Yangzhou government office!

Zhu Jing'an took off his wet clothes, revealing his strong and toned muscles with well-proportioned lines.

Perhaps due to time travel and Zhu Jing'an's persistence in exercising, he is now in very good shape.

When the maids waiting on the side saw this scene, two groups of tempting crimson appeared on their faces.

Zhu Jing'an stepped into the tub filled with hot water.

Feeling the hot water soaking all over his body, Zhu Jing'an narrowed his eyes in comfort.

Then he let out a heavy breath.

Several maids came forward and gently helped Zhu Jing'an rub his shoulders and back.

The water droplets splashed from the bathtub dripped on several maids, making their thin clothes wet, and their beautiful figures were looming.

However, Zhu Jing'an did not have any evil thoughts now. He narrowed his eyes slightly and while enjoying the bathing service of the young and beautiful maid, he was thinking about the direction of the Ming army's attack in the next stage.

At this moment, a series of footsteps sounded outside the door, followed by Zhang Jin's voice, which Zhu Jing'an was quite familiar with.

"Your Highness, the casualties and losses of various units of our army in this battle have been roughly calculated!"

Zhang Jin knew that Zhu Jing'an was taking a bath, so he had no intention of entering. He just bowed and stood outside the door to report.

Zhu Jing'an heard this and spoke.

"Read it!"

After Zhang Jin heard Zhu Jing'an's order, he did not dare to hesitate and spoke directly.

"Your Highness, in the battle of Yangzhou, our Ming Dynasty suffered a total of 22145 casualties, including a total of 18426 casualties in the forward battalion, and 3719 casualties in the headquarters..."

Although the Qing army lost the battle in Yangzhou, the Ming army actually did not win easily.

It can be called a tragic victory!

The damage to various parts is also quite serious.

When Zhu Jing'an listened to the specific number of casualties reported by Zhang Jin, his face was obviously gloomy, and the movements of several maids slowed down significantly.

This is the first time since the restoration of the Ming Dynasty that so many people have been lost on the battlefield at once.

After exhaling a heavy breath, Zhu Jing'an asked.

"Then what are the results of this battle for our army? How many are they?"

Zhang Jin heard this and continued.

"Your Highness, our army killed more than 60,000 captives in this battle, captured more than 16,500 prisoners, and seized weapons and armor, muskets and artillery, horses and bows and arrows..."

In this battle, almost all the prisoners of war captured by the Ming army outside Yangzhou City were Korean soldiers.

Those Korean soldiers who were left behind by Feng Sheng'e realized that they had been abandoned, and without any hesitation, they chose to surrender to the Ming Dynasty to save their lives.

In addition, most of the other soldiers and generals of the Qing army withdrew from the battlefield, and the Ming army failed to capture many.

After Zhu Jing'an listened to Zhang Jin's report, he nodded slightly with approval.

"Yes, things are well done!"

"Send someone to send the battle report back to Nanjing and ask Nanjing for a reward!"

The good news that Nanjing had received before was that the Ming Dynasty had won the Battle of Yangzhou, but Nanjing did not know how great the results were.

Now that the results of the battle have been calculated, it is natural to report to Nanjing.

Well, this time Zhu Jing'an can brag about killing 100,000 enemies...

Zhang Jin heard this and responded.

Immediately he resigned and left to prepare documents reporting victory to Nanjing.

Zhu Jing'an also finished bathing and walked out of the tub.

Several maids came forward to serve him, help him dry himself and put on his clothes.

Zhu Jing'an walked out of the bathroom and came to the study room in the government office.

He sat behind the desk, asked the maid to wipe his hair, and ordered people to summon the generals of the Ming army to discuss matters.

He needed to discuss with the generals the next move of the Ming army.

Zhu Jing'an didn't have to wait long before all the generals of the Ming army arrived. Looking at the wet uniforms of the generals, Zhu Jing'an opened his mouth and gave instructions.

"Order someone to cook some ginger soup to warm up the generals. We just got caught in the rain, so don't catch the cold again."

The maid took the order and nodded to do it.

After hearing this, all the generals stood up from their seats and bowed to Zhu Jing'an.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your grace!"

Zhu Jing'an just nodded slightly.

"It doesn't matter, you are all ministers of the Ming Dynasty, and this is what you should do!"

"Please take your seats!"

After all the generals took their seats, Zhu Jing'an continued.

"The Battle of Yangzhou was won, and the strategic initiative once again belongs to our Ming Dynasty."

"The Northern Expedition is urgent!"

"Let me tell you which direction we should move our troops next. Let's all speak freely!"

While talking, Zhu Jing'an ordered someone to fetch a map and hung it in the center of the study.

The map details the current number of Ming troops stationed in various places, as well as the Qing army's deployment status.

