Zhu Changzuo was not only not killed, but was given preferential treatment by Zheng Chenggong, Wang Xinyu and others. After Zhu Changzuo revealed his identity, Wang Xinyu even untied him personally.

After that, Zheng Chenggong handed over Zhu Changzuo to Wang Xinyu to deal with. Anyway, it doesn't matter if Zheng Chenggong kills this person or not, if he refuses to surrender, even if the Ming army puts him back, the Qing court will not let him go. The dignified governor of Zhejiang, not only lost Hangzhou, but also fell into the hands of the Ming army, and then he was able to retreat with his whole body, so the Qing court would definitely be suspicious.

"Lord Zhu was taken captive to the customs as a slave in the eleventh year of Chongzhen, and later was carried the flag, and he entered the customs with the Qing army before becoming an official. And I have heard for a long time that Lord Zhu is sympathetic to the people and provides relief to the victims, and he is a good official, and we can't bear to kill you. Wang Xinyu said.

Zhu Changzuo smiled helplessly: "Then you should kill me!" To tell you the truth, if the matter of the official falling into your hands is known to the imperial court, and the official can still live, then my family will be unlucky! If you kill me, you will still be able to make a good life for my family. ”

Because the Ming army treated Zhu Changzuo with courtesy, his attitude also improved a lot.

Wang Xinyu handed over a cigarette: "Come, Master Zhu come and smoke one!" After that, he also took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, took out the fire fold to help Zhu Changzuo light it first, and then lit it for himself.

"What does this smoke smell like?" Wang Xinyu asked.

Zhu Changzuo took a puff and nodded: "It's much better than the tobacco in the pipe, where is this produced?" ”

Wang Xinyu handed over the whole pack of cigarettes.

Zhu Changzuo took it, looked at the outer packaging box, and saw that it read: Double Happiness brand cigarettes, produced by Nanyang Company.

"This is produced by Nanyang Company, and it is produced on a small island far overseas, so it is also called Nanyang Double Happiness. However, we plan to build a tobacco factory at the mouth of the Yangtze River and also produce Double Happiness, which is called Shanghai Double Happiness. Wang Xinyu said with a smile.

"Shanghai? Isn't that a county seat under the jurisdiction of Songjiang Prefecture? Zhu Changzuo was stunned.

"That's right! That's the county! But we want to turn this county into a big city that surpasses Beijing and Jiangning! Because of the geographical location. It not only has the convenience of shipping on the Yangtze River, but also can sail to the sea, so it is a good place! Wang Xinyu took a deep breath of the flue.

"It depends on whether you can gain a foothold in Jiangnan! The imperial army is about to go south, and you can stop the hundreds of thousands of imperial army with this kind of people? Zhu Changzuo sneered.

"There are not many soldiers, but the fine!" Wang Xinyu smiled faintly.

After the Fujian army seized Hangzhou, it echoed the north and south of the Zhejiang army that occupied Changshu, and the two armies were only a few hundred miles apart, and the Qing court's rule in the Jiangnan region appeared a large-scale avalanche. From Changshu to Hangzhou, Huzhou, Changxing, Jiashan, Jiading, Songjiang, Haining, Shanghai, Wusong and other places of the green camp Qing army have lowered the green green camp Qing army flag and replaced it with the Ming army flag. Even the green battalions in Shanyin, Huiji, Shaoxing and Ningbo lowered the Qing army flag.

Originally, the green battalion Qing army in these cities was wishful thinking, they just let go of the Jiangnan River channel and did not block the Ming army, and wanted to observe the results of the decisive battle between the Ming army and Aobai before making plans. But this time Zheng Chenggong's attitude was much tougher than last time, and he gave the Qing troops in these cities two choices: the first was to lower the banner of the Qing army and replace it with the flag of the Ming army; The second is to hold on, then the Ming army will unceremoniously attack the city.

Among these cities, there were many green camp Qing troops who fled from Hangzhou City. It is said that a fortified city like Hangzhou could not hold on for a few days. Where did the Qing army in those small cities dare to confront Zheng Chenggong? So they chose to change to the Ming army flag.

Of course, there are also those who are not enlightened, such as the green camp Qing army in Jiaxing, who hold their own relatively strong capital and want to delay time. Dragged to the southward march of the Aobai army. In this regard, Zheng Chenggong unceremoniously launched an attack. The Ming army first suppressed the Qing firepower at the head of the city with artillery, and then directly used mortar artillery to bombard the city wall, blowing up a gap. It didn't even take two days. The city of Jiaxing was broken by the Ming army, the prefect of the Qing court committed suicide, and the guerrillas of the green battalion stationed there were killed. More than half of the more than 3,000 Green Battalion soldiers were killed and wounded, and the rest were all captured.

With the lesson of Jiaxing's green camp, the Qing troops in other places did not dare to disobey Zheng Chenggong's orders, and they all honestly lowered the banner of the Qing army and replaced it with the flag of the Ming army. Although these green battalion Qing troops are still waiting, most of them don't even dare to cut their braids, just simply loosen their hair, but for now, they don't dare to make any trouble to the Ming army for the time being.

