Zheng Xunrui finally made clear the time for the expedition against Huang Degong, the general army of Zhejiang, and the 50,000 soldiers of the Zheng family army, who had already been prepared, set off on 15 March and headed for Jiaxing, Zhejiang, where Nanjing was more than 600 miles away from Jiaxing, and according to the marching speed of the Zheng army, they could arrive within three days.

The commander-in-chief of this expedition is Zheng Jinhong, and Zheng Xunrui is sitting in Nanjing and will not personally participate in the expedition.

Xu Wanghua and others have been thinking about the reason for this expedition, no matter what, Zheng Xunrui is still the king of Xiang of the Ming Dynasty, the prince and the prince, the scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion, and the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, and Huang Degong is also the chief soldier of Zhejiang appointed by the imperial court.

Zheng Xunrui didn't care about the reason for the conquest of Huang Degong, but he also listened to the persuasion of Xu Wanghua and others, and the kings who seized the world since ancient times finally wanted to find a reasonable reason for themselves, even if it was a rebellion, they had to say that it was high-sounding.

The reason given by Xu Wanghua and others in the end was that Huang Degong was domineering and the common people.

This reason is reasonable, since the Chongzhen period, the imperial court has always been in arrears of military salaries, which has also led to many armies to take the way of looting to seize money and feed the soldiers, but this situation is very common, almost all the army has such a problem, relatively speaking, Huang Degong is better.

Zheng Jiajun's expedition to Huang Degong, the real reason and the purpose that needs to be achieved Zheng Xunrui is clear, but that can't be said.

Nanjing Military Department.

Xu Wanghua, the secretary of the household department in Nanjing, Yang Tingshu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and Zheng Jinhong, who also served as the secretary of the criminal department, are all here.

"Jin Hong, this expedition against Huang Degong, we must fight quickly, and it is best to end the battle within March."

Zheng Xunrui's requirements can be described as very high. The 50,000 officers and men of the Zheng family army set off on March 15 and arrived in Jiaxing on March 18, plus some time for preparation, the time that can really be used for conquest and fighting is only 10 days, after all, there are nearly 200,000 soldiers under Huang Degong's command, and they want to end the battle within 10 days. The difficulty can be imagined.

However, Zheng Xunrui's blitzkrieg combat method has long been completely accepted by Zheng Jinhong and others, and now the situation of fighting has changed greatly, Zheng Jiajun, who has sharp artillery and Mauser guns, can not only hit the opponent at close range, but also hit the opponent at the original distance.

"Jiaxing, Zhejiang, is close to Songjiang Mansion, Suzhou Mansion and Changzhou Mansion in Nanzhili, and if the fighting is spread, it will definitely have a great impact on these places, and I don't want such a situation to appear."

"Huang Degong's command is known as 200,000 people. After a detailed investigation, the Investigation Department determined that Huang Degong's command was at most 120,000 to 130,000 people, and claimed to have 200,000 to the outside world, but in order to seek more military salaries, the 50,000 soldiers of the Zheng family army still needed to be cautious in the face of opponents who were several times their size. ”

"The sergeants under Huang Degong's command are not weaker than the rogues in terms of combat ability. But it's not much stronger, all these years. Huang Degong has always been stationed in Zhejiang, has not participated in many expeditions, his sergeants lack the necessary training, and more importantly, Huang Degong is also facing the dilemma of insufficient military pay and cannot afford to train sergeants. ”

That's exactly why. I demand that the fighting be over within three months. ”

"The battle still adopts the method of blitzkrieg, it is best to be able to capture Huang Degong alive, and in the case of necessity, you can consider killing Huang Degong, I think Huang Degong is still a strong general. Of course, it's a good thing to be able to fight for it. ”

"Since it is a blitzkrieg, then it is necessary to keep the operation secret, the march of the 50,000 army, it is impossible to keep it completely secret, so I suggest that the 50,000 army can be divided into the front army and the middle army, the front army is mainly composed of cavalry and the Shenji battalion, and the focus of the Chinese army is the artillery battalion, so that the front army can fight in the shortest possible time, at the fastest speed, and when the Chinese army arrives, give Huang Degong a fatal blow."

"The Investigation Agency has conducted a detailed investigation into the situation of Huang Degong's garrison, and you all know this information, and I will not repeat it."

"The most important thing in the army conquest is military discipline and military regulations, and it is absolutely forbidden to harass the people, and once discovered, no matter who is involved, they must be severely punished." ……

Zheng Jinhong has participated in almost all the battles of the Zheng family's army, and already has rich experience, there is no problem in commanding this battle, Zheng Xunrui does not need to emphasize too much, but he still earnestly and carefully entrusts, which makes Xu Wanghua and others feel strange.

After everything was arranged, Zheng Xunrui turned out the second and third maps on the table, which were the maps of Fujian and Yunnan, respectively.

