The plan drawn up by the military department to go north was set for September. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Too early, the grain and grass for the soldiers and horses going north could not be raised; Too late, most of the sea in the north, except for a few areas, will freeze, which is not conducive to the activities of sailors. Moreover, in order to raise the money and food needed for the sea-crossing operation, the military headquarters has already dug three feet into the ground.

Fujian has just been recovered, so it can be said that there is no grain at all, but it has to transfer grain from Guangdong and Zhejiang to help the refugees. Because Zheng Sen and his son turned against each other, the sea trade and grain transportation in Jinxia were in a state of stagnation for a period of time, resulting in not much grain in Jinxia.

Zhou Shixiang has now taken over Zheng Jun's huge sailor and got the sailor he has always wanted. But he also received hundreds of thousands of people and Zheng Jun's family members who had always insisted on resisting the Qing Dynasty in Jinxia, and he had to support these people, and it was impossible to ignore them. In that case, the sailors who have been so hard to get will immediately disperse.

Fujian wants grain relief, resumption of production, Jinxia wants grain maintenance, feed the people, and launch a sea-crossing operation that has never been seen in the history of the Taiping Army, and the amount of grain and grass needed can be described as astronomical.

There are also many different opinions on the matter of crossing the sea.

The generals of the original Zheng army did not understand why the young His Royal Highness the King of Qi insisted on crossing the sea to attack the red-haired ghosts, and the generals of the Taiping army did not understand either, they were all resistant to crossing the sea, because this matter seemed to be worth the loss.

It is said that Nadongfan is very desolate, and there is not much population at all, so even if it is defeated, it is impossible to get much food from Dongfan. And I heard that the miasma was rampant in that place, malaria was raging, and eight out of ten Han people went to be infected with the epidemic, and I don't know if the artemisia annua bought in large quantities by the commander is useless, if it is useless, then malaria alone can make the Taiping army suffer heavy casualties.

First, there is nothing to gain, and second, they have to face huge casualties, and the generals naturally have to consider why the commander wants to mobilize the people to fight the red-haired ghost of Nalaoshzi.

Yes, the red-haired ghost has reached a secret agreement with the Tartar court to unite against the Ming Dynasty, but it's been a few months, and I haven't seen any action from the red-haired ghost in the east. In addition, the other party does not have many soldiers in Dongfan, and there are only a few warships, even if they really eat the bear's heart and leopard guts to attack, they will be beaten away, so why do they have to cross the sea to fight.

Compared with the Manchu Tartars, the red-haired ghost has a much better impression in the minds of the generals of the Ming army, and it is much more despised. In terms of the head alone, the head of the full tartar is also worth more than the head of the red-haired ghost. For thousands of years, Chinese dynasties have always attached more importance to the Hu people in the north than to Westerners, and even now, except for a few people in the whole of China, except for a few people such as Zhou Shixiang, there are not many people who are sensitive to the Xiyi who came from thousands of miles across the ocean, and it is not even worth making a fuss. Take Tofan as an example, this place is an overseas place in the eyes of most people, a place outside the world, so I don't like it, and I don't get it upset. Only those rentier Xiyi touched the Ming Sea Frontier and alarmed the government, and they would be expelled like they had treated the Japanese in the past, and they didn't care.

With such a mentality, it is natural that the generals are not enthusiastic about attacking Dongfan, because in their opinion, this matter will not earn much military merit.

The most important thing is that in addition to the generals of the Zheng Army, most of the people in the Taiping Army don't know about the ghost place in Dongfan, and they don't want to fight the Mantars in front of them, but to fight the red-haired ghosts, even loyal senior generals like Suna feel that the big boss is not confused this time. You know, then Wu Sangui is chasing the Central Plains, if he is defeated, Beijing City will be Wu Sangui's!

Is it just to set an example for the Spaniards in Luzon to rein in, or is it really to make decisions for those Chinese in Luzon?

From the moment the sea-crossing operation was formulated, the middle and senior generals did not want to fight, and it was completely Zhou Shixiang's strong single-handedness. Now that the plan has been deployed, the money and food have been almost prepared, and they are waiting for the operation to be launched in March, but suddenly the whole plan is abandoned, and they suddenly go north to fight Liaodong, who can accept this?

As a military officer, it is necessary for Dong Changqing to remind Zhou Shixiang of the danger of this move.

At present, in addition to allocating the people of Jinxia, most of the rest of the money and grain that have been successively sent to Jinxia from various places have been used for sea-crossing operations. Even then, it only lasts three to four months. If you fail to capture Dongfan and drive out the red-haired ghost by then, then you will have to withdraw your troops. If it is really as the commander said, do not fight in the east and go north instead, then these grains and grass are not enough. Based on the calculation of the strength of the three towns of the naval division and the land division, the grain and grass needed to go north to Liaodong was far more than that of crossing the sea. In the plan drawn up by the military department, the main source of grain and grass is this year's summer grain, so it is necessary to wait. If you can't harvest the summer grain, what can you take to Liaodong? Just used these three months of grain and grass to go north?

"The lack of food and grass is on the one hand, on the other hand, the integration of the water division has not yet been completed, the placement of the original Zheng family's second water and land division and the general leading officers are too involved, the marshal is fine in Jinxia, if he is not there, I think there will be changes."

Dong Changqing's meaning, Zhou Shixiang understood it.

