The Chu army fought a bloody battle under the city of Nanjing, and the news spread to Guilin, thousands of miles away, which immediately ignited the entire court and attracted countless eager eyes.

That's not anywhere else, it's Nanjing! It is the capital of the Ming Dynasty, the symbol of the south of the Yangtze River, the Jinling where many people are haunted by their dreams, the stone town where many people look forward to the way home, and the place where many people place their hopes for the restoration of the country...... Sichuan is not important, Hubei is not important, Fujian is not important, everyone inside and outside the court is discussing one thing, can the Chu army recover Nanjing? !

The city of Guilin became extremely excited, and the reckless scholars sang and indulged in wine, just waiting for the news of the recovery of Nanjing, and then took advantage of the spring to return to their hometowns, and the generals who knew a little about military affairs talked about it and commented on the war situation in the north and south of the river, as if they would be able to recover the entire Nanzhili and Zhejiang and Fujian in a few days.

Victory quickly raised its head.

The civil and military officials of the Longwu Imperial Court, eight out of ten are ignorant of military issues, and one and a half are also ignorant of military issues, in their minds, since the Chu army has already broken all the way to the city of Nanjing, of course they can't give up halfway, and they should capture Nanjing desperately, so that everyone can have a good time...... The few people in the court who had some insight knew that the attack on the fortified city of Nanjing would not outweigh the losses, and even if they paid a huge price to defeat it, they would not be able to defend it in the future, but their voices were too weak, and they were soon drowned in a frenzied atmosphere, and they could no longer be heard.

Some officials in the six ministries of the Cabinet were already planning a more ambitious goal, and they would immediately cross the river and go north to attack the Beijing Division after the pacification of Jiangnan, and go north along the Grand Canal to attack the Beijing Division. Then the world was decided by World War I, and the Qing army was expelled from the customs - "Northern Expedition" is the most popular word in the imperial court now. The frequency of occurrence is second only to "Nanjing".

Under the influence of this atmosphere, Emperor Longwu was also a little breathless, and his mood was impetuous and excited.

The entire plan for the Eastern Expedition was formulated by Wang Kefan, but Emperor Longwu also participated in the decision-making, and the strategic goal of the Eastern Expedition was very clear, without a strong naval division, it was impossible for the Ming army to gain a long-term foothold in the south of the Yangtze River. You can only fight and go. But the development of the battle situation was so smooth, which made Emperor Longwu feel that the Qing army was nothing more than that. Wang Kefan is not ...... Too conservative?

In this kind of adjustment of the general direction of the strategy, a small change will affect all aspects and cause a huge impact, for the sake of prudence. He repeatedly consulted with the bigwigs in the court...... These bigwigs in the imperial court are very cautious, but most of them are still optimistic, believing that the strategic direction can be appropriately adjusted and tilted towards Nanjing, and of course, Fujian cannot relax Yunyun.

On the contrary, the attitude of the Chu Xun faction is a little conservative, and several important Chu Xun bigwigs such as Fu Guan, Wen An, Lu Minyuan and others are in a very conflicted mood, and they are very worried while looking forward to it...... Nanjing is not so easy to fight, I heard that the Chu army also drilled into the mountains of Ningzhen. No matter how you look at it, you can't be sure of victory. Moreover, even if this battle is won, it will really recover Nanjing, but it will be like a heavy burden. Chu Jun and Chu Xun will also be pushed to the cusp, bringing countless troubles.

Emperor Longwu brainstormed and had a general idea in his heart, and before making a decision, he specially summoned Sun Kewang to ask for his opinion.

Sun Kewang just came to Guilin a few days ago.

The Ming Dynasty was founded more than 200 years ago. The prince surnamed Zhu was kept in a fief as a pig, and he would not necessarily meet the emperor in his life. Sun Kewang was the first king with a different surname, but he was completely different from them, and after Emperor Longwu gave him an edict of an audience, he ran from Yunnan to Guilin to meet the saint, and was warmly welcomed by a high standard.

Of course, there is still a big stall on the Yungui side, Sun Kewang ran all the way to Guilin, and he is not idle and has nothing to do to visit the door, in addition to contacting Emperor Longwu, there are many things to cooperate with the imperial court.

Although Yunnan is rich in products, the place is too remote, the economy and culture are relatively backward, Sun Kewang's exhibition has encountered some bottlenecks, and it needs to communicate with the two Guangzhou, Huguang and Guangzhou. In terms of politics and military, the Western Army camp also needs the support of the Longwu Imperial Court, for example, most of the Sichuan that has just been recovered, the forces of all parties are intertwined, and there are many contradictions that need to be coordinated by Emperor Longwu.

Compared with the arrogant and domineering "Qin King Sun Kewang" in history, the "Winged King Sun Kewang" in this time and space is much more restrained.

