Chapter 35: Li Yunzhong wants to fix Nanjing as the capital

  Occupying Wuchang, Li Yunzhong was in high spirits, occupying the governor's mansion and convening a meeting with his generals.

  Hu Yihuang, Zhang Suimou, Meng Shangsheng and other military leaders arrived in the first wave, excitedly discussing something together, sometimes bursting into laughter, sometimes shaking their heads, apparently they were also filled with joy at the capture of Wuchang.

  Luo Dagang, Li Xiucheng, Li Shixian, Chen Qirong, Li Desheng and other battalion commanders looked very stiff, each finding a seat to sit down, occasionally chatting in hushed tones.

  Finally, Hong Xuanjiao, Su Sanniang, Yang Changmei, Xiao Yunmei, Xu Shi sisters and other female generals also came in, sat down at the seats specially prepared for them by Li Yunzhong, all a bit nervous and uneasy, not daring to look around. However, it still attracted everyone's attention, as before there was only one female general Su Sanniang who participated in the discussion, and most of the time she didn't come, so it was usually a group of old men discussing matters. Now, not only have they promoted a batch of regimental generals, but also invited these female generals to come, everyone understands that today's meeting is unusual, Hu Yihuang and others no longer speak, all sitting upright and waiting for Li Yunzhong.

  Li Yunzhong came into the hall and saw them sitting quietly for the first time, as if there was something attractive in front of their eyes that they didn't even want to blink.

  "Gentlemen, taking down Wuchang's three towns is a great joyous event, what's wrong? Why isn't anyone excited?" Li Yunzhong sat in the first seat.

  Ling eighteen smiled and said: "Straight mother thief, look at you guys, making me feel so uncomfortable."

  Hahaha...

  Hu Yihuang waited for everyone to finish laughing and said: "Wuchang is a big city, located in the Central Plains. I think Da Han can establish a country here."

  Li Yunzhong saw that many people below nodded in agreement, and he was a little worried that they would lose their motivation, planning to indulge in Wu Chang, the smile on his face gradually faded.

  Zhang Suo planned to see Li Yunzhong's disapproval of Hu Yihuang's words, so he spoke out his own idea: "The military strength of Henan Province is empty, our army can take advantage of this to attack Henan and then go north to Hebei, occupy Beijing, and the great cause can be achieved."

  Ling eighteen agreed: "Right, right, attack and break into the capital city, cut off the old emperor's head and sit on it as a stool."

  Hu Yi-Huang opposed, "It's not possible. I'm afraid that before our army reaches Hebei, the imperial court will summon all its forces to surround and attack us. The north is indeed a place where cavalry can be used effectively. Moreover, even if our army captures Beijing, the emperor can still escape. There aren't many emperors as foolish as Chongzhen."

  Ling eighteen shouted: "What are you afraid of? If one government soldier comes, I will kill one; if two come, I will kill a pair."

  Xu Yuexiang saw that he was a rough and unreasonable man, and sneered: "Are the government troops coming in tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands?"

  Xu Yuemei knew that Ling Shiba was Li Yunzhong's sworn brother, so she pulled her sister down and signaled her not to talk nonsense. Xu Yuxiang pouted, looking at Li Yunzhong with an air of discontent.

  Li Yunzhong frowned and said, "Our army is not strong enough now. In the past, Li Zicheng was defeated by the government troops several times in Henan Province, but he eventually bypassed Shanxi Province and captured Beijing, which shows that Henan Province is really not feasible."

  He looked up and pondered Li Yunzhong's thoughts, thinking that he had grasped three points. "Henan is easy to attack but difficult to defend," he said. "I think we should head west to take Sichuan. Sichuan is a heavenly province, and from there we can attack Hanzhong in the north, threaten Shanxi and Hebei, and strike at Yunnan and Guizhou in the south as a rear route."

  Li Yunzhong was puzzled, why didn't anyone suggest going east? Jiangnan is so good, what's the point of rebelling if not to rob money and women? Those two things are most abundant in Jiangnan!

