Thanks to Tianxia Xudong for the reward, thank you very much.
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After a night of investigation, it was discovered that the Qing Dynasty had deliberately publicized the sending of envoys to seek peace in the Huaibei area.
These news were quickly transmitted back to Qin Mu via carrier pigeons. This alone was enough for Qin Mu to conclude that Dorgon's request for peace was a conspiracy.
On the afternoon of the day when he received the news, Qin Mu was suddenly attacked outside the Dinghuai Gate when he was on his way to Longmen Shipyard for inspection. More than a dozen masked men were lying in wait in the woods and shooting arrows at Qin Mu. Fortunately, Niu Wanshan rushed to the rescue in time and used his arm to block the most fatal arrow for Qin Mu.
A dozen masked men fled immediately after missing their attack. Li Shi led dozens of guards to chase them to the bank of the Yangtze River, but the assassins had disappeared.
The King of Qin was the ruler of a country, and he was assassinated outside Dinghuai Gate. How could this be tolerated
The two million people in Nanjing were all in uproar, the government and the people were shocked, and all the gates of the capital were immediately closed;
The troops stationed in the capital, the Five Cities Military Command, and the Ministry of Justice's detectives were dispatched to search for the assassin and his accomplices inside and outside the city. The entire Jinling city was in chaos, but no clues were found.
Guaerjia Xifu, who was stationed at the post house in the city, said that the matter had nothing to do with him, but when he woke up the next morning, he received a report from his subordinates that thirteen of the two hundred guards who were accompanying him had inexplicably disappeared last night.
Upon hearing the report from his subordinates, Guaerjia Xifu was furious. His first reaction was to report the matter to Gannan, the Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple who was in charge of reception, and ask Daqin to help get to the bottom of the matter immediately.
Soon he was startled, "Oh no, the King of Qin was ambushed by a dozen assassins yesterday..." Guaerjia Xifu didn't dare to think any further, and sweat dripped down his forehead... ...
It was over. He realized that he had been caught up in a huge conspiracy and there was no way he could clear himself of it even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
Sure enough, after a day of fruitless searching, the Wucheng Army went to the post house the next morning and found that more than a dozen people were missing from the Qing envoy's escort.
Despite repeated questioning, Guarjia Xifu was unable to reveal the whereabouts of the missing thirteen people.
The matter was quickly reported to the Qin court, causing an uproar in an instant.
How could there be such a coincidence in the world? The King of Qin was assassinated yesterday and the assassin escaped without a trace. Now, more than ten of Guarjia Xifu's guards disappeared inexplicably. How could there be such a coincidence
The Qin ministers who felt cheated were all furious. Xia Zhiyuan, the first imperial censor who had come out to ask the Emperor Qin to accept the Qing peace proposal, was furious and wrote a letter to ask for the execution of Guarjia Xifu and his entourage.
Qin Mu was furious and ordered Ye Bushou to put Guaerjia Xifu in the imperial prison and interrogate him strictly.
At the same time, he asked He Ningzong, the deputy chief of Yebushou, who was known as the poisonous scholar, to compile a lot of nursery rhymes and let Yebushou's spies spread them widely in the north of the Huai River.
It is not enough to just do this. It is impolite not to reciprocate.
Didn’t Dorgon use the young Emperor Fulin to deceive people? The people within the Qing Dynasty certainly didn’t know that he did this, so let this matter be known to everyone in the Qing Dynasty.
He asked Guaerjia Xifu to publish a signed article in the Daqin Times, exposing Dorgon's sinister face: Dorgon's withdrawal from the outside of the Great Wall was false, and his intention to exchange the little emperor for time was true.
Guarjia Xifu naturally refused to do so. But it didn't matter, Daqin was full of talents. There were people who could write articles everywhere, so we could just pick one. In fact, we didn't need to find anyone else, the poison scholar He Ningzong was good at it.
At Qin Mu's suggestion, He Ningzong wrote an article with vivid voice and emotion, with ups and downs in the plot and thrilling content.
After the article is written, let Ye Bushu get Guaerjia Xifu's signature from the imperial prison and then hand it over to the Daqin Times.
An article written by Guarjia Xifu, which exposed Dorgon's conspiracy with great anguish, became the headline of Daqin Times.
As soon as this article came out, there was an uproar in the government and the public. Voices of condemnation were everywhere.
The Qin army soldiers, in particular, requested to fight and clamored to build a memorial with all the heads of the Jiannu.
