Mao Taiyun went back happily with Li Zicheng's reward and promise, but Li Zicheng summoned Wang Anping and asked him to send back the information in Japan, especially the Satsuma Domain, as soon as possible, and if the expedition was not over, the message could be directly transferred to Liaodong.

In addition, some men should be dispatched to Ryukyu immediately to inquire for detailed information, and if necessary, to protect the Ryukyus king Sanghyun at all costs.

After the arrangement here, Li Zicheng will conquer the Manchu Qing.

On March 12, the fourth year of Yongchang in China (1646 AD), the Huaxia Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of National Defense jointly sent a message to the third battalion of Liaodong, the tiger cavalry of Shanggu Province, and the wolf cavalry of Rao Le Fu that the battle of the northern expedition against the Manchu Qing Dynasty would start on time on March 20.

When Li Zicheng and all his soldiers left Beijing on the same day and rushed to Liaodong, passing through Jinzhou, Liaoning Provincial Governor Hong Chengchou and Jinzhou Governor Zuo Maotai greeted them outside the city, but Li Zicheng only exchanged some information with them and did not stay, and rushed to Dujiatun on the afternoon of 18 August to join the third battalion.

Li Xin personally led Zhou Fengwu, commander of the First Division, Wang Guangen, commander of the Third Division, Bai Guangen, commander of the Fourth Division, and Yang Kun, commander of the Fifth Division, to greet him together, "The ministers will knock on the emperor!"

"No rudeness!" Li Zicheng jumped off his horse and swept his eyes, "Well, why isn't Li Mu here?" ”

After Li Xin got up, he hurriedly said: "Back to the emperor, Li Mu has secretly rushed to Xining Fort in the east, ready to cross the Sancha River at any time!"

Li Zicheng nodded, "Let's go, let's go to the tun first!"

Dujiatun is only a slightly larger tunzi, with a population of less than 100 households, and there is no city wall around it, so it is only a temporary foothold for Li Xin.

Li Zicheng didn't want to disturb the people, so he asked his soldiers to camp outside the tun, and only brought a thousand soldiers into the tun and entered Li Xin's marching tent.

When the emperor arrived, Li Xin naturally gave up his handsome position, and Li Xin, Zhou Fengwu, Wang Guangen, Bai Guangen, and Yang Kun sat opposite Li Zicheng, with a small wooden table in between.

Bai Guangen was the most anxious, "Your Majesty, all the soldiers of the third battalion are ready, and they can go tomorrow!"

Li Zicheng nodded, asked Li Xin to unfold the march map, and said with a smile: "This place is about a day's journey from Xining Fort, and the cavalry is about a day's journey, right?" ”

"The emperor is right, the cavalry is about a day's journey, the infantry marches for a day and a half, and it takes two days to slow down," Li Xin's hand lightly stroked on the marching map, "From Dujiatun to Xining Fort, it is a straight official road, and it is convenient to pass!"

Li Zicheng had already calculated, in the first two days of the war, rushed to Dujiatun, and then in one day to rush to Xining Fort, or even the bank of the Sancha River, the less time, the less likely it was to alarm the Manchu rangers, he nodded, and said: "What is the change in the Manchu side?" ”

"Back to the emperor, according to the rangers sent by the ministers and the information sent back by the Han Qing Ministry, there is no change on the part of the Manchu Qing side, and there should be no discovery of our strategic intentions!"

Li Zicheng frowned slightly, "Near Jinzhou, there are 100,000 soldiers stationed, how can the Manchus not have rangers?" ”

Li Xin hurriedly said: "Since last winter, the minister has been constantly mobilizing troops, advancing in the east and retreating in the west, replacing daily training with heavy and rapid marches, according to the information sent back by the rangers, at first, the Manchu cavalry on the opposite side was very nervous, they were indeed ready for battle, but after a long time, they were paralyzed, after all, we did not mobilize a large number of troops from the Guannei, and it was completely possible to hide from the Manchus. ”

Li Zicheng said with a smile: "What other means does Li Aiqing have to hide from the world?" ”

Li Xin also smiled, "Every once in a while, the minister suddenly sends additional rangers to expel the Manchu cavalry who crossed the Sancha River, block the information here, and create tension for the Manchus, but there is no military action, and the blockade will be lifted after a while, and the Manchu cavalry's ......will to fight will be tortured little by little."

