As shown in the military report obtained by Wang Lanping, Kong Youde set up camp on a hill 40 miles away from Yangzhou, and the whole army was divided into three villages, with 30,000 eight banners of iron cavalry and 40,000 Han and eight banners stationed at the foot of the mountain, and Kong Youde led 10,000 elites to camp on the mountain, and the three places were horns of each other, echoing each other.

Kong Youde ordered the sergeants to take all the trees around the raft, erect high wooden fences, and the camp was crisscrossed with trenches and horse pits, and the camp was lined with swords and guns, and the precautions were strict, and the three thousand cavalry took turns to patrol the entire camp day and night, and killed any suspicious person who dared to approach the camp, and the whole village looked impregnable.

Kong Youde was able to form such a big village in just a few days, which shows that he is not in vain.

With his decades of military career, he knows the importance of Yangzhou, and taking Yangzhou is equivalent to tearing open the Ming army's Yangtze River defense line, and he can send troops to Nanjing at any time.

He knew that he was just a Han minister, if he wanted to gain a firm foothold in the Qing court, he could not have the slightest failure, especially now, since he followed the southern expedition of Prince Yu Duoduo, all the way to the ground, his status has also risen, even more than many Manchu nobles, this attack on Yangzhou, Duoduo actually ordered him to be the main general, it must attract resentment, so, the battle of Yangzhou, Kong Youde can only win but not defeat.

However, the road in front of Kong Youde is not easy to walk, his own troops are too small, Yangzhou City is a place where the Ming army must defend to the death, Shi Kefa is an important minister of the Ming court, and it is difficult to predict who will die.

In the military tent, Kong Youde stared at the sand table alone, on the sand table, the mountains and rivers on the battlefield of Yangzhou were clear at a glance, and the discovered Ming army defense sites were also marked one by one.

Footsteps sounded outside the tent, and a big man wearing a battle armor rushed in, and when he saw Kong Youde, he clapped his hands and complained, "My handsome, when did you order the siege of the city, Lao Tzu's crotch is about to become moldy."

Kong Youde saw that it was him, and hurriedly said, "Ao Zuoling, why are you here?"

Ao Bai sat down with a huff, patted the table and said, "It's been a few days, when are you going to give the order, Yangzhou City is close at hand, Lao Tzu can hit the city with a charge, I really don't understand what you are doing with your struggles."

Kong Youde gave him a cup of tea and said with a smile, "Don't be impatient, what if you hit the city, you can't run horses on the city wall."

Ao Bai waved his hand, "Lao Tzu hit here from Shanhaiguan, which city is not the first to rush in, you Han people are ink"

Kong Youde patted him on the shoulder, "Yangzhou City is not as good as before, this is the gateway to Nanjing, the place where the Ming army must defend, come, Zuoling, you come and see"

Kong Youde led Ao Bai to the sand table, pointed to the sand table and said, "Zuo Ling, please see, this is the place where our army is assembled, the whole army is 80,000, this is Yangzhou City, according to the investigation, there are more than 40,000 defenders in the city, and each city gate is equipped with 40 cannons, the city is high and deep, easy to defend and difficult to attack"

Ao Bai grinned disdainfully, "I'm afraid of him as a bird, Lao Tzu's Eight Banners Iron Rider is invincible in the world"

He really didn't brag about this, from Shanhaiguan to here, the Ming army has not had a decent resistance, Li Zicheng's Dashun army was also defeated in a battle, at this time the morale of the Eight Banners is flourishing, and Ao Bai will put the small Yangzhou in his eyes.

Kong Youde has been in the army for decades, scheming, and experienced, but he is not so optimistic.

