~~~~~~

Seven days later, the army successfully arrived at Tashanpu and approached Haizhou City.

Going north, Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong basically encountered no decent resistance.

Without the support of Houjin's main force, whether they were the so-called Tatar masters or the slaves of the Han Army Banner, they would all run faster than a rabbit.

However, due to the need to divide the troops to clear out the surrounding inns, forts, and villages, the army's journey was slower than originally planned.

But Li Yuanqing brought enough war horses with him on this trip, and Chen Zhong also had more than a thousand war horses accompanying him. There were more than 4,000 war horses, and at least a thousand were kept on patrol every day. No disturbance within a hundred miles of the army could escape Li Yuanqing.

s eyes.

At the same time, as news of the Ming army's massive "invasion" spread, the "submissive people" of the Hou Jin Dynasty who got the news soon formed a large-scale fleeing frenzy.

They took their families, cattle, sheep and livestock with them and fled north as hard as they could, towards Haizhou and Liaoyang.

For these obedient people, Li Yuanqing adopted the Mongolian strategy of "herding sheep". First, multiple small groups of cavalry were driven from behind to drive the people to one place.

The cavalry crossed in front of them and captured them all.

The soldiers were originally full of sympathy for these obedient Han people and could not bear to be cruel. However, under Li Yuanqing's strict order, these soldiers did not dare to neglect anymore and had to treat it as a war effort.

The captured men of these Han compliant subjects were all used as hard labor to help the auxiliary soldiers with the transportation duties, while their women and children were all driven to the rear and escorted towards Gaizhou City.

As for their belongings, all of them were naturally used as military supplies.

Tashanpu Ming Army temporary station,

In Li Yuanqing's big tent, Li Yuanqing was sitting opposite Chen Zhong, military supervisor Wei Liang, and Zhang Qiliang, listening to Guan Canghai's report on the number of people and property harvested from the battle.

"General, Chen Shuai, and the two military supervisors, our army has captured more than 15,000 Dingkou people so far. Among them, more than 3,700 adult men have been recruited into the auxiliary army. Zhuang

More than 7,000 young women and girls have all been escorted towards Gaizhou City. As for livestock and property, there is no precise figure at this time, and the governors are stepping up statistics. However, the number of cattle has been calculated, and in May

There are more than a thousand heads, and there are seven or eight thousand mules and horses..."

Listening to Guan Canghai's report, Wei Liang and Zhang Qiliang couldn't help but were speechless.

After many years of getting along, Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong have already developed a deep understanding with these two military supervisors.

Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong seized the military and political power. These two military supervisors were "spiritual idols" and they were mainly responsible for the work in the capital.

Of course, merit and money are indispensable for them.

"Li Shuai, Chen Shuai, these, these people, these people are actually so rich? This, this is really..." Wei Liang opened his mouth wide, but he couldn't describe his mood at this moment.

If these livestock were divided equally among each household, each household would have at least nearly two cows and nearly three mules. If sheep and other livestock were also included, no matter where they were placed in the Ming Dynasty, they would definitely be considered a wealthy household.

You must know that due to the influence of Lao Nu's "shrinkage" policy, there are basically no large households in the vast area from Gaizhou to Haizhou.

All the big households have moved to the heart of Liaozhong.

These people are just ordinary people. No matter how good they are, they are just slaves in the banner of the Han army.

Zhang Qiliang also sighed repeatedly, "Li Shuai is so wise. These people, according to their wealth, I want to expect them to serve our Ming Dynasty. This is really, really..."

Zhang Qiliang didn't know what to say for a moment, but the expression on his face clearly showed his thoughts.

Just a few days ago, these two military supervisors were still "confronting" with Li Yuanqing.

It is hoped that Li Yuanqing can regard Master Wang's "honor" as his priority, treat these obedient people tolerantly, and strive to get them to join the Ming Dynasty.

But at this time, when the results were calculated, both of them were dumbfounded.

According to the treatment given to these obedient people by the Tatars of the Later Jin Dynasty, how could the Ming Dynasty be attractive to them?

The imperial court can't even feed the army, so how can it have so much money to take care of these refugees?

Chen Zhong smiled and said: "You two supervisors, you don't have to be too surprised. In my opinion, this is not because the old slave wants to treat the Han people under his rule favorably. It's just that in recent years, the Han people under Hou Jin's rule have...

Escape, run away, so much property is naturally left behind. The old slave also needs the common people to farm his land and raise livestock for him."

Wei Liang and Zhang Qiliang also understood what Chen Zhong meant and couldn't help but nodded.

Li Yuanqing smiled and said: "It's not just these aspects. You see, we only captured more than 3,000 men this time, but there were nearly 8,000 prime women. This means that a man must have at least

Two wives, their little life is very nourishing."

War is the best way to reduce the male population.

At this time, more than ten years have passed since the rise of Lao Nu. During these years, the war in Liao has almost never stopped, and there is already a serious shortage of men.

It is not surprising that these obedient Han people can receive some dividends.

Historically, the most critical reason why Zhang Pan was sentenced to backlash in Lushun was that he ignored these key elements. He always thought that Han soldiers and Han people would love the Ming Dynasty, but little did they know that the great righteousness~~

It cannot be eaten as food.

The Ming court could not give them a tael of silver, but their late gold masters could give them cattle, sheep, fields and women.

At this time, hearing Li Yuanqing's words, Chen Zhong and the other two nodded with deep understanding.

