In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Zhao Han, Pang Chunlai, Li Banghua, Qin Liangyu, Xu Nianzu, and Mao Yuanyi sat together to discuss this year's troop dispatch plan.

Due to the lack of a map of Sichuan, Qin Liangyu drew a rough sketch, marking only important rivers, mountains, and cities.

"You must take Yunyang first, and if it's too late, you can take Wanxian," Xu Nianzu said, pointing to the map, "so that we can prevent Zhang Xianzhong from advancing westward, and this guy was already attacking Kuizhou last winter." ”

Li Banghua shook his head: "If this is the case, we must start a war with Zhang Xianzhong in advance." ”

Mao Yuanyi said: "Zhang Xianzhong didn't dare to fight. If it really starts, who will go to Sichuan, directly cross the river to fight his hinterland in Hubei! ”

Pang Chunlai interjected: "If we send troops to Hubei, our army's advance plan will be completely chaotic. Fei Ruhe and Zhang Tieniu are all in Shandong, Li is in Xuzhou, and Huang Shun is in Lu'an. ”

Zhao Han said: "After Huang Qi formed a new army, he immediately attacked Yunyang or Wanxian. The sailor went to Huangzhou and Jingzhou to test Zhang Xianzhong's reaction. ”

"Do you really want to go to war with Zhang Xianzhong?" Li Banghua frowned.

Zhao Han said with a smile: "There may be small battles, but it is estimated that big battles will not be fought, and Zhang Xianzhong will not dare to fight at all." Once the two sides start a war, the cities of Guizhou (Zigui), Yiling, Jiangling, Jianli, Hanyang, Huangzhou, and Qizhou may all be attacked by our army across the river. Where can Zhang Xianzhong keep it? He was engaged in tuntian in Hubei, and he finally made an improvement, how could he allow it to be easily lost? ”

"I'm not afraid of 10,000, I'm afraid of what if," Li Banghua said, "what if I'm crazy?" ”

"Don't be afraid to go crazy," Qin Liangyu said, "Take Yunyang down, I will defend the city with white pole soldiers, as long as there is no shortage of military food, he will not be able to capture it for ten years." Stuck here, Zhang Xianzhong still wants to go west to Sichuan, so he has to slowly cross the mountains and mountains along the way. ”

Zhao Han clapped his hands and said: "Okay, give Shi Yan an independent regiment 5,000 soldiers, and the grain and grass will be raised by Shi Yan himself for the time being, and I will send a fleet to transport the follow-up military rations." You can raise the banner of the Datong Army and keep it until the summer grain harvest season, and then I will have enough food for the troops, and Huang Qi's troops will also march into Sichuan to reinforce them. ”

Pang Chunlai asked: "To what extent should Sichuan fight?" ”

"On the Sichuan side, we can't invest too many troops and food," Zhao Han explained, "and this year's plan is to capture only three to five counties in Sichuan, and send officials to divide the fields in Yunyang, Wanxian, and Zhongxian." After the civil affairs are done well, relying on these three counties, we will slowly continue to divide the fields to the west. Train as many local peasant soldiers and officials as possible in Sichuan, so that you can use Sichuan's grain and Sichuan's soldiers to defeat the whole of Sichuan. To attack Sichuan, I only sent 7,500 people from Huang Mi. ”

"That could take years." Mao Yuanyi said.

"Two or three years at most," Zhao Han said with a smile, "There is another benefit to fighting like this." In the future, if you want to attack Yunnan and Guizhou, you only need to transfer troops in Sichuan, and you only need to collect grain in Sichuan, and you don't need to travel thousands of miles from Hunan. ”

Sichuan, as a country of abundance, suffered relatively few natural disasters at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

As long as Zhang Xianzhong is blocked and cannot advance westward, there will be no decent hostile forces in Sichuan. Then what kind of heavy troops are sent to levy?

The 7,500-man mountain division, plus 5,000 white-pole soldiers, only needs to provide grain and grass for the first year, and will definitely be self-sufficient in Sichuan in the second year. At that time, Sichuan will not only not be a burden, but also become Zhao Han's food and soldier base, which can attack Yunnan and Guizhou in the south and go out of Shanxi in the north.

As for Hunan, the training of peasants and soldiers cannot be stopped.

