"Senior Brother Jing is right." Hongniang looked around the generals and said in a narrow voice, "The thieves are now stronger than us. It is not time to take revenge yet. Let's go back to Henan and develop and strengthen our own power first. When they become stronger in the future, they will go to find the thieves to take revenge!"

"Yes." Jing Maocheng agreed, "It's not too late for a gentleman to take revenge."

He Laosi quickly expressed his opinion: "This is a good idea. The general has a deep foundation in Henan. The defenders of Kaifeng, Huaining, Nanyang and Guide were all old subordinates of the general. If the general had the intention to be independent, his strength would not be as strong as a thief today! As long as the wife climbed up and called, most of the soldiers of each mansion would gather under his command."

Li Hu was disappointed and said, "But my sister-in-law has thought about it. Now Wu Sangui leads Jiannu into the pass, and the thieves are defeated back to Shanxi. At that time, Henan will be caught between the thieves, Jiannu, Wu Sangui, Can Ming and Zuo Liangyu. I am afraid that life will be very sad."

"Just the opposite." Jing Maocheng said disapprovingly, "It is precisely because Henan is among several forces that we can get along with each other."

"I have decided." Hong Niangzi said in a deep voice, "The entire army immediately sets down the camp and returns to Henan."

Northern Zhili, Zijing Pass.

The bandits were slow to move because they carried a large amount of supplies and property. The Guanning army of Wu Sangui, who withdrew from Beijing less than two hundred miles, chased them. The two armies fought in front of Zijing Pass, and each other was killed and injured. Finally, the bandits were unintentionally fighting and threw down a large amount of supplies and property and fled on their own initiative.

The Guanning Army did not continue to pursue, and Wu Sangui wanted to take a breath in Zijing Pass.

Unfortunately, Dorgon soon sent Dodo to lead the Eight Banners army to chase after him and force Wu Gui to continue moving forward. Dorgon was determined not to give the bandits a chance to regroup, nor did he intend to give Wu Sangui a chance to breathe. He wanted to exhaust these two Han troops in exhaustion.

This is exactly what Dorgon is so brilliant about. His strategy is to use the Han Dynasty to control the Han Dynasty. For the Manchus, the Ming Dynasty was too huge and there were too many Han people. The Manchu Eight Banners alone could not conquer the entire Ming Dynasty no matter what. If you really want to use the Manchu Eight Banners to conquer the Ming Dynasty, even if it succeeds in the end, there will be very few left in the Manchu Eight Banners, and in the end, they will still make wedding clothes for others!

Under Duoduo's forced, Wu Sangui had to cheer up and lead the Guanning army to chase the thief's butt into Shanxi. Although Wu Sangui wanted to borrow Qing troops to enter the pass and fight for the national crisis, but to this day, Wu Sangui couldn't help it. He could only act as a front pawn for Jiannu and become a traitor wholeheartedly!

The officials of the remnants of Ming Dynasty who were half-dead by the thieves who were "chasing the dirt and assisting the salary" in Beijing once again set up a team outside Deshengmen and warmly welcomed Jiannu into the city. This time, it was a truly warm and heartfelt joy. In their eyes, Jiannu was no longer the barbarians outside the pass before, but a benevolent and righteous army who went to the Ming Dynasty's national crisis.

Wu Sangui's "official" invitation did play an unexpected role.

These officials of the remnants of Ming Dynasty were still dreaming that Jiannu would retreat to the outside world after helping the Ming Dynasty to eliminate the thieves. At most, the Ming Dynasty would give them more wealth.

Li Zicheng had fled back to Taiyuan and was about to condemn generals to die with Jiannu, attacks followed one after another. General Tang Tong of Miyun, governor Zhu Zhifeng of Xuanfu, general Wang Chengyin of Xuanfu, general Wang Chengyin of Datong, deputy general Jiang Xiang of Datong, and other surrendered generals of the Ming Dynasty rebelled one after another, and all raised the banner of fighting against the thieves.

