Huang Zongxi did this after careful consideration in advance.

Unlike those civil officials in Guilin, he had personally visited Huguang and knew more about the Chu army and Chu Xun, compared to Huguang under Wang Kefan, which was more dynamic and promising......

Huang Zongxi is not a generation of grandmasters now, he is at most a rising star in the Donglin Party, and he used to be a person from Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, although it is not difficult to find an official position in Guilin, it is difficult to be reused, and when he will be able to come out in the future, there are also great variables.

Since he has become an official, of course he wants to make a difference, and he may not get a big official position by joining Chu Xun in Huguang, but he can give full play to his talents and make a career...... What made Huang Zongxi even more tempted was that the Chu army was about to launch an Eastern Crusade, and it was possible to fight all the way to his hometown of Shaoxing, Zhejiang, "the big reward for the country's three hundred years of grace, and the small one's protection of the clan's ten acres of mulberry", after he heard the news, he secretly made up his mind to participate in the Eastern Crusade no matter what.

Unlike him, Gu Yanwu had just returned to Jiangxi three days ago.

As an underground worker, Gu Yanwu has been going back and forth in the Qing army-occupied areas for the past two months, contacting friends and anti-Qing righteous people everywhere, and he has gained a lot. His footprints traveled all over northern Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu, arranging for the Chu army, collecting intelligence, and secretly making a lot of preparations.

Among the tasks given to him by Wang Kefan, the most important thing is to raise military rations, the Chu army has an expedition of thousands of miles, and it is impossible to maintain such a long supply line, so it can only raise food on the spot in the south of the Yangtze River. In addition to Gu Yanwu, Wang Kefan also issued an order and mobilized a large number of squires who fled from Jiangnan. Let them return to their hometowns to prepare secretly, and the Chu Army Intelligence Bureau will be responsible for liaison.

Among this group of scholars and squires, Wang Kefan unexpectedly discovered Yao Qisheng's name.

Yao Qisheng was a key figure in the Qing court's recovery of Taiwan. Of course, Wang Kefan is very familiar with his life, it stands to reason that he should be studying in dormancy now, and participate in the scientific examination of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in a few years, why did he come to join the Chu army?

After some hesitation, Wang Kefan did not alarm him in the end, and was sent back to Jiangnan like other scholars and squires, but asked the Intelligence Bureau to strengthen monitoring. Can't let him know too many secrets.

If he was a spy for the Manchus (although it is unlikely, he is still a wanted Manchu criminal), he was also a very low-level spy. As long as you take precautions in advance, you won't cause much damage...... On the contrary, if he can pass this test, he will get an unexpected talent.

"Yao Qisheng, this guy. It's still a bit capable. ”

Wang Kefan doesn't care that Yao Qisheng in history has been a traitor. He is a person who will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals, as long as he can get ahead, he doesn't care about the difference between Manchu and Han. Just put him in the right position and give full play to his ability, as long as the Ming army in this time and space can defeat the Manchu Qing, Yao Qisheng may not be a traitor......

Although various arrangements were made in advance, before leaving Jiangxi, the Ming army had to try to transport supplies from the rear. Therefore, it is necessary to march from the Anqing corridor.

As for the Hui merchants in Huizhou Mansion, Wang Kefan couldn't take care of them for a while. Although the Huizhou merchants were born in the Huizhou Mansion, they did business all over the country, and their trading shops were mainly distributed in the prosperous cities of the Lianghuai region, even if the Ming army occupied the Huizhou Mansion, it could not hurt their foundation.

That night, the Chu army camped in Yongfeng Town, and Wang Kefan convened his staff and generals and held a simple military meeting.

"Sixty miles to the north is the Yangtze River, and now the closest to us is Dongzhi County, but we have to bypass Dongzhi County and march from the northeast towards Guichi, the capital of Chizhou. This is our first battle after entering Nanzhili, in order to win, I ask the whole army to show desperate strength to conquer Guichi within five days......"

The specific battle plan was the highest level of confidentiality, and Wang Kefan did not announce it to everyone until before the war.

"Don't you fight Dongzhi County?" Gu Yanwu was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but ask.

He is half a military expert, and he understands the basic truth, the Ming army marched south along the Anqing corridor, and Dongzhi County was the first important stronghold encountered, and if this nail was not removed, the safety of the supply line could not be guaranteed.

More importantly, if the Qing army strongholds on the south bank of the Yangtze River are not cleared, such as Dongzhi County, Tunbul, who has the help of the naval division, may cross the Yangtze River at any time (Anqing is on the north bank of the Yangtze River) and outflank the back road of the Gongyi battalion.

"Dongzhi County will definitely fight, but the Gongyi Battalion will not fight." Wang Kefan said with a smile: "The Gongyi battalion is the main elite of the Chu army, and good steel should be made on the blade, Dongzhi County is just a soft persimmon, and Fucheng Guichi is a hard bone worth mouthing." ”

Li Yuncong, as Wang Kefan's secretary, was very familiar with the entire battle plan, and took over the conversation and explained: "The Dongguan battalion, the Changsha battalion and the Pingjiang battalion have already followed, just hand over Dongzhi County to them, in addition to Dongzhi County, several Qing army camps and Huangshiji on the south bank of the Yangtze River have been cleared by them, and the Gongyi Battalion can only open the road in front. ”

"Yes, this is the first battle after we entered Nanzhili, and we can't slowly unfold it step by step, moving forward little by little." Wang Kefan said: "I want to smash the defense line of the Qing army at once, beat the Qing army painfully and fearfully, and make them panic and at a loss." ”

Guichi, the capital city of Chizhou Prefecture, is only two hundred miles away from Nanjing, if this capital city is captured, the entire Nanzhili will be shaken, and the Qing army will also worry about the safety of Nanjing, and it will not be able to judge the Ming army's next attack intention.

Swing a shot to the north, and then turn around and head east, this is Wang Kefan's plan.

As for Anqing, on the north bank of the Yangtze River, Wang Kefan has not yet been able to launch an offensive for the time being. Xiaogushan is an isolated island in the heart of the Yangtze River, where the Qing army's naval division camp is located, even if the Puqi battalion on the west road can capture Pengze and capture Pengze Wharf, the Chu army cannot risk crossing the Yangtze River.

……

Early the next morning, the Chu army left the town of Yongfeng and marched northeast at the speed of a forced march.

The Anqing Corridor is sandwiched between the Dabie Mountains and the mountainous areas of southern Anhui, but it is itself a plain with a flat river, and the Qing army can only occupy important strongholds such as Dongzhi County, but cannot block the entire corridor. After several skirmishes, the Chu army easily broke through the Qing army's defense line and rushed towards Guichi, the capital of Chizhou Prefecture.

The scouts of the Qing army fell far behind the Chu army, they were all the Eight Banners soldiers under Tan Tai, with good riding skills, and the war horses were all carefully selected good horses, and they were very mobile. The Chu army sent a large cavalry to drive them away, and they temporarily avoided and retreated, but in the blink of an eye, they came back again.

Obviously, the combat intentions of the Chu army will soon be exposed, and Xiong Lichun, who is guarding Guichi, will soon be alerted, and there are still variables whether he can capture Guichi with lightning speed. (To be continued......)