Cutting 1719

Chapter 348 Two Tigers Fight
In the setting sun, Tongguan Pass was shrouded in the afterglow, the beacon smoke was rising slowly over the pass, and a few crows were heard in the distance, which made people feel a bit sad.

Groups of soldiers of the Great Rebel Army, with knives and guns in their hands, were driving a group of Qing soldiers forward. Those Qing soldiers had their hands tied behind them, and they were only wearing single clothes, walking dejectedly. , seems to have completely resigned to fate, and only cares about moving forward, but there is no intention of resisting.

The crowd pushed and pushed forward, and when they saw the blood pooled on the ground and the corpses that could be seen everywhere, they just stepped on it as if there was nothing there, with the numb expression on their faces, as if they had already I am completely used to this harsh environment.

When the crowd reached the edge of a river beach, the leading soldier glanced at the surrounding people and waved his hand lightly, and saw that those soldiers kicked all the Qing soldiers to the ground, held down their bodies, and put their long sabers on the ground. on their necks.

"kill!"

Following a cold voice, the soldiers raised their long knives very skillfully, aimed at their necks and slashed down fiercely. After a burst of blood, these dozens of Qing soldiers were captured cleanly. solved it.

Ning Qianqiu in the distance looked at this scene without the slightest fluctuation on his face. It was really too much in this period of time. Under his strong attack, the Dayi Army captured the land from Luoyang to Tongguan with almost no casualties. The pass, the loss along the way was extremely heavy, and when it reached Tongguan, a passage was piled up with human lives.

According to Ning Qianqiu's calculations, after the 3 rebels captured Tongguan, there were only less than 2 fresh troops left, and at least more than [-] people had already fallen on this bloody road.

Of course, all this is worthwhile. The Eighth Division and Ninth Division of the Fuhan Army have already taken over the prefectures of Ruzhou, Xuzhou, and Chenzhou left by the White Lotus Sect, and have advanced their troops to the city of Luoyang. There are still [-] Qing troops in Luoyang, but anyone with a discerning eye can see that the fall of Luoyang is just around the corner.

For Liu Ruhan, although on the surface he had to attack the city regardless of life and death because he was bullied by Ning Chu, deep down in his heart, even though so many people died, he still thought that this Everything is worth it, the reason is very simple, with their rapid attack along the way, the day of taking Xi'an Mansion is getting closer and closer.

Correspondingly, the reinforcements of the Qing army did not have time to rescue Xi'an at all. Nian Gengyao and Yue Zhongqi's Northwest Army is still in Qinghai, with Gansu in the middle, and the troops from Sichuan, Shaanxi and Mongolia have long been withdrawn. When the Northwest Army arrived, it was difficult to raise money for a while.

Once the Dayi Army can take Xi'an, it is possible to pacify the northwest. At that time, Liu Ruhan can take Sichuan in the south and Shanxi in the east when he occupies the relevant land. Ning Chu was angry at both ends. If the situation in the Central Plains changes, he might have a chance to win the world.

It was in this state of mind that Liu Ruhan went to fight Tongguan so desperately, regardless of the consequences even if the casualties were heavy, the reason was to be able to occupy Xi'an as soon as possible.

"Congratulations to the King of Han for his thousand years. Now that Tongguan is occupied, Guanzhong is no problem."

Ning Qianqiu looked at the proud Liu Ruhan, but sneered in his heart, and let him have a good life for a few days, and when Ning Chu completely digested the south, he would have the energy to look at the north.

"Your envoy is polite. Thanks to your help these days, our army was able to fight to Tongguan." Liu Ruhan's tone was indifferent, and it seemed that he could not hear any emotions.

Ning Qianqiu clasped his fists in salute, and then said in a low voice: "Since His Majesty the King of Han has reached Tongguan, my mission has been completed. I am here today to ask His Majesty Han to resign and return to court."

Liu Ruhan nodded lightly, looking at Ning Qianqiu with a bit of a tentative taste, "The Puppet Qing army in the northwest is still at its peak. When Nian Gengyao's Northwest army comes, our Dayi Army may be hard to resist. How can this land in Guanzhong be? Whether it can be won is still unknown.”

"Your Majesty the King of Han has powerful generals like rain, and his troops are strong, so why worry about Nian Gengyao?" Ning Qianqiu remained calm.

Liu Ruhan glanced at Ning Qianqiu firmly, and took a deep breath, "I just think that the general situation of the world is now under the control of Da Chu, and it is so difficult for the Dayi Army to find a place to survive. If Nian Gengyao leads the army When the time comes to attack, our army is bound to be difficult to stop. When the time comes, these lonely brothers will die, but if the Dayi Army dies at the hands of the puppet Qing, it is really unwilling. Please also let your envoy know that our Dayi Army has always been Standing on the side of the imperial court!"

