After capturing x Guazhou, Zheng Chenggong sent troops to land and turned around along the south bank of the Yangtze River to attack Fushan downstream. Jiangning Admiral Guan Yizhong ordered the garrison to use the Fushan Fort to shell the Ming ships on the river, forcing the Ming army to drive along the north bank. Although they avoided artillery, the speed of the march was affected. Faced with the Ming army's attack, the Qing army on the south bank had no resistance and had no choice but to do anything to Zheng Chenggong's iron-armored soldiers. The Qing army in Fushan was defeated in one day. After capturing the fort here, the Yangtze River was unimpeded for the Ming army.

After clearing the threat behind him, Zheng Chenggong began to persuade Zhenjiang to surrender. Soon the envoy came back with the letter from the prefect Dai Kejin. He and the Zhenjiang ward Gao Qian expressed his willingness to surrender, but hoped to give them some time to convince their subordinates.

"This must be because they want to delay time. Zhenjiang is not far from Nanjing. They expect the Tartars to send reinforcements to them and then attack us inside and outside." After seeing the letter, Zhang Huangyan immediately expressed his opinion. He strongly advocated attacking Zhenjiang immediately and not giving the Qing army the opportunity to wait for reinforcements.

"Zhenjiang City is small, otherwise we won't attack." Zheng Chenggong thought what Zhang Huangyan said was very reasonable, and he also saw it this way, but the performance of the Zhenjiang garrison was similar to that of Ma Fengzhi and the others. Zheng Chenggong believed that as long as he took Nanjing, the defenders here would naturally surrender.

However, this time, not only Zhang Huangyan opposed it, but even Zheng Chenggong's subordinates were worried that they would not attack Zhenjiang, so the Guazhou that had just been captured might be threatened and more surveillance troops would be left behind.

"Then just reply and agree." Zheng Chenggong saw that everyone advocated taking Zhenjiang, and after thinking about it, he agreed to everyone's opinions. However, he did not plan to attack the city, but asked the messenger to reply to Dai Kejin, expressing his willingness to give grace to the time limit: "For thirty days, let them prepare to surrender."

"Thirty days?" Zhang Huangyan was shocked when he heard this: "The Tartars in Nanjing will arrive within a few days and should attack the city quickly."

Zheng Chenggong smiled slightly: "Anyway, we have to go to Nanjing to eliminate them. Why not wait for them to come to Zhenjiang to fall into the trap? Isn't this saves energy?"

After saying that, Zheng Chenggong ignored Zhang Huangyan's opposition and ordered the vanguard to land, set up camp outside Zhenjiang City, and let the soldiers hurry up and rest. After everyone went to prepare, Zheng Chenggong called the Central Governor Gan Hui in the tent and said to him: "It's better to take a break for two days. After the Central Army arrives, let them rest in the camp. If the Tartars have not come by then, this vassal leads the front army to Nanjing, and the remaining troops will just defend Guazhou and monitor Zhenjiang."

"Does the king still have no intention of attacking Zhenjiang?" Gan Hui asked. Zheng Chenggong was disdainful of the small towns along the way. He took advantage of the wind to go westward. Jiangyin and other places sent envoys to persuade the surrender. As long as the Qing army guarding the city was vague, he would reply and express his willingness to wait.

"Yes, the siege is the best, and the whole city is the best. After we recover Nanjing, the Northern Barbarians will definitely go south in large numbers. If these cities can be preserved well, we will no longer have to spend more effort to repair them." Zheng Chenggong was very polite to Zhang Huangyan, but in fact he was not optimistic about the combat effectiveness of the Zhejiang army. In the past ten years, Zheng Chenggong had a total of 40 field battles with the Qing army in Fujian, Guangdong and southern Zhejiang, with 35 victories and five defeats. Even if he was to deal with Geng Jimao on Jingnan, Zheng Chenggong did not feel it was too difficult, at least he had never had the need to dispatch the Iron Armored Army.

Zheng Chenggong judged that the Qing army would concentrate its efforts to defend Nanjing and might not be willing to rescue Zhenjiang. After a few days, the defenders of Zhenjiang might be discouraged and surrendered from the city, saving their efforts to attack them. Even if they still did not surrender, Zheng Chenggong did not believe that the defenders of Zhenjiang would dare to go out of the city alone to attack the Ming army.

However, Zheng Chenggong's judgment was wrong. After seeing the Ming army turn back to sweep Fushan and other places, Jiangning admiral Guan Qizhong believed that the time had come. Most of the Ming army's huge fleet was still on the river. Only Zheng Chenggong's front army was personally commanded by Zheng Chenggong. So Guan Qizhong ordered the Nanjing defenders to make an emergency dispatch, intending to take the initiative when Zheng Chenggong's troops had not gathered and his foothold was not stable.

