Liaodong, Jinzhou, Jiliao Governor's Mansion.

The sky is gloomy, and gusts of north wind have caused the temperature in Jinzhou to drop sharply. It is still the early winter season in the south. There have been two heavy snowfalls in Liaodong, and many places are frozen. Apart from the many cities, bustling people can be seen.

There was a huge crowd, and almost no one could be seen on the official road outside the city.

When Liao Wenru came to the wing, his face was gloomy, and Qiao Mingjun, who was following him, didn't look very good either.

Wu Zongrui and Zeng Yongzhong had just returned from Shandong. They did not want to come to report the matter, but the intelligence detected by the Intelligence Department and Zhang Dongtao's secret letter made them dare not waste time and hurriedly came to report.

During the period when Wu Zongrui and Zeng Yongzhong left Liaodong for Shandong, Liao Wenru was responsible for all matters in Liaodong, assisted by Shi Kefa, the governor of Liaodong. The division of labor between them was very clear. Matters involving the Denglai New Army were decided by Liao Wenru.

Matters involving people's livelihood will be decided by Shi Kefa.

The bursts of hot air coming out of the earth dragon made the room unusually warm.

Both Wu Zongrui and Zeng Yongzhong had smiles on their faces. The trip to Shandong went smoothly and the problem of lack of officials was solved. Wu Zongrui felt much more relieved. As for matters concerning people's livelihood, they need to take their time and cannot be accomplished overnight.

Seeing Liao Wenru and Qiao Mingjun walking in, both of whom looked not very good, Wu Zongrui spoke.

"Wenru, Qiao Mingjun, what's wrong? Something big happened."

Wu Zongrui's reminder made Liao Wenru blush slightly. You should know that Wu Zongrui had warned him many times that the more serious things happened, the more calm he had to be, so that he could make relatively rational and accurate judgments.

"Sir, after Zhang Dongtao wrote a letter, Li Zicheng and Luo Ru were about to dig the Yellow River and flood the city of Kaifeng. Zhang Dongtao and Li Yan tried their best to stop it, but Li Zicheng did not give up completely. He gave Zhang Dongtao and Li Yan a month. If one

If Zhang Dongtao and Li Yan cannot capture Kaifeng within a month, Li Zicheng will dig up the Yellow River..."

"Sir, the merchants brought information about Houjin. Huang Taiji allowed the banner owner to draw a large number of sergeants from the Mongolian Eight Banners and the Han Eight Banners to supplement the Manchu Eight Banners. At the same time, Huang Taiji also mobilized nearly 20,000 soldiers from the Mongolian tribes.

sergeants were added to the Mongolian Eight Banners. It is estimated that the total strength of Hou Jin's Eight Banners Army has exceeded 400,000, including more than 150,000 Manchu Eight Banners..."

"There is also news from Xuzhou in the Southern Zhili Province. Zhang Guowei, the Minister of War in Nanjing, and Ding Qirui, the Governor of Water Transport, have mainly deployed their defensive forces in Huai'an and Fengyang. They have not rushed to the rescue of Xuzhou, nor have they encircled and suppressed Zhang Xianzhong's troops. Xuzhou can no longer be defended.

If you live there, it is very likely to be captured by Zhang Xianzhong..."

Wu Zongrui nodded.

"Wenru, Qiao Mingjun, no wonder you are worried. It seems that the information obtained by the Intelligence Department is bad news for our Denglai New Army. But I still say that, even if dark clouds fall over the city, there is no need to panic.

There's always a way around it."

After Wu Zongrui finished speaking, Zeng Yongzhong spoke next.

"Sir, this news is indeed unfavorable to our Denglai New Army. Our Denglai New Army is preparing to go south to besiege Zhang Xianzhong's troops. However, Hou Jin has increased its troops on a large scale. Could it be that he is coveting the west of the Liao River and is preparing to attack our Denglai New Army?

Launching a large-scale attack, Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai's troops actually wanted to dig up the Yellow River and flood Kaifeng City. Since then, Kaifeng City has become a ruin."

After Zeng Yongzhong finished speaking, Liao Wenru spoke next.

"Sir, I think your concerns are justified. I am worried that our Denglai New Army will fall into a two-front battle. On the one hand, it has to resist the attack of the Eight Banners Army of the Later Jin Dynasty in Liaodong, and on the other hand, it needs to attack Zhang Xianzhong's troops...

"

Wu Zongrui waved his hand, looked at everyone and spoke.

"The moment of great change is coming. It is impossible for our Denglai New Army to face a good situation. The more complex the external situation becomes, the more we consider the will and ability of our Denglai New Army. You don't have to worry too much. You can always

Find a way to deal with it.”

In fact, at this time, Wu Zongrui's mind was also running at a high speed. He had already decided that the next main task of Denglai's new army was to completely annihilate Zhang Xianzhong's tribe. Its forces took the opportunity to enter southern Zhili and began to expand towards the south. The Central Plains

The chaos was an opportunity for Wu Zongrui, which allowed him to deploy calmly and finally control the Central Plains. But the south was different. The most prosperous place in the Ming Dynasty was in the south, and there was no great chaos in the south. Historically, the Qing Dynasty controlled the south and spent a lot of time

With little strength, and a tragedy like the "Ten Days in Yangzhou" occurred, Wu Zongrui did not want to go on a killing spree. He would try his best to penetrate into the south and achieve peaceful control as much as possible.

