In the autumn of the sixth year of Longwu, the Southern Ming regime had an internal bar, and the western army and the army loyal to Emperor Longwu fought fiercely in the western part of Guangxi and the eastern part of Guizhou.

Li Dingguo was unwilling to fight a civil war with the Longwu court, so he led his headquarters to garrison Sichuan, suspended the attack on Hanzhong, and temporarily formed a confrontation with the Qing army and the army of the Longwu Dynasty. The Qing army was beaten by Li Dingguo on the front line, and he did not dare to cross the Qinling Mountains to provoke the Ming army.

On the Shaanxi side, the Qing court was eager to transfer the warlike Qin army to Jiangnan, and repeatedly showed favor to Wu Sangui, preparing to let him guard Hanzhong and the southwest of Shaanxi in the name of the king of Pingxi, but Wu Sangui was not satisfied and wanted to occupy the whole of Shaanxi and become a veritable king of the northwest.

In this era, there was no Gansu Province, and most of Gansu and Ningxia were under the jurisdiction of Shaanxi, so the territory of Shaanxi Province was very large, and the Guanzhong Plain, Hanzhong Plain, and Hetao Plain were all very rich, and the northwest produced elite soldiers and good horses, and could further develop to Xinjiang, which was far from being comparable to the remote Yunnan.

Wu Sangui and the Qing court are fighting for the Guanzhong Plain, the 800-mile Guanzhong Plain is centered on Xi'an, and after passing the Tongguan Pass, you can enter the Central Plains of Pingchuan, in order to prevent Wu Sangui from losing control after occupying the entire Shaanxi, the Qing court must hold the Guanzhong Plain in its hands, and use the governor of Shaanxi to balance Wu Sangui, but Wu Sangui is facing the pass, and the Central Plains are bound to win, and the two sides are going back and forth.

, the speed at which the Qing court drew troops from Shaanxi was also accelerating, after the Western Army stopped attacking. The pressure on Shaanxi has been greatly reduced, except for Wu Sangui. All other units of the Qing army can be transferred. Meng Qiaofang commanded more than 30,000 armor, plus Li Guoying's 20,000 green battalions. A steady stream of people entered Tongguan and rushed to the Shanxi battlefield.

Meng Qiaofang was the deputy general of the Ming army in his early years, and he defected to the Manchu Qing Dynasty during the Nurhachi period, and his troops were the number one main force that could be fought in the Han army banner, and in the past few years of guarding Shaanxi, he also incorporated a number of Ming Dynasty troops and local armed forces, these Ming Dynasty troops were the foundation of the old Qin army, and they had long been guarding the three sides of the northwest, and their combat effectiveness was far stronger than that of the general Ming army. Daniel Zhang and Zhao Liangdong, who were very famous in later lives, were among them, and they had already emerged. (Daniel Zhang and Zhao Liangdong made a big splash in the San Francisco Rebellion, and were called the "Four Generals of Hexi" along with Sun Sike and Wang Jinbao.) ）

Li Guoying's troops were also the elite of the Green Battalion, and Dolgon transferred him and Meng Qiaofang to Shanxi, immediately breaking the deadlock on the battlefield in Shanxi.

The terrain of Shanxi is dangerous, Jiang Hao and other anti-Qing forces occupy Xiongguan Jiancheng, although they have been fiercely attacked by the Qing army for several months, they have been struggling to support, a few days ago. When the news of Ningzhen's victory reached Shanxi, the morale of the anti-Qing forces in various localities was greatly boosted, and they took the opportunity to launch a series of counteroffensives, and the situation had just improved. After Meng Qiaofang and Li Guoying entered the war, the Qing army regained the initiative.

Seeing that Datong was about to fall into a siege again, Jiang Hao hesitated. The Qing army was obviously determined to conquer Datong, and long-term trapping in the lonely city would be a dead end sooner or later. It was possible to break through the siege as soon as possible to get out of danger, but Shanxi was in the hinterland of the Manchu-occupied zone. There is no place in all directions that is safe, to the east is Zhili Gyeonggi, to the south is Datong, both directions are heavily defended by the Qing army, to the west there is the Yellow River to block the danger, only to the north to escape into Mongolia this road......

The Qing court launched a fierce attack on Jiang Xuan, trying to solve the war in Shanxi as much as possible, freeing up its hands to deal with the Longwu regime of the Southern Ming Dynasty.

At this moment, the Longwu regime was also in a state of anxiety, and the 30,000 troops of Feng Shuangli and Bai Wenxuan of the Western Army were like bamboos all the way, attacking from the east of Guizhou to the west of Guangxi, and the front was only 300 miles away from Guilin.

Emperor Longwu has trained a new army in recent years, and saved some family funds, Su Guansheng also urgently sent thousands of Guangdong soldiers, and scraped together 20,000 soldiers and horses to fight fiercely with the western army in Liuzhou Mansion west of Guilin.