The strength of the Dashun Army was severely weakened, and Li Zicheng's plan to counterattack Beijing was immediately shattered!

Datong General Jiang Xiang even sent troops to attack Wuguan, seriously threatening the safety of Taiyuan's flanks. At the same time, Wu Sangui's Guanning army also came from the east of Taiyuan. The situation took a sharp turn. Taiyuan had become an isolated city and could no longer defend. Li Zicheng had to abandon the city and leave again and defeated back to Shaanxi.

In less than half a month, the bandits lost Beizhi and Shanxi provinces one after another. In addition, the Hongniang relied on his own in Henan, and the bandits' sphere of influence quickly narrowed to a corner of Shaanxi, which made Zhang Xianzhong, the "Emperor of Daxi" entrenched in Sichuan very pleased. He and Li Zicheng were finally on par again. After more than ten years of being together, neither of the brothers was stronger than any other.

The Eight Banners Army captured Beizhi so quickly. The Qing dynasties in Shanxi Province were overjoyed and suggested that Dorgon order plunder. They were thinking about robbing money, grain and women. They never thought of entering the Central Plains. However, the ambitious Dorgon certainly would not do this and refused this suggestion without hesitation.

Dorgon's ambitions are more than that.

Just wait for Wu Sangui's Guanning Army to cooperate with Duoduo's army to wipe out the bandits in Shaanxi, the Qing army's troops will point to Henan and Shandong, then pacify Jiangnan and completely destroy the former Ming forces, and eventually unify China! He never hopes that the situation of the Jin Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty's rule between the river will repeat today.

Gao Jie and Liu Liangzuo finally arrived in Nanjing.

The first thing the two of them did after they arrived in Nanjing was to visit their old Sima Shiying and find out the truth of the Nanjing officialdom. Ma Shiying sighed and said to them: "You shouldn't come to Nanjing."

Gao Jie and Liu Liangzuo said in shock: "Why?"

Ma Shiying said: "Is it unclear? Wang Pu transferred you to Beijing to deprive you of military power!"

"He dares!" Gao Jie said in a deep voice, "My army is a brother of life and death who has been with me for many years. How could he take it away if Wang Pu wants to take it away?"

"That's it." Liu Liangzuo also said, "If Wang Pu dares to detain our two brothers, more than 100,000 troops will come across the river!"

"You guys underestimate Wang Pu too much." Ma Shiying sighed, "He has already made arrangements."

"Arrangement?" Gao Jie and Liu Liangzuo said in confusion, "What arrangement?"

Ma Shiying said: "The cabinet has already drafted a list of military generals. Your subordinates Li Benshen, Wu Shengzhao, Gao Jinku, Li Chengdong, Ma Degong, Tian Xiong, Liu Konghe, Liu Hongji, Li Huajing and others have all been promoted to general officers. If Wang Pu really detains you, will these people lead troops across the river?"

Gao Jie, Liu Liangzuo said in shock: "This..."

If Wang Pu really does this, they will be in trouble!

What is a general? That is a general town. According to the Ming Dynasty, if the court does not send civil officials to supervise the army, the general will be the highest military general in the local area. If the court really wants to grant these arrogant generals the general, then Wang Pu will detain Gao Jie, Liu Liangzuo and Liu Zeqing, and the happiest ones will belong to them. It would be strange if they are willing to make the case.

People are selfish after all, who would like to put aside their own lords?

"But you don't have to worry," said Ma Shiying. "As long as you don't do anything out of the ordinary, you can at least be a rich man in Nanjing in this life. As for Liu Zeqing, I'm afraid he will be doomed."

Gao Jie complained: "Sir, why don't you send someone to inform me?"

"Yes." Liu Liangzuo also cried, "If I had known this, I wouldn't have come to Nanjing."