The Qin court was operating at high speed amidst a fury. Combat resources were continuously mobilized to the front line, and armies from all directions were quickly assembled in a busy scene.
It is believed that Guwalja Xifu's article exposing Dorgon will soon be transmitted back to Yanjing. Even if Dorgon can force his way onto the bed of the Holy Mother Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty in the future, I am afraid that the Holy Mother Empress Dowager will no longer cooperate with him in singing.
By the time the Qin army had basically completed its assembly, it was already late May. In those days, the summer harvest usually began in mid-to-late June north of the Huai River. There was not much time to delay, and the Northern Expedition had to be launched as soon as possible.
The Ministry of War was busy. Qin Mu gathered Sima An, Lu Zhenfei, Li Yuan, He Liang, Shao Hua, Yang Shen, Liu Meng, Han Gang, Song Xiance, Qin Liangyu and other civil and military officials to finalize the Northern Expedition plan.
After we captured Huainan last year, we discussed this issue once. The strategy at that time was to send the main force out of Sichuan, first take Guanzhong, and then, from a high position, plunder the three borders and take the Central Plains.
But now we have to march north before the summer harvest in the north at the end of June. The previous strategy cannot be implemented in time and must be adjusted.
He Liangxian, the Minister of Military Affairs, introduced: "According to the information collected by Ye Bushu, the entire Qing Dynasty now has about 40,000 Manchu Eight Banners, and another 30,000 Han Army Eight Banners and Mongolian Eight Banners. The current garbage is the Korean vassal army, plus some Green Camps, which adds up to about 60,000.
In total, the total number of troops that the Qing Dynasty can mobilize is about 130,000. But it is not ruled out that during the Northern Expedition, the Qing Dynasty will force young and strong Han people to participate in defending the city. "
"In terms of troop distribution, the Qing Dynasty can be divided into four areas. The first is Huaibei, where Duoduo is stationed, with about 50,000 troops, which is the main force. The second is the Luoyang area defended by Leke Dehun, with about 30,000 troops. The third is Guanzhong, where He Luohui is stationed, with about 14,000 troops. The fourth is the 20,000 troops led by Ajige, who are besieging the remnants of Jiang Ge in Taihang Mountain. The rest are the garrison troops in Yanjing."
"According to intelligence, Duoduo has always wanted to recruit more Green Camp soldiers, but due to lack of food and fodder, he has not been able to do so. However, when it comes to a life-and-death moment, Duoduo will definitely not care about disturbing the people or not, and will allow his soldiers to plunder and then recruit more Green Camp soldiers.
The people in the north were starving and cold. Ordinary people ignored national justice in order to survive. There must be many people who were willing to work for the Qing Dynasty just to make a living.
Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility that the Qing Dynasty used extraordinary means to quickly recruit more Green Camp soldiers. Our army must have a clear understanding of this. What our army has to face is not necessarily just 130,000 enemy troops. "
The ministers agreed with He Liang's view. As the saying goes, when the granaries are full, people know etiquette; when they have enough food and clothing, they know shame. If a person is about to starve to death, can you expect him to care about the interests of the nation
In the past, countless people followed Li Zicheng to rebel just for a bite of food. Now the famine in the north is still very serious. It cannot be ruled out that some people are willing to work for the Qing Dynasty just for a bite of food.
Since last year, Dorgon has issued an order not to disturb the people and to give them a rest and recuperation.
But at the critical moment of the Qin Dynasty's Northern Expedition, would he still care about the lives of tens of millions of people
I believe he would plunder on a large scale, concentrate all the resources in his hands, and then recruit soldiers. In the case of widespread famine, as long as he has food in his hands, it will not be difficult for him to quickly gather a large army and fight to the death with the Qin Dynasty.
After introducing the enemy army, He Liang continued, "For this Northern Expedition, our army will mobilize 300,000 troops. Among them, the main force of the eastern route is 160,000, led by the former army commander Meng Ke, and under his command are Su Jin, Huo Sheng, Li Guo, Xiang Liancheng, Hui Dengxiang, Jin Shenghuan, Hao Yaoqi, Hu Shouliang, Guo Yunlong, Hou Chang, Li Chen, Qin Zuoming, Qin Zuoming, Niu Wanchuan, Yan Yingyuan and other generals.