Ning Qianqiu fell into silence. Regarding Liu Ruhan's words, he had to think carefully, but the relationship between them was quite far-reaching, and would even affect the emperor's general plan, so he didn't dare to make any promises in person.

Liu Ruhan saw that Ning Qianqiu didn't speak, so he understood a little bit in his heart, and said proudly: "If your envoy has doubts in his heart, then there is no need to say more. Since our Dayi Army can reach Guanzhong, there will be only one soldier left in the future. If you die, you will die in Guanzhong!" After saying that, he didn't care about Ning Qianqiu, and turned to leave.

Ning Qianqiu looked at Liu Ruhan who was leaving, and his face couldn't help but gloomy. Although this person acted absurdly, he had lofty aspirations, and he might be a great enemy in the future.It's just how to deal with the White Lotus Sect, the emperor and the ministers have already made up their minds, so they won't say more.

But this time Liu Ruhan didn't let Ning Qianqiu go back just like that. He sent someone to send a letter to Ning Yu, and asked Ning Qianqiu to take it back. Ning Qianqiu couldn't open it rashly. After returning to the capital, it was presented to Ning Yu.

Ning Yu opened the letter, looked at it briefly, and there was a trace of coldness on his face. He had expected that Liu Ruhan had no intention of being inferior to others, but he never expected that the other party would be so arrogant that he would boldly propose to use Tongguan as the boundary. The east of Tongguan belongs to Ningchu, and the west of Tongguan belongs to the White Lotus Sect. The two families form an alliance to fight against the Qing court.

The intention in the letter is obvious, that is, to no longer recognize Ning Chu as the master, but to seek self-reliance.

"Your Majesty, what does this thief mean?" Cui Wancai was curious.

"Hehe, a whimsical person is talking about dreams here."

Ning Yu sneered, and then handed the letter to Cui Wancai, "Liu Ruhan thought that if he won Guanzhong, he would be able to watch the snipe and clam fight to the bitter end, and even win three points in the world. This is challenging me!"

Cui Wancai took the letter, read it carefully, and laughed dumbly, "This thief can't see the situation in the world at all. Now he knows both sides, and only one can survive. If he wants to be a fisherman, let him do it. Wait until our army After the Central Plains has been set in the north, a small official can be sent to make it come down!"

"Forget it, then let him take a good look at it! Let him guard the northwest for me first, and after the world is unified in the future, let him take care of a prince."

Strictly speaking, what Liu Ruhan did did not exceed Ning Yu's expectations, but Ning Yu still felt a little uncomfortable with this kind of behavior, so he immediately called the cabinet and the Privy Council officials to announce a news—— That is Xizheng.

"Western Expedition?"

Ning Zhongyi was a little excited when he heard the words. The Privy Council formulated a plan for the Western Expedition very early on. Later, Ning Yu rejected it on the grounds of insufficient troops. Everything that happened later was based on the strategy formulated on this basis. Now Seeing Ning Yu let go, Ning Zhongyi thought that the time for the westward expedition was ripe.

"Your Majesty, the Western Expedition is at the right time. We are competing with the White Lotus Sect for time. If Liu Ruhan occupies Guanzhong, we will definitely pay attention to Sichuan. Although it is not the best time to enter Sichuan, it is still possible. It cannot be delayed for long."

After hearing the Privy Council's plan, Chief Assistant Ning Zhongjing objected immediately, "Your Majesty, this is definitely not a good time to go west. Now that the war in the south is going well, why bother? It will only increase the pressure on money and food?"

Everyone knows that the Fuhan army in Fujian has already begun to prepare for the war in Guangdong and Guangxi. The army of more than 5 people has assembled and is preparing to completely occupy Guangdong and Guangxi before this year, so as to achieve the goal of completely occupying the southeast. Therefore, the related Materials have flooded into Fujian like water.

If a conquest is launched at this time, at least five infantry divisions will need to be expanded. Although these five divisions will not completely crush Ningchu's finances, they will disrupt the current development after all. In Ning Zhongjing's opinion, It's extremely unwise, as long as we fight steadily, it will only take two or three years to recover the entire south, so why take such a risk?

Ning Yu smiled slightly, "The Western Expedition is not a one-off push. The newly formed No.12 Division can prepare ships in Yichang, and take Fengjie by land and water. Give me this nail and smash it into Sichuan. My purpose It has been achieved."

This move made everyone a little puzzled. Since ancient times, attacking Sichuan has always paid attention to quick attacks, so as to avoid being trapped in the mountains and trails. How come it is only Fengjie today?