Wei Liang also calmed down and said hurriedly: "Li Shuai, Chen Shuai, this campaign has progressed so far, our army's journey has been so smooth, when will we launch the offensive on Haizhou?"

Li Yuanqing smiled and said, "There is no rush in this matter. Haizhou City is right there, and she won't run away on her own. We should focus on stabilizing this place first, and then work on it slowly."

"Uh? Hey, Li Shuai, how many more days do we have to stay in Tashanpu?" Wei Liang said hurriedly, obviously trying to suppress the anxiety in his heart.

In the first few days of the expedition, Wei Liang and Zhang Qiliang had been full of deep worries about Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong's sudden advance. Knowing that they could not persuade them, they could only persuade Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong.

'Just recapture Gaizhou and Haizhou, don't continue to push forward.'

After all, being able to recover Gaizhou and Haizhou was already a great achievement for the imperial court and the four of them.

But at this time, the war was progressing so smoothly, and the box of desire in Wei Liang's mind was also opened. He naturally wanted to capture Haizhou City as soon as possible, and if conditions allowed, he could even look forward to Liaoyang City.

If it happens, then~~ his future will be...

Li Yuanqing smiled and said, "It will take about two or three days. Within seven days, we must take Haizhou City!"

"It will take another two or three days." Wei Liang was obviously unwilling.

But Li Yuanqing had already spoken, so how could he dare to refute? He could only accept the result helplessly.

…………

After the meeting and dinner, Wei Liang and Zhang Qiliang went back to rest, while Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong came to the map to continue discussing the military situation.

At this time, although the situation was extremely smooth for the Ming army, Li Yuanqing and Chen Zhong hardly encountered any decent resistance. They marched all the way and gained a lot.

The food, grass and baggage seized from these obedient Han people alone was enough to sustain the army for a month.

Not to mention, there is Haizhou City.

As a hub in the south of Shenyang and Liaoyang, Haizhou City also belongs to the Southern Four Guards and is subject to Lao Nu's "abandonment of the Southern Four Guards" policy. However, due to the importance of its geographical location, Haizhou City still has more than 20,000 people. Nearly 30,000 Dingkou.

At this time, although the number of troops garrisoned in Haizhou City is ominous, Li Yuanqing estimates that there will be at least 3,000 Tatar troops stationed in Haizhou City. In addition, subsequent reinforcements from all aspects of Liaozhong may have arrived. It is obviously impossible for the army to defeat the city without a single blow like before.

Moreover, at this time, Lao Nu and the main force of Houjin who were far away in Mongolia must have received the news from here, and they should be on their way back to defense now.

At the beginning, Li Yuanqing also wanted to use a "blitzkrieg" to capture Haizhou as soon as possible and threaten Liaoyang. However, the Ming army had too few horses and the marching speed was obviously insufficient. It was already the limit to cover twenty or thirty miles a day.

After all, this is a large army, not a few elites with simple vehicles and simple equipment. All aspects must be taken care of.

In addition, we still have to deal with these Han captives and supplies, how can we possibly "lighten"?

As the saying goes, 'It is better to cut off one finger than to hurt ten of them'.

If we ignore it and just rush forward, in the past seven or eight days, not to mention conquering Haizhou City, the army may have penetrated deep into the hinterland of the Liaozhong Plain.

Back then, when the Hou Jin Army conquered western Liaoning, they did exactly this, so fast that the Ming Army had no time to react.

The Later Jin Army was able to do this because they had plenty of war horses. Even the handymen were almost equal to one person and two horses.

But the Ming army was obviously unable to achieve such excellent mobility.

Li Yuanqing could only choose to digest the fat in his stomach first, and then pursue other plans.

To a certain extent, although this negates Li Yuanqing's previous plan, Li Yuanqing is a very pragmatic person, and he doesn't care at all if he has a false reputation.

To use a crude analogy, everyone knows that Sister Bingbing is good, but unfortunately, how many people can reach her?

Rather than risking your life to be unrealistic, how about seizing the present in a down-to-earth manner?

"Yuanqing, based on the current intelligence analysis, it is estimated that the main force of the Tatars will arrive in less than seven days. Here, it is estimated that we will be able to clean up in one day tomorrow. The day after, we will approach Haizhou City Only by capturing Haizhou City can we have a basis. Holding the city and defending it will also give the men more time to adapt." Chen Zhong slowly took a sip of wine and looked into Li Yuanqing's eyes.

Li Yuanqing smiled and nodded.

Of course he understood what Chen Zhong meant.

Faced with the coercion of Houjin's main force, Chen Zhong subconsciously wanted to rely on the city for defense and stalemate.

This is not wrong.

However, once Haizhou is captured, it means that the Ming army will be restricted to Haizhou City, and it will be difficult to expand the actual results. They can only have a stalemate with Hou Jin's main force in the city.

According to Li Yuanqing's thinking, these cities are just floating clouds, how can they be more real than population and property?

But in this kind of matter, Li Yuanqing's personal interests must also be aligned with the overall interests of everyone. Only good things to everyone is really good.

"Brother, I have already thought about this matter. I am preparing to send troops to Haizhou City tonight!"

"What?"

Chen Zhong couldn't help being shocked, but after a moment, he understood what Li Yuanqing meant, and he laughed and said: "Yuan Qing, this is a great plan! I'll go back and prepare now."

Li Yuanqing smiled and said, "Brother, you and I will lead our elite troops first. We don't need too many people, just three to five thousand will be enough. Haizhou City must be conquered before tomorrow morning!"

***************************************************
Chapter completed!