In the unfortunate words of Wang Shaobo's crow's mouth, after receiving the letter sent by Lu Fatzi by sea, Geng Jingzhong's commander Zeng Yang's surname only thought about it for less than ten seconds, and immediately picked up Lu Fatzi's letter and ordered: "Copy two copies, keep one copy, and send one to the prince with 800 li expedited - the original, and send it to the Pingnan general with 800 li expedited to the dog-full Pingnan General Zheta!" ”

Limited to the blocking of roads, traffic and the Qing army, in fact, long before Zeng Yang's surname made this shameless decision, the fat army entrenched in the south of the Yangtze River had already prepared for the southern expedition, and had already decided on the candidates for the expedition and the candidates for staying. At the same time, Lu Fatzi boasted that unless Kang Mazi used the power of the whole country to encircle and suppress himself, no matter how many main forces were sent, it would be impossible for them to be his opponents, and it was not entirely the arrogant clamor of the villain, but it was basically a fact.

After half a year of brutal conquest and crazy expansion in Jiangnan, the fat army, which was less than 50,000 when it became the master of Jiangnan, has now expanded to more than 95,000! It is definitely not like Kang Mazi, Geng Jingzhong and some of the generals of the Wu Army represented by Ma Bao, who are just scaring their opponents with numbers, but a real and steady expansion of the army, and everyone who has joined the Fat Army has undergone the most rigorous military training, armed with weapons and equipment to the teeth, and the spirit is also quite full, basically it can be said that there is nothing lacking except experience!

That's it, among the recruits of the Fat Army, even the most ordinary soldier is actually carefully selected from one of three, one of four, or even one of five! - Otherwise, with the manpower, material and financial resources of Jiangnan, coupled with the crazy influx of refugees from the Yellow Flood Area into Jiangnan, where there is food to eat, if Lu Fatzi wants to make up the numbers, it will be easy to expand the army to 150,000 and 200,000 within half a year!

In terms of vital weapons, relying on the astronomical amount of materials left by the good man Kang Mazi to Lu Fatzi before, within half a year, the three good rockets created by the Fat Army have been tens of thousands, and the various artillery pieces cast by the iron mold casting method have exceeded 600, and the original lathe jointly created by Huang Luzhuang and Lu Fatzi, the Fat Army has created more than 4,000 firing needle flintlock pistols, as well as a large number of supporting ammunition. There are more important ships in the water towns south of the Yangtze River, more than 200 large warships have been built alone, and there are countless small boats, which completely make up for the shortcomings of the Fat Army's navy, not to mention, but also make the Fat Army's sailors become the sole hegemon of the Yangtze River, and the strength of the sailors far exceeds Geng Wu Kang Mazi, and they are chasing Taiwan's Zheng Jing who lives by the sea!

However, in this way, not only was the huge amount of materials left by the good man Kang Mazi to Lu Fatzi completely consumed, not to mention, but also forced Lu Fatzi to return to his old business of digging dung workers, and led thousands of Yellow River refugees to dig toilets everywhere to practice nitrate - fortunately, this time he finally didn't have to do it himself, and Lu Fatzi didn't have to worry about being kicked out of bed by Yu'er in the middle of the night. Relying on the advantage of having access to the sea, they smuggled imported copper, iron, sulfur, saltpeter and timber everywhere by unscrupulous means, frantically devoured all the strategic materials that could be bought, and even colluded with the mite Qing [***] elements inside and outside to smuggle imports directly from the areas controlled by the mite, and further corrupted and corrupted the Qing officials and generals, which can be described as a great crime.

In addition, in terms of personnel deployment and troop distribution, Lu Fatzi's deceitful and despicable face was also exposed, first divided the 95,000 Fat Army into four corps, stationed in Yangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing and Taipingfu, and then under the pretext that Wang Xu resisted Jieshu for two months and never had the opportunity to enjoy in Jiangnan, Wang Xu, who was honest and loyal and loyal to Wu Laohan, was transferred back to Nanjing, and was directly under his own command, and sent Han Daren, who was known for his selfishness, to Taiping Mansion. made the Fat Legion actually become Gao Dejie's Corps, Han Daren's Corps, Li Tianzhi's Corps and Lu Fatzi's direct corps, among which Lu Fatzi's direct corps was not only the strongest, but also left Gao Dejie's brother Gao Hongchen and Han Daren's brother Han Yuanren in Lu Fatzi's direct corps, as a precaution.

