I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 87 Entering Zhejiang
The next day.

"Reporting to the Supervisory State, our Privy Council has recruited a total of more than [-] new troops in the five prefectures of Northern Fujian, Central Fujian, and Quanzhou (Zhangzhou is not included in the ruins), and they have all been organized and trained into the army. And , we have also begun to mobilize and raise all the grain, grass and baggage required for the army's Northern Expedition."

In the imperial study, Privy Councilor Zhu Chengxun was standing in front of Zhu Yijiong and reporting respectfully.

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Li, who represented the cabinet at the side, also hurriedly added: "Regarding the supervision of the country, all the ministries of our cabinet will fully cooperate with the Privy Council. The Ministry of Revenue will also fully coordinate the food, grass and baggage required, so that the army will never be unable to set off." Funds for payment."

Although the Privy Council is responsible for allocating military supplies, coordinating military operations, and formulating strategic plans.

But the final source of money and food still has to be supported by the cabinet and the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Privy Council only decides how to use it.

Seeing that the cabinet and the Privy Council had expressed their stance, Old Man Li from the Ordnance Bureau did not say anything against it. He only said that the Ordnance Bureau would work overtime and try to increase the production of armored firearms.

At the same time, the Ministry of Industry has also drawn up plans to build more craftsman workshops. Although there are not so many craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty, there are still many apprentices. Just send apprentices to follow them.

Anyway, what they learned was the division of labor production of the assembly line. They got started quickly and could go into production with just a little glance.Moreover, the Ming Dynasty was not like other feudal dynasties. It not only abolished the low status of craftsmen, but also did not stingy with their wages.

After all, military production is related to the lifeblood of the army, and the army is the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, so it cannot be careless.

Speaking of which, the reason why people like Wang Li are here today is because yesterday Zhu Yijiong suddenly issued an order to the Cabinet, the Privy Council, the Ordnance Bureau, and even Yang Gong, the commander of the First Army who had already rushed to Fuzhou Prefecture.

The content of the decree was just two words: Northern Expedition, and the Northern Expedition immediately.The civil and military ministries were ordered to put down all unnecessary work at hand and fully support the allocation of money, food and troops for the Northern Expeditionary Army, and there must be no mistakes.

Although it was strange that the Supervisor had suddenly changed his mind and even rushed to the Northern Expedition before the New Year, but since it was the Supervisor's order, they and their ministers had no choice but to obey.

As a result, the cabinet, the Privy Council, and the Ordnance Bureau all began to make every effort to raise food, grass, baggage, and smelt weapons, armor, and firearms, making sure not to hinder the movement of the army.

As for the generals, it was even simpler. The generals and officers who had just tasted the sweetness heard that the imperial court was going to fight again, so they decided to go to Zhejiang, a prosperous place.

All of them were as excited as if they had seen a beautiful woman taking off her clothes.

When the new year is approaching, fighting is a serious matter. Fighting means making achievements, getting promoted and making a fortune.

As for whether they can survive the battle, their consecutive victories have made them clearly aware of the weakness of the Qing army.

Especially during the previous attack on Fuzhou, the invincible Eight Banners heavenly soldiers were even inferior to them in combat effectiveness.

At least in their eyes, the Qing court was like a decaying shabby house, just waiting for them to kick it in at any time.

The whole of Fujian immediately began war mobilization again under the edict of Zhu Yijiong, the supervisor of the Ming Dynasty.Even Zhu Yijiong sent an edict for the Northern Expedition to the three states of Yanshaoting.

After Yang Gong received the decree, he immediately led the First Army to move north quickly. The Cabinet, Privy Council, and Ordnance Bureau did not dare to delay at all, and quickly raised food, grass, baggage, armor and firearms for the First Army, and at the same time requisitioned and transported grain. A civilian husband, someone who pays wages.

By the way, the baggage battalion is a unit that protects the baggage and civilian husbands. Sometimes they can also play the role of civilian husbands, but the civilian husbands still have to be recruited.

The First Army was transferred away, and the defense vacated was temporarily replaced by Zheng Dingrui's Second Army.

It's not that Zhu Yijiong intends to conserve his strength. It's purely that except for the first town, the second army is composed of new soldiers and lacks combat strength, so it suppresses the local area.

At the same time, Xu Jin's Third Army also quickly passed the order to be formed in order to cope with the deployment operations of the Ming court at any time.

Zhu Yijiong and Wu Sidao have already discussed it. As the Pass is approaching this year, the Ming army will at least take over Hangzhou before the beginning of next spring to connect Fujian and Zhejiang.

In this way, the initiative will be in the hands of the Ming army.At the end of the day, it’s all about trading speed for time.