"Send someone to deliver a message?" Ma Shiying smiled bitterly, "Do you think I'm not sent? But Wang Pu's entire city was like an iron bucket, and even a fly could not fly out. The four groups of messengers I sent were intercepted! Wang Pu was so cruel, it was far more cruel than I expected. It would be unfair to fall in his hands this time."

Just as he was talking, Ma Shiying's housekeeper came in and reported, "Master, Eunuch Zhang is here, saying that he is going to summon two generals to the palace to meet the emperor."

"Look." Ma Shiying shook her head and said, "Wang Pu's people are here."

Gao Jie and Liu Liangzuo left Ma Shiying's mansion, and saw that there were guards standing outside the gate, which looked like a ceremonial guard to welcome the two. But a discerning person could tell at a glance that they were sent to monitor Gao Jie and Liu Liangzuo. From now on, Gao Jie and Liu Liangzuo have lost their personal freedom.

Yanziji camp, signing house.

Wang Pu was convening a military meeting. Five generals, including Scarface, Zhao Xin, Tang Sheng, Zhang Monk, Huang Degong, and the generals of the general Shi Lang, Zhen Youcai, Fang Yizhi, and Song Yingxing, all attended the meeting. The army needed intelligence, army, logistics, food, supplies and other preparations in all aspects, not just to take tens of thousands of people out for a trip.

It would be unimaginable if we had not made sufficient preparations and led a large army to fight in a hurry. After all, this was a battle on the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Wang Pu's army could not learn from the thieves and eat from the rich, nor could it learn from Jiannu to absorb the people's wealth and ointment!

There is a huge military topographic map hanging on the wall. Although it is just a very general national map, it already looks like a modern map. Unlike the maps before the Ming Dynasty, the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty were squeezed into a box, and the two major rivers, the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, were actually two straight lines.

Wang Pu held a wooden pole in his hand and pointed to the map, saying, "According to reliable information, the thieves have been defeated back to Shaanxi, and the Hongniang of Henan has also left the thieves and set up a new mountain. Jiang Xiang, the general of Datong, who had already surrendered the thieves, Tang Tong, the general of Miyun, and Wang Chengyin, the general of Xuanfu, have all turned against each other. The current situation of the thieves can be summarized in one sentence, that is, the defeat is like a mountain of fall!"

Tang Sheng sighed: "A few days later, the thief was defeated so quickly!"

"This is the wall falling down and everyone pushed it!" Wang Pu said, "If nothing unexpected happens, Jiannu and Wu Sangui's Guanning army will invade Shaanxi within two months. The bandits are trying to revive and it will be a matter of time to lose their power!"

Zhao Xin said: "General, after the defeat of the bandits, the troops of Jiannu and Wu Sangui will definitely turn to Jiangnan!"

"Well, General Zhao said very well."

Wang Pu turned around and looked at Zhao Xin with admiration. Zhao Xin is becoming more and more strategic, and it seems that he can already stand alone.

"After Jiannu has dealt with the bandits, he will turn to attack Jiangnan in the next step. At that time, we will face the coalition forces of Jiannu and Wu Sangui alone. The situation is not good for me, so we must take the initiative and send troops to the north before Jiannu has wiped out the bandits, forcing Jiannu to shrink. Although the bandits deserve to die, they cannot finish it now!"

Scarface said excitedly: "It's great, are you going to send troops finally?"

Wang Pu turned his eyes to Zhen Youcai and asked, "Youcai, how many muskets are there in the armory now?"

Recently, Wang Pu has been busy going to Beijing to save people, or fighting with Donglin Fushe, Ma Shiying, Gao Hongtu and others. He has no choice but to take care of the ordnance production and training of new recruits at the arsenal. Fortunately, the arsenal is managed by Zhen Youcai, and the training of new recruits has strict regulations, so he has not been left out.

Zhen Youcai said: "When I go back to the general, there are currently more than 9,000 muskets, more than 50,000 Dragon King cannons, and more than 1.2 million paper shell bullets. It can almost be equipped with two musket battalions."

