Shen Jizhao took thousands of his subordinates to make a appearance, and he didn't make any flank detours at all, but fled along the river. It's just that he didn't expect the Henan Green Battalion to be defeated so quickly, and the Ming army wouldn't be catching up soon? The more he ran, the more frightened he became, and even the sound of the horse's hooves beside him seemed to be an attack by a pursuer, which frightened him into fear.

"My lord-" Shen Jizhao was startled by a greeting from his subordinates, "Look at the boats on the river, give us flags!" ”

Shen Jizhao hurriedly turned his head to look, and at this moment an arrow was being shot from the boat and pierced on the shore, and the arrow was tied to the order given to him.

"Leerjin wants us to turn back to meet the enemy, otherwise—" Shen Jizhao's face was as pale as dirt at first, and then he gritted his teeth with hatred, "Dead Tartars, who patronized and robbed the money and slipped away by themselves, what did you think of us?" Sent to death? ”

"What then?" The subordinates cried and said, "If you don't respect the order, you will die when you arrive in Wuchang!" ”

Shen Jizhao slowly exhaled a long breath, his face was gloomy, and word by word burst out of his mouth, "Then we won't leave!" simply voted for the Ming army, which can be regarded as a way to live. You tell me? ”

The subordinates met Shen Jizhao's cold gaze, couldn't help but shudder, blinked their eyes, stomped their feet, and said, "What do you command, what do you do." Let's go anyway sooner, maybe we can get a half-official position. This Tartar's gas count looks like it's exhausted, so let's not give them our lives. ”

"It's not enough anyway." Shen Jizhao smiled, his face was full of cruelty again, pointed to the river, and said, "We have to make meritorious contributions!" Whether it is to kill the Tartars or intercept the ship, this certificate of nomination is even obtained. ”

"Your Excellency is right." The eyes of his subordinates shone brightly, "There are a lot of treasures on that ship, and cutting off one or two of them and dedicating them to the Ming army must be regarded as a great achievement." We don't need a reward, right? ”

"Then let's go and set it up." Shen Jizhao patted his subordinates on the shoulder heavily and said, "Tell the brothers that you can't run away. The Ming army has already defeated the Henan Yankees and will soon catch up. Taking advantage of this opportunity, let's make meritorious service anyway. Well, I'll make sure they're alive. What about later. Those who want to be soldiers continue to work, and those who don't want to fight go home and farm. ”

……………

The defeat of Henan Green Camp so quickly was indeed unexpected by Le Erjin and others. To talk about the troops with combat effectiveness, there are also the Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners, as well as some of the Henan Qing soldiers who have already boarded the ship. However, if we want to mobilize these troops to land and meet the battle, we will never be able to.

First of all, if you are already on the ship, you are basically safe, who will step into danger. Fight to the death with the enemy? Secondly, re-ashore, pulling horses, assembling, and arranging formations are not tasks that can be completed in a moment and a half, isn't it like sending them to death, which Le Erjin and others also know in their hearts. Not going up, not going down, is this dilemma.

So, see the rout of the green camp in Henan. The Huguang Green Camp on the wharf scattered in a hurry, discarding a lot of materials that had not been transported. The ships on the river were withdrawn from the shore in panic. Le Erjin and others had no choice but to set sail.

Although thousands of soldiers and horses were lost, fortunately, most of the Manchu and Mongolian generals were there, and there were still defeated soldiers fleeing eastward on the shore. When he saw that the green battalion, which was supposed to be attacking on the flank of the Ming army, was hurrying along the river, Leerjin couldn't help but be furious. shot a sternly worded order on the shore, but he didn't expect that it was his threats and intimidation that forced the green battalion to surrender anyway and turn against him.

The Mongolian commander Hartu barely stood on the mast, and he was not used to water, and he did not even dare to look at the flowing river. The cabin was loaded with looted goods. Although he was defeated, he was comforted by these possessions. Poor, isn't it just to get rich when you come out to fight, if you can't work hard, you don't work hard, the world of the Manchu Qing Dynasty is not Mongolian.

In the corner of his eye, Hartu saw a lot of Qing soldiers standing at the bend of the river in front of him, and he didn't care very much. When the dock was chaotic just now, many Qing soldiers were in a hurry to board the ship and flee for their lives, but many were pushed into the water. There are also many boat gangs, swords cut down, and no one can stop the ships from going offshore to avoid danger.

As the ship continued to move on, Hardu turned his eyes to see the Qing soldiers on the shore, and he liked to see their desperate or pleading eyes, because this was a sign of his superior status and status. These Green Banner soldiers are not only slaves of the Manchurians, but he is also usually called and drunk.

