In July, under the scorching sun, Liu Qi was busy reviewing the official documents.

To be honest, he has become a little fat lately. Perhaps the career of the Sichuan Shogunate is booming, which makes him increasingly powerful and happy as the secretary of the Jiedushi. As the saying goes, he is broad-minded and fat. If his life is good, his figure will naturally go wrong. Anyway, he will not be like the martial artists who are fighting for the body.

The Chengdu shogunate now covers half of Yunnan and almost the entire Sichuan. No, in fact, the word "almost" can be removed. Liu Zhonggui, the governor of Dashun Sichuan, launched more than 50,000 cavalry and artillery troops in the second half of last year (1700), and vowed to fight the Northern Expedition and fought with the Qing army.

Yes, the Qing Dynasty and Shun Kingdom had already started war. The reason was that the Dashun court discovered that the Qing Dynasty had started war in two directions at the same time. In fact, there were not many people sent to the Western Regions and the Mobei, and the main force did not leave much, so they consciously had a chance and wanted to gain some benefits from the Northern Expedition.

The battle started in the second half of last year. More than 40,000 troops from the Jiangxi Jiedushi (not a real position, just a U.S. official) of the Shun Army, marched eastward and attacked the southern Anhui territory of Qing Dynasty. Subsequently, the main force of Dashun also launched an operation in the direction of Hubei. The army was said to be more than 100,000. If the 30,000 to 40,000 troops were dispatched by Yuan and He troops, the total force was as high as 150,000.

The Sichuan shogunate also received the will of the Changsha court, asking them to launch an offensive in northern Sichuan and support the main force's actions in Hubei. It just so happened that the Sichuan Jiedushi Liu Zhonggui also wanted to conquer Hanzhong and add a barrier to his semi-independent kingdom, so he followed the flow and made a northern expedition.

At the beginning, the Sichuan Army fought very smoothly and captured several Qing army's few strongholds in northern Sichuan with lightning speed, with very little casualties. The reason why it was so smooth is to be honest, it was up to the help of the locals. The gentry in the Qing army controlled the area had long been secretly engaged in the Sichuan shogunate, and even pulled many Qing army officers into the water, which opened up the situation in an instant. Even Liu Zhonggui did not expect it to be so smooth.

Liu Qi was not surprised by this. The intelligence expenses he approved in recent years have been at least 30,000 yuan, and most of them are used in northern Sichuan and Hanzhong. This means that the country of Dashun has become stronger and has gained a foothold in the south, and has a certain atmosphere. Otherwise, the money would not be spent even if it wants to be spent. The gentry, don’t look at the abundance of poetry and books, but when it comes to the righteousness of the country, there may not be many people in the grass who are strong in the country. They only care about interests, and the righteousness of the nation is ranked behind. If Dashun cannot give them hope and want them to rebel, then he can’t even think about it!

After the Battle of North Sichuan, the army rushed straight to Hanzhong without much rest. At this time, they encountered real trouble. The Qing army had tens of thousands of new troops here. Except for a small number of local green camps, most of them were from Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces, and they fought very tenaciously. The terrain between North Sichuan and Hanzhong was already dangerous and there were many passes. The attacking side would have to pay a greater price than the defense side. Dashun troops fought extremely fiercely in Hanzhong. A pass often had to repeatedly attack, killing and injured.

Moreover, the Qing army also used the complex terrain of the mountains and tortuously revolve, set up ambush many times to cut off the food and supplies of the Shun army, greatly restraining the strength of the Shun army. The most tragic time, in order to protect the newly transported cannons, the Shun army almost completely wiped out one commander, and protected the cannons with the support of the friendly troops who arrived quickly. After the battle, the commander looked at the corpses everywhere and cried loudly, and refused to leave the battlefield.

Whether it was Liu Zhonggui or Liu Qi, it was obvious that it was the time to compete for fighting will. Therefore, Liu Qi, who was responsible for logistics supply, tried his best to plunder food, food, ammunition and other materials for the front line. He had even sent donations to wealthy households in central Sichuan and some areas of Yunnan, and even the Chengdu Commercial Station established by the East Coast people was willing to give 3,000 yuan.

What is ironic is that Li Laiheng of Changsha never gave any assistance except for three thousand rifles, twenty artillery and several ammunition at the beginning. Even if the messengers in Sichuan went to Changsha one by one, they would not have a penny, which was really annoying. The reason given by Changsha was that they were attacking the Qing army's Hubei defense line, and their personnel and materials were consumed greatly, and they really had no room to support Sichuan and let them "persist".

However, after investigating through an intelligence network, Liu Qi learned that because the Qing and Shun countries operated in Hubei for many years, were crowded with castles and military camps, and many local rivers were crisscrossed. Many river obstacles were dug for military purposes, which was not conducive to the army's attack. Therefore, most of the troops sent by the Dashun court were in their own territory on the north bank of the Yangtze River and were divided by the terrain. There were not many people fighting on the front line, which killed tens of thousands of people, and the intensity of the battle was very limited.

