On the day of arriving in Nanjing, Chen Yue ordered Yu Feng to lead the cavalry battalion to set off, all the way around Nanjing City through Dasheng Pass, quarrying, and Dangtu to Wuhu to reinforce his father Chen Jianghe, who was under siege. More than 2,000 war horses were captured in Nanjing, which made each soldier in the cavalry battalion guaranteed one person and two horses, and there were enough horses to carry the baggage, and the mobility was greatly improved.

As for Chen Yue himself, he chose to stay in Nanjing for a day, waiting for the water camp fleet behind him to come to rendezvous. This time to Wuhu and the Manchu Qing war, it will be more of a water battle, whoever controls the Yangtze River will be invincible in the battle.

After meeting Chongzhen, Chen Yue returned to the Pingnan Hou Mansion, and after Wu Wan'er warmed up, Chen Yue summoned the major shopkeepers of the Sihai Commercial Bank in Nanjing, and announced that the salt of the Sihai Commercial Bank would be controlled by the imperial court in the future.

"Master Hou, the commercial bank and the salt bank are related to the funds for my Pingnan Army to raise the army, and they have all been handed over to the imperial court, what should we do with the Pingnan Army?" Shan Minglei asked angrily.

Over the past year or so, it is precisely with the support of the commercial bank and the salt bank that the Pingnan Army has been able to continue to grow and expand, and has been able to rapidly expand to as many as 70,000 people, and has achieved no worries about food and salary, no shortage of armor, and the level of equipment is far better than that of the ordinary Ming army, and even the Beijing camp cannot be compared.

If there is no financial resources, it will be difficult to develop again in the future.

"I have already agreed with Your Majesty that the Salt Bank of the Commercial Bank will not enter the household department, and all the income will go to Your Majesty's Inner Treasury, and then all the needs of the Pingnan Army will be allocated by the Inner Treasury to ensure that there is no shortage of funds, which can be assured." Chen Yue said lightly.

"But......" Shan Minglei was about to say more, but Chen Yue waved his hand to stop him. There are some things that are not appropriate to be spoken in front of people.

"The Pingnan Army is the army of the imperial court, not my Chen Yue's private army, salt is related to the national economy and people's livelihood, and can only be controlled by the imperial court, and the Four Seas Commercial Bank was originally formed after confiscating the property of Xungui's family, and it is not my Chen Yue's private property, it is a matter of course to hand it over to His Majesty, Brother Shi Jian does not need to say much. The shopkeepers can still stay in their original positions, retain their original treatment, and be directly managed by His Majesty. ”

Hearing Chen Yue's words, the hearts of all the shopkeepers were relaxed, they were originally recruited, and it was the same for everyone to do things under them.

"Master Hou, you, you will regret it sooner or later......" Shan Minglei sighed and said gloomily.

That's it, since the Hou Ye has no ambition and is determined to be a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, why should I do much with Shan Minglei? At this moment, Shan Minglei was quite excited.

Wu Wan'er, who is in charge of Chen Yue's decision, naturally has nothing to say, she is just a daughter's family, and at the beginning she was just reluctant to manage the business for Chen Yue, and she has always obeyed Chen Yue's decision unconditionally.

And so the matter was settled.

"Meritorious service is not rewarded, but you take your property from the marquis, is such an emperor and such a court marquis really worthy of being willing to assist? Aren't you afraid of a day when the birds are all hidden, the rabbits are dead and the dogs are cooking? ”

After everyone dispersed, Shan Minglei was left alone by Chen Yue, and he was unwilling.

"Then from Brother Shi Jian's point of view, what should I do?" Chen Yue asked with a smile.

"Master Hou, you are wise, you must have seen that this Ming is terminally ill, even if you can drive away the Mantar this time, but if the thieves in the Ming Dynasty are not removed, they will die sooner or later.

The gentry and the clan, just these two accounted for more than seventy percent of the land in the Ming Dynasty, and they never had to pay any taxes. Commercial mines are in the hands of these people. More than ninety percent of the people own less than thirty percent of the land, but the needs of the Ming court and millions of troops are all borne by these poor people. You know all this, Master Hou.

These are the root causes of the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, but with His Majesty's ability, he is powerless to change these. Master Hou, can you save Da Ming once, can you save it again and again?

What's more, now that the court and His Majesty have become jealous of you, it is just a temptation to leave the merchant house salt shop in your hand, and after driving away the Manchu Tartars in the west, the next step is to think of confiscating the military power in your hands. If you are gone, you will be a fish on the board, and you will be powerless to do anything about it.

I'm afraid it will be the time when the birds are all hidden, and the rabbits are dead and the dogs are cooking! ”

Shan Minglei sneered.

"How is that possible? Even if the Manchu and Tartar armies were eliminated this time, the Manchu still occupied the north, and there were still thieves raging in Sichuan, how could the imperial court attack me! Chen Yue didn't believe it, he didn't believe that Chongzhen would be so short-sighted.

