In early September of the sixth year of Hongxing's reign in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Cixiang arrived at the Yunlong Mountain Palace outside Xuzhou with a streamlined "small court" and a "staff department". The owner here is Gao Jie. It’s a pretty nice garden with a very high terrain. It’s not afraid of flooding at all...if the Yellow River really gets out of control in the next few months!
Now he is meeting with Shi Kefa, Gao Jie, Huang Degong, Li Chengdong and other four people. These four have improved their skills now! The rise of Zhu Cixiang gave them more opportunities for experience, and the arrival of Prince Kong Dai also gave them the opportunity to thoroughly master the battle organization methods of the "Musket Phalanx" era by studying many battle cases in the Thirty Years' War.
If they were to start a fight now, the four of them would no longer be afraid of the Tatars!
Even if the Brave King comes, as long as the difference in strength is not too big, they are confident of defeating their opponent - in fact, there is no need to defeat, just a few draws can consume all the old Manchuria in Duduo's hands.
In addition, Shi Kefa is no longer a vassal town, and the "Qufu Army" at hand has been adapted into the Ming Dynasty's new army. He himself served as governor of Shandong and Liaodong for several years, opening a mansion in Dengzhou.
Although Gao Jie, Huang Degong, and Li Chengdong still maintain a certain degree of independence, their armies have also been "standardized."
Among them, Gao Jie's Xu Haijun was reorganized into 8 infantry regiments, 2 cavalry battalions and 2 field artillery companies. The infantry regiments were all "Morris-based" teams, while the cavalry battalions were "Black Lancers". The artillery company is equipped with 3-pound guns, and the two companies are equipped with a total of 12 3-pound guns.
The Huaibei Army under Huang Degong's organization is exactly the same as Xu Haijun's. It is also a combined infantry, cavalry and artillery unit of the 8th Regiment, 2nd Battalion and 2nd Company.
Li Chengdong's army was transferred to the Liaodong Peninsula to guard Lushun, and he himself was given the official position of Liaodong Jiedushi. However, he, the Jiedu Envoy, was not the lord of a separatist territory, but just the military and political officer of Lushun, Liaodong. The troops at hand are also limited, not as many as Gao Jie and Huang Degong. There are 4 regiments and 2 companies in total - 4 infantry regiments plus 2 artillery companies. The troops are over 10,000, and there is no cavalry, because there is no "use" at all. Land of Horses”. The task of the more than 10,000 Liaodong soldiers was to guard the Jinzhou Wall. Therefore, the infantry regiments of the Liaodong Army were all musketeers and were not equipped with long guns.
They have cannon-laden ramparts, trenches several feet wide, and castles that can be defended independently (along the ramparts), and the garrisoned defense lines are not very wide, so naturally they don't need to consider field battles...
"The changes in the Qing army have not been small in recent years. Because of the Jieshi Mountain War and internal divisions, Old Manchuria has withered greatly, and the power of Zhenglu Banner has also declined. On the other hand, New Manchuria outside the Pass is thriving, but New Manchuria still cannot be reconciled Compared with Old Manchuria. The main force of New Manchuria is infantry, which is nothing more than muskets, spears, and swords... It has not reached the level of the early Spanish phalanx, and it cannot beat us. Thirty years in Europe In war, battles between infantry are usually decided by firepower. The more muskets, the greater the chance of victory. Therefore, Duduo can rely on cavalry and fortresses.
Haha, in the past we relied on building cities and forts to defend Liaodong, but now Duduo has to rely on castles to protect his home country... But as long as we are determined to fight, the method of integrating soldiers and peasants in New Manchuria outside the Pass will eventually be Will be dragged down! "
Analyzing the situation is military advisor Li Yan.
Zhu Cixi's Northern Expedition was divided into three groups!
The main force along the way is of course the Xuzhou army under his own command, which will advance westward along the Yellow River, with the goal of recovering Guide Mansion and Kaifeng Mansion.
The West Route Army was commanded by Wu Sanfu, the governor of Hubei and Henan. His mission was to cut off the communication between Henan Prefecture and Kaifeng Prefecture, while seizing the periphery of Henan Prefecture, isolating Luoyang, and ultimately forcing the Qing army in Luoyang to withdraw northward.
The East Route Army was presided over by Shi Kefa, the governor of Liaodong and Shandong. There are two tasks, one is to contain the New Manchurian Army outside the pass; the other is to seize the lost territory of Dongchang Prefecture, Jibei Prefecture, and Yanzhou Prefecture, and regain the entire territory of Shandong.
