Now that there are soldiers and money, then Yang Sichang will start arranging troops.

First of all, Yang Sichang set the date for this crackdown on bandits, which was set for December of the tenth year of Chongzhen to February of the eleventh year of Chongzhen, a total of three months.

After that, the main battlefield for the suppression of bandits was determined. In addition to the Fengsi and Chengtian ancestral tombs, which should be defended, Henan and Shaanxi were determined to be the places where thieves were killed.

Then, it's time to spread the net on all sides. Yang Sichang arrangement: to make the governor of Shaanxi cut off Shangzhou and Luonan; Yunyang cares for Yunyang and Xiangyang; Huguang governor Duan De'an (now Anlu), Huangzhou (now Huanggang); Anhui governor Duanying Mountain and Lu'an; Fengyang governor of Broken Yingzhou (now Fuyang) and Bozhou; And the soldiers of the Heavenly Patrol still blocked the hidden mountain and Taiping (now Dangtu); The troops of the governor of Jiangxi urgently blocked Huangmei and Guangji (now west of Huangmei County, Hubei); The troops of the governor of Shandong blocked Xuzhou and Suzhou; The soldiers of the governor of Shanxi crossed Shaanxi County and Lingbao, and the soldiers of the governor of Baoding flew across the Yanjin area.

Then there is the main mobile force to suppress bandits: Xiong Wencan, the prime minister of the five provinces, mentioned the border soldiers; The Warden Proposes to Prohibit the Brigade; Henan governor Tizuo Liangyu, Wu Shigong, Chen Yongfu, Li Lu and other soldiers; And Yu Zilian rushed to the aid in all directions. Everyone must work together to suppress the Central Plains, and the trend will not end.

If the king of Chuang, Li Zicheng, Guotianxing Zhang Tianlin and other thief chieftains go out of the Guandong, then the Shaanxi governor Hong Chengchou will mention the troops of Zuo Guangxian, Cao Bianjiao, and Zu Dabi with them.

Zuihou is the goal of the operation: the government and the official army in all parts of the country will be mobilized to prepare for the next three months of hard work, and the situation will not end for ten years. Therefore, Yang Sichang promised: It can be three months and the thief is also peaceful.

And at this time, the news of the Wuhu victory came, and the surrender of Zhang Xianzhong and Liu Guoneng was also submitted to the imperial court, which was a good start! So the monarchs and ministers in the court were optimistic.

The connoisseur stretches out his hand and knows if there is. As soon as Yang Sichang established a grand strategy, it was immediately effective, which immediately reflected Yang Sichang's ability and Emperor Chongzhen's vision. Don't talk about luck. Luck is also part of ability, so Emperor Chongzhen is a dragon face Dayue.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen seemed to have such a beautiful scenery in front of him: as long as he could fight against the Liukou in the near future, he could free up his hands to deal with the Qing army outside the Guan, and once the military crisis was completely eliminated, the prosperity of Zhongxing would not be too far away.

And for Yang Sichang, a pillar of the army who can really do things honestly and arrange such a major military operation properly, his heart is full of gratitude. It wasn't until later that the Jihua of Yang Sichang's "ten-sided net" finally miscarried, and his feelings still did not disappear completely. Because Yang Sichang was, after all, his most effective in the entire reign. He is also the most trusted minister.

So Emperor Chongzhen decided to use valuable manpower and material resources to hold a big event to celebrate, show the majesty of the central government of the Ming Dynasty, and also boost the morale of the military and civilians across the country to suppress bandits. And such a big event throughout the ages is similar, and Emperor Chongzhen chose a big military parade.

In October of the tenth year of Chongzhen. Emperor Chongzhen held the only military parade in his life. On this day, the whole city of the capital was under martial law, and the people were forbidden to travel. Emperor Chongzhen rode a horse out of the palace under the guidance of the mighty guard of honor. The civil and military officials also rode horses and followed behind the emperor.

And this huge team, accompanied by the "music of Wucheng", first went to Zhengyang Gate, and then patrolled around the gates along the inner city. All the soldiers of the Beijing camp have long been lined up and down the city wall, the bright military flags fluttering with the golden wind, the blades and armor shining in the light of the rising sun, where the emperor appeared, where the sound of "long live" resounded like a tsunami in the mountains.

Emperor Chongzhen saw that the army was majestic and neat. I was very happy and specially rewarded the Rong Zhengshangshu Lu Wanxue who had the four-character scripture of "doing nothing". On this pleasant day of high autumn air, he seemed to see again the greatness of his empire and his army.

That night, Emperor Chongzhen had another good dream. He seemed to see his name and be listed among the Taizu and Chengzu, and accept the cheers and admiration of the eternals.

However, Emperor Chongzhen would not have known that most of the hundreds of thousands of troops under review were temporarily hired by the generals of various battalions to fill the number, and the miscellaneous servants, men, and even hooligans and idlers in the capital were all temporary workers under the city wall for a while, which really stimulated the domestic demand of Beijing. And to rely on such a vain army to maintain this ruined empire? Dream on!

Moreover, there are two pillars to be solved in order to realize the grand strategy of Yang Sichang: one is to secure the outside world before the inside; One is to promote appeasement through war.

Let's talk about the outside first, and the inside first! Putting aside the emotional factor and abandoning the difference between Huayi and Yi, there is no problem with Yang Sichang's strategic thinking of first concentrating all national strength and solving a major enemy first. This can also be seen from the previous notes on the strategy in this article. In other words: in a period of time, a problem is solved.

