Success is for those who are prepared, and this phrase is also applicable on the battlefield. Anticipating the enemy's opportunities first, planning well, and so on, should all fall into this category.

Shang Kexi's troops were more defensive and less field-oriented, but in fact they were in a position to deal with the Ming army. Zhu Yongxing and the General Staff Headquarters analyzed and studied the case of Li Dingguo, the king of the Jin Dynasty, attacking Guangdong twice, and twice being defeated by the fortified city, and being successfully counterattacked by the enemy, and came to a relatively optimistic conclusion.

For example, in the Battle of Zhaoqing, the Qing army adopted several tactics to defend the city: the elite soldiers were roped down the outside of the city, counterattacking the siege soldiers, and seizing or destroying the ladders used for the siege; dig a deep ditch parallel to the city wall in the city, and start hand-to-hand combat after the tunnel dug by the Ming army penetrates into the city; Send troops out of the city to raid and capture the tunnel entrance......

In Xinhui, when the Qing army was in danger, it adopted inhumane tactics to drive the people in the city as meat shields, forcing the kind-hearted Li Dingguo to choose a way that could relatively reduce casualties to achieve his strategic intentions. That is, to use less artillery fire, only to surround but not to fight, and to rely on hunger to win.

In this way, it can be seen that Li Dingguo, the king of Jin, was defeated by Zhaoqing because the number of artillery was too small and the power was not strong; During the siege, the enemy was not dug a trench to trap the enemy, so that the enemy had a chance to counterattack; Even if the technique of cave attack is used, it is not a tunnel blasting, but a traditional penetration through the city. It's about the same in Xinhui, but there are more artillery, but it doesn't play its full power.

The Battle of Zhaoqing lasted for more than a month, and the Battle of Xinhui lasted for half a year. In Zhu Yongxing's view, this was the biggest mistake, giving the Qing army time to adjust and reinforce. If tactically right, be well prepared. It may not be impossible to repeat the speed of the siege of Yunnan Province.

Therefore, the first thing for the Ming army of the Eastern Expedition is to divide the troops and maintain a numerical advantage, so that it can be surrounded and trapped to death when attacking the city, so that it can perform various siege techniques with peace of mind; secondly, the firepower is sufficient, and at critical times, it can even unload the heavy artillery on the battleship to suppress the artillery fire on the enemy city; Finally, there's the tunnel blasting, which you know is one thing to do. Whether or not it can be prevented is another matter. Tunnel blasting was used in actual combat by the late Ming Dynasty. When it came to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, it was continuously used after the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, and its effect and vitality are undoubted.

The shape of the battlefield is changing rapidly, and tactical means are also emerging. It is still good to follow the method of a few years ago. Copy and use old experience and old routines. It's no wonder if you don't fail! The loss of Gaozhou was obviously only the first unexpected defeat, but Shang Kexi did not clearly recognize the severity of the danger. And it's getting closer.

…………

History seems to be moving towards a repeating itself, and after the Ming army regained Gaozhou, it faced Xinhui, an important town south of Guangzhou. Xinhui, with high walls and deep trenches, once blocked the progress of Li Dingguo, the king of Jin, will now reproduce this bloody battle and fruitless fiasco?

Gaozhou, state government.

The commander-in-chief of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, Wang Ma Bao of Ruyang, the chief of staff of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, Zhen Shuobo, Wu Sanxing, and his confidant Zheng Fengyuan, were carefully discussing with Zhu Yongxing's secret letter.

"The key is still here, 'Rush to conquer and conquer, go straight to Guangzhou, don't repeat the mistakes of the past', that is, the capture of Xinhui is the first priority, at any cost, don't learn from the benevolence of the women of the Jin Dynasty." Ma Bao swiped his finger over what he thought was the key word according to his own understanding.

Wu Sansheng was silent, and only shook his head lightly for a long time, and said, "I'm afraid it's not that simple." Brother Ma, please see, there are also 'who can relieve the worries of loneliness, loneliness will be remembered in the heart', 'merit and demerit are combined, and the heart of the hero is not chilled', what does this mean? ”

"What do you mean?" Ma Bao asked rhetorically with some puzzlement: "Isn't it a word of encouragement?" ”

"I'm afraid not all." Zheng Fengyuan's thinking gradually became clearer, and he said: "If the Qing army repeats its old tricks in Xinhui, and our army ignores it, and only focuses on capturing the city, I am afraid that it will damage the benevolent name of His Highness." But if our army shrinks back and shrinks, it goes against His Highness's intention to attack and conquer and attack Guangzhou. ”

Wu Sansheng seemed to understand a little, but he was not very sure, so he asked tentatively: "That's why His Highness told me in a secret letter, asking me to think of a solution for myself?" ”

Ma Bao touched his chin, a little dilemma.