A very simple truth, when Emperor Yongli cooperated with the Great Western Army in history, he was already an exiled emperor who rebelled against his relatives, or a puppet, who could only be subject to Sun Kewang. Emperor Yongli and his cronies were not at ease to be puppets, and did everything possible to provoke the relationship between Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu, and finally really succeeded, Sun Li turned against each other and killed each other, which ruined the good situation of Li Dingguo's two famous kings, and the Qing army invaded Sichuan......

When Li Dingguo was a famous king twice, Nanming's shape was indeed very good. At that time, Dolgon was already dead, and the Manchu Qing Dynasty had gone through repeated infighting and purges, and the national strength and military strength had declined, and there was no longer the sharp spirit that had just entered the customs, and Shunzhi even planned to rule the river with the Southern Ming...... It is a very pity that the Great Western Army is born at this time, and it is a very pity, and the ugly thing to say is that it is to die by itself, and the relatives and enemies are happy, which makes people sigh. If they really ruled by dividing the river, the Manchus would probably end up with their so-called ancestor Jinguo, and after a few decades, they would rot from their roots.

The reason why the Yongli regime gave birth to this internal bar was of course because Sun Kewang was ambitious and short-sighted, but Emperor Yongli and the ordinary civil officials under him also played a role in fueling the troubles, and even Li Dingguo's response was a little inappropriate...... The so-called no one is perfect, Li Dingguo is undoubtedly a national hero, but he is not a saint without shortcomings, otherwise Nanming would not perish. For example, after Sun Kewang surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, he began to purge Sun's subordinates and squeeze out Liu Wenxiu, so that the army's morale was weakened, which brought a great negative impact.

Because of the problem of vision and realm, Sun Kewang is not a clever politician, but he is a natural internal affairs management talent, and the level is very high, not a little higher than Li Dingguo, and he made a great contribution in the early period of the Southern Ming Dynasty, after he surrendered to the Manchu Dynasty. Yunnan's internal affairs have become a mess, which is evident from this.

In terms of military affairs, Sun Kewang is a grade worse than Li Dingguo. In particular, he did not have Li Dingguo's keen sense of command before the battle. But this is also compared with whom, and a generation of famous generals Li Dingguo can't be compared, compared with ordinary people, his level is still very high, there is one in the Longwu court, no one can beat it.

(Li Dingguo became a famous king twice, and after killing Nikan, the king of Doro County.) Sun Kewang hurriedly ran to Hunan with his descendants to grab credit and land. But he was beaten to the ground by the remnants of Nikan, and he really suffered a defeat in Baoqing Mansion, and it can be seen from this example that Sun Kewang's military ability and Li Dingguo are not on the same level. ）

Emperor Longwu himself knew. None of these people in the court can compare to Sun Kewang, who has been the commander of the Great Western Army for a long time, and they attach great importance to his opinions.

Emperor Longwu asked about the strategy of the Eastern Expedition, he shirked not knowing the military situation in the south of the Yangtze River, and refused to make a clear statement, but emphasized the importance of Sichuan and Shaanxi.

Under Emperor Longwu's repeated questioning, he finally said a few words of truth.

Although Nanjing itself is a strong city, it is known as the land of tigers and dragons. But from a big strategic point of view, it is not an easy place to defend and difficult to attack.

The Yangtze River Delta is too rich and flat. The enemy army can drive straight in, raise food and grass supplies on the spot, and there is no strong barrier on the perimeter. In the vicinity of Nanjing, the water potential of the Yangtze River became too gentle, and the Qing army's naval division controlled the Yangtze River, and this natural danger lost its effect. If the Qing army marches south. The city of Nanjing will inevitably fall into a heavy siege, no matter how strong the city is. Under a long-term siege, sooner or later the city will be broken.

(This must be emphasized again, the Yangtze River downstream is not a natural hazard, but a convenient water transport channel, whoever has the superiority of the sailor, who will have the strategic initiative, so if you want to hold the south of the Yangtze River, you must first hold the rich Jianghuai area in the north of the Yangtze River, and do not give the enemy a springboard to cross the river to attack, this is the so-called "defending the river must defend the Huai".) ）

In contrast, Fujian, which has the Wuyi Mountains as a barrier, and Jiangxi, which has the Anqing Corridor as a gate, are much easier to defend than Nanjing.

"What Aiqing said is extreme, 'The husband guards the river and abandons Huai, Wu, Chen, and the Southern Tang Dynasty can be seen'!" Emperor Longwu nodded, quoted Xin Qiji's famous saying, and agreed that Shoujiang must Shouhuai.

