forced them to defend themselves, and had no time to save each other.

According to this line of thinking, the Ming army ignited beacon fires everywhere south of the Yangtze River, which was to make it difficult for the Qing court to take care of one and lose the other, and it was difficult to gather troops and horses from all over the country.

The shift in strategy is astonishing. The eastern front, which had been fought relatively smoothly, suddenly calmed down, and the Qing troops who had successively assembled in Jiangsu and Zhejiang had the intention to attack, but they felt a headache about the dangerous water division that the Ming army was defending, and they also had to defend against the attack of the Ming army's water divisions, and did not dare to take action lightly.

And the Shuo army suddenly exerted its strength in the land of Jingxiang, shaking Huguang, and suddenly attracted the attention of the Qing court.

Yunyang's deputy general Hong Fu opened the city in the middle of the night and led the Ming army to rush into the city and besiege the yamen of Yunyang Governor Tong Guoyao. Tong Guoyao and the guerrilla Du Ying resisted stubbornly with more than 300 personal soldiers, and were finally killed.

The walls of Gucheng were blown down in a thunderclap, and the Ming army swarmed in, the defenders were killed, and the rest surrendered.

Leaving thousands of soldiers and horses to carry out the aftermath work such as guarding the city, sweeping the surrounding areas, and moving people and goods, the soldiers and horses of the Shuo army assembled in Gucheng, went down the Han River, and approached Xiangyang.

At this time, the main forces of the Qing army in Huguang were arranged in the area of Yiling to prevent the Ming army from killing the Three Gorges and going down the river. There are not many troops in the upper and lower reaches of the Han River, and their combat effectiveness is not strong. The Shuo army approached the city of Xiangyang with 30,000 troops, and the Huguang Qing army was caught off guard and it was difficult to quickly reinforce it.

Prior to this, Su Ke Saha, the auxiliary minister of the Qing court, had reminded the military department: Yunyang "has three provinces (Shaanxi, Henan, and Hubei), and there are many open lands in the middle, and the valleys are rejected, and the traitors are easy to gather, echoing with the thieves in Kuidong".

However, the Qing court's military department did not pay much attention to this, and only promoted Tong Guoyao to the commander and stationed in Yunyang City to "bomb pressure". The city of Yunyang was broken, Tong Guoyao was killed, and all the precautionary measures of the Qing court were lost.

September 14 of the sixteenth year of Yongli (the first year of Kangxi). Yang Laijia, the commander-in-chief of the Xiangyang Army, led his troops to revolt and seized the West Gate to welcome the Ming army.

In less than a month, the Shuo army won three battles and three victories, recovered Yunyang, Gucheng, and Xiangyang, and the strength of the army was greatly boosted.

"Taking advantage of the emptiness of the Qing army in the lower reaches of the Han River, we should continue to move south. Attack Yicheng, then enter Chengtianfu, kill all the way to Zhongxiang, and then march to Jingzhou. If the reinforcements from the Qing army are strong, we will retreat to Xiangyang. The successive victories made Hao Shaoqi full of confidence and spoke wildly.

Half of the counties and towns of Yunyang Prefecture were originally in the hands of the Ming army, and Xiangyang was also attacked by the Ming army. But Chengtianfu is different, it has always been controlled by the Huguang Qing army for a long time, if it can break through the palace city Zhongxiang. It will definitely be able to cause a great shock in the hearts of the people of Huguang.

After the recovery of the Three Cities, a considerable amount of grain and grass materials were indeed seized, but Chengtianfu and Zhongxiangcheng should have more abundant materials. Moreover, the Ming army made rapid progress and had solved the shortage of food, grass and materials when the troops were dispatched. Only the captured armor has been replaced with thousands of soldiers, and the combat power has increased a lot.

