"Do you have a better plan?" Chongzhen asked.⊙,

"I think it is not the right time to fight Jianlu in Jinzhou now." Liu Jun replied, "I think that if you want to deal with Jianlu, you cannot rely on the decisive battle. At this stage, you should continue to defend."

Liu Jun was not evading war nor fearing war, but it was actually a record of the battle between the Ming army and the Qing army. The more we fought the decisive battle, the more we lost, the more we lost. The advantage of the Qing army lies in the elite troops, while the original advantage of the Ming army was firearms and city defense. But now the Qing army has also cast red and barbarian cannons. If the Ming army gave up the city defense and took the initiative to fight the Qing army in the field, it would be no advantage at all.

Especially in every battle between the Ming army, troops were drawn from all over the country, and these soldiers from all over the world were often low in combat. A large number of soldiers gathered in Liaodong, which also caused difficulties in logistics supply. Such temporary troops and horses would not only not increase combat effectiveness, but also difficult to cooperate tacitly. They would only become the targets of each Qing army to defeat, and even drag the logistics to death directly and collapse without fighting.

"I think that Jianlu built a city in Yizhou to further squeeze the living space of our Jinzhou garrison. For Jianlu's plan, I don't think it is necessary to send a large army to fight immediately. On the contrary, we only need to send an elite small force to carry out anti-attack and harassment operations against Jianlu."

"Send a small group of cavalry to harass Jianlu, destroy their speed of building cities, and raid Jianlu's supply routes, make them exhausted, and give them the same way."

Chongzhen was a little disappointed.

"That's your plan?"

Liu Jun said, "My plan is to change the situation in which the imperial court was passively beaten and could only be trapped in the past, and also to change the decisive battle that was forced to fight Jianlu every time we were forced to fight against Jianlu and fight against us without an advantage. I think we should launch a raid against Jianlu. A comprehensive raid against Yizhou is only part of it. I request to lead the army from Dengzhou to go out to sea, counterattack the Liaodong Peninsula, open up a second battlefield, restrain Jianlu's troops, and reduce pressure on the front line of Ningjin, Xiningjin, Liaoxi."

"We can even send troops to land on Pi Island again, cut off the ties between Jianlu and North Korea, and bring North Korea back to the Ming Dynasty."

"Break the attack?" Chongzhen pressed his lips, thinking.

"Your Majesty, Mao Wenlong was on Pi Island, and he also caused great damage to Jianlu and restrained many of his troops. However, the Dongjiang Army was still too weak and the results achieved were limited. If Your Majesty could support me, I planned to fight with Fujian Deputy General Zheng Zhilong. Use their fleet to transport Hubei New Army and harass the entire coastal area controlled by Jianlu. If you have the opportunity, you can also conquer the city and territories."

"Just like the Japanese pirates on the southeast coast, they attacked Jianlu's coast, and there was no need to rush to seize the city and restore control. They just needed to attack while taking advantage of the enemy's defense loopholes, destroy their cities, plunder their population, money, livestock, and kill their soldiers. Even if they win a small victory every time, they can accumulate a small amount, and finally make Jianlu bleeding and make Jianlu run away."

Liu Jun knew very well that he could reach this high position in a short time, which was the emperor's strong reward for his suppression of bandits, and at the same time he had long hoped that he could lead troops to deal with Jianlu and make new contributions. If he refused to send troops to Liaodong, he would have no value to Chongzhen. Chongzhen was very ruthless to those worthless ministers.

But Liu Jun really didn't want to go to Jinzhou, so he took the Jiutou to Jinzhou to fight with Jianlu head-on, and had to fight under the command of other generals. This would never have any good result. The western Liaoning was the territory of the generals in western Liaoning, and it was almost warlords. It would never be easy for foreign troops to go there.

Liu Jun has been thinking about this issue these days. Finally, he felt that since he could not avoid fighting outside the pass and did not want to be commanded by the governors of the western Liaoning, it would be best to avoid Ning Jin's meat grinder.

He thought of Mao Wenlong, who had been in Pi Island for a while and had a rumor. A defeated school eventually established a military town on Pi Island. Although Mao Wenlong's Dongjiang soldiers finally achieved limited results in the end, they were killed by Yuan Chonghuan because they did not listen to the imperial dispatch and were busy with transactions and doing business, Mao Wenlong gave Liu Jun an inspiration.

Why do you have to fight hard in Jinzhou? Why don’t you fight alone like Mao Wenlong?

But Liu Jun did not want to only guard a small island at the mouth of the Yalu River like Mao Wenlong and do re-export trade. Liu Jun thought of the Japanese riots in the southeast. The Japanese pirates landed everywhere on ships on the southeast coast and looted everywhere, making the Ming army in a mess.

If Liu Jun could have enough warships, then Liu Jun would be able to land everywhere on the long coastline controlled by the Qing Dynasty, avoiding the real and the virtual.

Moreover, this kind of combat method has many benefits. First of all, you can avoid the real and the weak without having to confront the Qing army head-on. Secondly, you can fully grasp the initiative and fight wherever you want, and no longer passively, just like in western Liaoning, you can only passively guard those castles and wait for the Qing army to siege.

There is another great advantage, that is, this kind of pirate-style landing operation is also an opportunity to rob.

As long as this combat method can reach a certain scale, it will indeed cause a headache for the Qing army, and it will definitely have to withdraw some troops from western Liaoning to the rear.