It's just that this time Hartu was a little surprised, he saw a look in his eyes that he couldn't guess for a while, and before he could figure it out, suddenly a rapid rain of arrows shot from behind these Qing soldiers.

The screams continued, and the sailors and helmsmen on the ship fell one after another in a rain of arrows, and Hattu was also caught off guard, with two arrows in his body and one in the face. The boat suddenly lost control, slowly spun, and instead of turning the bend of the river, it rushed onto the riverbank.

Haltu's body slowly softened, the ship was turning, the sky was spinning, and his consciousness was gradually blurred. Boiled meat, mushroom soup, and refreshing rhubarb cakes, he seemed to have returned to his hometown on the grassland, and the long tune of the shepherd girl whispered in his ears...... He swallowed, but it was full of salty smell, and his eyes went dark.

"You tow the boat to shore. You guys, continue to shoot at Lao Tzu, shoot these dog tartars, and see if they dare to treat us as inappropriate. Shen Jizhao jumped on the shore and howled, "Mom×, this time let you know how powerful Lao Tzu is." ”

Now that he had already attacked, Shen Jizhao simply ordered the soldiers to line up in an array, covering with shields in front and bows and arrows in the back, and attacking the ships when they came.

At this moment, the ships behind were destroyed. some ran aground out of control; Some swirled in the river, blocking the passage of the ships behind; Some hurriedly drove on the north shore. The sailing, which had been quite orderly, immediately became chaotic, the ships collided and evaded, and the soldiers on board staggered, and they were about to open their bows and fight back, shouting and screaming, and for a moment it became a mess.

The sound of horses' hooves on the shore was hurried, and Dang Shousu chased after him with hundreds of Ming troops. In front of him were the subordinates sent by Shen Jizhao, who had already been in contact with the Ming army.

"Do a good job, count your meritorious service, and you will be rewarded." Dang Shousu only slowed down slightly, shouted at Shen Jizhao and the others, and ran forward with the people.

"Who's that? Does talking count? Shen Jizhao asked his subordinates suspiciously.

"It's the Marquis of Xingping." The subordinate whispered: "The official is not small! ”

"It turned out to be a marquis." Shen Jizhao perked up and encouraged his subordinates loudly, "Brothers, hit it, hit it hard, Master Hou said that there is a heavy reward!"

Anyway, the Huguang Green Flag is getting harder and harder. Some people even risked being shot by arrows to run to the shore to behead the Qing soldiers who had fallen into the water and climbed ashore, and then ran back with bloody heads, arousing the cheers of many people.

"Huh? Xingping Hou-" Shen Jizhao suddenly felt familiar, scratched his head and thought for a while, and finally raised his head to look at his subordinates. Stunned, he said: "Is there a Xingping Marquis in the remnants of the thieves in Kuidong?" It seems that the party guards the past? ”

The subordinate blinked, seemed to remember, was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly whispered: "My lord is cautious, don't say the word thief again in the future." ”

Uh-huh! Shen Jizhao nodded again and again, and added: "It's the Emperor's army, it's all the king's master, the king's master!" ”

……………

Huge strings of captives were constantly escorted outside the city. Although time was delayed due to caution, the results were still impressive. The Qing army's sailors were loaded with people, horses, and property, and the soldiers on board were no more than 10,000 people, and most of the Qing troops were thrown by the Han River, and they could only flee south on foot, and under the encirclement and interception of the Ming army, it was estimated that not many could escape back to Wuchang.

"Choose its strength and build a Shuo army as much as possible." Zhu Yongxing stood on the city tower. Pointing to the Qing army prisoners who were guarded by the circle, he said to Li Laiheng, the Duke of Linguo: "The weapons will be delivered soon." The Vashuo army will take Xiangyang as the basis for its advance, look at the Central Plains, and respond to our army's recovery of the south of the river, and then join forces in the northern expedition. ”

"Central Plains" mainly refers to Henan Province, and there is a saying in ancient times that "those who win the Central Plains win the world", except for the Northern and Southern Dynasties of China. It is believed that the dynasty that included the Central Plains in its territory was the legitimate dynasty of China. Since ancient times, the Central Plains has been the core region that has dominated the development of the entire Chinese civilization, and has been the political, economic, and cultural center of most of China's history.