Hao Shaoqi's words aroused a discussion among the generals. Many generals expressed their support. Some people pointed out that Chengtianfu had not encountered war for many years, and Hong Chengchou had opened up many military camps there. There are a large number of merchants and craftsmen in Zhongxiang City, and if they can be breached, they should be able to capture a lot of money.

Taking a step back, even if you can't beat Zhong Xiang, even if you walk a little longer, it's good to capture Yicheng that is close in front of you!

Liu Tichun also agreed in his heart, and he was deeply impressed by the tunnel blasting in Gucheng. He also has a lot of confidence in breaking through the city that was once helpless. However, the establishment of the Staff Committee forced him to respect the opinions of these officers sent by the imperial court.

"Our rapid breakthrough of the Yunyang defense line this time must have been unexpected by the enemy, and now that Hanshui is empty, we might as well take advantage of the victory to fight a few more cities. Greater alleviation of material scarcity? Liu Tichun's eyes looked at King Yang Wubo, and he used an inquiring tone.

Wang Yougong was the former commander-in-chief of the Xianyang Hou Qi Sansheng Division, and he joined Zhu Yongxing in Tengchong, which can be regarded as an old qualification. But he is a low-key person, and although he has military exploits, he has never been remarkable. During the rotation training in the lecture hall, Zhu Yongxing paid attention to it and was accepted to work in the General Staff. This time, with the action of the Yangtze River Sailor, he was regarded as an expatriate official, and Zhu Yongxing deliberately promoted him to the earl in order to increase his weight in the thirteen families.

In addition, Zhu Yongxing also took a fancy to his low-key and modesty, not easy to clash with others, and worked in the staff for a long time, so he had a good understanding of his own thinking and the entire grand strategy.

"The prince has insight into the form, and the last general will obey the order." Wang Yougong didn't seem to be able to hear Liu Tichun's inquiring tone, so he obeyed his orders.

This is where he knows how to be a man, Liu Tichun is the king of the county and the commander of the army, how can he be the master in front of people. At the same time, this also reminded him that it was not enough for the staff group to only discuss and communicate with Liu Tichun and Hao Shaoqi, but also to make the generals understand the combat intentions. Of course, if it is a real discussion, and Liu Tichun's decision is incorrect, he will still speak out, not only to live up to His Royal Highness Min's expectations, but also to fulfill the responsibility of chief of staff. Moreover, because the troops are relatively strong after gathering, Xiangyang City is surrounded and broken, the news should not have leaked yet, Wang Yougong has a clever plan in mind, and only needs to explain to Liu Tichun privately after the meeting.

"Then continue to go south, and the soldiers will be in Yidu." Liu Tichun nodded slightly to Wang Yougong gratefully, turned his head and glanced at the generals aggressively, "Remember: Don't be arrogant and underestimate the enemy because of the initial victory, and don't relax military discipline to hurt the people and harm the people." If there is a violation, military law will be carried out and will not be forgiven. ”

"The last generals and others should keep in mind that they will never dare to violate military laws." The crowd roared loudly.

…………

Wuchang, Huguang Governor Yamen.

The two provinces of Hubei and Hunan were also called Huguang, and the position of governor of Huguang was set up by the Qing court specifically to suppress the anti-Qing forces in Hubei and Hunan. Zhang Changgeng, the current governor of Huguang, in the eighth year of Shunzhi (1651), was edited and relocated by the Secretariat to study in the Hongwen Academy, and the secretary was relocated to the Secretariat's Bachelor and Assistant, the Bachelor of the National History Academy, the governor of Huguang, and the governor.

When he just received reports from Yunyang, Gucheng and other places, Zhang Changgeng didn't pay too much attention to it. According to his experience, the Kuidong thieves, known as the Ming army, could only carry out limited tactical looting on land due to material limitations, and could not dispatch too many troops. As long as Hong Chengchou strictly abides by the rules and regulations formulated in the past, and relocates the surrounding people to the city, the boats on the Han River are collected and protected, so that the thieves have limited supplies and cannot find boats on the river, and it will not take long to return the same way.

