Since ancient times, there are really few anti-thieves who have not moved for months after playing the banner of the Qing monarch's side, and it is rare that Wu Sangui and Wu Laohan, who have always been concerned about doing things and like to do things with high spirits, have become one of them.

Since the 25th day of October in the 10th year of Kang Mazi, the sudden arrest of the governor of Yunnan, the political envoy and the envoy according to the inspection, and the official announcement of the start of the army, until the first month of the 11th year of Kangxi, for more than two months, the main army of Wu Lao Han was nested in Yunnan and did not move, completely ignoring the neighboring Huguang grain-producing area, and had no intention of taking advantage of the opportunity of the Qing court's inability to react in time to go north.

Of course, within Wu Sangui's army, there are also many people who question Lu Fatzi's strategy of defending first and then attacking in two steps, feeling that this move is too passive, and if he can take the Huguang grain-producing area first, he can greatly improve the overall strength and make up for the shortcomings, and solve the Achilles' heel of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces that cannot be self-sufficient in grain. However, after discovering that the Mite Qing Imperial Court had been prepared for this, especially after discovering that the Mites Qing Imperial Court had deployed heavy troops in Yuanzhou, the gateway to Huguang, these voices quickly disappeared without a trace.

Just kidding, if you can't quickly take Yuanzhou, which is garrisoned by Mites, and wait until the main force of Mites led by Aobai himself arrives on the battlefield, the tired Wu Sangui army will wait for Aobai's fresh army to be slaughtered! Rather than this, it is better to honestly fight a decisive battle in Guizhou in accordance with the established strategy, so that the chances and certainty of victory are a little more.

In fact, the top level of Wu Sangui's army, including Wu Sangui himself, is very clear that with the current weapons and equipment of Wu Sangui's army, even if Yuanzhou is garrisoned by Mites, it is not difficult to take Yuanzhou before the arrival of the main force of Aobai, and even before that, it is not impossible to quickly take Changsha and Yuezhou to basically control Hunan, but considering the huge consumption of weapons on the mountain roads of Guizhou and the decisive battle of the Yangtze River, as well as Aobai's strong force and old calculations on the battlefield, Wu Sangui, who had already suffered defeat under Ao Bai twice before, still gave up this plan, and the psychological shadow was too deep.

In addition to sending Han Daren and Gao Dejie to Guizhou, Wu Sangui's army also strengthened the defense against Guangxi, sent additional troops to Guangnan Prefecture in Yunnan Province to guard against the threat from Guangxi, and formed a double insurance on the eastern front with the Ministry of National Security in Nanning and the Cen Jilu Department in Sicheng Prefecture to ensure the safety of the hinterland of Yunnan.

Fortunately, because Kong Sizhen framed Lu Fatzi for Wu Sangui to entrap the Guoan Army, which completely angered the Guoan father and son, and it was almost already a complete tear with the Qing Dynasty and Kong Sizhen, and openly attached to the Pingxi Mansion to hand over the Phoenix Mountain Silver Mine, and there was no turning back when the matter came to this point; At the same time, Cen Jilu of Sicheng Mansion is the only toast in Guangxi who grows Eight Banners Fushou Cream, and his interests are the same as Wu Sangui's, so he naturally did not hesitate to get on Wu Sangui's thief ship; In addition, Ma Xiong, the governor of Guangxi, has always had a good relationship with Wu Sangui, and he also occupies the profits of the Eight Banners Fushou Paste to go east to the sea, so it is impossible for Wu Sangui to turn his face before his defeat is revealed. Therefore, the battlefield of Wu Sangui's army on the eastern front is quite safe, and there is no need to worry too much, and he can concentrate on dealing with the threat from the main battlefield on the northern front.

Wu Sangui's army also has an advantage in the northern front battlefield, that is, Sichuan's two general soldiers Wu Zhimao and Tan Hong are Wu Sangui's old troops, Wu Zhimao is simply Wu Sangui's nephew who has not come out of the five suits, and Zheng Jiaolin, the governor of Sichuan, can't command them at all. Therefore, on the battlefield in the north, Wu Sangui doesn't need to worry too much, just sending a Han Daren to garrison Zunyi is enough to ensure that nothing goes wrong, whether it is manpower, material resources and troops, Wu Lao Han can gather together and concentrate on dealing with the threat from the main battlefield in the northeast.