Li Zicheng suddenly felt that this was an asymmetrical war.

In addition to the number and combat effectiveness of the cavalry is not as good as that of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, China has too many advantages, not to mention the natural conditions of population and strategic depth, as well as the advantages of science and technology and information, and the cultural precipitation of 5,000 years in China has created generals like Li Xin.

If Li Xin stays in Liaodong, he will definitely become a generation of famous generals who will go down in history!

He kept staring at Li Xin, and found that Li Xin's face was red, and he realized that he was distracted, "How is the situation on the Manchu side?" ”

"Back to the emperor, our goal this time is the four guards in southern Liaoning, and then advance to the north, the minister has already sent someone to investigate, Haizhou City is still the Xi Department, and the rest of Gaizhou, Fuzhou, and Jinzhou are mainly people with blue flags, and the blue flag is stationed in the territory of Liaodong to Chao # Xian."

"What about troop deployment?"

"In the city of Haizhou, there are less than 3,000 Han soldiers who are still gratifying, and Gaizhou, Fuzhou, and Jinzhou in the south, although the territory is vast, the real Manchu cavalry is only 1,000 people, and most of them are armed with some untrained Han people to scare and scare the people."

Li Zicheng said with a smile: "Li Aiqing can't be underestimated, since the Manchu Qing can swallow the Liaodong capital of the Ming Dynasty, their cavalry is really not to be underestimated!"

"The minister understands," Li Xin said with a smile: "I am afraid that the Manchus would never have dreamed that we would suddenly counterattack, as the emperor said, at this time the Manchu herdsmen began to nomadize, once the war is unfavorable, it may not be easy to gather the herdsmen." ”

Li Zicheng nodded at Li Xin, he chose to launch an attack in the spring, not because he was too anxious, but because he wanted to cause the greatest damage to the Manchu Qing, "Tell me what you think!"

Li Xinshou circled a large area on the marching map and said: "Here, the minister's meaning, first cross the Sancha River, capture Haizhou and Gaizhou, the two acropolis of the Ming Dynasty, leaving the infantry of the third division Wang Guangen to hold the two cities and block the enemy in Fuzhou and Jinzhou in the south, and the rest of the four main divisions, with the cavalry of the Yang Kun division of the fifth division as the vanguard, the first division Zhou Fengwu department, the second division Li Mou department followed, and the fourth division Bai Guangen department escorted the grain and grass hall, and the whole battalion rushed to Liaoyang at the fastest speed, regardless of whether Liaoyang could be taken or not, As long as you can rescue the Han people along the way and take root in southern Liaoning, the most basic goal will be achieved......"

Li Zicheng said lightly: "Then return to the division and concentrate the main force to take Fuzhou and Jinzhou in the south?" ”

"Minister...... The minister has this idea," Li Xin's eyes were shining, "As long as we control the four guards in southern Liaoning, we will be able to connect with the current Liaoning Province, and when the people of southern Liaoning are settled, we will try to Liaoyang in the future, and even Shengjing, the capital of the Manchu Dynasty, no matter what, control the south of the border wall of Liaodong in our hands." ”

"If we can recover all the land south of the eastern border wall of Liaodong, including Shengjing, the Manchus can only go to Changbai Mountain to drill the ravine," Li Zicheng said with a smile: "The strategy is good, but it is too dangerous, and it is very likely that the Manchu cavalry will be manipulated by the back road, and the Manchus are good at using cavalry!"

Li Xin was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "Please make it clear to the emperor!"