The establishment is finalized, and it is much easier for Lu Fatzi to deploy troops and personnel arrangements. Lu Fatzi personally led the direct corps to the south, and joined forces with Li Tianzhi's corps to crusade against the Qing army in Zhejiang, Wang Xu, Han Yuanren, Gao Hongchen and Hu Tongchun went out with the army, and Quan Jie and Xie Dong stayed in Nanjing City - the brave and resourceful Quan Jie is the marriage cronies of Lu Yuer, and the loyalty and dependence on Lu Fatzi is far above the loyalty and dependence on Wu Lao Hanan, Xie Dong is simply Lu Fatzi's hardcore friends, with them sitting in the old nest, Lu Fatzi can naturally rest assured.

Han Daren's corps guards the Taiping Mansion at the west gate of Jiangnan, Han Daren is the leader, and Li Jiyang, the son of Li Guodong, is the deputy - Han Daren's virtue is to rather die than suffer losses and desperately take advantage, although this virtue has changed greatly, but his surname is difficult to change, with him sitting in Taiping Mansion, not only can he prevent the Qing army from advancing eastward, but he also definitely does not have to worry that he will be stupid enough to open the west gate and put Wu Yingqi, Xia Guoxiang and Ma Bao into Jiangnan to grab food - if it is replaced by the honest and loyal Wang Xu or the old man Gao Dejie of Wu Jun, it is not accurate.

Yangzhou was handed over to Gao Dejie's corps, the main general Gao Dejie sat in Yangzhou, and his deputy Li Guodong sat in Zhenjiang, Gao Dejie was the most reliable to fight, and he guarded the north gate of the fat army's territory, which could effectively prevent the Qing army in Shandong and Zhili from suddenly going south, and without worrying about his conscience, Wu Yingqi, Xia Guoxiang and Ma Bao and other friendly troops were put into Jiangnan; Li Guodong led the main force of the Fat Army Naval Division to sit in Zhenjiang, and with the help of the waterways of the Yangtze River and the canal, he could quickly put his troops into any battlefield in the southeast, northwest, and northwest as the support of the whole army.

After a series of intense preparations and dispatch of troops, on the eighth day of October in the first year of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the thirteenth year of Kang Mazi, Lu Fatzi personally led 25,000 elite soldiers from Nanjing, with Han Yuan as the vanguard, carrying more than 200 artillery pieces of various types and 10,000 good rockets, passing through the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. And the slogan shouted is, recapture Songjiang, go straight to Hangzhou along the canal, and join King Geng under the city of Hangzhou!

When the main force of the Fat Army led by Lu Fatzi himself had just arrived in Danyang, the movements of the Fat Army had been carefully made by the Qing Army at the fastest speed, and sent to Hangzhou City, the base camp of the Zhejiang Qing Army, and to the front of Li Zhifang, the governor of Zhejiang Province and General Pingnan. Hearing the news, Li Zhifang and Lai Ta, who were confronting Zeng Yang on the front line of Jinhua, Taizhou, and Hengzhou, turned white, and immediately scolded.

"Fuck Lu Yifeng's dog thief, did you take the wrong medicine?" Frightened, Li Zhifang, who was born in Jinshi, Li Zhifang, Governor Li and Li Shilang of the Military Department, even cursed and scolded angrily: "What kind of famous dog thief is Lu Yifeng? If you don't fight in northern Jiangxi and Anhui, which are close at hand, you just want to go south to Zhejiang to trouble the official, but the official dug up his ancestral grave? Or did you kill his sister-in-law? But you want to come to find trouble with the official, and Geng Jingzhong's dog thief to attack the official from the north and south? ”

