Jiang Guozhu and Liang Huafeng both hoped that Dasu would leave Jiangsu quickly. As local officials, they did not want to raise such an army that was not under their control. Not only did they think so, other officials in Jiangnan were also unwilling to have such a supreme emperor on their heads. Since Ma Fengzhi had given up Jiangnan and went to Zhejiang, they hoped that Dasu would set off for Zhejiang quickly. When the reinforcements left Jiangnan, there would be no need for Nanjing to bear the food and salary of the reinforcements.

Unlike Nanjing, Zhejiang's provincial capital is currently in a hurry, but I hope Dasu will go for reinforcements. With the joint persuasion of both sides, Dasu quickly made up his mind to report to Beijing that Jiangnan has stabilized and requested the court to approve him to go for reinforcements to Hangzhou.

Dasu has a very old experience. Like Oboi, he was born in Huang Taiji's white-armored guards. During the Songjin War, Dasu was already the commander of Huang Taiji's personal guards. During the Songjin War, Dasu also made contributions like Oboi. When the Qing army entered the pass, he was already a general. In the Qing Dynasty's battle to suppress the Jiang Xiang rebellion, Dasu made many contributions and was deeply trusted and appreciated by the Qing court. Before leaving Beijing, Dasu was already the commander of the Shunzhi Imperial Guard. After learning that Zheng Chenggong threatened Nanjing, Shunzhi was preparing to personally expedition, while sending the fierce general Dasu to go south immediately, hoping that his ability to turn the tide.

When drafting the memorial to the Qing court, Dasu was also a little hesitant. The persuasion of Liang Huafeng and Jiang Guozhu in the past few days has been very effective, which has made Dasu think of attacking Jinxia. Although Zheng Chenggong has repeatedly defeated the Qing army with fewer victory and more in the past ten years in Fujian, those are all green camps after all. As a Manchu, Dasu looked down on the combat effectiveness of the Green Camp and believed that even if the Ming army could defeat the Han army, it would definitely not be an opponent of the Eight Banners of Manchus, and there was no need to take action. As long as the flag of the Manchu generals was opened on the battlefield, the Ming army would be frightened.

Dasu is not the only one who has this idea. Nikan thought so at the beginning that he had no warning when he saw Li Dingguo betrayed defeat in the Battle of Hengyang and launched a pursuit without any warning, and was easily eliminated by Li Dingguo. Since then, Manchu generals, including Dasu, admitted that Li Dingguo was different, but their contempt for other Ming generals remained.

In this battle of Zhenjiang, Zheng Chenggong annihilated a large number of the Eight Banners of Manchuria. In addition to being shocked, Beijing also began to look at Zheng Chenggong differently. After leaving Beijing and heading south, Dasu also regarded Zheng Chenggong as a respectable opponent. However, the subsequent battle of Nanjing changed Dasu's view, especially after he arrived in Nanjing and asked some soldiers and generals who participated in the battle of Nanjing, he decided that it was not Zheng Chenggong's ability, but that loyalty was too incompetent, and that he could not even defeat a group of bandits without fighting spirit.

Dasu is not without ambition, and he also hopes to gain more military merits to make himself better. Looking around the country, there are not many places suitable for him to perform: Guiyang is in the hands of Wu Sangui, and King Pingxi regards Yunnan as his territory and will not easily allow others to intervene - even if Dasu doesn't want to go, he is not interested in making wedding dresses for Wu Sangui; although Deng Ming in Sichuan has become famous, Kuidong is still too far away. Dasu also knows that it is extremely difficult to attack the Three Gorges from the downstream, and requires a large number of ships and supplies from the southeast - Nanjing will definitely not be able to make these for a while.

"Kinmen, Xiamen." Dasu looked at the map on the table and murmured to himself. Since he had the idea of ​​moving to Fujian, Dasu was about to come to the map of Fujian. After seeing the two islands of Kinmen and Xiamen from above, Dasu was shocked by the incompetence of Fujian Green Camp. For more than ten years, they could not even capture such two small broken islands. Not only could they not capture them, but Zheng Chenggong had the strength to harass Jiangnan. How incompetent should this local civil and military in Fujian do to do their jobs so badly?

The Nanjing Battle initiated by Zheng Chenggong caused heavy losses to the Qing court. Not only did the southeast taxes basically not be expected this year, but the coastal areas were threatened. Even Shandong in the north had to strengthen its coastal defense, invest a lot of manpower and material resources to prevent Zheng Chenggong's sudden attack. If Dasu could destroy Zheng Chenggong's base in one fell swoop and liberate the large area of ​​territory from Guangdong to Shandong from the threat of the Ming army, Dasu knew that he would definitely be highly praised by Beijing; and in the past ten years, the local government has been unable to solve the trouble of Zheng Chenggong, but instead made him stronger and stronger, from the first 10,000 people to nearly 200,000. If Dasu could wipe out the Zheng army in one fell swoop, it would definitely be one of the few outstanding martial arts in recent years.