In case Zhang Xianzhong was in a hurry, he immediately requisitioned tens of thousands of peasants and soldiers, issued bonds to collect civilian grain, and directly crossed the river to fight Zhang Xianzhong in Hubei!

……

On the sixth day of the first lunar month, Zhao Han established himself as king.

No ceremony was held, because the altars in Nanjing were completely destroyed, and even the ancestral temple of the old Zhu family fell into disrepair.

If the ceremony is to be held, it is necessary to work hard to restore the buildings such as the Temple of Heaven and Earth.

However, the official structure has changed dramatically.

The Governor's Mansion was changed to Wu Wangfu, and the subordinate institutions were changed to: Ministry of Officials, Ministry of Households, Ministry of Rites, Ministry of War, Ministry of Crime, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, Metropolitan Procuratorate, Metropolitan Governor's Office, and Secretariat.

Ministry of Rites: The Ministry of Missionary and Educational Affairs is mainly responsible for the ideological work of Datong, and at the same time serves as the responsibility of the Ministry of Education.

Ministry of Industry: in charge of transportation and water conservancy affairs.

Ministry of Commerce: in charge of national industry and commerce.

Ministry of Households: Equivalent to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Ministry of Finance: Equivalent to the Ministry of Finance.

Criminal Department: Leads and manages courts across the country.

The Department of Integrity was renamed the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and everything was based on evidence.

The military academy was changed to the Governor's Office, and soldiers were recruited, trained, and fought.

The military department is in charge of equipment and logistics, in charge of the promotion of senior officers, and at the same time is responsible for formulating operational guidelines.

The battle plan is divided into two parts, and the military department can only determine whether to start a war or not, and dominate the war from the macro level. The Governor's Office is responsible for the specific combat plan, so as to avoid blind command of outsiders and insiders.

Moreover, Zhao Han's military department is no longer a purely civilian organization, and military generals can also be promoted to the secretary of the military department.

However, after the military general was transferred to the military department, he was no longer allowed to interfere in military command, and he had to resign from all posts in the governor's office. If there is a concurrent, it is a conspiracy.

The Secretariat was renamed from the Secretariat and became formalized.

The Secretariat has set up ten departments to work with eight ministries and two courts, which is equivalent to six departments that have been emasculated from their supervisory functions.

After becoming emperor, a cabinet will be set up, and how to arrange the power of the cabinet, Zhao Han has no clue for the time being.

In addition, there is Datong Bank, which is entangled with the Ministry of Finance. After the world is calmed, the relationship between the two sides will slowly straighten out.

Zhao Han's title became King Wu, and the official name of the official naturally had to be changed. Pang Chunlai is the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, Li Banghua is the secretary of the Ministry of War, and Chen Maosheng is the secretary of the Ministry of Rites.

Fei Ruhe, Huang Qi, Li Zheng and others were all promoted to the governor of Zuodu.

Mao Yuanyi, Xu Nianzu and others are called Secretary Bing Cao.

……

Ma Mannian was sent to Jeju Island to assist in the training of cavalry.

Qin Liangyu returned to Shili by boat, and she wanted to dispatch white pole soldiers to quickly cross the river and take Yunyang before Zhang Xianzhong.

When she passed through Kuizhou, Kuizhou had already been lost.

Continue to take the boat up, Zhang Xianzhong's troops have already conquered Yunyang!

Qin Liangyu landed directly in Wanxian and ordered his entourage to return to Shiyan to transfer troops, and he only brought a few people to defend Wanxian.

Coming to the outside of the city, Qin Liangyu ordered people to shout: "Stone Qin Liangyu is here, open the city quickly!" ”

"Mrs. Qin?"

Xie Zongtai, the magistrate of the county, was stunned for a moment, and then he was overjoyed: "Hurry up and hang Mrs. Qin up!" ”

A few baskets were put down, and Qin Liangyu and his entourage soon came to the city wall.

"Late born Xie Zongtai, I have seen Mrs. Qin!"

Xie Zongtai seemed to grasp the life-saving straw, and was so moved that he wanted to cry.

He was a ten-year jinshi of Chongzhen, and just after a year of being a magistrate, his hometown Zhejiang was captured by Zhao Han. Then the situation changed greatly, Sichuan lost contact with the imperial court, and Xie Zongtai has been an official in a daze.