Every strategic location was painted with red paint.

The generals were observing the map, all with thoughtful expressions on their faces.

Pan Dazhu was the first to stand up and say.

"Your Highness, if we, Ming Dynasty, want to make the Northern Expedition, logistics supply is the top priority."

"That's why the general's opinion is that we, the Ming Dynasty, can go north along the Grand Canal and capture Huai'an."

The current Ming army can almost be regarded as a pure firearms force. For such an army, the most important thing for military operations is the supply of food and grass logistics.

If the Ming army wants to make the Northern Expedition, it is indeed the most convenient way to go north along the canal and use the canal to transport grain, grass and baggage!

After Pan Dazhu finished speaking, Zhu Jing'an nodded slightly.

Then he continued to glance around the lobby and asked.

"Generals, do you have any other opinions?"

Seeing this, He Gui spoke.

"Your Highness, according to reports from our army's sentries, the main force of the Qing captives has withdrawn to Fengyang after the Battle of Yangzhou."

"If our army goes directly north to Huai'an along the canal, Jiangbei will be empty again, and the Qing army may go south from Fengyang again to attack Jiangbei."

"We have to guard against this!"

When Zhu Jing'an heard this, he couldn't help frowning and thinking. He had to admit that what He Gui said made sense.

Although the Qing army was defeated in the Battle of Yangzhou, it did not mean that the Qing army completely lost the ability to fight a war.

The Qing army saw the Ming army's reinforcements arriving and knew that nothing could be done. In order to preserve their strength, the Qing army took the initiative to withdraw from the battlefield.

Although he was escaping, he arranged for people to stand behind him and then retreated in an orderly manner.

It was not that the Ming army was defeated on the frontal battlefield and then retreated from the battlefield in rout.

The difference between the two is clear. It is precisely because of this that after the Battle of Yangzhou, the main force of the Eight Banners New Army was not damaged, and the Sauron soldiers were still able to fight. Although the Mongolian and Green Camps of the Outer Fans suffered heavy losses, they could continue to enter the battlefield with a little repair.

Once the entire Ming army moved northward, Jiangbei was empty.

It is indeed possible that Feng Sheng'e will go south again to threaten Jiangbei, intending to take the Ming army's retreat.

Many times, what Zhu Jing'an needed to consider was not whether the Qing army would do this, but whether the Qing army had the ability to do so.

If the Qing army has the ability to do this, then it must take precautions in advance.

Now, the Qing army obviously has the remaining strength to move south again.

Seeing this, the generals of the Ming army began to talk about it.

Their opinions are roughly divided into two groups. One group believes that the Ming army should now go north along the canal and attack Huainan and Huaibei.

The other group believed that the Ming army should attack Fengyang first, regain Zhongdu, and at the same time annihilate the Qing army's effective forces.

As long as the Ming Dynasty can annihilate the effective forces of the Qing army on the battlefield, then the next Northern Expedition will not be fought however the Ming army wants to fight?

Facing the quarrel among the people below, Zhu Jing'an just listened quietly, thinking about the gains and losses in his heart, but the expression on his face did not change much.

Gradually, everyone stopped arguing and looked at Zhu Jing'an, waiting for Zhu Jing'an to make up his mind.

Seeing this, Zhu Jing'an chuckled.

"Everything the generals say makes sense!"

"That's why, Gu's plan is for the main force of the army to march towards Fengyang, preparing to contain the main force of the Qing army in Fengyang."

"Send another partial division north along the canal to capture Huai'an. At the same time, cut off the Qing army's food routes, and prepare to surround and annihilate the main Qing army retreating to Fengyang with the main force of the army."

Now that most of the Qing army's forces have gathered in Fengyang, Huai'an's city defense is extremely empty.

As long as the Ming army dispatched a partial division, it would be enough to take it easily.

However, the Battle of Huai'an is still the focus of this battle, while the battle in Fengyang is just a feint attack to contain it, or it can be said to be a foil.

Because Huai'an is the hub of the canal, once the Ming Dynasty controlled Huai'an, it was equivalent to cutting off the canal.

Now, almost all the food and grass needed by the Qing army in Fengyang is transported from Shandong via canals.

Especially after the Yellow River burst, Henan lost its ability to supply food to the army due to disasters. The food and grass needed by the Qing army in Fengyang could only be transported from Shandong through canals.

Once the Ming army captured Huai'an and cut off the canal, it was equivalent to cutting off the Qing army's food route.

Next, there is no need to even fight a battle. The Ming army can starve to death all the Qing troops in Fengyang City just by besieging the city.

When the generals heard this, they looked at each other and responded with clasped fists.

Before Zhu Jing'an made up his mind, they could argue or quarrel.

But now that Zhu Jing'an has made up his mind, no one among them dares to question it anymore.