Compared with the polite and polite Governor Li Zhifang Li in peacetime, when the matter came to an end, the military general-born General Qing Pingnan and the Zhengbai Banner Dutong Pagoda were much calmer, staring at the map sand table for only a moment, and soon ordered to the soldiers: "Go, invite Lord Yao Qisheng Yao, the secretary of Wen Dao, and say that there are 100,000 urgent military information, the sooner the better." ”

The pro-soldiers took the order and left, and Li Zhifang asked inexplicably: "General Cheng, what are you calling a servant to do?" In the event of a military aircraft, what qualifications does a fifth-grade officer have to participate in the discussion? ”

"This five-grade official is not simple." Dian Ta groaned and said: "Let's not say that his promotion from the seventh rank to the fifth grade is based on military merits, in fact, as early as when the news of Lu Yifeng's dog thief's refusal to be appeased by the imperial court reached Hangzhou, this Yao Qisheng had already found an opportunity to remind me in front of me, thinking that Lu Yifeng's dog thief wolf ambition would never be satisfied with only half of Jiangnan, and it was likely that a large-scale offensive would be discovered in the near future!" ”

At the same time, he also believes that the first target of Lu Yifeng's dog thief is definitely not Jiangbei, but our Zhejiang! Now it seems that his prophecy was all right. ”

"This Yao Qisheng, still has such a ability?" Li Zhifang was a little surprised, and hurriedly asked, "Since he could expect Lu Yifeng's dog thief to take this step, then he didn't propose any countermeasures?" ”

"Of course, he proposed to strike first, attack the hinterland of Yixing to threaten Jiangnan Wugou first, disrupt Lu Yifeng's dog thief's plan steps, and seize the opportunity to oppose the guest." Dian Ta spread his hands helplessly, and said: "It's a pity that I was worried that we would be attacked in the north and south of Zhejiang, and I thought that Lu Yifeng's dog thieves were unlikely to do anything to us in Zhejiang first, and I didn't want to take the initiative to provoke Lu Yifeng's dog thieves, so I planned to wait and see what happened, and wait for Lu Yifeng's dog thieves to put heavy troops into the battlefield in northern Jiangxi before taking advantage of the fire to rob, so it's too late to regret it now." ”

"And this?" Li Zhifang was even more surprised, "In this way, this Yao Qisheng is simply a rare talent, and it is worth further reusing." ”

The tower was about to nod, but the personal soldier sent before rushed into the back hall, and said to the tower: "General Qiqi, the villain is about to look for Lord Yao, but as soon as he arrives at the door, Lord Yao has already arrived at the governor's yamen, please Ling Jin, saying that he heard that Lu Yifeng's dog thief led the troops to invade the south, and he came to offer advice to break the enemy." ”

"What a quick response." He smiled and waved his hand, "Please." ”

"Pierce." The soldiers took the order again, and in a short time, Yao Qisheng, who was more than forty years old and very tall and strong, was led into the back hall, and saluted to the tower and Li Zhifang: "The slave (Yao Qisheng is a person with the red flag of the Qing and Han Army) Wen said to Yao Qisheng, to meet the general of Pingnan, to meet the governor, and to the governor and the general. ”

"Xi Zhi (Yao Qishengzi), please get up." Dian Ta hurriedly picked up Yao Qisheng in person, and said with a smile: "Xizhi has probably heard it, right?" As you predicted, Lu Yifeng's dog thief really came, and he really picked us up, but it's a pity that General Ben didn't listen to your good words at the beginning, missed the opportunity, and regretted it a lot. ”

"The general is too modest." Yao Qisheng, who was born with the surname Jingyi, hurriedly repaired the steps of the tower, and said sincerely: "In fact, the slave also understands that the general was also for the good of our Zhejiang army in the Qing Dynasty at that time, and our Zhejiang army was attacked by Wu Dog and Geng Dog in the north and south, isolated and helpless, and it was difficult to forge ahead only to protect themselves, and the slave was only analyzed and suspected at that time, and there was no evidence that Lu Yifeng's dog thief would come south, and the general did not listen to the slave's advice out of caution. ”

