Dominate the Country

[Thanks to the book friend ‘Mu Jiangcheng’ for the 2500 coin reward]

The fleet sailed westward, and the army set out. No matter how high the morale of the veterans of the Fu Han Army was, or how low the morale of the new recruits was, the things that Chen Ming had to deal with every day finally slid down rapidly from the peak.

In the Grand Commander's Mansion in Nanjing City, Chen Ming was busy for a while and looked at the watch. It was only three o'clock in the afternoon, and even the things for the day after tomorrow had been arranged. He stood up and stretched with satisfaction. The group of secretaries in the attendant room around him, as well as Zheng Hongyu, Wei Xiuzhi, Liu Dezhao and others who were recruited, had stopped writing when he stopped.

"Go back and rest, I'll give you half a day off today." Chen Ming said with a smile.

Several people in the hall felt relieved when they heard this. After Zheng Hongyu jumped out of the military supply and logistics system, Wei Xiuzhi became the number one figure in the logistics department of the expeditionary army. He had a stern face all day long, as if everyone owed him three hundred yuan. At this time, he also said humorously: "It's really a steal of half a day of leisure." He has been busy since the New Year, and he can finally relax from now on.

When he followed Chen Hui to eat in the small Lushan County Government, he never thought that one day he would have millions of taels of silver, millions of dan of grain, thousands of ships, and tens of thousands of people obeying his orders. The army turned, and the huge pressure was like a mountain weighing a thousand pounds on his shoulders. Now that the army has set off, it cannot be said that his next task will be easy, but at least the mountain has become a huge force.

Liu Dezhao said seriously: "That's right, that's right, I have made an appointment with Zhou Gong for many days, and tonight I don't have to break the appointment again."

Everyone laughed, even Chen Ming laughed, saying: "This governor not only has an appointment with Zhou Gong, but also hasn't made a good sacrifice to his five internal organs for many days."

Zheng Hongyu bowed and said: "The Grand Governor has worked hard, and I am far inferior to you."

Liu Dezhao cursed you in his heart, and said sincerely: "The Grand Governor is in charge of all affairs, and you work hard every day. I can't wait for the next thing."

The remaining secretaries and clerks also followed suit and said that the Grand Governor is too hard-working, and that their subordinates can't share the worries of the Grand Governor, and they feel guilty, etc.

Even though he knew it was flattery, Chen Ming was flattered and felt relieved. Then he thought that it was not easy for him to live for more than two months from the formulation of the big plan before the New Year to the implementation of it now. All the people in the Fu Han Army who knew the inside story had a hard time. He sighed: "You have worked hard these days. Our army is on a long expedition and has a heavy responsibility. This governor has been trembling with fear and doing his best. I dare not slack off. I am afraid that the lives of thousands of soldiers will be ruined, which will ruin my plan to restore Han. You have worked hard and devoted yourself. This governor thanks you on behalf of the general."

Everyone quickly avoided Chen Ming's bow and was busy flattering him again. Finally, the melancholy in Chen Ming's heart was flattered away, and Chen Ming was really flattered. Chen Ming smiled and said: "Good, good, it is a great honor for this governor to have you all help me with all your strength."

So, Zheng Hongyu, Liu Dezhao and others were also flattered, and everyone was happy.

The Western Expedition of the Fu Han Army was real, and the Northern Expedition was fake. When the news was sent to Emperor Qianlong by the Sticking Office, it was already February 20th. Liang Gui, the Minister of the Imperial Guards who supervised the Sticking Office, collapsed on the ground after reporting the news to Emperor Qianlong. With an angry wave of Emperor Qianlong's hand, he was dragged away by two imperial guards without saying a word.

After being fooled by his opponent, people will have an irrepressible anger. Emperor Qianlong is now in a stage of anger, and Fu Heng dare not offend Qianlong at this time. And to be honest, Liang Gui should be punished. He can make such a big loophole in such a military and national event. The entire Qing Dynasty was fooled by Chen Ni. Where is the face of the court? Looking at the furious Qianlong above, Fu Heng lit a candle for Liang Gui in his heart without saying a word.

Along with this news, an urgent report from Hubei was sent to Beijing. The Fu Han Army's naval and land forces started from Jiujiang and entered Hubei. They have now conquered Huangzhou Prefecture and are about to approach the provincial capital of Wuchang. This really caught Aligun off guard.

And now looking at the news of the main force of the Fu Han Army's "Western Expedition", what else is there to understand when these two are combined? Chen Ming didn't plan to march north at all. The previous momentum was all to fool Daqingguo. His real purpose was to advance westward, to kill back to Huguang, and to connect with Henan.

In the Western Warm Pavilion, the Qing emperors and ministers also thought of the Henan Fu Han Army's southward attack on Hubei in the first month of the year, and the previous sweep of the Fu Han Army's naval forces on the Hubei River. That greatly tied up the energy of northern Hubei and the prefectures along the river. Before, they only thought it was Chen Ni's roving attack. Now, combined with all kinds of intelligence, it was not a roving attack at all. It was clearly a vanguard. Look at it now. The land and sea forces of the Fu Han Army in Jiujiang have arrived, and the main force of the Fu Han Army in Jiangnan has followed suit. It's really one thing after another.

