Chaozhou, offshore of Nanao Island, Yanping Domain.

Moored in the north of Nan'ao Island, the 1,000-ton flat-deck cruiser has 32 12-pounder bronze guns, a slender hull, a golden hull and a streamlined body that gives the battleship a unique opulent and simple aesthetic.

She is the Federation's newest cruiser of the first class, and outside of battleships, she is the best in the Asian seas.

Leaving Guangzhou in an orderly manner and coming to South Australia is to meet a hero.

The lord of Yanping, the surname of the country is successful.

When Shou Xuan saw the heroes he had admired for a long time, he felt a little regretful.

The Tatars attacked Burma in a big way, and Li Dingguo and Bai Wenxuan had to withdraw from northern Burma. Bai Wen's next main force was originally He Jiuyi's subordinates, and that army was unwilling to accept Li Dingguo's command anymore, so he was coerced by Bai Wenxuan and surrendered to Wu Sangui.

In the end, the remnants of Dingguo had to retreat south to the scenery line and repair in the area of the Golden Triangle.

Shou Xu originally had the intention to invite Dingguo to go north and discuss the follow-up strategic development with Zheng Chenggong and the others. It's a pity that the road is really far away, and Dingguo is in poor health, so he can only wait for the next opportunity.

At this moment, in the Kuching command cabin, there are only two people, Shou Xu and Zheng Chenggong.

Zheng Chenggong is a perfectionist military leader, ruthless, and extremely principled, no matter how great a hero, as long as he violates his laws, the end will not be good.

This almost strict principle of doing things has shaped Zheng Chenggong's formidable personal image, helped Zheng Fan maintain the team, but also forced several important generals such as Huang Wu to rebel.

Zheng Chenggong's resolute character and strong desire for revenge are not reflected in the appearance, among the three of Shou Order, Dingguo, and Chenggong, the age of Shou Xiang is a few months older than Ding Guo, and Zheng Chenggong is the youngest.

The 38-year-old lord of the Yanping domain was elegant-looking, fair-skinned, well-proportioned, and even looked like a Confucian if he didn't wear armor.

It's just that the tone of his voice and his quick movements like a lion's roar show that he is a commander of an army who often takes the lead.

Zheng Chenggong just experienced the biggest fiasco of his life, and in just 2 years, he experienced the biggest victory in his life.

Now the Yanping Domain has the manpower and territory of Chaozhou Prefecture and the coastal prefectures and counties of Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, and has captured tens of thousands of Tartar weapons and equipment in Chaozhou. The Zheng family is really entrenched in southern Fujian and Chaozhou, and after having money, they erected a recruitment flag, and the expansion speed was very fast, Zheng Chenggong's strength quickly recovered, and his current army is more than 40,000, which is only one line short of the heyday.

Shou Xuan poured Zheng Chenggong a glass of wine, "Congratulations to your clan for killing Huang Wu, the lord of the domain has finally eliminated his hatred." ”

Zheng Chenggong smiled and expressed his gratitude to Shou Order.

Haicheng is regarded by Zheng Chenggong as the core base of Hanoi and Guanzhong, with less than 2,000 officers and soldiers in the fortress, more than 3,000 large and small firearms, millions of grain and silver reserves in the city, and the port dug under the city wall.

Zheng Chenggong once defeated Jin Li's Eight Banners with Haicheng and achieved a great victory. Such a strong fortress was destroyed inside, Huang Wu opened the city to the Tatars, but he did not get any benefits, and was soon deprived of military power, and got an empty title of Haicheng Duke, no Yulu, no land, no food, and later begged the master of the Eight Banners, and gave a salary of 30 taels a month, and there was no Lu rice, which was extremely pitiful.

Huang Wu's treatment was something that both Shou Xiang and Zheng Chenggong were willing to see, which virtually avoided some surrenders.

This time to reoccupy the two mansions of Zhang and Quan, Zheng Chenggong caught Huang Wu and lit the sky lantern, which was a family affair of Zheng Fan, and the coalition forces did not interfere.

Killing Huang Wu is just a trivial matter, what matters is how to crush the Tatar Southern Expedition.

"What is the Führer's plan?"

Shou orderly spread out the map, "The Tartars are divided into three routes, the strongest one is from Huguang to the south of Prince An Yue Le, this road has the water transport of the Ling Canal and the rear, I will fight with Yue Le, as long as Yue Le is defeated, the Tatars' southern expedition will be over." ”

Zheng Chenggong looked at the map closely, "Where is the decisive battle?" ”

Shou Xu pointed to a place name on the map and looked up at Zheng Chenggong, "Zhaoqing Antelope Gorge has too much restriction on water transportation, and it is difficult to cross Zhaoqing to attack westward, and the most powerful decisive battle site for our side should be under the city of Guangzhou, but that will cause great harm to the people of Guangzhou Prefecture, so I put the scheduled battlefield in Sanshui County." ”

Zheng Chenggong frowned and said, "The Tartars attack in three directions, and we should usually attack and break the enemy forces on the battlefield far away. ”

Shou Xuan nodded and explained to Zheng Chenggong.

Zheng Chenggong was talking about the principle of internal line operations in the face of centripetal attacks, using the mobile advantages of the inner line to smash the enemy's offensive before the enemy army develops from a strategic encirclement to a campaign encirclement.