"Lord Xu, Lord Yang, Jin Hong, maybe you are a little strange, why am I so verbose, without him, this battle is very important, related to the complete stability of the south, this battle is fought, Zheng Jiajun should be able to completely calm the situation in the south within this year, completely control the entire south, I have already said before, in addition to Huang Degong, there are still two biggest forces in the south, one is Zheng Zhilong in Fujian, and the other is Mu Tianbo in Yunnan."

"Zheng Zhilong used to be a pirate, recruited by the imperial court, he controlled the trade at sea, he was rich enough to rival the country, relying on the support of money and familiarity with naval warfare, he dominated one side, so many years have passed, I can't see any loyalty to the imperial court."

"Mu Tianbo is not to mention, hereditary Duke of Qianguo, and concurrently serves as the chief military officer of Yunnan, he was born in Yunnan, grew up in Yunnan, has a deep foundation, these years on the surface loyal to the imperial court, in fact, secretly gathered money, strengthened his own strength, as if he became the little emperor of Yunnan."

"These two forces, strictly speaking, are much stronger than Huang Degong's strength."

"Zheng Zhilong has been fighting at sea all the year round, if he can't hold on to it on land, it's a big deal to return to the sea and continue to be a pirate, his familiarity with naval warfare is something we can't predict, Zheng Zhilong has been a pirate, and some things in his nature are difficult to completely eradicate, in the final analysis, everything is for his own interests, everything depends on whether it is beneficial to himself, he will not be completely loyal to anyone, what I can think of is that once Zheng Jiajun completely defeats Huang Degong, he shows enough strength, Zheng Zhilong will definitely send someone to contact. ”

"Mu Tianbo is more difficult to deal with than Zheng Zhilong, although he is not very old, but his identity is good, Yunnan is located in the border, the terrain is complex, he has not encountered a battle for many years, the place is stable, in this case, the mountain is high and the emperor is far away, Mu Tianbo continues to expand his own strength, his strength is still very strong, plus Yunnan is a place where the toast is the majority, these toasts have been under the command of Mu Tianbo for a long time, and are willing to contribute money and effort to Mu Tianbo, so in terms of real strength, Mu Tianbo is the most powerful."

"The information detected by the Investigation Bureau surprised me, Zheng Zhilong has 15,000 elite soldiers under his command, these people are his old subordinates, brave in battle, not afraid of death, there are 5,000 people used to protect his mansion, the total strength under his command should be close to 100,000 people, and Zheng Zhilong completely controls the trade at sea, and the money obtained from the sea trade every year exceeds 10 million taels of silver, which is enough money to maintain the expenses of the army."

"Mu Tianbo, the Duke of Qianguo, is not only strong in terms of troops, but also has this advantage that Zheng Zhilong and Huang Degong do not have, that is, the Mu family has been operating in Yunnan for more than two hundred years, and the popularity and wealth accumulated are unimaginable, of course, Mu Tianbo is not without problems, there are too many toasts in Yunnan, these toasts often suffer from discrimination by officials at all levels, and there is resentment in their hearts. Looking forward to being able to control Yunnan and really get ahead. ”

"Mu Tianbo and Zheng Zhilong, each has its own advantages and disadvantages, once we exterminate or subdue these two forces, then the south will be completely stabilized, and in the next step, whether we implement the integration of the official gentry and the payment of grain, or roll out the Hongmen Money Village, there is not much of a problem."

"Choosing to exterminate Huang Degong, it can be said that the drunkard's intention is not to drink, use this move to deter Mu Tianbo and Zheng Zhilong, and see what they do, if they think that their strength is very strong and they don't care at all, then we are welcome, and immediately send troops to completely exterminate them."

"Lord Xu, the household department must be prepared, and the money and food needed for the expedition must be prepared in advance, I don't want too many large-scale expeditions, but the development of the situation is not something I can completely control." ……

Zheng Xunrui directly said his own considerations, Mu Tianbo and Zheng Zhilong both have a lot of fame in history, especially Zheng Zhilong's son Zheng Chenggong, who is a famous hero, of course, the current Zheng Chenggong, is still called Zheng Sen, and he is not famous.

Surrendering Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Xunrui thought of controlling maritime trade, once he really controlled the maritime trade along the coast of Fujian and Guangdong, the commercial taxes obtained would be greatly increased, and the power of Zheng Jiajun could also extend to South Asia and Europe through the sea, fully demonstrating the strength of the Ming Dynasty.

Surrender Mu Tianbo, you can completely stabilize the vast area of the southwest, you must know that there are too many ethnic minorities in these places, there are countless Tusi, each Tusi is a small emperor in the locality, today's ethnic minorities, is an unstable factor, after the pacification of the southwest, Zheng Xunrui will thoroughly implement the minority policy, through the popularization of education and the development of production, so that these ethnic minorities are completely integrated into the Ming Dynasty.

But Zheng Xunrui doesn't have much time, speaking of which is about a year, to basically complete these things, to stabilize the south, although some things can be implemented after the north is completely pacified, but the framework must be put up.

That's why Zheng Xunrui will take the trouble to entrust Zheng Jinhong to defeat Huang Degong cleanly and thoroughly. (To be continued.) )