The speed of the Shun army's advance was beyond everyone's expectation.
For a time, everyone felt uneasy and nervous about judging the situation.
"Shanxi Governor Cai Maode had neither troops nor food, so he could only concoct a rumor post, slandering the Shun Army for torturing the people in Shaanxi, hoping that this would inspire the Shanxi people to fight against the Shun Army. Now it seems that this is pure wishful thinking."
When the building is about to collapse, what the feudal bureaucrats do is so ridiculous.
They slandered Shunjun, but they didn't know that they had done it themselves.
The people of Shanxi have long been completely disappointed with the Ming Dynasty.
Not only did these posts have no effect, they actually made the people look forward to Shunjun even more.
"According to the current speed of the Shun Army's advance, the capital will surely fall by April at the latest. We don't have much time and must prepare as soon as possible."
Huang Zongxi reminded.
Some of Xia's plans were based on the actions of the Shun army.
The day when Shun's army captured the capital was the time when Xia's plan was implemented.
Seeing that time was getting tighter and tighter, Huang Zongxi felt even more stressed.
Zuo Mengeng is similar.
"How long will it take for Zhang Xianzhong to completely capture Sichuan?"
Zuo Yong reported immediately.
"Now that the Ming army in Sichuan has been completely defeated by Zhang Xianzhong, Zhang Xianzhong will be able to take Sichuan as his own by the end of the year at the latest."
Zuo Mengeng thought of something.
"Did Zhang Xianzhong massacre in Sichuan?"
There is a rumor that is very popular in history.
That was Zhang Xianzhong's massacre in Sichuan, which resulted in the population of Sichuan being wiped out. Later, in order to consolidate its rule, the Qing Dynasty had to move people from Huguang to fill Sichuan.
Xia Guo's intelligence work is very detailed.
"The fighting between the two sides was very brutal, with very serious casualties. As for the massacre of civilians, we have not heard of it yet."
Zuo Mengeng nodded and understood that the so-called "Zhang Xianzhong massacred Sichuan" must be a rumor.
The wars in Sichuan have never stopped over the years. Coupled with natural and man-made disasters, a sharp decline in population is inevitable. In fact, it has nothing to do with massacres or anything like that.
Just think about the situation in Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi.
The population of these places has also dropped dramatically, but this is a normal phenomenon in times of war and disaster.
What Zuo Menggen was concerned about was not whether Zhang Xianzhong massacred Sichuan.
"Since Zhang Xianzhong went to Sichuan, let's not be polite to the territory he left behind. If we want to take action, we should start from Jiangnan."
Zuo Mengeng issued the order.
Neither Li Zicheng nor Zhang Xianzhong were willing to march into Jiangnan, and seemed to abandon this most affluent place in the world.
They don't want it, but Zuo Mengeng does.
If you want to unify the world and don't occupy the south of the Yangtze River, wouldn't you be asking for trouble?
"Then we'll start from the Songjiang Military Region first?"
Liu Yiyuan asked.
Regarding the launch of unified action, the Central Committee has already formulated a solid plan.
The unification of the Jiangnan region has long been assigned to the Songjiang Military Region.
"According to your predictions, how long will it take to capture Jiangnan and march into Jiangxi and Huguang?"
Liu Yiyuan is full of confidence.
"The land in the south of the Yangtze River has basically been conquered. The armed forces here are not worth mentioning, and we have plenty of means to capture them. Jiangxi and Huguang are slightly more difficult, but the apparent resistance can basically be eliminated in five to six months.
.The next step is political governance and local security battles.”
He added another sentence.
"The terrain in western Hunan is complex, the ethnic groups are intertwined, and bandits are rampant. The most difficult thing in the future will definitely be the battle against bandits."
Little did he know that Zuo Mengeng had a much deeper understanding of these things than he did.
"It doesn't matter, we have so many security guards anyway. When the time comes, we will clear out every inch of land, and anyone who dares to cause chaos will be shot to death."
There is nothing good to say about bandits and bandits.
Without complete eradication, the place will never have peace.
For the sake of national interests, no matter how much force is invested in annihilation, it is never too much.
Of course, Zuo Mengeng also knew that whether the banditry problem could be completely eliminated did not depend on the military but on the economy.
Who would want to be a bandit if they could survive?
None of the Central Committee had any objections to starting from Jiangnan first.
When Shun's army attacked the capital and Zhang Xianzhong attacked Sichuan, Jiangnan became a vacuum zone.
If Xia Guo captures this place, it will not cause any shock to the various forces, but it will be able to seize the most fertile territory.
But Liu Yiyuan was quite worried about how to capture it.
"If you want to fight in the south of the Yangtze River, warships are absolutely indispensable. And in order to isolate the Yangtze River and prevent other forces from getting involved, the navy's help is also needed. But now the East China Sea Fleet is busy capturing Mindanao. I wonder if it can get back in time?"
There are ships in the south and horses in the north. Fighting in the south of the Yangtze River. Without ships, there is no possibility of success.
Zuo Mengeng was determined.
"The fight on Mindanao is almost over, and there is at most some finishing work left. Let the Second Marine Division slowly grind it out, and then send an order for the East China Sea Fleet to come back."
With this order, everyone felt a lot more at ease.
With the invincible warships of the East China Sea Fleet, no one is an opponent on the waters of Jiangnan.
Huang Zongxi thought of something and asked: "Does Zuo Rong need to go back and take office?"
As the commander of the Songjiang Military Region, Zuo Rong has been in Shandong for the past year.
While furthering his studies at the military academy, he participated in the formulation of overall strategy.
Now that the war is about to begin, he, the commander-in-chief, must be in place.
When talking about Zuo Rong, many people present burst into laughter.
"It's rare for Commander Zuo to meet someone he likes, and he doesn't know when to have a wedding banquet?"
Many people know about the situation of Zuo Rong and Cheslett.
No one thought that Zuo Rong, who was usually the most uptight and upright person, would actually fall in love with a foreign woman.
Speaking of this, Zuo Mengeng couldn't help but laugh.
Looking back, he called Zuo Rong in front of him.
"Your relationship with Cheslett is basically stable. I asked Academician Galileo and he is also very satisfied with you. If you two have no objections, you can have a wedding in the near future."
When talking about his personal affairs, Zuo Rong completely lost the prestige of a general and was quite shy.
"My dad...my dad won't disagree, right?"
Zuo Mengeng rolled his eyes.
"Uncle Yan doesn't think about anything right now, he just thinks about holding his grandson."
After saying this, Zuo Rong couldn't help but feel happy.
He thought of something again, and his expression was extremely solemn.
"Master, if I give birth to two sons in the future, I would like to give one to Uncle Kuan."
Zuo Mengeng's expression darkened, knowing that he, the eldest brother, had intentions.
"Regardless of whether he survives or not, does Uncle Kuan still lack someone to take care of him in his old age? Just do it if you want to. They are all members of our own family anyway."
Zuo Rong could not be happier.
"Then...then I'll go talk to her."
Watching Zuo Rong run away, Zuo Mengeng sat alone, the more he thought about it, the more he felt the magic of fate.
Who would have thought that a penniless domestic slave would now grow into a world-famous general and even become the son-in-law of Galileo?