"Your Highness has already made it vaguely stated in your letter, why do you need to think of a solution?" Zheng Fengyuan smiled slyly and said: "Don't repeat the mistakes of the past, that is, you want us to storm Xinhui, and don't have the kindness of the women of the King of Jin." Then, if no one is held accountable, it will be fine. If there is a lot of discussion, His Highness will punish him to calm public opinion. It's just this punishment, hehe, it doesn't hurt to take it first. His Royal Highness has a sense of gratitude in his heart, and does not make the heroes aggrieved, and he will be promoted again in the future, and it is also expected to soar. ”

Although Zheng Fengyuan didn't speak particularly thoroughly, Ma Bao and Wu Sanxing understood it. Zhu Yongxing is looking for someone who can "carry the black cauldron" for him, and the new meeting is bound to win, and the sooner the better, but he did not directly give an order, but urged him through a secret letter. If the people suffered heavy casualties during the siege, so much so that criticism was raised, Zhu Yongxing would naturally not be responsible. And this person who "carries the black cauldron" will naturally be punished, but first descended and then promoted, first punished and then rewarded, Zhu Yongxing has made it clear in his secret letter that he will not forget this hero who is willing to bear the infamy for him.

"I see." Ma Bao, the king of Ruyang, suddenly realized, and said with a faint smile: "I am the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, so I naturally have to take responsibility." ”

"Brother Ma is already the king of the county, and he is only one step away from the prince, how can he bear it on you?" Wu Sansheng expressed a different opinion, shook his head and said: "Brother Ma is free to escort the rear army, and I will command it under Xinhui City, and I can share the worries for His Highness." ”

"How does this work?" Ma Bao hurriedly strived, "A certain person who has been promoted from the prince of the country to the king of the county has been awarded the title in vain, and then promoted to the prince, how can he be promoted too fast?" In this Eastern Crusade, victory is expected, if there is no small mistake, I am afraid that His Royal Highness will not be able to deal with it. If you don't get promoted, you won't be rewarded, Your Highness can rest assured, and I am also at ease. ”

"That's not what I said." Wu Sanxing said: "If Brother Ma is not at fault, if he does not rise this time, it is also an accumulation of merit, so why add a stain?" Or ...... by me"

The two were arguing, and the guards outside the house came to report, and Li Sixing, the son of the Jin dynasty, asked to see him outside.

"The two adults don't have to fight each other, the main general of the Xinhui may have fallen." Zheng Fengyuan slapped his thigh and said with a smile: "King Jin defeated Xinhui, and this revenge will be avenged by his son." Isn't it rightfully deserved? It's just that it depends on whether this Jin Shizi knows what is going on. ”

Since it is a secret letter, it is naturally inconvenient to show it to others. This is also the reason why only Ma Bao and Wu Sanxing are fighting, if you clearly tell the generals, I am afraid that everyone is willing, but it exposes Zhu Yongxing's intentions and damages his benevolent reputation.

Now that Li Sixing, the son of the Jin dynasty, is here, his identity is enough, but under the euphemistic and obscure explanation, I don't know if he can understand. Whether he has the determination to wash away his shame for his father?

……………

Laughed. Laughed. Long Er hugged the cute little baby and showed it to Zhu Yongxing, smiling brighter than the baby.

Zhu Yongxing touched his daughter's little tender hand, looked at the big black eyes, and the extremely satisfied smile after eating and drinking. The heart is full of joy. From a red, wrinkled little appearance. Grow gradually. Become white and fat, become more Yuxue cute, see her. No amount of boredom in my heart has vanished.

"The concubine also wants a daughter." Long'er sat next to Zhu Yongxing, teasing the villain, and whispered in Zhu Yongxing's ear amid the girl's giggles.

Zhu Yongxing smiled slightly, stroked Long'er's waist with one hand, pinched it dishonestly, and teased: "Not scared? How painful it is to give birth! ”

Mengzhu production really scared Long'er, full of cold sweat and heart-rending screams...... But time is a good teacher of healing, especially this little doll that grows and becomes more and more cute, and the heart of envy slowly overwhelms fear.

"For the sake of His Royal Highness, the concubine can endure it." Long'er leaned closer to Zhu Yongxing tighter, "Sister Zhu said, it's not so painful, just endure it and pass." ”

Zhu Yongxing's hand moved to Long'er's buttocks, and he smiled: "Eighteen this year? Well, she looks good enough and wants to be a mother. ”

"Hmm!" Long Er replied shyly.

Zhu Yongxing still wanted to tease her, but the knock on the door sounded softly, so he had to pat Long'er and said, "Wait for me at night!" ”

Long Er glanced at Zhu Yongxing with a red face, picked up the little girl, and hurried away.

Zhu Yongxing sat upright, waited for the documents to be brought and placed them on the table, then cleaned up his mood and read them one by one.

The small imperial court in exile in Burma was finally greatly reduced, and hundreds of people were sent back to Yunnan Province by the Burmese in batches. Most of them were the original Imperial Forest Army, as well as the family members, servants, and kataka who followed the Ming Dynasty officials. To put it bluntly, they are all irrelevant, but the ideas of the Burmese and Zhu Yongxing coincide, both under the guise of weakening the small court and making it more controllable.

