The matter of replacing the surrender of troops is an urgent task and cannot be delayed. Although the battle has been achieved since the crossing of the river, more than 60,000 Qing troops have been eliminated, the Taiping Army itself has also suffered losses of nearly 30,000 people. One senior general, Zhongzhen general, was killed, four deputy generals, and 175 officers below the brigade school, and even Zhou Shixiang himself was injured and his cavalry was shot dead. This battle is tragic.

There were only three brigades who could still preserve the establishment intact when they participated in the battle, and more than half of the others were casualties. Shunzhi fled north, but Zhou Shixiang was now a mess and could not move north at all. He gritted the bullet and returned to the city of Yangzhou again, actually with the idea of ​​scaring the tiger to death. If Shunzhi really stood in Yangzhou and didn't leave, he would be upset. After all, he only had more than 10,000 soldiers in his hands.

Fortunately, Shunzhi was soft first, and it was so soft that Ma Yaozi picked up a big advantage. There were more than 60 Qing officials caught alone, and countless weapons, war horses, and wealth were counted. The second-rank and above top picked up more than 20, which made Zhou Shixiang stunned and regretted it. If he had known that Shunzhi was so embarrassed, he would have tried his best to send all the power at hand. If he didn't do it well, Beijing would have changed the first year of "Kangxi" this year in advance.

However, when I think back, it is a good thing that Shunzhi will run away. If he dies in Yangzhou and the little baby Xuanye ascends the throne, the old, weak, sick and disabled in Beijing are really not the opponent of Wu Sangui. Zhu Youlang, the cowardly man, really wants to run to the Thirteen Tombs to cry and worship, will be a little bit disgraceful in law. After all, Nanjing is just a capital, and Beijing is the real capital of the Ming Dynasty.

Regardless of whether Shunzhi can block Wu Sangui after escaping back, Zhou Shixiang must now piece together the Jiangbei Army’s three steps and one horse and four towns, and also form the Jianghuai defense line. In the future, whether to go north to grab Beijing or resist the possible Wu army’s going south, the Jianghuai will definitely be the main battlefield. If you cannot defend the Jianghuai River, the natural danger of the Yangtze River is a joke. No matter how strong the Taiping Army’s naval division is, you can’t be wary of the Wu army going south day and night. If you really want the Wu army to face the Yangtze River like Shunzhi, you may be ready to move the people in Jiangnan again. No matter from any angle, the Jianghuai is the lifeline of the Dingwu court and it is also a gateway, so the establishment and supplement of the Jiangbei Army is the top priority.

The more than 20,000 Qing army surrendered soldiers captured were obviously the best supplementary source. However, the army had great opinions on directly replenishing a large number of surrendered soldiers into the main towns. They believed that most of these Qing troops were from the northern regions and had no sense of belonging or loyalty to the Taiping Army and the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, they could not be directly replenished into the Jiangbei Army. Instead, they should be transferred to Huguang, Guangdong and Guangxi in batches. Even the most serious crimes were sent directly to Annan, and some elite soldiers were drawn from Annan to return to the country to supplement the towns. In this way, the combat effectiveness and cohesion of the main town would not be reduced due to the replenishment of a large number of surrendered soldiers.

Military headquarters Guo Xiong strongly opposed the direct surrendered army. He tended to draw troops from the second-tier towns in Guangdong, Guangxi and Huguang to the north. At the same time, he suggested that the Expeditionary Force make great contributions to the commander in Annan and also sent a large amount of money and grain to Guangdong, and should also draw officers and soldiers from the Expeditionary Force back to the country. On the one hand, it was to supplement the huge casualties of the main town, and on the other hand, it was to clearly distinguish rewards and punishments so that the Expeditionary Force would not think that it was abandoned by the commander. As long as everyone worked hard, they had the opportunity to return to the country to rise. In this way, even if the Expeditionary Force was composed of the surrendered troops of the former Guangxi and Hunan Green Camp, their loyalty would never be lower than that of any of the Taiping Army.

Guo Xiong's suggestion is very good, but far water cannot quench near thirst. Annan is thousands of miles away, but the Jiangbei army needs to be supplemented now, so Zhou Shixiang can only solve the supplementary problem of the Jiangbei army first, and then implement the internal transfer of the Expeditionary Army. He plans to transfer two second-tier towns in Guangdong to Annan for rotational battles, and at the same time start to deploy the strategic policy of attacking Yunnan from the southern line.

Wu Sangui is a big trouble, a big trouble, but this trouble has a disease-causing loophole, that is, the current situation of the Wu army is like a long snake. The snake head is in Shaanxi and Gansu (it may also be in the Central Plains in the future, the capital of the capital), the snake body is in Sichuan, and the snake tail is in Yunnan and Guizhou. If you really want to fight this snake, the snake head will definitely not fight hard. The snake body is inconvenient for transportation and is not conducive to the army's movement, and only the snake tail is easy to attack.