The defense is basically in order, and then there is the diplomatic effort, although one more hypocritical friend will certainly help a lot, but one less enemy is equivalent to less pressure. After openly raising the banner of the Qing monarch's side, the envoys of Wu Sangui's army also attacked from all sides, contacting the governors of various provinces, the commanders' commanders, and the vassal kings of various places, inviting them to jointly raise troops to kill Ao Bai on the side of the Qing monarch.

Everyone knows that Wu Sangui's so-called Qingjun side is just to continue to dominate the Eight Banners Fushou Paste profiteering, jealousy and envy, plus dare not provoke Ao Bai This Tiger, Wu Sangui's diplomatic efforts The results are naturally mixed. The only one who directly responded to Wu Sangui's army was the team of Lian Guoan, and they also took the initiative to send Lian Guoan's youngest son Lian Qiyu to Qujing to show their sincerity. Sichuan Governor Luo Sen and Admiral Zheng Jiaolin sent the envoy out of the country, but the reply letter politely refused, Wu Zhimao and Tan Hong promised to send troops to respond if necessary, but the attitude was obviously wait-and-see, wanting to see the limelight before deciding whether to really put it into action.

Also holding a wait-and-see attitude was the Guangxi Governor Ma Xiong, who only secretly promised to defend the eastern front for Wu Sangui's army and contain the Qing soldiers of Liangguang, as for when to raise troops to respond to Wu Sangui Qingjun's side - we have to wait for the results of the battle between Wu Sangui and Aobai. However, Ma Xiongzhen, the governor of Guangxi, and Sun Yanling, the general of Guangxi, were not so easy to talk to, and directly drove Wu Sangui's envoy out of Guilin and categorically refused Wu Sangui's invitation. But this is not the worst, Shang Kexi, who has not dealt with Wu Sangui all his life, simply arrested the envoy of Wu Sangui's army directly, and sent it to the Qing court to be executed together with Wu Sangui's letter inviting him to raise troops. The envoy sent to Fujian to contact Geng Jingzhong disappeared mysteriously and disappeared without a trace, whether he was killed or secretly detained by Geng Jingzhong, no one can say for a while.

Because of the distance, Taiwan's Zheng Jing's reply to Wu Sangui returned to Yunnan at the latest, and Zheng Jing only wrote two sentences on the handwritten reply to Wu Lao Hanjian - if the king of the west rebels against the Qing Dynasty and restores the Ming Dynasty, the officers and men of the whole army of our division will listen to the orders of the king of the west! If the king of the West is on the side of the king, Kangxi is not the king of my Ming Dynasty, and Ao Bai is not my minister of the Ming Dynasty, so I will not accompany him!

"What are you anxious about?" After reading Zheng Jing's handwritten reply, Wu Sangui couldn't help but smile bitterly, and said to himself: "It's not that I don't want to oppose the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty or the Xinghan Dynasty to destroy the Manchurians, but now is not the time, if I don't annihilate the main elite of the Manchu dog in the hinterland of Guizhou as planned, I will set up the banner of anti-Qing and Ming restoration to play Yungui, not looking for death?" ”

"Lord Wang, don't be anxious, these things are all expected by us, don't worry." Fang Guangchen comforted: "These people are all on both sides of the wall, now they are just afraid of the dog veteran Aobai, worried that you are not Aobai's opponent, so they are waiting to see the wind, and after the prince you are hit hard and defeat Aobai, these people will naturally obediently gather under the banner of the prince and obey the command of the prince." ”

Wu Laohan, who had also been mentally prepared for this, nodded and thought so. At this time, the guard came to report, saying that Liu Xuanchu and Lu Fatzi master and apprentice were ordered to meet, Wu Lao Han immediately ordered to meet, a moment later, Liu Xuanchu and Lu Fatzi came to the Yin'an Palace together, just after the salute, Wu Lao Han Zhao smiled and complained: "Sanhao, your Qingjun side idea is really good, now this king is completely made alone by your idea, Sichuan Huguang, Liangguang Taiwan, the only one who raised troops to respond to this king, that is, a Nanning line Guoan, even Zheng Jing replied to refuse this king." ”

"Lord forgiveness, our first step is to take the initiative to show weakness, the situation is more difficult." Lu Fatzi pretended to confess: "When the prince breaks through the worship and annihilates the main force of the dogs, these situations can be completely reversed, and now I ask the prince to be patient and wait patiently." ”

