Early the next morning, Luo Jian took the guards to the shipyard again, and the shipyard was already bustling with activity at this time, with more than 3,000 prisoners under the custody of the first division, carrying everything available in the shipyard.

Dozens of large ships were parked in the canal, including transports of sailors and civilian ships.

On the shore, there were hundreds of people, all of whom were in rags, looking like homeless people.

Luo Jian stepped forward and saw that Master Hu and several shipyard stewards were also among them, and Master Hu saw Luo Jian come forward and led everyone to bow down, but Luo Jian hurriedly stopped him.

"Masters, when you arrive in Yangzhou, you will not be cold and hungry, if we have a bite to eat, you will have yours. I hope that everyone will work hard to build a big ship as soon as possible. Luo Jian said simply.

Luo Jian took out a letter he had written last night and handed it to the sailor officer who escorted him, asked him to go to Guazhou and hand it over to Liu Weimin, and asked them to take good care of these shipbuilders and their families along the way.

More than 3,000 captives worked all morning before the shipyard was almost emptied, and when the fleet set sail for Yangzhou, Luo Jian went back.

After lunch, Luo Jian rushed to the first division again and discussed the capture with Liu Zhaoji.

This time there were more prisoners than ever before, and it was no longer realistic to use them all for mining, and the mining area could no longer accommodate so many people.

Considering that there will be more and more offensive actions of the Yangzhou Army in the future, and the territory occupied will become larger and larger, and someone will have to defend the place if it occupies the place.

Adapting these captives into garrison troops, this method Luo Jian was thinking about yesterday.

"Xinghua, what do you think?" Liu Zhaoji asked.

Luo Jian said his thoughts, Liu Zhaoji thought for a while, and nodded in approval.

Of course, these captives must be strictly examined and screened, and some of them who are desperate for the Manchus and have done too much evil must be resolutely eliminated.

After the decision was made, the first division began to get busy, and even Wang Qiang took the special brigade deep into the prisoners and began to review and screen the work.

Everyone was busy, but Luo Jian had nothing to do, and Luo Jian, who had nothing to do, took the guards to Huai'an City.

There was no fighting in the city yesterday, the Qing soldiers surrendered very quickly, and there was no more harassment in the city, and today Huai'an City has calmed down, and all the shops that should be opened have been opened.

Seeing that Huai'an City, which had been occupied by the Qing soldiers for more than a month, had not changed, Luo Jian felt that something was wrong.

I found a few shops and asked, after the Zhun Ta Department attacked Huai'an City, the military discipline was very strict, and there were not many violations of the people, but it was much better than when Liu Zeqing was in Huai'an.

Previously, if the Qing soldiers encountered fierce resistance when attacking the city, they often adopted the strategy of slaughtering the city after capturing the city, so as to deter the people in other places, and Huai'an City also resisted extremely fiercely, and the Qing soldiers actually changed the previous strategy, but cared for the people.

This reminded Luo Jian of the "three lights" policy adopted by Duotian Jun in North China and the preferential treatment policy adopted by Gangcun Ningci when the Japanese army invaded China.

But the common people were not slaughtered, Luo Jian was still relieved, if there was no strength of the Yangzhou army, the Manchus would not have come to win the hearts of the people at all, they would only use strong force to kill the people.

It's just that the propaganda work in Yangzhou must be strengthened in the future, otherwise the people in these Manchu-ruled areas will be ruled for a long time, and their sense of belonging will decline, and some people will not even be able to distinguish whether they are Han or Manchu in the end.

Thinking of this, Luo Jian returned to Liu Zeqing's mansion and brought Wang Xiuchu and the staff officers of the army together to discuss how to solve these problems.

When he was in Yangzhou, Luo Jian had the idea of running an art troupe, but he was too busy to take care of it, plus the women of this era, ordinary people were not willing to show their heads at all, just the art troupe of the big men was definitely not enough, and it was also a difficult problem to solve this problem.

Wang Xiuchu and the staff officers of the army had no better way, and it was only a set of tax exemptions and tax reductions over and over again.

Luo Jian could only put this matter aside for the time being, and went to the countryside in the direction of Yancheng with his guards in the afternoon.

