Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

You have eaten my corner horse, and I will take your lead. Therefore, after the Qing court confirmed that the Xia army in Henan was only a partial division to contain, it ordered the front line to wipe out or at least leave a part of the Xia army behind. .

For this reason, the Qing and Xia sides fought more than ten small-scale battles around the Wenhe defense line throughout July.

In view of the fact that his side was not ready for a full-scale northern expedition, the Xia army, who had no intention of fighting, then chose a conservative strategy of ignoring provocations and sticking to the camp.The Xia army didn't want to fight the Qing army in the field, and the Qing army naturally didn't want to storm the Xia army's fortified camp. However, the result of a blind confrontation could only be a waste of precious food and fodder. Under the circumstances, the two sides can only make a fuss around the opponent's grain road.

When it comes to attacking the grain road behind the enemy, the most suitable unit is naturally cavalry, and according to the old emperor's calendar of ships from the south and horses from the north, the Qing army with horses provided by Monan and Mobei Mongolia obviously has an advantage over the Xia army from the south.However, this statement is only half correct. In terms of quantity, the total number of Xia Jun's army horses is due to an absolute disadvantage, but in terms of quality alone, this is not the case.

Xia Jun currently owns four types of military horses, the top ones are pure blooded horses represented by Arabian horses and Andalusian horses.These gigantic horses with a shoulder height of nearly six feet and a weight of [-] jin are by no means comparable to the Mongolian horses equipped by the Qing army in terms of their load-bearing capacity and sprinting ability. After finishing talking about defeating the Qing army.It’s just that the stallions of these Arabian and Andalusian horses are worth tens of thousands of dollars and are prone to death during long-distance shipping. Therefore, although Zheng Kezang has spent a lot of money to buy them from Western and Thai countries, only a few pairs of stallions arrive every year. .Fortunately, after more than ten years of breeding, a population size of more than [-] horses has now been formed, and more than [-] horses of the right age can be selected from them every year, which initially meets the equipment of some senior generals of the Xia Army and cavalry units of the Imperial Guard. It just hasn't been able to spread to the whole army.

The second type of military horse owned by Xia Jun is a mixed breed of Arabian horse, Andalusian horse and Mongolian horse. The blood horse has an overwhelming data advantage, but the victory is guaranteed by the number-Xia Jun's racecourse in Ji County can provide about [-] horses every year, while the islands in Yezo, Kunai, and Lanyu The racecourse can also provide nearly [-] horses, which can basically arm a main cavalry division of the Xia Army in two years—more importantly, the population of mixed-breed horses and the horse farms of Ezodi and Kunai are still expanding , I believe that in a few years, it is not impossible to provide [-] war horses every year.

The third type of military horse is of course Mongolian horses. With the old foundation left by North Korea in Ji County, Xia Jun can obtain four to five thousand Mongolian horses of the right age every year, but Xia Jun does not use Mongolian horses as hussars They are not the horses of the main cavalry units such as the Flying Cavalry Army, but only used as riding horses for the equipment of dragoon cavalry units such as the Flying Cavalry Army.

The last one is the Yunnan-Guizhou Sichuan Dian horse. These small but endurable small horses are currently the most important pack horses and trolling horses of the Xia Army, and are mainly equipped with the Xia Army's artillery units and transport units.

Horse battles, horse battles, naturally the most important factor is horses. Although the main cavalry troops of the Xia army are not as large as the Eight Banners cavalry, Mongolian cavalry, and green camp cavalry of the Qing army, it is precisely because of the quality advantage of mixed-blood horses that they often Being able to win more with less is generally comparable to the larger number of Qing troops.

But then again, the huge consumption of Ma Zhan also caused Xia Jun a headache.

Time entered September, and the Qing army that entered Lu had recovered most of the prefectures and counties in Jiaodong, Jiaonan, Southeast Shandong, and Northeast Xu, including Juzhou and Yizhou. Only a small part of the people who came here stayed in the vicinity of Rizhao due to the wind season, but with the adventurous transportation of the Xia Army's convoy, these less than ten thousand people and the remaining two Xia Army divisions will soon be lost. The retreat is complete.

On September [-], under the escort of the Xia Army's main cruiser, the last batch of Xia Army withdrew from Rizhao Bay.The next day, the Qing army, frightened by the power of the Xia army's naval guns, set off from Rizhao County and recovered the completely destroyed Xia army's seaside camp, which symbolized the end of the Shandong war.However, the end of the war meant the beginning of the imperial struggle. The debate within the Qing court about whether to abandon the south of the Yellow River began to rage, only because Kangxi had a clear understanding of the significance of Huai'an, Xuzhou and other points, and the Qing court Unable to abandon the wealth and taxes of Luxi, Luzhong, Lunan, and Eastern Henan like a strong man cut his wrist, he suppressed the opinions of some courtiers, continued to control the entire Shandong, and used the southeastern coast of Shandong as a buffer zone between Qing and Xia.

However, to ensure that the grain areas in western Shandong and eastern Henan were not ravaged by the Xia army, it was necessary to strengthen the strength of the Henan front line, so the Qing army quickly transferred the Southern Aid Corps to the Wenhe front line.However, the Xia army predicted the possible actions of the Qing army. From the end of August, Bian successively sent more troops to Xuchang.Although the combat power of these new divisions was very suspicious, the Qing army did not know the details, but only knew that the Xia army was also increasing its troops.