"I hope so." Of course, Wu Laohan didn't mean to pursue the failure of Lu Fatzi's dedication, but just smiled casually, quickly changed the topic back to the topic, and asked: "You went to Xinxing Firearms Business on a business trip these days, how is the situation over there?" ”

"Go back to the prince, everything goes well." Lu Fatzi replied respectfully: "The rocket battalion has begun to train with live ammunition, and it can be put into the battlefield at any time, grenades, Hongyi cannons and bronze howitzers are also working overtime to produce, and the weapons in stock are basically sent to the Zhenning camp. ”

"You can also rest assured that Wu Yingjing has prepared five huge dry caves over there, which is enough to store the stockpiled firearms of the four firearms battalions." Wu Laohan replied casually, and then asked, "What about the airship?" When will the third airship be completed? ”

"It's going well, too." Lu Fatzi replied: "By March at the latest, the third airship will be completed and delivered, and we will definitely not miss the decisive battle between our army and the main force of Mangou." ”

"Good." Wu Laohan was very satisfied, took out another letter, and said: "I called you here today because I have one thing to tell you, your opponent has appeared!" There was also a genius named Dai Zi on the side of Mangou, and it took only eight days to imitate the Western sub-mother cannon that the Longtan Cannon Factory had not succeeded in imitating for two years, and I heard that it was very powerful, and it was far and accurate, and seven out of ten guns could accurately hit the target. What do you think about this? ”

"Dai Zi?" Fat Lu was stunned for a while, and then said with a smile on his face: "It's still here that should come, this one named Dai Zi finally appeared." ”

"You know him?" Wu Lao Hanjian asked curiously.

"I've heard his name, and he is a very famous firearms craftsman in the Jiangnan area." Fat Lu replied casually.

"Then who is better than him in terms of firearms casting?" Wu Lao Hanjian asked worriedly.

"He's not as good as me!" Fat Lu didn't blush, and said categorically: "It's not that the grandson-in-law is boasting, except for the fact that he is superior to the grandson-in-law in terms of mental dexterity, he is far inferior to the grandson-in-law in other aspects!" Didn't he spend eight days copying the Western sub-mother cannon? As long as you give your grandson-in-law a sample, it will only take seven days at most, and your grandson-in-law will be able to imitate it successfully! ”

"Are you really that confident?" Wu Laohan breathed a sigh of relief, and asked curiously.

"Of course." Lu Fatzi said more confidently: "Before this, the reason why my grandson-in-law didn't suggest my grandfather to introduce Western cannons was not that my grandson-in-law didn't think of this, but that my grandson-in-law didn't look down on such weapons at all, the rate of fire was slow and powerful, it was difficult to carry, and it was inconvenient to use, and it was a waste of manpower and material resources to cast a large number of people!" ”

"Yifeng, don't be too confident, humility is a virtue." Liu Xuanchu scolded unhappily.

"Yes, the student is arrogant." Fat Lu confessed honestly, and muttered in his heart: "Can I not say that? If I say that Dai Zi's kid is the current No. 1 wizard in firearms, if I don't master the knowledge of the later generations, I don't even deserve to give him shoes, and I can't scare the timid old man Wu to death? ”

"It's nothing, it's good to have that kind of faith." Wu Laohan, who was completely relieved, smiled and said, "With Yifeng's words, this king is much more relieved." And with such a weapon, it may not be all bad for us, at least, with the confidence of that old thing, it will be much lighter in terms of tactics. ”

"Lord Wang, don't spoil him too much, this kid doesn't go to the house for three days, he spoils him too much, and his tail will go up to the sky." Liu Xuanchu degraded his students again. At the end, Liu Xuanchu asked cautiously: "Lord Wang, I heard that Lu Shrimp failed to rescue the prince and only brought back the eldest grandson of the prince, is this so?" ”

Wu Lao Han's face was gloomy, and he said for a long time: "Ying Xiong opposed the king's army to Qingjun's side, and the Mangou armed confrontation, and felt that there was still room for negotiation with the Mangou, so he refused to return to Yunnan with Lu Shrimp, insisted on staying in the capital and Mangou to deal around, leaving room for the king to negotiate, and now whether he is dead or alive, the king is not sure." ”