However, after the Tang and Song dynasties, the southeast region gradually became the place where the world's wealth was endowed, and there was a so-called "the world's great plan, relying on the southeast". China's economic and cultural center of gravity has also completely shifted from the east-west axis of "Kaifeng-Chang'an" to the Jiangnan region. Finally, it fell on the north-south axis of "Hangzhou-Suzhou". When literati and scholars refer to the word "Jiangnan", most of them refer to the southeastern region.

In Zhu Yongxing's view, due to the decline of the Yellow River Basin, the development of the Yangtze River Basin, the advent of the era of sea power, and the development of science and technology, China's economic center of gravity will be concentrated in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the "T" shaped area composed of the eastern coastal zone and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. In his mind, the T-shaped area composed of the eastern coastal zone and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River is the "new Central Plains" of China in the future.

But after all, it is still in the future, and now it is necessary to contain Ganshan and Henan, so that the Qing court cannot transfer troops to the south at will, and can even more intimidate them with false troops, and make a posture that directly scratches their hearts.

"My subordinates understand." Li Laiheng, the Duke of Linguo, hesitated for a moment, stretched out his hand and pointed at the group of captives and said, "Your Highness, I am afraid that it is difficult to have elite soldiers when selecting soldiers from the green camp, right?" Hu Guangbing, I'm afraid it won't work. ”

Typical regional discrimination, Zhu Yongxing smiled faintly, and also knew that this kind of views and ideas are deeply rooted in the hearts of many people. Among them, Gu Yanwu was chased and killed by the Qing army, walked through many places, thought that he had won all the gains and losses of the world, and wrote a "Book of Pros and Cons of the World's Counties". The book contains many insights gained by Gu Shi from his travels around the country, and it is also the culmination of the theory of regional discrimination.

Zhu Yongxing disagreed with the detailed discussion in the book of theories such as where people can be used as infantry, where people can be used as cavalry, and where people are not of great use. The combat effectiveness of a soldier lies in training, in the sufficiency of food and salary, in the proper training of generals, and in the measures of encouragement and encouragement......

Let's talk about this Huguang soldier, the Hunan army can be said to be unique in the world in the war to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom; Putting it further back in history, Liu Xiang's team is also a Chu person. Extending further, Liu Xiu started with Nanyang scholars, Tang Wenhuang used the right team of the ridge, and Zhu Hongwu used Huaixi natives......

"Elite soldiers are not in the region, but in training and command." Zhu Yongxing earnestly explained his own opinions, hoping to correct Li Laiheng's regional discrimination, "There are also sufficient food, fair rewards and punishments, strict discipline, and many other factors." Like mixing and eating food in the Qing army, without the will to fight, of course it will not work. ”

Although Li Laiheng, the Duke of Linguo, did not fully agree, he also felt that it made sense, so he bowed down and agreed, as for how he chooses, it is naturally up to him.

"The Marquis of Xingping is heroic this time, as well as the Marquis of Yangcheng and the Marquis of Yidu, take some of the seized property as a reward! Well, there is also the deputy general of the Huguang Green Banner anyway, and he will also be rewarded with some money. as an incentive. Zhu Yongxing smiled, it would be good to have the heart to make contributions, as for the future, it is still necessary to observe them for a long time, they are observing them, why are they not observing themselves.

"Is Your Highness going to leave Jingzhou?" Li Laiheng heard the meaning of Zhu Yongxing's words. I couldn't help but ask.

"In the meantime, it's time to run the local area and expand and train the army." Zhu Yongxing nodded and said, "Wait a little longer, King Zheng is afraid that it will be almost there." Then they went to Yuezhou to sit in the town, and the sailors and other troops had to continue eastward, whether to take Wuchang or attack Jiangxi Province first, and wait for further information. By the way, the war is raging. Lonely can't pull away, Mrs. Gao, you bring greetings for Lonely, as well as Lonely's gifts. If Mrs. Gao is willing to go to the rear to live in peace, she can go anywhere, and the local government will make proper arrangements. ”

"The last general thanked His Highness for his grace. Madame desperately wanted to meet Ga En, but she always refused to fulfill her wish. Li Laiheng bowed and bowed deeply, and at this time Zhu Yongxing was still thinking about greeting "Queen Gao". And give money, which can be regarded as benevolence and righteousness. Can't fault it.

"It's a long time coming, this opportunity will be more in the future!" Zhu Yongxing smiled and waved his hand, and said, "You are the same, take good care of your health, and witness the lone king create a great empire that can survive forever." This is a cycle of chaos. Can't it be changed? If the day is a holiday, I hope to give the lonely a few decades of time. If so—"

"Your Highness will definitely live a long life." Li Laiheng suddenly interjected and interrupted Zhu Yongxing.

