A new year, a new beginning, the four counties of Yangzhou, Huai'an, Fengyang and Luzhou under the rule of Mu Linfeng are all in a joyful New Year atmosphere.
Although some of this atmosphere is not real, and the local officials deliberately create it to cater to Mu Linfeng, Mu Linfeng himself knows it very well. If it were normal, Mu Linfeng would definitely cause embarrassment to these people.
But today is different. This is the first day of the New Year. In addition to being embarrassed and embarrassing others on the first day of the New Year, the most important thing is the political purpose. Although this atmosphere is fake, a large part of it is still true.
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Although the people still often suffer from the disasters of war, they have food to eat during the New Year and no longer have to go to the landlords to ask for moldy and smelly food. This is always much better than before, so the people are still really happy.
It's just that although the squires and landlords complained a lot, they had no choice but to swallow their anger because of the pressure from the officials above.
The main purpose of the joyous activities in Yangzhou, Fengyang, Huai'an and Luzhou is to show to the surrounding cities. Just imagine that the people here can't even have a full meal during the Chinese New Year, while the people in Lincheng are dancing happily
How would the earth feel? This is Mu Linfeng’s main purpose.
After the reunion dinner, Mu Linfeng felt the warmth of his family for the first time in this turbulent era.
As soon as Mu Linfeng finished his meal, he received emergency reports from Huai'an and Fengyang, saying that the mission had been successfully completed without any obstacles. According to Mu Linfeng's order, the fire was aimed at the outside of Xuzhou City, Xuzhou's
The number of casualties has basically remained in single digits.
When Mu Linfeng saw this memorial, he kept patting the table and said "hello" three times in a row.
Seeing that Mu Linfeng was so happy, Su Duxiu and others couldn't help asking: "Master, what do Hong Chengchou and Wu Sangui say!"
Mu Linfeng handed the emergency report to Su Duxiu and others and said with a smile: "This is a New Year's gift from Linfeng to the Ming Emperor. I hope that the emperor will not disappoint Linfeng and return a generous gift to Linfeng!"
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After Su Duxiu read the report, he looked at Mu Linfeng and said curiously: "Master, Su is a little confused. The men and horses from the two counties plus four hundred artillery can completely capture Xuzhou with lightning speed, but why does the master only let go?"
How about using artillery but not attacking the city?"
Mu Linfeng smiled and said: "Mu has also thought about this, but last night was New Year's Eve and today is New Year. If we attack the city, we can naturally capture it, but the people of Xuzhou will have to spend a new year in the flames of war.
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Hearing this, Su Duxiu couldn't help looking at Mu Linfeng and said with a smile: "Master's move like this really kills two birds with one stone. It not only knocks the mountain and shakes the tiger, but also warns and deters the court, and at the same time does not harm the innocent people of Xuzhou! How wonderful!"
Mu Linfeng laughed when he heard this and said: "The idea of this anti-aircraft gun was not Linfeng's, but Hong Chengchou's!"
Liu Wanshi pondered for a long time and then said: "I'm afraid that the cannon fire will make the people of Xuzhou sleepless all night, right?"
When Mu Linfeng heard what Liu Wanshi said, he couldn't help but frown, and after pondering for a while, he said: "Mr. Liu is right. Linfeng did neglect this point. He only wanted to give glory to the court and forgot about the people!"
Su Duxiu glanced at Mu Linfeng, and then winked at Liu Wanshi. Liu Wanshi didn't understand what was going on and had a look of surprise on his face.
Su Duxiu saw that Liu Wanshi didn't understand what he meant, so he took a step forward and said: "Master, although Brother Liu is right, Master does not need to blame himself too much. Now that Master wants to go to Jiangnan again, I am afraid that among the four counties
It’s no longer a secret. If the four counties know about it, Master, imagine how the imperial court won’t know about it.”
Mu Linfeng couldn't help but ponder for a long time after hearing this, and then murmured: "Yes, this is an open secret. How could the imperial court not know about it?"
Su Duxiu continued: "That's right. Now that the court knows that the master is planning to go south, the court will only have three plans!"
Mu Linfeng said curiously: "Please give me Mr. Su's advice on what three plans you should make!"
Su Duxiu said: "The first is to ignore it. After all, the forces in the south of the Yangtze River have now formed a situation where the world is divided into three parts. The first is Zhang Xianzhong in the west, the second is the Long brothers in Jinling and coastal areas, and the third is the imperial court. But if
Strictly speaking, the court should be divided into two forces. One is loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and the other is those who sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. If this is the case, the situation in the north of the court will be unsettled, and there will be no time to come to Guan Jiangnan.
!”
