***
While the quarrel was still going on in Wuzhou, Ma Liuliang had already gone north through Kunlun Pass and headed straight for Binzhou;
The commander of the southern army, Ai Nengqi, divided his troops to capture Longan, Hengzhou, Guixian and other places. The troops advanced rapidly and their momentum was in full swing.
When the news reached Quanzhou, Qu Shisi, the Minister of War and Minister of Personnel of the Yongli Dynasty, was struck by lightning and suddenly seemed to have aged ten years.
The defeat at Jiao Lian's Lemafeng resulted in the loss of nearly 6,000 troops, and the morale suffered a serious blow. Suddenly, tens of thousands of Qin troops came over the sea, attacked from the undefended south, and broke through several states in succession. Together with Qin Zuoming in the north, they formed a pincer attack from the north and the south, which was almost a dead end for Guangxi.
Now I finally understand that Qin Zuoming in the north is not the main force at all, no wonder there are only more than 10,000 soldiers. Their mission is probably just to lead the troops from Guangxi to the north.
The real main force actually came from the sea!
Caught off guard, Qu Shisi hurriedly summoned Jiao Lian, Bai Gui, Bai Yu, Gu Xiancheng and other generals to the Quanzhou government office and said to them: "The Ming Dynasty is now under attack from both sides. Although the situation is critical, there is still hope.
The Qin army has come from afar and lacks logistical supplies. We just need to defend the dangerous areas, fortify the walls and clear the fields. After a while, the Qin army will be worn out and exhausted. Then, it will be time for our army to launch a massive counterattack. "
Qu Shisi was afraid that Gu Xiancheng and others would become disloyal due to the unfavorable situation, so he tried to appease them as soon as they met.
Seeing that no one spoke, it was obvious that his words did not have the desired effect, so he continued: "Generals, the rainy season comes early in Lingnan. Once February comes, it will drizzle all day long, making it difficult to march. Most of the Qin army are from the north and are not used to the climate of Lingnan. As long as it can be delayed until the rainy season, the Qin army will undoubtedly be defeated."
Gu Xiancheng said disapprovingly: "In terms of weather and location, Yunnan and Guizhou are even worse than Guangdong and Guangxi. Your Excellency, don't forget that the troops led by Ma Liuliang have conquered Yunnan and Guizhou before, and they are quite adapted to the climate here. What your Excellency said is not enough to rely on.
Besides, I heard that Ma Liuliang is accompanied by several thousand chieftains and wolf soldiers, all of whom are experts in climbing mountains and diving into forests. If you have any ideas, please tell us directly. If you don’t have any countermeasures, don’t use these nonsense to deceive us. "
Gu Xiancheng's words were already very impolite, and this impoliteness was simply because he had lost confidence in the Yongli Dynasty.
Jiao Lian was a favorite general under Qu Shisi. He changed the subject and said, "The current situation is indeed unfavorable to our army. Minister Qu, please see that the main forces of our army are now mainly concentrated in Quanzhou and Guilin. The Qin army is heading north and east from Nanning Prefecture. Once they occupy Guixian, they can easily cut off our connection with Wuzhou."
Jiao Lian's words were exactly what Qu Shisi was most worried about. He couldn't help but ask, "What countermeasures does General Jiao have?"
Jiao Lian said: "Minister Qu, our army is not many to begin with. If we disperse them into two places, once the connection is cut off, the consequences will be disastrous. The only solution now is to urge the emperor to lead the army in person. This is the best strategy.
Minister Qu, Wuzhou is located downstream, lacking geographical advantages and room for maneuver. Moreover, Qin Zuoming's army will arrive in Quanzhou tomorrow, and it is too late for us to retreat to Wuzhou now. Otherwise, after the recent defeat, Qin Zuoming will chase us all the way, and the army may collapse before retreating to Wuzhou.
Comparing the two, only letting Your Majesty lead the army in person can not only boost morale, but also concentrate superior forces in one place. If you can defeat Qin Zuoming in the north in one fell swoop, then there is still hope for great things. If that is not possible, retreating to Guilin or retreating to the mountains in the west is also an expedient measure. "
If you want to retreat from Wuzhou to Guilin, you can go through Hezhou and Pingle in northern Guangxi to Guilin Prefecture.
But if the Qin army occupied Guixian, it would be possible to march north from Wuxuan County to attack Lipu County and Pingle Prefecture. By then, Guilin and Wuzhou would be cut in two, and it would be difficult to take care of both ends, and they would fall into a situation of fighting each other.
Qu Shisi felt that Jiao Lian's words were very reasonable. Except for the 10,000 troops in Wuzhou and more than 20,000 troops in Guilin and Quanzhou, the troops distributed in other states and counties were extremely sparse. It would not be difficult for the Qin army to capture counties such as Guixian and Wuxuan.
Based on Qu Shisi's understanding of Zhu Youlang, once he lost contact with the main force in Guilin, he would not be able to hold out for long with his 10,000 troops in Wuzhou.
Without giving it much thought, Qu Shisi immediately submitted a petition to the Yongli Emperor requesting him to "lead the army in person". To be on the safe side, he also wrote a private letter to Wu Yu and others, asking them to act according to the plan and protect the Yongli Emperor to come to Guilin Prefecture as soon as possible.
Of course, before that, they had to withstand Qin Zuoming's upcoming attack and keep Quanzhou, the northern gateway, at all costs. At the same time, they had to send troops to reinforce Pennsylvania and block Ma Liuliang's army heading north, otherwise Guilin would soon be attacked from both sides.
After some discussion, Qu Shisi ordered Bai Gui to lead 3,000 troops to rush south to rescue Pennsylvania. If it was too late, Liuzhou must be defended at all costs.
