Now that the costly amphibious operation has been abandoned, and according to the current situation of material hoarding, the Ming army can start the Northern Expedition. And in a strict sense, the landing in Shandong was already the prelude to the Northern Expedition.

The hoarding and supply of grain and grass materials is an overall situation, and if you save money from one side, you can focus on the other side. And to open up the battlefield in Liaodong, it is now the time for the Qing army to deploy air defense in Liaodong, which can be described as a good time. Relying on the powerful naval division of the Ming army, he could enter the land from the island, or with the help of Joseon, he could insert a knife in the so-called Longxing land of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

The initial plan was quickly formulated, first to increase the number of troops in Shandong, and to set up a general headquarters in Dengliao to unify the command of the operations between Shandong and Liaodong; The second is to expand the army in Shandong and prepare for the conquest of Liaodong with Shandong soldiers; In the end, it is to assemble the Dangshuo army, destroy the Shuo army, and conquer the Shuo army, launch an offensive in Lianghuai, and go north along the canal, striving to unite with the Shandong battlefield. And judging from the preliminary plan, it is very similar to the Northern Expedition route of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Take Shandong first and remove its shielding; Rotate Henan, break its wings; Pull out the pass and guard it, according to its household threshold. The world is shaped shì, into my mastery, and then into the capital of the army. "This is the route of Zhu Yuanzhang's Northern Expedition, first Shandong, then Henan, and then Shandong and directly into Beijing.

In terms of troops, Zhu Yuanzhang mobilized an army of 250,000 for the Northern Expedition, and almost did not divide his troops before capturing Yizhou (now Linyi) in Shandong. After attacking Henan and entering the Beijing Division, it can be said that the momentum was like a bamboo, and finally it was to take advantage of the victory to advance westward and occupy Shanxi and Shaanxi.

The current deployment of the Ming army is oppressive everywhere, from Ganshan, Henan, Lianghuai, all the way to Shandong, and the troops seem to be scattered. But it also caused the situation that the Qing army was deployed everywhere, which was somewhat similar to the foreign aid of the Yuan court during Zhu Yuanzhang's Northern Expedition.

Now, as long as the Ming army gathers its strength in one direction, it has achieved a breakthrough. There was a possibility that the entire Manchu defense line would be shaken. For example, the current southwest offensive, the upcoming Lianghuai offensive, has formed a pincer, and no matter which side succeeds, the Qing army confronting the Ming army in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is in danger of being surrounded by the Xuan division.

Zhu Yuanzhang's Northern Expedition was along the canal to the north and directly to Tianjin. Now the Ming army can do the same. Although the canal was blocked by the Qing army in many places, it was not impossible to re-open it and make it a shipping route for transporting soldiers and supplies. A more advantageous point was that the Ming army already had a solid base in Shandong, and the two Huai Qing armies were in danger of being cut off from retreat.

Obviously, the Manchu Qing Dynasty wanted to exchange the land of Lianghuai for Jiaodong, and they also saw this. However, Zhu Yongxing has long regarded the areas that have not yet been recovered as national territory, and he has no sincerity in "negotiating peace" at all. On the contrary, he wanted to take advantage of the Manchu Qing's deliberate abandonment of Lianghuai and easily recover these regions.

"Emperor Gao recovered Jiangnan. The Mongol Yuan rulers were no longer able to maintain their rule in the north and soon collapsed. Zhu Yongxing's confidence in the Northern Expedition was not only in military strength, "Now it is the same situation, Cao grain is not only the source of rations for the Manchu royal nobles and princes and ministers in Beijing, but also the source of supply for the Eight Banners army stationed in the Beijing area." Although in the short term, the Manchu Qing Dynasty could be maintained by stockpiling or looting from the people. But the fact that it is unable to take Jiangnan again is already obvious. Other words. In the longer term, the defeat of the Manchus was assured. This will inevitably lead to a detachment of civil servants and military generals within his regime. Ye Qing, the Ministry of State Security should take the lead and create favorable conditions for the Northern Expedition of the army. ”

"Hooray's words are very true." Ye Hu of the Ministry of State Security stepped forward and said: "According to the intelligence of the recent period, the work of countering and recruiting surrenders has been more effective than before. Although some Qing court officials were hesitant, they did not dare to take a hard line against our intelligence officers. ”

"Divide, anti-division. Use both. Zhu Yongxing knew that the Ministry of State Security's rebellion work was very cautious, and he would never take it lightly if he was not a person who tried to determine his intentions many times, but he still added a few more words to mention, "The truth is mixed with the false." In order to create suspicion and killing of the Manchus, they borrowed the hands of the enemy to destroy the enemy. It is necessary to fly the book and vote all over the place, showing the false to the true, so that the Manchu Qing Dynasty is very suspicious and afraid, and it is awe-inspiring all day long. ”

"Wechen obeys the holy commandment." Ye Hu replied respectfully: "Because of doubt, let it be self-defeating, and it will live up to the teachings of Long Live it." ”

While successive victories can boost confidence, suspicion is often greatest in difficult circumstances or when it is at a low point. The Manchu Qing Dynasty was obviously already in decline, and the wariness and suspicion of the Han people would only increase. First make it chaotic and centrifugal, and then use military coercion to coerce, and it is very likely that a tide of surrenderers will appear.

Historically, the Green Banners in the north were more effective than those in the south, and they gradually replaced the Eight Banners as the main force relied on by the Manchus when quelling the rebellion of the three feudatories and the rebellion with the Mongol tribes such as the Dzungars.

However, the shape of the present is very different, a considerable number of northern green battalions are consumed in the south, the decline of the Manchu Qing is irreversible, and the shortage of food and wages will become more and more scarce. The pillar that maintained the morale of the army in the northern green battalion was already unstable, and it was entirely possible to rebel and surrender.

Of course, Zhu Yongxing's oracle is a bit redundant, and years of intelligence work have given the Ministry of State Security a lot of experience, and the use of space is one of China's ancient art of war, how can Ye Hu not know?

But the emperor is the emperor, and when he says it, as long as there is a little truth, there will always be people who praise "Shengming". Zhu Yongxing naturally knows this, although he is not carried away, he is still very useful.

Now that a military conference is being held, Zhu Yongxing does not like to use the way the court meeting is used to deal with problems. And this kind of explanation and discussion, which is small in number and talks about more casually, is what he often adopts.

The principal officials of the Ministry of War, the Ministry of State Security, and the Ministry of Household Affairs all attended the meeting as observers, and Zhu Yongxing felt that the fewer the levels, the more effective the implementation would be. What kind of criminal department, official department, supervision department, etc., do not involve the military, so why let those officials who do not know much about it mix the news?

And the emperor's title has been decided, the authority has been established, and through a series of adjustment methods, there are almost no factors that can threaten Zhu Yongxing internally.

Ye Hu, the secretary of the Ministry of State Security, but there are two squires below who share power, one is in charge of the inside and the other is in charge of the outside.

Wu Sangui, the chief officer of the General Staff, only planned to praise the painting, and did not have the right to transfer troops and use his life.

Yi Cheng, one of Zhu Yongxing's cronies, became more and more cautious with his life after being mentioned, and made a clear relationship with the original Zheng family's business.

The stability of the new regime is quite obvious, and Zhu Yongxing can completely delegate power in some areas and concentrate his main energy on military affairs.

The Northern Expedition will be easier to strike while the iron is hot. Moreover, when Zhu Yongxing looks at the world, he will only regard the defeat of the Manchu Qing as the first step in reviving China, and he will feel that time is very tight, and he will be anxious to end the war and concentrate his energy on catching up with the world trend. (To be continued......)