The provinces were celebrating the New Year, and they went into full-scale war, taking advantage of the gap between other people's New Year's celebrations to accelerate their encroachment on the Qing court's territory.

……

Fuding Fenshuiguan is located 15 kilometers northeast of Fuding County, 450 meters above sea level, at the junction of Taishun and Cangnan counties in Zhejiang and Fuding counties in Fujian.It was originally built by Wang Shenzhi, the king of Fujian in the Five Dynasties, to protect the security of Fujian and to defend against Wu and Yue. The pass was in a dangerous situation and was known as the gateway to northeastern Fujian.

In the feudal feudal era, Fenshuiguan was a battleground for military strategists.At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, Sima Chen Zizhong, the governor of the marching army, guarded Fenshui Pass, escorted Xiu Wang Zhao Yuze into Fujian, and blocked the southern invading Yuan army for more than ten days, until he committed suicide after running out of food and support.

During the later Qianlong period, Li Bazan, the governor of Funing County, called it the water-dividing pass. The scholar Yu Yue came from Deqing, Zhejiang to visit relatives in Xiapu. He wrote a poem at this time: "The strict water-dividing pass on the ridge makes people look back to their hometown mountains. If they miss it on the way home, Fulfilling the spiritual promise of the mountain, Yandang Tiantai is within easy reach."

It is precisely because the Ming army won the two passes of Fenshui and Lishi that the Qing army in Zhejiang was unable to go south. Of course, they did not have the courage to go south.

At the end of December, the Ming army officially sent out 20 troops and levied [-] civilians. It was known to the outside world as a [-]-strong army. It left Fenshuiguan and headed north to Wenzhou Prefecture in Zhejiang Province.

At the same time, there was also an appeal against thieves, which was announced to the world in the name of the supervisor of the Ming Dynasty.

The total number of Green Camp soldiers in Hangzhou is more than [-]. However, it is actually the last years of Kangxi. Not only the civil officials in various provinces are corrupt, but also the generals are not too generous.

It's okay in the north, because there is a war, and although there is a problem of empty wages, it is not too serious because of the pressure from the imperial court.In the south, especially Zhejiang, which is a prosperous place, it is really powerful to have free wages. It is said that there are [-] troops on the roster, but the actual total number of troops may only be a little over [-].

Thirty thousand versus thirty thousand, one side's troops are concentrated, and the other side is severely dispersed. If a fight breaks out, the Ming army will actually only come into contact with a few thousand Qing troops in Wenzhou Prefecture. The result of the Ming army's invasion of Zhejiang is actually already doomed.

The Ming army marched all the way without encountering any resistance, and directly entered Pingyang County.

Looking at the tall county town in front of him, Yang Gong didn't care at all. As Zhejiang is a prosperous place and the largest grain-producing area in the whole province, there are really not many troops stationed here.

The magistrates of Pingyang County, officials of all sizes, looked at the almost mostly red Ming army outside the city gate, and fell into despair.

In the previous letter asking for help sent by the prefect of Funing to Zhejiang, it was mentioned that the Ming army was divided into real thieves and fake thieves. Those wearing red clothes were real thieves, and those not wearing red clothes and only wearing red scarves were fake thieves. Also called red scarf thieves.

And the Ming army in front of me, good guys, most of them are wearing red clothes, and only less than [-] people are red scarf thieves.

The entire Pingyang County only has a garrison of a few hundred people, and there is no thought of artillery or anything like that.

The [-] Ming army didn't even exert much strength. They just used red cannons to bombard the fragile city wall of Pingyang County for a few rounds. The Pingyang County defenders collapsed instantly, and they fled one by one and surrendered.

The whole process took less than an hour. When the city was breached, the county magistrate of Pingyang immediately jumped from the city and committed suicide. The county magistrate and all his subordinate officials also knelt down and begged to surrender without hesitation.

The current Ming army is no longer as enthusiastic about these low-level officials of the Qing court who surrendered. Anyway, the Ming Dynasty has many officials. These people are used when they can be used and thrown away when they cannot be used.

Following Pingyang County, those Fujian officials and civil servants who accompanied the army hurriedly followed and quickly established their rule here by cutting through the mess with a sharp knife. They used everything from cutting braids to shaving their heads. Anyone who dared to refuse would be killed without mercy.

The so-called extraordinary means are used in extraordinary times. After wiping out powerful families in several counties, everyone in Pingyang County, from the gentry to the common people, became honest.

　"Minutes of Fangyu" records: "The two passes of stacking stones and dividing water were built during the reign of King Min to prepare for Wu and Yue."

　　
　
(End of this chapter)