In the huge army war room, there are two maps on the wall, one of the whole of China and the other of Liangguang, which are more accurate than any map in the hands of the Ming Dynasty or the Tatars.

Maiden's voice echoed through the empty hall.

"Are you going to start?"

"Well, let's see how hard it is."

Maiden bowed his head and took a sip of wine, "The greatness of a man lies in constantly expanding his territory, increasing his power, and enjoying delicious food and girlish beauty. ”

"Who said that?"

"Alexander."

"Really? I remember that Temujin said something similar, and Alexander preferred men, right? ”

Maiden shrugged, "God knows, that's what people have told me since I was a kid anyway. ”

"Forget it, it doesn't matter if he says it or not, the important thing is that we will be conquerors."

"How many soldiers do you plan to take?"

"The recruits still need to be retrained, and I plan to transfer the original 1st Regiment as the backbone to form a mixed brigade."

"What about the specific troops?"

"4 infantry battalions, 2 cuirassier squadrons, Sikh cavalry regiments, 3 artillery batteries."

"When are you leaving?"

"Look at the progress of the naval formation of the escort fleet."

"The navy sent three fourth-class ships, and Sterling values Sanya Iron Mine very much."

"Shilu iron ore is bigger and has good taste, which is a high-quality and scarce strategic resource, and we must not give it up."

"It's money, too. The Tatars banned the export of ironware, and we are now the largest seller of ironware in the South Seas. ”

"So the Senate acquiesced in sending us volunteers."

Maiden nodded, "The Dutch envoy arrived in the capital three days ago. ”

"Oh, what did they say?"

"On January 28 of this year, the Dutch mission returned to Guangzhou from Beijing, and they have been in China for a long time."

"The result?"

"The Tatar Emperor did not approve the Dutch right to free trade with China, and after the mission returned to Canton, Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao's attitude changed subtly."

"How?"

"When the Dutch mission arrived in Beijing, Shang Kexi was very welcoming. When the Dutch returned from Beijing, the Tatar officials in Guangzhou avoided it, Shang Kexi excused himself with a toothache, and Geng Jimao with the excuse of being unwell. ”

"In other words, the Dutch gave at least 160,000 taels of silver in cash and a large amount of gifts, but they got nothing."

"Not only that, but the Dutch mission interpreter was murdered in Guangzhou, which is very strange."

Shou Xuan raised his glass and sneered, "Tatars." ”

"Matsolko, the head of the Netherlands, invited me to visit Batavia in due course."

"What do you think?"

"Go."

"It's been almost 16 years since you last went to Batavia."

"Yes, the last time I was on my mission, I represented a weak pirate republic."

"And now we are a force to be reckoned with."

"I would tell the Dutch that instead of bribing Tatar officials with huge sums of money, it is better to invest money in us, and we will do what they can't do in Canton."

A smile tugged at the corners of Shou Order's mouth, "No, Your Excellency Archon. It's not you who go and tell the Dutch, but we tell the Dutch with our cannons about our capabilities. ”

"Cannons," Maiden swallowed, "yes, we have a lot of them now." ”

The newly appointed adjutant pushed the door in, "Your Excellency, the officers have arrived. ”

"Let them in."

This time, the officers of the troop unit at and above the battalion level marched into the war room in a row, their uniforms were straight, their riding boots were shiny, and the cavalry officers' spurs were stepping on the floor and clattering.

The two lieutenant colonels in the lead were both under the age of 30, and youth was a common characteristic of officers.

Maiden looked at the determined faces below and sighed, "They are all good boys, they remind me of my youth. ”

"After this battle, they will be better."

Shou Order's glass was lowered, "Gentlemen, war is calling to you. What about your answers? ”

"We fight for the country and the flag, we have nothing to fear!"

……

In August 1657, more than 6,000 officers and soldiers of the 1st Mixed Brigade left Wangweibao in a low-key manner, took 27 fast transport ships, and went north to Qiongzhou under the escort of 7 warships of the navy.

One week later, the Army disembarked at Vostochny Port and joined forces with local friendly forces.

