The former Chief Envoy's Yamen has now been transformed into a military and political meeting hall.
Xu Dagao sat in the first place, and on both sides of him were more than twenty generals wearing armor.
These people include Zuo Liangyu's men, as well as generals from the imperial court, as well as several available men he found when he was proclaimed King of Righteousness.
No matter what his background was, after three months of Xu Da's integration and cutting off the heads of more than a thousand people, everyone has become submissive to him.
Although this kind of obedience may only be temporary, it is quite remarkable to be able to achieve this step in such a chaotic time with such a low military morale.
This is Xu Da's ability. No matter how many troops or how complex the situation, after he sorted it out, they can form a unified rope and deal with the outside world in unison.
Chang Yuchun said that he could command up to 100,000 soldiers, and was nicknamed Chang Shiwan. If Zhu Yuanzhang was asked to evaluate Xu Da, he might have to use the words of the former military immortal Han Xin.
Han Xin ordered troops, the more the better.
This sentence is equally applicable to Xu Da.
"Repay...!"
"The Tatars have mobilized 300,000 troops, including 200,000 Han flags and 100,000 elite Eight Banners, and are advancing towards Luoyang!" A scout ran in and quickly reported the latest military information.
"Explore again!"
Xu Da waved off the scouts, and then looked at the generals on both sides: "As expected by Your Majesty, the Tatars are here, and all the elite cavalry of the Eight Banners have come out. It seems that they are going to fight us!"
Hearing Xu Da's words, most of the generals below turned pale.
Although they had been resisting the Qing Dynasty's march southward before, Li Zicheng in Shanxi was able to contain some of the Qing Dynasty's energy, and there were still some private salt dealers in Shandong who were making trouble, so the pressure on Zuo Liangyu Group was not that great.
But now the news of Zuo Liangyu's death has reached Dorgon's ears. It is obvious that he wants to complete his achievements in one battle, bulldoze Zuo Liangyu and bring down the whole of Henan in one fell swoop.
It has to be said that although Dorgon is not as good as Huang Taiji, he is still an extremely good military strategist, and his grasp of fighter opportunities is quite accurate.
If Xu Da had not come, perhaps Dorgon would not have needed to take action at all. Most of Zuo Liangyu's generals would have surrendered when they heard the news that the army was approaching, and almost the rest would have fled without a fight.
After all, most of Zuo Liangyu's men had fought against the Manchus and had seen the power of the Eight Banners cavalry. They were frightened out of their wits.
But it is a pity that the opponents he now faces are Zhu Yuanzhang who is based in Nanjing, and Xu Da who is personally commanding the front line.
"Everyone, tell me, what should we do?" Xu Da glanced around, taking in everyone's expressions, and asked.
"Retreat... it's impossible to retreat!" Lu Guangzu said. He originally wanted to say retreat, but mid-sentence, he was caught by Xu Da's eyes and held back.
This guy was originally an activist for surrender in history. After Zuo Liangyu's death, he was the first to propose surrender to the Qing Dynasty. After that, he became loyal to the Manchu Qing Dynasty and was willing to be the vanguard of the southward march.
Even when attacking Shunqing, he fought to the death for seven days and seven nights without retreating, making him the most loyal slave of the Manchu sect.
It's a pity that a slave can only be a slave after all, and he was not like Wu Sangui, Shang Kexi and others who always held heavy troops. After the battle was over, the Manchus found a reason to kill him directly.
Now it is obvious that he will not know his original fate. Even if he really wants to surrender in his heart, he may only be able to hold it in his heart forever under Xu Da's power.
"It's not that troublesome, just go out to the city and fight. They have 300,000 people, and we also have 300,000. Who is afraid of whom?" Huang Degong's loud voice sounded for the second time, his eyes full of excitement.
He had been fighting rogue bandits since he joined the army, and Chongzhen had been beating rogue bandits fifteen years ago. He had never faced off against the Eight Cavalry of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and had never suffered a loss, so naturally he didn't know the pain.
Two people spoke first, and the entire hall suddenly became a mess, talking about anything.
Xu Da listened quietly and suddenly turned to look at Zhou Yuji, who was sitting on his left: "Cui Zai, you are a general from Jinzhou and you should know the Tatar cavalry best. What do you say?"
Hearing Xu Da speak, the entire hall suddenly became silent, and everyone turned to look at Zhou Yuji.
"Going out of the city to fight is asking for death. For now, we can only occupy the big city and defend it, waiting for reinforcements from the imperial court!"
Hearing Zhou Yuji's words, more than half of the people in the hall could not help but relax suddenly.
As long as they are not allowed to fight head-on with the Tatars, then anything can be said.
"As Cui Lei said, we will divide the city and refuse to defend it. Don't worry, your Majesty has a clever plan and has already figured out a way to defeat the enemy. As long as we can hold on for three months, we will win!" Xu Da gave the order, and the generals roared.
I promised, go down and get ready.
After everyone left, Zhou Yuji looked at Xu Da with a solemn face: "Commander, the artillery in the Tatar army is not weak now. If we just defend blindly, it may not be a good idea."
"Your Majesty...!" He hesitated not knowing how to speak.
In today's world, the Tatar cavalry has no solution. Ever since Li Chengliang's Liaodong cavalry was abolished in the last years of Wanli, the Ming Dynasty has actually been unable to do anything to deal with the Manchus.
Of course, it was still possible to hold on at that time.
But by the time the important city of Jiubian was defeated and the city of Beiping was pointed in the forehead by the Manchu and Qing soldiers, half of the entire north had already been destroyed.
As for the remaining half, it was Li Zicheng who destroyed it...
The current situation.
Unless His Majesty can conjure up a cavalry that is not weaker than the Manchus, everything will be in vain. The best result is to rely on the natural dangers of the Yangtze River to rule by crossing the river.
"Do not worry!"
"Keep it for three months and you will see for yourself!" Xu Da comforted him with a smile.
As for the plan to surprise the Tatars' lair, although he knew it, he would not reveal it to anyone to ensure that this tactic was foolproof.
Twenty miles outside Jinzhou City.
The ten thousand elite cavalry who had just been transported by Zheng Zhilong, led by Li Wenzhong, stood solemnly and looked quietly at the small border town by the sea in front of them.
Behind him, one of the guides of this army, Li Si, a native of Liaodong, knelt on the ground with tears streaming down his face, and finally couldn't help crying.
In the Battle of Sarhu more than 20 years ago, the Ming Dynasty's frontier army was defeated. Nurhaci occupied almost the entire territory of Liaodong. He and the 600,000 people living here were forced to move to Shanhaiguan.
It has been more than twenty years now.
During this great migration, his father, mother, and two brothers all died violently, and he was the only one who survived to this day.
I thought I would never have the chance to return to this black land, but I never thought that today, twenty years later, he would come back again, and as a guide, he would lead the Ming Dynasty cavalry for revenge.
To be honest, he had been looking forward to this day for a long, long time.
He dreams about the day when he can kill a Tatar with his own hands.