Liu Zhonggui was so angry that he was crazy when he heard this, but there was no good way. The court was very cautious about him, not Yuan, and He and others. To put it bluntly, Changsha may not be willing to see him Liu Zhonggui seize Hanzhong and attack Qin. Because he really reached that stairs, there was Qinlong, Bashu territory in his hands, and even half of Yunnan, and his strength was no less than the Dashun court, which was only three and a half provinces. How could you let Li Laiheng handle it?

So, everything depends on yourself. If you want to seize Hanzhong as the barrier of Bashu, relying on Changsha to help you help you is undoubtedly a matter of seeking fish. In the end, you have to rely on the swords and guns of your own soldiers to seize it. Liu Zhonggui asked himself that the military was strictly governed over the years, and the rewards the soldiers deserved were not short of, and the morale of the army should still be maintained at a possible position. Then everything will be left to fate. If you seize Hanzhong, everything will be rewarded. From then on, Liu and Kangxi shared the dangers of the Qinling Mountains. If you can't seize it, then the losses will be great. If the lives of the casualties are not counted, the foundation of this family is almost empty. The threat of the Qing army is always on their heads. After all, it is much easier to go south from Hanzhong than from Qinling North.

As the confidant of Duke Shu, Liu Qi naturally knew the truth. Therefore, he really tried his best to work for the master of the Mu. He had not returned home for a whole month and had food and accommodation in the yamen. He was devoted to his whole life.

But the current situation made him feel a little worried. Although the Sichuan shogunate only drew 50,000 people to head north, to be honest, they are all relatively capable front-line troops. Their combat power was generally allowed to guard the place and they did not dispatch it at all. But these 50,000 elite soldiers have been in northern Sichuan and Hanzhong for a full six months with the Qing army. The Qing army has a good geographical location and is mainly defense. No matter how the Shun army lures, they will not come out. They will use the complex terrain and solid fortress to consume your supplies and kill your lives to the greatest extent, which will cost the Shun army a huge price.

The 50,000 troops before the expedition had already died in battle, and the wounded were twice as many as the wounded. If they hadn't maintained the offensive and continued to replenish the damage in the war, the tens of thousands of troops would have collapsed long ago. But even so, Liu Qi used various official documents sent back like snowflakes on the front line to determine that they were almost at the end of their strength and had to rest and recuperate, otherwise something big would happen.

"The Tartars on the opposite side should be gritting their teeth and suffocating, right?" Liu Qi put down his brush, picked up the teacup and moistened his throat, and said to himself: "I heard that the new army has lost thousands of people. The green camps in other provinces have consumed sharply in such a high-intensity battle. I guess they have been dissatisfied with it for a long time. At this time, if they can work harder and attack for several months, they will definitely be able to win! It's a pity that the general can't attack anymore, it's a pity."

Thinking of this, Liu Qi's resentment towards the Changsha court became deeper. He watched the Sichuan army fight hard, without sending a grain and bounced over. Hubei faced a northern expedition of 150,000 troops, but it only now had to break through six or seven forts of the Tatars, and the progress was very fast. Jiangxi fought smoothly and captured some prefectures and counties, but there were few soldiers. I heard that he was recently suppressed by the Nanjing camp of the Tatars and was defeated for a while, and there were still some hard battles later.

If it really doesn't work, I can only persuade my lord to not force anything. During this Northern Expedition, they have already recovered some territory, many of which are dangerously territorial passes, such as Baishui Pass, Jiameng Pass, etc. In the future, the safety of Sichuan can be guaranteed, which is a real benefit. Why do you need to become a fat man in one go?

Now Sichuan's various industries are developing smoothly, and the amount of foreign trade has been rising year by year. The agricultural production of prefectures and counties (formerly tous territories) that have been rectified in southern Sichuan and western Sichuan has also been on track. Give him another five years, just five years! He is confident that the output of grain and economic crops in Sichuan will reach a new level, the number of agricultural talents will double, the manufacturing capacity of Chengdu Manufacturing Bureau will double, the foreign trade volume will increase by 50%, and the government's fiscal revenue will increase by at least 60%. Moreover, the two northbound road trunk lines that were asked to help design and supervise will also be opened to traffic.

At that time, even if the general led 50,000 people to the north, the logistics supply would not be as difficult as it is now. If the fight would be effective, it would be effective with half the effort! Five years, only five years! Hanzhong is actually the meat on his mouth, which will be eaten sooner or later. Now it will be just temporarily placed on the side of the Qing Tartars.

I heard that the Tartars had built wooden rail tracks in Hanzhong. After they were taken down, they could be extended to serve as the transportation trunk line of the Sichuan Army. Well, Hanzhong still has a certain grain production capacity and military manufacturing capacity, which has the foundation for garrisoning the army. At that time, a senior and steadfast general will be selected to be in charge of Nanzheng, and tens of thousands of troops will be stationed in various places. The Qin, Long, and Henan provinces of the Qing Dynasty will be shocked three times a day and will be in panic all day long.
Chapter completed!