The ships of the Fujian, Zhejiang, and Qiongzhou armies could freely pass through the Jiangnan River and between Zheng Chenggong's Hangzhou camp and Zhang Huangyan's Changshu camp.

A fleet of ships flying the flag of the Zheng family army passed through the river outside Huzhou City, and although the Qing army, which had been replaced by the Ming army flag at the head of the city, did not take the initiative to open the door to welcome the Ming army, let alone send supplies to the Ming army, at least they only dared to wait and see at the head of the city, and did not dare to send troops to intercept the Ming ships at all.

"Father, these guys at both ends of the rat must be waiting for the result of our decisive battle with Aobai! Why didn't we attack them and finish them out once and for all? That will put an end to future troubles forever! Zheng Cong pointed to the Qing army at the head of the city and asked his father.

Zheng Chenggong said: "They have all lowered the Tartar flag and replaced it with our flag. Although they did not open the gates to welcome us, they did not dare to cause us trouble now! If we want to really turn these fake Tartars into our use, we will have to wait until we defeat Aobai before they dare to really take refuge in us. ”

"Father, we have siege weapons, why don't we let them open the city to meet us?"

"There's no need for this! If we tear our faces, it will be very bad for us in Jiangnan! The people of Jiangnan have been slaughtered by the Tartars too much, and if we attack the city again, we will cause more casualties among innocent people. What we have to do now is to meet with Master Zhang as soon as possible and discuss how to deal with the main force of Aobai! Zheng Chenggong calmly explained the matter to his son.

Wang Xinyu, who was on the same boat as Zheng Chenggong's father and son, also agreed with Zheng Chenggong's statement: "Shibo is reasonable! As long as we defeat Aobai, and then wave our army to break through Jiangning City, whether it is a real surrender or a fake Tartar here, then we will really surrender to us! We don't have to waste too much energy on these small towns. ”

Even if it only takes an average day to capture a city, plus the time on the road, as well as the consumption of materials and ammunition, launching an attack on those Qing troops who are willing to change to the banner of the Ming army is not only a waste of time and energy. Moreover, it caused the Qing army in other places to hold on to it, which was not good for the Ming army.

Zheng's army advanced by land and water and arrived in Changshu.

Zhang Huangyan, Qian Qianyi and others brought a large number of Jiangnan scholars to welcome the arrival of Zheng Jiajun outside Changshu City early. The brothers of the Zhejiang army lined up in two columns, swords and guns were like a forest, and flags were displayed.

Seeing Zheng Chenggong and Wang Xinyu appear one after the other surrounded by a large group of guards, Zhang Huangyan and the others immediately stepped forward and saluted Zheng Chenggong: "Zhang Huangyan, the secretary of the military department, is here to welcome the two county kings!" ”

Zheng Chenggong took the generals into the Ming Army meeting hall converted into Qian Qianyi's mansion.

Since Changshu returned to the hands of the Ming army, Qian Qianyi has put the best house in Changshu. That is, his mansion was changed to the Chinese army camp of the Ming army, but he lived with his family in the original county office. This Qian Mansion has become the center of the Ming army's orders, and it is also the residence of the senior generals of the Ming army.

Some members of the Tiandihui and the spies of the Ming army, who had been secretly operating in Jiangbei, had already sent back the news that the army of more than 300,000 led by Ao Bai himself, known as 800,000, had already moved south along the canal and would arrive in Yangzhou in a few days.

"After the old thief arrives in Yangzhou, he will inevitably cross the river. However, this old thief has done an excellent job of secrecy. We simply don't know where they're going to cross the river next. The Ming army spy who came to report said.

"More than 300,000 troops? Where did so many people come from in such a short period of time? Zheng Cong was puzzled.

Zheng Chenggong said: "There are more than 300,000 people, and the old thief can pull out an army of 150,000 horses, and recruit people and auxiliaries along the way, which will have more than 300,000 horses." But among the soldiers. That is, about 150,000 people brought by the old thief, plus 10,000 Eight Banner soldiers at most. ”

Zheng Cong suddenly realized: "I see! If the Tartars had only 150,000 soldiers, they would not be afraid. Although the number of our army is small, they are all elites in a hundred battles. Less is the best way to do more. The first battle of Hangzhou has already exposed the combat effectiveness of the Tartars. Even if it is the most elite Eight Banners in Hangzhou, is it still vulnerable? ”

"Cong'er must not be underestimated!" Zheng Chenggong was shocked. "The 150,000 Tartar soldiers are all green battalions from the north, and the combat effectiveness of these fake Tartars is above the Eight Banners of Hangzhou! In addition, if Aobai is allowed to cross the river, he can still gather the green battalions in Jiangxi, Hunan and other places, but I am afraid that by that time, Aobai can really gather 250,000 soldiers, plus auxiliary soldiers, the strength can reach 500,000 or 600,000. If our army wants to win, it must take the initiative to go to Aobai, and we can't wait for him to come to the door. ”

"Take the initiative to go and worship? We give up the Yangtze River and cross the river to fight them? Both Zheng Chenggong's generals and Zhang Huangyan's generals were very surprised.

