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The fall of Xuzhou prompted Duoduo's main force to withdraw across the Huai River overnight.
While rebuilding the defense line in Huaibei, he divided his troops to suppress the uprisings in the Central Plains and Shandong. He also sent 15,000 troops, led by Gong Acha, to hurriedly return north to deal with Jiang Ge in Datong.
After Liu Meng of Dingyuan City learned that Duoduo's main force had retreated, he immediately advanced towards Fengyang with very high morale.
In Chuzhou city, after learning that Xuzhou was liberated and the main force of the Tartars had retreated, people ran around to tell each other, celebrated, and the streets were filled with the sound of firecrackers.
In the courtyard on the east side of the provincial government, Qin Mu frowned slightly. On the surface, the Qing army was forced to retreat northward because the Qin army won a great victory. In fact, Duoduo's hasty retreat to the north was not good for the next layout of the Qin army.
This time, Qin Mu did make two plans. One of them was to target Shandong. The commander-in-chief Huang Lianshan had already rushed to Shandong.
The way to seize Shandong this time was different from that of seizing Jiangnan. Qin Mu did not plan to send a 100,000-man army to attack in a mighty manner. Instead, he adopted a gradual infiltration approach, making full use of the local people's dissatisfaction with the forced haircut and different clothing of the alien race, instigating an uprising by the Yebushou, and using the power of the local people to gradually disintegrate the rule of the Qing Dynasty.
When necessary, send another three thousand cavalry to make a long-distance raid, and with the cooperation of the rebels, quickly seize some important strategic strongholds. The first choice of these battle-ready strongholds is along the Grand Canal, so that the goal of controlling the canal can be achieved;
With these canals in hand, the Qin army could steadily advance northwards. The army in the south would advance step by step, trying to keep the main force of the Qing army on the southern line, giving the rebel forces in the Central Plains and Shandong a better space to grow.
Now Duoduo actually gave up Fengyang and Shouzhou, the two bridgeheads into Huainan, and quickly withdrew the main force to the north. This was undoubtedly bad news for the rebel army in the Central Plains.
Sima Kai stared at the sand table for a while, then said thoughtfully, "King Qin, if the Qing army wants to suppress the Shandong rebels, Jining will definitely bear the brunt. Jining is located at the eastern end of the Huanghuai Plain, which is not conducive to defense. Should we let Dongfang Sheng attack Yanzhou to the east? If he fails, he can also retreat to the mountainous area in the south of central Shandong."
Qin Mu did not comment on this. The Great Qin was still far away from Jining. Although Xuzhou was only two or three hundred miles away from Jining, there was Weishan Lake in between. It was not a problem for the navy to support some supplies through Weishan Lake, but it was impossible for the navy to go ashore to fight.
"Dongfang Sheng has lived behind enemy lines for a long time and is good at fighting behind enemy lines. Whether to fight or defend, how to move to another battle is up to him to decide according to the situation. It will be a problem for me to command remotely from such a distance. Xuzhou has just been captured, and the prefectures and counties in the east, such as Muyang, Haizhou, and Tancheng, have not yet been sent to control them. Jin Shenghuan has to defend Xuzhou and divide his troops to control these prefectures and counties. There is no spare energy to go north to Jining. It all depends on Dongfang Sheng."
Gu Jun'en was more optimistic. He said, "I think Jining may not be undefendable. Although Jining is located in a plain area, the city walls are high and thick. Yan Yingyuan relied on the people of Jiangyin City to defend Jiangyin City for 60 days without external aid and killed countless enemies. As long as the navy can provide Dongfang Sheng with weapons and food, Jining City may become the second Jiangyin."
It's not impossible, but we can't expect every city to be as impregnable as Jiangyin just because there's one. Qin Mu nodded and said, "I hope so."
Gu Jun'en said, "Duoduo is willing to give up Fengyang, but there is nothing we can do about it. The only plan now is to take Fengyang and Shouzhou as soon as possible and stabilize the entire Huainan. The New Year is coming soon, and spring will come soon. We must hurry up to prepare for spring plowing on the large tracts of land we have just conquered. Otherwise, if we cannot be self-sufficient in food next year, the court will be hindered by this and it will be difficult for us to advance northward."
Qin Dao nodded and said, "That's right, Sima Kai, you draft an edict and send it back to the capital, asking the ministers in the court to immediately dispatch officials to prepare oxen, farming tools, grain seeds, etc."
"Yes, King Qin."
