"My lord, the recruitment of sergeants in the Jiangning battalion is all over, this time a total of 20,000 soldiers have been recruited, and the total number of soldiers in the Jiangning battalion has reached 130,000, of which 78,000 are stationed in Fuzhou and Xuanzhou, 50,000 are stationed in Dengzhou, Laizhou and Qingzhou, 2,000 are stationed in Anningbao and Jingbian, and the training course is underway for the newly recruited 20,000 sergeants.

Su Tiancheng looked at Hong Chengchou and didn't speak for the time being, during this time, Hong Chengchou always thought that the Jiangning battalion could start a fight, whether it was in Taiwan or the grassland, in short, he couldn't be idle like this, the soldiers' salaries were very high, and a lot of consumption was required, plus the Jiangning battalion soldiers stationed in Fuzhou and Xuanzhou mainly relied on the grain and grass in Dengzhou to maintain, because of the recent expedition, the people in Xuanzhou and Fuzhou also suffered losses and needed relief, and the total number of soldiers in the Jiangning battalion reached 130,000, The annual consumption is close to 10 million taels of silver, and such a high consumption, if you have nothing to do, it is really unjustifiable.

According to the military salary of the imperial court, the 130,000 soldiers need to consume not much silver, but the situation of the Jiangning battalion has always been different, from the time of its establishment, it is quite different from other armies, in order to maintain the operation of the Jiangning battalion, Su Tiancheng can be said to have taken great pains, not only to consider the military salary of the soldiers, but also to consider the people's livelihood, otherwise the military salary of the Jiangning battalion can not be maintained, the military spirit must be unstable, in private, Hong Chengchou is also a little worried, such a high military salary, I don't know how to maintain the road for a long time, If it were him, there would be no way to solve it.

"My lord, the imperial court has come to the holy decree, don't attack the Houjin Tartars for the time being, Xia Guan thinks. Such a request is a bit inappropriate, doesn't this allow the Houjin Tartars to recuperate. ”

Seeing that Su Tiancheng didn't speak, Hong Chengchou couldn't help it.

"Lord Hong, if you have any ideas, just say it."

"My lord, the lower official thinks. The newly recruited 20,000 sergeants must go through real battles so that they can grow up, and it is difficult to improve their combat effectiveness through simple training. ”

"Oh, tell me which direction to attack."

"Xia Guan thinks that he should still start from the direction of the grassland, Meng Baqi is the accomplice of the Houjin Tartars, and the Jiangning battalion conquers the grassland. The Houjin Tartars have nothing to say, although negotiations are going on in the capital, but the Jiangning camp is to help the Xibe tribe and the Daur tribe to fight on the grassland, as long as they can completely exterminate the Horqin and other tribes, the Houjin Tartars will also suffer a heavy blow, which is also a conquest of the Houjin Tartars. ”

"You mean, there is no point in negotiating."

"My lord, this is not what the lower official said. That's what you mean. ”

A smile appeared on Su Tiancheng's face.

"Lord Hong, what I'm asking now is your understanding."

"Xia Guan has known this way for a long time. Huang Taiji will never surrender to my Ming court, the strength of the Manchurian Eight Banners and the Han Eight Banners is very strong, including the Han Army, as well as the Mengba Banner, these are the strength that the Huang Taiji relies on, and its own strength is strong. How can it be possible to surrender to my Daming, during this time, Xia Guan also thought carefully, the reason why Huang Taiji proposed to surrender to my Daming must have other intentions. ”

Su Tiancheng nodded slightly. looked at Hong Chengchou and didn't speak, he waited for Hong Chengchou to say the reason for his analysis.

"Xia Guan thinks that Huang Taiji does this, there are two purposes, one is to delay time, the Jiangning battalion launched an attack from Dengzhou, took Fuzhou and Xuanzhou and other places, the occupied places continue to expand, Huang Taiji is facing the embarrassment of being attacked from both sides, in this case, the unprepared Huang Taiji needs time to buffer, this is probably the main purpose of Huang Taiji, the negotiation can be delayed for a long time, when the time comes, Huang Taiji is ready for everything, and the outcome of the negotiation does not matter."

After talking about the first reason, Hong Chengchou also stopped and looked at Su Tiancheng.

The smile on Su Tiancheng's face disappeared, Hong Chengchou's analysis was completely correct, it seems that during this time, Hong Chengchou has indeed thought about it carefully, but if he doesn't say the second reason immediately, he must also have concerns.

"Lord Hong, say whatever comes to mind, whether it's right or wrong, analysis is a must."

"The lower officials are bold, Huang Taiji did this, I am afraid he also thought of some shortcomings in the court, if Huang Taiji bowed his head, the adults in the court, feel that the world is peaceful, the construction of the army, will naturally slow down, they have such an idea, they will inevitably report to the emperor, when the time comes, the emperor has made some unfavorable decisions, isn't it in the heart of Huang Taiji's heart......"

Su Tiancheng stood up.

"What do you mean is that once the emperor Taiji bows his head to the ministers, the emperor will inevitably rectify the order of the imperial court, so many years have passed, the imperial court has always been based on conquest, the main considerations are also the construction of the army, people's livelihood matters, but I can't take care of a lot, and there is not so much silver to do things, to put it more bluntly, I am afraid that my power will be subject to many restrictions, Jiang Ningying is so brave, threatening the imperial power, how can it be controlled by me."