However, there was a problem with this, the combat effectiveness of the Union Army was based on a huge logistical column, and the troops carrying baggage could only meet the tactical transportation from the water terminal to the battlefield, and the campaign transportation had to be carried by ship, and preferably by reliable inland waterway shipping, rather than by sea determined by the weather. A storm at sea can bury a battle on land, and Zheng Chenggong has a profound lesson about this.

Except for the Pearl River Delta, most of the areas in Guangdong are mountainous and the terrain is rugged, if the main force is placed in Jiangxi, there is Meiling to block it, there is no reliable water transportation, and a considerable part of the energy accumulated in Guangzhou will be consumed on the way, and the same is true for Fujian.

The troops on the periphery, including Zheng Fan, blocked the Tatars' effective reconnaissance, and the few detailed pieces of information were rumored to be at all, which could not be used as a basis for the Tatars to command the battle.

Doni and Rocodot are very self-aware, they learned the lessons of Nikan back then, did not dare to rush forward, and honestly gnawed bones on the road city by city.

The Tatar armies were too far apart to communicate instantaneously, and therefore could not cooperate at all, and the safest way for Yue Le was to hold the line from Wuzhou to Zhaoqing and wait for Doni and Rocodo to enter Guangdong.

Therefore, the order requires the two friendly forces to drag Doni and Rocoduo, and then create an atmosphere that Yue Le has to send to the door.

"What can you do?"

"It's very simple, Lixinjun."

The Tatar court had just announced to the world that it had captured and killed Emperor Yongli, and at this moment, they absolutely could not bear the appearance of another Ming emperor. With some auxiliary means, such as retreating some distance from the front line, Yue Le will definitely advance.

"What should I do if Yue Le doesn't take the bait?"

"Do we have anything to lose?"

Zheng Chenggong was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "No." ”

The Tatars transferred troops from all over the country, most of them from the north, and they were not adapted to the geographical climate of the south, and the time was fair to both sides, and there were advantages and disadvantages for both countries. Shou Xiang is not a resource-poor Ming army, he is not afraid of confrontation and attrition.

Zheng Chenggong tapped Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Haicheng and Chaozhou with his fingers in turn, "Therefore, this domain needs to hold these four cities and block Doni." ”

Doni was the second strongest of the three Tartar armies, and Zheng Fan couldn't fight offensive battles, but they had a lot of firearms, and the Hongyi cannon had 5,600 cannons, so it was really difficult for the Tartars to defend the city with an iron heart.

For example, Quanzhou Mansion, the city is directly backed by the sea lifeline, and the defenders have no worries about being besieged to death. Zheng Chenggong lined up 120 cannons in Quanzhou, and Doni had just arrived in the city, and he had to fight.

If the Tatars surround Quanzhou and do not fight, then there are two fortified cities of Zhangzhou and Haicheng behind.

Haicheng is close to the sea, and Zhangzhou City is big, and it is difficult to fight. In addition to the defenders, Zheng Chenggong also had troops on his hands, maneuvering back and forth with boats, and the Tatars could not stand just attacking Doni's supply lines.

Finally, there is the Chaozhou Mansion, as the first big city occupied by the Zheng Domain, Chaozhou has been fortified.

From a technical point of view, there is no need to worry about the orderly life of Fujian. As long as Zheng Fan has the determination to resist, it will be difficult for Doni to interfere with the main battlefield in Guangzhou with the cannons of Jiancheng.

"After this war, the territory of your domain will be added to Yanpingfu."

Shou Xu had already given Zheng Chenggong the sincerity of the four prefectures of Chao, Zhang, Quan, and Ting, which was not like a blank check written by the Tatars, but actually sent troops to help Zheng Fan conquer these territories.

The order continued to increase, Zheng Chenggong was named the king of Yanping County, and Yanping Mansion should also be his.

Zheng Chenggong suddenly smiled, "This domain understands what the head of state is worried about, please rest assured, this domain has the consciousness to fight all the troops, and will never let Doni get close to Guangdong." ”

Shou Xiang bowed to Zheng Chenggong, "Success or failure in this battle, please leave it to your domain." ”

Zheng Chenggong hurriedly dodged, he restrained his smile and returned the salute: "This domain will be close to Chaozhou, if Zhangquan falls, I swear to live and die with the city." ”

……

Zheng Chenggong returned to the boat, and the sailors dismantled the gangplank and untied the cable.

Shou Xuan waved goodbye to the 10-zhang Dafu boat on the stern, and for some reason, Shou Xu felt that Zheng Chenggong's last words were serious.

Today's situation is rapidly improving, and from Zheng Chenggong's eyes and Li Dingguo's letter, you can feel the hope of survival.

The Kuching put away its anchor, turned south, and returned to Guangzhou in good order.

Doni and Rocodo were children, Prince An Yue Le was the only remaining Tatar king, and he was also the chief minister of the Tatar court, and this battle decided the fate of at least half of China.

It's summer, and there is frequent rain, so it's not the right season for a decisive battle. Both armies are seizing the time to gather forces and stock up supplies.

The Dianbai Regiment was expanded into brigades, and Lu Zhan's troops were assigned to the Federal Army.

The Heavy Cavalry Brigade and the 1st Mixed Brigade set out from Leizhou and arrived in Guangzhou by land and inland rivers.

The reserve battalions of the two regiments of the Qiongzhou Brigade have been expanded into combat units, and this brigade has six combat battalions under its jurisdiction, which are still on standby in Leizhou.