The war in the Central Plains was still fierce, and military spending was tight, so the emperor had to study how to raise military funds.

Emperor Zhu Honghua: "Isn't it okay to let the army solve the grain and grass on the spot?" ”

Sun Haomiao, Minister of the Military Department: "Zhao Zhengbao is too vicious, he took all the personnel, grain and grass to Hebei, and destroyed everything that he couldn't take away, and he even burned all the fields in the Central Plains!" Many times the Royal Army regained a county town without a single person, not a grain of grain, not a single room! ”

Emperor: "Then print money, tell the Royal Bank to start the printing press, and print it for millions!" ”

Liu Xingchao, the head of the inner court: "Your Majesty, printing money is worth the loss. Printing some small money can lead to the collapse of the depreciation of the whole country's money. ”

Liu Xingchao took a few steps forward and whispered to the emperor: "And the important thing is: the royal printing house is controlled by the senators, and I can't control it, and they have the final say on how much they print." ”

Prime Minister Li Guozhong: "Then we have to raise taxes!" ”

As soon as these words came out, the people of the Manchu Dynasty began to discuss. Because the royal law stipulates that "no tax will be raised", it is clearly written that the royal family is the defender of the world, the subjects are loyal to the royal family, and the royal family will never raise taxes.

Lin Jiaxiang, the leader of the Jiangnan Party, stepped forward and said: "The royal law is ......"

Jin Yuguang, head of the household department: "Okay! The royal law formulated by the emperor, how could he not know, want you to say! Now the emperor suppresses the rebel party, not for the sake of the stable life of the subjects of the world, you dare to oppose it, this is pulling the emperor's banner against the emperor! ”

The rest of them expressed their support. This is a very obvious thing, because the nobles do not have to pay taxes, and it does not matter how much tax the emperor collects.

The emperor was very satisfied. He stood up and said to the hundreds of civil and military ministers below: "Occupy Lianghe, kill him without leaving a chicken or dog, and let them know the price of rebellion." The people of the Central Plains are all traitors, and there is no mercy for killing! Hebei people are also traitors, and there is no mercy for killing! Kill them all, and leave no one behind! ”

Only the echo of the emperor remained in the main hall.

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The Royal Army continued to attack in all directions, and the Central Plains were recovered except for Luoyang.

Luoyang, Tokyo, is too difficult to fight - the four capitals are almost impossible to capture.

Xijing Chang'an is a bunker-like city, with underground fortifications extending in all directions, and the forbidden army of defense is the first in the world.

Beijing Yanjing is east of the East China Sea and surrounded by dozens of acropolis, not to mention Yanshan, Shanhaiguan and the Great Wall. If you want to break through Yanjing, you must first break through dozens of targets before you can touch the edge of Yanjing. And you also have to be careful with her navy at this time, whether it's reinforcements or escaping.

Nanjing Jinling was built directly on the Yangtze River Island at the mouth of the Yangtze River. No one knows how she was built, just as no one knows how the towering royal palace was built. The entire Jinling is made of stone, and her walls are stacked from countless boulders, each weighing a hundred tons, and there is not a single gap between each boulder. The rolling Yangtze River washed Jinling City, washing all the land outside the city into the sea, so she occupied the entire first island of Daming, and the Yangtze River was her moat.

Luoyang, Tokyo, is a city that rises from the boundless plains, and when the weather is fine, you can see it from dozens of kilometers, as if a plateau has suddenly emerged from the plain. Her area is the largest among the four capitals, her walls are the thickest and tallest, and her inhabitants are the largest.

When Zhao Zhengbao retreated, he left part of the main force in Luoyang, and they greatly pinned down the royal army.

Luoyang City is too big, there are countless granaries and underground water in the city, as long as the city does not open the city and surrender, there is no fear of anything else.

The Royal Army surrounded it for months, and there was nothing it could do.

According to the spy intelligence of the forbidden army and the imperial court, there was order inside and there was no panic.

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In addition to Luoyang, in the entire Central Plains, Zhao Zhengbao's army was defeated and retreated.

The big thing is decided, and he's finished.

Zhao Zhengbao's wishful thinking was to transfer all the people, grain and grass from the Central Plains to Hebei, and rely on the Yellow River to divide one side.

Here's the problem: the Yellow River is not a natural hazard at all.

The narrowest part of the Yellow River is only a few hundred meters, and the water potential is not very large.

The real natural danger is the Yangtze River, which is extremely powerful and several kilometers wide.

There are many dynasties in history that rely on the Yangtze River to divide their territories, but never rely on the Yellow River to divide their territories.

The Hebei army was quite tenacious, and they relied on the Yellow River to repel many attacks by the Royal Army.

The Royal Army launched simultaneous attacks on hundreds of kilometers of the river, and they built many small boats on the banks of the Central Plains, which were thrown directly on the river to become pontoon bridges.

Several armies rushed into the Hebei region, but they were all wiped out.

However, an army led by the slave general Li Hongguang held ground, established positions, and attacked the Hebei army along the northern bank.

The Hebei Army was broken a little, and then the whole line was broken, and the Royal Army all rushed into the Hebei border.

The border of Hebei was still a plain, and the royal army attacked with all its strength without resistance, and surrounded Handan, the base camp of the Zhao clan in Zhao County.

Handan, known as Zhao County in ancient times, is one of the three counties in Hebei, with a population of 2 million.

That was Zhao Zhengbao's hometown.

The decisive battle is about to begin.