After the canal transportation was robbed, Lin Qilong claimed to the court that he wanted to make meritorious contributions, but he refused to return to Huai'an in Yangzhou and confronted the Ming army near Guazhou for two months. After this incident was spread, local officials in Shanxi, Shandong and Henan all shouted at Lin Qilong for a fight and killing, believing that they must be severely punished and not loaned. However, the officials in the two lakes and two rivers spoke for Lin Qilong, saying that they were willing to share the responsibility, and believed that Lin Qilong had ensured smooth transportation under the threat of the Ming army several times and several times, and was a very amazing capable minister.

Zhejiang also pleaded for Lin Qilong, believing that the court should give these ministers who have no credit and worked hard. Moreover, as Huguang and Liangjiang said, the strategic situation Lin Qilong faced was too dangerous, and Sichuan and Shaanxi could not play a restraining role, allowing Deng Ming to launch an Eastern Expedition again and again. If he ignored Lin Qilong's contribution to protecting the safety of the canal transportation several times before, he would be too disappointed to punish him because of this mistake.

Sichuan, which was criticized by Zhejiang, did not shirk responsibility. Gao Mingzhan, on behalf of all the soldiers fighting on the Chongqing front, pleaded for the Governor of the Cao Transport. Gao Mingzhan called Deng Ming the most dangerous enemy he had encountered since the founding of the Qing Dynasty. The soldiers sacrificed their lives to fight with him, but they still lost more than defeat. Lin Qilong had no soldiers or generals, and blocked the Sichuan army three times in four times and rescued the Cao Transport. If Lin Qilong was dismissed, who would dare to do this job, let alone execute him! Tens of thousands of officers and soldiers on the Chongqing front rarely carried forward their style, saying that they thought Zhejiang was right and were willing to share the responsibility with their colleagues on the Yangtze River front.

Shaanxi was silent, neither supporting Lin Qilong along the Yangtze River nor cursing like other northern provinces. Finally, Shaanxi muttered: Lin Qilong had rescued the body of the late emperor, implying that they were more inclined to the opinions along the Yangtze River.

Beijing also feels that now is indeed not a good time to pursue Lin Qilong. If it were to be dealt with a few years ago, it would be dealt with. However, in recent years, 200,000 Qing troops have been eliminated by the Sichuan army, so Beijing is not as confident as it is. Moreover, after receiving the alarm this time, Beijing and Shandong agreed to hold on. If it is said that it is delayed, Beijing is also responsible.

At this time, new quarrel broke out in Shandong. Ebilong thought about it and felt that it was not very meaningful to go to the Yangtze River to chase Deng Ming. Although he had lost the canal transportation, Lin Qilong said that the Ming army had been unable to capture Guazhou for a long time and his morale had fallen. If the Ming army could not even take Guazhou, Ebilong felt that Deng Ming might not be able to take Jiangning. The main force of the Qing army went to the Yangtze River to fight the Ming army with the advantage of the navy on the Yangtze River. It was indeed a risk. It would be better to attack the Han River Basin through Henan, or enter Shaanxi and then go to Sichuan to remove Deng Ming's nest.

However, Jieshu was fed up with Li Guoying's praise for Deng Ming's water surface advantage, and he was determined to go to Jiangnan and fight a battle happily. When Jieshu and Ebilong asked Li Guoying, the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi refused to support either side's opinion: Li Guoying had said that the loss of the canal transport meant that Jiangnan was out of control, but now that the canal transport is really lost, Li Guoying still couldn't muster up the courage to go to the riverside to fight Deng Ming. The last time Wanxian failed, the lesson he taught him was too profound; as for Ebilong's plan to go deep into Sichuan to attack Chengdu, Li Guoying also hummed and did not want to agree, but he did not dare to say that the invincible Eight Banners had no chance to arrive in Sichuan, so he tried his best to emphasize the transportation of baggage.

Seeing that the Qing army in Shandong was still moving, Deng Ming did not know what they were selling, so he did not act rashly, fearing that he would go south and turn the southeast into a sudden change. Some people suggested that Deng Ming use the method of dealing with Shunzhi last time to deal with Jieshu, that is, retreat first. If the Qing army invades Jiangnan, the Ming army will return to the army. However, Shunzhi had relatively few troops last time, and as soon as he left Zhili, it received close attention from Jiangnan. Before the Eight Banners of the Forbidden Brigade arrived in Shandong, the Jiangnan government already knew the details of Shunzhi. After Deng Ming returned to Yangzhou at full speed, Shunzhi was still far from the border of southeastern; and now the Qing army is already in Shandong, if Deng Ming retreated, he would lose the advantage of waiting for his leisure.

"Now, Liangjiang is willing to buy our bonds in Huguang because they think in their hearts that we can fight with the main force of the Qing court. If they choose to be our allies, they can count on our protection." Although Deng Ming believed that this was suspected of letting the Southeast Governor take advantage, he finally made up his mind to fight with the Qing army. If he wins, the situation in the entire south will probably be reversed.

"There is no need for a big victory, just a small victory can be achieved. Show our army's strength to the south and expose the weakness and incompetence of the Qing court," Deng Ming said to his allies and subordinates: "As long as we can block Jieshu and force him to return to the army, it will be enough. From then on, the southeast will not belong to the Qing court."

