Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

Chapter 574 Catalpa’s little tricks move the king’s heart

He County in Guangxi is located on the bank of the He River. Looking at the rushing river, Li Dingguo sighed, "If the river is like a river in this life, it will be difficult to turn back!"

If someone who didn't know him well heard this, they would have thought that he regretted turning against Sun Kewang and leaving Hunan. However, Gong Yi beside him knew him well and knew that his coach was not someone who would turn back easily. Worried about the direction of the battle. Hearing this, he smiled and said: "A few years ago, Mr. Yu Shan (Qian Qianyi) wrote a handwritten letter to Mr. Qu Ge (Qu Shichu). After Mr. Qu Ge got the letter, he reported to His Majesty: 'Qian Qianyi is among the captives. He did not miss this dynasty for even a moment, but planned the situation with a clear understanding of the situation, and was able to make accurate calculations. The sense of loyalty and righteousness overflowed in Chu Mo. I had seen this book from my hometown in Quge in the past. I loved its insight and copied it by hand. I ordered a copy. I would like to present it to King Anxi for details."

Li Dingguo nodded after hearing this, "Mr. Yushan is the leader of Donglin. Mr. Qu Ge and Guo surname (referring to Zheng Chenggong) are both his disciples. There must be merit in his opinions. Let me see." He is a man with far-sighted vision, and he has long wanted to contact anti-Qing righteous people from all sides to fight against the Qing Dynasty together. Zheng Chenggong, who lived in the Fujian region and was powerful, naturally fell into his field of vision. He even respected Zheng Chenggong's master Qian Qianyi, who had great influence in Jiangnan Shilin.

I picked up the letter and looked at it. It said: "The government of a person is like playing chess. A small skill can be compared to a big one. Today, there are things to do, things to do, and things to be anxious about. Those who are good at playing chess will be able to save the situation according to the urgency of the situation. Yes. The urgent need now is to get it; the need to get it now is to get it all. There are only four key places in the world that must be fought for. The Central Plains is basically in the south of the Yangtze River. Could it be that Chang, Huai, and Bianjing are all the cities? Xuan moved all the troops from southern Chu to restore Jing and Xiang with all their strength, to suppress Han Mian at the top and shake Wuchang at the bottom. The south of the Yangtze River is within my control. The south of the Yangtze River is established, the wealth and wealth are gradually increasing, and the foundation is solid. Then move to Jing and Bian The front of the army cleared Heshuo. Emperor Gao ordered the tripod to Jinling, his troops pointed north, and Emperor Gengshen fled back to Mobei. This is the result of what has been done."

In this letter to Qu Shishu, Qian Qianyi used the metaphor of "Three Catalpa Scales" to describe the world situation, pointing out that the foundation of the Central Plains lies in Jiangnan, and the key to conquering Jiangnan is to restore Jing and Xiang. If we can learn from Emperor Gao To secure the tripod to Jinling, to acquire the important land of wealth in the south of the Yangtze River, and then to sweep across the Heshuo River, the matter was settled. This coincided with Li Dingguo's battle plan to capture Huguang in the north and Jiangxi in the east. I couldn't help but sigh: "Mr. Yu Shan is really a great talent. I wish I couldn't discuss the world situation with him over wine."

"King Anxi plans to learn from the emperor's position in Jinling and acquire the important land in the south of the Yangtze River, as stated in the letter?" Gong Yi asked.

"I want to regain Guangdong first, and then seize Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and South Zhili. If this can be done, the situation across the country will be greatly improved. However, our strength alone may not be enough. We must contact Guangzhou to join forces in Guangdong and work together. Working together, great things will happen," Li Dingguo said thoughtfully.

"Contact Zheng Chenggong?" Gong Yi nodded slowly, "This is a clever move."

Li Dingguo was a vigorous and resolute man, and he did what he said. He immediately wrote a book to Zheng Chenggong and said: "I sincerely think of you as a wise man, and my father's hatred is deep. Then Wuyang (referring to Guangzhou), the Red Sea, a sail, half the Great Wall, and Kuang in the center." . Otherwise, the resurgence will be completed, the capital will be victorious, and the word "Yuntai Xiang" will be passed down for thousands of years, and the country's name will not be predicted. How can we look up to the special family and comfort us? Is this the current situation? I look at it and say in a hurry, fortunately According to".

