"Do you have a better plan?" Chongzhen asked.

"The minister thinks that it is not the right time to fight a decisive battle with Jianyu in Jinzhou now." Liu Jun replied, "The minister thinks that if you want to deal with Jianyu, you can't hope for a decisive battle. At this stage, it is important to continue to defend. ”

Liu Jun is not avoiding the battle or fearing the war, but it is actually the battle record of the Ming army and the Qing army, and the more the battle is held, the more miserable the loss will be. The advantage of the Qing army is the elite of soldiers and horses, and the original advantage of the Ming army is firearms and city defense, but now the Qing army has also cast the Hongyi cannon, if the Ming army gives up the city defense to take the initiative to fight with the Qing army in the field, it is no advantage at all.

In particular, every time the Ming army fights, it draws troops from all over the country, and these days the soldiers and horses in the north and south are often low in combat effectiveness. The gathering of a large number of soldiers and horses in Liaodong has also caused logistical supply difficulties, and such temporary patchwork of soldiers and horses will not only not increase combat effectiveness, but on the contrary, it will be difficult to have tacit cooperation, and will only become the target of the Qing army's various breakthroughs, and even directly drag the logistics to death, and collapse without a fight.

"The minister thinks that Jianyu is building a city in Yizhou to further squeeze the living space of our Jinzhou garrison. As for this kind of plot of Jianguo, I don't think it is necessary to immediately send a large army to the battle, on the contrary, we only need to send a small elite force to carry out a counterattack and harass the operation against Jianguo. ”

"Send a small force of cavalry to harass the Jianju, disrupt their fortification, and harass the supply routes of the Jianju, so that they are exhausted, and repay the other in the other way."

Chongzhen was a little disappointed.

"That's your plan?"

Liu Jun said, "The minister's plan is to change the situation in the past where the imperial court was passively beaten and could only be trapped, and also changed every time he was forced to fight with Jianyu and fight a decisive battle in which we did not have an advantage." The minister thinks that we should start a sabotage war against Jianyu. All-out sabotage warfare. The attack on Yizhou was only a part, and the minister requested to lead the army from Dengzhou to the sea, counterattack the Liaodong Peninsula, open up a second battlefield, contain the forces of Jianlu, and relieve the pressure on the Ningjin front line in western Liaoning. ”

"Even. We can also re-send troops to land on Phi Dao, cut off the connection between Jianyu and North Korea, and pull North Korea back to the Ming Dynasty. ”

"Sabotage?" Chongzhen's lips were thoughtful.

"Your Majesty, when Mao Wenlong was on Phi Island, he also caused a lot of damage to Jianyu and restrained a lot of his troops. However, the strength of the Dongjiang Army was still too weak, and the results achieved were limited. If His Majesty can support the minister's plan, the minister intends to join forces with Zheng Zhilong, the deputy commander-in-chief of Fujian. Use their fleet to transport the new army in Hubei, attack and harass the entire coastal area controlled by Jianyu, and if there is a chance, they can also attack the city. ”

"Just like the Japanese on the southeast coast back then, they attacked the coastal areas of Jianguo, and there was no need to rush to seize the city and regain control. All you have to do is take advantage of the enemy's defenses to attack, destroy their cities, and loot their population. Money for livestock, kill their soldiers. Even if it's a small win every time. can add up to a lot, and in the end, it can also make Jianyu bleed continuously and make Jianyu tired. ”

Liu Jun knew very well that he could climb to this high position in a short period of time, which was the emperor's powerful reward for his suppression of bandits, and at the same time, he had long hoped that he could lead his troops to deal with Jianlu and make new contributions. If he refuses to send troops to Liaodong, then he will be of no value to Chongzhen. And Chongzhen for those courtiers who have no value. It's very ruthless.

But Liu Jun really didn't want to go to Jinzhou, so he took the nine-headed bird to Jinzhou to fight Jianyu, and he had to fight under the command of his general, which would never end well. Liaoxi is the territory of the generals of Liaoxi, which is almost a warlord separatism. The guest army from other places will definitely not have a good time in the past.

Liu Jun has been thinking about this problem these days, and finally he felt that since he couldn't avoid fighting outside the Guan, and he wanted to be under the command of the governors of Liaoxi, it was best to avoid Ning Jin's meat grinder.

He thought of Mao Wenlong, who had also been in the wind for a time in Phi Dao. A defeated colonel who eventually established a military town on Phi Dao. Although in the end, Mao Wenlong's Dongjiang soldiers achieved limited results, and in the end, they were killed by Yuan Chonghuan because they did not listen to the dispatch of the imperial court and were busy trading and doing business, but Mao Wenlong gave Liu Jun an inspiration.

Why do you want to go to Jinzhou to fight hard, why don't you fight alone like Mao Wenlong.

But Liu Jun didn't want to be like Mao Wenlong, who only guarded a small island at the mouth of the Yalu River and did entrepot trade. Liu Jun thought of the original rebellion in the southeast, and the Japanese invaders landed everywhere on the southeast coast by boat, looting everywhere, and making the Ming army anxious.

If Liu Jun could have enough warships, then Liu Jun would be able to land everywhere on the long coastline controlled by the Qing Dynasty, just like the Japanese invaders.

Moreover, there are many advantages to this way of fighting, first of all, you can avoid the real and make up for the false, and you don't have to fight hard with the Qing army. Second, it can completely grasp the initiative and fight wherever it wants, instead of passively guarding those castles as in Liaoxi, waiting for the Qing army to besiege them.

There is also a great advantage, that is, this kind of pirate-style landing operation is also an opportunity to loot on a large scale.