He was also a little worried about this. Although Zheng Jing was stripped of his title, he was Zheng Sen's son after all, and there must have been diehards loyal to Zheng Jing among the people who followed Zheng Junyuan in Jinxia. And Zheng Raid is the new Prince of Min, with more than 20,000 land divisions in his hands, and he once asked Zheng Raid to write to the court to invite himself to the Southern Capital, but Zheng Raid was vague about the matter. Because the battle to cross the sea was imminent, Zhou Shixiang didn't want to send Zheng Xi and Zheng Jing to the southern capital now, which would not be conducive to the integration of the two subordinates. But if he personally conquered Liaodong, without his big tiger, it would be difficult to guarantee that Zheng Xi and Zheng Jing would not have any strange thoughts in their hearts.

Conquering Liaodong, if he wins, he can continue to "scare" Zheng Xi and Zheng Jing, but if he loses, Zhou Shixiang's prestige will be swept away, and whether Er Zheng can still be "handled" by him is probably unknown.

"This time I went north, mainly the sailor, and the commander is to rely on the Zheng family."

Zhou Shixiang lightly said a sentence and didn't say anything, but Xu Yingyuan and Dong Changqing both knew that this time the marshal would definitely take Zheng Xi and Zheng Jing with him. That's fine, no matter whether Zheng Jing and Zheng Xi are willing to let them go north to fight the Tartars, the two will definitely not be able to refuse. As long as these two are taken away, Jinxia will be fine.

"Marshal, the military department has not yet discovered the northern sea route, and it may be unforeseen if you venture north."

Xu Yingyuan thought more, Liaodong is thousands of miles away from Jinxia, and the Zheng family sailor has never been active in the north, and without the sea charts there, it is too dangerous for this army to take the sea route. As for whether the northbound voyage would be intercepted by the Qing Dynasty sailors, this Xu Yingyuan did not consider it. According to the intelligence of the Military Intelligence Department, the Manchus still had two naval divisions in the north, one in Denglai and the other in Tianjin, but neither the scale nor the quality of the soldiers could be compared with the naval divisions of the Taiping Army, and even inferior to the Guangdong naval divisions. It is foreseeable that the huge fleet of the Taiping Army really appeared in front of the two Qing army sailors, and the only thing they could do was to flee as far away as possible, or like Ma Fengzhi at the beginning, wait and see neutrality, and secretly accept the money.

"The military situation is urgent, and we can't cower because the sea route is not discovered. There are so many people in the Zheng family, if he can't find a way, what else does his Zheng family call the King of the Minhai Sea? ”

Zhou Shixiang is not worried about the sea route, the Zheng family can cross the sea from Japan to the South China Sea for decades, it can be seen that his clan has long cultivated many talents who are proficient in naval warfare and maritime affairs. Just for the understanding of maps and sea areas, Zhou Shixiang himself can be half a guide. Moreover, he did not believe that the Zheng family did not lay out the northern sea routes before the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, and did not do business with the dignitaries and nobles in the north. The trade route is the war road, and the ships that can carry goods at sea can naturally also take the ships that transport troops.

For the integration of the Zheng family's land and water soldiers, Zhou Shixiang is still autocratic, the best integration is war, after a big war, everyone will adapt to their roles. Meritorious service will be rewarded, and if there is a mistake, punishment will be given, rewards and punishments will be clear, and the morale of the army will naturally be high. As for the issue of the sea lane, it is necessary to pay attention to it, but it is not the backbone, and there are solutions to it. The biggest trouble today is food, if there is no food, what to take to Liaodong, and how to sweep Liaodong and block Ningjin.

Going north, not to sweep the Manchurian nest, but to completely occupy it. There are almost no Han people in Liaodong, which means that it is impossible for the Taiping army to get the money and food support of the local Han people in Liaodong, and even what the Taiping army will do in Liaodong is very likely to do the same as what Suna did in Xiangxi that day - "kill, burn, and rob all".

Maintaining a line of defense in the ruined land, building a line of defense that the Qing army would look forward to, and transporting grain from the sea alone is obviously whimsical. If that is the case, there is no need for the Qing army to do it themselves, and the Taiping army itself will be dragged down. The so-called Ningjin defense line will become Zhou Shixiang's nightmare and a bottomless pit of Jiangnan's financial investment, just like it did back then.

If the source of food and grass for the army is not solved, it is impossible to carry out the operation in the north.

Zhou Shixiang would not be stupid to think that as long as he threw his soldiers and horses to Liaodong, the Manchus would be so frightened that they would not dare to leave the customs. Because the sword hanging above the head of the Manchu Qing Dynasty now is not his Zhou Shixiang, but also Wu Sangui's.

The other party may be in a hurry to get out of the customs, but their own army has no food and grass to hold onto, how can this battle be fought?

"Bring me the map!"

Zhou Shixiang got up a little irritated, and Dong Changqing hurriedly unfolded the map and hung it on the big tent.

After his eyes moved around Liaodong, Zhou Shixiang was suddenly stunned, and his eyes fell on North Korea. He hesitated for a moment and asked Xu Yingyuan noncommittally: "You say, can Ben Shuai pacify North Korea first?" ”

"North Korea?"

has been talking about how to go north to attack Liaodong, why did the marshal change his mind to fight North Korea again?

Dong Changqing and Xu Yingyuan were both stunned, and their minds couldn't accept Zhou Shixiang's sudden idea for a while.

"North Korea is also a country, there should be food, I should have no problem borrowing some food from them, right?" Zhou Shixiang said to himself.