"That's right, Xi Zhi can understand General Ben's hardships, of course it's best." The tower was really overjoyed, patted Yao Qisheng on the shoulder, and asked: "Xizhi, just now the soldiers came to report, saying that you are here to offer advice to break the enemy, just right, if there is any good strategy to break the enemy, please tell me, just for the reference of the general and the governor." ”

"yes." Li Zhifang echoed affectionately: "If it weren't for the general's discernment, this official really didn't know that there was such a pillar of talent as Lord Yao under his command, if Lord Yao has any strategy to defend against the enemy, please say quickly, if it is reasonable, this official and the general will definitely adopt it." ”

"General Xie, Governor Xie, that slave is presumptuous." Yao Qisheng respectfully agreed, cleared his throat again, and said loudly: "General, Governor, the slave thinks that before formulating tactics to break the enemy, the first thing that the General and the Governor should figure out should be the purpose of Lu Yifeng's dog thief's southern expedition!" And then develop a response to it,"

"The purpose of Lu Yifeng's dog thief's southern expedition?" After glancing at each other, Li Zhifang asked suspiciously: "Lord Yao, hasn't the purpose of Lu Yifeng's dog thief's southern expedition already been spread all over the world?" Attack Songjiang and Jiaxing first, sweep away the flank hidden dangers, and then attack Hangzhou, and join Geng Jingzhong under the city of Hangzhou? ”

"Your Excellency the Governor, with all due respect, if your Excellency really thinks so, it would be a big mistake." Yao Qisheng replied respectfully: "According to the opinion of the lower officials, Lu Yifeng's plan is just a bluff, and the siege of the city is fake, and it is true to induce my Zhejiang army to fight a decisive battle with it!" There is absolutely no real plan to attack Hangzhou! ”

"How so?" Tara asked in surprise.

"It's simple, you can make it clear in one sentence." Yao Qisheng replied with a smile: "Lu Yifeng dog thief definitely has no intention of joining forces with Geng Jingzhong's dog thief, as long as he can weaken our Zhejiang army to the point where he can't threaten his southern front, he will return his troops to the north, and he will never really hit Hangzhou and join Geng Jingzhong's dog thief under the city of Hangzhou!" ”

"If you put it carefully, the more detailed the better." The tower said quietly.

"Pierce." Yao Qisheng also knew that the opportunity to get ahead was coming, so he hurriedly cheered up and said as if he was playful: "General, Lord Governor, the real cause of Lu Yifeng's dog thief's southern expedition actually starts from the current national situation. Lu Yifeng was a dog thief who bullied the king, and the dog dared to refuse to be appeased by the Qing court, and took the opportunity to fool the holy lord, and won him half a year to gain a foothold in the south of the Yangtze River. ”

Li Zhifang and Lai Ta glanced at each other, and they both felt that what Yao Qisheng said was very reasonable. Li Zhifang asked again: "Lord Yao, in that case, why didn't Lu Yifeng's dog thieves hurry up to consolidate their defenses in order to deal with the all-out counteroffensive of the Qing army?" Why do you want to go the opposite way and preemptively attack our Zhejiang? He is not afraid that when the main force is tilting south, our Qing army will kill from the north and west? ”

"Lord Governor, this is also the insidious nature of Lu Yifeng's dog thief." Yao Qisheng replied respectfully: "Lu Yifeng's dog thieves took the lead and led the army to the south, and his real purpose was to weaken the Zhejiang army of our Qing Dynasty, so that we could only protect ourselves and could no longer threaten his southern front. Please think about it carefully, if Lu Yifeng's dog thieves can annihilate our Zhejiang army of 20,000 to 30,000 troops during the southern expedition, then when our Qing army goes all out to encircle and suppress Lu Yifeng's dog thieves, our Zhejiang army will not only guard against Geng Jingzhong's dog thieves, but also get the strength to go north and cooperate with other friendly forces to encircle and suppress Lu Yifeng's dog thieves? ”