"Hehe, Master Hou, you are still too young, don't you know the allusions of the former Song Dynasty? Yue Wumu is loyal to the Song family or not, is the credit also extremely high? Didn't the golden soldiers be extinguished? But it's not twelve gold medals! There are still lessons to be learned, and there is something difficult to understand.

For the royal court and the imperial court, the warlords who lead the troops are the ones who directly threaten the existence of the country. At present, Lord Hou, your military achievements are unparalleled, the army in your hand is the strongest army in the Ming Dynasty, and there are salt companies to provide financial resources, occupying the land of Huaiyang Shufu, and it has long been an independent feudal town, how similar is it to Yue Wumu back then, why can't Your Majesty be Song Gaozong?

Don't look at Master Hou, you took the initiative to hand over your financial power, but it can't eliminate the suspicion in Your Majesty's heart, unless you can give up everything in your hands and be a noble who only promises and muddies from now on.

But can you do it? Can you watch the court smoke and miasma, and the people crying and waiting to be fed? Can you put up with the filthy flatulence of those civil servants?

For today's plan, Hou Ye must strike first, wait until the Qing army on the West Road is destroyed, and then wave Nanjing with a brilliant momentum, occupy the capital to control the imperial court, and abolish Chongzhen. At that time, you will either support the three princes as puppets and coerce the Son of Heaven to command the world, or simply set yourself up as the emperor and control the authority. With the military prestige of our Pingnan Army, and with your great military exploits, who in the world dares to oppose it? ”

The more Shan Minglei spoke, the more excited he became, his face flushed, and his eyes shining.

"Hahaha......" Chen Yue couldn't help laughing.

"What, Master Hou, is the planning of his subordinates funny?" Shan Minglei blushed and asked angrily.

"Brother Shi Jian, Brother Shi Jian, what do you want me to say about you?" Chen Yue restrained his smile and said, "Your plan is very good, there is no problem to occupy Nanjing with the military strength of our Pingnan Army." But have you ever thought about the reaction of the world? The reaction of the governors of the provinces?

The Ming Dynasty was established for nearly 300 years, and it has long been orthodox in the hearts of the people of the world.

My previous actions have offended the gentry of the world a long time ago, and when the time comes, the governors of the provinces will definitely rise up and attack me, and the world will be in chaos, and in the end, this great country will only be cheap and full of tartars.

What's more, even if I am willing to be a rebel and thief, how can I pass my father's level? What face do I have to go to see the princess? ”

Seeing that Chen Yue was so determined, Shan Minglei sighed gloomily, "As long as you are willing to stand on your own, there must be a way to solve these problems, if you don't take it, you will be blamed, Master Hou, you will regret it!" ”

"Do you regret it? Maybe, but I'm not Yue Wumu either, where is it so easy for the emperor to want my life?

In fact, I have no ambition to be the king and emperor, everything I do is for the world of the Han family, and for this hot land of China to avoid the darkness and sinking of three hundred years.

As long as I can destroy the Manchu Tartars and restore the Han family, what can I do even if I retire to the mountains and forests? Chen Yue said lightly.

......

On the second day, Lü Tai and Wu Ping finally led the fleet to the outside of Nanjing. On the same day, Chongzhen crowned Chen Yue, the Marquis of Pingnan, as the general who was captured, gave Shang Fang a sword, and commanded the extermination of the Manchu Tartars.

With the credit of defeating the Boluo Tribe, Zheng Sen prepared for Yanping's troops, and together with Zheng Hongkui, he led the Zheng family's army under Chen Yue's command. At the same time, 20,000 elites were allocated to the Beijing camp, led by Huaiyuan Marquis Chang Yanling. Chang Yanling was deeply loved by Chongzhen because of his devotion to his duties, and he was one of the few nobles in Nanjing who was not confiscated.

In this way, there were enough 100,000 troops, more than 500 warships, dozens of miles back and forth, waterways side by side, and heading towards Wuhu.

Wuhu, at this moment, has reached the most dangerous moment.

After receiving the death order for Azig to break the city in three days, Li Guoying, Xu Ensheng, Hao Xiaozhong and other green battalion generals launched a fierce attack on Wuhu.

Some time ago, they also considered casualties, and mainly chose to use artillery to collapse the city wall, fearing that they would lose too much of their troops. Now, under the strong orders of Azig, they no longer dared to have the idea of retaining their strength, and 70,000 or 80,000 troops surrounded Wuhu and launched a fierce attack.

Hundreds of ladders were erected at the head of the city, and the green battalion soldiers took the ant-attached siege to the city without their lives. Thousands of archers lined up under the city, shooting a rain of arrows at the city.

The art of war has clouds, ten are to surround it, five are to attack it, and multiple is to fight. And now the strength of the Green Battalion is only twice that of Wuhu City, but it has launched a strong attack and occupies a great advantage.

The armies under Li Guoying and others were all born under the command of Zuo Liangyu, and their combat power was extremely average, but they were the troops that fought with the thieves, and their combat power was not comparable to the Beijing battalion soldiers under Chen Jianghe.