Coincidentally, Zheng Chenggong actually also wanted to contact Nanming and jointly resist the Manchu Qing. As early as the first month of last year, his general Zhou Quanbin advised him to take the title of "King of Qin", first pass through Guangxi, reach Xingzai, meet Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo divisions, connect to the east of Guangdong, go out of Jiangxi, and then take the south of the Yangtze River from Dongting. He praised it highly and said: "This is a sincere and wonderful theory!"

However, unlike Li Dingguo who was truly loyal to the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Chenggong actually just wanted to recruit troops and separatist power in the name of the Ming Dynasty. If he really went to Guangdong with Li Dingguo, it would be equivalent to direct contact with the Yongli court. In name, he was still a minister of Yongli. If the emperor kept transmitting imperial edicts, would he listen? This will seriously affect their own plans to separate themselves. At this stage, he just wants to "secure the islands, away from Zhoushan at the top, to divide the force coming from the north, and guard Nan'ao at the bottom to contain the invasion from the south. Build up foreign trade routes to get enough food and pay. Then raise troops to Zhangzhou and Quan as a foundation." . The land enters from Ting County, the water enters from Fu and Xing, and all eight Fujian provinces are taken."

"Fo Zhuang, what do you think of this letter from King Anxi?" Zheng Chenggong asked his adviser Chen Shijing.

Chen Shijing, whose courtesy name was Fozhuang, had advised Zheng Chenggong as early as when he met with the civil and military ministers at Lieyu (Little Kinmen) and made an alliance to restore the Ming Dynasty. He was also the teacher of his son Zheng Jing. It was this man who was willing to take risks and go to Zhaoqing, Guangdong, on the order of Zheng Chenggong to meet Emperor Yongli, and obtain an imperial edict to confer Zheng Chenggong as the Duke of Yanping. This is also the origin of the title "King of Yanping".

"The country's surname, if this is the case, there is hope for the revival of the Ming Dynasty!" Chen Shijing was so excited that tears filled his eyes and his whole body trembled.

"You and I have thought of going together, and the matter of joining forces in Guangdong has been decided." Zheng Longgong agreed verbally, but he was filled with surprise and doubt in his heart. Even close confidants like Chen Shijing were looking forward to joining forces with Emperor Yongli's army, which shows how influential Zhu Ming Zhengtong was! No, we must not get too close to Emperor Yongli, otherwise the plan to separate Fujian will not be realized.

Therefore, Zheng Chenggong pretended to agree to join forces with Guangdong, but violated the plan; on the other hand, he negotiated peace with the Qing court to defraud benefits; at the same time, he monopolized maritime trade and plundered the coastal areas to expand his own strength.

This was an extremely strategic hero. He not only deceived Li Dingguo, but also deceived the Qing court. He told the Qing court, "There are too many troops and little land, so it is difficult to deploy them. If we reduce the number of troops, how can we win once we go on an expedition?" He asked for more "three palaces". stationed troops and administered the coastal areas of three provinces"; it also proposed that the Qing government had granted itself the title of Duke of Haicheng, "the Duke was a fifth-class noble, serving as a general military officer, and was still under the admiral"; and also accused the Qing government of appeasing and dispatching Gushan'e Zhenjinli led the troops into Fujian, which seemed to be a scam; in the end, he said that the Qing government should "employ people without suspicion, and use people who are suspicious" and "entrust full authority" to "sea matters".

After thinking that he had reached an agreement with Zheng Chenggong to join forces in Guangdong, Li Dingguo led his army from He County, Guangxi, and began the Eastern Expedition. First, they captured the strategically important Wuzhou, then moved out of Guangdong, captured Kaijian and Deqing prefectures, and reached the city of Zhaoqing. At the same time, the troops were divided to occupy Sihui and Guangning.

The anti-Qing forces in Guangdong and Guangxi were deeply encouraged when they heard that Li Dingguo, who had become king after two defeats, was here. Song Guoxiang and Wei Yingdeng from Cenxi, Guangxi, Zhou Jintang, Ye Biao, Shi Shangyi, Xiong Chaozuo, Wang Han, and Deng Yiyao from the Guangdong coast, and Chaozhou general Hao Shangjiu all raised troops to respond.

(End of this chapter)