From the bottom of my heart, Liu Jun also hopes to use this to preserve his strength and even continue to strengthen himself in the future.

"How much effect do you think this method can achieve?" Chongzhen asked, "The effect that Mao Wenlong achieved was very effective back then. The imperial court provided hundreds of thousands of military pay to Dongjiang Town every year, but in the end the Dongjiang soldiers were in rebellion in Denglai and finally rebelled and surrendered to Jianlu."

"Mao Wenlong is not enterprising enough to sit on Pi Island. But if His Majesty can support the Wei Minister, then we will never have peace on the coastline of Jianlu for more than a thousand miles."

"Is Zheng Zhilong from Fujian trustworthy?" Chongzhen also had some understanding of Zheng Zhilong, the recruited pirate leader. Since being recruited by Xiong Wencan, this pirate leader defeated Liu Xiang and other pirate groups in the name of the court, and even fought against Franjimen at sea in the name of the court's naval master and won a great victory.

After being recruited, although Zheng Zhilong no longer hindered the coast, he was devoted to maritime trade. It is said that he owned thousands of sea ships, and he was obviously the king of the Southeast Sea. The court had also transferred Zheng Zhilong north to Liao for war several times, but the Zheng family refused for various reasons.

If it weren't for the court's official duties that the outside was captured and internal invaders, and Zheng Zhilong did not plunder the coast, Chongzhen would have long sent troops to encircle and suppress the Zheng family. But even so, Chongzhen would have no good impression of Zheng Zhilong.

"Your Majesty can pardon Xiong Wencan and let him be responsible for contacting Zheng Zhilong, and then add Zheng Zhilong to the position. I believe that Zheng Zhilong will follow the order."

Chongzhen felt that things would not be that simple.

"I am willing to persuade Zhilong to personally."

"Your Majesty, if you have the Zheng family's naval fleet, plus the new army trained by me, you will definitely make the rear of the Later Jin Dynasty catch fire and you will be too busy to take care of yourself, and relieve the pressure on Liaoxi Ningjin. I dare to say that as long as the big attack tactic is successfully implemented, the strength of the Later Jin Dynasty will inevitably be greatly reduced after three to five years. At that time, the court can accumulate strength and launch a large-scale counterattack and recover Liaodong."

Chongzhen was a little moved. After hearing what Liu Jun said, he realized that the counterattack is a bit too hasty and has great risks. Although Liu Jun's plan is a bit conservative, it is also more stable.

"If you implement your plan, how much money and grain do you need?" Chongzhen asked the most critical question: you have to ask for money and grain when fighting, and what Chongzhen lacks the most now is money and grain.

In order to strengthen Chongzhen's confidence, Liu Jun hurriedly said, "The Liaohai will soon be frozen this year, and I have to contact Zheng's family to discuss, and food and grass also need to be prepared. Therefore, if Your Majesty can support me, I expect to go to war next summer. As for food and grass issues, you don't have to worry about it. This year, the military farm in Hubei is being cleaned up and rectified, and millions of mu of military farm have been granted. After the harvest next summer, there will be millions of stones of military farm income, which will be fully used to support military food expenditures. Even if the plan goes well, we can still seize a lot of money and grain from Jianlu's cities and villages, which can be used as military salary expenditures."

There is no need to pay Chongzhen’s food and salary, this article made Chongzhen even more moved.

The more soldiers and horses gathered in western Liaoning, the more food and money the court needed to transport, and the more difficult the supply. However, Liu Jun's plan did not require the court to pay the food and money the court provided, which was an unnegligible condition.

The biggest question left now is whether Zheng Zhilong can obey the order and lead his fleet to assist Liu Jun in the battle.

"Next summer." Chongzhen said slowly, then his eyes suddenly became stern, "Can you send troops on time next summer?"

"When you go back to your Majesty, as long as your Majesty supports me, I will immediately send a large number of spies to the coast of Liaodong and start collecting and inquiring about information from all over the country. I will seize the time to prepare for the Zheng family to send troops, and at the same time seize the time to train troops. When the Liaohai Sea is unfrozen next year, I will immediately lead my army to fight against Liaodong."

"Liu Jun, I have high hopes for you and hope you don't let me down."

When Liu Jun left the hall, there was a chill on his back. His vest was covered in sweat just now. After leaving the hall, Liu Jun stood at the outside of the hall and let out a sigh of relief. Unexpectedly, after he made such suggestions, Chongzhen actually agreed. It seems that although he was young, the bandit suppression also established some reputation, which made Chongzhen pay great attention to his words.

After following the eunuch out of the palace, he arrived at the imperial city, where Liu Qiao and Cao Huachun were still waiting.

"How?" Liu Qiao came over and asked.

"Everything goes well." Liu Jun smiled, "Now, please ask my uncle to take me to the imperial prison. I want to see someone."

"Who do you see?"

"Xiong Wencan!"

"What do you do when you see him?" Liu Qiao asked. The former prime minister of the bandit suppression in the five provinces has been staying in prison since he was arrested and entered Beijing. If the situation of the bandit suppression was not good, Xiong Wencan would have been cut off long ago. But even if he could save his life for a while, it would be difficult to get out of prison. Liu Qiao couldn't understand why Liu Jun wanted to see him.
Chapter completed!