Outside the golden autumn and October, the grass grows and the eagle flies, the blue sky is like washing, the verdant color of the earth has put on a little golden taste, the sun is unobstructed, and everything that seems to be in sight seems so clear and vibrant. The breeze blew, bringing down a few swaying leaves, but then they were trampled under the feet of the galloping horses, and they disappeared.

At the end of the grassland in the distance is Shengjing, which is the southernmost and important stronghold of the former Liaodong Capital Division and the surrounding area - Lianshan Pass. The outline of the entire city is already in view.

Several soldiers of the Ming army did not collect elite soldiers at night, patted the dust and fallen leaves stained with leather armor on their bodies, and glanced at each other, and a soldier wearing a long wooden waist tag turned over and tore off a large flag from behind him, and threw it with one hand, and the flagpole sank deep into the dark and fertile soil. The wind on the hillside is fierce, the red flag is spread out with the wind, and the big Ming character dragon flies and the phoenix dances, and wants to rush to the nine skies.

Three miles away, on the vast grassland, there was a different scene, a sea of red and black composed of countless phalanxes, under the command of a clear drumbeat, slowly marching northward. The jungle next to the grassland became a little panicked and lively because of the arrival of this army, and countless birds rose to the sky and flew towards the east in panic. On the ground, the yellow and green grass has been trampled to the ground. From time to time, frightened beasts rushed out of the woods, and the marching soldiers seemed to be unaware. Continue to march calmly and firmly towards the north.

Li Dingguo, who was stationed on the high ground, was surrounded by a group of generals and slowly put down the clairvoyant mirror in his hand. The battle flag of the Ming army waving in the wind in the distance has been caught in his eyes.

Li Dingguo nodded with satisfaction, turned around to look at the army that was slowly approaching Lianshan Pass not far away, and asked softly, "Have the soldiers and horses on the left and right wings kept up?" ”

Zhang Jizu immediately replied: "Wu Ziniu on the left wing and Xiong Wanpeng on the right wing have arrived at the designated position and can cooperate with the army to launch an attack on Lianshan Pass at any time. ”

Xiao Yuanteng frowned, "Governor." Lianshan Pass was operated by Jierharang for a long time, and there were more than 100 red-coated cannons of the Manchu Qing Dynasty alone, although the caliber was not large, but relying on the fortified city, it could cause great casualties to the besieging troops. Outside the mountain pass, the power of artillery cannot be underestimated! ”

Li Dingguo and Zhang Jizu did not speak. Instead, he looked at Xiao Yuanteng quietly and listened to him finish his words.

"Dolgon took He Luohui as the minister of the town to guard Shengjing, and the governors Xiong Yaocheng, Jinzhou, Ningyuan, Phoenix, Xingjing, Xincheng, Niuzhuang, and Xiuyancheng, and even Jierharang and Yingordai were also subject to his control. The prince once said that this person is a talent, but he is in a political dispute, and he is very careful with his troops and does not dare to take risks, but he is only a Chinese person's capital. Dolgon's knowledge of it is incomplete. Because of this, He Luohui will definitely choose the way to defend steadily. I'm afraid I won't go out of the city to fight. Moreover, the reinforcements of Ningguta and the Haixi Jurchen tribes are also rushing to the Lianshan Pass area one after another, and the total strength may exceed 100,000 people, if we force the pass, I am afraid that we will be dragged by the enemy under the pass, Ningguta and Haixi Jurchen are all light horses, and the speed of the attack is extremely fast, if you use the tactics of harassing the enemy. We will inevitably take care of one and lose the other! ”

Li Dingguo and Zhang Yaozu looked at each other and smiled, although Xiao Yuanteng belonged to the Department of Military Intelligence. But after graduating from Jiangwutang, he has been following Li Dingguo to fight outside the Guan, so he is definitely an expert in military affairs. His worries are indeed realistic. But Li Dingguo has already taken countermeasures.