And this mode of warfare, as long as it can reach a certain scale, can indeed give the Qing army quite a headache, and it will definitely have to withdraw some soldiers and horses from Liaoxi to the rear.

And from the bottom of his heart, Liu Jun also hopes to preserve his strength and even continue to grow himself in the future.

"How effective do you think this approach will be?" Chongzhen asked, "The effect achieved by Mao Wenlong was very effective, the imperial court provided hundreds of thousands of military salaries to Dongjiang Town every year, but in the end, the Dongjiang soldiers rebelled in Denglai, and finally rebelled and surrendered. ”

"Mao Wenlong sits on Phi Dao, and his enterprising spirit is not enough. But if Your Majesty can support Weichen, then we will let the coastline of Jianyu for more than 1,000 miles never have peace. ”

"Is Fujian's Zheng Zhilong credible?" Chongzhen also has some understanding of Zheng Zhilong, the big pirate leader who has been recruited, since this pirate leader was recruited by Xiong Wencan, in the name of the imperial court, he defeated Liu Xiang and other big pirate groups one after another, and even fought a big battle with the Francois at sea in the name of the imperial court sailor, and won a great victory.

After being recruited, although Zheng Zhilong no longer harassed the coast, he was dedicated to maritime trade, and it is said that he had thousands of ships on the sea, and he was already the king of the southeast sea. The imperial court also transferred Zheng Zhilong north to Liao to fight several times, but the Zheng family shirked it for various reasons.

If it weren't for the fact that the imperial court was a foreign captive and an internal colt before, and Zheng Zhilong did not plunder the coast again, Chongzhen would have sent troops to encircle and suppress the Zheng clan a long time ago. But even so, Chongzhen didn't have a good impression of Zheng Zhilong.

"Your Majesty can pardon Xiong Wencan, let him be responsible for contacting Zheng Zhilong, and then add officials to Zheng Zhilong, I believe that Zheng Zhilong will obey the order."

Chongzhen felt that things would not be so simple.

"The minister is willing to personally persuade Zhilong to be sent."

"Your Majesty, if you have the Zheng Clan's sea fleet, coupled with the new army trained by the ministers, you will definitely be able to make the rear of Houjin catch fire, take care of yourself, and relieve the pressure on Ningjin in Liaoxi. Chen dared to say that as long as the tactics of the large-scale attack were successfully implemented, after three or five years, the strength of the Houjin would inevitably drop sharply, and at that time, the imperial court would accumulate strength and could counterattack on a large scale to recover Liaodong. ”

Chongzhen was a little moved, and after listening to Liu Jun's words, he also realized that the counterattack now is too hasty and very risky. And Liu Jun's plan, although a little conservative, is also more secure.

"How much food do you need if you carry out your plan?" Chongzhen asked the most critical question, you have to ask for money and food to fight, and what Chongzhen lacks most now is money and food.

In order to strengthen Chongzhen's confidence, Liu Jun hurriedly said, "Liaohai is about to freeze this year, and the minister has to contact the Zheng family to discuss, and the grain and grass also need to be prepared, so if Your Majesty can support the minister's plan." Then the minister expects to be able to fight next summer, and as for the issue of food and grass, His Majesty does not have to worry about it. After next year's summer harvest, there will be millions of stone of tuntian rental, which will be fully used to support military rations, and even if the plan goes well, we will be able to seize a lot of money and grain from the cities and villages that we have built, which can be used to pay for soldiers' salaries. ”

There is no need for Chongzhen to pay for food, which makes Chongzhen even more excited.

The more soldiers and horses gathered in Liaoxi, the more food and salary the imperial court needed to transport, and the more difficult it was to supply. However, Liu Jun's plan did not require the imperial court to pay for the supply of food, which was a condition that was difficult to ignore.

Now the biggest question left is whether Zheng Zhilong can obey the order and lead his fleet to assist Liu Jun's battle.

"Next summer." Chongzhen said slowly, and then his gaze suddenly became stern, "Next summer, can you send troops on time?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, as long as Your Majesty supports the minister's plan, then the minister will immediately send a large number of spies to the coast of Liaodong and begin to collect and probe information from various places. The minister will seize the time to prepare for the dispatch of troops with the Zheng family, and at the same time seize the time to train soldiers and horses, and when the Liaohai thaws next year, the minister will immediately lead the army to Liaodong. ”

"Liu Jun, I have high hopes for you, and I hope you won't let me down."

When Liu Jun withdrew from the hall, there was a chill on his back, and his vest was full of sweat just now. Out of the main hall, Liu Jun stood outside the hall and exhaled, but he didn't expect him to make such a suggestion, and Chongzhen actually agreed. It seems that although he is young, he has also established a bit of prestige in suppressing bandits, so that Chongzhen also attaches great importance to his words.

followed the eunuch out of the palace and arrived at the imperial city, where Liu Qiao and Cao Huachun were still waiting.

"How?" Liu Qiao came over and asked.

"All the best." Liu Jun smiled, "Now please ask my uncle to take me to the Imperial Prison, I want to see someone." ”

"See whom?"

"Xiong Wencan!"

"See him for what?" Liu Qiao asked. The former prime minister of the five provinces for the suppression of bandits has been in prison since he was arrested and brought to Beijing. If it weren't for the good situation of suppressing bandits, Xiong Wencan would have been cut down a long time ago. But even if you save your life for a while, it will be difficult to get out of prison. Liu Qiao couldn't understand why Liu Jun wanted to see him.

"Lord Xiong is now the Admiral Caojiang Imperial History!" (To be continued......)