"And the reason why Lu Yifeng's dog thief did not choose to go west, and why he chose to go south, is from a strategic level." Yao Qisheng paused, and then said: "Although the Qing army on the battlefield in northern Jiangxi also threatens Lu Yifeng's western front, but further west, there are three Wu dog heavy troops at the same time to contain my Qing army for him, my Qing army on the battlefield in northern Jiangxi is actually only able to protect itself, unable to enterprising, if he sends troops to the west, then a little badly, it is possible to force my Qing army to abandon northern Jiangxi, so that the other Wu dog main forces into the south of the Yangtze River, this is very unfavorable to the ambitious Lu Yifeng dog thief, So he definitely won't choose! ”

"And on his southern front, not only has our Zhejiang army of the Qing Dynasty not been severely damaged, but Geng Jingzhong's dog thieves who have restrained us are also relatively weak, and we still have the strength to spare. And more importantly, Geng Jingzhong's dog thieves have stopped committing crimes in the north, obviously wanting our Zhejiang army to free up their hands to go north, to fight to the death with Lu Yifeng's dog thieves, and let Geng Jingzhong's dog thieves sit and reap the benefits! It is precisely because of this that Lu Yifeng's dog thieves are extremely cunning and choose our Zhejiang as the target, intending to weaken part of our strength, so that we can only protect ourselves in front of Geng Jingzhong's dog thieves, and can no longer threaten his southern front, so that he can free up his hands and concentrate on welcoming the southbound army of our Qing court, and play a role in breaking through. ”

"In addition, Lu Yifeng's dog thief's move has another deep meaning, that is, to stimulate Geng Jingzhong's dog thief, let Geng Jingzhong's dog thief see the dawn of annexing Zhejiang, and induce Geng Jingzhong's dog thief to go north again, form a deep feud with our army again, and put an end to the possibility of Geng Jingzhong's dog thief and our Qing army truce!"

When Yao Qisheng impassionedly expressed his hatred for the traitorous thieves and dog thieves, Li Zhifang and Zhita didn't interject, but listened carefully and thought about it with all their hearts, until Yao Qisheng finished talking endlessly, and then Zhita nodded and said: "It makes sense, since that's the case, then why do you conclude that Lu Yifeng's dog thieves have no intention of attacking the city?" Why do you rule out the possibility that he will never hit Hangzhou and Geng Jingzhong's dog thieves? ”

"Joining Geng Jingzhong with the dog thief is now doing more harm than benefiting Lu Yifeng's dog thief!" Yao Qisheng spread his hands and explained: "First, Geng Jingzhong's dog thief is greedy, once Lu Yifeng's dog thief, who holds the rich township in the south of the Yangtze River, joins him, Geng Jingzhong's dog thief is bound to open his mouth to ask for money, food, and territory, and once Lu Yifeng's dog thief does not give it, the second thief will become an enemy. The second is that Lu Yifeng's dog thief not only guards against us, but also against Geng Jingzhong's dog thief, once he and Geng Jingzhong's dog thief meet, in case Geng Jingzhong dog thief takes the opportunity of his all-out decisive battle with our main force of the Qing Dynasty, in order to snatch his foothold Jiangnan Treasure Land, and suddenly stabs him in the back, then his fun will be greater? ! ”

Speaking of this, Yao Qisheng waved his hand decisively and said categorically: "In view of this situation, the lower official can conclude it!" Lu Yifeng's purpose of going south this time is just to weaken our army, and he hopes to end the war as soon as possible! That's why this dog thief deliberately released the wind extremely cunningly, inducing the main force of our Zhejiang army of the Qing Dynasty to go north to rescue Songjiang and Jiaxing! Lu Yifeng's dog thief took the opportunity to fight a decisive battle with our army, and used his firearms to weaken our army to the point where it could only protect itself! Continue to be a shield for him not to ask for money, and block the more greedy and dangerous Geng Jingzhong dog thief! ”

After Yao Qisheng finally finished speaking, Cheng Ta and Li Zhifang were silent for a long time, Yao Qisheng was in his heart, and Cheng Ta suddenly nodded, and said solemnly: "Listen to your words, it is better to read ten years, if it weren't for Xi Zhi You are as careful as a hair, and the enemy is the first, I am afraid that we will be in the middle of Lu Yifeng's shameless dog thief's annihilation again." ”

