"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." Zuo Chongshan, his mouth half-opened, said in disbelief, "You... you mean, we are going to negotiate peace with Nanming?"
Yonggui, the right deputy commander, responded quickly and said immediately:
"Your Majesty, your decision is extremely wise. The current situation cannot be understood by ordinary people. Those who sing high-profile words can only call for fight. It is too easy to call for fight. Everyone can do it, but they do not need to be responsible if they lose.
emperor,
You carry the entire burden of the Qing Dynasty on your shoulders. You are responsible for the country, the country, and the welfare of the people of the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, you are naturally different from those who are not rich and do not know the value of food and rice... Your Majesty, I understand your decision and support you.
decision!"
Zuo's deputy commander, Chongshan, glanced at him quickly, quite disdainfully. Then, he said to Guangwu with great concern:
"Your Majesty, if we can really minimize the losses of the Qing Dynasty through peace talks, or... or buy time, that would be great. However, Nan Ming is now at the peak of its military strength and winning every victory. Will they be willing to stop and negotiate with us?
?”
Guangwu smiled and said:
"That's why I have to test it. Yes, Nanming is winning every victory now, but in the west, their front is already long enough. There is a railway from Nanyang to Zhengzhou, and there is a railway from Zhengzhou to Guanzhong.
In this section, the Ming army's logistics and transportation did not have any major problems. However, from Guanzhong to the north, to northern Shaanxi, and to Shanxi, there are only roads. Then all transportation must be carried by cars.
"Moreover, you also know the terrain and road conditions of Shanxi. In this case, their logistics supply lines will be under great pressure. So far, the Ming army has basically advanced along the railway lines. But now? Railways
No more. Can they ensure the supply of so many troops by transporting them by car? So
Some attacks have a peak, and reaching that peak is the end of the war. Of course, for modern warfare, if there is a railway, the offensive peak can be extended very far, but once the railway is gone, you will soon face
The peak of the offensive. At least in the western theater, the peak of the Ming army's offensive is coming soon.
"In the east, the peak of the Ming army's offensive is of course far from coming, and the terrain is good, and there are railways. The Jinpu Line can go all the way to Beijing. But in front of them, our Central Plains Corps, which lies across our side, now has two million
This Central Plains Corps has more troops than all the Ming armies that invaded the north.
Moreover, after such a long period of silence on the battlefield, our Central Plains Corps has not been idle and has been building defensive positions. Although it cannot be said to be impregnable now, it is at least to a certain degree of solidity. The Ming army's tactic has always been to persuade them to surrender and to soften them.
, there has never been a head-on frontal attack against a large, well-prepared corps.
"You may want to ask: So, why did the Ming army have to fight head-on this time? Why can't they persuade us to surrender like before, causing our Central Plains Corps to defect collectively?"
Facing the emperor's last question, the two deputy commanders did not know what the emperor meant. They both looked at each other, feeling a little frightened and did not dare to answer easily. To be honest, they were indeed so worried. In the previous battles,
Didn't the Ming army's propaganda and leaflets turn the Qing army into pieces that time? Why didn't they do it this time? Why did they want to confront you head-on?
Guangwu smiled and said:
"Because the price I offered is tempting enough for the Ming army to make them feel that there is no need to fight this war."
The two deputy chiefs looked at each other and Yonggui asked:
"The emperor means..."
Guangwu squinted his eyes and said slowly:
"Time. What we need most now is time. It doesn't need to be more, one and a half months, two months. As long as the negotiations can be delayed for one and a half months, it will enter the harsh winter. The severe winter in the north will teach those southern barbarians a lesson.
They know that fighting a war depends not only on tanks and planes, but it is useless if the people cannot hold on. Now I heard that the soldiers of the Ming army in the left group army group have suffered from widespread nosebleeds because they are not used to the dry autumn in the north. They will enter in a month or two.
In the middle of winter, nosebleeds are no longer a problem.
"The arrival of winter also has a big effect. There will be fewer sunny days in winter, and there will often be thick clouds. The air superiority of the Ming army will be greatly reduced. It will take time for the soldiers of the Ming army to adapt to the northern winter, and the Ming army will digest it.
The occupied areas also take time. If there is still a clear-headed person in the Nanming High Command, he will realize that the best thing to do now is not to continue fighting, but to do the same thing as us: seek negotiations
.