The northern part of Jiangsu is more saline-alkali land than the south of Jiangsu, and the harvest in the ground is very small, so it seems that the land is very wide and sparsely populated, and Luo Jian even ran nearly ten miles to see a few households, which are also low grass houses.

Luo Jian ran for several days in a row, almost running around Huai'an, and on the fourth day, Huang Degong sent news from Suqian that Suqian had been taken.

Although Suqian only had 2,000 defenders, the defender was a clothed slave before Zhun Ta, who followed Zhun Ta to fight the Ming Dynasty for more than ten years, and was very loyal to the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

Although Suqian City is not big, the city is very strong, not slightly worse than Huai'an, if there is no artillery, the fifth division will have to take Suqian but it will take a lot of effort, and the casualties will certainly not be small.

Huang Degong first shouted to the city to persuade him to surrender, but was categorically refused, and in annoyance, Huang Degong ordered the artillery to be placed directly outside the city wall for a mile, and bombarded the city gate, and soon blew the city gate open, because the Yangzhou army came too fast, the Suqian city gate did not have time to block.

Huang Degong personally led the cavalry to rush in first, and then cleared the defending enemy and took Suqian, and the guard's clothed slave was also smashed by Huang Degong's own whip.

The news of the successive losses of Huai'an and Suqian was reported to Duoduo in Xuzhou as quickly as possible.

Duoduo, who was planning to send troops to rescue Huai'an, was so shocked that even the teacup in his hand fell to the ground, he really didn't figure it out, how could Huai'an, which was guarded by seventy or eighty thousand horses, be captured by the Yangzhou army in one day?

The cavalry outside Huai'an City gave Duoduo a detailed report on the loss of Huai'an City, and they only knew that after a loud bang, the city wall collapsed, and the Zhun Tower and the generals were all killed, and the Yangzhou army attacked Huai'an City, as for how the Yangzhou army collapsed the city wall, they don't know.

Hearing what the cavalry said, the Yangzhou army's platoon guns were extremely powerful, and they fired in more than a hundred steps, and the armor of the white-armored soldiers could not be defended, and Duoduo's face changed greatly.

Although Kong Youde was frightened, he still shouted a few Qing soldiers who fled back to inquire carefully about the battle, and even asked every detail very carefully.

"King Yu, I feel that in addition to the artillery that can 'blossom', the Yangzhou Army seems to have a new type of firecracker, and I must guard against these problems!" Kong Youde thought for a while before he said to Duoduo.

"Although Beijing is also improving firearms, it doesn't seem to be as fast as Yangzhou's progress, who are these so-called 'angels'? Why do they understand so much? It's a pity that it can't be used by my Qing Dynasty. Dodor said with a sigh.

"King Yu can no longer have illusions about these people, and their appearance seems to be against my Daqing. For today's plan, we also have to learn the technology of making guns and cannons in Yangzhou. Kong Youde said, he knew very well in his heart that these people would oppose the Qing Dynasty as soon as they came to Yangzhou, and now that it has become a climate, how can they be used by the Qing Dynasty?

"This is going to Yangzhou to steal school, I'm afraid it's only Han people, how do you arrange this matter? If you can learn the art of making guns and guns in Yangzhou, this king will have a heavy reward! Dodor said.

"King Yu, this matter is not difficult to do, my personal soldier squad leader Lai Fu escaped from the Yangzhou army, he knows the situation in Yangzhou very well, he is a clever person, if he is allowed to take people to Yangzhou, it will be done. It's just that the Yangzhou army has captured Huai'an, and its next step will be to attack Xuzhou. Kong Youde thought carefully for a moment before saying to Duoduo.

"The Yangzhou army defeated Huai'an, and Huai'an's seventy or eighty thousand horses were all its gains, and now its men and horses have surpassed our department, and there are muskets and artillery to help, can Xuzhou hold it?" Duoduo was in a hurry and said what was in his heart.

"King Yu, Xuzhou is a place where soldiers must fight since ancient times, if you give up, then the Yangzhou army can go straight to Henan and Shandong, then the Qing Dynasty can only be on the defensive, according to the humble opinion, you should hurry up to the imperial court, let the imperial court send soldiers and horses, Xuzhou must be defended." Kong Youde said.

