In the first battle of Gaoyou, Deng Ming captured more than 4,000 horses, even more than Zheng Chenggong's victory in Xiamen. The king of Yanping County immediately began to form his own cavalry unit after getting that batch of war horses, and Deng Ming's idea was no different, after having such a large number of horses, within two or three years, it didn't matter if the horse shop in Chengdu couldn't provide a single horse. To Deng Ming's regret, most of these war horses were gelded stallions, and the number of mares was much smaller; The number of stallions that can be used as candidate stallions is even rarer. These geldings were majestic and tall for the Praetorian Guard, who considered themselves to be equestrian, to show off their courage - the stallions had a bad temper and were easily attracted to mares. There have been instances in history where a large number of free-range stallions have been lured away by the enemy with mares; After seeing the mare in the enemy formation, the stallion in heat ran directly into the enemy formation with its owner.

After sending the horses to the warship, the Ming army immediately set off to return to Sichuan, which was also one of the contents of the agreement between Deng Ming and the governor of Jiangnan in advance. If Deng Ming did not leave, the governors of Jiangnan thought that it was possible for Beijing to send additional troops south in order to avenge Shunzhi, and if that was the case, the governors of Jiangnan would not have enough reason to stop the Qing army. If the Manchu army went south, it would also cause great damage to Deng Ming's interests, not only would his allies be threatened, the Jiangnan governor would be restless, and the smuggling trade, which Deng Ming valued very much, would also be disrupted or even abandoned.

It must have been too late to go to Chongming again, Deng Ming asked the envoy to report the success to Zhang Huangyan and Ma Fengzhi, and handed over Shunzhi's body and the hundreds of captured Janissaries to Lin Qilong before leaving. Whether it was a prisoner or the emperor's body, Deng Ming claimed that it was the Jiangnan Governor who spent money to redeem it from the Ming army, but in fact, the Ming Army did not collect fees from Lin Qilong again, and now the Jiangnan Governor's financial situation is quite miserable, and there is not much savings.

When Deng Ming left, he just asked Jiang Guozhu for some grain and grass, and at the same time pulled away the ploughing cattle that the Qing army had collected. Although the news of Gaoyou's victory has only just spread, after the Ming army returned to the Yangtze River valley this time, a large number of ordinary people came to sign up for the army, and the Ming army selected thousands of strong people, plus those who participated in the siege of the imperial camp and had to follow Deng Ming with all their hearts, the total number of the Ming army has been close to 40,000.

"Governor Jiang, I'm leaving this time, are you sure to stop the Manchurian Eight Banners from going south?" Before boarding the ship, Deng Ming once again asked the governor of Jiangning, who had secretly come to see him off.

This is not the first time Jiang Guozhu has been to Deng Ming's camp, because of Deng Ming's good credit, although Jiang Guozhu is in the Ming army, he is not worried about his personal safety at all, he patted his chest and promised: "Admiral Deng just rest assured, the lower officials have a perfect plan." ”

Jiang Guozhu said that he had ordered the cessation of any grain and grass burdens for the Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners heading south. People are not afraid of fierceness, people are afraid of poverty, Jiang Guozhu made it clear that he has nothing now, whether it is grain, grass, river boats or silver. If the Manmeng Eight Banners had to come to Jiangnan even if they collected grain and grass and swam across the river by themselves, Jiang Guozhu also had follow-up means - raising ransom for Shunzhi was the best excuse. Jiang Guozhu had already pulled down his face and confiscated the property of a number of wealthy families, most of whom had been engaged in maritime trade, and Jiang Guozhu had eliminated them not only to raise much-needed funds, but also to discourage potential competitors.