At present, the strategic focus of the imperial court is not in Huguang. Even in Huguang, the strategic center of gravity is not in Yunyang, but in Yiling. Originally, with Huguang's troops, he defended Yiling and blocked the eastward road of the thirteen families, which was meritorious and without fault. But under the attack of the Ming Army's Yangtze River Water Division and the Thirteen Families. The painstaking fortifications of the Yiling River were completely destroyed.

In the face of the sharply increased strength of the Ming army, Zhang Changgeng could only continue to transfer troops and send generals to repair and rebuild the river defense fortifications of Yiling again. But after seeing the power of the firearms of the Yangtze River Sailors, his confidence plummeted, and he had to comfort himself with the ever-increasing number of Yiling defenders.

As long as Yiling is not lost, the Kui Dongming army is like a tiger trapped in a cage. Well, even if it can be connected from the river, Yiling is still the key to threatening its freedom of entry and exit.

Based on this understanding, the report on Yunyang and Gucheng. Zhang Changgeng looked at it casually and threw it aside, with no intention of sending reinforcements at all. The guards of Yunyang and Gucheng are also very clear about this, and they did not make such a request in the letter at all, but it was in the nature of a notification.

But the subsequent emergency report surprised Zhang Changgeng. Xiangyang sent someone to send an urgent report, saying that there were defenders in Gucheng who fled back, and the city was broken by the Ming army by attacking the cave. In the letter, the prefect of Xiangyang said that the army was collecting ships, and it seemed that they were going down the Han River. The intention to attack Xiangyang, and asked for reinforcements.

Zhang Changgeng compared the time of the Gucheng report and the Xiangyang emergency report before and after. Immediately furious. Yunyang's first-line defense has long been established, and as long as it is done in an orderly manner, there will definitely not be much danger. Although the troops in the Yunyang area are not very strong, there are more than 10,000 Qing troops in total, as long as they honestly defend the city, it is impossible for the city to fall so quickly.

Cave attack? The old man doesn't understand the military! Zhang Changgeng had already determined that the defenders of Gucheng must be negligent. Or if you fall for the enemy's tricks, the attack is just a cover-up.

Well, it must be so. The more Governor Zhang thought about it, the more certain he was of his judgment. Gu Cheng is stupid, what about Yun Yang, will he make the same mistake? So it seems. The Ming army was lucky to succeed in Gucheng, but it was sandwiched between Yunyang and Xiangyang, and it was impossible to do much more.

Although Governor Zhang felt that the Ming army, which had won by luck, did not have the ability to continue to attack the city and seize the land, in line with the principle of leniency for the enemy, he still ordered an envoy to rush to Xiangyang, sent his own warrant to the defenders, and ordered the defenders of Xiangyang not to fight under any circumstances, and if anyone dared to go out of the city to meet the enemy, they would definitely be engaged in military law.

Barrage iron cable, rolling river dragon, wooden village floating city, shipbuilding training...... After Governor Zhang made arrangements, he began to concentrate on how to block the Ming army of Kuidong on the river, and all these measures were used. Although he also knew that methods such as shipbuilding and military training could not achieve immediate results, how could he obey the destiny of heaven if he did not fulfill his personnel?

It's just that there are too few days of peace of mind, and the urgent report is coming, but this time it was the deserters from Yicheng who ran to Zhong Xiang before the officials of Zhong Xiang issued an urgent document. Yang Laijia, the chief military officer of Xiangyang, had defected to the enemy, led a group of soldiers and horses to pretend to be a defeated soldier, and opened the city gate by fraud, and Yicheng fell.

"It's only five days!" Zhang Changgeng was furious when he saw the report.

According to time calculations, it was probably as soon as the envoy he sent to Xiangyang left, and the Ming army arrived under Yicheng and conquered Yicheng with trickery. Zhang Changgeng, who originally boasted of being a Confucian general, became an afterthought, and slapped his face so thoroughly that he was annoyed and anxious.

