Checks and balances are a means, an effective and long-standing means. This method is not only used by those in high positions, but also by subordinates.

Zhu Yongxing started in the southwest corner, relying on the remnants of the Great Western Army, and the generals of the former Great Western Army naturally rose to the top. This situation actually has historical roots, the three kings of Qin, Jin, Shu, and then the king of Gongchang, etc., because Yongli took refuge in the Great Western Army, so that the generals of the Great Western Army were generally high-ranking and high-ranking people. Another once vigorous peasant army, the Dashun Army, was not a prince because of its strength and other reasons.

In the rising battle, the Ming army with the original Western Army as the main body has a great record, Bai Wenxuan, Ma Bao is the king, a large number of Guogong, Lian, Li Sixing, Ma Zide, Wei Junzhong and other young generations also lead an army, and the future is bright. Of course, this was obtained by virtue of his military exploits and loyalty, and Zhu Yongxing had clear rewards and punishments, and he did not want to be suppressed.

The Thirteen Kuidong Families, with the former Dashun Army as the main body, were resolute in their anti-Qing consciousness, and although their strength was insufficient, Zhu Yongxing still united them with sincerity and grace and gave generous help. In terms of titles, promoting a prince not only does not allow him to have the psychology of being discriminated against and dwarf, but also allows him to have a unified leadership, which is more conducive to combat.

After that, there was also the Wu army who surrendered to Cheng, and it was also represented by the prince Wu Sangui, which was regarded as a balanced disposition of the three major factions in the Ming army.

Although Zhu Yongxing did not want to have any factions, he had always tried to use the unified concept of the Ming army to downplay the root cause of the army, and used a series of methods to dilute or integrate the composition of various troops. But he also knew that some balance between favoring one over the other was necessary, such as giving Liu Tichun the title of prince, so that the generals from the Dashun Army would not feel discriminated against. And the original Wu Jun should also be so because Wu Sangui is in a high position.

Obviously, for sensible courtiers. The most important thing is to keep the monarch from suspicion. For example, Li Dingguo, the king of the Jin Dynasty, made his position clear at the critical moment, and only took the preservation of Yongli as the bottom line; For example, Wu Sangui, although he served in the General Staff Headquarters, and his son-in-law led an army alone, he was also careful to have few contacts. Especially when it comes to the military arrangements of the Dangshuo army, he is even more cautious, lest the emperor think that he has selfishness in his heart.

It is reassuring to note that several armies of different origins are trying to downplay their original camp. The Great Western Army was born like this, so as not to be called a "thief" again; This is especially true of the Dashun army, and the Jiashen rebellion has always been the thing they avoid the most; The Wu army was the same, after all, it had fought for the Manchu Qing Dynasty, captured many places, and killed many officials and people of the original Ming Dynasty.

In such a psyche. Obedience is the only option. This enabled Zhu Yongxing to continuously send officers who had graduated from the martial arts hall to various ministries, or to disrupt and transfer officers from different backgrounds, so as to achieve firm control over the army, and to make each army gradually fade or forget the original history.

Li Dingguo, the king of Jin, and Liu Tichun, the king of Zheng, were not only two high-ranking generals of the Ming army, but also a representative figure belonging to the two major peasant armies. However, both of them tried to put aside history as much as possible and met in their current capacity, and the matters involved were also military affairs as much as possible.

"With the strength of our army, we should be able to make arrangements for destroying the enemy." Liu Tichun is the commander of an army. He is also ranked as the king of one word, and in theory he is equal to Li Dingguo, the king of Jin. So he can be more polite but don't have to humble himself to put forward his own proposals.

In this joint operation, if the commander is not appointed, but he expects to reach a unified decision through harmonious consultation, it is Zhu Yongxing's ignorance. However, the titles of the two parties made it difficult for him to set high and low, so he adopted a compromise method, and he directly sent Lu Guogong Qi Sansheng, who was similar to the general staff of the Qin envoy. Unified command in the nature of a three-man military regiment.

Li Dingguo, the king of the Jin Dynasty, obviously agreed with Liu Tichun's construction, and although the situation of taking risks on three sides and straining down to the Qing army was advantageous, it gave the Qing army a way to retreat, and it was naturally the most certain to conquer Baoning, but he did not dare to hope for the results.

"According to the king. It only takes two divisions to divide the army, which is enough to pass the Jiameng Pass in the north and the Liangshan Pass in the east, completely cutting off the retreat route of the Qing army to flee into Shaanxi. Li Dingguo expressed his approval of Liu Tichun, "The Qing army in Baoning is only 20,000, and the strength of our army to attack the city is twice that of the enemy. ”

"Great siege, but no division of troops during the siege?" Qi Sansheng understood what Li Dingguo meant, that is, not to annihilate the enemy in Baoning, but to expand the battlefield, so that the Qing army had no way to retreat from Baoning, "This is a safe way." In fact, I also hope to annihilate the Qing army in one fell swoop, so that the Qing army will not enter Shaanxi. However, the saint has always been heavy-minded and seeks stability. Of course, the Holy Lord also instructed that if there is a fighter, it must be seized, the two princes are famous generals who have been in battle for a long time, and the situation on the front line is changing rapidly, so there is no need to be limited to planning. ”

"Holy Wisdom." Liu Tichun arched his hand to the east, and then asked, "What does the Duke of Guo mean?" ”

"Since the two princes judge like this, I naturally have no objection." Qi Sansheng said with a smile: "If the two princes agree on the same opinion, I will only bring ears and no mouth; If it is difficult for the two princes to decide, then I will not measure my strength and say a few shallow opinions. ”

"Hehe, Guogong is too humble." Li Dingguo, the king of Jin, did not have the slightest neglect and support because Qi Sansheng was his old department, after all, Qi Sansheng came down from the General Staff, maybe Zhu Yongxing personally told him to explain, or maybe he had something like a secret decree on his body.

"It's not self-humility, it's what the Holy One said." Qi Sansheng shook his head lightly and said solemnly: "Although the Holy Lord has been in battle many times and is wise and heroic, he often talks about the disadvantages of remote command. Therefore, big plans are often sloppy, leaving room for front-line generals to be flexible. ”

"The Holy One is really the Emperor of the Ages." Li Dingguo, the king of Jin, complimented him and said euphemistically: "The original general offensive of the Northern Expedition should be in the spring of next year, I wonder if there has been any change now?" ”

"It's really changed." Qi Sansheng patted the map on the table, pointed and said: "The speed of material hoarding is faster than expected, if it is said to be a general attack, it has actually started now." Jianghuai and Shandong formed a flanking trend and went north along the canal; The southwest first took Baoning, and then forced Hanzhong, and then depending on the movement of the Qing army, the Shuo army could be put into the battlefield of Shaanxi or Henan; Based on Jiaodong, march to Liaodong, seize the island first and then go to land, and the main direction of attack may be in Lushun ......"

With Qi Sansheng's explanation, the situation of the entire counteroffensive became clear in front of the eyes of Li Dingguo, the king of Jin, and Liu Tichun, the king of Zheng, so that they knew the relationship between the southwest battlefield and the overall situation, and how to better plan for the battle. (To be continued......)