Nan Ming Sun Never Sets

Chapter 108
However, it is said that Oboi is finally willing to reactivate Hong Chengchou, and Xuan Ye's grandmother Empress Xiaozhuang is behind it.This woman who did not listen to politics behind the curtain but enjoyed an important position in the Qing court had a detached status, and even Oboi did not dare to ignore it easily. Sony and other veterans were closely in line with Xiaozhuang, and Xiaozhuang's decree also determined Hong Chengchou's first choice. The beginning of the second strategy to the south.

Originally, the younger brother Murima that Aobai wanted to appoint could not be the master of everything, so he had to discuss it with Hong Chengchou's shogunate.

Hong Chengchou was already very old at this time. When this famous traitor at home and abroad left the capital, his son Hong Shiming went out to see him off.

Looking at the towering walls of the capital, Hong Chengchou sighed: "This trip to the south, I am afraid that I will never have the luck to visit the capital again in this life."

Hong Shiming hurriedly said: "Father, why did you say that? Your old man has already pacified the south when you went out in the past. This time, you will be successful as soon as possible."

Hong Chengchou's beard and hair are all white, and he even walks a little tremblingly. After all, he is already a 70-year-old man, and he can already foresee that the time will not be long.

"If the current situation was really settled, we would not be in this situation. Originally, my father had already retired from official service, and I just wanted to enjoy his remaining years in peace, but I didn't expect that he would be summoned by the Queen Mother to travel south again."

Hong Chengchou has actually been a dog of the Qing court all his life. Although his strategies and plans are actually more effective than the thousands of troops of the Eight Banners, they are still not as good as those clans and nobles.Facing the nobleman from Horqin sitting in the palace, Hong Chengchou could only ask for whatever he wanted.

There are rumors outside, not listed here.

Hong Chengchou was accompanied by a 30-year-old young man named Zhou Chang. He was displaced by war in his early years and later came to Beijing with the help of powerful people.Hong Chengchou saw this person once, and he answered with him. He found that this person was quite talented.Originally, Hong Chengchou had already retired and had no intention of cultivating some newcomers, but this time Hong Chengchou went to the south again, naturally he also used some talents, including this Zhou Chang.

Hong Chengchou wanted to take an examination of Zhou Chang, and asked, "Pei Gong, during the Southern Expedition, Zhu Cixuan, the crown prince of the Southern Ming Dynasty, used the so-called Australian soldiers to break through Guangdong with strong boats and cannons, shaking half of the country. What do you think of calming the chaos?"

Zhou Chang bowed his body to salute, and replied: "Ming Gong, the so-called overseas Zheng He survivors borrowed strong ships and guns, I am afraid it is all lies. If Zheng He's survivors really established a country overseas, why did they come out at this time? , as for marching and fighting, it is not only relying on firecrackers and cannons, the key is to look at the strategic situation. Now the Nanming uprising is actually relying on those old and young survivors who have not returned. Li Dingguo is in Yunnan, Zhu Cixuan is in Guangdong, and Zheng Chenggong is in Fujian. , In fact, it is already a very unfavorable situation for the court.

For example, if the two vassals were defeated by Zhu Cixuan or Li Dingguo, the Zhu and Li rivers would flow into Gui, and the east would merge with the Zheng thieves in Fujian, and they would be connected from the southwest to the southeast. The Zheng family would have the advantage of connecting to the sea. Although the previous attack on Nanjing by sea was not complete, it was shocking. In the imperial court, Zhu Cixuan had the wealth of Guangdong and the wolf soldiers of Guangxi; and Li Dingguo controlled Yunnan and Burma in the southwest as the rear, the confrontation between the Ming and Qing Dynasties was likely to continue. "

Hong Chengchou nodded slightly: "In your opinion, is the situation so bad?"

Zhou Changdao: "I'm afraid it will be worse than the original. Li Dingguo's good general, who now destroys Pingxi King and manages central Yunnan, has [-] to [-] troops. Although Zhu Cixuan is only a child, he has the banner of the former Ming Dynasty and is still attractive. The former Nanming court had internal strife, but now it seems that the government orders are all issued by the bureaucrats around Zhu Cixuan, and the military force is also in their hands. On the contrary, it is more united and more difficult to deal with than the chaotic Yongli court. If the Ming army gathers [-] troops and guards the pass, unless the imperial court can raise hundreds of thousands of troops and break it in one fell swoop, what we are facing will only be a long-term confrontation."

Hong Chengchou was optimistic about Zhou Chang, and he followed suit: "For decades of war, I thought that the war would end and the people could live and work in peace and contentment, but I didn't expect the Nanming to revive. This time going south, we must first find out that Zhu Cixuan, the pseudo-prince supervisor At this time, there is no accurate information, and all kinds of rumors are rampant. However, the court’s finances are already very tight. In the 18th year of Shunzhi, the collection of salaries has been restarted, and the burden on the people will be further increased. Now someone in the court proposes to implement Donate to meet urgent needs."

Zhou Chang frowned: "Why did you even come up with such a way as selling officials and nobles? A new dynasty is established. It should be good for the people and clean up the officialdom. How can you do this?"

Hong Chengchou smiled and said: "What do you think can be done? After years of fighting, Baylor, Beizi, and nobles have made a lot of money, robbed the silver, encircled the fields, and the court naturally divided a lot, but wars always have to be done. Paying salaries and salaries, no matter how much money and food you have, you can’t afford to toss. Therefore, the difficulty for this old man in this Southern Expedition is not in sending troops to quell the rebellion, but in how to rectify the seven southern provinces, raise money and food, so as to accumulate troops and defeat Li Dingguo and Zhu Cixuan."

In the end, the old traitor sighed again: "I'm afraid, I don't know how many years this old man can last with this body."

Zhou Chang said hurriedly: "Ming Gong will naturally live a long life. The Qing Dynasty still needs humeral ministers like you."

After Zhou Chang flattered, he thought for a while and said, "If you want to avoid the chaos in the south, you must prevent the three families of Zhu, Li, and Zheng from connecting, and you must prevent them from extending their hands into the south of the Yangtze River. So When Duke Ming arrived in the south, he must strengthen the defense of Guangxi, and ordered the two vassals to guard Guangxi to prevent Li Dingguo and Zhu Cixuan from joining forces. Chaozhou, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and other places should firmly nail the Zheng family and block the land connection between Zhu and Zheng. If we can break the situation where the four provinces are intersecting, Nanming will eventually be controlled by each of us in different battlefields. As long as Duke Ming can gather the forces from the south and use the right people, the achievement of calming the chaos will still belong to Duke Ming.”

Hong Chengchou smiled with satisfaction, Zhou Chang's words really spoke to his heart, and it was also his intention.Although the Ming army now has the advantage of the navy, it is divided into three different places. If they are really connected, and the small court of the Southern Ming Dynasty has become more pure and rebellious at this time, then it is really true. Difficult to deal with.Hong Chengchou already knew that the Eight Banners were no longer usable. If he wanted to destroy Nanming, which occupied the four provinces, even if the Qing Dynasty could succeed, it would be a wound in the end, and it might be defeated in other places.

In order to prevent all of this from happening, Hong Chengchou must first ensure that places such as Guangxi and Chaozhang are firmly under the control of the Qing army.

(End of this chapter)