With the continuous transportation of siege equipment from the Central Plains, Jinling's soldiers and horses began to be mobilized frequently.

The Eight Banners who can fight outside the gate are less than 200,000 people. Half of them were guarding the city of Beijing, and there were 50,000 Haoge leading them to fight with the eight kings Zhang Xianzhong in Sichuan. The rest was in the hands of Dord.

It was getting late, and Duoduo retreated from Luckdehun and summoned Hong Chengchou alone.

Although Luck Dehun is a Manchurian and Hong Chengchou is a Han Chinese, in Duoduo's heart, it is this Han who is closer.

Luck Dehun is Dai Shan's grandson, and his soldiers and horses are also the red and red flags led by Dai Shan. These people are not of the same heart as Dolgon, and the son of Emperor Taiji, Shunzhi Emperor Fulin, succeeded to the throne, and Dai Shan played the greatest role.

"Lord Hong, you Han people have a saying, called "Autumn Point Soldiers on the Battlefield". Now in the golden autumn of August, the people are strong and the horses are fat, and it is a good day to hunt Jiangnan. I'm going to raise troops, take Suzhou and Hangzhou in one fell swoop, and kill Fuzhou against Ming, do you have any opinions? ”

Hong Chengchou straightened his clothes, lowered his head and said: "Lord Wang, the scout returns, Suzhou Hou Xuanyan has been constantly sending troops to Changzhou recently to transport supplies, obviously it is expected that we will start again." If he attacked rashly, Hou Xuanyan would have 200 cannons in his hands. Last time, the slave was accidentally deceived by him, so he lost his troops and lost his generals, so let's think about it in the long run. ”

Duoduo sneered in his heart, but he still smiled on his face, and said, "Lord Hong doesn't have to worry, the southerners are cowardly and cowardly. As soon as our army arrives, someone will surrender. At the beginning, Zuo Liangyu had more men and horses, better equipment, and more abundant military rations, and he was not looking out for the wind. ”

Hong Chengchou disagreed in his heart, in his opinion, Hou Xuanyan, who had suddenly emerged, was by no means comparable to Zuo Liangyu's mediocre son. But he didn't argue with Duoduo, but lowered his eyebrows and said: "What the prince said is extremely true, the slave is stupid, and he is not as high as the prince. ”

Dodor stood up, his burly body and muscular legs, walking with a vigorous demeanor. Strode down to the main hall, pressed Hong Chengchou's shoulder, and said: "Lord Hong, you were an important minister of the Ming Dynasty, and many of the generals there were once your subordinates. After you go back, write more letters of persuasion and strive for a few big people to vote in the future. Such a merit is better than charging into battle, and I will definitely protect the royal brother and be rewarded. ”

On Hong Chengchou's lowered head, his eyes were closed, and his shoulders did not have the slightest force, like a walking corpse. His tone was not emotional, and he said in a voice that Dodor could just hear, "The minion obeys." ”

Mourning is greater than heart death, the moment Hong Chengchou walked out of Songshan, he was no longer in the Daming Pillar Stone with "Jun's grace is as deep as the sea, and the courtiers are as heavy as a mountain" written on the wall of his home.

The bitter cold and brave warriors of the Manchu Qing Dynasty outside the Liaodong Pass cut off Cao Bianjiao's head and also cut off his Hong Chengchou's backbone. A poor child who walked the streets and alleys of Yingweipu in his childhood to sell dried tofu, and a twenty-three-year-old new science and technology jinshi with high eyebrows. At the age of thirty-six, he led the troops into battle as a civilian official, killed 300 enemy soldiers, relieved the siege of Hancheng, and became famous all over the world. Then he made steady progress and made outstanding achievements, and for a time was regarded as the last hope by the Ming Dynasty, which was about to collapse.

Now he is more like a machine that has been drained of his soul, relying on the inertia of his body to help the new master calm his original homeland.

Fengtian Hall is like a giant beast, after walking out of it, Hong Chengchou looked up at the miserable sky, and silently recited: "If all the people in the world have braids on the back of their heads, then this one of mine won't be so dazzling..."

A thunderclap and lightning pierced the sky, tearing the sky open, and the rain poured down. Hong Chengchou walked in the rain, and his rickety back bent a little.

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"! It's raining so hard. Go to the states and counties, make preparations for flood control, repair the city wall, prepare more wood and rolling stones, and be careful to clear the dogs and divide the troops for sneak attacks. ”

The little officials around him wrote down the paper word for word, and after a while, the horses in the yamen came out in all directions, braving the heavy rain and rushing to the various state capitals.

I was sweating all over my body, but I was drenched in the rain, and my body was sticky and uncomfortable. Hou Xuanyan simply took off his robe, put his upper body naked, and stuffed his wet clothes into his waist.

Yan Yingyuan was wearing a robe, and after taking it off, he said, "Go and get some clothes for Lord Governor." ”

Hou Xuanyan said: "No need, go to the yamen to take a bath later, otherwise it will be bad if you feel the cold." These days, the scouts in Jinling continue to report, and Qinggou is very restless, and it is estimated that he is about to move. When the time comes, it will inevitably be a vicious battle, and I don't know how long it will take. You are all the same, when you go back, take a bath in hot water, and if anyone falls ill at this time, I will cut off his head first, and treat it as a cowardice. ”

There was a lot of laughter in the tent, and Yan Yingyuan laughed unconsciously, he found that after following this young commander, the situation that was so erosive that it made people desperate took a turn for the better in an instant. Many Jiangyin veterans have found that Yan Yingyuan has laughed more recently than he has been in Jiangyin for three months combined.

"I don't know if Zhu Dadian in Yixing will divide his troops to fight."

Yan Yingyuan shook his head and said, "Since the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, it has won consecutive battles, and it has long lost its original caution. Eighty percent of them will concentrate their forces to attack Changzhou, wanting to annihilate our largest forces in one fell swoop, and then sit back and wait for the others to surrender. ”

Hou Xuanyan nodded and said, "Having said that, I still have to guard against it." Fortunately, Zhu Dadian is old-fashioned, and I am very relieved of him. I heard Hong Yixun say that Zhang Huangyan took Lao Tzu's money to recruit troops and horses in the Jiangyin area, and built warships, and I think that if the fight really starts, this guy will not listen to my words and gallop to help Changzhou, and eighty percent cross the river to take Yangzhou, and even simply go up the river to fight Jinling. ”

Hong Yixun said in a deep voice: "Then do you want to beat him?" ”

Hou Xuanyan pouted and said, "No need, if we can't hold Changzhou, it will be too embarrassing." Just let him toss it himself, if he can take Yangzhou, it will be a great achievement. ”

Hou Xuanyan walked naked and walked outside the city tower, only to see a small soldier standing straight on the lookout of the city tower in the rain.

Hou Xuanyan walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Yes, boy, why do I see you so familiar?" ”

Xiao Bing grinned, stretched out his hand to wipe the rain on his face, and said, "Commander, at that time in Yangzhou, Qinggou came to attack the city. The little one almost fell asleep and was kicked by the Governor. ”

Hou Xuanyan remembered it and was even happier, and his soldiers gradually grew up in the wars again and again. In the future, the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains cannot rely on a group of recruits, in the final analysis, it is still a substitute for training by war.

"Tonight, the soldiers on the upper floor of the city will fill each kettle with a pot of good wine to help the brothers keep out the cold."

As soon as Hou Xuan's speech fell, there was a chorus of joy on the city tower.