Although Chen Jianghe was born in a hereditary military family, he has not fought many battles, and he has been a brocade guard in the past few years. And the soldiers of the Beijing camp are even more ignorant of soldiers, from top to bottom, from generals to ordinary soldiers, and their combat experience is very insufficient.

In the face of the siege of the green battalion soldiers, the Ming army in the city had already panicked, and many people did not know how to move at all, and died in vain under the arrow rain of the green battalion soldiers.

Fortunately, Chen Jianghe's subordinates and Xu Qingtian and others were all from the Xishan Army, and under the assistance and command of Xu Qingtian and others, the soldiers in the city barely performed their duties and began to attack the green campers who climbed the city.

Rolling wood, stones, ash bottles, and so on to throw them down the city, they can always hit the dense green battalion soldiers.

At the same time, the shooters in the Beijing camp stood at the head of the city and fired at the soldiers under the city. Guns and cannons fired in unison, sending a rain of bullets down the city.

"The first to attack the city, a thousand taels of silver, and an official promotion to the third level! Those who follow the city will be rewarded with 100 taels of silver and promoted to one level! ”

Looking at the green battalion soldiers who kept falling from the ladder, Li Guoying gritted his teeth and was ruthless. This battle is related to his future and destiny in the Qing court, and there is no room for failure.

A thousand taels of silver is enough for an ordinary family to have no worries for a lifetime, let alone an official promotion to the third level. Hearing the reward, the green battalion soldiers immediately went crazy, and crawled towards the city one by one with their weapons in their hands.

A brawny man roared and stripped off his shirt, holding a shield in one hand and climbing up the ladder with the other. This is Li Guoying's family Ding Li Hu, a famous warrior in the army.

Guarded by more than a dozen shields, Li Guoying stood in the middle of the formation, calmly observing the offensive. Seeing that Li Hu was crawling fast, he used his shield to block the rain of arrows falling from the city, and soon approached the battlements of the city wall, and then turned over and jumped up.

"It's up to town!" The soldiers cheered, and Li Guoying also breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Hu is excellent in martial arts, and he will definitely be able to defend the city, and those fish belly Beijing battalion soldiers in the city should have no way to take him.

Seeing a strong man rushing up to the city, frantically slashing and slashing the soldiers on the city, the other defenders were frightened and retreated.

Li Guoying's combat power is not comparable to ordinary people, Li Hu jumped to the city wall and slashed indiscriminately, cutting four or five Ming troops in a row, firmly occupying a section of the city wall, under his cover, other green battalion soldiers continued to climb up from the ladder.

At the critical moment, Chen Jianghe didn't care about commanding, picked up an iron gun and killed it, and between the tip of the gun, several green battalion soldiers in the upper city fell in a pool of blood.

Seeing that Chen Jianghe was so brave, Li Hu was furious and swung his knife and slashed over. Chen Jianghe flung his spear and threw it heavily on the side of Li Hu's knife, and then bounced back with his strength, and the spear swept through Li Hu's throat, and blood flew out at once. Li Hu stood there all of a sudden, and dropped the steel knife to cover the wound on his neck, but where could he cover it.

Chen Jianghe withdrew his spear, and quickly stabbed it out, stabbing straight into Li Hu's abdomen, and then picked it hard, picking Li Hu's body out of the city and smashing it on the ladder, and then there were bursts of screams from below.

Next, where there was danger, Chen Jianghe appeared, a spear was used, the Yang family's pear spear showed its might, and dozens of green battalion soldiers who attacked the city died under his gun.

Under his encouragement, the morale of the defenders at the head of the city was greatly boosted, and many Beijing soldiers eliminated their fear, and the defense of the city became more and more proficient.

attacked the city many times, and was driven down by the Ming army in the city, and Li Guoying, who was in command of the city, twitched the corners of his eyes.

In particular, the general in iron armor in the city was too powerful, and many times the green battalion soldiers originally attacked the city wall, but they were all driven down by this person, and even the bravest family Ding Li Hu fell under his gun.

"Mobilize a strong crossbow to come over, use an armor-piercing cone for Lao Tzu, and shoot that dog to death!" Li Guoying gritted his teeth and ordered.

"General, there are still our brothers in the city!" The lieutenant next to him was shocked.

"No matter what the fuck does, if we don't kill that bastard, we won't want to attack the city!" Li Guoying scolded angrily.

The adjutant general didn't dare to say much, and hurriedly ordered to mobilize a team of strong crossbowmen, nearly a hundred strong crossbowmen, everyone used armor-piercing cones, and more than 100 armor-piercing cones were launched at the same time, heading towards the city wall where Naming was located.

As soon as Chen Jianghe killed a Qing soldier, he heard the sound of "hum", countless arrows crossed the battlement, and came down as a hood from top to bottom, Chen Jianghe hurriedly danced his spear to block, and felt a pain in his chest, and a feather arrow penetrated deep into his body through the iron armor.