This product is a master of solving cases, and being a judge is a professional counterpart, so letting him guard the city is purely to catch ducks on the shelves.

Qin Liangyu didn't talk nonsense, and asked directly: "How many defenders are there in the city?" ”

"There are only more than 300 villagers, and they were recruited before the Chinese New Year." Xie Zongtai replied.

Qin Liangyu is not good at scolding him for his incompetence, after all, Zhang Xianzhong's army is not far away, and this magistrate has done his duty if he did not abandon the city and flee.

Qin Liangyu asked again: "How much grain is in the treasury?" ”

"It's not much," Xie Zongtai added, "if it's a few hundred soldiers, it can be eaten for two or three months." Recruit more soldiers, I am afraid that the military rations will be exhausted in a month. ”

Qin Liangyu couldn't care much, so he could only take out the Datong military flag and lie: "Your Majesty has married Princess Kunxing and canonized Jiangxi Zhao Han as the king of Wu." At this moment, the princes and princesses are all in Nanjing, which is nothing less than a move to pass on the country and trust orphans. ”

"Really...... It's true? Xie Zongtai was incredulous.

Qin Liangyu sighed: "Beizhili is surrounded by Liukou and Tatar slaves on three sides, and the Ming Dynasty is not far from overturning, and Your Majesty has to leave a way out." ”

"Alas!" Xie Zongtai could only sigh.

Qin Liangyu also said: "King Wu sits on Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Zhejiang, Huai, Jiangxi and Jiangxi, and will inevitably ascend the throne in the future." After the summer harvest, King Wu will send a large army to Sichuan, and the eight thieves will definitely be defeated. ”

"But this little bit of people in the city can't keep the summer harvest." Xie Zongtai said.

"And the white pole soldiers," Qin Liangyu deliberately showed a confident smile, "I'm here, the white pole soldiers will be here soon, you tell the people of the city about this." ”

"Good!" Xie Zongtai suddenly had confidence.

Qin Liangyu said again: "Immediately collect wood and gather the carpenters in the city." Rotten wood is fine, and the gun head is also made of wood, all painted white, to make a fake white gun. At the head of the city, the Datong military flag, the horse-shaped flag and the Qin-shaped flag were planted, and people were sent outside the city to spread the news that the white pole soldiers had arrived. ”

"That's a great plan!" Xie Zongtai listened with more confidence.

Qin Liangyu said: "The matter of His Majesty's canonization of King Wu and marrying the princess will also be spread outside the city. In addition, the cruelty of the eight thieves was propagated in the city, saying that once the city was broken, it would be burned and looted by the thieves. He forced the rich families in the city to donate money and food, and summoned the people to come and defend the city. Forget it, I'll do it myself! ”

With Qin Liangyu as the backbone, the entire county town quickly operated.

Although Xie Zongtai does not know how to defend the city, he has the ability to obey orders, and all affairs are actually done in an orderly manner.

Qin Liangyu's name was put out, and King Wu was the signboard, and the rich people were afraid of Zhang Xianzhong's robbery, so they all donated money and food very simply.

Then he enforced the law of protecting the armor in the city, and all outsiders were detained in a centralized manner, so as to prevent Zhang Xianzhong's spies from causing chaos.

There must be Zhang Xianzhong's spies in the city, and he used this trick to capture countless cities.

Zhang Xianzhong was injured.

Seven years ago, he fought Kuizhou once.

Before the prefect took office, the general judge, the magistrate, and the magistrate all fled, and Tongzhi He Chengguang stepped forward.

He Chengguang led thousands of people, faced the siege of tens of thousands of people, and held on until the military rations were cut off.

The spy reported that there was grain in the school field, and took advantage of He Chengguang's opportunity to transport grain, robbed the prison to release the prisoners, set fire to create chaos, and Zhang Xianzhong broke through Kuizhou in one fell swoop.

He Chengguang fought bloodily, and none of the seventeen members of his family surrendered, and they were all killed.

After that time, just in case, two copper cannons were installed in the capital city of Kuizhou.

Two months ago, Zhang Xianzhong personally supervised the siege of the city, and was blown away by a bombardment.

The man was fine, but the horse was frightened, fell and broke his leg.

During the recuperation period, he caught a cold again in the winter, and he was so angry that he plundered Kuizhou City for three days.