"Hehe, borrow your auspicious words!" Zhu Yongxing smiled slightly, and patted the battlements of the ancient city wall with emotion. "Just like the bricks of this city, after the wind and rain, although they have fallen off, they can still witness this new history."

………………

Suppressing the enemy with momentum and breaking the enemy with strength is the way to win that Zhu Yongxing adheres to. Therefore, the Ming army tried to take the main attack in only one direction, and the other directions were pinned down or slowly advanced. Zhu Yongxing felt that this was the safest, although it was not as strong as the momentum of the rapid attack of several large armies, but it also reduced the possibility of being concentrated by the enemy and breaking all the way.

For example, now, if you want to attack Wuchang, you will mainly take the Zhengshuo army and the Yanshuo army, and with the cooperation of the naval division and the marines, more than 100,000 troops will have an advantage; If you want to recover Jiangxi Province, the Zhengshuo army will shrink slightly, maintain the confrontation between Yuezhou and Wuchang, and then the Yanshuo army will directly advance eastward, and attack Nanchang with the Dangshuo army of Jiangxi Province and Wei Junzhong's troops, which still has the advantage of troops and can be expected to win.

According to the current deployment of the Qing court, Wuchang is a geographical key point and transportation hub, which must be guarded; Nanchang is "Guangdong Household Fujian Court, Wu Tou Chu Tail", to guard; Jiangsu and Zhejiang use the land of wealth to guard; Jiangning, and even the mouth of the sea, must be defended in order to control and curb the intrusion of the Ming army's naval divisions. In the future, to resist the Ming army from Xiangyang into Henan, the Qing army must also defend in Nanyang, a major land; If Chongqing is lost, Baoning is important to prevent the Ming army from Hanzhong to enter Ganxi, and it must also be defended.......

There was also the Jianghuai region, where the Chongming-based Breaker Army was gradually expanding and powerful, and if it could not stop its westward advance, it would threaten Yangzhou and the canal. If the fortunes are cut off, the Qing court's money and food will be even tighter, and the accumulated money will soon be exhausted.

Look, the stalls are too big, everywhere they want to hold on, and everywhere they are threatened. After the Ming army forced Wu Sangui to go anyway, it has now united the occupied areas into one, and can calmly transfer troops and concentrate on one point.

Zhu Yongxing had repeatedly studied with the staff officers and put himself in his shoes. It is believed that under the current situation, the most powerful counterattack of the Qing court should be to abandon Jiangsu and Zhejiang, gather troops in Wuchang, and fight a decisive battle with the Ming army. The risk of doing so is very great, and if you lose, you will lose everything south of the river, and if you win, you can go south from Yuezhou and Changsha, point directly at Yunnan and Guizhou, and redivide the recovered areas of the Ming army.

It's riskier than sitting and waiting for death! Zhu Yongxing felt that the Qing army was no different from sitting back and waiting to be killed. During the rebellion of the three feudatories, even Kangxi knew that "the division of troops is a single force, and if you take it by chance, the horses are tired and unbearable, how can you win?" Today's plan is to win only by taking Changde and Changsha first, and taking the courage of the thief as the winning strategy. Until now, the Qing court has not fully seen the shape clearly, and is still arranging troops from the perspective of the dominant side.

Well, judging from the territory currently occupied by the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Qing court does have an advantage, but this advantage is not stable. After repeated troop transfers, even Shandong and Zhili seem empty, and won't this weak occupation soon become another burden?

If the Ming army recovers all the areas south of the Yangtze River, and then wields the Northern Expedition, how many forces can the Qing court organize and mobilize? Overall strength, it is obvious that the Qing court is not clear about the factors involved, and even does not know the term.

In fact, the course of the war should have made the Qing court aware of its own weakness, mainly because the naval forces could not compete with the Ming army. There were many Qing troops in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, but they were pinned down by the coastal defense; From the mouth of the sea to Jiangning, because of the strength of the Ming army's naval division, it had to be deployed along the river and blocked by river fortifications.

In other words, in coastal areas such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang, nearly half of the Qing army's strength was used for defense, and it was difficult to form too much superiority in troops, and it was impossible to launch a strategic offensive.

Also because of the relationship between the naval divisions, the Ming army fought along the Yangtze River, which could not only mobilize troops, but also reduce the difficulty of material transportation. Although the strength of the Yangtze River Naval Division cannot be compared with the Ming naval division at sea, it is still unrivaled by the Qing army. Without the cover of sailors and the lack of boats to cross the river, wouldn't the Qing troops deployed on the north bank of the Yangtze River only be passively beaten? (To be continued......)