This is Zhu Jing'an's current power.

After Zhu Jing'an's order was issued, various departments of the Ming army began to prepare for the Northern Expedition again.

A large amount of ordnance supplies were transported from the south of the Yangtze River to the north of the Yangtze River.

The ferries on the Yangtze River began to become busy again.

……

Beijing!

The Hall of Nourishing Heart!

Qianlong had just finished replacing the ornaments he had dropped last time, and they were dropped again.

Looking at the pieces of porcelain and broken jade on the ground, everyone's faces were filled with fear and distress.

The Qing Dynasty's treasury is almost empty now, but the emperor is still so wasteful...

Li Shiyao raised his head, glanced at Qianlong's face carefully, and then lowered his head again.

At this time, Qianlong was really angry.

Lost! The Qing Dynasty was fucking defeated again!

Fengsheng'e defeated Yangzhou and lost nearly 100,000 troops...

The main force of the Qing Dynasty suffered a heavy blow and had no choice but to retreat to Fengyang.

Qianlong was not reconciled, he was really unwilling!

Logically speaking, the elite Ming thieves were in Hubei, and the defenses in Jiangbei were empty. Fengsheng'e led his troops south this time, and he should be able to defeat the Ming thieves and restore the power of the Qing Dynasty. Why was he defeated again?

Is it possible that the combat effectiveness of the soldiers of the Qing Dynasty and those of the Ming thieves is really so different?

Is the Qing Dynasty really going to die at the hands of Qianlong?

Qianlong smashed everything in the Yangxin Hall and vented the anger and unwillingness accumulated in his heart.

When he was done venting, he sat back on the bed and spoke.

"In the Battle of Yangzhou, the Qing Dynasty was once again defeated by Ming thieves. Feng Sheng'e led his troops to retreat to Fengyang. His confession and battle report have also been sent to the capital."

"Everyone, please tell me, how should the Qing Dynasty deal with the current situation?"

When asking this question, Qianlong's old face was filled with a lonely expression.

He is really a little numb now!

The power of the Qing Dynasty has reached this stage, and Qianlong has begun to feel what it means to be powerless.

Hearing this, Li Shiyao, Qinggui and others couldn't help but look at each other.

The expressions on each face are extremely complicated, and sadness is constantly gathering between everyone's brows.

At this moment, Li Shiyao spoke.

"Your Majesty, I feel that the war situation in the Central Plains is irreversible. We, the Qing Dynasty, may be able to transfer General Fukang'an back from North Korea and appoint him to be responsible for the defense of the capital."

"Get ready to fight the Ming thieves outside the capital city!"

Li Shiyao now has no illusions about the situation in the Central Plains and is ready to directly engage in a capital defense battle with Ming Dynasty.

However, Qinggui heard this and spoke.

"Your Majesty, I feel that although the situation in the Central Plains war is irreversible, the imperial army that has retreated to Fengyang must not give up."

"Perhaps the imperial court should order the Fengyang garrison to break out to the north and return to defend Shandong and Beizhili."

Although Fengsheng'e's troops suffered heavy losses under Yangzhou City, they still had tens of thousands of new Eight Banners troops, and they could still be regarded as the main force of the Qing government.

Naturally, the Qing court could not sit back and watch it be annihilated by the Ming army in Fengyang!

When Qianlong heard this, he showed a thoughtful expression.

Seeing this, Liang Guozhi also suggested.

"Your Majesty, I think I, the Qing Dynasty, may be able to grant permission to local officials and gentry to organize their own regiment training, and use the power of the gentry and common people to resist the Ming thieves' offensive."

Liang Guozhi's idea was very simple, that is, to allow his subordinates to conduct group training to resist the Ming army's attack.

As for hidden dangers?

If officials and gentry are allowed to start group training on their own, there will definitely be hidden dangers. This is a Pandora's box. Once it is opened, it cannot be closed.

Once local team training becomes more powerful, local separatist forces may rise.

The most typical example is that at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom rose. In order to quell the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom rebellion, the Qing government chose to delegate power to the gentry and let local governments form groups to train thieves.

In the end, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was indeed pacified, but after Cixi declared war on the Eight-Power Allied Forces, the southeastern provinces came to provide mutual protection, ignoring the orders of the Manchu and Qing court, and even directly stated that the court's orders were chaos.

However, it seems that the current Qing Dynasty cannot stop the Ming army's attack, and the country will soon be destroyed.

But he doesn’t care about any hidden dangers!

Even if there are hidden dangers, the Qing Dynasty must be able to get over the obstacles before it can have a chance to face the hidden dangers.

Just like drinking poison to quench thirst, if you are really thirsty, you still have to drink it even if you know it is poisonous wine. (End of chapter)

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