The Ming army around Zhenjiang did not siege the city, but followed Zheng Chenggong's order to allow the Qing army to enter and exit. Soon the envoy who was loyal to the city rushed to the city. The prefect Dai Kejin hurriedly tore open the letter. After a quick look, he slapped the table and shouted: "The Manchu soldiers are here to reinforce us!"

"Manchurian soldiers?" The magistrate was Gao Qian, who was full of anxiety, and when he saw the tens of thousands of Ming army vanguards outside the city, Gao Qian felt that he could not resist the opponent's attack at all. After hearing the prefect's words, Gao Qian was stunned and was also happy: "The Eight Banners of Jiangning (Nanjing) are here?"

"That's right!" Dai Kejin swept away the original worry. Zheng Chenggong's army suddenly appeared and it was too late to strengthen the city defense. So he and Gao Qian decided to delay the time and hoped that Nanjing would send reinforcements to them. Now Guan Xiaozhong told Zhenjiang that he not only brought 20,000 troops, but also 3,000 of them were garrisoned by the Eight Banners in Nanjing. Because the distance was very close, there were 10,000 armored soldiers in this Qing army, which was not at all inferior to the soldiers in the Ming army's vanguard.

In addition to the three thousand garrisoned Eight Banners in Nanjing, there are two thousand armored soldiers, and only five thousand of the ten thousand armored soldiers are green camps. These two thousand eight banners were originally the Eight Banners in Beijing. After conquering Guizhou, some of the Eight Banners who fought in the south returned to the army. Two thousand were cultivated in Nanjing and planned to return to Beijing in October. This time, Guan Qiyi also brought them together. These were the direct troops of the Qing Dynasty. Whether loyalty or equipment, training was far beyond the comparison of local troops.

Although Zheng Chenggong did not defend Zhenjiang, the investigation was not negligent. He soon learned that a Qing army of 20,000 people came to the Ming army vanguard. Zhang Huangyan and many generals advised Zheng Chenggong to attack him head-on, not let them get close to Zhenjiang, or to attack Zhenjiang in front of them.

However, Zheng Chenggong's stubbornness exceeded Zhang Huangyan's imagination. He ordered the Ming army to shrink its position and let the Qing army go straight to the Ming army's formation. He sent troops to report that the Qing army's vanguard had approached Yinshan, Zhenjiang and camped there, Zheng Chenggong and Zhang Huangyan took their respective subordinates to observe the enemy's appearance.

After seeing the colorful flags on the opposite side, many Zhejiang generals changed their colors in shock: "The Eight Banners, our army has encountered such a strong enemy before the entire army has arrived!"

Zhang Huangyan was also very worried. He originally estimated that the Eight Banners in Nanjing would be used to defend Nanjing. The Ming army could sweep the periphery first, and then attack Nanjing after destroying the surrounding enemy troops before attacking Nanjing. He would fight with these Eight Banners soldiers with an absolute advantage. Moreover, Zhang Huangyan also found that the information was incorrect. According to previous information, Nanjing should have only about 3,000 Eight Banners in Nanjing, but now it seems that there are about 5,000 Eight Banners soldiers.

Zhejiang generals advocated a steady defense first, and then fight with them after all the Ming troops arrived later. Only one of Zhang Huangyan's young aides suggested: "It's better to attack them while the Tartars have just arrived and are exhausted, and not give them the chance to reorganize the array."

Zheng Chenggong glanced at this unique person. He looked only twenty years old. Although he was dressed as a scholar, he was quite heroic and looked like a scholar without any power: "Who are you?"

Seeing a big shot like Prince Yanping asking, the aide quickly replied respectfully: "Student Ren Tang is Zhang Shangshu's guest."

Zheng Chenggong had a look of praise in his eyes. Zhang Huangyan also felt that Ren Tang's courage was commendable, and the proposal was more in line with his wishes. He said to Zheng Chenggong: "Ren Tang is from Jiangxi. His father and his clan uncle are both loyal and patriotic heroes."

"Jiangxi people," Zheng Chenggong nodded. He knew that Zhang Huangyan's main task in the future was to recover Jiangxi, so he said to Ren Tang: "When you arrive in Jiangxi, you can help Zhang Shangshu praise military affairs. I think you have great potential in the future."

"Thank you, the master, praise you, but the student is ashamed." Ren Tang looked happy and won the attention of the Prince of Yanping with a suggestion. He was also a little proud.

However, to Zhang Huangyan and Ren Tang's surprise, Zheng Chenggong did not adopt the suggestion to launch an attack on the Qing army, but led his subordinates back to the camp to prepare for war, and ignored the Qing army's camping work.

