3. The Five Thousand Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners may be very strong, but they are not the key force that determines victory or defeat, and the old imperial calendar of the Qing court is wrong.

But when he was about to become a relatively strong enemy, Zhu Yongxing was still very cautious, and it was for this reason that he was not very willing for Zheng Jun to capture Chaozhou.

Meizhou and Chaozhou, these are the two main points of the eastern front, which are each other's horns, which are not only the sortie points for attacking Fujian Province, but also the cornerstone of defensive attacks. If the Zheng family does not contribute, and if the Zheng family does not contribute to the drama of abandoning the city and "moving in", the flanks of Meizhou will be threatened, and there will be a gap in the barrier south of Guangzhou.

Judging from the consistent performance of the Zheng family, this possibility is not only there, but also very large. Joining forces is joining forces, so there is a choice when you are not as good as you, but such a heavy responsibility is obviously not the best choice for unreliable allies.

Zhu Yongxing estimated Zheng Jing's indecisive character, and probably observed and thought repeatedly before capturing Chaozhou, and would try his best to strive for the reputation of an official position as a Chaozhou town guard. Therefore, he deliberately delayed the summoning of Chen Yonghua and Feng Xifan, and in the past few days, the South China Sea Fleet, the Yangtze River Naval Division, and the Marine Corps have been assembled, and today they will set sail and go straight to Chaozhou.

The target of the army of Ruyang Wang Ma Bao was Meizhou, and it was not very certain that he would capture Chaozhou with sailors and marines. But there is still an army on land, that is, the two regiments of men and horses who originally helped Su Li resist the Qing army in the Hailufeng area, plus more than 10,000 old troops of Su Li after Su Li's death, there are also more than 20,000 people.

In this way, whether it is in Meizhou or Chaozhou, the numerical superiority of the Ming army can still be maintained, and the firearms and equipment will also surpass the Qing army. The Qing army at that time. Although most of the firearms were equipped with the three feudal departments, there were still no ones like the Ming army. When fighting, cold weapons are still the mainstay, although the shotgun is called a sharp weapon, and the green battalion is not equipped, but in the end it is an arquebus. It is also suspected of boasting in terms of performance, and it is not at all comparable to the rate of fire and power of the flintlock musket.

Zhu Yongxing and the General Staff did not have the luxury of killing Shang Kexi and Geng Jingzhong at once, and the main reason was the supply of ammunition. Now that the Eastern Crusade has been fought, both the navy and the army need to adjust and rest in order to stock up on the ammunition needed for the next big battle. Fortunately, Zhu Yongxing had already sent someone to Macao to make proper contacts, and the Macao Artillery Factory would produce ammunition for the Ming army for the navy, and began to manufacture the musket samples provided by the Ming army.

In this way, the pressure on the arsenal can be greatly relieved. Zhu Yongxing calculated, a month. In just one month, the Ming army's ammunition hoarding will be able to meet the initial requirements. The armament of guns will be increased by about 10,000 in a month. This included the production of the arsenal, imports from Britain and France, and the production of the Macao artillery factory.

This is still an estimate, and it will grow further as long as the finances keep up. With the expansion of the scale of smuggling from the inland of Wu Sangui and Sun Yanling, and the increase in taxes on large areas of land in Guangdong and Guangxi. The sustained improvement in the government's fiscal situation is predictable.

Use money to smash out an all-firearms unit, and play less strategic warfare. Crushing strength is the safest way to win. This is Zhu Yongxing's fundamental idea, and he is constantly instilling this idea into his subordinates, and constantly turning his ideas into reality.

It is precisely for these various reasons that Zhu Yongxing hopes that the Ming army can take Meizhou and Chaozhou in his hands, taking advantage of Zheng Jing's indecisiveness and the Zheng family's hesitation. Sarcasm. ridiculed, tempted, and broke the news, and there were many means, which really made Chen Yonghua and Feng Xifan difficult to decide. It's hard to decide. You can only send someone to ask for instructions, and it may be too late in time.

I want a lot, but I don't want to exert too much effort; There are many scruples, and there is no courage to fight with all their might. In particular, Zhu Yongxing's presence in Guangzhou will break the Zheng family's situation of "I am the main one in the southeast", and the confusion and uneasiness caused by this will be more conducive to the Ming army's action before the Zheng family.

Looking at the backs of Chen Yonghua and Feng Xifan retreating, Zhu Yongxing sneered. This summons seems to have achieved its goal, and the final result depends on the Zheng family's next actions.

If Zhu Yongxing still had some understanding that the Zheng family had to maintain relative independence under the incompetent Yongli leadership, with the continuous growth of the strength of the Ming army in the southwest and the smooth progress of the Eastern Expedition, he became more and more disgusted with the Zheng family's selfishness and self-righteousness.

The defeat of the Ming Dynasty, especially the beginning of Hongguang, was largely caused by the self-arrogance and self-determination of the various military leaders. At the end of this dynasty, or because of ambition, or for the sake of their own wealth, self-attacking, tyrannical and harmful to the people, surrendering and selling their bodies and other dirty things are endless.

Just like the Zheng group, while talking and fighting with the Qing army, they were still cautious about the imperial court, and did not have a firm position and unchanging principles. It is possible to be an ally to contain the Qing army, but it is too risky to treat it as an ally that can fight side by side.

"Your Highness." Yi Cheng turned out from behind the screen and said, "I wonder if our army can seize Chaozhou before the Zheng army?" The Zheng family has already begun to be afraid of His Royal Highness, otherwise they would not ask for a name first and then send troops to fight. ”

"Tiger father and dog son, Zheng Jing sent Yanping Wang Yuan!" Zhu Yongxing curled the corners of his mouth with disdain, and said: "I think I have calculated carefully, but I am hesitant and cautious, and it is difficult to achieve great things." If you are decisive, you will take Chaozhou directly, according to the current situation, can you still fight in the same room? ”

"The Zheng family has thousands of warships and tens of thousands of elite soldiers, but it is really difficult to achieve a big deal in the land of gold and Xiamen projectiles." Yi Cheng's words were mostly in line with Zhu Yongxing, but he didn't know much about military affairs.

"Only Jin and Xiamen will not be lost, and the Qing army in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces will be more or less contained, and it will also be convenient for our army to act." Zhu Yongxing felt that Zheng's army was stronger than naval warfare, but land warfare was poor, but in history, with such a vast coastline in Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces, there were few examples of landing surprise attacks and avoiding real attacks, which really puzzled him.

If it is said that the technical content of landing operations is very high, then the coastal relocation greatly reduces the danger of this tactic. Thirty miles away from defense, the Qing army received information and then gathered troops, which should be able to meet the landing force in time to establish a foothold. It is not very difficult to find a breakthrough if you use the speed of the ships to constantly pull the Qing army at several points, causing an imbalance in its forces. (To be continued......)