With these looted funds, Jiang Guozhu and Liang Huafeng bought off many green camp generals, and the emperor's death made the people of Jiangnan panic, which greatly reduced the cost of Jiang Guozhu to buy x officials. In addition, the Yamen, the governor of Liangjiang, is sparing no effort to spread rumors and rumors, saying that the imperial court is angry because of the emperor's death, and has ordered the Manmeng Eight Banners to wash the south of the Yangtze River in blood, and kill all the people along the Yangtze River to pay tribute to Shunzhi. As for the officialdom on both sides of the Yangtze River, they all committed capital crimes, and everyone from the governor to the officials had to be executed!

Nanchang, which has always had contradictions with Nanjing, has now put aside its prejudices to help add fuel to the fire, vowing to spread this rumor throughout Jiangxi. Under normal circumstances, there are always some knowledgeable people who do not believe that Beijing would do such an unwise thing and force all the officials and people of Liangjiang to rebel. If the magistrates of the Qing court worked hard to refute rumors and suppress them, they could also calm people's hearts; But now the officialdom of Liangjiang not only does not play a role in stabilizing the dìng, but instead fanning the flames, it is conceivable that it will not be long before the gentry and people in Jiangnan will be extremely panicked, after all, the emperor is dead, and the Qing court is a Tartar known for its brutality.

In addition to this rumor, the Yamen of the Governor of Liangjiang and the Yamen of the Governor of Jiangxi were also afraid that the world would not be chaotic, and desperately spread the story of the defeat of the Qing army in Gaoyou Lake, not only the 5,000 Manchurian and Mongolian imperial battalions were defeated by the Ming army overnight, but also the Ming army lost less than 100 people. Legends such as Deng Ming who cut down a hundred Praetorian Guards alone, and ten Ming troops who captured a thousand Manchurian soldiers alive have come out one after another, and they have been spread with noses and eyes.

caused panic, and then dispelled people's fear of Manchurian soldiers, if the Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners insisted on going south, it is estimated that as long as someone takes the lead, there will be anti-flags everywhere in the south of the Yangtze River.

However, this is the last step, and Jiang Guozhu will not provoke a rebellion unless it is absolutely necessary. He just planned to bribe the officers and make the army troublesome

mutiny, and then reported to the imperial court as evidence of the instability of the people in Jiangnan. Then organize a group of gentry to write to the court to ask for the people's lives, asking the court to dispel the idea of the Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners going south.

"Governor Jiang is really far-sighted." After listening to Jiang Guozhu's introduction of his plan, Deng Ming was still a little uneasy: "Most of the people in Beijing will guess that some of the mutinies were instructed by Governor Jiang, and this has no effect on Governor Jiang?" ”

"Hehe, Admiral Deng, I'm not as good as you in the war, but if you are an official, Admiral Deng is not as good as me." Jiang Guozhu laughed. He sued Deng Ming that the emperor was dead, and it was abnormal for the governors of Jiangnan not to be frightened, and Jiang Guozhu did this to make the court understand that the officialdom in Jiangnan was now very worried that the imperial court would hold them accountable; As for inciting the army to mutiny, organizing the gentry to petition for orders is a show of power to the imperial court, which shows that the Jiangnan officialdom is not only worried that the imperial court will be held accountable, but also has the power to make trouble.

The emperor died violently, and Beijing was not prepared for another conquest of Jiangnan in advance, and the grain, grass, and ships full of the Eight Banners of Mongolia still had to count on the two rivers to provide. After seeing that the people of Jiangnan were panicked and the governor would not be restrained, Beijing would definitely not recklessly force many local officials to rebel; Even if Beijing suspected that the military mutiny was instructed by the governor, it would resort to gentle measures, declaring the rumors false and pardoning the Jiangnan officials. Even if Beijing plans to settle accounts after the autumn, it will not turn around until the troops and materials for the southern expedition are ready.

In Chiang's view, Beijing's possible strategy is not to use force to attack, but to reduce major matters to small and small matters to ensure that the southeast remains subservient to the imperial court.