The shape became more and more urgent, and the Anlu Mansion was much emptier than the Xiangyang Mansion, not to mention the lack of soldiers and generals with combat experience, even the army without combat experience was not much. Zhang Changgeng knew that he had to immediately send troops to Zhongxiang, the capital of Anlu Mansion, if the Ming army invaded Anlu Mansion, it would shake the whole of Hubei, and the court might also blame him.

It's just that the advance speed of the Ming army's siege of the city has simply caught up with the march, or that a lot of news has been blocked and blocked by the Ming army, and his own orders have been transmitted to Zhong Xiang, will it become an afterthought?

In any case, Governor Zhang must immediately issue an order to save An Lu Mansion and save Zhong Xiang. He sent a series of orders, ordering the soldiers and horses of Huangzhou and De'an to immediately concentrate on Wuchang, ordering the Jingzhou garrison to reinforce Zhong Xiang, and also overstepping the level and ordering the garrisons in Anlu Prefecture to no longer have to stay in the original defense area, and all of them rushed to the capital city to converge as soon as possible.

Although Anlu Mansion is empty, there are at least one or two hundred soldiers in each county, and the speed of support can be guaranteed when marching in the province. With such a patchwork, Zhang Changgeng estimated that there would be more than 5,000 people. He also ordered Zhong Xiang's officials to urgently mobilize the city, prepare a large amount of wood, stone, and fire oil, and levy the people to assist in the defense, and not to think about going out of the city to fight back. Immediately shut up all the gates.

As soon as the messenger who delivered the letter left, Zhang Changgeng gave another additional order, asking the counties to send troops at the same time, and sending people to escort the silver and silver in stock to Fucheng.

Since the garrisons in each county have been emptied and have lost their defensive capability, these things are not as safe as being transported to the capital city. The Ming army ran out of tricks. Under the fortified city, it will naturally repeat its old tricks and plunder in all directions. Moreover, when the city had silver, it could motivate the soldiers, and set a reward for the people, and enthusiastically help defend the city until the reinforcements from Wuchang arrived.

The shape shì is so urgent, and the enemy's intelligence is vague. Zhang Changgeng just in case. Instead of waiting for the troops from all over the country to concentrate in Wuchang before setting off together, they first sent a part of the green battalion in Wuchang to go up the Han River by boat and rush to Anlu Fufu to assist in the defense.

"The thieves' offensive is so fierce, I'm afraid it's not all conspiracy." Zhang Changgeng was still not at ease after making the arrangement, and carefully analyzed and studied several reports before and after, "The enemy's water division and the thieves met with the thieves, and it is estimated that they carried a large amount of materials; There is a sailor to deter the river, and the thieves feel that they are defenseless. Fang dared to pour out of the nest. Well, there are no fifty or sixty thousand. There are also thirty or forty thousand, otherwise how can it be so powerful? ”

Zhang Changgeng made an analysis that he thought was correct, but his eyes lit up, and his eyes moved to the extremely old "Art of War" on the table, and a clever plan came to his mind.

The thieves' lair is empty, and the army of Yiling does not take advantage of the time. When? Isn't this exactly the plan of "encircling Wei to save Zhao". If you can take advantage of the weakness to break through the thieves' eastern defense line, go straight to their lair, and force the thieves to carry out a strategic transfer with their families, even if they lose Jingxiang, they will be a strategic victory.

Although Jingxiang is richer than Kuidong. But it's harder than the danger. Moreover, it is located in the middle of the attack of the three provinces, and the vast number of troops in Henan, Shaanxi, and Hu are surrounded by troops, and it is not easier to exterminate the thieves?

