"Because none of the soldiers in the Shizi Battalion are accustomed to water warfare, I didn't want to send the Qin Wang Shizi to the Sailor Master, but just asked Zheng Qing to train the officers of the Sailor Master by yourself through the Sailor Academy."

"But now that Zheng Qing has proposed it, I will definitely consider it solemnly."

Chongzhen's words can be regarded as giving Zheng Zhilong enough face, and the emperor personally came forward to explain, what else do you want?

"Holy Lord, the minister is afraid." Zheng Zhilong hurriedly said, "The minister actually has no malicious intent, but he just thinks that the scholars in the Shizi Camp are all talents in the world, so he can't help but want to recruit some sailors." ”

"Yes, I know." Chongzhen said, "When this Northern Expedition is over, I will definitely select a group of scholars from the Shizi Battalion to serve in the Sailors, how about it?" ”

"In this way, the minister thanked the saint first."

Zheng Zhilong was overjoyed when he heard this, and finally got his wish.

Chongzhen hit the railway while it was hot: "Zheng Qing still has Youzhen, at this time it has just passed Baishuiyang, and it is still far from Dengzhou, why don't you accompany me into the cabin to have a few drinks, how about it?" ”

This is to resolve the mustard between Zheng Zhilong and Xu Yingwei.

In fact, when he was in Xuzhou and Liaodong before, Chongzhen did not do much about this.

Chongzhen disdains to provoke infighting among his subordinates, and only those who have serious defects in their own abilities will deliberately provoke infighting among their subordinates, which is also the so-called way of checks and balances.

Emperor Jiajing, for example, was well versed in the essence of the way of checks and balances.

It's just that Jiajing instigated Yan Dang and Qingliu to fight, not because his ability was not enough to control the hundred officials in the court, but because he was obsessed with cultivating immortals and asked, and he was too lazy to deal with the government.

But Chongzhen will not be obsessed with cultivating immortals, so there is no need to deliberately create contradictions.

The way of checks and balances can certainly save leaders worry and effort, but it will also form internal friction and greatly reduce efficiency, so Chongzhen would rather work harder by himself.

The emperor personally came forward to make peace, and his face was not small.

Zheng Zhilong and Xu Yingwei followed Chongzhen into the official hall of the warship in fear.

Then a few cans of Ming wine fell into their stomachs, Zheng Zhilong and Xu Yingwei were already exhausted, and even began to call them brothers, Zheng Sen, who was accompanying him, was suddenly half angry, enough, it's enough.

……

The sailor escorted the merchant ships and headed north against the wind.

After passing Weihai, the sea began to freeze.

At first, there was only a thin layer of ice, but as we gradually moved deeper into the North Sea, the ice began to thicken, and the crash angles installed in the bow of the ship squeezed the ice, making a crunching sound.

When we arrived at Dengzhou, the ice was getting thicker and thicker, and the ship began to sail harder.

Because the power provided by the sails is no longer enough to break through the thick ice of the North Sea, and any further sailing, the sailor ship may be trapped in the ice, so it can only stop there.

Chongzhen immediately gave an order, and the army dismounted.

……

Almost at the same time, Zhu Cijiong also led 40,000 Korean troops to Gaizhouwei.

At this time, Wang Fuzhi, who was on duty in Gaizhou, hurriedly led Guan Siqiu, Xia Rubi and several other scholars to greet him outside the city, which made Zhu Cijiong feel a little surprised that the Qing army in Gaizhou actually withdrew.

"When did this happen?" Zhu Cijiong asked.

"About half a month ago." Wang Fuzhi, "Not only the Jiannu outside Gaizhou City were withdrawn, but the Horqin people who originally moved south to the lower reaches of the Liao River also withdrew to the pastures in the upper reaches of the Liao River. ”

"It seems that Jiannu is going to shrink his troops." Zhu Cijiong said.

Jiannu is generally in a weak position compared to the Ming Dynasty, and in the face of the Ming Dynasty's attack, the shrinkage of troops is also forced to be helpless, just as the old slave can only concentrate his forces on the road in the battle of Salhu.

】

"Dingwang Mingjian." Wang Fuzhi said solemnly, "So the minister thinks that it is enough to defend the east bank of the Liao River." ”

The task given to the Liaodong Army by Chongzhen was to block the Liaoxi Corridor and prevent the remnants of Jiannu from escaping back to Liaodong, so Wang Fuzhi's suggestion was fine, as long as the east bank of the Liaohe River was held, the Liaoxi Corridor could be blocked.

Leading the army into the Liaoxi Corridor, and even hitting outside the Shanhai Pass, the effect of blocking will be better, but it will also put more than 10,000 Liaodong troops in danger, in case the Jiannu army takes advantage of the main force of the Ming army before it reaches Beihai, and suddenly turns around and kills into the Liaoxi corridor, then the Liaodong army will most likely be eaten by Jiannu.

After all, the Liaodong Army now has only two infantry brigades plus two artillery battalions.

Even with the addition of 40,000 Korean troops, it is far from being the opponent of the main force of Jiannu.

Wang Fuzhi was worried that Zhu Cijiong was young and vigorous, and wanted to lead the army into the Western Liaoning Corridor.

At the moment, he persuaded: "King Ding, the terrain of the western Liaoxi corridor is narrow, and there is a Shanhaiguan in front, Yanshan on the left, and the vast Beihai on the right. ”

Zhu Cijiong was amused for a moment, and said: "The king has given a lot of advice, Lone is not so stupid, before his father's army has not reached Beihai and has not started a war with the main force of Jiannu, Lone will definitely not lead the Liaodong Army to attack the enemy." ”

Wang Fuzhi breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, and said in his heart that he was really worried, although King Ding was young, he had already experienced a hundred battles, and he had easily defused a mutiny in Seoul before?