Wang Pu suddenly remembered the new musket and asked, "Where is the breech gun? How many are there?"

Zhen Youcai looked embarrassed and lowered his head and replied: "Because the processing technology requirements of the breech gun are relatively high, it is necessary to have a hydraulic drilling machine to process the barrel. However, a suitable arsenal site has not been found yet, so it is not produced in large quantities. I am incompetent. Please forgive me."

"How can you blame you?" Wang Pu said, "But the site selection of the arsenal has to be stepped up. I heard that the mountains and rivers in Jiande, Zhejiang are high and abundant. You can go there with Mr. Song and Mr. Fang to see if you build a large embankment to surround an artificial lake, and then open a canal to divert water. Wouldn't this solve the hydraulic problem?"

"Yes." Zhen Youcai responded respectfully, "I will do the same job as the humble position."

Although Wang Pu and Zhen Youcai have a good personal relationship with each other, Zhen Youcai is still very sensible in front of him. Wang Pu may not care about these things, but Zhen Youcai has to know the importance of it.

Wang Pu asked again: "Where is the cannon? Have the red cannon been copied?"

Zhen Youcai turned his attention to Song Yingxing, and this question must be answered by Song Yingxing.

Song Yingxing stood up, first bowed to Wang Pu, and then said, "General, the cannon factory has imitated two red cannons and purchased cannons according to the West to load gunpowder doses. The final test shot was blown up. This shows that the fine iron produced by our Ming Dynasty is not as good as the West."

The Western world began from the end of the 16th century, and due to the endless melee between countries, the revolution in military and technological development was born. By the first half of the 17th century, technologies such as steelmaking, casting cannons, and guns had surpassed the Ming Dynasty, but the Ming Dynasty was still ahead of the West in academic exploration at that time.

Wang Pu frowned and said, "Is there any way to improve it?"

"Yes." Song Yingxing nodded, "To improve the texture of fine iron, you must reduce the internal impurities. The secret knows a method of coking that can make charcoal into coke. Using this coke as a raw material and supplemented with the iron stir-frying method, you can make the fine steel with the best texture."

"Okay!" Wang Pu said happily when he heard this, "Even if you two gentlemen, you can find talented people, if you want help, money, and craftsmen. If you can't make a decision, you can find Sun Ge Lao. These are not problems. I just need to develop the toughest steel and develop the most exquisite firearm!"

Song Yingxing and Fang Yizhi clasped their fists at the same time and replied, "I'm going to receive the order."

"Okay, let's get back to the topic now."

Wang Pu waved his hand to signal Song Yingxing, Fang Yizhi to sit down, and then said: "There are more than 9,000 muskets and more than 50,000 Dragon King cannons in the armory, which determines the scale of this Northern Expedition. We can dispatch two musket battalions and one gun battalion, plus three long spear battalions and two baggage battalions, with a total force of 40,000!"

Scarface and others suddenly showed excitement in their eyes. Forty thousand people would be a big battle!

Wang Pu's eyes flashed over the faces of the generals with a burning look, and suddenly shouted: "All the generals obey the order!"

Scarface, Zhao Xin, Tang Sheng, Zhang Monk, Huang Degong, Shi Lang, Zhen Youcai, Song Yingxing, Fang Yizhi and others stood up at the same time, and looked at Wang Pu with all their eyes.

"Huang Degong."

"exist."

"Lead Nanjing Navy to block the Yangtze River."

"yes."

"Shi Lang."

"exist."

"Lead Zhenhai Shuishi to transport the cannon battalion from the canal waterway, and the baggage battalion heads towards Yangzhou."

"yes."

"Monkey Zhang."

"exist."

"Lead the Bailian Camp out of Anqing to closely monitor the movements of Zuo Liangyu's troops in Wuchang."

"yes."

"Zhao Xin."
To be continued...