Considering that such accumulation will continue, firstly, the financial pressure will be too great, and secondly, it may form a situation of final decisive battle. Kangxi, who did not dare to fight lightly, had to take the initiative to order a retreat. Therefore, under the support of the Ludongnan Corps, the Qing army successively Retreat to the vicinity of Zhengzhou, and then retreat to Hezhong and Lunan respectively.The Xia army also retreated because it wanted to digest the achievements in the southeast of Shandong. In October of that year, before the snow fell in North China, the two sides resumed their original situation, and the four-year battle of Wucheng came to an end.

The acquisition of more than 50 people is naturally a big gain for China, but for the Qing court, the loss is not just simple population and taxes.Just as a small group of the most sober Manchu and Han officials in the Qing court were sighing, the arrival of the Dutch was like giving them a shot of stimulant.

"My esteemed minister, you are right." Diemen, as the advocate of the whole plan, naturally appeared in the mission without shirking his duty. "It is true that the United East India Company cannot directly declare war on China, which is what you call the rebels, but based on the principle that the enemy's enemy may be a friend, we have come here, hoping to give some help in certain aspects. For example , we have brought the best shipwrights, who can manufacture warships for your country that are not inferior to the rebels, and enough sailors, who can operate and train qualified sailors for your country, and even the most elite Taixi Mercenaries can teach your country to be familiar with firearm warfare. More importantly, all of this is provided by the United East India Company for free. Yes, we don’t need compensation. We only hope that you can defeat the rebels. In this case, The united East India Company would guarantee itself a monopoly on trade (in the East Indies region)"

After Diemen and the European missionaries who translated retreated from the side hall, Kangxi, who was hiding behind a screen and eavesdropping, came out: "Your Majesty, tell me, how true is what this Hong Yi said?"

"Your Majesty, this servant thinks that Hong Yi is really in danger." Xi Hana, a scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion, responded with a bow. "Otherwise, with the profit-seeking temper of the barbarians, it is absolutely impossible to donate huge ships for free and send shipwrights to serve. If this is the case, why should the court refuse, otherwise it will chill the hearts of foreign vassals, and it will also kill the court. Great help."

"I'm just worried about whether this is a double spring between Hongyi and Haini." Due to the cut off of the sea route, the Qing court was already in a state of black eyes, so it is not too much to have such a guess. "If this is the old wisdom of Qin Xiuzheng Guoqu in the past, the imperial court's small financial resources will be wasted in vain."

"Isn't Zhang Ge always worrying for nothing?" Xihana had a lot of opinions on Zhang Yushu, a scholar of the Wenhua Palace. "Nowadays, Haini is using the power of boats to make the court exhausted, and there is no reason to hand over its own weapon to others."

Zhang Yushu asked rhetorically, "I'm afraid that once the ship is built, there will be another change at Tianjin Shipyard."

"Tianjin Haiphong Dao reported that the three huge ships that Hongyi paid tribute to are not inferior to the warships against the sea, or they can be used as the foundation of the Tianjin Navy." Chen Tingjing, who succeeded Xiong Cilu as the Dongge University scholar, was alive and muddy. "As for whether we want to build a ship, we can first see if Hong Yi devotes himself to teaching ship handling skills before making a conclusion."

Kangxi thought about it for a while and nodded: "Chen Qing is an old-fashioned way of seeking the country, so first set up the Tianjin navy to help defend Haikou, Gyeonggi, and use the Hongyi sailors as teachers to train the officers and soldiers of the navy to see their intentions. Then, the Ministry of Rites will inquire more about the missionaries in the west of Jingtai to confirm the entanglement between Hongyi and Haini."

This is the official decree, and all the officials bowed their heads and listened: "As for letting the Hongyi boatman idle? After the Hongyi and Haini entanglement are confirmed, Shengjing will find a place at the mouth of the Liaohe River to prepare the shipyard. , It doesn’t need to be too large at the beginning, start with a small boat, and let the Hongyi shipbuilder teach the skills while building the boat.”

"Your majesty is holy," Li Guangdi, the newly-appointed Martial Arts University scholar, immediately asked for instructions after praising him. "Ran Chen is stupid, I don't know how the Hongyi envoy called Teacher Lu to deal with it like this?"

"And be incorporated into the Eight Banners." The Qing court has always had a tradition of incorporating captives into the Eight Banners. "Mixed together with Eros, I think they are all Western Yi, and they are all good at using firearms. Maybe they can benefit each other." Speaking of this, Kangxi frowned. "Hongyi is a small country. The reason why I came to China for thousands of miles by sea is nothing more than some goods. The so-called free offerings, the imperial court has no face to accept it." Shang Shu frowned, but fortunately, Kangxi had already figured out a way to save money. "Of course, the imperial court's expenses are tight now. I'm afraid that I won't be able to reward the foreign countries for a while, so I will first grant the envoys first-class Qi Nihafan, and the following people will use them for the fifth rank or less. Don't you lose the face of the imperial court?"