Zhang Huangyan didn't have many Zhejiang soldiers in his hands, and the main force had not arrived yet. Zheng Chenggong stopped moving, so Zhang Huangyan could only watch helplessly. Seeing the Qing army quickly built camps and fortifications, Zhang Huangyan was so anxious that he chased Zheng Chenggong's tent and asked the other party what he planned.

"Let them camp. If they hit them now, they may retreat to Nanjing." Zheng Chenggong's expression on his face was a little strange, and he looked a little lost. He also seemed a little absent-minded when answering Zhang Huangyan's question: "I have written a tactic and invite the opposite Tartars to fight tomorrow."

"Fight with the Eight Banners soldiers?" Zhang Huangyan felt that Zheng Chenggong was like Duke Xiang of Song. He did not take advantage of the best opportunity to attack the other side, but instead had to confront the brigade of cavalry on the plain.

"Yes, they obviously wanted to catch us off guard while our troops were not gathered and our physical strength had not recovered. My letter of war must have hit the Tartars' wishes, and they would not disagree." Zheng Chenggong replied.

Zhang Huangyan felt that the other party was even more unreasonable: "Since the king also knew that the Tatars were fighting quickly, why did he still have to fight this battle?"

"Because we also need to fight quickly, if a large army gathers, the Tartars may retreat." Zheng Chenggong felt that Zhang Huangyan's ideas were too different from him. Prince Yanping looked down on most of Zhang Huangyan's opinions, but if he always disobeyed, he was worried that it would make the other party angry: "When you defeat this Tartar, Zhang Shangshu will lead the army to the downstream. There is no problem for me to attack Nanjing alone."

After seeing off Zhang Huangyan, Zheng Chenggong ordered Gan Hui beside him to prepare for the Iron Man Army, and he would let this elite soldier fight again tomorrow.

"Why is the king so depressed?" Gan Hui couldn't help asking when he saw Zheng Chenggong's look indifferent.

Zheng Chenggong shook his head and sighed softly: "This vassal did not expect that the Eight Banners in Nanjing would come to rescue Zhenjiang. It's really a miscalculation."

Gan Hui thought Zheng Chenggong was a little afraid of the Eight Banners Cavalry, so he shouted: "Our army is mostly heroes, and the Iron Man Army is a hero selected from a hundred miles away. He will never lose to those Jianzhou Tartars."

"How could this vassal fail to trust his own soldiers?" Zheng Chenggong knew that Gan Hui had misunderstood his meaning, so he explained: "The Eight Banners soldiers were very arrogant. When I arrived at the city of Nanjing, I would definitely go to fight. When they were defeated, the Nanjing defenders would be extremely shocked and Shenjing would be at their fingertips. But now defeating them will only scare the courage of the Zhenjiang defenders. Even if the Nanjing defenders learned about this, they would not panic as if they had witnessed it. Instead, they would only make them defend the city and refuse to leave the city to fight."

Zheng Chenggong stayed in Nanjing and knew that the city wall built by Zhu Yuanzhang could not be easily broken. He sighed again: "I shouldn't have hit Zhenjiang, I'll pick up sesame seeds after losing the watermelon."

...

After receiving Zheng Chenggong's letter of war, Guan Qizhong was overjoyed and immediately replied that he would see him on the battlefield tomorrow. After the Ming army envoy left, Guan Qizhong laughed wildly: "The Manchu soldiers are invincible in the world, and they are all worried that the thieves will win. Zheng Ni is arrogant and ignorant, and he dares to fight me to a decisive battle. He is really seeking death."

The generals in the Yinshan Qing army camp also smiled: "Zheng Ni has no horse army at all. He will take ten steps on the plain. He will capture this beast alive tomorrow and present it to the emperor."

Moreover, everyone also thought that the Ming army came floating in the sea, and they would definitely be a little uncomfortable when they first came to land. Moreover, they did not get enough rest during the long journey, so Guan Xiaozhong smiled even more proudly: "It is really a matter of victory that is not martial."

...

Zhong Xiang.

No matter how procrastinated the Qing army, the road would eventually reach one day. Three days ago, the Qing army arrived in front of the city, and there were twenty battalions, confronting the Ming army.

Hao Yaoqi, He Zhen, and Liu Tichun each led their troops out of the city to camp, and Yuan Zongdi and Deng Ming stayed in the city to guard the city. The Ming army waited for three days, but did not see any intention of launching an attack by the Qing army. Instead, they continued to consolidate the camp, deepen the trenches, and built their own camps as solid as a rock.