"Your Majesty, Chen Ming's army started from the southeast and went up the Yangtze River. The pressure on Huguang increased greatly, but the pressure on Jiangnan was greatly reduced. The court had one gain and one loss. Let's see which is more important, Jiangnan or Huguang. The court..." Fu Heng began. Chen Ming's army went west, and the pressure on Huguang was absolutely as heavy as Mount Tai, but Jiangnan was also relaxed, right? That had a direct and important impact on the Tiandihui rebels in Fujian. Besides, although Jiangnan had been swept by the Fu Han Army, a lean camel was bigger than a horse. Fu Heng also felt that the ruined Jiangnan was more important and richer than Hubei. If the court won Jiangnan, it would have a land of wealth, which was definitely a good thing for Qianlong and the Qing Dynasty, who were short of money. Besides, the Fu Han Army might not be able to take down Hubei.

As for what was the use of Chen Ming's army returning to Hubei? Fu Heng's understanding was to relieve the siege of the old nest in southwestern Henan. The Henan Fu Han Army's nest has been besieged by the government troops for more than a year. Even if there is enough food inside, what about salt? What about cloth? If Chen Ni can occupy Hubei and connect with southwest Henan, their small chess game will be revitalized and truly expanded. From now on, they will be a big dragon entrenched in the belly of the entire chessboard, which is definitely a hard bone to chew. But the court can also encircle and suppress this big dragon from all directions. Without the Fu Han Army's backing and restraining them, how can the Tiandihui rebels in Fujian be so arrogant? The Hunyuan Sect in Shandong is a bandit, and the war in Sichuan is limited to the Sichuan-Tibet area. As long as the court can gather troops, it still has a great chance of winning.

"Send an order to Sichuan, and ask Altai [Governor of Sichuan] to gather all the local chieftains in Sichuan and unite their troops to control Jinchuan. As long as the local soldiers do not enter the Han area, let them go."

"The Sichuan Green Camp is ready to leave Sichuan at any time."

"Tell Aligun that if he dares to lose Wuchang Prefecture, I will take his head."

Qianlong calmed down the anger in his chest, thought calmly, and issued orders one after another. Sichuan made a brief suggestion, and Hubei seemed to have only one sentence, but it was actually the top priority. He could tolerate the Fu Han Army taking over northern Hubei and Xiangyang, a land of Jingchu that connected nine provinces, but he could not just give up the area south of the Yangtze River to the Fu Han Army. Otherwise, the Fu Han Army would rush to Hunan in one go, and the Qing court's granary would really be lost.

After everyone had left, Qianlong was alone looking at the Qianlong Palace Map hanging on the wall. Looking at the red-marked Jiangnan, western Shandong, Fujian and Taiwan, as well as Henan, the heartland of the country, he suddenly shook. Wu Shulai hurried forward to help him, but was thrown away by Qianlong.

He's fine! He hasn't rebuilt the country yet, so he can't fall.

The map in front of him was full of desolation. The prosperous country left to him by Emperor Yongzheng has now become unrecognizable. This is the biggest shame in Qianlong's 59 years of life, but it is also a great encouragement to him now, encouraging him to rebuild the old country from scratch.

The failure of the battle in northern Jiangsu did not make Qianlong depressed. He is now short of money, but he still squeezes out money to invest in the artillery factory, and a steady stream of cannons and flintlocks are still being produced. There is also the Beijing Third Artillery Factory, which has received some help from Portugal. The qualified rate of cannons produced now is getting higher and higher, and the Eight Banners New Army has also expanded by 5,000 people for the second time.

After listening carefully to Hailancha's battle narrative, Emperor Qianlong's expectations for the Eight Banners New Army did not diminish, and he had more confidence in suppressing the Fu Han Army. Because of the performance of the Eight Banners Cavalry in the Battle of Northern Jiangsu, their threat to the Fu Han Army was obvious.

How many people does the Qing Dynasty have now? The cavalry of the Beijing Banner may have decayed, but the cavalry of Mongolia and the Northeast still dare to fight.

If the Fu Han Army dared to appear on the Huanghuai Plain, Emperor Qianlong could mobilize no less than 50,000 cavalry to entertain Chen Ming.

In addition, the Ministry of Works also made new discoveries about the fortifications of the Fu Han Army's old nest in Henan. To be precise, it was not discovered by officials of the Ministry of Works, but by Gao Leisi and Yang Dewang. They felt that the building materials used by the Fu Han Army to build fortifications that could solidify quickly were very similar to hydraulic lime. In Europe, the English discovered this phenomenon more than ten years ago. The mortar used for underwater construction using limestone containing clay can solidify quickly.

The people in the Ministry of Industry are now fully experimenting and have already produced preliminary results.

In Qianlong's eyes, his Daqingguo is gradually narrowing the gap with the rebels in terms of equipment and creation. The magic weapons that the Fu Han Army relies on to run rampant are being cracked by Daqingguo bit by bit. Moreover, his Daqingguo has dozens of times more land and manpower than the rebels, and has wealth far beyond the rebels. As long as he takes steady steps, he will surely have a day to clear the world.