"The key is how to cross the sea." Dasu pondered. Although he only asked a few participants in the Battle of Nanjing, Dasu thought he had a good understanding of Zheng Chenggong's combat effectiveness. Nearly 200,000 troops were defeated by thousands of sailors of Susong Navy in one day. This combat effectiveness was completely at the level of a mob. Dasu believed that the only trouble was to climb Jinxia. Once he stepped on the solid ground, Dasu felt that he could kill the Fujian army with a hundred personal guards and capture Zheng Chenggong alive.

Finally, Dasu mentioned a person in the memorial, that is, Huang Wu, who defected from Zheng Chenggong. Dasu asked the Qing court to send this person to his army: "Huang Wu is also a Fujian native. He once stationed in Jinxia for Zheng Ni, so he should be very familiar with local hydrology." In addition to Huang Wu, Dasu, the other traitors of the Zheng army, also hoped that the Qing court could send him as much as possible. For example, Shi Lang, who had just joined the Qing court, had these people leading the way, and with the navy in Fujian, Dasu felt that the problem of climbing to Jinxia should not be big - as long as the landing was successful, there would be no more worrying.

...

Zhong Xiang.

Deng Ming did not intend to give up Hubei's territory immediately. It had a large population and a large area of ​​arable land that could support the needs of tens of thousands of Ming troops. However, although the Ming army won a new victory, the Qing court still had an absolute advantage. If the Qing court launched a large-scale counterattack, Deng Ming did not intend to fight head-on with the Qing court, but planned to retreat to Yiling, Gucheng and other places depending on the situation, and try to relocate Hubei's population to enrich its base.

After learning that Deng Ming was interested in defending Hubei territory, Zhao Tianba was the most excited among the guards, and he tried his best to tell Deng Ming: He was definitely not the courage of an ordinary man, and he also had extraordinary commanding skills. Zhao Tianba tried to persuade Deng Ming to hand him half of his troops and let him guard Jingzhou.

"Do you know what Zhao Qianhu said to us?" Li Xinghan and Ren Tang rushed to Deng Mingying together.

"What did you say?" Deng Ming saw the expressions of the two of them and knew that they were here to report, so he fulfilled their wishes.

"Zhao Qianhu said that Guan Erye failed to defend Jingzhou back then, which shows that this place must be managed by good generals." Li Xinghan became excited. Zhao Tianba has always been obsessed with his sons. In recent days, he has always been hyped in front of the guards. He is the best candidate for the guards of Jingzhou. He looks like a former chief general of Deng Ming. This arrogant attitude makes other guards feel a little unhappy: "Zhao Qianhu also said that if he guards this place, he will not only guard Jiangling as solid as a solid soul, but also take care of Xiangyang, so that everyone in the world will know that his talents are not inferior to Guan Erye."

"But the Admiral said: Jiangling can be guarded by the rules, but not by the rules, the people should be protected slowly to the Sichuan River," Ren Tang shook the fan in his hand gently. When military affairs are not busy, Ren Tang will take off his armor and change into a literati dress. After Li Xinghan finished speaking, Ren Tang began to tear Zhao Tianba in a calm tone: "Let's mention that Zhao Qianhu has never led a large army. Even if he has some skills, he has the intention to make a name for himself. I am afraid that he will not do it according to the Admiral's plan in the future, which will delay the Admiral's major affairs."

"Yes." Deng Ming did not intend to let the Zhejiang Army and the people he recruited along the way stay in Hubei, but in the past few days, he couldn't stand Zhao Tianba's repeated longing in his ears, and his mind began to shake. He was already considering leaving some troops and letting one of his guards train his commander's talents. But after listening to the brief reports of Wan Li Xinghan and Ren Tang, Deng Ming felt that Zhao Tianba was indeed not suitable for this position, and it was dangerous to let him stay in Jingzhou with other Kuidong generals.

While Deng Ming was thinking, Ren Tang and Li Xinghan had been observing Deng Ming's expression carefully. After finding that Deng Ming showed a look of approval, Li Xinghan couldn't help but feel happy.

"Zhao Qianhu is indeed not suitable to stay in Jingzhou," Deng Ming nodded: "Also, his proud temper needs to be changed."

"That's right, pride is easy to be careless. When Guan Erye was so capable, he was also careless in the end." Li Xinghan became even more excited when he heard this and reminded Deng Ming: "If the first lord had left Zhao Zilong to guard Jingzhou..."