  Su San Niang saw her heart's desire on the upper floor, forcing a smile, and helped him out of the predicament by saying: "If we talk about prosperity, Jiangnan should be the best. Why don't our army follow the current and go downstream to attack Nanjing? Imitate Hongwu to drive out the Tartars, and scholars from all over the world will surely hear the wind and come to join us."

  Jiao Liang exclaimed, "It's not possible! Not to mention the strong walls of Nanjing and the long distance, it can't be compared to Wuchang or Changsha. The Qing army will definitely deploy heavy troops to defend it. Moreover, Jiangnan is adjacent to the East China Sea, our army has no warships, and it's easy to be surrounded by the Qing army."

  Li Yunzhong saw that everyone had a thoughtful expression, but no one refuted him. He personally took the stage and said: "Nanjing is a place of great political significance, our army has been victorious in battles against the Qing army, on the one hand because of our bravery, but also because they do not have large-scale firearms equipment, if the imperial court were to purchase guns and artillery from foreigners like us, then no matter how brave we are, it would be useless."

  Marquis Li Yunzhong's expression changed, and he hastily added: "Your Highness is wise, our army has already purchased firearms from the foreigners beforehand, so taking Beijing would be a cinch."

  Ling eighteen somewhat resentful of Meng Shang's fawning on Li Yunzhong, several brothers, he was the one with the least backbone, wanted to refute him, but was pulled back by Zhang Weikun beside him, and reluctantly swallowed his words.

  Everyone saw Li Yunzhong make up his mind to go to Jiangnan and also thought it was a good place, putting down the target in their hearts, they all agreed in unison.

  Li Yunzhong was very depressed and invited everyone to dinner, thinking that many people would suggest he go south, but unexpectedly, it turned out that he was the only one singing a solo, it seems that next time when discussing things again, he should reveal his intentions to a few people and let them try to test the waters, while he sits back and fishes.

  Since the decision to attack Nanjing was made, it was natural to do so as soon as possible. Li Yunzhong immediately dispatched Hu Yihuang's First Army as the vanguard, promising that those who achieved merit would be promoted one rank. The entire First Army of 8,000 people erupted in cheers and applause, with everyone grinning from ear to ear, clenching their fists and rubbing their palms together, ready to make a big impact. In the Great Han Military, promotions were extremely difficult to come by. Even for those like Luo Dagang and Li Desheng, who were at the regimental level, or Li Xiucheng and Lin Qirong, who were at the battalion level, whenever there was a battle, they would take turns serving as vanguard for the entire army, repeatedly achieving meritorious deeds. Occasionally, they would even receive temporary promotions to command units of equal rank, but their actual positions remained unchanged. Now that Li Yunzhong had promised them promotions, everyone was filled with enthusiasm and motivation.

  Anqing City

  Li Jianying, the Governor of Liangjiang, was like an ant on a hot pot, pacing back and forth in the main hall. He had sent dozens of scouts to Hubei to gather information about the Han army's movements, fearing that they would sail downstream and attack Nanjing. If the enemy troops even just circled around the city, his official hat would not be guaranteed.

  Anhui Governor Jiang Wenqing rushed into the main hall, panting and flustered, saying: "Governor-General, sir...the Great Han army has arrived!"

  Lu Jianying's eyes turned black and he almost fainted, hastily holding onto the table, asking: "Where did they go? Is Shou Chun General dead?"

  Jiang Wenqing said: "Not yet, the vanguard of the bandit army has just set out from Wuchang and has not yet arrived in Guangji County."

  It is said that the Great Han army has just set out, and Lu Jianying's eyes rolled over, saying: "You scoundrel, the enemy army is thousands of miles away, what are you panicking about? You are the governor of Anhui, defending Anqing is your duty. I'm going to Jiujiang to direct the battle now, I'll leave first."

  Jiang Wenqing heard that Lu Jianying was going to the Jiujjiang front line to direct the battle, and he was moved to say: "Your subordinate is willing to live or die with Anqing."

  Lu Jianying nodded in satisfaction. Since the enemy army was advancing eastward, it must be aimed at Jiangnan. The responsibility for losing Ji'nan was much lighter than that of losing Anqing. Moreover, once Ji'nan fell, Anqing would inevitably not be preserved.