Zheng Chenggong said: "The Yangtze River is so long, our army has not yet controlled the entire Yangtze River route, do you think that Ao Bai will honestly cross the river from the river blocked by our warships?" Wouldn't he cross the river from Anqing and other places upstream, and then assemble along the river bank to Jiangning, and wait until all the forces are complete, and then attack us? ”

After listening to Zheng Chenggong's analysis, even Wang Xinyu gasped. Originally, he thought that when Ao Bai came to Jiangnan, he would definitely cross the river from Yangzhou. In that way, the Ming army could use the power of its own naval division to eliminate the main force of the Qing army by the river. But if Aobai really crossed the river from the upper reaches as Zheng Chenggong said, gathered troops and then launched an attack downstream, then the Ming army estimated that it would not even be able to hold Changshu and Hangzhou, and could only retreat to Chongming Island.

Zheng Chenggong said: "The old thief can even gather the two lakes, Jiangxi, Jianghuai and eastern Sichuan water divisions, the Yangtze River, the Huai River, the Han River, the Dongting Lake and the Gan River, and it is not a problem for the Tartars to form a sailor with 200,000 people and tens of thousands of boats. Although the Tartars are all small boats, there are so many of them that we are not easy to deal with. Now our top priority is to find Aobai's assembly place in Jiangbei as soon as possible, and not let the Tartars concentrate their forces, and we will strike first. ”

In the previous Third Northern Expedition, Zheng Chenggong was miserably defeated by the strategy of delaying the army, and as a result, the Qing army calmly gathered troops to launch a counterattack, which led to failure.

Now Zheng Chenggong has fully learned the previous lesson, has become decisive, and will no longer procrastinate.

"Lord Wang, why don't we seize Jiangning before the arrival of the old thief? As long as we take Jiangning, the old thief is coming, and we will stay in Jiangning Jiancheng! See how long he's going to attack! Hundreds of thousands of tartars, the daily consumption of grain and grass is not a small amount! Liu Guoxuan asked.

"Jiangning Jiancheng has many defenders, but it is not as good as Hangzhou City. Hangzhou City because of the Shanyin Qi family attracted part of the troops of the Hangzhou Green Battalion, and the Zhejiang Tartars were not able to assemble, so the Tartars in Hangzhou City were insufficient. Our army attacked Jiangning, if it cannot be conquered for a while and a half, and the old thief of Aobai just arrived, then our army will be attacked by the enemy! Now the enemy army in Jiangning does not dare to go out of the city, and it is a good opportunity for our army to cross the river to find a decisive battle with the main force of Aobai. Zheng Chenggong said.

Zhang Huangyan asked: "But Aobai is strong, but our army wants to give up Jiangnan, which is conducive to our army's battle, cross the river to the north, and fight with the Tartars in the Jianghuai area, I wonder if the king of Yanping can be sure to break the enemy?" ”

Zheng Chenggong pointed to the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal on the map and said: "The old thieves want to enter the south of the Yangtze River, and they still have a very important force here: Caoyun Green Camp!" This king plans to break each one, and before Ao Bai arrives in Yangzhou, he will first break the green camp of Caoyun! Annihilate the Tartars' Cao Yun and Lu Divisions in Jiangbei in one fell swoop! ”

Speaking of Caoyun Green Camp, Zheng Chenggong can be described as gritting his teeth. After Zheng Chenggong fell for Liang Huafeng's delaying tactics, the first Qing army to rush to reinforce Jiangning was the Caoyun Green Battalion. As a result, Liang Huafeng was stunned and took the Caoyun Green Battalion to defeat the powerful Zheng army, resulting in Zheng Chenggong's heavy losses.

Now that Zhang Huangyan re-entered the Yangtze River, he had prepared in advance, and the Caoyun Green Battalion tried to cross the river, but was defeated by Zhang Huangyan.

Although it is said that the Caoyun Green Battalion suffered a defeat on the Yangtze River, the main force of the Caoyun Green Battalion still exists, and it is huddled in the Jiangbei Canal. Now Zheng Chenggong plans to strike preemptively, taking advantage of the fact that Aobai has not yet arrived and the Qing army has not yet assembled, to annihilate the Caoyun Green Battalion in one fell swoop and cut off one of Aobai's arms.

If you want to attack the Caoyun Green Camp in Jiangbei and walk from the water, Yangzhou is the only way to go.

Originally, the green camp of the governor of Caoyun and the Qing army were arranged along the major cities of the canal, because Zhang Huangyan entered the river, and Cai Shiying, the governor of Caoyun, concentrated his troops in Yangzhou. At this time, the Caoyun Green Battalion in Yangzhou was relatively concentrated, and the city of Yangzhou was strong, and the Qing army was still very confident in holding Yangzhou.

In addition to the strong city of Yangzhou and the assembly of the Qing army, Yangzhou and Jiangning face each other across the river, if the Ming army crosses the river to attack Yangzhou, the Qing army Jiangsu naval division hiding in the Anqing area may also take the opportunity to go downstream.

"We must cross the river to fight Yangzhou! This will force Ao Bai to abandon his plan to cross the river from Anqing and let them fight us on both sides of the canal! Zheng Chenggong said. (To be continued.) )