Ren Tang coughed lightly, and Li Xinghan immediately revised his speech when he heard the sound: "The first lord left Zhao Zilong and Zhuge Kongming in Jingzhou, which was a foolproof way. What a pity. Later, the first lord transferred Zilong to Sichuan, which led to the failure of Jingzhou."

Deng Ming felt that Li Xinghan seemed to have something to say, so he looked at him suspiciously. Seeing this, Li Xinghan straightened his chest even more and continued to say, "Zhao Zilong is bold, careful, extremely brave, and modest and cautious. He is really the best candidate to guard Jingzhou..."

After hearing Li Xinghan chattering for a while, Deng Ming suddenly realized and suddenly remembered why Li Xinghan seemed to be named by the singer in Huguang: Zhao Zilong was reincarnated.

"There is also Zhuge Kongming. Only by leaving behind a civil and military force and working together can Jingzhou be safe. Otherwise, Zhao Zilong alone would probably be alone and could not support a big tree." After listening for a while, Ren Tang also began to interrupt.

"That's right, it's right." Li Xinghan hurriedly agreed.

After hearing Li Xinghan's approval, Ren Tang smiled and gently shook the fan.

It is the end of the lunar calendar now, and the wind that Ren Tang fanned made Deng Ming feel a little chill, and he almost blurted out: "What fan do you fan in the middle of winter?" But before he could say anything, Deng Ming felt something in his heart. He stared at the fan in Ren Tang's hand and looked at it: It was indeed a feather fan, and he hadn't noticed it just now.

"It's right," Deng Ming nodded. The situation was already very obvious. If these two people were left behind, they would not honestly obey Deng Ming's strategic arrangements: "But I am not Liu Bei, I don't plan to defend Jingzhou to the death. Jiangling does not need to be as stable as Mount Tai, so whether it is Guan Yunchang, Zhao Zilong and Zhuge Kongming, they all have to go to Sichuan."

After bombing away the dejected Li Zilong and Ren Kongming, Deng Ming went to Li Laiheng and discussed that he would defend Jiangling alone. Li Laiheng had no objection to this, and soon the two reached an agreement: if the Qing army was unable to carry out a large-scale counterattack, Li Laiheng would continue to defend Yuezhou and strive to control more Yangtze River surfaces; the Ming army should prepare in advance, and if the Qing army was under great pressure, they would transport the population in advance to Jiangling; Yiling was the bottom line of the Ming army. If Fengjie was the entrance to the Three Gorges, then Yiling was the exit. Mastering this place could not only effectively cover the Three Gorges, but also maintain military pressure on the downstream.

Now among the Kuidong army, in addition to Li Laiheng, the four generals who followed Deng Ming to fight last time were also relatively strong. Li Laiheng felt that Liu Tichun could help him defend the Yiling area, which was not far from Liu Tichun's Badong base, and the Yangtze River channel in the middle was completely controlled by the Ming army, so it was not difficult to transport troops and supplies.

"Wuchang is not in the hands of our army, and the shipping between the Yangtze River and the Han River will not be smooth. Although Zhang Changgeng dares not provoke us now, if the Tartars have enhanced their strength, Zhang Changgeng will still try to cut off the transportation between the Yangtze River and the Han River." Li Laiheng said that he could not take into account the defense of the Yangtze River and the Han River Basin. Yunyang, Gucheng, Xiangyang and even Zhongxiang all need to send someone else to be responsible.

Compared with Liu Tichun, Yuan Zongdi is a little farther away, but it can also be more convenient to support the Yangtze River Basin. However, Liu Tichun and Li Laiheng are already strong enough and do not need Yuan Zongdi to participate. It is very troublesome to go from Dachang to the Han River Basin. Unless Yuan Zongdi moves out the base, it will be difficult to support the battles in the upper reaches of the Han River. Therefore, Deng Ming considered letting Yuan Zongdi act as Fengjie's stamina and not participate in the offensive and defense downstream.

"As for the Han River Basin, are General Hao and General He coming soon? Leave it to them at that time." After learning that Deng Ming had returned, He Zhen and Hao Yaoqi both came to Zhong Xiang to see him, and it seemed that they would arrive in just one or two days.

Sure enough, Deng Ming met He Zhen the next day. Although Daning was farther away from Zhong Xiang, He Zhen has always been paying attention to the movements in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. After receiving the news that Deng Ming withdrew from Nanjing, He Zhen immediately set off with his personal guards. When passing through Fang County, Hao Yaoqi did not set off because he did not receive accurate information. He Zhen did not stop and wait at Hao Yaoqi's base, but rushed to Zhong Xiang without stopping, and as a result, he arrived at Zhong Xiang before Hao Yaoqi.