However, Zhu Cijiong's tone changed and he said, "However, we can't just wait. ”

Wang Fuzhi's heart suddenly rose again, and asked, "Dare to ask King Ding, what do you mean?" ”

"Wang Zhizhi, you will lead the Korean army to stay in Gaizhou, and Lone will lead two infantry brigades and the cavalry of the headquarters to the north." Zhu Cijiong patted the map on the table, and said with a cruel smile, "Let's solve the Horqin Mongols first." ”

"Be cautious about the king." Hearing this, Wang Fuzhi hurriedly persuaded, "Although the climate in Liaodong this year is warmer than in previous years, this is after all in Liaodong, and once it snows, it can freeze to death." ”

"It doesn't matter." Zhu Cijiong had already made up his mind, "Wait for the white snow, and then find a place to camp." ”

Wang Fuzhi persuaded again: "But the Liaohe Plain is so big, and it is the middle of winter, and most of the tribes in Horqin Mongolia have already hid and prepared for the cat winter, I'm afraid it will be difficult to find." ”

"The king admonishes you, but that's the opposite." Zhu Cijiong said, "It's really because it's the middle of winter, and all the tribes in Horqin Mongolia are hiding in the winter, so it's easier to find!" ”

After a pause, he said: "Because there are not many pastures that can be cats winter." ”

Wang Fuzhi was speechless for a moment, and said in his heart that Wang was young, but he knew a lot, and he also had a considerable understanding of the habits of Mongolian herdsmen, and it seemed that he had done a lot of homework before.

Zhu Cijiong said again: "The king admonished, and Gu did this to reduce the pressure on his father's army. ”

"The Horqin Mongol tribes are all Jiannu's hardcore allies, and when the war breaks out in Guannei, Dolgon will definitely recruit the cavalry of the Horqin Mongols to enter the Guanqin King, we will strike first, and kill the Horqin Mongols first, we can cut off one of Jiannu's arms, and the Ming Dynasty will have a greater chance of winning the Northern Expedition, right?"

Wang Fuzhi was still a little worried: "King Ding, I'm afraid the troops are not enough, right?" ”

Zhu Cijiong said: "It is enough to have more than 2,000 cavalry, two infantry brigades and two artillery battalions in the headquarters, after all, the various tribes of Horqin Mongolia are in their own pastures, and they have no chance to gather troops at all. ”

"Well, King Ding must be careful." Wang Fuzhi could only agree.

"However, we should still bring a North Korean army."

"It's fine." Zhu Cijiong nodded happily.

……

In Xi'an, the palace of the king of Qin is stored in the heart of the palace.

"Holy Lord, Sangar has issued the Golden Arrow Decree in the name of the Mongol co-lord." Song Xiance said respectfully, "Call on all Mongolian tribes to join forces to resist the Ming in order to protect the dignity of Lamaism." ”

Li Zicheng's gaze turned to Li Yan: "Zuo Junshi, do you think Khalkha and Oirath will send troops?" ”

Li Yan said: "The minister thinks that the possibility of the Khalkha tribes sending troops is very great, because although the Khalkha tribes are also facing the attack of the Rakshasas, but the pressure is less, and they still fantasize about unifying the Monan and Mongolian tribes, so this time it is an excellent opportunity to enter Monan and even Senei in the name of the joint forces to resist the Ming." ”

Li Zicheng asked again: "What about the Oirat tribes?" ”

"The situation in the Oirat Mongol tribes is much more complicated."

"The Khan is still nominally the co-ruler of the Oirat Mongols, but in fact he has long since lost power, and at this time he is busy suppressing the Karma faction in the snow area, so he has no time to take care of anything else."

"The real Khan of the Oirat Mongols is Baturhun of the Dzungar Department."

"It's just that Baturhun is busy fighting for territory with the Kyrgyz, Kazakhs and Nogai, and he has no time to take care of anything else in three or five years, at most he will send a few thousand people symbolically, just as he sent 3,000 camel artillery to Sangar's tent to listen to the dispatch, nominally to listen to the tune, but in fact just to get a glimpse of the reality."

"It is to spy on the details of the Central Plains and prepare for the future involvement in the Central Plains."

Li Yan obviously has done a lot of homework on the Outer Mongolian tribes, whether it is Khalkha Mongolia or Oirat Mongolia, he is basically familiar with all kinds of situations.

"It's just a bunch of barbarians, and you still want to get involved in the Central Plains?"

Li Zicheng laughed and said, "If that's the case, how many Mongolian cavalry can Sangar probably muster?" ”

Li Yan counted with his fingers: "The national teacher Khan in the snow area can be ignored, Dzungaria, that is, Oirat Mongolia, sent at most 3,000 camel soldiers, and the total number of Khalkha Mongolian cavalry is about 200,000, but the interior is not monolithic, Shuo Lei and the other three are called the Great Khan, and the open and secret battles between each other have never been broken." ”

"Therefore, the Khalkha tribes will send at most thirty or fifty thousand cavalry."

"However, Tumut and the Chahar tribes are subject to Jiannu, and they will definitely pour out of the nest and send at least 60,000 troops."

"Whether the Horqin Mongols can send troops is still unknown, because there is a Ming army in Liaodong, and during this period of time, the Horqin Mongol tribes are said to have been in trouble, so they may not be able to send troops."

After a pause, Li Yan finally said: "So the number of Mongolian cavalry that can finally gather under the Sanggar tent should be between 80,000 and 100,000, and at most 110,000 cavalry. ”

"Eighty thousand to one hundred thousand cavalry? It's quite a bit. ”

Li Zicheng's expression was awe-inspiring, the Mongols still had such strength.