Jiang Chuan doesn't care about the life or death of the Ming Emperor, the Ming Dynasty is going to die, and the immortality of this dead emperor is almost the same as death.

However, now standing in his position, many times the consideration of issues cannot be purely from the perspective of personal likes and dislikes or military reasons, but from the political point of view.

In other words, the starting point of considering the problem is often from the perspective of interests, and how to do what can make the greatest profit is the right thing to do.

Of course, this greatest interest also has a certain scope, generally referring to long-term interests, rather than short-term petty profits.

It is more in Jiangchuan's interests to keep the emperor alive in the long run.

Jiang Chuan was worried that if he held the emperor in his hands, he would use the emperor's banner to win people's hearts and compete for fame. But when he needs to get rid of the worthless card of the emperor in the future, will his reputation be damaged and he will be scolded as a usurper.

But then Jiang Chuan figured it out, just scold, since he has embarked on this truth, a little infamy is nothing.

History is always written by the victors. Becoming a king or defeating a villain, as long as he becomes the one standing on the top of the world, those scoldings will disappear, and the rest is praise.

There is a very middle saying: If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight.

Although the words are second, there is some truth in them.

The road to the top is not only accompanied by blood and bones, but also countless slanders and gossip that will strike like arrows at any time.

I remember that there is a very pertinent sentence in the Great Qin Empire: "The blood of the royal family is cold." ”

If you want to get to that pinnacle, you have to bear a lot more pressure than ordinary people.

To withstand these tremendous pressures, the heart must be hard, the blood must be cold, and the sword must be sharp, so that you can have the basic qualities of a person who has reached the top.

The road of kings is not only a bumpy road accompanied by killing and intrigue, but also a road of self-cultivation and experience.

There is a long way to go, and these are all things that must be experienced.

Therefore, from the point of view of profit maximization, the advantages of keeping the emperor alive outweigh the disadvantages.

As for whether he will raise tigers in the future, Jiang Chuan is actually not worried. The vast majority of people in this world are people who tend to be inflammatory.

At that time, as long as the emperor is in his own hands, he will be a real puppet emperor. With the power in their own hands, those ministers will only know about the Qin King Jiangchuan, and completely leave the emperor behind.

When the world is stable, his subordinates will gather a large number of people who are attached to him. At that time, even if Jiang Chuan didn't want to go up, these people would hug him and go up.

Profit is always the most enduring and terrible thing. At that time, even if Jiang Chuan wanted the emperor to live, the people around him didn't want the emperor to live.

When Jiang Chuan came back to his senses, he had already made a decision.

"The emperor has to live, and it is in our interest for him to live."

Hu Zongxian and Di Qing both showed a look of relief and admiration in their eyes. Seeing this young lord growing up rapidly, they were also very relieved in their hearts.

"The Lord is wise. Now that the lord has made a decision, it will be easy to do. Now Li Zicheng's army on the South Road has occupied Tianjinwei. From Tianjin Wei to the capital, it is a distance of three days. Moreover, it is said that Li Zicheng's Western Route Army has also approached the capital from Hejian Province.

At that time, it will be a two-way army besieging the capital. If our army sets off overnight, the cavalry should be able to reach the capital before Li Zicheng's army besieges the capital, and fight against the Liukou army together with the defenders of the capital. However, along the way, there will definitely be resistance from the rogues, and there are many variables, and no one can be sure whether they can arrive in time. So it's the next step. ”

Hu Zongxian said slowly in a deep voice, and after finishing speaking, he looked at Jiang Chuan with burning eyes.

Jiang Chuan didn't have to think about it: "Say the middle strategy." ”

Hu Zongxian smiled and continued: "The middle strategy is also simple, that is, we will first defeat the 50,000 horses of Hao Shaoqi, and then wait for Li Zicheng to surround the capital, and then we will slowly force the past, and when Li Zicheng and the defenders of the capital are in the thick of the battle, we will surprise the Liukou from the periphery, and cooperate with the defenders of the capital to relieve the siege of the Beijing division." However, when the time comes, it will be a big battle, and our army's 130,000 horses will not be too easy against Li Zicheng's army of more than 500,000 people. ”

Jiang Chuan pondered for a while and said, "What about the best strategy?" ”

Hu Zongxian was not surprised, and continued: "The best policy is to copy the back road and cut off its grain and grass, Li Zicheng's army was copied from the back road, and the grain and grass were robbed, so he will definitely return to the division in a panic to rescue." At that time, the pressure on the capital will inevitably be reduced, and our army will be able to take the opportunity to break the siege. ”

Jiang Chuan was silent after listening to this, got up and walked to the front of the map to look at it.

Hu Zongxian also got up and walked over, picked up the baton next to him and said to the map: "My lord, please see, now that Li Zicheng has an army of 500,000 to attack the capital, the grain and grass required must be an extremely large number.

If Ruochen's guess is not bad, Li Zicheng's grain and grass must be in Jinan or Tianjin Wei. In order to supply the needs of the 500,000-strong army in a timely manner, the fastest and most effective way is to transport it by water.

From Jinan to Beijing, the most convenient water transport channel is the Grand Canal. Tianjin Wei is also located at a key node of the canal, only three days away from Beijing.

Therefore, the minister thought that these two places were very likely to be where Li Zicheng's grain and grass were located, Jinan should be a big warehouse, and Tianjin Wei should be a place of transshipment.

Therefore, if they can attack the granaries in these two places, Li Zicheng's army will definitely panic, and then our army will be able to take the opportunity to defeat them and relieve the siege of Jingshi. ”

Jiang Chuan looked at the map and was silent. He also believes that Hu Zongxian's analysis is very reasonable. When the army goes on an expedition, the place where the grain and grass are stored should not be too far away, nor too close.

It's too far away, and the supply may not be timely. If it is too close, it will be vulnerable to enemy attacks. And you have to consider the issue of transportation and accessibility. Therefore, the two places that Hu Zongxian said are the most likely places.

However, in order to successfully attack Li Zicheng's grain and grass, there are still two problems to be solved: first, it is necessary to confirm that Li Zicheng's grain and grass are really in Jinan and Tianjin.

The second is how to quickly and unknowingly transport the army to these two places.

The first problem is easy to solve, as long as Hao Shaoqi is defeated, a few prisoners can be captured and asked.

The second problem is more tricky, and it is obviously not feasible to use it by land. This way, even if Li Zicheng's men are not beaten, it will delay a lot of time, and second, his whereabouts will be exposed, and the so-called sneak attack will not be discussed.

Since the land route is not feasible, only the water route remains.

However, if you want to take the waterway, you must have a sailor, and you also need a huge sailor to meet the needs of transporting an army of tens of thousands of people.

But the reality is that I don't have a ship in my hands now, not even a sampan.

It seems that the time has really come to build a water division.

Jiang Chuan thought about it and looked at the sea next to the Shanghai Customs on the map, there happened to be a small harbor here, which was very suitable for building a wharf.