Long before receiving Zhu Ping'an's order to send troops, Li Dingguo had already sent Cao Bianjiao, who had arrived from Shandong, to lead the main cavalry force to gallop to the area of Lianshan Pass. Cao Bianjiao is a fierce general of the border army, and has fought many times with the Liukou and Qing armies. He knows the tactics of the Qing soldiers very well. Zhu Ping'an sent him to Liaodong precisely to give full play to his characteristics of being good at cavalry combat.

In the past few years in Korea, in addition to hoarding a large amount of military supplies, Li Dingguo has spent a lot of effort to form a cavalry corps outside the Guanwai. The cavalry team of 20,000 people led by Cao Bianjiao was completely composed of Han people outside the Guan. Coupled with the one-handed adjustment of the cavalry instructor Gran and Cao Bianjiao under the command of Goethe, the head of the new monarch, its combat power is definitely not much better than that of the elite of the Eight Banners.

Therefore, Cao Bianjiao and Gran set out early in the morning to take on the task of attacking Ningguta and Haixi Jurchen reinforcements. With the survival of the cavalry corps, the light cavalry army of the Manchu Qing could not have a great impact on the Miyagi troops.

While he was talking, someone came to report that Tong Jingyan and Park Youzhou had arrived and came to meet Li Dingguo.

But he didn't know that it was Tong Jingyan and Pu Youzhou, Li Dingguo saw clearly the appearance of the person surrounded by Tong Jingyan and Pu Youzhou, and hurriedly dismounted, trotted over with a group of generals, turned over and knelt down and saluted, "Lord Wang, why did you come to Liaodong in person?" ”

Zhu Ping'an, who was in the dust, laughed, and helped Li Dingguo up with both hands, "What, you're not welcome?" ”

"What did the prince say? The subordinates are just worried about your safety on this road, from Shandong to Liaodong, the waterway is naturally unimpeded, but the four guards are newly pacified, and there will inevitably be stragglers of the Qing army on the road....... ”

Zhu Ping'an waved his hand indifferently, "I am a light car this time, the Liaodong War is imminent, now the situation in the Guannan is changing, Dolgon has played a good chess hand, but it is forcing me to be in a hurry, if I don't make amends at this time, I am afraid that the situation in the Guannai will be difficult to control in the future!" ”

Everyone understood the meaning of Zhu Ping'an's words.

Dorgon played this hand, but it was beautiful. The main forces of the Eight Banners were all assembled in Hebei and Gyeonggi, but the green battalion was suddenly prepared. More than 200,000 troops formed an army day and night, and even the royal family spared no effort to participate in it, building the green battalion soldiers and horses like iron buckets. Although it was mixed with the infighting in the Manchu court, I have to admit that under this form, the cooperation between Dolgon and Da Yuer undoubtedly greatly improved the combat power of the Qing army.

The Han people in Liaodong's ancestral home supervised the green camp, and installed the children of the Han people in Liaodong into the green camp, which prevented Wu Sangui and other generals from becoming bigger, and at the same time ensured the maintenance and improvement of their combat power.

and how to talk about it, using it as a smokescreen to confuse Zheng Zhilong, who is bent on pursuing immortal achievements, and at the same time wants to urgently weaken Zhu Ping'an. Just when Zheng Zhilong mistakenly thought that the vast situation of Huzhou had been decided, Wu Sangui and Hong Chengchou's armies advanced north and south, and Wu Sangui defeated Zheng Sen's westward army in the first battle, and the troops approached Xiangyang.

And Hong Chengchou will be more experienced in using troops, it can be said that the soldiers are not bloody, so they lightly caused the coalition forces of He Tengjiao, Yuan Jixian, and Wan Yuan Ji to suffer heavy losses.