For this reason, Yang Sichang proposed: In order to completely solve the "trouble of the henchmen" of the peasant army, he believed that the "trouble of the shoulders and arms" of the Qing army should still be treated calmly, and it is best to temporarily make peace first.

And this idea is not a wishful dream. As early as October of the eighth year of Chongzhen and February of the ninth year of Chongzhen, Huang Taiji sent letters to the border guards of the Ming Dynasty twice, and asked them to forward them to the Ming court.

Yang Sichang believed that since the Manchus were willing to negotiate peace, they would have the opportunity to exchange some kind of compromise for a period of peace to ensure the clearing of the Central Plains and the restoration of national strength. In Yang Sichang's view: This is nothing more than an expedient measure, a normal delaying tactic for the hostile sides.

It can't be said that Yang Sichang is wrong, it's just that he didn't expect the national conditions of the Ming Dynasty and the stubborn Shili of conservatism.

The Ming Dynasty was the Central Plains Dynasty established by expelling the Meng Yuan, and it was the most upright dynasty in all dynasties, and it did greatly increase the national pride of the Han nation. And the Ming Dynasty is also the most hardened dynasty: no ministers, no tribute, no harmony.

Also, the Ming Dynasty has always regarded itself as a central power, and has never looked down on the barbarians around it, and there is no idea of equal exchanges between modern countries, so it is more uncomfortable to let them negotiate with the Manchus than to kill them.

Doesn't it seem that the Ming court still wants to call himself emperor to the Manchus? How many princesses to send to kiss? Giving a large sum of coins every year? Because from Emperor Chongzhen to all ministers, there is no concept of equality between the two countries. For them, there must be a division between countries. (In fact, the Manchu Qing in Liaodong was already one country, so it is said that it is two countries here)

Therefore, as long as a minister proposes peace in the imperial court, even if it is an expedient measure, it will immediately be chased and beaten by a group of righteous people. I don't doubt the conscience and motives of those righteous people, but their actions have really dragged down the grand strategy of Yang Sichang, it should be said that these righteous people are the legendary "patriotic thieves"!

Another point, Huang Taiji's Manchu Qing did not follow the baton of the Ming court and Yang Sichang, nor did you say that you wanted to go outside. Through the secret agents all over the pass, they clearly know every move in the pass, as long as there is an opportunity, they will wave their troops into the pass, and they will not let the Ming court peacefully exterminate the peasant army. This will also be discussed in more detail later.

Let's talk about war to promote pacification. In fact, from the essence point of view, Yang Sichang is not as described by the so-called historians of later generations, he is a real main battle faction, and he is a radical main battle faction. The reason why there is such a misunderstanding is that later generations were misled by the blind appeasement of Prime Minister Xiong Wencan and the expedient pacification of Yang Sichang in desperation.

This can also be seen in Yang Sichang's moral character. No matter how much he denies Yang Sichang's ability, no one can deny that Yang Sichang is a loyal and filial son. And his father Yang He died indirectly at the hands of the peasant army, so Yang Sichang and the peasant army have a grudge against his father, how can he be merciful to the peasant army?

Therefore, when he saw the surrender letter, Yang Sichang profoundly understood that when the peasant army was unfavorable, it would often take surrender as a pretext to stretch it, and it was rarely sincere. But Yang Sichang couldn't resist the holy will, so he had to propose that Zhang Xianzhong first go and kill the other peasant armies, and then he could recruit An, otherwise he should take the opportunity to sharpen his troops and suppress them strictly. And Liu Guoneng, because it was Wu Shigong who surrendered, so Yang Sichang will not mention it here.

But Emperor Chongzhen has been carried away by the victory, and besides, the temptation to win a big victory without increasing troops and salaries is simply too great. Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen refuted Yang Sichang in person and said: "How can he come to surrender and say that he blindly kills?" ”

So the Fu Bureau has been decided, Zhang Xianzhong was appointed as the deputy commander-in-chief, and the division was stationed in Gucheng west of Xiangyang, and more than 18,000 people from the disbandment department returned to the farm, and 11,000 elite soldiers were still left, waiting for Xiong Wencan's dispatch. But Zhang Xianzhong did not listen to the dispatch, but only built houses and farmed land in Gucheng, trained troops, and delayed him on the grounds of insufficient food and salary when he went on the expedition, and Xiong Wencan had no choice.

In addition, Liu Guoneng was also named a staff general and classified as Zuo Liangyu's subordinate. As for whether Liu Guoneng will go or not, the imperial court can't control it for the time being.

At this time, in October of the tenth year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng and Guo Tianxing's peasant army went south to invade Sichuan and began the Sichuan strategy. They conquered thirty or forty prefectures and counties in northern Sichuan and the Chengdu Plain, and once reached the outskirts of Chengdu.

And this sudden military action frightened the local government of Sichuan in the Ming Dynasty and did not know what to do. Hong Chengchou, the governor of Shaanxi, who was in charge of the encirclement and suppression on the western front, hurriedly led the two main forces of the Guyuan general army Zuo Guangxian and the Lintao general army Cao Bianjiao into Sichuan to intercept and attack the peasant army from the eastern front. Fu Zonglong, the newly appointed governor of Sichuan, mobilized tens of thousands of Sichuan troops from all walks of life to stop the peasant army from moving south from Chengdu to Langzhong.

Yang Sichang's grand strategy of "ten-sided netting" has finally begun.

Let's put down these battle situations for the time being, let's go back to the Runing Army first, and see a wonderful performance suddenly presented by the sailors of the Runing Army! (To be continued......)