This battle pushed the front line northward by hundreds of miles. The few troops in Fengyang and Shouzhou would not be able to hold out for long under the heavy siege of two generals, Liu Meng and Meng Ke. With the Huai River as a line of defense, Jiangnan and Nanjing were completely safe.
One must eat one bite at a time. In fact, advancing northward too quickly may not be a good thing. The Central Plains is devastated and there are countless refugees. To put it bluntly, this is actually a huge burden. The Qin Dynasty has just conquered the south of the Yangtze River. If it advances northward rashly without sufficient food and grass, it will easily fall into a passive dilemma.
Let's take it one step at a time.
In the evening, Qin Mu asked his servants to heat a pot of wine, and he drank with Hong Niangzi under the window with sparse shadows. Hong Niangzi had changed her usual red dress into a white one embroidered with orchids and bamboos. The pure feeling was like an ink painting done with just a few strokes.
She suddenly changed into this outfit, which made Qin Mu, who was a little tired of her red dress, brighten up. "It looks good, Ying'er, it's really beautiful."
Hong Niangzi felt a little uncomfortable under his continuous praise. She filled a glass for him and said, "Drink it, drink wine, recite poetry, and enjoy peace. This is all you can do now."
"Ying'er, I am the King of Qin, the ruler of a country. Can you please... "
"No." Hong Niangzi answered with a stern face and couldn't help laughing. Her majestic breasts trembled. "I am just like this. I am not like your confidantes who can write poems, paint, sing and dance. If you don't like me, just... "
"How about though?"
"You... humph!"
"Ying'er, don't be angry. Come, sit next to me. It's cold, let's drink next to each other."
"You wish."
Hong Niangzi remained as generous as ever. She picked up the wine glass and drank it all. After finishing the wine, she slammed the glass on the table and said, "Fengyang only has a few thousand troops of Aobai. Duoduo's main force has withdrawn. The morale of the remaining Tartars must be even lower. Liu Meng and Su Jin's 40,000 to 50,000 troops are going to attack. If they can't take it down, then that's fine. After Fengyang and Shouzhou are recovered, what are you going to do next?"
"Return to Jinling."
"Go back to Jinling? I won't go back."
Hong Niang finished speaking angrily, picked up the wine jug and filled her own glass. Deep down, she was actually afraid. She didn't want to see Qin Mu's other women, and she wasn't mentally prepared to "live in the palace". She didn't want to be like a caged golden bird facing high walls all day long.
"Ying'er, do you like the sea?"
Qin Mu smiled. A cold moon rose outside the window, hanging in the clear sky. A branch of plum blossoms lay across the window. Under the branch was a shallow pond. The night wind blew, and a faint fragrance floated in the air. Qin Mu could not tell whether it was the fragrance of the plum blossoms or the subtle fragrance of Lady Hong.
"Why are you asking that?"
Qin Mu's words aroused Hong Niangzi's curiosity. Based on his understanding of Qin Mu, he would definitely not ask this question for no reason.
"Ying'er, the broadest thing in the world is the sky, broader than the sky is the sea, and broader than the sea is a man's heart. Ying'er, come to my arms, are you still afraid of being bound?"
"Go, go, let's get down to business."
"Well, Ying'er, have you ever thought about this? Although our navy didn't have many dazzling performances this time, their contribution cannot be ignored. It is because of them that we have been able to control the main waterways and logistical supplies can be delivered continuously. The war was fought so smoothly, and half of the credit should be attributed to the navy."
"So, you plan to focus on the navy next?"
Qin Mu smiled but said nothing. In fact, he didn't know much about the navy. What would be the point of focusing energy on the navy
"No, you want to deal with the Zheng family in Fujian first, right?"
"Ying'er, come and sit over here, okay?"
"You..." Lady Hong was so angry that she wanted to whip him. "The Tartars have suffered a series of defeats and are now at their weakest. If you don't take this opportunity to drive them out of the Central Plains, it won't be so easy if you let them catch their breath."
"Look how anxious you are. You said all those things by yourself. Did I ever say that I would not fight the Tartars? For example, I can hold you and drink at the same time. These two things can be done at the same time, and they complement each other."
"Do you want to subdue the Zheng family and then attack Yanjing by sea?"
"Ying'er, are you done yet? I don't want to do anything else right now. I just want to hug you, okay?"
The King of Qin was furious and pounced on the woman who didn't understand romance...
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ps: I am in a precarious situation again. Others have already caught up with me in the number of votes. I will be pushed down from the category list soon. Alas, I am anxious, my friends. I urgently need monthly votes, I urgently need monthly votes!
Please give me a monthly ticket!
Please give me a monthly ticket! (To be continued...)
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