Now that the leg injury has healed, the osteopathic doctor is not proficient, and he has treated Zhang Xianzhong as a cripple.

After taking Yunyang, Zhang Xianzhong's soldiers divided into two routes, personally led the main force to Wanxian, and asked Li Dingguo to open the county.

On the way, a spy reported the military situation: "King, the city has cut off contact." According to the confession of the locals, Shi Yan Qin Liangyu has led the white pole soldiers to garrison Kaixian. Also ......"

"What else?" Zhang Xianzhong frowned.

The spy said: "Emperor Chongzhen married his daughter to King Zhao Tianwang, named King Zhao Tianwang as King Wu, and sent the princes and daughters to Nanjing. Shi Yan's white pole soldiers also voted for Zhao Tianwang. Now the city head of Wanxian County is planted with the Datong military flag, as well as the Qinzi flag and the horse-shaped flag of the white pole soldiers. The small one looked at it from a distance, and many of the defenders of the city were armed with white-pole guns. ”

Zhang Xianzhong was furious: "The fart Zhao Tianwang, that is the Zhao thief!" First robbed Lao Tzu's Huangmei County, and now he is coming to Sichuan! ”

Hearing that the white pole soldiers were stationed in Wanxian, Zhang Xianzhong suddenly had a headache.

He suffered a big loss from the white pole soldiers, and was attacked by Qin Liangyu, Qin Yiming (Qin Liangyu's nephew), and Ma Xianglin back and forth, relying on the horse to quickly slip away before escaping.

"Oh no, oh no!" Messengers came on horseback from the east.

Zhang Xianzhong said angrily: "What's the matter?" ”

The messenger reported: "Zhao Tianwang's sailors shelled Guizhou and Yiling! ”

"Zhao thief deceived me too much!" Zhang Xianzhong was so angry that he wanted to vomit blood.

Zhao Han has already taken the Jianghuai region, which is equivalent to encircling Hubei on both sides.

To the northeast, the Datong Army could attack De'an from Xinyang.

To the southeast, the Datong army could attack Huangzhou from Guangji.

In the south, the cities along the river were all within the attack range of the Datong army.

Zhang Xianzhong didn't know that Zhao Han's strategic goal was to attack Shandong first, and from his point of view, Zhao Han was likely to fight himself first and unify Huguang first.

"Go back!"

Zhang Xianzhong was so angry that his teeth itched, he was afraid that Wanxian, which was garrisoned by the white pole soldiers, would not be able to attack it for a long time, and his hometown Hubei would be copied by Zhao Han again.

Zhang Xianzhong not only chose to withdraw the army, but even Kuizhou and Yunyang, which were eaten in his stomach, spit out very neatly. Because these two cities could not be defended, once the Datong Naval Division cut off the Yangtze River communication, they would all become isolated cities hanging outside—they could also transport grain by land, but the consumption was too great.

Qin Liangyu only brought a few entourages, and with a little trickery, with the threat of the Datong Water Division, he actually forced Zhang Xianzhong to give up Sichuan.

Zhang Xianzhong found himself in a difficult situation, if he chose to start a war with Zhao Han, he didn't know where to fight first.

Once the army goes south, it is likely that the soldiers will run out of food, and the grain will be stuck on the north bank by the Datong Sailor Division. Moreover, De'an Mansion in the northeast and Huangzhou Mansion in the southeast will be attacked by the Datong army.

If it is replaced by attacking Jianghuai, the Datong army may cross the river and attack cities along the river.

With a fixed site, it's so difficult to choose.

It's like being a rogue before, rushing forward with a reckless head.

Zhang Xianzhong returned to Jingzhou Mansion and received a letter from Zhao Han, the content of which was easy to understand: "I want Sichuan, you can go to Shaanxi and Henan, I promise not to take advantage of it." ”

it, Zhang Xianzhong didn't dare to move troops at all.

Because Huang Shun and Fei Yinghui had already stationed troops in Xinyang, Li Zheng and Xiao Zongxian were transferred to Guangji, and they could attack from these two directions at any time.

Zhang Xianzhong didn't dare to move, at least before Zhao Han officially attacked Shandong, Zhang Xianzhong's army would definitely not dare to mess around.

(Thanks to the two brothers, Cz' and Liu Zuma, for their reward.) ）

(Ask for a commuter pass.) ）