But even Qianlong himself did not realize that his tolerance for the Fu Han Army, from the initial anger when he heard that a certain place had been lost, has now evolved into being able to "cut off" half of Hubei with a stroke of the pen. Even the ministers of the entire Military Affairs Council did not react much to the Fu Han Army's attack on cities and territories. Like Qianlong, they were only concerned about whether Aligun could defend the provincial capital of Wuchang, rather than whether he could defend Huangzhou, Hanyang, De'an, Xiangyang and other prefectures north of the Yangtze River in Hubei...

"Ask Agui to supervise the military affairs of Huguang."

"Yes."

Chen Ming, who had led the team to Anqing, did not know the reaction of Emperor Qianlong and his ministers in Beijing, and did not know that Qianlong's tolerance for his own family was so high that he would cut off half of Hubei. He was sitting in Anqing, mobilizing the army to march all the way to Jiujiang Hukou, and then reach Huangzhou through Jiujiang Hukou.

Chen Ming wanted to eat up Hubei as a whole, and his goal was not limited to the north of the Yangtze River.

The army assembled in Huangzhou. Before taking the provincial capital of Wuchang, the army first swept Huangzhou, Hanyang and other places north of the Yangtze River, and also seized a sufficiently loose space for the army's "stretching". If all the soldiers under Chen Ming arrived in Huangzhou, there would be as many as 70,000 to 80,000. Such a large team cannot be used entirely to attack the three towns of Wuhan.

"We must strive to take Wuchang and Jingzhou before the summer floods arrive, and take all of Hubei before the fall, seize Hanzhong Prefecture, connect to the southwest of Henan in the north, connect to Hanzhong in the west, connect to Anqing and Jiujiang in the east, Shaanxi, Henan, Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangxi, and completely connect the territory we occupy." Although there are hundreds of miles of mountains between Hubei and Anhui, and there are also long mountains between Hanzhong and Henan and Hubei, there is still a way to go from Hanzhong to Xing'an Prefecture and enter Yunyang, Hubei. The place next to the Yangtze River in Anqing Prefecture is even flatter, not to mention the Yangtze River waterway connecting the upper and lower parts.

With this foundation, his father can really change the title of general. Whether he is called a duke or a king, he is absolutely qualified.

Chen Ming has no intention of squeezing out Chen Hui and ascending to the throne. His current position cannot be shaken at all. Chen Hui has not shown any intention to change the boss Chen Gang back to the family in the past year or so. So Chen Ming is not in a hurry to ascend to the throne. Even if the Fu Han Army has good capital, it is not the time to make internal strife. Compared with Li Shimin the second, he hopes that he can inherit the throne in a dignified and smooth manner. Chinese culture and the people's will love the word "harmony", and fighting and killing to ascend to the throne will affect the people's hearts. Moreover, he did this not because of his reputation in the future, but more because he received the kindness of Chen Hui Gao's parents, and he did not want to ruin this friendship.

As for not being the founding monarch, what's the problem? Can Li Shimin's status in Li Tang be overshadowed by Li Yuan, a founding monarch?

Besides, Chen Ming still has to fight. If he becomes the leader of the Fu Han Army, can he still lead the army to fight north and south like he does now?

When he was in Anqing and Wuchang and Jingzhou were still firmly controlled by the Qing army, Chen Ming wrote a personal letter to Chen Hui. In addition to elaborating on his strategic intentions in more detail, the letter also proposed to Chen Hui to be duke and king, and briefly mentioned the matter of opening the imperial examination at the beginning.

Don't think that there is still plenty of time. It's almost March. When you really get down to business, time will pass quickly. If Chen Hui is to be king and establish a system, he must systematically determine the physique of officials, the dress of officials, the auspicious clothes of Chen Hui and Chen Ming's family, and even build another palace. At least Chen Ming's wife and children can no longer live with Chen Hui Gao.

"Report to the Grand Commander, urgent report from Huai'an. The Qing army in Haizhou crossed the Yellow River and pressed on Huai'an and Yancheng..."

"The Qing army in Songjiang entered Taicang, and its green camp landed in Haimen by water and is pressing on Nantong..."

"Report to the Grand Commander, Yin Jishan and Rong Bao led their troops into Suzhou City, and the troops are heading straight for Zhenjiang..."

There were urgent reports on Chen Ming's desk. Since the news that the Fu Han Army's large forces began to leave Nanjing was confirmed by the Qing troops, those Qing soldiers looked at the large area of ​​land evacuated by the Fu Han Army like hungry wolves seeing fat sheep, and rushed over. They just took Huzhou yesterday, and today they entered Suzhou, and tomorrow the troops will reach Changzhou...

When Chen Ming was in Jiangnan, the pressure from the Fu Han Army on them was so heavy, and now the counterattacks of the Qing troops are so fierce and swift. Whether in northern Jiangsu or southern Jiangsu, the Qing army's swift attack was a somewhat thrilling test for the follow-up troops of the Fu Han Army in the evacuation state. Huang Jie, who was at the rear, had enough men and horses, but what was more difficult to control was the morale of the troops at the rear.