On the one hand, Qu Shisi handed over Quanzhou to Jiao Lian and rushed back to Guilin in the hope of recruiting more soldiers. Poor Qu Shisi was really exhausted and overwhelmed.
***
It only takes two or three days for a fast horse to travel from Wuzhou to Guangzhou. Wu Hui, the head of the Ministry of Rites in the Yongli Dynasty, ran so fast that he was foaming at the mouth. He finally arrived in Guangzhou and brought the Yongli Emperor's order to ask for an audience with the Shaowu Emperor Zhu Youlang. He talked about the principle of "the lips and teeth are cold when one is gone" and asked the Shaowu Emperor to give up his past prejudices and send troops to reinforce Guangxi.
Zhu Youlang was over forty years old, so he naturally knew the principle of "the lips and teeth are cold". He urgently summoned his ministers to discuss the issue of reinforcing Wuzhou, but was strongly opposed by Su Guansheng, the chief minister of the cabinet.
Su Guansheng was a native of Dongcheng, Guangdong. He was a major contributor to the enthronement of Emperor Longwu Zhu Yujian. After the death of Emperor Longwu, he fled to Guangdong and supported Zhu Youlang as emperor together with Grand Secretary He Wuzuo, Guangdong Governor Gu Yuanjing, Assistant Minister Wang Yinghua and Zeng Daowei.
Su Guansheng was awarded the title of Grand Secretary, Earl of Jianming, and concurrently in charge of the Ministry of War for his meritorious service in supporting the emperor. Moreover, most of the officials appointed during the Shaowu Dynasty were natives of Guangdong, and they all followed Su Guansheng's lead, and even Zhu Youlang had to look at his face.
As soon as he expressed his opposition, Zhu Youlang consciously looked at Gu Yuanjing, the Grand Secretary of the Dongge.
Gu Yuanjing had no choice but to leave the class and report: "Your Majesty, the King of Gui has committed a crime by claiming to be an emperor, but he is still a descendant of the Ming Dynasty. It is needless to say that Qin Ni has a desire to seize the world. This time he first took Guangxi and did not move his troops to Guangdong. From a geographical point of view, Qin Ni can be said to be giving up the easy and seeking the difficult.
From this it is not difficult to see that Qin Ni has aspirations to conquer the world. Your Majesty, please think about this: Qin Ni's navy transported troops to the south, but did not enter through the mouth of the Pearl River. He would rather take a detour to Qinzhou to land, and then join forces with the Hengyang troops in the north to attack from the north and the south. It is clear that he wanted to prevent the King of Gui from escaping to the west.
Your Majesty, once the Prince of Gui is defeated, Guangdong will be isolated and helpless. Fujian, Jiangxi and Guangxi will surround us on three sides. In addition, the traitor Qin has incorporated Zheng Zhilong's navy and may attack Guangzhou along the Pearl River at any time, forming a situation of attacking from the center.
At that time, our dynasty will be at a loss as to what to do and will be unable to respond. Therefore, I think that at this time, our dynasty should abandon its prejudice and send troops to reinforce Wuzhou. "
Grand Secretary He Wuzuo glanced at Gu Yuanjing and said slowly: "Although what Lord Gu said is not without reason, it is also as Lord Gu said that Qin Ni has a powerful navy. If our dynasty sends troops to reinforce Wuzhou, what should we do if Qin Ni's navy invades from the Pearl River
Besides, Lord Gu, don't forget that Qin Ni's troops have already occupied Shaozhou and Yingde, and are threatening Qingyuan and Guangzhou at all times. In addition, although there is no movement in Fujian, once our dynasty sends troops to reinforce Wuzhou, who can guarantee that Qin Ni will not take the opportunity to attack from Fujian and Shaozhou together?"
Grand Secretary Wang Yinghua and others echoed He Wuzuo. Most of them were native Guangdong people with family and friends here. For them, sending troops to reinforce Guangxi and putting themselves and their relatives in danger was certainly something they could not agree to.
Zhu Youlang was in a dilemma. He Wuzuo's words were not without reason. Guangdong was now surrounded by the Qin army on three sides and could be attacked at any time.
Moreover, their total military strength is only 60,000. Now they are deployed everywhere and are already stretched to the limit. If they send too few troops to reinforce Guangxi, it will be useless, and if they send too many, Guangdong itself will have difficulty in ensuring its safety.
But if we don’t send troops, once the Qin army destroys Zhu Youlang in Guangxi, will they let Guangdong go
Anyone who is not a fool can realize that it is impossible.
But some people only care about the present and ignore the future. Wang Yinghua, the Grand Secretary of the Dongge, saw that Zhu Youlang was still hesitating, and he stepped out again and said, "Your Majesty, Guangxi was actually just caught off guard, and the loss of troops is not serious. As long as we deal with it properly, it will not be so easy for Qin Ni to destroy Guangxi.
If the King of Gui is incompetent and has no way to deal with the situation, even if our dynasty sends more troops to reinforce, they will just be sending themselves to die. What good will it do? This old minister believes that the emperor should first take care of Guangdong, cultivate benevolent governance, and prepare the army to resist the future invasion of Qin Ni. This is the most urgent task. "
The cabinet chief, Su Guansheng, finally came out and said, "Your Majesty, it is not a bad idea for our dynasty to send troops to reinforce Guangxi, but the King of Gui must first agree to a condition of our dynasty..."
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ps: I will post every three chapters, please support me. It is the end of the month, and I must not let the chrysanthemums wither! Brothers, please give me more monthly tickets, so that I can calm down and start setting sail and setting up guns to conquer Nanyang... ... Please give me monthly tickets! (To be continued...)
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