"Okay." Deng Ming also admitted that Jiang Guozhu's analysis was very reasonable, but he still reminded Jiang Guozhu: "After leaving Liangjiang, I will stay in Wuchang for a while, if Governor Jiang needs it......"

"The lower officials will not be polite to Admiral Deng." Jiang Guozhu said with a smile: "If the imperial court must send troops south, the lower officials must ask Admiral Deng to come back, and there will be another battle of Gaoyou Lake." ”

"Okay." At this point, Deng Ming felt that there was nothing to say, except for the question of the person responsible, in any case, the emperor died, and the Manchu court would not pursue it without anyone, which was too much to say.

"This is simpler," Jiang Guozhu was confident: "Naturally, Zhu Guozhi is extremely evil, he is greedy for merit, and the elite of Jiangnan was swept away by Governor Deng, which led the emperor, no, the first emperor was worried about the southeast and had to recruit in person, the culprit is of course Zhu Guozhi; Later, Zhu Guozhi betrayed the grace of the country and acted as a lobbyist for Admiral Deng, trying to persuade these loyal ministers to take refuge in Admiral Deng. In addition to Zhu Guozhi, Gaoyou County Commander is also a serious sin, he did not detect Admiral Deng's soldiers and horses in time in advance, and did not serve the king in time afterwards, although death is not enough to atone for his sins, and it is not enough to warn future generations. ”

In addition to the Gaoyou county order, there are also some county orders in Jiangbei that are not involved in Tongdeng, and these people are the hidden dangers in Jiang Guozhu's heart. This Shunzhi southern expedition also passed through the territory of these county orders, of course, they were all guilty of negligence, Jiang Guozhu made up his mind to purge these people, and install his own people who were more reliable and had a good criminal record.

"In addition, there were salt merchants, if it weren't for the corrupt officials who bribed the Yamen of the Governor of Caoyun, thus provoking the Caogong and the people's rebellion, Admiral Deng would not have made a big noise. According to Inspector Lin, there were a large number of former workers among the troops used by Admiral Deng to attack the imperial camp, so the salt merchants were also the culprits. Jiang Guozhu knew that Deng Ming was hostile to the salt merchants, so dealing with the salt merchants was not only in line with Lin Qilong's interests, giving the imperial court an explanation, but also giving Deng Ming a favor.

After two months, Jiang Guozhu once again stood by the river and watched the Ming army's fleet set off and sailed upstream. Jiang Guozhu remembered that he was in a nervous mood when Deng Ming left last time, and he didn't know if he could persuade Shunzhi to suspend the southern expedition; And this time, Jiang Guozhu was standing by the river and smiling, and his mood was much more relaxed than last time.

The last time I heard that the emperor was about to lead the invincible Eight Banners to Jiangnan, the Liangjiang officialdom and the governor's yamen were in a panic for a moment, and Jiang Guozhu guessed that many of his subordinates were thinking of betrayal and informing, and their prestige in the army was not guaranteed, far from being comparable to the authority of the imperial court; But this time, the reputation of the imperial court and the Eight Banners was discredited, and Jiang Guozhu's two-pronged approach of spreading rumors and buying money greatly enhanced his control over Jiangnan.

Previously, Jiang Guozhu, Lin Qilong, Liang Huafeng, and Zhang Chao all sent contacts to Deng Ming's army to transport supplies and exchange information. After Jiang Guozhu's men returned to Nanjing, they reported to him the whole picture of the First Battle of Gaoyou. In the last battle, more than 100 cavalry of Admiral Deng annihilated 400 imperial guards; In less than four hours, the 5,000 Imperial Forest Army was completely wiped out, and the total number of killed and wounded under Admiral Deng was only more than 100 people.......

Jiang Guozhu was shocked and couldn't help but sigh: "The Eight Banners of Manchuria are nothing more than that, they are not three-headed, six-armed, invulnerable guys. If I could provide my men with enough bows, arrows, armor, and rations, I would not be able to fight the Manchurian soldiers. ”