Thinking about it like this, Zhang Changgeng's heart suddenly brightened. After thinking about it for a long time, and sorting out a plan to defend and attack, Zhang Changgeng immediately issued an order to Dong Xueli, the governor of Yiling, to send a large army to attack Xishan, break through the defense line of thieves, and go straight to the bandits' nest. The order was issued, Zhang Changgeng was still unsatisfied, and drafted a chapter in advance, saying that the Kuidong thief was lured to the hinterland of Jingxiang, the nest was broken, and it had become a liukou, and the three provinces attacked together, and the extermination was only in the evening.

Put the chapter away, Zhang Changgeng stroked his beard and smug, feeling that if this plan was successful, the loss of Jing Xiang would also give an explanation to the imperial court, and such a bold strategic transformation would be difficult to carry out in the name of the ancients. Now, he just waited for Dong Xueli's good news.

……………

The Shuo army took Yicheng lightly, did not stop, and continued to move south, and the soldiers pointed directly at Zhong Xiang. The equipment and materials have been greatly improved, and a lot of boats have been collected to transport them by water, which is faster.

The soldier is fast, and everyone understands the most common truth of this soldier. The intelligence work should be the first to win successive victories, and the unpreparedness and emptiness of the Qing army is also a key reason. Taking advantage of the fact that the Huguang Qing army has not had time to adjust, or has just reacted, it will make more money if it can make more money, and it will make more impact if it can make more impact.

"Anyway, we don't have to worry about the future, the upper reaches of the Han River are in our hands, if we can't fight, we will leave, and the Qing army must not be able to help us?"

Hao Shaoqi rode on the horse, said with his mouth, and looked at the water with a telescope, and muttered a little uneasily: "Those two guys don't be honest and kidnap our things." ”

"Don't be suspicious." Liu Tichun said with some amusement: "Yang Laijia and Hong Fu have both made meritorious contributions, and there is no way out of retreat in the Qing court this time to capture the city and kill the generals." Besides, their families have all stayed in Xiangyang, and this improvised naval army is not all their people, so what else is there to worry about? ”

Hao Shaoqi thought about it, nodded and smiled: "That's the same reason." They are the old department of the King of Yanping, and the water war is still in the works, if we don't use them, it seems that we have a small stomach and don't believe them. ”

"If it is said that there is no doubt about employing people, His Royal Highness Min can be the first in the world." Liu Tichun sighed: "If it weren't for that, with the side of the clan, even if there is a name for staying behind, it will be difficult for people to return to their hearts!" ”

"Although His Highness has the capacity to tolerate people, others may not." Hao Shaoqi glanced at the side, and saw that the guards were a little far away, so he lowered his voice and said: "Although the King of Jin is famous, he has no heart. At this time, he is leading the army in western Sichuan to slow down Chongqing, and the time to contact us is not far away. ”

Liu Tichun hesitated for a moment and said: "He leads an army, and we are also an army, and we don't belong to each other, so it doesn't matter, right?" ”

Hao Shaoqi shook his head again and again, and said: "Although they are not subordinate to each other, they have high and low titles. I have discussed privately with my brothers, and I will fight hard to get more achievements, so that I can help you to the king of one word. When the time comes, with you to support, we won't bow our heads too much. ”

"I am very grateful for the kindness of my brothers." Liu Tichun arched his hand and said, "This credit is to be earned, but you don't have to work hard." Doesn't His Royal Highness Min have such a scheming to make the armies discordant? In my mind, the king of Jin is the lord of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and we are the land of this wide lake. ”

"Even if that's the case, don't old and dead get along?" Hao Shaoqi said stubbornly: "There are already three one-character kings from the Western Army, and there are also several county kings. For the sake of this, we have to fight, right? ”

"Fight is to fight." Liu Tichun set his eyes on the vast Han River and said in a deep voice: "But you must also be cautious and cautious, don't be impatient and rash, so as not to suffer defeat and lose your strength in vain." The war south of the Yangtze River has not ended, and there will be more opportunities for the Northern Expedition in the future! Take a long-term view! ”

............. (To be continued......)