In addition to the small advantage of armored soldiers, the artillery and naval forces of Huguang Green Camp also far surpassed the Ming army. In order to avoid being wiped out the Ming army's naval forces, the Qing army's naval forces had voluntarily retreated to the upper reaches of the Han River. However, the Qing army's naval forces did not intend to take advantage of the situation to sweep the Han River, but stayed honestly next to the Qing army's camp and formed a water camp to assist in the defense.

"Did they come to Zhongxiang to defend? Wait until we take the initiative to attack their camp?" Liu Tichun was anxious and still couldn't see any movement in the Qing army during the day. He cursed at the military meeting at night: "I was originally expected to kill a large number of people when they attacked and slapped their spirits."

"It's okay, it's the same anyway. They have no aura to put us down." He Zhen was not in a hurry at all. Anyway, Li Laiheng had already sneaked downstream of the Han River to cut off Hu Quancai's food route: "You are right. Hu thief is here to defend. He felt that the food route was smooth and the navy was in hand, so we couldn't afford to spend it. In the end, we had to leave. Haha, I really want to see his expression when he learned that the food route was cut off."

Just as Zhong Xiang and Ming army were discussing how Hu Quancai would respond, the Qing army was still further strengthening its defense, and Zhang Changgeng and others were not optimistic about the battle situation. After Governor Hu led his troops to the city of Zhongxiang, he did not divide his troops to protect the retreat route and flanks at all, but instead gathered in a regiment to fight against the Ming army on the opposite side.

Although it is a matter of time for Henan Green Camp to go south, if the Ming army still cannot be repelled, the green camps in Shanxi and Ganzhou will also come to support it, the question is whether there will be any changes during this period? For example, what is Li Laiheng from Jiangling doing? Will he continue to plunder the surrounding Wuchang along the Yangtze River? Or simply approach the Han River and meet with Zhong Xiang’s Ming army?

Although everyone was anxious, Hu Quancai sat firmly on Diaoyutai. No matter how everyone persuaded him, he would not divide his troops to defend the flanks. He insisted that Li Laiheng stayed in Jiangling and remained motionless. Sooner or later, the Ming army in front of him would retreat on his own. Then it was the time to take advantage of the victory to pursue the enemy and kill the enemy with a bloody opportunity.

"Governor General treats Deng Ming and others as idiots." Now Zhou Peigong's tent is always crowded. As soon as everyone leaves Governor Hu's military tent, they come to Zhou Juren for a full meeting. Zhou Peigong said to everyone: "Is Deng Ming an idiot? Obviously not. Since Deng Ming is not an idiot, why didn't he leave as soon as possible? Was he stayed in Zhongxiang just to give the Governor a chance to pursue him while he was victorious and kill him with a bloody opportunity?"

After saying that, Zhou Peigong bowed to the Hunan Governor Zhang Changgeng, who was sitting in the middle: "The situation in our army is dangerous, I hope you can observe clearly."

Now Zhang Changgeng no longer evasively and secretly converges to the crowd, but goes to Zhou Peigong's tent to preside over another military meeting every day.

"There must be a problem in Jiangling. The Governor can no longer see anything in order to survive in death." The generals agreed with Zhou Peigong's statement and wailed at Zhang Changgeng: "Governor, we can't sit here and wait for death."

There are also some generals from Hunan. They are full of dangers. They also shouted at Zhang Changgeng with red eyes: "Sir, the last generals are soldiers from Hunan. No matter what the Governor of Huguang says, we just listen to the Governor, you are alone. Whatever you say, we will do!"

Since the Qing Dynasty entered the pass, there has never been a precedent for generals to leave the commander and run away. Therefore, although these Hunan generals could not wait to withdraw from Wuchang, they still hope that Zhang Changgeng could come out and issue an order to retreat. In this way, if the Qing court pursued them in the future, it could be said that they would obey military orders.

After hearing the words of his colleagues in Hunan, many Hubei soldiers and generals also began to shout: "Although we are Hubei soldiers, we have always admired the governor."

"The Governor asked the Mo General to go east, but the Mo General dared not go west!"

"As long as the governor says, the last thing will come into the water and go into the fire."

No matter how loyal the people below expressed their loyalty, Zhang Changgeng refused to give up the order to withdraw his troops. He understood in his heart: "Just kidding, the governor led the army and left the governor and ran away. You are fine in the future. Can the court spare me?"

The Qing soldiers deployed all the cannons around the camp, and the defense was extremely strict, but this battle could not be won by defense. Finally, a general at the end said with a sad face: "At least we still have a navy. Even if the food route is cut off, we can always transport food by ship and withdraw our troops."

Everyone thinks what this person said makes sense. Although Hu Quancai has lost his mind, everyone has not yet fallen into death.

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