Just as the Central Army changed, Guo Ziyi of the Eastern Army also encountered the same problem. Perhaps there was an explanation for the Great Shun Army's retreat a few days ago.
The two Great Shun Armies seemed to have made an agreement with each other. They withdrew from their camps at the same time and disappeared into the vast wilderness. It was foreseeable that a sudden storm would sweep through Shaanxi and even the entire northern land.
In one night, the 120,000 Great Western Army occupied the mountain and became the king. They were busy encircling Shaanxi and completely ignored the great northern expedition. The 60,000 Great Shun Army were also short-sighted and followed in the footsteps of the Great Western Army.
The Southern Allied Army was almost cut in half.
Affected by this, the 120,000 Southern Ming Army also showed signs of instability. If Li Jing had not had the foresight to disrupt and reorganize the troops of the four towns of Jiangbei in Yangzhou and plant his trusted aides, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Dorgon's bait had successfully disrupted the Southern Allied Army.
The vigorous northern expedition was not even halfway through when it was shrouded in a deep shadow.
… …
The capital, Yanjing.
Dorgon finished reading the report and finally revealed a smile.
Seeing this, Ajige said with a smile, "Your Highness, is it time for us to show up?" Ajige felt very humiliated after leading his troops back to the capital. He could not wait to fight back.
"No!"
Dorgon stopped smiling and his expression became solemn. "Now is not the time. When the Great Western Army and the Great Shun Army really fight, when Li Jing is unable to deal with the situation, it will be the best time for us to make our move. "
The Qing army was very particular when choosing when to attack.
If it was too early, it would be easy to expose their intentions and allow the scattered Southern Allied Army to regroup. If it was too late, the pressure from the Manchurian nobles would only increase. Once it exploded, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The timing was a test of the commander's ability.
Dorgon was clearly sober. He said in a deep voice, "Pass down my order. All troops must not move. Without my order, not a single soldier can be mobilized. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"Yes!"
Ajige was not afraid of heaven or earth, but he was full of respect for Dorgon.
"Those who achieve great things must be patient and able to withstand pressure." Dorgon looked at the distant southern sky with a distant gaze. His understanding of the Confucian classics was indeed praiseworthy.
…
In Jianye City, there was a person who had been feeling very complicated recently. He couldn't sleep well at night. This person was not Prince Regent Ouyang Shuo, but the nominal master of the Southern Ming Empire — Emperor Hongguang.
No emperor was truly without ambition.
Ever since the end of the Battle of Jianye and the beginning of the mighty Northern Expedition, Emperor Hongguang's heart had been burning with passion. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that the heavens had given him a sacred mission — to "restore the Great Ming Dynasty's rivers and mountains".
If there was no hope at all, then so be it.
But when he really saw the dawn of the restoration of his country, he could no longer calm down. Every victory at the frontline made him extremely excited because it meant that he was one step closer to his goal.
"Your Majesty, the current situation is very good. The Qing army has been forced to flee in all directions. The allied forces are invincible and have won many battles. Soon, they will reach the city of Yan Jing," the eunuch reported.
Yan Jin, the place that Hongguang Emperor dreamed of.
There was the family business left behind by the ancestors, the prosperity far surpassing that of Jianye, and the magnificent palaces.
Emperor Hongguang was immersed in happiness.
But the news that came in the past few days made Emperor Hongguang very uneasy and dissatisfied. "How did this happen? Why did the Northern Expedition suddenly become an internal war?"
Emperor Hongguang was very puzzled.
He hated it.
He hated Zhang Xianzhong's greed, and he hated the Great Shun army even more.
"Traitors are traitors after all. It's hard to change one's nature." Emperor Hongguang realized that he couldn't just let it go like this. He couldn't say that the Southern Ming Army was fighting at the frontline while two groups of traitors followed behind and took advantage of it.
Therefore, Emperor Hongguang secretly gave a secret order to the generals of the Southern Ming Army behind Prince Regent Ouyang Shuo's back. "In this Northern Expedition, the priority is to encircle the land, followed by attacking the city. Try to occupy the northern territory as much as possible. Don't let the traitors take advantage of it. Remember, remember. "
It was such a secret order that stirred up the Southern Ming Army and brought a lot of trouble to Li Jing and Guo Ziyi. The generals of the Southern Ming Army felt that they had the emperor's support, so they naturally spoke with more confidence.
That was why people's hearts were unpredictable.
Apart from issuing secret orders to the frontline, Emperor Hongguang gradually became active in the court. He used the officials close to him and began to plan to take over the northern territory. He rubbed his palms together.
However, Emperor Hongguang was still worried about Prince Regent Ouyang Shuo and did not make it too obvious.
No matter what, the direction of the imperial court was gradually changing. Moreover, it was normal to send officials to take over the lost territory. It was beneficial to quell the local unrest. It was a good thing.
Ouyang Shuo had no reason to interfere.
In fact, Ouyang Shuo did not interfere. From the beginning to the end, he had been watching coldly.
If it was the Ouyang Shuo from three years ago, he might have been a little emotional when he encountered such a troublesome problem. Now, Ouyang Shuo had long cultivated a "heart of stone" and was as immovable as a mountain.
Prince Regent's Residence.
Li Jing and Guo Ziyi's secret letter had been delivered a day ago.
In fact, long before the Northern Expedition, Jia Xu had made various speculations about the Northern Expedition. Although Dorgon's strategy of retreating was bold, it did not break away from this category.
There was naturally a solution to this situation.
"In the end, they're still a bunch of useless people." Ouyang Shuo shook his head in disappointment.
In history, there was a reason why the Qing Dynasty could unify the world.
Even short-sighted regimes like the Great Western, Great Shun, and the South Ming Dynasty could not move their feet when they saw some benefits. They were busy fighting each other. How could they defeat the rising Qing Dynasty?
Fortunately, Ouyang Shuo did not really count on them.
Before the Northern Expedition began, Ouyang Shuo had formulated two battle plans with Jia Xu's help. If the Great Western Army and the Great Shun Army did not cause any trouble, it would naturally be easy to fight all the way to Beijing.
That was the best outcome.
With the 450,000 Southern Alliance Army under Li Jing's command and the entire world as their backing, Ouyang Shuo was confident that he would be able to surround Beijing and win the battle no matter how well-prepared Dorgon was.
It was difficult to defend a lone city. That was the law of war.
The other plan could be said to be an emergency plan. In the end, Ouyang Shuo could not place too much hope on a rebel leader like Zhang Xianzhong.
At the crucial moment, he had to rely on the mutant army.
Of course, Ouyang Shuo did not have any hopes of taking down Beijing with just the Imperial Guards and the Blazing Flame Army. That was not confidence, but arrogance.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
Thinking of this, Ouyang Shuo looked at Feng Qiuhuang and said with a smile, "I'll leave Jianye to you!"
"Don't worry!" Feng Qiuhuang nodded.
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