The news of the loss of Huai'an and the total annihilation of the Quasi-Tower was reported to Beijing by Kuaima, and Dolgon, who received the news, almost fell to the ground when he heard it.

Dorgon, who was relieved, convened his ministers in the Wuying Hall overnight to discuss countermeasures.

When Dorgon informed the ministers, the Manchu ministers were shocked.

Although Zhun Tower is not a famous general of the Qing Dynasty, but it is also a battle-hardened field, its brave name is known from top to bottom, since the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, are repeated victories, and have made great achievements, now its subordinates have seventy or eighty thousand horses, how can it be wiped out by the Yangzhou army in one day?

"Ministers, now that Huai'an is lost, the quasi-tower department has been completely annihilated, the door to Shandong has been opened, if the Yangzhou army is allowed to enter Shandong, the matter will be in danger, how to prevent the Yangzhou army from entering Shandong, you ministers or come up with an idea." Dorgon interrupted his courtiers' discussion and spoke.

"Prince Yu may not be able to defend against the Yangzhou army in Xuzhou, whether to defend or retreat, everyone should think about it." Seeing that the ministers were all thinking, Dorgon continued.

"According to the minister's opinion, if it is better to negotiate peace with the Southern Ming court, if the negotiation can be completed, my Qing Dynasty can also govern the occupied areas well, and the general in Beijing will also have time to develop new firearms against the Yangzhou army, and when I have accumulated enough strength, I will go down with a drum."

Although Sony, the Manchu minister in charge of the Sixth Ministry, was extremely unfriendly with Dolgon on weekdays and hated Dolgon's monopoly on government affairs, he still spoke up when the Qing Dynasty was facing a crisis.

"I'm afraid that the governor of the Yangzhou army won't listen to the words of the Southern Ming court, right?" Zhenghuang Qigushan Ezhen Tan Tai said.

"That's okay, if Yangzhou leaves the support of the Southern Ming Dynasty, its development will be restricted, but we have prevented the Yangzhou army from advancing north into Shandong and Henan, and the internal discord in the Southern Ming Dynasty will be more beneficial to us." Sony has apparently thought about it.

"Just how to prevent the Yangzhou army from entering Shandong? Let's start with a quick discussion! Dolgon agreed with Sony's suggestion.

"It's just that after the peace with Nanming, wouldn't my Qing Dynasty's offensive against Hunan and Liangguang have to stop, and the Qing Dynasty in these places has won even the war!" Gong Adai, the secretary of the ministry, said.

"The offensive against Liangguang and Jiangxi can be suspended, and there is still the Dashun army in Hunan, which can continue to march in the name of eliminating the Dashun army, and if the Dashun army can be pursued but not annihilated, so that it can enter the territory of the Southern Ming Dynasty, then our Daqing can take the opportunity to attack. The Qing Dynasty should intensify its offensive against the Great Western Army in Sichuan, and if we can take Sichuan, our strength will increase a lot. After deep thought, Sony said unhurriedly.

A group of Hanchen saw that the Manchu ministers were making suggestions, and they were a little unwilling to be lonely, and Feng Quan, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, first went out to fight Dolgon, and then said: "The minister thinks that I must open the imperial examination as soon as possible in the Qing Dynasty, and with the heart of the Anshi people, if I am stable under the rule of the Qing Dynasty, the Yangzhou army will not be able to do anything." ”

"The minister thinks that the important task of defending Shandong is none other than the Guanning Army, and it is time for Wu Sangui to make meritorious contributions." Fan Wencheng and others had said almost everything, and then they came out of class to speak.

Dolgon listened, pondered for a long time, and finally agreed to Feng Quan and Fan Wencheng's suggestion, and opened the imperial examination after the year, but instead of letting Wu Sangui lead the Guanning army to Shandong alone, he ordered Tan Tai to lead 20,000 Zhenghuang Banner cavalry to lead the military affairs of Shandong, and Wu Sangui assisted him.

At that moment, they discussed for a long time, and decided to wait for Tan Tai to lead the Yellow Banner army to Jinan, depending on the situation to decide the choice of Xuzhou, if the Yangzhou army is in a hurry, then abandon Xuzhou, let Prince Yu lead the army to retreat to Guide (Shangqiu, Henan).