Zhang Tianlu has fought for half his life and has never encountered such a situation.

If the army of tigers and wolves of the Chu army is regarded as a fierce beast, Zhang Tianlu is a calm hunter, he took advantage of the favorable terrain near Nanjing, with the help of the Yangtze River and the mountainous area of Ningzhen, carefully arranged a huge trap.

From Moling Pass - Lishui County - Zhuohua Town - Jurong County, these Qing army strongholds were like fragrant fat chickens one after another, bringing the Chu army into the mountainous area of Ningzhen step by step. At the end of this trap, Nanjing City is a super big bait that people can't resist, just wait for the Chu army to pounce on it, bite Nanjing City in its mouth but can't swallow it for a while, Zhang Tianlu will suddenly shut down, send strange soldiers to cut off the Chu army's grain route, and trap them in the trap.

At the beginning, Chu Jun was also very cooperative, not only did he go into the mountains of Ningzhen, but he was honest and unceremonious, swallowing all the fat chickens he came across, showing that he was very greedy and unscrupulous. By the time they captured Jurong County, the beast of the Chu army had completely fallen into the trap, and only one tail was still flung outside the Moling Pass, keeping in touch with Dangtu in the rear.

The battle situation has developed to this point, and everything is under Zhang Tianlu's control, but then, there was an unexpected turn...... After the main force of the Chu army got into the trap, they swallowed a few fat chickens in a row, and they no longer paid attention to Nanjing City as if they were satisfied, but spread out their troops in the mountainous area of Ningzhen, and divided them into Jurong County, Lishui County and Zhuohua Town, looking like they had been guarding for a long time.

"What the hell?!" Zhang Tianlu was inexplicable.

The main force of the Chu army is now located, and to the north and west is the Yangtze River (as mentioned earlier, the Yangtze River turned a bend in Nanjing. So the Yangtze River in both the north and west directions), and the Ningzhen Mountains in the south are full of hills and dense forests. If you go east, you will be too lonely to go deeper, and you will not be able to guarantee the safety of the rear supply lines...... Anyone with a little military common sense. Everyone knows that this kind of terrain is a place where soldiers die, why did a famous general like Wang Kefan suddenly stop here?

When fighting, all kinds of terrain will be encountered, and there is nothing strange about the Chu army entering the mountainous area of Ningzhen, but it should try its best to seize the advantageous situation, and it should not stop here all the time...... They either attacked Nanjing in the north, or flowed east to the south of the Yangtze River, even if they retreated from Moling Pass to Dangtu, it was an understandable choice. Now he prefers to stop in the mountains of Ningzhen for a long time, which makes Zhang Tianlu puzzled.

It's like a beast that gets into a narrow trap, not only does it not have a sense of crisis and urgency, but it actually lies down on the spot on all fours, snoring comfortably, as comfortable and relaxed as in an old nest...... Zhang Tianlu can swear to the sky that among all the hunters in the world, he must have never encountered such a strange situation, and he is definitely the first one in the past.

If something goes wrong, it's a demon. Zhang Tianlu did not act rashly before figuring out Wang Kefan's intentions. The Chu army is now in the place where the soldiers are dying, and they are willing to stay in such a dangerous place all the time, so they can stay there...... If they stay in the mountains of Ningzhen, they will not move. After the arrival of reinforcements from all walks of life, a decisive battle here will definitely be of great benefit to the Qing army.

Wait and see!

Strike backwards!

He once again rushed back to Nanjing City from Dasheng Pass. In the name of the governor of Jiangnan, Ma Guozhu was asked to urge all soldiers and horses to move closer to Nanjing. Prepare for the upcoming decisive battle.

In Anhui, Jiangbei, Liu Hongyu, the governor of Anqing, went north along the river; Southeast. The headquarters of Hu Maozhen, the general army of Huizhou, approached Lishui County; To the northeast, 3,000 reinforcements sent by Zhenjiang Prefecture rushed directly to Nanjing; Due east, Suzhou and Songjiang (Shanghai) also sent a reinforcement to assemble in Changzhou...... They are all Ma Guozhu's subordinates, Jiangnan Province's own soldiers and horses, only they are not the opponents of the Chu army, Ma Guozhu and Liu Hongyu, Zhang Tianlu jointly signed a name to ask for help from Beijing and other friendly forces.

In Beijing, the Qing court attached great importance to it since it heard that the Ming army had launched an eastward crusade, and Dolgon did not hesitate to slow down the offensive against Shanxi, appointing Prince Jierharang of Heshuo Zheng as the general of Dingyuan, and mobilized troops and horses to prepare for the southward support. He originally thought that the Qing army's reaction was fast enough, but what he didn't expect was that after the Chu army captured Xianxialing, the battle situation in Jiangnan deteriorated sharply, and the speed was so fast that his wife was unexpected.

Especially after the Chu army invaded Nanzhili, almost every day or two, he would receive an urgent report from Ma Guozhu, a certain prefecture and county were lost again, and a certain part of the Qing army was defeated again, without exception, bad news came one after another, and finally the Chu army invaded Yingtianfu, and the soldiers went straight to the capital!

Dorgon couldn't hold his breath anymore.

The current Manchu Qing Dynasty is no longer the Manchu Qing Dynasty that has just entered the customs, and the political, economic, and military systems of the entire country have undergone great changes, and many systems have continued the old practices of the Ming Dynasty...... And on the contrary, as the Eight Banners became professional soldiers, with the formation of hundreds of thousands of green battalion soldiers, with the continuous expansion of the hierarchical structure of political institutions, and as the battle line of the Qing army became longer and longer, most of China was involved in the war, and the Manchu Qing Dynasty had already carried a heavy burden, and its dependence on the granary and money bags in the south of the Yangtze River was more than that of the original Ming Dynasty.