With the help of the Military Advisor's Office, Zhu Cixiang made a plan to destroy the Qing Dynasty in 10 years. This plan was divided into several stages for implementation.
The goal of the first phase is to recover and digest all of Shandong and most of Henan - according to the plan, Zhu Cixiang's army will take one and a half years, that is, by the end of next year to completely complete the first phase of the task! Not only to recover, but also to complete the initial digestion.
The goal of the second stage is to recover the territory within the Pass, excluding Datong and Xuanfu, and south of the Great Wall - that is, to recover the two fortresses of Beijing and Taiyuan!
This stage takes at least two years!
But we can’t regard ourselves as the British and French allied forces, and the Qing Dynasty in the Shunzhi year as the Qing Dynasty in the Xianfeng year...
The goal of the third stage is the vast territory outside the customs and Mongolia!
How could it be possible to recover without one who was five or six years old? A year is not enough to cover such a large area!
"Shi Junmen," Zhu Cixiang took over the topic and said to Shi Kefa, "You are now a veteran general, and I will entrust you with the affairs of Shandong and Liaodong! The three armies of Xu Hai, Huaibei, and Liaodong, as well as those stationed in Shandong and Liaodong, The four divisions of the New Army in Liaodong and the Beiyang Navy were all put under the control of the governor-general offices of Liaodong and Shandong!"
The army that Emperor Zhu handed over to Shi Kefa was not that large, with a total of less than 120,000 people, but its combat effectiveness was powerful!
Zhu Cixiang looked at Shi Kefa, Gao Jie, Huang Degong, and Li Chengdong with burning eyes, "If you have any questions, you can ask them now!"
Shi Kefa had already made a calculation and said: "Don't worry, now only Liaocheng and Dezhou are strong cities in Shandong, and Dezhou is the gateway to North Zhili. If you want to take it, it may trigger a decisive battle.
The minister's idea was to feign an attack on Dezhou and lure the main force of the Eastern captives eastward, and then retreat to the south of the Daqing River to seek an opportunity for a decisive battle. "
Zhu Cixiang nodded slightly. Shi Kefa's plan seemed simple, but it could greatly confuse the Qing army and effectively coordinate Zhu Cixiang's middle route army to march into the Henan camp. Digging the Yellow River can only be done on the south bank, and digging on the north bank will submerge yourself, so As long as the Henan camp is captured or surrounded, the crisis in the Yellow River will be relieved.
He looked at Gao Jie, Huang Degong and Li Chengdong again.
Gao Jie said with a smile: "I don't have any objections... It's a little more difficult to attack the city. I don't have huge cannons, but we can be sure of the field battle! Not counting the Liaodong Army, we have 16 infantry regiments and 6 infantry regiments in Shandong." A cavalry battalion and eight artillery companies, everything is guaranteed!"
Huang Degong also said: "Yes, it's foolproof!"
Li Chengdong said: "The Jinzhou Wall is also foolproof... If the Donglu want to break it, they will have to kill 35,000 people!"
Zhu Cixi smiled: "In that case, let Shandong take the first step! I will send military envoys to Liaocheng first... Tell that old cow eating young grass Fan Wencheng that I have prepared something for him in Nanjing Duke's Mansion. If he is willing to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, he will not lose his position as Duke. If he is stubborn and ineffective, it will be too late!"
Zhu Cixiang was not the kind of person who couldn't get rid of the dirt in his eyes. He was still willing to give some benefits and bribe the upper-level Tartars in exchange for someone who could fight without bloodshed.
However, the people he can give to Zhengluqin Dingnan Wang's lineage are a county prince, a few marquis, earls... I'm sorry for the others!
If everyone could keep their original interests, then why would Emperor Zhu continue the Northern Expedition?
The messenger who persuaded him to surrender was Fan Wencheng's old acquaintance Zu Kefa. He came to Liaocheng with Princess Jianning's dowry list - in theory, he was here to take over Liaocheng!
Because he had a good reputation and was an old acquaintance, Zukfa easily entered Liaocheng. When he saw Fan Wencheng, he was shocked.
Fan Wencheng seems to be ill, and it's quite serious!
"Oh, King Dingnan, what's wrong with you? You've lost weight, and your complexion is not good... Although you are an old man and a young wife, you can't work like this! You are already at your age, don't you? You are younger than you are now. When you come to Nanjing from now on, please take care and don’t make wedding clothes for others!"