Li Laiheng's troops had been moving to Yuezhou and Jiangling before. The first ones were mainly female camps and auxiliary soldiers. Now the ones who stayed by Zhongxiang City were part of Li Laiheng's elite army. After He Zhen walked to the edge of the city, he did not come in immediately. Instead, he wandered around the military camp outside Li Laiheng's city and saw Xingshan army wearing beautiful cotton coats and holding brand new weapons.

After entering the city, He Zhen met a military camp of Li Laiheng next to the yamen. The armor of these soldiers was obviously the best-made ones. The soldiers standing in front of the camp were holding high spears and the scabbards on their waists were painted.

"Little Tiger, you've made a fortune," He Zhen's face was full of envy after meeting: "This trip to Nanjing, tsk, the bag is full."

"It depends entirely on the admiral's planning." Li Laiheng said with a smile. He did not reveal any slightest remark about the Wuchang transaction.

He Zhen tossed and turned to find out how much Li Laiheng had caught. He originally thought it would not take much effort. As long as he asked indirectly, Li Laiheng would explain everything like a bamboo tube of beans. But to He Zhen's surprise, Li Laiheng actually had a sloppy eye with him today, and he was reluctant to spit out a real number. He Zhen had never seen it before, nor did he expect that Li Laiheng would have such a scrupulous and act. He was shocked and angry and began to ask the specific number directly.

"I'll talk about it later," said Li Laiheng. "Today the admiral has important matters to discuss with Uncle He."

Deng Ming nodded and took the topic. After hearing that Deng Ming planned to stabilize the rule in Xiangyang, He Zhen immediately patted his chest and said that he was willing to take on this important task for Deng Ming, and even said that the Ming army could send people to Daning to pick up all the troops and family members: "I have been in the ghost place in Daning for too many years, so I can come out to change my breath."

"General He, don't worry." Deng Ming quickly held down the excited He Zhen and told the other party that he had no intention of defending the territory, but planned to act according to the opportunity.

After listening to Deng Ming explaining the whole story, He Zhen's good mood dissipated a lot. Deng Ming clearly stated that he wanted to lead the army back to Sichuan, and Deng Ming's focus would still be in Sichuan in the future. Deng Ming also told He Zhen that the Zhejiang Army and the Fujian Army suffered great losses in this battle in Nanjing, and it is unlikely that they will organize another offensive of the same scale in the short term, so the Qing court could have the strength to launch a counterattack against Huguang.

But He Zhen thought about it again and thought that this would be better than staying in Daning. At least he could collect taxes when he was stationed in Xiangyang and levy Ding Kuojun at the same time. Anyway, Deng Ming had already given up on Xiangyang according to the situation, so He Zhen could retreat openly and not worry about being blamed by Deng Ming for preserving his strength. Thinking of this, He Zhen was happy again and volunteered to defend Xiangyang again. However, he hoped that Deng Ming would agree to hand over the old nest of Daning to his son He Daoning to guard the guard and not to send another garrison general.

Deng Ming could not agree to this request. He Zhen asked in person to show his respect for Deng Ming. After accepting the respect from the other party, Deng Ming agreed to go and say to Wen Anzhi to ask for a suitable official position for He Daoning - Wen Anzhi would not disagree with this request.

He Zhen's promise to defend Xiangyang was more in line with Deng Ming's wish. With He Zhen sharing part of the defensive pressure, Hao Yaoqi's troops would not be spread too thin. In this way, Deng Ming could hand over Yunyang and Gucheng to Hao Yaoqi with confidence. These two cities could be connected with Hao Yaoqi's existing territory, which was easier for Hao Yaoqi to control.

After discussing the issue of territorial garrison, He Zhen reiterated the old words and asked about Li Laiheng's harvest. Li Laiheng really couldn't escape, so he had to say something vaguely.

After hearing that Li Laiheng had obtained an unknown amount of military capital, He Zhen yelled him to give him some to him. Seeing that Li Laiheng refused, He Zhen asked Deng Ming to be fair: "The admiral handed over such a large area of ​​territory to the defense of the general. The admiral always needs to add some weapons and armor. If the general does not allow it, where will the general look for it? Admiral, do you think so?"

"This is the matter between General He and General Li, and I have no place to interrupt," Deng Ming hurriedly avoided: "I have something to do, so I'll leave first."

After Deng Ming escaped, He Zhen had no choice but to admit defeat: "Is it okay to exchange things for them? Fair trade."

"Okay," Li Laiheng took out a calculation like magic, sat down in front of the stunned He Zhen, skillfully placed his hands on it, then raised his head and asked, "What do Uncle He want? How much do you want?"

...

"The little tiger has learned bad things!" After leaving Zhongxiang's yamen, He Zhen sighed to the sky.
Chapter completed!