He ordered Shanxi to stop the offensive and directly transfer a part of the troops and horses from the front line to Zilharang, ready to support Jiangnan...... As for Shanxi, Azig and Nikan are still in charge, and they are not required to conquer Datong immediately, as long as the current situation is maintained and Datong is cut off from the rest of Shanxi, the task will be completed, and it will not be too late to return to attack Datong when Jierharang stabilizes the south, or the Shaanxi side can draw reinforcements.

Zilharang had already left Beijing at this time, gathered a large army in Xuzhou, and prepared to go south along the Grand Canal by boat, but because the reinforcements from Shanxi and other places had not yet arrived, and the army was on an expedition of thousands of miles, it needed a lot of various food and materials, and it also took a certain amount of time to raise and transport, so his main force had to wait for another half a month before setting off...... In order to rescue Nanjing in time, Jilharang sent the general Mulima to lead 5,000 soldiers and horses as the vanguard, and rushed to Nanjing by boat first.

Mu Lima, the noble of the Yellow Flag of Manchuria, the younger brother of Aobai, his most famous record in history is that in the second year of Kangxi, he and Tuhai broke through Maolu Mountain, and Li Laiheng was defeated and self-immolated...... After the fall of Aobai, he was also finished with him and was executed by Kangxi.

Dolgon issued several urgent orders to mobilize the Qing army near Jiangnan Province to support Nanjing at any cost, and he must drive the Chu army back to Jiangxi, or even wipe out the city of Nanjing.

After receiving the order, the commanders of the Qing army in various places did not dare to slack off and sent reinforcements one after another.

Kong Youde of Wuchang sent more than 10,000 soldiers and horses to Jiujiang and Anqing Mansion by boat to take over part of the defense of Tun Buer and Liu Hongyu, so that they could free up their hands and concentrate on dealing with Wang Kefan's Chu army.

Tan Tai divided his army of 15,000, led by the general Zhu Mala, and turned around and returned to Jiangnan Province.

Wang Wenkui, the governor of Caoyun, was also not far away, and he sent 6,000 "Caobiao" and green battalion soldiers from Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, to the south to rescue Nanjing.

The transportation of the Grand Canal was very important to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, so a special Yamen of the Governor of Caoyun was set up, in charge of Caoyun-related affairs, and was at the same level as the local governor, and was a high-ranking feudal official...... In the early years of Shunzhi, the governor of Caoyun was also in charge of the local affairs of Huai'an, Yangzhou, Xuzhou, Chuzhou and other state capitals, so the northern area of Nanzhili was under the jurisdiction of Wang Wenkui, the governor of Caoyun, and was not Ma Guozhu's territory.

(In terms of specific local military and political management, there are also some places where there will be overlapping powers, and the situation here is very complicated, and it is constantly changing. ）

The first task of the governor of Caoyun is to ensure the safety of Caoyun, after Li Laiheng arrived in the Caozhou area at the junction of Shandong, Henan and Anhui, the Yuyuan army regained momentum, and the threat to the Grand Canal in Shandong was great, and the green battalion soldiers in northern Jiangsu were sent to Caozhou by Wang Wenkui, he struggled to put together these 6,000 men and horses, and there was still some resistance in his heart, just because Dolgon gave a death order, he did not dare to disobey.

On the Caozhou side, Li Laiheng and the Yuyuan Army joined forces to raid more than ten days ago, severely inflicting heavy losses on the headquarters of the Manchu Qing Yizhou General Soldier Tong Yangliang, breaking the encirclement of the Qing army, and then leaving the vast Yulin forest. Conquer Shanxian to the east, fight all the way into Xuzhou, and then suddenly turn south, cross the Yellow River at Zhuwangkou near Dangshan County, re-enter Henan, and are in a big circle around Shangqiu and Bamburshan......

Since Li Laiheng's Twist Army was gone, the Qing army besieging Caozhou also withdrew, and the Yuyuan Army became very active again. What made Wang Wenkui a headache was that the Yuyuan Army seemed to have changed its strategy, no longer holding on to the Yulin Forest, but trying to develop outward, constantly attacking in all directions, especially in the Yimeng Mountain area in central Shandong, because it was too close to the Grand Canal, they posed a great threat to Caoyun.

If you only consider the safety of Caoyun, of course, you must destroy the Yuyuan army first, but Dolgon's orders are very strict, and he has to send all the mobile forces in his hands to Nanjing, leaving only the necessary defenders on both sides of the Grand Canal, but unable to attack the Yuyuan army.

The battle has reached this point, and it seems inevitable that a decisive battle will start under the city of Nanjing, and this battle will affect the overall situation, and it will affect the whole body, not only related to the gains and losses of the Jiangnan region, but also affect Fujian, Jiangxi, Huguang, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, and ......

The main force of the Chu army in the mountainous area of Ningzhen has become the target of the Qing army from all walks of life, they have come from all directions, or by boat, or on horseback, or on foot, forming two large and small encirclements on the map, one circle inside is the Qing army in Jiangnan Province, and the other circle outside is the reinforcements from all walks of life, plus the main force of Zierharang is also gathering in Xuzhou, and the momentum is violent, ready to wipe out the Chu army in the mountainous area of Ningzhen in one fell swoop! (To be continued......)