"Lord Yao is really well versed in military affairs, yes, if Lu Yifeng's dog thief wants to attack Hangzhou, no matter how sharp his soldiers are, he will not want to fight under Hangzhou City in three or four months!" Li Zhifang also nodded and agreed: "Now that this dog thief is surrounded by enemies on all sides, it is impossible for him to have so much time to calmly attack Hangzhou." ”

Lai Ta nodded slightly, and after staring at the map sand table for a long time, Lai Ta slapped the table and shouted: "Since Lu Yifeng's dog thief wants to fight quickly and weaken our army, General Ben must not let him get his wish!" In this battle with Lu Yifeng's dog thieves, our army should focus on defense and preserve strength! Give up all field battles, stick to the two cities of Songjiang and Jiaxing with all your might, let this dog thief fall into a siege battle, and let his wishful thinking fail! ”

"General, if you just stick to it without fighting, you will be too passive." Yao Qisheng said gloomily: "Besides, if our army only sticks to Songjiang and Jiaxing and does not rescue each other, it is equivalent to giving Lu Yifeng a chance to break through the dog thieves." The minions have a plan, which can not only make Lu Yifeng's wishful thinking of the dog thief come to naught, but also make Lu Yifeng's dog thief troops scattered, running back and forth, and lengthening the battle line, creating a good opportunity for our Qing army to break the enemy! ”

"What's the plan? Come on. Tata Daxi asked.

"Pretending to be a plan, attacking the west, pretending to rescue Songjiang, and attacking Yixing by surprise!" Yao Qisheng replied very succinctly.

"Tell me more." Lai Ta and Li Zhifang commanded while looking at the map sand table.

"The Generals and Governors, please see." Yao Qisheng pointed to the map sand table and said: "Lu Yifeng's dog thief's march route is to go along the canal, go to the city of Suzhou in the east of Taihu Lake, join forces with the traitor Li Tianzhi, and obtain the supply of grain and grass hoarded in Suzhou City, and then work together to attack Jiaxing, or attack Songjiang in the east. And Yixing is located in the west of Taihu Lake, once this place is in an emergency, Lu Yifeng dog thieves will inevitably have to march a hundred miles to bypass Taihu Lake to rescue! ”

"That being the case, why didn't the general pretend to send troops to rescue Songjiang and Jiaxing, and induce Lu Yifeng to continue to go south to Suzhou, and when the general's army marched to Wuzhen, on the border between Jiaxing and Huzhou, he suddenly turned northwest, along the wide official road, and killed Yixing County, Zhenjiang Prefecture at full speed! When Lu Yifeng's dog thief heard the news, he would inevitably have to go back to the division to save Yixing, otherwise, not only would his grain road face the threat of our army's iron cavalry, but the entire hinterland of Jiangnan would inevitably be exposed to the blade of our army! ”

"And after our army marched rapidly to the city of Yixing, it is best to take Yixing, and we can hit Lu Yifeng's dog thieves with leisure. Even if you can't take it, when Lu Yifeng's dog thief runs around Taihu Lake to Yixing City, the main force of my Qing Dynasty can calmly return to Huzhou, where food is abundant, and stick to the city! In this way, not only the crisis in Songjiang and Jiaxing will be resolved, but the forces of Lu Yifeng's dog thieves will also be dispersed to Huzhou and Suzhou, not only is it difficult to transport grain and grass, but they cannot work together to attack the city. ”

"Brilliant plan!" Dian Ta and Li Zhifang applauded together, and greatly appreciated Yao Qisheng's plan to attack the west. At the end, the tower asked again: "Xizhi, this general plans to adopt your clever plan and personally lead the troops to attack Yixing, I wonder if you are willing to accompany the army and give advice to this general and adapt to the situation?" ”

"The general is raised, and the slave dares to disobey his orders?" Yao Qisheng was overjoyed and hurriedly agreed, and said with a sneer in his heart: "Lu Yifeng dog thief, I heard that you have never suffered a defeat since your debut?" I'm sorry, I'm Yao Qisheng, this time, I'm going to give you a bud! Let you know that there are more powerful tacticians in the world than you! ”

(To be continued)