Ming Empire

Chapter 256 Various Preparations
What made Dorgon even more troublesome was that the dying rogues who had been beaten made a comeback at this time, with a posture of swearing not to give up until they took revenge. At this time, Dorgon clearly knew the consequences of not completely eradicating the rogues.If the rogue bandits can be completely wiped out in this campaign in Shaanxi, then don't worry about being attacked, and the entire Guanzhong will become the rear of the Qing Dynasty, and the strategic depth will be much greater.

Dorgon also admired Cao Yue for being able to put aside his prejudices and take huge risks in the Northern Expedition to rescue the rogues.

Now, Cao Yue has finally reaped the fruits, and the bandits have made a comeback, putting tremendous pressure on the Qing army.

Dorgon is also very clear about how much the rogues hate the Qing Dynasty now. Presumably the rogues hate the Qing Dynasty no less than the officials and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. If they get the chance, they will definitely hunt down the Qing Dynasty with their lives sergeant.

Dorgon didn't want to fight on both sides. In the end, he followed Fan Wencheng's suggestion and sent someone to negotiate with Li Zicheng. With huge benefits, he hoped that the peasant army could join forces with the Qing army to deal with the Ming army.The conditions he gave were very generous, that is, Daqing recognized the Dashun regime and let Dashun rule Shaanxi, Henan, Hubei, Sichuan and other places, but whether Li Zicheng would agree, Dorgon had no idea.

Dorgon would basically agree to Fan Wencheng's proposal, and he praised the counselor around him.Fan Wencheng is a very good strategist, courageous and insightful, and Dorgon did not neglect him because his several proposals failed to achieve results.

In fact, Fan Wencheng also mentioned that he hoped that the Qing Dynasty could negotiate peace with the remnant Ming Dynasty who was partial to Nanjing, and the two sides agreed to divide the Yangtze River or the Yellow River for governance.

Fan Wencheng believes that the Qing Dynasty now needs to recuperate and reorganize its strength. After all, the time to occupy the northern provinces is too short and the rule is not stable.Moreover, the northern provinces, including Beizhili, Shanxi, and Henan, are all war-torn lands, where people are displaced and production is extremely declining.

The people should be given time to resume production, and the order of life should also be restored.All these have been repaired, the output in the north has increased, the treasury of the Qing Dynasty has bulged a little bit, and the people in the northern provinces are willing to belong to the rule of the Qing Dynasty. This is the time for a decisive battle with the remnant army or the rogue bandits.

However, Fan Wencheng's proposal was not fully approved by Dorgon, or Dorgon thought that although Fan Wencheng's proposals were reasonable, they could not be implemented.Fan Wencheng's talk about uniting the rogue bandits or the remnant army is justified. This is similar to the situation of the three kingdoms in the Three Kingdoms period. The combination of the two parties will definitely defeat the other.It's just that Dorgon knew that it was impossible to unite with Cao Yue. Both Cao Yue and himself regarded each other as enemies of life and death, and there was no possibility of union.Within the Qing Dynasty, no one dared to speak of joining forces with Cao Yue.

The only ones who can unite are the bandits led by Li Zicheng. Although the two armies were still fighting to the death, facing the powerful army of Remnant, it is not impossible for the two sides to unite.The enemy of the enemy is a friend, which Dorgon very much agrees with. He feels that as long as Li Zicheng is given enough benefits, the bandits will still cooperate with the Qing Dynasty.

However, Dorgon had no idea whether Li Zicheng would accept the alliance with the Qing Dynasty in the end, and he didn't dare to hold much hope.

In order to defend against the continued attacks of the rogues, Dorgon also had to take measures to re-send Azig to advance with 5 people.

The rebellion of Jiang Xing and Jiang Rang brothers also made Dorgon very angry. Fortunately, he took countermeasures early. He didn't fully believe in these Ming troops. He ordered the Mongolian Prince Manzhu Lixi to lead [-] Mongolian soldiers to suppress the rebellion.
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When the Jiang brothers rebelled and the bandits made a comeback, Dorgon still dared to fight the Ming army with all his strength, and his adventurous spirit surprised many people, including Cao Yue.Everyone knows that the upcoming war is about the so-called "Great Qing" and the fate of the Ming Dynasty.

Cao Yue originally planned to rest for a period of time, and put pressure on Jiannu with the posture of slowly marching north, and was not in a hurry to fight Jiannu.Because the number of artillery and muskets equipped in the army is still seriously insufficient. There are less than 10,000 muskets in an army of [-]+.According to his plaintiff's plan, all the sergeants of the Ming Guards were equipped with muskets, and each guard division had to be equipped with an artillery battalion, with at least one hundred artillery pieces of various types.

But now, he is still far away from his goal. It can be said that the reorganization of the Ming Guards is far from complete.

This is mainly due to the insufficient production capacity of the weapons workshop and Nanjing Arsenal.

However, there are about [-] muskets and more than a thousand cannons in the army, which can already inflict enough damage to Jiannu, and the side has also built a field position. It is almost impossible for Jiannu to rely on cavalry to attack successfully.Everyone knows that as long as there are no accidents, an army equipped with only cold weapons will not be able to beat an army equipped with hot weapons no matter what, even if there is a difference in the number of troops between the two sides.

An army equipped with hot weapons relies on fortifications to defend, while an army equipped with only cold weapons will find it difficult to conquer positions.As long as Jiannu dared to adopt the method of group charge as before, Cao Yue believed that he could wipe out all Jiannu troops in Shandong.

But Cao Yue didn't dare to be careless. He also strictly ordered his generals not to underestimate the enemy. Even if our army won the battle of Liaocheng, we still have to treat Jiannu as a strong opponent. .

Together with Cao Bianjiao and other generals, he made a very careful plan for this battle.

In addition, Cao Yue sent a secret letter to Beijing without telling everyone.

This secret letter was also sent to the Forbidden City through a secret channel, and was handed over to Bumbutai, who had become the Empress Dowager of the "Great Qing Dynasty".

On this day, Bumbutai was personally urging Fulin to study, when someone from the palace came to report, saying that he was invited to see him, and there was a very important confidential matter to report.

In the current Forbidden City, many palace people are those who served the Chongzhen Emperor. The person who asked to see Bumbutai was a godson of Wang Chengen's subordinates.After Beijing was breached, he found a place to hide, but was later captured by rogues, but did not kill him.Later, when Jianu came, he became Jiannu's captive again, but still chose his life, and continued to serve in the palace because he was familiar with the situation in the Forbidden City.

Because he was smart, tall and handsome, and was very familiar with the situation in the Forbidden City, he was reused by Jiannu and became a small official.

Of course, he was able to become a small official because he was appreciated by Bumbutai in the end.

One day, the little eunuch named Jiang An found an opportunity to tell Bumu Butai something about Cao Yue. Bumu Butai was so stimulated that he didn't punish him, and finally let him He held an important position in the palace and had the opportunity to get in touch with her, the empress dowager.Why did Bumbutai make such an arrangement, and Bumbutai himself could not give a reason. Perhaps the daughter who resembled Cao Yue was the only reason for her to do this.

Seeing that Jiang An was looking for her for something important, Bumbutai couldn't help but shiver. She subconsciously thought that Jiang An's looking for her this time might have something to do with Cao Yue.

Needless to say, women's premonitions are sometimes very accurate. After Bumbutai stepped back, Jiang An handed a secret letter written by Cao Yue to Bumbutai.

(End of this chapter)