Mu Linfeng couldn't help but nodded after hearing the words: "Mr. Su said that if the imperial court doesn't care, Jiangnan will be left to fend for itself and wait for the opportunity. After the northern power is consolidated, it would be good to pacify Jiangnan... However, this Jiangnan has been here since ancient times.
There is no reason for the imperial court to leave rice warehouses in the world to fend for themselves, right?"
Su Duxiu smiled and said: "This is not the final decision of the imperial court. Even if he wants to intervene, he must have the ability... Even if he really wants to intervene, he cannot directly intervene. Naturally, the second method is
, even when we go south, the imperial court sends troops to constantly harass our rear. Even if we fail to capture the four counties, they will still cause trouble to us. In this way, our military morale will definitely be in chaos. If we and the forces in the south of the Yangtze River lose both sides, they will just reap the benefits!
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Mu Linfeng clapped his hands and said, "Yes, this is the best policy!"
Su Duxiu smiled and said: "Well, so Su thinks that the master's actions on New Year's Eve are absolutely correct and wise. This way to warn the court so that they don't dare to act rashly will definitely be beneficial to our plans for Jiangnan in the future."
Harmful!"
Mu Linfeng smiled slightly when he heard this, and thought to himself: "I didn't think that far ahead. I just thought about giving Chongzhen a huge sum of money after showing off his strength!"
Liu Wanshi listened to Su Duxiu's words for a long time, and then he clapped his hands and said: "It turns out that the master has such long-term thinking. Liu is really short-sighted. He doesn't even know the master's intentions for your grain depot, and he makes unreasonable comments about the master's military operations.
It’s really a crime worthy of death!”
Mu Linfeng smiled awkwardly and said: "What Mr. Liu said is not unreasonable. Mr. Liu is always reminding Mu to be people-oriented!"
Mu Linfeng then turned around and asked Su Duxiu: "Then what is the third possibility that Mr. Su mentioned?"
Su Duxiu smiled and said: "This was originally a possibility, but due to your wise decision, Master, this third possibility has disappeared!"
When Mu Linfeng heard what Su Duxiu said, he felt baffled. He had obviously done nothing. When had he ever made any wise decision?
Seeing Mu Linfeng's face full of surprise, Su Duxiu couldn't help but smile and said: "Well, since the master doesn't want to say it, then Su will boldly say it. I don't know if Su guessed what the master meant!"
Mu Linfeng said quickly: "Mr. Su, you might as well talk about it!"
Su Duxiu said: "Originally, the imperial court could recruit Li Zicheng from the northwest, appoint high officials, and give generous rewards. After all, Li Zicheng and his ilk have never seen much of the world and are easy to coax and deceive. Even if Li Zicheng does not surrender sincerely, he can still be temporarily appeased.
, take the opportunity to unify the northern front, annihilate the Manchu and Mongolian coalition forces in one fell swoop, and then find a way to eliminate Li Zicheng..."
Mu Linfeng couldn't help but clapped his hands when he heard the words: "This is indeed a clever plan... In this way, the imperial court will definitely be able to stabilize the situation in the north within three to five years... However, the emperor is not so talented and strategic, and he definitely cannot think of this trick.
Yes, even if a court official helps him think of it, he will definitely not agree to it based on his temper!"
Su Duxiu couldn't help but nodded when he heard the words, and said with a smile: "Yes, but everything is inevitable. The master saw through this, so he sold the firearm to Li Zicheng. Even if he was assassinated by someone sent by Li Zicheng, he still insisted on killing him.
The firearm was given to Li Zicheng, which shows that the protagonist has extraordinary vision, and his determination is beyond the imagination of ordinary people!"
Mu Linfeng was confused by what Su Duxiu said, and asked curiously: "Oh? Did Linfeng see that?"
Su Duxiu smiled and said: "It's really rare for the protagonist to be so humble at this time. Well, since the master won't say anything, it's hard for Su to say anything!"
Mu Linfeng said quickly: "No, no, no, you should take a look!"
Liu Wanshi, who was listening on the sidelines, had long been impatient, and quickly echoed: "That's right, Brother Su, since the master asked you to speak, just speak!"
Su Duxiu smiled slightly when he heard this, and then he cupped his hands to Mu Linfeng and said: "Master must want to see if what Su guessed is the same as what he thought? In this case, Su will make a wild guess...Master, you
He insisted on giving the firearm to Li Zicheng because he saw that the imperial court would do this. If that were the case, the unification of the north would be just around the corner and it would be our biggest threat. The protagonist made a prompt decision and sold the firearm to Li Zicheng. After Li Zicheng got the firearm, just imagine
With such a sharp weapon in hand, how can he obey the imperial court's recruitment? Then the master's plan will be successful, and Li Zicheng will definitely buy enough time for the protagonist to unify Jiangnan!"