Liu Xuanchu also fell silent, and he didn't know how to comfort Wu Laohan. Lu Fatzi hurriedly said: "Lord Wang, please rest assured, Emperor Mangou Mazi hates Aobai to the bone, Lord Wang, you raised troops on the side of Qingjun this time, you pointed the finger at Aobai, and did not completely tear your face with Emperor Mangou, Emperor Mangou will definitely not hurt the prince immediately, and there is still room for looping." When the prince is defeated, showing my Yungui divine might, the emperor of Mangou will definitely agree to the prince's condition to return the prince to the prince in exchange for the prince's dismissal. ”

"I hope so." Wu Laohan sighed, and said with a forced smile: "Yifeng, after Shifan returned to Wuhua Mountain, he asked about your brother-in-law several times in front of this king, saying that you took him to have a good time in the capital, so I still remember you." You will take the time to meet him in a moment, and coax this grandson for this king. ”

The future successor of the Heping West Mansion has a good relationship, such a good thing Lu Fatzi of course agreed, but Wu Lao Han couldn't help but sigh again, and muttered: "Perhaps, he is already my only grandson, and in the future, this king will definitely entrust him to you." ”

Lu Fatzi will not be able to find the words to comfort Wu Laohan, in history, Xiao Mazi slaughtered Wu Yingxiong and Wu Shilin, although the track of history has changed dramatically, but the vicious little Mazi will not poison Wu Yingxiong and Wu Shilin father and son, Lu Fatzi does not dare to guarantee. In desperation, Lu Fatzi had no choice but to change the topic and put forward a proposal that had been brewing for a long time, "Grandfather, although we have already formulated a plan to lure Aobai into the decisive battle in Guizhou, but in order to prevent it, my grandson-in-law thinks it is best to make another preparation. ”

"What else to prepare?" Wu Lao Han was really diverted.

"Grandfather Mingjian, grandson-in-law thinks that it is not difficult to see through the strategy of our decisive battle in Guizhou with the ability to worship the old thief." Lu Fatzi replied in a deep voice: "My son-in-law is most worried now that the old thief deliberately did not let us get his wish, but did not enter the decisive battle in Guizhou, and instead completely blocked Yungui. At that time, Yunnan and Guizhou will not be able to be self-sufficient in grain and grass, Sichuan will be too damaged by the war, and now it will also be unable to be self-sufficient in grain, and Annam and Burma will be difficult to navigate, sparsely populated, and it is possible that we will adopt a blockade policy because of the threat of full dogs. Then, within two years, we will have serious problems in the supply of military rations, and we will completely fall into passivity. ”

"In addition, the sales of our Eight Banners Fushou Paste will also be greatly affected, and the Fushou Paste planted cannot be sold, and the silver cannot be recovered, and the hearts of the military and civilians will panic, which will be unfavorable to the war. Therefore, the grandson-in-law suggested that before the main force of Mangou arrived in Huguang, we should first take an outlet to the sea to ensure sea connections, facilitate maritime trade, and replenish grain and grass materials from foreign oceans. At the same time, it can also break the blockade, create psychological pressure on the old thief, and force him to enter the decisive battle in Guizhou. ”

"That's a good idea." Wu Lao Han, who was quite afraid of Ao Bai, quickly agreed with Lu Fatzi's proposition, and asked in a deep voice: "So, should we take that outlet to the sea?" ”

"Lianzhou!" Fang Guangchen and Liu Xuanchu raised their eyebrows together and replied in unison. At the end, Fang Guangchen added: "There is another advantage to taking the Lianzhou estuary in advance, that is, we can train the navy and recruit fishermen to train sailors, which will be conducive to our Yangtze River campaign and capture Jiangnan in the future." ”

"Lianzhou is a gratifying domain (Lianzhou was assigned to Guangdong in the Qing Dynasty)." Liu Xuanchu echoed: "Shang Kexi old thief arrested the envoy of our army, despised the majesty of the prince, the prince is famous, and by the way, he can also teach him a lesson." At the same time, Lianzhou is close to Nanning, and the father and son of Lian Guoan are staunch supporters of the prince, so they can be used as the backing of the defenders of Lianzhou, and they can also defend it. ”

"What are you doing then?" Wu Lao Han sneered and said: "Shang Kexi is happy that the old thief party is attached to the party, brutal and unkind, and the crime deserves death!" This Wang Xingyi is a thief in the sky, and the old thief is of course also among the lonely crusades! The order went down, and let Du Hui, the general of the cavalry, lead an army of 3,000 to crusade against the Lianzhou Shang Kexi lackey garrison! ”

"Grandfather, let me go." Fat Lu hurriedly said.

