The results of the Battle of Chexixia Gorge were not reported to Shandong until two months later.
There is no way around this.
After all, it is not an area controlled by Shandong, and due to the endless war, the transmission of information is very slow.
Even so, the Intelligence Department paid the sacrifice of two people to pass the news back.
After learning the result, Zuo Mengeng immediately held a high-level meeting.
"This time Chen Qiyu used all his trump cards. Therefore, after the failure, the court could no longer restrain the northwest bandits in a short period of time. Our staff judged that the situation in the entire Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Central Plains areas will change for a long time to come. It’s uncontrollable.”
Major strategic research and judgment must be made by the staff department.
Because history has changed, the Northwest Rebels did not get out of trouble by bribing Chen Qiyu to surrender, and the subsequent results will definitely be different.
Zuo Mengeng didn't dare to make any comments.
In terms of strategic research and judgment, the staff department is obviously more professional.
"Then what do you think the follow-up movements of the northwest bandits should be?"
Dong Xiangwu, director of the Strategy Department of the Ministry of Intelligence, stood up.
"We predict that although the imperial court will be unable to organize an encirclement and suppression in a short period of time, the overall strength comparison is still dominated by the imperial court. Once the imperial court calms down, the northwest bandits will still be unable to gain a foothold in Shaanxi. The place they are most likely to go to... …”
Dong Xiangwu's baton clicked on the middle of the map.
"They will definitely go to Henan."
Without anyone asking questions, he took the initiative to give his reasons.
"After the disasters of the past few years, as well as the exploitation and persecution by the court and landlords, the people in Henan have long been unable to survive. The northwest bandits have tasted the benefits when they came here before, so they will definitely come here again."
Zuo Mengeng's eyes flashed.
He never thought that although history had changed due to his intervention, the staff's judgment would return to its original position.
But he soon figured out why.
In the final analysis, the northwest bandits are bankrupt farmers. Even if Li Zicheng, Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong and others are outstanding, to say they have any great talents and strategies is still too flattering.
The movements of the bandits can be summed up in four words: go with the flow.
Today's Shaanxi has been completely destroyed due to wars and disasters. It is simply impossible for the Northwest Rebel Army to recruit soldiers and obtain supplies here.
The few fertile places, such as Xi'an, were heavily populated by imperial troops. If you dare to attack with the strength of the Northwest Rebel Army, you are throwing yourself into a trap.
Compared with Shaanxi, although the disasters in Henan are not small, it has not experienced too many ravages of war and still retains a trace of vitality.
At the same time, the rich population, vast area and convenient transportation are more suitable for the mobile operations of the northwest rebels.
It can be said that they will go to Henan in the future, not because they have any strategic vision, but because they can only go to Henan.
When he thought of this, Zuo Mengeng knew that something would happen.
Zuo Fu stepped forward and provided information that strengthened his confidence.
"News came from the capital that many officials have impeached Chen Qiyu, which has become a prairie fire. I'm afraid it won't be long before Chen Qiyu will be dismissed from office. Without him, the situation in Shaanxi will be even more chaotic."
In the original history, Chen Qiyu was impeached. The main charges were accepting bribes from the rebels, recruiting the rebels so hard that they let the rebels go, and shirking responsibility.
Although he did not accept bribes this time, he had not yet begun recruiting people. But because of the failure on the battlefield, the responsibility must be found on his head.
Li Zicheng's troops headed straight for Hanzhong. King Rui was so frightened that he almost fled. He was even more angry with Chen Qiyu and also impeached him with a memorial.
It can be said that Chen Qiyu, the governor of the five provinces, has reached his end.
However, at such a critical juncture, once Chen Qiyu steps down, Shaanxi will be leaderless, and no one will be able to concentrate all the forces to deal with the northwest rebels.
This will be a rare golden period of development for the Northwest Rebels.
Zuo Mengeng thought silently, and a comprehensive plan had been formed in his mind.
"The changes in the war situation in the northwest have just given us an opportunity. Everyone, put on a good show and be sure to deceive Dorgon and Sahalian."
Everyone braced themselves and waited for his arrangements.
Zuo Mengeng began to give orders.
"From now on, military supplies will be mobilized to Xuzhou, Linqing, Yanzhou and other places. At the same time, the Third Division of the First Army, the Fourth Division of the Second Army, including the entire Third Army, will gather forces to move to the west. Tell all ministries to do this. Be prepared, we will take the initiative next."
After hearing this, everyone somewhat understood what he was thinking.
That is to tell Dorgon and Sahalian through the mobilization of troops that Shandong is temporarily unable to conquer Liaodong.
They can annex the Chahar tribe with confidence and boldness.
Huang Zongxi was a little hesitant
"Isn't this deployment move too big? It's a waste of time and money."
According to Zuo Mengeng's plan, a total of 70,000 to 80,000 troops will be involved. If nothing else, marching alone is a huge cost.
Just to deceive Dorgon and Saharian, it seems a bit excessive to do this.
Zuo Mengeng chuckled.
"Who said our military mobilization is just for deception?"
Huang Zongxi was stunned, savored it carefully, and finally realized that Zuo Mengeng seemed to be planning a bigger move.
Dorgon and Sahalian have been living in Shandong for some time.
Except for Shandong's categorical rejection of the peace negotiation, the two men's actions were not hindered in any way.
They are still relatively free.
If the negotiations failed, Dorgon and Sahalian had no choice but to do anything.
Since Shandong did not restrict their freedom, the two decided to take this opportunity to visit more and learn more about Shandong's reality.
If you want to get the news, the best places to go are brothels and taverns.
It's impossible to keep any secrets in a place like this where people are crowded and people spend money like water.
It was not convenient for Dorgon and Saharian to go to the brothel, so they went to the tavern.
The two of them found a seat in the hall and sat down, casually ordering a few drinks and food, eating and drinking while paying attention.
They had already observed this tavern, and the business was extremely good at noon and evening every day.
Perhaps Shandong's intentions can be detected in a place like this.
Sure enough, the two didn't wait too long when the guest at the table next to them started talking about something.
"Brother Wu, your son hasn't been home for a long time."
The other person had a loud voice.
"Hey, that kid has gone to Songjiang Mansion with the army. I guess he won't be able to come back in a year and a half."
Dorgon and Sahalian looked at each other, and this was the first time they knew that Shandong had actually taken action against Songjiang Mansion.
Jurchens are not really blind-eyed.
They have long been worried about Daming's situation.
The two of them still knew where Songjiang Mansion was.
Because I knew it, I was shocked by the news.