Although there were no important figures among these people, and there was no authority to speak, Zhu Yongxing was not prepared to be placed at will, but escorted them in batches, or escorted to Ha Tien and Mekong provinces, arranged by Zong Shouyi. This should be the least hassle and the safest.

This is the first article, although what Zhu Yongxing wants to see most is the information about the Eastern Crusade, but after browsing it, he didn't find it, so he had to read it one by one.

The next one is the Ministry of Finance's latest grain borrowing from business groups and private organizations. Needless to say, borrowing money, war bonds of real money; Borrowing grain was said because Zhu Yongxing had played a small trick and added a possible currency for the future -- IOUs.

The issuance of paper money is one of the important sources of wealth for the modern country, and although Zhu Yongxing knows it, now is not the time to implement it. After all, the war has not yet been decided, and at least for the time being, the situation of the clear and the strong and the weak has not changed. Therefore, the credit of paper money is strictly insufficient, and forcibly launching it will only make the people suspicious and the people's will fluctuate.

Therefore, the government still uses silver and copper coins as the currency in circulation, and uses IOUs or IOUs to covertly bear part of the financial pressure. It is normal to borrow grain to repay grain, but the price of grain is completely different at this time and in the future. As long as the shape gets better and better, and more and more areas are opened, the price of grain can only fall, not rise. This has virtually made the government a solid profit.

And the IOU of a stone of grain is always worth a stone of grain, and it will not be like a treasure banknote like waste paper, and the people will not have any resistance. Moreover, the IOU can be deducted from the tax after two years, which virtually makes the people with the IOU more hope that the Ming army will win in order to protect their own interests. IOUs can continue to be distributed to the people, and when the time is ripe, the IOUs will be pegged to gold and silver currency, and a new form will appear, and perhaps paper money will come into being.

Of course, this is still far away, but at present, it has eased the financial pressure, so that the Ming army can support the immigration development in Sichuan, and can also carry out a large-scale eastward crusade. On the surface, the Eastern Crusade was based on the slogan of saving the people, but it also implied two other purposes.

The first was to deal a heavy blow to the Qing army in Liangguang, to defeat or weaken Shang Kexi, the nearest threat, and to push the battle line outward to ensure the stability of Yunnan Province; The second is to improve or expand the source of wealth, you know, in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, the wealth of Guangdong Province is about ten times that of Guangxi, and the level of cultural development is also incomparable to the three provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guizhou.

Thinking of paper money, finance, taxation, and Guangdong from borrowing and borrowing grain, Zhu Yongxing couldn't help but smile bitterly, and the things he was most concerned about always turned there involuntarily.

I don't know if Ma Bao and the others can understand the implicit meaning in their secret letter, Zhu Yongxing lightly knocked on the table, feeling that he was becoming more and more hypocritical. Although this was proposed by Yi Cheng and Zhang Weihan, in order for Zhu Yongxing, who had a great future, to continue to maintain a good reputation, Zhu Yongxing accepted this proposal and used a secret letter instead of an edict in disguise to instruct Ma Bao and others to storm Xinhui at any cost.

In the eyes of Yi Cheng and Zhang Weihan, Zhu Yongxing's reputation has been very good so far, why not continue to maintain it? If a large number of civilians died in the capture of Xinhui, Zhu Yongxing only had to raise his head and lightly punish the generals who "carried the black pot" and make some expressions of mercy and kindness, which would not only not damage Zhu Yongxing's benevolent name, but would also be even more praised.

And Zhu Yongxing is not all guilty of his hypocrisy, the war will affect the common people, which is unavoidable, but he made the decision to storm the city at any cost, but even he himself does not know whether it is right or wrong. Victory is the goal, and in order to achieve the goal, you can do whatever it takes, Zhu Yongxing is not without this kind of thought, but he still works hard to maintain a certain principle. This is also the problem that makes him feel entangled and contradictory.

At that time, Li Dingguo, the king of the Jin Dynasty, really couldn't bear to hurt the innocent people and adopted the strategy of besieging Xinhui for a long time, but it was this strategy that made Xinhui besieged for a long time, the food ran out, and the Qing army in the city actually slaughtered the residents for food. In the end, the guide zhì Xinhui "covered himself for half a year, half of the starved to death, half of the killers, and half of the children were plundered." Heaven descends to mourn, and there are no such miserable people. ”

If Li Dingguo had hardened his heart at that time and attacked the city with all his might, the people would have been killed and injured, but wouldn't he be able to save more people and prevent the people of Xinhui City from falling into cannibalistic hell? If the Xinhui Qing army succeeds in its old tricks again, will the Qing army in other places follow suit in the future, and increase the casualties of the people?

Zhu Yongxing fell into a long time of self-questioning and thinking, but it was difficult to get the final answer.

…………… (To be continued......)