Kong Youde continued, "I know that Zuo LinkedIn is brave, but the current battle situation is not in my favor, the previous visit to the Malay newspaper, said that Shi Kefa withdrew the stronghold outside the city, contracted his troops, blocked the city gate, and made a posture of defending Yangzhou, if this is the case, Yangzhou is a dead city, I just need to surround the city, besiege but not attack, attract the Ming army to rescue, we can wait for work, encircle the point to send reinforcements, eliminate the living forces of the Ming army, Yangzhou can go down without a fight"

Ao Bai raised his chin, "It's a good idea, just give the order quickly"

Kong Youde moved his finger, "Now there is suddenly an extra Ming army outside Yangzhou City, more than 30,000 people, the main will be Nanjing garrison Admiral Wang Lanping, he set up a strong camp outside the city, relying on each other in the city, if I attack the city, it will inevitably fall into the danger of the Ming army's internal and external attack, if I take the enemy outside the city first, the city will come to support, moreover, the Ming army's Yangtze River water division has been cruising in the waters from the Yangtze River to the mouth of the canal, it is difficult to guarantee that he will not take advantage of our army to enter the canal when the stalemate is in a stalemate, threatening the flank of our army, and again, Xiangshan, not far from Nanjing, hundreds of thousands of Ming troops gathered, It is only five days away from Yangzhou, and there is also Huang Degong's department in Quanzhou, these are all potential threats to our army, and we have to guard against them."

Ao Bai rolled his eyes when he heard this, "Fearful, according to what you say, don't fight this battle at all, you are too careful."

Kong Youde pinched his beard and said with a heavy heart, "Only by taking precautions can you survive a hundred battles."

"And how long are you going to prepare?"

"Zuo Ling will wait for a few more days, besides, our heavy artillery is far away from 200 miles, there is no artillery, and the forced siege of the city will cause too many casualties."

At this time, a voice came from outside the camp, "Marshal Zhen, General Liu has arrived"

Kong Youde raised his voice and said, "Please let him in"

Ao Bai asked Kong Youde, "Which General Liu?" ”

"Liu Liangzuo"

"He? The one who just returned? , a greedy man who is afraid of death and sells his lord for glory, what are you doing when you see him?"

"I don't want to see him, but he has been the chief military officer of the Ming Court, and he knows the truth of the Ming army better than you and me, so I asked him to solve my doubts."

The tent curtain was divided, and a lean man in civilian clothes walked in with his head bowed, his face was full of flattery, he limped, and when he saw Kong Youde, he bowed his head and bowed, "The sin general Liu Liangzuo has seen the king of Dingnan and the leader of Aozuo"

Kong Youde raised his hand, "In the military tent, there is no need to be polite, is General Liu healed?" ”

On the same day, when the seven governors besieged Nanjing and forced Wang Lanping, Liu Liangzuo also wanted to get a piece of the pie, but was blocked by Cao Dingjiao, the Anyuan battalion of the champion army, north of the Yangtze River, and had no choice but to retreat to Xuzhou.

Liu Liangzuo got up and said, "Thank you for worrying, it's almost good, I don't know what happened to the prince?" ”

Liu Liangzuo is also depressed these days, he wanted to take advantage of the chaos in Nanjing to get some benefits, but he didn't expect to lose a bottom, now he has fallen to the Qing, and there is no place for him, there are more Han generals who have descended to the Qing Dynasty earlier, and they are all mixed with majesty, and no longer want to hug the thighs of the Qing court, what to take to gain a foothold in the Qing court, and now the battle of Yangzhou in the Ming and Qing dynasties is about to break out, of course he can't miss such a good opportunity to seek glory.

Kong Youde is the main general of the Battle of Yangzhou, looking for him at this time, he is secretly happy in his heart, and the opportunity has come.

To put it briefly, Kong Youde directly explained the current situation in Yangzhou in general, and asked Liu Liangzuo how much he knew about these Ming troops and what their combat effectiveness was.

Don't look at Liu Liangzuo's ability to fight, but this time, Kong Youde really asked the right person, Liu Liangzuo did a lot of effort in order to be a good official in the court, which minister likes what objects, which general has what hobbies, who has done anything unseemly, he is clear, and it just comes in handy now.

Liu Liangzuo was overjoyed, pointed to the sand table and said, "Lord Wang, you are too worried, these people you said just now will never join the battle in Yangzhou."

