Jiangnan have been complaining, and the people are not happy. In the long run, the hearts of the people in Jiangnan will be lost. Hou Fangyu persuaded in a low voice.

Shi Kefa lowered his head and sighed: "Alas, I can only teach the people to suffer for a while." When the thieves are pacified, the court will naturally be sympathetic to the people, stop levying and exempting taxes, and recuperate. Now that the war is raging, we can't have compassion. ”

Hou Fangyu knew that he couldn't convince Shi Kefa, so he had to withdraw silently. He returned to his lodgings and sat down at his desk in a daze. He knew that if he didn't change now, once Li Yan crossed the river and went south, the southeast would probably fall to the wind, and the last place of residence of the Ming Dynasty would soon disappear.

However, he didn't seem to be in such a hurry as he imagined, and at this time what was on his desk was actually "Da Ming Law" and "Wanli Accounting Record". Under Li Yan's rule, poetry, strategy, and eight shares can no longer become the stepping stones of officialdom, and these side roads such as criminal laws, arithmetic, and engineering, which are despised by scholars, can make people find a way to enter the body.

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