However, Huang Taiji suddenly expanded his troops, which made Wu Zongrui a little confused.

According to the history he mastered, although Hou Jin's Eight Banners Army was unusually brave, Hou Jin's economic foundation was too weak to compete with the Ming Dynasty. If it hadn't been for Li Zicheng's rebellion, Hou Jin still doesn't know when he would have been able to take over the Central Plains.

After the great victory of Songshan in the 14th year of Chongzhen, Huang Taiji did not take the opportunity to take over the Central Plains, but chose to negotiate with the Ming Dynasty. This was because the economic foundation was too weak and the long-term and large-scale conquest put Houjin's economy on the verge of collapse.

.

Therefore, the method Wu Zongrui adopted was to first further weaken the economic foundation of Hou Jin. After almost completely controlling the economic lifeline of Hou Jin, he would officially launch a full-scale attack on the Eight Banners Army of Hou Jin. Furthermore, according to the trajectory of historical development

, Huang Taiji died of a sudden illness in the 16th year of Chongzhen. There was no designated successor, which almost caused the Hou Jin Dynasty to fall into civil strife.

However, towards the end of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, Huang Taiji suddenly began to expand his troops.

Could it be that the trajectory of history has completely changed with Wu Zongrui's time travel?

Although his mind was running at high speed, Wu Zongrui's expression did not change at all.

"Sir, Wenru, Qiao Mingjun, please share your thoughts and considerations on how our Denglai New Army should respond to so many changes."

Wu Zongrui's calm attitude obviously infected everyone.

The first person to speak was Zeng Yongzhong.

"Sir, I feel that the best way to deal with all changes is to remain unchanged. Our Denglai New Army will still follow the original plan and strive to completely annihilate Zhang Xianzhong's tribe next year. The Denglai New Army will be stationed in South Zhili.

At least control Xuzhou, Huai'an, Fengyang and other places, especially to completely control water transportation. As for the expansion of the Eight Banners Army of the Later Jin Dynasty, my subordinates feel that they can pay close attention to it, collect as much detailed information as possible, and figure out Huang Taiji's true intention.

..”

After Zeng Yongzhong finished speaking, Wu Zongrui nodded and looked at Liao Wenru.

Liao Wenru also spoke.

"Sir, I think what Mr. Zeng said makes sense, but I am most worried about two things. The first thing is that if Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai's troops capture Kaifeng City, they will definitely control the entire Henan Province.

The next target is definitely Shaanxi Province and Shanxi Province. If Li Zicheng's power is allowed to expand and he controls Henan, Shaanxi and Shanxi, then Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai will become our new army in Denglai.

The biggest rival."

"The second thing is, what is the purpose of Huang Taiji's large-scale expansion of the Eight Banners Army? Is it to cross the Liao River and launch an attack on our Denglai New Army? If this is Huang Taiji's purpose, then I will go to Denglai for this purpose."

The Lai Xin Army must be prepared."

...

Qiao Mingjun didn't speak. He and Liao Wenru had completely the same views.

When Zeng Yongzhong, Liao Wenru and Qiao Mingjun looked over, Wu Zongrui slowly spoke.

"Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai's troops are preparing to dig up the Yellow River to flood the city of Kaifeng, Zhang Xianzhong's troops are about to capture the city of Xuzhou, and Huang Taiji of the Later Jin Dynasty is massively expanding the strength of the Eight Banners Army. These three things seem to have no connection, but to me

For the Denglai New Army, these are things that cannot be ignored."

"All parts of the Central Plains have suffered years of abuse, and the people have long been in dire straits. If they continue to suffer heavy losses, it will be difficult to recover in a short period of time. I don't think Li Zicheng can be allowed to dig up the Yellow River and flood Kaifeng City. However, Kaifeng City has tall walls and is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

With the capabilities of Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai, I am afraid there is no way to capture Kaifeng City, so we must help Zhang Dongtao find a way to capture Kaifeng City and avoid the situation of flooding Kaifeng City."

"Zhang Xianzhong's troops will definitely get a lot of supplies if they capture the city of Xuzhou. Sirs Zhang Siwei and Ding Qirui will lead their armies to watch in places like Fengyang and Huai'an. I think Zhang Xianzhong will not hit the rocks with eggs and will probably evacuate across the board and return.

Go to Huguang. After all, Huguang’s military strength is weak, so it’s good that Zhang Xianzhong can capture most of Huguang’s areas.”

"The sudden expansion of Huang Taiji's army is a big deal. The Intelligence Department must try every means to find out what Huang Taiji's true purpose is. We cannot ignore it, but we cannot turn a blind eye either."

"So, our response method is still divided into three parts."

"First, find ways to let Zhang Dongtao capture Kaifeng Fucheng and preserve this ancient capital."

"Second, make all preparations to attack and encircle Zhang Xianzhong's troops. We cannot allow Zhang Xianzhong to evacuate calmly. Instead, we must force him to fight the imperial army in South Zhili and let him move towards Fengyang and Huai'an in South Zhili.

Only by attacking in other places can Sir Zhang Guowei and Sir Ding Qirui be mobilized, so that our Denglai New Army can expand towards Fengyang, Huai'an and other places."

"Third, thoroughly understand Huang Taiji's true purpose of expanding the army."

"As long as we do these three things well, no matter how major changes occur in the future, our Denglai New Army can handle it calmly."

Zeng Yongzhong, Liao Wenru and Qiao Mingjun all listened very carefully for fear of missing a word.
Chapter completed!