Dorgon seemed to be in a better mood after making the decision, but there was another problem that bothered him and worried him.

That's food.

Because of the successive years of conquest, the five northern provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, and Beizhili were seriously damaged, and there was an extreme shortage of food.

Most of Shanxi's grain was looted by Cao Yue to Datong last year, and Datong's grain is abundant, and it will not be a problem to persist for half a year. Elsewhere, including Beizhili, food is tight. Before Emperor Chongzhen died, he was also worried about food. Although there is still a certain amount of grain in the hands of the people, there is no silver in the treasury when Emperor Chongzhen is in the country, and it is impossible for the Ming Emperor to send troops to the people's homes to grab food. After Li Zicheng entered Beijing, he was also worried about the grain problem, but he implemented the policy of "killing the rich and helping the poor" and did not rob the people, and the officials and gentry in Beijing were extorted tens of millions of taels of silver by him, but he was defeated too quickly, and the silver retreated from Beijing before he had time to buy grain.

Now, it was Dolgon's turn to worry about this problem, the rations needed by hundreds of thousands of troops were not so easy to raise. Originally, Jiannu could meet military needs through looting, but in order to win the world, Dolgon changed his strategy of looting, sympathized with the people's feelings, and "did not commit any offences in autumn" to the people. And the gentry in Beijing had been drained of oil and water by Li Zicheng, and Dolgon could not raise much silver, and could not take out a lot of silver taels to buy grain.

In the past, Jiannu adopted the strategy of fighting to feed the war, fighting wherever he wanted, but now the strategy has changed, and Dolgon is a little at a loss for how to meet the logistics and military needs. He could only hope for Fan Wencheng and hope that this advisor would come up with ideas for himself.

"Master, there is no better way now, we can only collect it from North Korea, because of the war, even if we take looting, we can't get more food, and we want to get the support of the people of the five northern provinces. Looting measures cannot be taken. North Korea is close to Beijing, the sea route is shorter, and last year's harvest was not bad, so let's increase the intensity of grain collection from North Korea. After Fan Wencheng made a suggestion, he thought of another point and said in a low voice: "We can also find a way to buy grain from Jiangnan." Jiangnan is rich, and now the gentry in Jiangnan hate Liukou, and there are not a few who have a good impression of my Qing Dynasty. As long as our Qing Dynasty continues to adopt the policy of Huairou and does not burn, kill and loot, it can be recognized by more gentry and common people. As long as we're willing to spend money. It should be possible to buy grain from Jiangnan. ”

"That's all there is to it!" Dolgon listened, nodded in approval, and he couldn't think of a better way, "Then leave these things to Mr. to be responsible, especially the purchase of grain from Jiangnan." ”

"Master, please rest assured, the slave will definitely try his best to raise food, so that the master will not worry about this matter anymore!" In fact, Fan Wencheng had already sent people to contact merchants in the south, and some people were willing to sell grain to the north. It's just that the temporary change of Cao Yue's northern expedition made everything full of uncertainties.

When Dolgon was anxiously summoning Fan Wencheng to discuss countermeasures. The Northern Expeditionary Army led by Cao Yue had entered the territory of Shandong.

The details of the reorganization of the Ming Guards were not announced to the public, and many people in the DPRK and China knew about the establishment of the ten guards divisions of the Ming Guards. Only a few people know the specific number of soldiers, and Jiannu has no way to find out about these situations, let alone the equipment of the current Ming Guards. As for confidential affairs in the army, Cao Yue kept them strictly secret from the outside world. Even a few generals who were deprived of military power and entrusted with the post of governor of the five armies, Gao Jie, Huang Degong, and Liu Liangzuo, did not know. Although Sun Chuanting is in the first auxiliary position. But he is not very clear about the situation in the army, everything is in Cao Yue's hands.

Cao Yue's purpose of strict secrecy was to catch Jiannu off guard and make them extremely shocked.

But there is one thing that Cao Yue deliberately revealed, that is, the troops used in this Northern Expedition, and his purpose in doing so was to deter Jiannu and force Dolgon to withdraw his troops from Shaanxi. Of course, he was also very well prepared for this Northern Expedition, and the army's northward march was not a bluff, but a preparation to recover the loss, at least the Jinan Mansion and Shunde Mansion were to be recovered, and Tianjin Wei was also to be recaptured.

Didn't Jiannu move the capital to Beijing? He wanted to put Jiannu in an embarrassing situation and let them stay in Beijing and live in peace.

Jinan was captured, Liaocheng, Dezhou and other places on the canal and Tianjin Wei were recaptured, and the army could reach the city of Beijing in a few days, and the military supplies from the south could be continuously transported to the north through the canal, so don't worry about the lack of logistical supply.

In this battle, Cao Yue did not seek to really recover Beijing, he hoped that Jiannu and Liukou could kill each other again, one thing Fan Wencheng was not mistaken, he wanted to buy time for the current Ming court to recover. Although it is said that Nanjing has a set of six teams, after the new emperor is established, this set of teams can be put into use quickly, and the south, which has not experienced war, can also provide sufficient taxes and personnel. But the number of troops that the Ming court can control is too small, and Cao Yue can now command less than 300,000 people, including the Red Lady's men. He needed time to recruit soldiers, train the army, and produce firearms. The production and operation situation in the south should also be further developed, and the tax revenue of the imperial court should also be increased.

Cao Yue hoped that this Northern Expedition could achieve this goal.

Cao Yue's Northern Expedition was at the end of April of the 17th year of Chongzhen, and then he led his army north along the canal. Before he led his army to leave Nanjing, Cao Jie had already returned to Qingzhou, where the First Guards Division was stationed.

The first target that Cao Yue was about to capture was Liaocheng on the canal.

Liaocheng and Qingzhou are located on the left and right flanks of Jinan Prefecture, and after capturing Liaocheng, you can launch an attack on Jinan from both flanks. As long as Liaocheng and Jinan are captured, most of Shandong will return to the control of the Ming court.

When leading the army on the Northern Expedition, Cao Yue sent the information to Cao Bianjiao in Datong, asking his troops to also plan the attack and control the Jiannu army.

In Datong City, there are still nearly 30,000 soldiers and horses, and food and ammunition have not yet reached the point of shortage. These 30,000 elite soldiers are a force that no one dares to underestimate, and when necessary, they can deal a huge blow to Jiannu.

How to attack Liaocheng is what Cao Yue needs to consider most now. He knew that if the Northern Expeditionary Army attacked Liaocheng, Dolgon would definitely send reinforcements. What he had to do was not only to break through Liaocheng, but also to inflict great casualties on the reinforced Jiannu army, to deter Dolgon, make him feel cold, stop the battle with the Liukou, and urgently transfer the army back to Beijing.

Therefore, he must make careful arrangements for the battle of Liaocheng, and he must not make mistakes.

When the army arrived in Jining, Cao Yue summoned Huang Degong, Gao Jie, Liu Liangzuo and other high-ranking generals to discuss the strategy of attacking Liaocheng. (To be continued.) )