The Dongshui Battalion, which was originally stationed here in the name of the Sanya Iron and Steel Group Garrison, was expanded into the 9th Infantry Regiment of the Army and joined the mixed brigade sequence. There are many veterans of this regiment who have experienced actual combat, but they have just changed from arquebuses to flintlock muskets, and their training is not yet complete.

The 2nd Hussar Regiment is being formed, it is not yet full, the equipment is not complete, and the most lacking is the flintlock pistol, which can only be achieved at the moment with one hand rather than a pair per person.

The 1st Brigade remained in dry Jonesy for a joint exercise with the newly recruited troops.

Edward commanded the main force of the naval fleet to be stationed in the inner harbor of Danzhou Bay. Now is the typhoon raging, and the fleet may be in danger in the Qiongzhou Strait.

According to the latest classification of naval warships, the cruiser was canceled and changed to a cruiser, and the cruisers built later were all flat-decked, an enlarged version of the Hyperion-class battleship.

When the Hyperion arrived at the fortress harbor of Haikou, it was just getting dark.

Shou Xiang raised his binoculars, and the flags of the Ming army of various colors fluttered at the head of the city, and the soldiers patrolling the city walls were twice as many as usual.

The Hyperion hoisted the bright red orca battle flag and informed the Ming army in Haikou with a deafening salute.

The Ming army at the head of the city hurriedly responded with artillery.

Disembark in an orderly manner.

The whole city of Haikou was under martial law, and a tense atmosphere of war shrouded the fortress.

The garrison officer of the Haikou station hurried out of the city and knelt on the dock.

"Get up."

Shou Xuan glanced at the garrison, his face was not unfamiliar, he should be a member of the retreating Ming army in Shanghai, which would belong to Zhou Luqing's Fubiao battalion.

"Why is it only you? What about He Huchen, Zhang Shijie, Jin Shiying, and Yang Qianqing? ”

"Your Excellency, all of you are on the front line."

"How's the battle going?"

"It's not good, the Tartars have defeated Huazhou, and the general army of Zhou Lie has been killed."

"You have a bad complexion, are you scared?"

"Your Excellency, Your Majesty......"

"Find a few horses, I'm going to Fucheng."

"Yes."

"Besides, cheer up, I'm coming, there is nothing to fear from the Tatars."

"Yes, sir."

There were no cavalry in Haikou, but there were always fast horses to transmit emergency military information, so they picked 5 horses and galloped towards the capital of Qiongzhou with 4 guards.

Fucheng is 5 kilometers to the south, Guangdong governor Zhou Luqing built a ring road during his tenure, Haikou to Fucheng this section has been done simple paving, and the street trees on both sides of the road have a certain scale.

The warhorses were reined in under the city walls, the river was babbling, the merchant ships on the Nandu River and the Meishe River did not seem to be affected by the war, and the bazaar was still bustling.

The city has not changed much, the north city wall has a city tower without a city gate, and the order is folded to the west gate.

"Dev." Shou ordered to see Zhou Luqing, the governor of Guangdong, at the city gate.

"Great Rule."

The fast horse reported by the thousands of households in Haikou arrived in Fucheng one step earlier, and Zhou Luqing went to the west gate to greet him after learning about it.

"your yamen."

Zhou Luqing's pacesetters separated pedestrians, cleared the passage, entered the city in an orderly manner, and dismounted in front of the governor's yamen.

Shou Xuan said as he walked, "Defu, your yamen is still so shabby. ”

"Alas, how can you take care of the cultivation of the government."

"What, the situation is urgent?"

"Every penny of grain that Qiongzhou can squeeze out is sent to the front line."

Entering the study, Zhou Luqing waved his hand to let him leave, he knew that Shou Xuan liked to look at the map, and he had already prepared.

"My lord, I'm glad you came."

"Well, is it critical?"

"100,000 urgent."

"Talk about the war situation."

"That's how it ...... now"

Zhou Luqing started from the beginning.

In Hunan, the Qin vassal Sun Kewang occupied the first line of Chenzhou, Yuanzhou, and Wugang, and the Ming army built a large number of fortress fortifications and roads.