"First, the Sancha River in the east is the estuary of the confluence of the Liao River, the Hunhe River and the Taizi River, the water is turbulent, the river is wide, and the east bank is guarded by Manchu soldiers, how do you cross the river?"

"Back to the emperor, we have built a lot of rafts, if we cross the river at night and rely on the advantage of rifles in range, it is not impossible to ......"

"It's really possible, I'm just reminding," Li Zicheng said: "There is also the second, our army is running for a long time, the grain and grass supply line is too long, the third division is infantry, although it occupies Haizhou and Gaizhou, but it may not be able to control the grain road, if the Manchu cavalry in southern Liaoning and eastern Liaodong cut off the grain route, seventy or eighty thousand soldiers in front, without the Manchu Qing Dynasty, they will be in chaos, if the third battalion first conquers Fuzhou and Jinzhou in the south, how can Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming in Liaoyang City not be saved?" Our army is still facing a two-way, or even a three-way attack, and we still have to divide our troops!"

"Could it be ......" Li Xin said tentatively: "Could it be that the emperor used his own soldiers to resist all the way?" No, until the ammunition is exhausted, the emperor will definitely not be able to fight......"

"I don't plan to go to war, if I can see on the battlefield in Liaodong, I can't ask for it!" Li Zicheng said: "Shengjing's cavalry, at least 30,000 elites, put it together, 50,000 should be no problem, at most a day or two, you can rush to Liaoyang, that is to say, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming in Liaoyang City, as long as they hold on for two or three days, our army is likely to face the Manchu Qing Dynasty's 50,000 or 60,000 cavalry, even if the grain route is not cut off, are you sure to defeat these main forces of the Manchu Dynasty?" ”

"This ......" Li Xin felt that he was too risky in the first place, and that it was inevitable to take risks in war, but not to exceed the necessary limit.

"There is also a fourth," Li Zicheng looked at Li Xin and couldn't help laughing: "In Haizhou and Liaoyang cities, Shang Kexi, Kong Youde, and Geng Zhongming all have heavy artillery troops, how can Li Aiqing attack the city, or rather, how many soldiers do you plan to sacrifice?" ”

"Your Majesty, in Haizhou and Liaoyang City, the number of artillery pieces will not be too much......"

"There are indeed not too many red-clothed cannons in the city, sacrificing some brothers, Haizhou, and even Liaoyang may be taken," Li Zicheng said: "Shengjing's Dolgon, how much time will be left for us?" If you face a flank attack from outside the city, even if you can break the city, I'm afraid it will be a miserable victory, right? ”

"Your Majesty...... The minister was frightened and begged the emperor to teach ......"

Li Zicheng pointed at Li Xin's head with his hand, "Li Aiqing is a rising star of the Heavenly Mandate Army, with a ravine, a treasure of scriptures in his belly, and now he still asks for my teaching?" Hahaha......"

"Your Majesty, the ministers are even more frightened......"

Li Zicheng waved his hand, "Li Aiqing doesn't have to be too humble, if Li Aiqing is not a general, I won't let the third battalion be stationed in the most difficult Liaodong!"

Li Xin arched his hand like Li Zicheng and said: "Ask the emperor to give his ministers good advice!"

Li Zicheng said with a smile: "The matter of crossing the river, maybe you have already solved it, as long as the Manchu Qing Dynasty is not prepared, maybe you can use a raft to secretly cross the Sancha River, as for the grain road, Dolgon's cavalry, and the heavy artillery in Haizhou and Liaoyang City......"

Li Xinxing said happily: "It turns out that the emperor has already thought of a good plan? Congratulations to the emperor! Ask the emperor for advice!"

"What do I have to do?" Li Zicheng got up, paced two steps, patted Li Xin's shoulder, and said: "No matter where I am, I have never let go of the Manchu Qing in my heart, so I have laid down an elite army in southern Liaoning in advance, and in this battle, it is time for them to make meritorious contributions, otherwise, they should blame me for not giving them the opportunity to make meritorious contributions." ”