Since taking refuge in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Hong Chengchou's means of winning over and dividing can be said to be increasingly sophisticated. Just before the army, he had already contacted Wang Jincai, Ma Jinzhong, Zhang Xianbi, Huang Chaoxuan, Liu Chengyin, Cao Zhijian, Wang Yuncheng, Lu Ding and other departments of the Dashun Army, and made a wish to win them over. ordered the general of the Ganshun army to be put under He Tengjiao.

When Hong Chengchou's Southern Route Army came to kill, Wang Jincai, Ma Jinzhong, Zhang Xianbi, Huang Chaoxuan and others turned against each other in front of the formation, turned around and went straight to the coalition army. He Tengjiao and others were caught off guard, and the soldiers and horses were crushed at the first touch, and the loss of soldiers reached 20,000.

The most helpless thing is that Zheng Zhilong, an old fox, was actually planted on a clumsy beauty scheme, and was almost killed by a Mongolian woman offered by the Manchu Qing Dynasty between the beds, and he was in a coma for more than ten days before he woke up, and when he woke up, the situation in Huguang was irreparable. Also, the most distressing thing is that a large number of Zheng Army's grain and grass military materials hoarded in Xiangyang Xincheng Bay were burned clean by the Qing army's meticulous work.

This also led to the final rout of the Zheng family's army. The pirate traditions and habits of the Zheng army were fully revealed, and the news of the fire in Xiangyang reached the various departments, and most of the generals completely ignored Zheng Sen's order for the troops to hold the counterattack steadily, and instead took their own chosen route to withdraw their troops to the south. Among them is Zheng Sen's uncle, Zheng Zhibao.

When the battle reached this point, even Sun Wusheng was powerless to recover. All of a sudden, even Nanjing was shocked three times a day, and he was terrified.

I have to admit that the Manchu Qing Dynasty's strategy was extremely successful. In one fell swoop, Zheng Zhilong's hard-won strategic advantage in Huguang was eliminated, and at the same time, the advantages accumulated by the Longwu court were lost, and Nanzhili was about to directly face the Qing army's troops.

In this case, Zhu Ping'an could only take action to contain the strength of the Qing army. However, the main force of the Qing army held on to the Hebei and Beijing sides, and Dolgon just closed the door, and if Zhu Ping'an forcibly attacked, he would inevitably suffer great losses.

Therefore, Zhu Ping'an hit the idea to Liaodong's side. Henan, because of the long-term war, has almost become a barren land, and now there are remnants of the Shun army like Liu Rukui and Liu Hongqi to hold on, and it may be difficult to pose a threat to Shanxi for a while. Liaodong has become the best entry point.

When Zhu Ping'an came to Liaodong this time, he only brought about a thousand guards from thousands of households, and the rest brought dozens of huge wooden boxes.

Zhu Ping'an pointed to the wooden boxes, "The terrain in Liaodong is flat and open, so I brought these new gadgets researched by the Ordnance Bureau, this thing is the most suitable in Liaodong!" ”

In fact, Li Dingguo has already discovered He Changshui, who is following Zhu Ping'an and is currently qualified to be the head of the Shandong Ordnance Bureau. But Li Dingguo was a little disappointed in his heart, and he hoped that it was Sun Heding who came to Liaodong. Sun Heding was in charge of the development of the standard artillery of the Shandong army, and Li Dingguo discovered in the years of combat that artillery is of great significance to the enhancement of the combat strength of the new army, and in siege warfare, artillery is undoubtedly the best choice. However, He Changshui has been responsible for the development of weapons such as firearms and rockets for a long time, and it can be said that his works can only be icing on the cake for war, but may not be able to make a final decision.

Zhu Ping'an saw Li Dingguo's thoughts, and couldn't help but smile, "Don't worry, Ningguta and Haixi Jurchen's light cavalry will come to the front line of Lianshan Pass soon, when the time comes, let you see the power of He Changshui's new gadgets, when the time comes, I'm afraid you won't be this kind of expression!" (To be continued......)