The reason why Fang Yuan made such a request was the best way for him to resolve the dilemma in front of him after thinking hard. Since the capital came to the edict in the name of Chongzhen, Fang Yuan complied. Fang Yuan also pushed the boat down the river and invited Chongzhen to visit the south to negotiate peace.

If Empress Zhou, the prince of Jianguo, and the cabinet who controlled the court situation did not agree to let Chongzhen come to Jiangnan, Fang Yuan could pretend not to know and question that this edict was a false edict and would not approve it.

If the capital is willing to let Chongzhen come, then take one step at a time. In Fang Yuan's opinion, the possibility of the capital court letting Chongzhen come to Jiangnan was almost zero. Chongzhen is the biggest bargaining chip in their hands, how dare they say give up?

The princess did not expect him to suddenly make such an unreasonable and unreasonable request, and asked, "If my father does not want to come?" Or will my mother and royal brother not let me go? ”

Fang Yuan's eyes flashed, and he said in a deep voice, "Jiangnan is also the Jiangnan of the Ming Dynasty, how could Your Majesty not even dare to come to inspect his own territory?" If Your Majesty does not come, then it will prove that this edict is a false edict to trick me into the game, and the capital has no sincerity in peace talks at all, so what else can we talk about? ”

Fang Yuan left Zhu Yihai to be entertained with good food and drink in Nanzhili, instead of directly asking him to go back and reply, that is, to test the idea of the capital and then decide whether it was necessary to continue the peace talks. If Chongzhen doesn't want to come to Jiangnan, it is simply whimsical to want Fang Yuan to obey with just a letter!

The princess secretly thought to herself, Fang Yuan's attitude was very resolute, if her father didn't dare to come to Jiangnan, it would prove that the capital was still guarding against Jiangnan, since the capital couldn't trust Fang Yuan, why should Fang Yuan believe in the peace treaty from the capital?

The princess nodded and said, "Okay, I will immediately write a letter to my father and invite him to come to Jiangnan to inspect." ”

The princess wrote a letter to her family overnight, and the next day she was sent to the capital by Jinyiwei. While waiting for the capital to reply, Fang Yuan was not idle, but summoned Zhu Cihuan, the prince of Jianguo, five cabinet members, Gan Hui, the governor of Jiangxi, plus all the high-level generals of the Xuanjia Army, at the Taihu base, and began to discuss the strategy of sending troops in the next step.

The Northern Expedition or the Western Expedition.

In the pavilion on the east mountain of Dongting, everyone gathered together, Fang Yuan raised the topic, and then started with Zhu Cihuan, the prince of the prison country, and explained the plan in his heart one by one.

As the nominal number one person in the Jiangnan regime, Zhu Cihuan still opened his mouth first, "Teacher, it is reported that the capital sent King Lu to be the envoy of the peace talks, I don't know if it is true or not?" ”

Fang Yuan was slightly stunned, in order to hide people's eyes, he had not announced the results of Yu Zhu Yihai's negotiations for the time being, and Zhu Cihuan actually knew about it. It can be seen that this time the capital is a two-pronged approach, not only informing Fang Yuan, but also informing Zhu Cihuan in Nanjing.

Fang Yuan said lightly, "King Lu is indeed playing in the south of the Yangtze River, and the matter of peace talks has not yet been discussed, so we will discuss the military strategy first, and then discuss the matter of peace talks." ”

Since he was reluctant to talk about peace talks, Zhu Cihuan also changed his mind, "Teacher, the thieves slaughtered countless Ming clans, and they are the mortal enemies of the Ming Dynasty. I think we should pretend to make peace with the imperial court on the one hand, delay time, and then take advantage of the fact that the imperial court is not ready for war, go west first, and copy the thieves' old Chaohuguang and Henan. ”

Wang Bingjian, the first assistant of the cabinet and the secretary of the ministry, stood up and said, "Seconding the proposal, the thief, the rogue is also, the public enemy of the world, and the suppression will win the heart of the world." ”

Cabinet member and Ministry of Rites Shangshu Mao Bijiang also came out and said, "The thief is a world-famous rogue, the government has been attacking for several years, and there are victories and defeats against each other. If the regent can defeat the thieves in one fell swoop, it will prove that the regent's wisdom is far better than that of the first emperor and His Majesty. The literati of Jiangnan will rejoice and celebrate the regent's military exploits. ”

Cabinet member and household secretary Xi Benzhen also said, "Whether it is the Northern Expedition or the Western Expedition, it is a great war that exerts the strength of the country. Judging from the transportation of military rations and military materials, it is still the water transportation to the west, and the cost of waging a war is even smaller. ”

Gao Hongtu, a cabinet member and secretary of the Ministry of Industry, came out and said, "The name of the Northern Expedition is not right, and the western expedition is for the benefit of the country and the people, so I suggest that the western expedition be carried out first." ”

Fang Yuan silently listened to what everyone in the cabinet said, and his attitude was surprisingly unanimous, that is, to march west and attack Li Zicheng. Moreover, they also expounded the necessity of attacking Li Zicheng from the perspective of each department. Historically speaking, although Sun Quan of the Three Kingdoms was constantly consumed on the Huaibei battlefield and Cao Wei, it was Jingzhou, which is now Huguang, that is, really coveted.