"Your Majesty, I think that Sichuan is steep and the jungle is closed. How about using three divisions to attack along the land and water, and we can completely recover Sichuan Province and solve our serious problems!"

Ning Zhongyi's thoughts are not nonsense, mainly because Sichuan is indeed empty now, if he can bring 3 people into Sichuan, it is not impossible to completely recover Sichuan.It's just that his thoughts are quite different from Ning Yu's.

"Guangdong and Guangxi have always been the focus of our army. Our army must not ignore it. Therefore, it is the right way to do our best to protect the war between Guangdong and Guangxi. As for Sichuan, I think it is better to fight to promote peace and take Sichuan Province as an example."

After hearing Ning Yu's words, Cui Wancai raised his brows, and he quickly saw through the secret - the key lies in the current governor of Sichuan.

Everyone knows that the current governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi is Yue Zhongqi, but it is almost equivalent to a false position, because the other party is still in Gansu, and because he is a new leader, he can't interfere in the affairs of Sichuan and Shaanxi. Therefore, the only one who really decides Sichuan is now Two people, that is Cai Ting, governor of Sichuan.

"Your Majesty means that we can win over this person for our use?"

Ning Zhongjing frowned. He didn't want to fight on both sides at this time. He didn't worry about whether he won the fight, but the logistics supply of the two roads was really under too much pressure. In fact, in order to supply the five divisions in Fujian In terms of military strength, Ning Chu has already mobilized about 20 civilians.

Ning Yu smiled slightly. Among the shadow's information, the research on Cai Ting, governor of Sichuan, has been quite in-depth. It can be said that this person's origin is quite unusual, and his family background is profound. Originally, they were all from the Liaodong lineage, or Zu Dashou's direct lineage. Later, they entered the customs from the dragon and were also reused by the Qing court.

Strictly speaking, it was impossible to win over this person before this, and Ning Yu hadn't thought about it, but just this year, Cai Jue and Nian Gengyao had a quarrel, even though Cai Jue was in Nian Gengyao's hands. Under the recommendation of Yongzheng, he became Yongzheng's confidant before he ascended the throne, but something happened later, which made Cai Ting and Nian Gengyao turn against each other.

This matter is very simple. In fact, it is because Nian Gengyao has been the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu for so long that he has placed his own people everywhere, and Cai Ting has an upright personality. Many people lost their positions, which made Nian Gengyao's confidant Wang Jinghao retaliate against Cai Ting's confidant, Cheng Rusi, the former prefect of Kuizhou, claiming that Cheng Rusi sold private salt and killed salt merchants.Cai Ting, on the other hand, confronted each other, calling Cheng Rusi "the best official in Sichuan", so that the two sides confronted each other.

Nian Gengyao was very dissatisfied with this, and he played Cai Teng in Yongzheng's booklets. If it were in the past, Cai Teng might have resigned from office, but at this time, Yongzheng's view of Nian Gengyao also changed. .

As early as the beginning of the year, Yongzheng heard about Nian Gengyao's various behaviors in Sichuan many times, such as "Sichuan officials who have served in Shaanxi must send Zhiyi again today, and explain the rules and etiquette after taking office." All the officials went to Nian Gengyao, or sent someone to greet him or send gifts with the granary." In addition, Nian Gengyao's wanton placement of cronies when he was the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi has aroused Yongzheng's suspicion and great dissatisfaction.

Now that Luo Bu Zang Danjin has completely lost power, and Yue Zhongqi has risen, Yongzheng's tolerance for Nian Gengyao has dropped a lot. Yi Nian and Cai's performances are very different, so they seem to be justly handed over to Shi. Wen Mour tried, but Shi Wendao understood Yongzheng's psychology, so he tried his best to excuse Cheng Rusi, which made Nian Gengyao even more annoyed.

"This person is at odds with Nian Gengyao, and now Yongzheng is backing him even more. His arrogance can be seen. He is even more dissatisfied with Yue Zhongqi who took over. In the situation where the governors are fighting, he can become a breakthrough for our army."

Ning Yu had a smile on his face, "This time our army is called Xijin, but in fact it is shifting the attention of the White Lotus Sect and the Qing court to Sichuan. Once the White Lotus Sect can no longer sit still, it will inevitably lead the army south At that time, Nian and Yue's Northwest Army will have to fight even if they don't want to fight the White Lotus Sect."

In Ning Yu's vision, the Northwest Army of Nian Gengyao and Yue Zhongqi is always a hidden danger, so the best way is to create opponents for him continuously. Without Luo Bu Zang Danjin, then create another big one for him. Rebels.

(End of this chapter)