To attack the snake tail of the Wu army, Annan's expeditionary army was the sharp knife that chopped the snake's tail. Zhou Shixiang intended the expeditionary army to enter Myanmar from Annan, united with the unknown king of Jin Li Dingguo, to invade Yunnan and Guizhou from southern Yunnan, and to clean up Myanmar.

This strategic deployment is very large and cannot be completed in a short time, at least two or three years, or at most, it will take five or six years. Zhou Shixiang is not in a hurry. Although Duke Xiang of Song mentioned the concerns of Wu army entering Beijing in his letter, Xu Yingyuan, Gui Yongzhi, Dong Changqing and others have repeatedly stated in front of him that Wu Sangui cannot be allowed to get a bargain. Many officials in Nandu also have this concern, worried that the two will fight each other in the future, but Zhou Shixiang is not worried. The current situation is that the three parties are fighting each other and playing chess. It is important to seize the initiative, but without absolute strength, no matter how sharp the opportunity is, it will eventually be short-lived. This strength is territory, population, money, and resources.

The land of wealth and taxation in the world is under the control of Zhou Shixiang. The population of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi and Jiangnan is 100 million. As long as you are good at managing, even if you are violent soldiers in the future, you will be able to crush Wu Sangui and the Qing Dynasty.

All he lacks is time, enough time for him to run in internal affairs, improve military equipment and train troops.

On the third day of Ganlu Temple, Xu Yingyuan was summoned from Nanjing by Zhou Shixiang, and then Xu Yingyuan took Zhou Shixiang's handwriting to embark on the road north. His trip was secretly persuaded to reconcile to the Qing court.

The northern soldiers proposed by Guo Xiong and others may not be loyal and homesick, which may lead to their unwillingness to work for the Taiping Army. Zhou Shixiang's view is exactly the opposite. He believes that it is precisely because these northern soldiers miss their relatives in their hometown that they can work for the Taiping Army.

"Eat Dashen's food, get Dashen's salary, and follow Dashen back to his hometown!"

"Go back to your hometown and see your parents if you have money and food!"

""

Zhou Shiying personally wrote several propaganda slogans to order the military headquarters to send the Jiangbei Army to the Jiangbei Army, and the Jiangbei Army organized propaganda and mobilization, telling the soldiers surrendered from the northern region that only by working well in the Taiping Army, they would definitely be able to fight back to their hometown!

After arranging the affairs of the Jiangbei Army, Zhou Shixiang was not idle for a day on Beigu Mountain. Tieyi, Jiang and them returned to Nanjing with 5,000 soldiers. Previously, Zhou Shixiang had sent someone to inform Guo Zhiqi, hoping that Guo Zhiqi could organize a grand triumphal ceremony to welcome the return of the Taiping Army in Nanjing. However, Guo Zhiqi did not agree to do so, believing that this would mobilize many troops and waste people's wealth. Moreover, Zhou Shixiang himself did not return, and Nanjing did not know how to prepare for this triumphal ceremony and how to make the corresponding charter. The most involved in this is undoubtedly the existence of Emperor Dingwu. The Jiangbei victory eliminated tens of thousands of Qing troops, killed dozens of generals and above the commander, and killed the Tartars uncle. What a great victory this is. How should Emperor Dingwu award Zhou Shixiang? Zhou Shixiang is already the King of Qi. How should Emperor Dingwu reward him? Could it be that he would not be able to add nine tins?

Zhou Shixiang was recuperating in Zhenjiang, which to some extent resolved this big problem. Emperor Dingwu sent Grand Secretary Hong Yuao and Sili eunuch Pan Yinglong to visit and comfort Zhou Shixiang. This was a ritual that was appropriate. I didn't want to follow Hong, and Pan and the other two came together with the eldest princess Zhu Shuyi.

As everyone knows, the eldest princess Zhu Shuyi is the legitimate daughter of Emperor Shaowu, Emperor Longwu, and the legitimate niece of Emperor Dingwu. She is also the only descendant of the bloodline of the Tang dynasty. Her status is so noble that Emperor Yongli Zhu Youlang wanted to make her the eldest princess. However, these are not important. What is important is that everyone in the world knows that the eldest princess Zhu Shuyi was ordered by Yongli to marry Zhou Shixiang, and this matter was approved by Emperor Dingwu. Therefore, the arrival of the eldest princess made Ganlu Temple lively. Everyone wanted to see how Zhou Shixiang met this fiancée whom he had met.
Chapter completed!