The Central Army had 80,000 troops, led by Ma Yongzhen, the Grand Commander of the Left Army, and commanded Gao Yigong, Ling Zhan, Zhang Nai, Wu Ruyi, Liang Tao, Liu Tichun, Zhao Jian, Li Jiu, Hong Dazhuang, Shi Qing and other generals.
The Western Route Army consisted of 60,000 troops, led by Li Dingguo, the Grand Commander of the Rear Army. He was led by Ai Nengqi, Liu Yongzhi, Ma Wannian, Feng Shuangli, Ma Weixing, Wen Cunxiao, Yu Yongcheng and other generals.
The Qin army was fully equipped for this Northern Expedition, except for the commander-in-chief of the Central Army Liu Meng who stayed in the capital, Yuan Zongdi and Liu Fangliang stationed in Fujian, Han Xiubing stationed in Guangdong, Qin Yiming stationed in Sichuan, Cui Feng, Ma Liuliang and others who were far away in Yunnan, most of the important generals of the Qin army participated in the Northern Expedition.
In terms of military strength, the total strength of the Qin army is currently 560,000, including 60,000 cavalry. Of these 560,000 troops, 180,000 were reorganized from the original Dashun Army and Dashi Army.
There is also a naval establishment of 50,000 people, of which the original East China Sea Fleet and North Sea Fleet totaled 23,000 people. Now more than 20,000 elite warriors have been selected from Zheng's army to be reorganized into a South China Sea Fleet and an ocean-going fleet.
The four naval fleets have a total of 1,000 warships of various sizes, many of which were acquired after conquering the Zheng family. The Longjiang Shipyard, Yuezhou Shipyard, Ningbo Shipyard, and Hangzhou Shipyard are also stepping up the production of various warships with better performance and better suited for distant sea operations.
During this Northern Expedition, the navy did not make any major moves for the time being, but it was on high alert and ready to cooperate with the army in combat at any time.
Qin Mu sat at the head of the table and said in a calm tone: "My dear ministers, the key to this northern expedition is speed. According to my current deployment, three armies will advance northward from Jianghuai, Heluo, and Hanzhong.
The Eastern Route launched the attack first, trying to attract the main force of the Qing army. Then the Central Route Army swept northwards to the Luoyang area at lightning speed, and then advanced eastwards along the Yellow River to form a pincer attack with the Eastern Route Army.
Finally, we will go west from Hanzhong to the north and out of Guanzhong, sweeping Guanzhong and northern Shaanxi, and uniting with the Sutni and other Mongolian tribes to seize Shanxi. Then we will march to Juyongguan. This is the general new deployment for now. If you have anything to add or if you think there is something wrong, please speak freely. "
Lu Zhenfei, the Grand Secretary of Jianji Palace, said: "The King of Qin has thought very carefully. I agree with this deployment. As for the more specific battle plan, I think the Ministry of War can formulate one or two contingency plans.
In my opinion, once such a large-scale war begins, the situation on the battlefield will constantly change. It is usually useless to formulate overly detailed battle plans in advance. The only wise thing to do is to make reasonable adjustments quickly according to the specific changes on the battlefield at that time."
Sima An also said: "I also think there is no problem with the King of Qin's Northern Expedition Outline. The more detailed battle plan should be formulated by the three army commanders Meng Ke, Ma Yongzhen, and Li Dingguo. This way they will have more room to play, and the rear only needs to coordinate the three armies."
The opinions of the cabinet's chief minister and deputy chief minister are similar, and no one else will say anything.
Qin Mu did not make a detailed battle plan because he was afraid that the rear would interfere too much with the commander in the front, which was a very dangerous thing. After the general outline was set, he let Meng Ke and the others play their own role.
Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, "This Northern Expedition is not just a military issue. All departments must coordinate well. Once the army conquers a place, the court must immediately send civil officials to take over the governance, appease the people, and provide relief to the refugees.
In order to facilitate the coordination nearby, in addition to the Grand Secretary Sima and the Academician Li, each of the six ministries will select one assistant minister and two doctors. The five censors below the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, the Junior Officials of the Dali Temple and the Imperial Household Department will be transferred to Huai'an with the prince. "
Everyone responded in unison: "As you command!"
Qin Mu's expression turned cold, and he answered seriously: "Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. We must go all out in this battle. The Censorate must increase its efforts to investigate. Anyone who neglects his duty and delays military operations will be punished severely and will not be tolerated."
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.(To be continued..)
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