Fang Yuan looked at Jing Jie, the commander of the Xuanjia Army, again and asked, "Third brother, what do you say?" ”

Jing Jielie said, "Boss, I am also in favor of the Western Expedition. In terms of the difficulty of the conquest, the northern cavalry competed for power, and the southern infantry and naval divisions competed for victory. Our army is strong in naval divisions and infantry, and the number of cavalry and war horses is only enough to fight a big cavalry battle. I suggest that the south should be unified first, and then the northern expedition should be carried out. ”

Chigutai, the deputy marshal in charge of the cavalry battalion, said unhappily, "What the commander said is not right, there is also a place for the cavalry battalion in the Western Expedition!" For example, the 50,000 soldiers left in Henan by the thieves can just send a delicious meal to the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry, hahaha! ”

Li Quanzhong, the commander of the cavalry battalion, did not make an inch of merit when he conquered Jiangxi, and was climbed to the position of governor of Jiangxi by Gan Hui, and he was very angry in his heart. This time, according to common sense, the main force of the Western Expedition is also Gan Hui, the governor of Jiangxi, Li Quanzhong is eager for meritorious service, and he is busy asking for battle, "Regent, the cavalry battalion has already been prepared for battle, as long as the regent gives an order, he will immediately send troops to level the Henan nest of thieves!" ”

Gan Hui also said, "When the cavalry battalion set out to Henan, Jiangxi's 50,000 Xuanjia Army waved its troops to Huguang, and with a two-pronged approach, they could swallow the nest of thieves in Huguang and Henan. ”

Shi Lang, the commander of the Navy Battalion and the governor of the Jiangnan Navy Division, said, "If you attack the thieves, the Navy Battalion can easily destroy all the important military towns along the Yangtze River. Boss, since the destruction of Fujian, he has only fought a painless battle with Liu Guoxuan, and the sailor battalion is idle and panicked, and this battle cannot be without the sailor battalion. ”

Li Zongze, commander of the artillery battalion, also said, "There is no cavalry charging in the southern battlefield, which can give full play to the advantages of our artillery." Taking advantage of the cannibalism of the two thieves, we captured Huguang, and we could also take the opportunity to enter Sichuan, and even the big western thieves were swallowed together! ”

Hou Chengzu, the commander of the logistics battalion, said, "Everything in the logistics battalion is only the head of the regent!" ”

Su Hongyu, the commander of the drone team, urged, "Boss, since everyone has the same opinion, don't hesitate, prepare for war as soon as possible, and go west to Henan and Huguang!" Unify the world as soon as possible, and let the people live and work in peace and contentment as soon as possible! ”

Fang Yuan stared at the iron military token in his hand, playing back and forth. The opinions of everyone present were surprisingly unanimous, and the target of the next step was Li Zicheng in Henan and Huguang. As for the inner court, the opinions of the princess and Wang Chengen do not need to be asked, they can already be guessed. They definitely didn't want Fang Yuan to meet the soldiers in the capital, so their opinion must still be to go west.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was in front of him, and Fang Yuan was also excited. Now Li Zicheng is deep in the Sichuan battlefield, as long as he can take advantage of the emptiness in Li Zicheng's rear and conquer Huguang and Henan in a war, he will be able to take all the south of the Yangtze River and compete with the northern court.

As for the two thieves Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, who were struggling to survive in Sichuan, without the advantage of the sailors, the two thieves could not leave Sichuan at all, and could only be completely sealed in Sichuan. Fang Yuan was able to lead the Northern Expedition calmly and without any worries, and compete with the imperial court!

Su Hongyu's words are right in his mind, unify the world earlier, let the people live and work in peace and contentment earlier, create a peaceful and prosperous era, and leave a name in history!

The huge strategic temptation was just around the corner, Fang Yuan sighed deeply, and the hand holding the military token was also trembling. After a long time, he finally made up his mind, handed over the general token to Jing Jie, the commander of the Xuanjia Army, and announced in a deep voice, "From now on, the entire Xuanjia Army will enter a state of combat readiness. A month later, they marched to Huguang and Henan in two ways! ”

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