"If we can drag the truce for a month or two, into winter, then we can drag it out for the whole winter. Once the Ming army stops as a whole, no one in the headquarters will be willing to attack in winter. And as long as we win
Throughout the winter, we can fully unleash our war potential.
Come out. We can mobilize another one or two million troops, and then implement a strict military discipline system to prevent large-scale surrender. For example, the squad platoon sitting method, the officer responsibility system, and the implicated relatives. In the past, our implicated relatives were only for senior officers.
Implement it, now we must implement it for every soldier.
"In addition, I want to offer heavy rewards to boost the fighting morale of every soldier. Didn't the heavy reward system established by Chen Wangwu in the Zhengzhou Corps suddenly turn the sheep into tigers? Didn't it make it difficult for the Ming army to advance?
In short, I want to prevent large-scale surrender. Once large-scale surrender is prevented, our Qing Dynasty Thousand Division Army will truly become the most powerful army in the world. We can turn defeat into victory next spring and advance all the way south.
, destroy Nanming."
After Guangwu said so much, the two deputy chiefs still couldn't get the point. The two looked at each other again, and Chongshan asked carefully:
"Your Majesty, the price you want to offer Nan Ming is..."
Guangwu smiled slightly and said:
"First tell them that if they are willing to withdraw from Shanxi, then I can cede all Shandong and Henan south of the Yellow River to Nan Ming. All the places that the Ming army has captured will be recognized by the Qing Dynasty. From now on, the Qing Dynasty will be separated from the Nan Ming Dynasty.
The two sides signed a non-aggression treaty
, and will never invade each other. As long as Nanming withdraws from Shanxi, which they have not yet actually occupied, they can get most of Shandong and Henan, and most of the North China Plain south of the Yellow River without leaving a drop of blood. I think,
This is attractive enough to them.
"The people in Nanming are not fools. They will also wonder if this is a delaying strategy. It depends on what your negotiating emissary says. I will teach you that the general meaning of saying this is:
"I relied on a coup to massacre the clan and came to power. I was always worried about losing my position. I was worried that if there was another disastrous defeat in the Central Plains War, my prestige in the clan would be ruined. Not only my power, but also my family and life might be in danger... So,
I look forward to using Shandong and Henan in exchange for a truce in Nanming. I hope to draw the Yellow River and rule Nanming, so that I can free up my energy to consolidate my power.
"As for me asking the Ming army to withdraw from Shanxi, it is because Shanxi's position is too important and it is related to the Qing Dynasty's own safety. Please forgive me. For this reason, the Qing Dynasty offered Shandong and Henan to compensate. Shandong and Henan provinces, but It is much richer than Shanxi. Moreover, the coastline of the Shandong Peninsula is very long, and there are countless good ports along the coast. Only Qingdao and Weihai are excellent military ports that are rare in East Asia. In the Qing Dynasty, the navy was weak, and it was of little use to keep such good military ports. , so I dedicated it to Nanming.
"As for me, I hope that after receiving such a generous gift from me, Nanming will still give me a face and be able to withdraw from Shanxi. I gave away Shandong and Henan, but I also took back Shanxi. Finally, I have a step down. I hope Nanming can give me At my level, the soldiers of the Southern Ming Dynasty avoided a war in the Central Plains, no more bloodshed, and I also maintained my position in the country. It will not be too difficult for everyone.
"In this way, the people who launched this war in Nanming, whether it is Zhu Yourong, Shen Rongxuan, Zhang Zhaoxian, or Xiang Xiaoqiang... they can definitely get everything they wanted when they launched the war. Huge victory, prestige, honor , status, power, they all have it. If they stop now, what they will get is complete victory. If they insist on going their own way and continue to fight with the Qing's millions of troops in the severe winter in the north, what they will get in the end... may not be complete victory. The high-ranking officials and generals of Nanming are also human beings. As human beings, they will always plan more for themselves."
…
Yonggui and Chongshan were dumbfounded. They looked at each other, and then Yonggui asked tentatively:
"However... this is just the emperor's tactic to delay the war?"
Guangwu smiled lightly and said:
"If it's true, wouldn't I become a sinner of the Qing Dynasty?"
Yong Guixia shrank his head and laughed repeatedly:
"Of course, Your Majesty, this is just a delaying tactic... Your Majesty, you care deeply about the country of your ancestors. This sinner... Haha, where do you start talking..."