Kong Youde was overjoyed, "Why? ”

Liu Liangzuo said, "Let's talk about this Huang Degong Department, the whole army is only 30,000 people, stationed in Quanzhou, and Li Zicheng's Li Laixiang Department confronts, if he gallops to aid Yangzhou, Li Laixiang will take Quanzhou, Quanzhou is Huang Degong's nest, he can't afford to lose, moreover, this person has a short personality, not to mention that Shi Kefa can't be adjusted, even that Hongguang is difficult to mobilize him, so as long as Li Laixiang is still in Anqing, Huang Degong will never be able to come to Yangzhou."

Kong Youde nodded, "Makes sense, continue"

Liu Liangzuo secretly rejoiced, "Xie Wangye, and then say that the Yangtze River Navy Admiral Liu Kongzhao, this person just relied on his ancestor Yinde, attacked the title of a sincere earl, in fact, he has no talent, a few months ago to take over the Admiral of the Navy, if you want to ask him which Qing/Lou girl in Nanjing City has more girls, he must know, you have to ask him how many warships the Yangtze River Navy Division has, he doesn't know at all, and this person is greedy, the prince only needs to send someone to secretly send him some property, let him stay still, then this journey is worry-free"

Kong Youde praised again and again, and said to Aobai, "How about it, Ao Zuoling, General Liu is a capable person, haha, General Liu continues"

The more Liu Liangzuo spoke, the more energetic he became, foaming at the mouth, currying favor with the king of Dingnan, and his future was bright.

"Yes, as for the seven governors stationed in Xiangshan, there is no need to worry, the Ming Court can't move them, these seven people, one is counted as one, all of them are opportunistic, villains who see the wind and rudder, not to mention that the reason why they are stationed in Xiangshan is because they have no way out, they want to be powerful ministers and have no guts, and they are unwilling, they are in a dilemma, I am afraid that they are eager to borrow the hand of the prince to get rid of that Wang Lanping, they can preserve their strength"

Kong Youde was puzzled, "They don't understand the truth of cold lips and teeth?" ”

"Of course I understand, but they are more afraid that Wang Lanping will return to Nanjing alive"

Kong Youde's face was clouded and foggy, what Liu Liangzuo said was roughly the same as the information he found, with the evidence of this person, Yangzhou is indeed a lonely city.

He nodded silently and said, "Well, General Liu really came to vote sincerely, and every sentence is to the point, when the war is over, I will definitely ask the regent for the general, you go down and rest first."

Liu Liangzuo smiled all over his face, "Thank you for your support, if you have a place to be useful in the future, Liu is not talented, and I am willing to serve the work of dogs and horses and retire."

Ao Bai looked at Liu Liangzuo's back with disdain, and sneered, "Zhu Yousong used this person as a general, so he is blind."

Kong Youde laughed, "Without this kind of person, how can you and I make contributions, haha"

Ao Bai twisted his arm, "Then since you have no worries, how do you plan to use the soldiers?" Lao Tzu suffocated"

Kong Youde said, "Don't worry, Liu Liangzuo is right, the seven people entrenched in Xiangshan will not support Yangzhou now, but it is precisely because they are good at opportunism, that is to say, as long as we are at a disadvantage, it is difficult to guarantee that they will not come to get a piece of the pie, so if we want to fight, we must be nine out of ten, and we must not show a trace of defeat, otherwise, the situation is difficult to control."

Ao Bai this person followed the ** Hachi expedition to the east and west in the early years, and almost never suffered any big losses, especially after leaving the customs, it is even more indispensable, Remnant Ming is already an old man, how much more waves can be set off, and what Wang Lanping, where the juniors who came out, I have never heard of it, if it wasn't for Duoduo's repeated advice to Kong Youde as the main general, he was afraid that he would have done it alone a long time ago.

Ao Bai said indifferently, "Okay, as far as you Han people are too many, it's so uneasy to fight, let me tell you, at most five days, if you don't order an attack, don't blame me for robbing you of the first credit."

Kong Youde was also very sad for this person, although he was just a leader, but he was also a hereditary nobleman, and he couldn't afford to offend the owner of the yellow flag.

At this moment, a soldier on duty outside the tent shouted, "King Dingnan, there is a messenger from the Ming camp."

Kong Youde glanced at Ao Bai and said, "Then, someone is more anxious than you, bring it in"