"What's the hurry?" Wu Lao Hanjian smiled kindly and said: "You are in a hurry to make meritorious contributions, of course my grandfather understands, but do you think that you have a great credit for winning Lianzhou?" There are only more than 1,000 garrisons there, and it is great that there are 800 troops in real strength, and you don't have much credit for taking it down, so you should obediently supervise the manufacture of firearms in Yunnan, and then show your skills when you fight a decisive battle in Guizhou in the future. ”

"Yifeng, don't rush to grab credit." Liu Xuanchu also frowned and said: "You have already made a great contribution to trapping Gan Wenkun's father and son to sacrifice to the prince Ling Chi, do you still need to grab such a small credit?" Besides, do you think the prince just sent someone to crusade against Lianzhou? Du Hui used to be the general of the Nanming Water Division, and he fought a water war, and the prince sent him to Lianzhou to prepare for the next step in establishing the Yunnan-Guizhou Water Division, can you do this? ”

"Then please ask General Du to go." Fat Lu shrank his fat head and said: "Actually, I don't want to take credit, the main thing is that I want to meet Yu Xuan by the way, I haven't seen him for more than half a year, and I really miss him a little ......bit." …… Lord Wang, Teacher, Mr. Xianyan, why are you looking at me like this? I don't have that hobby! It's just ......, it's just that my friendship with Yu Xuan is really good, and it doesn't mean anything else. ”

"Lord Wang, I'm afraid it's not enough to send one Du Hui." Fang Guangchen suggested: "It is best to let the civil servant Lu Shilian also go with him, and bring more silver and Fushou ointment seeds, so as to buy the hearts of the local people and consolidate the rule." Wu Lao Han was very satisfied when he heard this, and immediately nodded in agreement.

The first shot of Yungui against the Qing Dynasty to capture Lianzhou, is of great significance, but the process is simple and easy to be outrageous, the 3,000 troops led by Du Hui, the general of the Pingxi Wangfu Army, have just arrived at Jiuping Pass at the junction of Nanning and Lianzhou, the defenders of Jiuping Pass of less than 100 people have already surrendered, and when the cavalry of the Wu army went all the way south to Lianzhou City, the army has not seen the shadow of the city wall of Lianzhou, and Xu Huamin, the prefect of Lianzhou, and Wang Hongyuan, the general of the staff, have already opened the city gate, leading the whole city army and people out of the city to surrender, the attitude is sincere, and the look is joyful, as if they were not surrendering but welcoming the recovery of the king. Du Hui was confused, and couldn't help but ask Xu Huamin, "Why did you descend so fast?" We didn't fire a shot, we didn't kill a single person, and we all surrendered, for what? ”

"The prince of Pingxi begs the thief in the sky, the Qing monarch punishes the thief on the side, the military and the people of Lianzhou are overjoyed, the king is coming, I am waiting for the reason to welcome the king without carrying the pot and carrying the pulp?" Xu Huamin first said a lot of similar nonsense, and then asked cautiously: "General Du, I heard that you claimed in Qinzhou County that the prince's army brought the Eight Banners Fushou Paste Seeds this time and prepared to let the soldiers and civilians of Lianzhou try to plant them, is it true?" ”

Du Hui was speechless and vomited blood, and after the news reached Guangzhou, Shang Kexi, who was also shot, also vomited blood and shouted: "Wu Sangui old thief! Lao Tzu and you swear to be incompatible! ”

Under the rage, Shang Lao Han immediately ordered Yan Ziming, the governor of Guangdong, to lead an army of 10,000 to counterattack, trying to recover Lianzhou, but when Yan Ziming's army assembled into an army and finally arrived in Lianzhou along the coast, they were greeted not only by the Yungui soldiers who were armed to the teeth and the Guangxi Lianguo Security Army, which was known as fierce as a tiger and as evil as a wolf, but also by the soldiers and civilians of Lianzhou, "Damn, I came to rob our Eight Banners Fushou Paste Seeds, and fought with them!" "This is a distant story, so I won't mention it for the time being.

(To be continued)