The Three Kingdoms of Eastern Wu fought five battles in Hefei, and finally failed to capture Jianghuai, Shu Han soon followed the destruction of the country, the Southern Chen of the Northern and Southern Dynasties guarded the so-called Yangtze River natural danger, and soon perished, the Southern Tang Dynasty of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms lost the Jianghuai, and also could not escape the fate of annihilation, but the Southern Song Dynasty because of the advantage of the naval division, has been sticking to the Jianghuai, forcing the Mongols to finally open the gap from Xiangyang, and finally broke through the Yangtze River defense line. (The Mongols' sailors were too vegetable, and they didn't work when they crossed the Huai River, so they had to attack from the west in a roundabout way, and after breaking through Xiangyang, they went down the river and destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty.) ）

Seeing that Emperor Longwu actually understood, Sun Kewang was slightly surprised, but his face did not show it, and said with a smile: "With Wang Kefan's bravery, it should be easy to conquer Nanjing, but after the Qing army pacifies Shanxi, it will inevitably go south, and it is not easy to hold Nanjing." If I am Wang Kefan, I should do my best to wave my troops south, seize Huizhou Mansion, enter to capture the counties in the south of the Yangtze River, retreat to defend Jiangxi and Fujian, and be invincible. ”

This was not in favor of attacking Nanjing, and Emperor Longwu suddenly felt very disappointed.

The recovery of Nanjing is not only a military issue, but also a political issue, which will be of great help to his prestige and will play a great role in promoting the implementation of the Longwu New Deal.

Maybe it's because of genetic problems, most of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were short-lived, only the founding ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang lived to be seventy-one years old, and most of the others died at the age of forty or fifty, because the first half of his life experienced ups and downs, Emperor Longwu didn't have a middle-aged son until he was 44 years old, and now he is nearly half a hundred years old, but the crown prince Zhu Linyuan is only three years old, and some things must be considered in the long run.

If he can live to be fifty-eight years old like Emperor Wanli, Zhu Yujian, Emperor Longwu, thinks it is very good, but at that time, Zhu Linyuan was only thirteen years old, and it is certain to pass the throne to him, but can he keep this foundation?

Time is running out, Emperor Longwu is under a lot of pressure, and some things just want to advance faster.

"If after recovering Nanjing, he immediately crosses the river to the north and captures Jianghuai, does Aiqing think that Jiangnan can be defended?"

"This ...... still depends on the water division, there is a water network between the Jianghuai and the Jianghuai, and if the water division wins, the Jianghuai can be defended, and the water division will lose if the Jianghuai loses." Sun Kewang was a little surprised, is it rare that Emperor Longwu didn't understand what he meant? Forget it, no matter what he does, when it comes to this, he has already done his best, if he insists on attacking Nanjing, or even crossing the river to attack the Jianghuai region, and finally suffers a crushing defeat, it will have no impact on the Western Army of Yunnan, and it is even a good thing.

Emperor Longwu was shocked, the water division is not a problem, Zheng Chenggong has a powerful water division there......

After this Yuntai summoned, Sun Kewang stayed in Guilin for a few more days before returning to Yunnan.

Although the Western Army of Yunnan was self-contained, it had more and more contacts with the Longwu court, and he hoped to find some potential allies in Guilin. The so-called people in the DPRK and China who are good officials and who can help them say a few words at a critical time will bring tremendous benefits to the Western Army.

This time in Guilin, the harvest was quite satisfactory, and the Longwu court had basically agreed to assign the territory from southern Sichuan to the Chengdu Plain to the Western Army, and the area around Chongqing in eastern Sichuan was the sphere of influence of the governor of Sichuan, Jie Chongxi. In addition to them, there are also a number of large and small warlords in Sichuan, Sun Kewang is ready to drive them all out of the Chengdu Plain, so that Jie Chongxi will have a headache, who calls him the governor of Sichuan.

From southern Sichuan to the Chengdu Plain, because of years of war, the population is sparse but the land is fertile, and as long as it is properly managed, a new base area can be built and the strength of the Western Army can be further strengthened. Sun Kewang wanted to run this base now, and he didn't have much interest in attacking Hanzhong and Shaanxi.

Of course, several important cities and passes in the Qinling Mountains still have to be captured to ensure the safety of Sichuan, Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu are attacking Jiange, if they can further capture Guangyuan, it will be enough in Sun Kewang's opinion. What annoyed him a little was that Li Dingguo was not too obedient and had been planning to attack Hanzhong and even Shaanxi, and Liu Wenxiu secretly breathed out with him.

In addition to these things, what he saw and heard in Guilin also made Sun Kewang feel very fresh.

He is a good hand at internal affairs, but he didn't even think of some of the internal affairs measures of the Longwu court, and the intuitive effect was very good, and it gave him a great inspiration, so Sun Kewang deliberately stayed for a few more days to study the internal affairs measures of the Longwu court.

"Today, there is indeed a sign of ZTE!"

Longwu's new policy made him impressed, and he had a little respect for Emperor Longwu. (To be continued)

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