This is a decisive battle related to the fate of the Longwu court, and for the first time, the descendants of Emperor Longwu have become the protagonists on the battlefield, and their opponent is the battle-hardened Western army, and the army of Emperor Longwu is at a disadvantage in all aspects, and it seems that the hope of victory is very slim.

Many people in the imperial court once again strongly built a strong yì, and immediately returned to Nanjing, temporarily avoiding the edge of the Western Army, but Emperor Longwu considered it again and again, and was still determined to finish this battle, and then said, if he ran to Nanjing now, he would become a lost dog, and he would inevitably be subject to Wang Kefan, although the hope of winning this battle was not great, but if he didn't try again; How willingly?

Unexpectedly, Emperor Longwu's army actually withstood the attack of the Western army. They defended Liuzhou, repelled the attacks of the Western Army many times, and held unconsciously for a month in the fierce battle, and the Western Army gradually lost its sharpness.

Feng Shuangli and Bai Wenxuan were only second-rate generals in the Western Army, and generals like Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu did not come, and their troops crossed the whole territory of Guizhou from Sichuan, and after arriving in Liuzhou, they were very tired, and they were not strong enough when they encountered the enemy defending the fortified city...... On the contrary, Emperor Longwu invested a lot of money in the new army, completely imitated the way of the Chu army to train troops, well-equipped, high salary, combat effectiveness is also reasonable, Longwu court in this civil war and belongs to the "self-defense counterattack" side, compared to the Western army that provoked the civil war is considered a righteous army, received strong support from the people of Liuzhou, although there is no strength to defeat Feng Shuangli and Bai Wenxuan, but gritted teeth at least can protect themselves.

The tide of the war is at a stalemate.

The stalemate was not good for the Western Army.

Feng Shuangli and Bai Wenxuan went deep alone, and it was difficult to transport grain and grass, so it was advantageous to fight a quick battle, and it was dangerous to stalemate with the Longwu army for a long time under the city of Liuzhou, so they had to take the initiative to retreat to the area of Qingyuan Mansion to raise food and troops, make long-term plans, and send people to Sun Kewang to ask for reinforcements.

The Longwu Imperial Court escaped the catastrophe and was ecstatic, but after Sun Kewang heard the news, he was greatly disappointed. He originally thought that the Longwu army was vulnerable, so he would only send Feng Shuangli and Bai Wenxuan to attack Guangxi, but he didn't expect that they didn't even touch the edge of Guilin, and they hit a hard nail in Liuzhou, which made Sun Kewang feel that it was difficult to ride a tiger.

The most capable troops in the Western Army, in addition to Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, Sun Kewang also has some elite descendants, but they have to sit in Yunnan. You can't go out lightly. Li Dingguo guarded Sichuan, and he himself did not want to fight a civil war with the Longwu court. can't count on it, and only Liu Wenxiu is left who can support the two generals Feng and Bai.

But Liu Wenxiu didn't dare to move.

Part of Liu Wenxiu's troops was placed in Sichuan. If Liu Wenxiu's main force is transferred to Guangxi, and the Chu army launches an attack from Huguang, either along the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River into Sichuan, or attacks the southern part of Guizhou, the Western army will be in chaos...... In the past month, the Chu army has continued to move troops to the western part of Huxi, and some troops of the Yuezhou battalion, the Tongshan battalion, and the Chuang battalion are distributed in several state capitals in western Xiangxi. Obviously, it was for the Western Army, and the gentleman's battalion that blocked Yinxi was also transferred to the vicinity of Guilin to protect Emperor Qinwang of Longwu.

For Wang Kefan's Chu army, Sun Kewang has always been deeply jealous, what he wants to get rid of is Emperor Longwu, Wang Kefan belongs to the object that can be wooed, so when the Western Army first launched an attack, it avoided Huguang and only launched a fierce attack on Guangxi...... During this period, he secretly sent people to contact Wang Kefan. He wrote several handwritten letters before and after, promising all kinds of favorable conditions, such as sharing the two Guangxi with the Chu army, and crowning Wang Kefan as the king of one word, etc. Trying to convince him to change sides is to at least help each other. Wang Kefan's attitude was very ambiguous, and he continued to send additional troops to the western part of Huxi. But he has been standing still, and there is a feeling of sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight.

Now the war situation in Guangxi has been frustrated. It is necessary to send troops and reinforcements, and Wang Kefan's attitude is very important. Sun Kewang hesitated, wrote him another letter, and at the same time ordered Liu Wenxiu to divide his troops into Guangxi, and only send a few thousand men and horses at a time, looking behind his ass as he walked forward, testing the reaction of the Chu army.

Wang Kefan was also busy during this time.

The restructuring of the Chu army has entered a deepening stage, and all the Chu troops in the south of the Yangtze River have been changed to new divisions and brigades, and Wang Kefan has promoted a large number of new officers, and has transferred the deputy posts of various departments and some middle and high-ranking officers, thus completely breaking down the barriers between various departments.