After making up his mind, Deng Ming sent a large amount of detailed work to collect information from the Qing army, preparing to choose a location around Yangzhou Prefecture like ambushing Shunzhi - if they really came to Jiangnan.

The final decisive role was Beijing. Seeing that Deng Ming was reluctant to leave Guazhou, he ordered Shandong troops to fight south. No matter what happens in the future, he would open the canal again. After the cabbage transport was robbed, Beijing felt even more worried about Zhou Peigong's ability to suppress Deng. In the past, Beijing believed that the southeast was like northern China in the Chongzhen year. Every time he encountered the enemy's main force, he could only stick to the city and then follow to restrict the opponent's actions.

Beijing noticed that Deng Ming had always been unable to conquer any large city, and even had no way to small and medium-sized cities. Only Jiujiang was an accident. In this case, Beijing believed that Deng Ming's previous eastern expeditions were actually limited. After all, the efficiency of looting rural areas was very low, and it was not as concentrated as urban wealth. Therefore, Beijing believed that Li Guoying's claim that the Ming army in western Sichuan obtained amazing seizures from the eastern expedition was a serious exaggeration, and it was mostly to shirk responsibility. The Qing army was able to return with full loads again and again, and it was also relying on the Qing army to have the ability to break through the cities.

Beijing originally thought that if Deng Ming retreated as usual, Ebilong would take 10,000 elite troops to Yangzhou to check out and get first-hand information on Jiangnan’s defense. Anyway, they have arrived at the border between Shandong and Jiangnan, so it would not take too much time to go there. However, Deng Ming was different from the past this time. He besieged Guazhou for a long time and refused to return to Sichuan. Beijing felt that he still needed to solve the problem now and cooperated with the Liangjiang troops to drive Deng Ming back to Sichuan in winter. No matter how heavy the losses are, it would be better than delaying this work until next spring plowing period.

Starting from the end of July, the center of gravity of the Qing army continued to shift to the south. By the end of August, the vanguard of the Qing army in Shandong had arrived in Fengyang.

At this time, both sides were very cautious. The central troops of the Qing Dynasty and the Ming army in western Sichuan were about to face each other head-on for the first time. Although Jieshu was arrogant in his words, he attached great importance to this battle in his heart, and suppressed his fame as he used to shock the fence faction. The same was true for the Ming army in western Sichuan. Although the Sichuan army has been invincible since its establishment, it has never fought with the Central Army of the Qing Dynasty, which is a large scale of 100,000. As the news of the Qing army approaching continues to spread, officers at all levels also showed some tension.

At this time, there was an atmosphere of storm coming in Huai'an. Since the Qing army in Shandong began to move south, the Ming army began to control the canal in the southern section of the canal. There has not been a ship from Yangzhou in the past half month, and pedestrians were rare on the official road. The Governor of the Grain Transportation Department, who was in charge of Yangzhou, kept reporting safety to the rear. But if it was really safe, the canal should not be as deserted as this. Experienced clerks knew that the Ming army was working hard to create an intelligence blockade. Since the Ming army could block it so tightly, it means that Deng Ming had a big plan, and to create such a blockade, it also required mobilization of many troops.

Since mid-August, the ships in the upstream have also disappeared, which means that the Qing army in Shandong has also collected every ship they encountered. When they saw that the official road to the north has become empty, the uneasiness around Huai'an became even stronger. Those wealthy people fled one after another, and ordinary people also hid around the surroundings with the elderly and children. Now it is the slack season, even those who are unable to escape to foreign lands have buried their own farm tools and hid in areas far away from the canal and the official road, so as not to encounter the Ming and Qing armies passing by.

At this time, there were still many officials in the Governor's Office of the Grain Transportation Army, and those who were staying here were not core personnel. The most trusted people had long been summoned to Yangzhou by Lin Qilong. Although everyone who left behind did not know much about Lin Qilong's secrets, they still vaguely saw some inappropriate points. Prince Kang and the Minister of the Governor may pass by here, and they would definitely seriously ask about the Grain Transportation. Many people are now thinking about whether to press the treasure on Lin Qilong and count on him to keep his official position and continue to be loyal to him to keep his job, or to fight back and secretly report the suspicious things he knew to Jieshu and Ebilong?

Of course, this kind of secret complaint is also very dangerous. First, there is no real evidence. Second, the Qing court often convicted the secret complaints in order to appease local officials. For example, when the Guangdong Inspector made a memorial, it said that Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao were domineering in Guangdong. The court felt that they still needed the vassal kings to serve, so it convicted the false accusation of the inspector who reported the facts. Now the officials left behind in the Governor's Office are all sesame officials. If the court felt that they still needed to use their heads to appease Lin Qilong, the informant would not even blink.

The Liangjiang troops stationed here are also in a complicated mood. They feel very bad when they are sandwiched between the Central Army of the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Army. Many people feel in danger. They are now hoping that one side will pass through Huaian as soon as possible, and that no matter which side it is, it will be good, so that Huaian can become a safe rear, and there is no need to worry that this place will become the main battlefield for the two armies to fight like now.

The river officers and soldiers and Liangjiang troops were in a bad mood to investigate and do the work around them all day long, and arrested the rich families who had no time to escape as detailed works of the Ming army. At this critical moment, local officials will not stand up for the ordinary people, and they will definitely stand on the side of the army unconditionally.
Chapter completed!