Hong Chengchou's face was a little pale, Su Tiancheng said it so bluntly, which he didn't expect.

"Lord Hong, this is nothing unusual, but this kind of thing, it will not appear for the time being, how can Huang Taiji surrender easily, this time the negotiation is just to delay time, and will never really surrender, the first reason you mentioned is completely valid, but Huang Taiji is probably not only thinking about getting ready, strengthening his own strength, but also the focus of Huang Taiji, you and I should not underestimate Huang Taiji, there are some impossible things to do, Huang Taiji can do it, Huang Taiji was able to send Ji'er Harang to the capital to negotiate, which shows that he has made up his mind to make this big flag go well. ”

Hong Chengchou was a little happy.

Before coming to report on the recruitment of sergeants, Hong Chengchou had already known the emperor's holy decree, he was very worried, if the Jiangning battalion was idle, did not take the initiative to attack, for a long time, the difficulties faced would be more and more, since the establishment of the Jiangning battalion, basically out of the state of conquest, exterminate the Liukou, conquer the Xibe tribe and the Daur tribe, face the Houjin Tartars, there is almost no idle time, of course, if the Houjin Tartars are completely exterminated, the Jiangning battalion is temporarily resting, it can also be said.

Hearing what Su Tiancheng just said, Hong Chengchou felt that Su Tiancheng would not be idle, I am afraid that he had already made a decision in his heart, and he was too careful.

"Lord Hong, get ready, the Jiangning camp will not be idle, and there will be no chance to be idle."

Two days later, the officers above the commander of the Jiangning battalion guard were concentrated in the superintendent's mansion.

In the lobby, there are two huge sand tables, pay a little attention, you can see that they are the grassland and Fujian, Taiwan side of the topographic sand table.

Su Tiancheng's expression was very serious.

"I summoned you here today, it is to arrange the deployment of combat missions, Huang Taiji sent an embassy, to the capital, ready to surrender to my Ming Dynasty, this matter, I don't believe it, Huang Taiji has no reason to surrender, the total number of the Houjin Tartar army, more than 300,000 people, to put it mildly, the overall combat effectiveness, than my Jiangning battalion is even stronger, Jiangning battalion only has 130,000 soldiers, with 130,000 people against more than 300,000 people, no one dares to guarantee victory, in this case, Huang Taiji wants to surrender to my Daming. ”

"But the emperor has already issued an order, the Jiangning battalion can not attack in Gaizhou, Yaozhou and Haizhou, I think, Huang Taiji is probably very happy, the goal has been achieved, but we can't let Huang Taiji live in peace, we can't let him achieve his goal, we can't directly attack Houjin Tartar, we will go to exterminate the Mengba Banner on the grassland, this is also a sharp knife inserted into Huang Taiji's chest, making Huang Taiji sleep."

"Concentrating forces to attack a little is the basis for victory, but this time, the Jiangning battalion needs to fight on two fronts, not only to attack the grassland Emeng Eight Banners, but also Taiwan, Taiwan was originally my Ming territory, but it was occupied by the Dutch, such a situation must not appear, in the past, our sailors were relatively weak and could not attack Taiwan, but now the situation is different, our sailors, extremely strong, how can we sit back and watch Taiwan be occupied by the Dutch, we want to recapture Taiwan, we want to drive the Dutch out of the city, We also want to control Nanyang, so that these small countries, which were originally subjects of our Ming Dynasty, continue to accept the protection of our Ming Dynasty. ”

"Huang Taiji probably can't imagine that his strategy of delaying the army has also given us time in the Jiangning battalion to solve these problems that must be solved, we must seize this opportunity to solve the battle as quickly as possible."

"Regarding the deployment of troops, I put forward the following suggestions, Hong Chengchou led 30,000 soldiers to Anning Fort, from Anning Fort into the Hetao area, leading the expedition of the grassland, the army of the Xibe tribe and the Daur tribe are all under the command of Hong Chengchou, Sun Chuanting led 20,000 Jiangning battalion soldiers to conquer Taiwan, drive the Dutch out of Lu, completely control the South China Sea, the arrangements of the relevant officers, you come up with a specific plan, complete it within five days, the army will make all preparations within half a month, and start the time for the expedition, Tentatively scheduled for late November. ”

"This expedition, to be clean and neat, don't be merciful, if my estimate is good, Huang Taiji got the news, it must be to reinforce the Mongolian tribes, but we can't give Huang Taiji time to prepare, the expedition to the grassland tribes, firearms can play a decisive role, such an expedition will not drag on for a long time."

"All the soldiers must be prepared, and the soldiers who stay in Dengzhou, Laizhou, Qingzhou, Fuzhou and other places must also be vigilant at any time to prevent Huang Taiji's sneak attack, and Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of Liaodong, must also be prepared to do a good job in the defense of Liaodong."

(I've been very busy lately, and I've been thinking very hard, and I've had some major setbacks in my thinking, and I'm a little depressed, but I'm sure I'll stick to it, and I'm thanking readers for their great support.) (To be continued......)