From 1645, when Hunan became a battlefield, the Ming army and the Tatars fought for 12 years, and Xiangxi was under the control of the Ming army for most of the time.

Hong Chengchou sat in Changsha, with four towns of green battalions stationed in Changde, two towns of green battalions stationed in Baoqing, one town stationed in Yongzhou, and one town stationed in Qiyang, and Sun Kewang opened a front confrontation.

Hong's Jingluo shogunate had two admirals, Li Benshen, the left admiral, and Daniel Zhang, the right admiral, who were both very capable of fighting.

The Tatars also built a large number of fortifications, and the defensive lines of both armies were firmly guarded, and neither side was powerless to break the balance. It's just that Sun Kewang relied on the land supply of the Yunnan-Guizhou Mountains, and the Tatars relied on the supply of the two rivers and lakes and the wide water route, and the follow-up was more sufficient.

In terms of Guangzhou, Li Dingguo was defeated in Xinhui and retreated to Guangxi. The two feudal clans of Ping and Jing pursued westward, pushing the battle line back.

Hong Chengchou of Changsha fought south through the Xiangjiang-Lingqu-Guijiang line to support Guilin's Guoan. Li Dingguo, with the support of the Ming army in Hainan, struggled to hold Wuzhou.

The front line is holding each other, and there is an accident in the rear of Li Dingguo. Sun Kewang has the heart to usurp the throne, and Yongli secretly decrees the country to save the driver.

In the first month of 1656, Dingguo brought the few remaining elite soldiers from Liujiang and Duyun to Anlong, Guizhou, and rescued Yongli to Kunming.

Dingguo retreated, Wuzhou could not hold it immediately, Zhang Shijie had to withdraw from Xunjiang to Tengxian County, shielding Xunjiang and Beiliujiang. He Jiuyi, the general who stayed in Guangxi, abandoned Liuzhou and retreated to Kunlun Pass to defend Nanning. The two armies worked together to barely hold the southern part of Guangxi.

On the Guangdong side, when the two feudal clans of Ping and Jing learned that Li Dingguo had withdrawn to Kunming, the pressure on Zhaoqing suddenly decreased, and his courage immediately became fattened.

The Tatar army resumed its offensive and reoccupied Maoming at the end of last year, and the Ming troops in Guangdong had to retreat to the sea or into the mountains, and the situation became bad again.

A few months ago, Geng Jimao personally went to the front line, this time the Tatar offensive was dripping, and the defense army of Haibei had just experienced the defeat of Xinhui, and its vitality was greatly damaged, and it was very weak in the face of the Tatar army's offensive.

"I've heard that Huazhou is lost."

"Not only that, Lianjiang and Suixi also lost last week, and I temporarily blocked the news."

"Where's the silver mine in Pangshiyan?"

"We smashed the machine, and the workers retreated north to Luchuan County."

"Other states and counties?"

"Zhanjiang Fort is still there, backed by the sea, and the Tatar army cannot surround it."

Shou Xiang looked at the map, and the loss of Suixi meant that the core defense line of the Leizhou Peninsula was facing the enemy head-on.

"Is Haikang County (the former capital city of Leizhou) besieged?"

"Yes, Zhang Xiaoqi and Yang Qianqing, a total of more than 3,000 soldiers, were surrounded in the city."

"What about the two towns of He Huchen and Jin Shiying's military training?"

"Crossing the river in the south of Leizhou and confronting the enemy across the river."

"In other words, the distance between He Jin Erzhen and Zhang Xiaoqi is only 8 miles?"

"It's not far, but they tried a few times, but they couldn't get through."

Shou Xuan held his chin and thought for a while, "Where is Geng Jimao himself?" ”

"It's right under Haikang City."

"Can Zhang Xiaoqi hold it?"

"It should be worry-free for the time being."

"Good."

"Huh?"

"You immediately send people to the front line and ask He and Jin to stop the siege action."

"Yes, the Great Ruler. What do we do next? Like last time, do you want to start with Wuchuan or Dianbai? ”

"No, we'll go straight to Haikang this time."