For example, Lu Renqing's Third Division, the predecessor of this unit was the Puqi Battalion, and all the middle and senior officers were raised by Lu Renqing, although his deputy battalion officer was appointed by Wang Kefan, but he also partnered with Lu Renqing for many years, and his personal relationship was very close.

In addition to reforming the military system, there is also a big mess of civil affairs; the three provinces south of the Yangtze River have just been recovered, individual state capitals are still under the control of the Qing army, and the administrative work of the local government has not yet been put on track; Wang Kefan, as the commander of the Northern Expedition who oversees the military and political power of the three provinces south of the Yangtze River, has to gather all kinds of things to him, which is also a heavy burden.

But then again, no matter how heavy this burden is, it is also for himself, Wang Kefan will never complain about being tired, but enjoy it. He carefully studied the economy and livelihood of the various state capitals in Jiangnan, looking for promising industries to support, Jiangnan is known as the world's richest, because the industry and commerce here are extremely developed, and a large number of handicraft workshops have produced the germ of capitalism, such as the cotton spinning industry in Songjiang Province is leading the country.

After the Chu army recovered Songjiang Mansion, he immediately sent people to do preliminary preparations to prepare for the important base of the Chu Xun Group. Compared with Hong Kong, which is almost blank, Huating County and Shanghai County in Songjiang Prefecture have a certain economic foundation, and there are also several ready-made ports in Baoshan, Wusong, and Nanhui, which are easier to develop.

For the war situation in Guangxi, Wang Kefan was out of reach, he only wrote a letter to Emperor Longwu, promising that the Chu army would withdraw its troops immediately after capturing Hangzhou...... Emperor Longwu is a banner, Wang Kefan needs this banner to stand, so he has to make a nest for him and leave a safe and reliable back road, so as not to really force Emperor Longwu to defend Guilin, in case he is killed by the Western Army, but the chickens and eggs will be beaten.

Even if the Chu army evacuated Hangzhou on the surface, Hangzhou was also within the control of the Chu army, and Emperor Longwu would most not dare to return to Nanjing, if he wanted to, he would stay in Hangzhou...... This situation is not impossible, if the Western army approaches Guilin in a big way, there are not many places where Emperor Longwu can run, either to Guangdong, or to Ganzhou in Jiangxi, and the rest can only go to Hangzhou.

Hearing that Emperor Longwu's army held Liuzhou, Wang Kefan breathed a sigh of relief, he did not want to fight a civil war with the Western army, but if Emperor Longwu really fell into a heavy siege, he had to save it again...... It can be regarded as a blessing in misfortune, it was Feng Shuangli and Bai Wenxuan who attacked Guangxi this time, if it was replaced by a civil war with Li Dingguo, Wang Kefan would really have a psychological disorder.

Emperor Longwu's army did not fight a bad battle, a hard battle, although temporarily held Liuzhou, when the western army was ready to attack again, most of them would be defeated, Sun Kewang if he fought all the way to the east of Guangxi, it would be strict zhòng to damage the interests of Chu Xun, and the Chu army could only be forced to participate in the war, and even transfer the main force back to Hunan.

In order to prevent accidents, Wang Kefan must open up the Yangtze River waterway, the territory of the Chu army is getting bigger and bigger, and it is too late to run back and forth on only two legs.

He left Nanjing, crossed the river to Yangzhou, visited Zheng Chenggong, and asked Zheng Chenggong to cooperate with the Chu army and sailors to eliminate Shi Fu in exchange for cooperating in the development of Songjiang Mansion.

"Cooperative development, is it a partnership to do maritime business? Everyone in the world says that Yuntai is powerful in using soldiers, but I think Yuntai's mouth is the most powerful, picking up a glass ball, it can be said to be a phoenix egg, and people are stunned. Zheng Chenggong laughed, his eyes were bright, and cooperating with Wang Kefan to develop Songjiang Mansion was of course a great thing for the Zheng Group.

Zheng Chenggong's seagoing ships traveled all over East and Southeast Asia, the most lucrative of which were the East Asian markets, mainly including Japan, the Ryukyus and Korea, and there was also a certain amount of smuggling business in the north controlled by the Manchus. In this era, subject to various conditions, the ocean route that is too far away is not cost-effective, the distance of Japan is just not far away, the product is abundant, the market is large enough, and the Zheng Group has maintained a good relationship, it is the market that Zheng Chenggong values the most, and it is absolutely not allowed to be touched by Chuxun Group.

"Yes, it is the fire to do maritime trading, I will transport all kinds of goods from Huguang and Jiangxi to Shanghai County, and the big wood will be sold to the Wa Kingdom, Ryukyu and Goryeo, and we will each make a section, and each will benefit from it." For the Japanese market, Wang Kefan didn't plan to get involved, so he gave it all to Zheng Chenggong. (To be continued......) R1292