Chapter 407 Hong Chengchou plots his way out, ruthless and cruel Sun Chuanting
"Did the Later Jin Tartars succeed in establishing their own country?"
"Huang Taiji was able to command nine level six dragons? And he even conferred them as the spiritual beasts that protect the country?"
Hong Chengchou, who had just returned to Chang'an City, heard the latest intelligence reported by Hong Yuanfeng in a timely manner and said in shock, "Huang Taiji's luck is so great that he actually has an innate divine flag and easily passed the test of thunder tribulation. This..."
Although there were some expectations, the Later Jin clan, under the leadership of Huang Taiji, quickly became a dynasty with a prosperous momentum that was on par with the Ming Dynasty, which also exceeded Hong Chengchou's expectations.
"Yes, Grand Admiral."
Hong Yuanfeng's expression was extremely complicated, and it was hard to tell whether he was worried or happy. He continued to report, "Our intelligence personnel stationed in the northern capital sent back the news in time. His Majesty was furious when he learned about this. He accidentally broke a Nine Dragon Cup and flew into a rage in the court."
The Nine Dragon Cups are a set of acquired magical wine utensils handed down from Emperor Taizu. There are a total of ten sets, including one pot and nine cups.
But this set of acquired divine tools is extremely special. Although it is made of million-year-old blood jade and inherited from the ancient Shang Dynasty, its texture is very strange and its shape is simple but fragile.
This is one of the most precious treasures of the Zhu royal family. Using this set of Nine Dragon Cups to drink spiritual wine for a long time can slowly enhance one's innate bloodline qualifications.
Now one of them was accidentally broken by Emperor Chongzhen. One can imagine how angry he was at the establishment of the Later Jin Dynasty by the clan.
"One of the Nine Dragon Cups was broken? What a pity."
Hong Chengchou felt very sorry that one of the legendary Nine Dragon Cups was missing.
After all, up to now, he only knew of this one set of wine utensils in the world, and they were more than just priceless.
"It's a pity that there is no great master of refining equipment in the current Ming Dynasty like there was in the Xian Qin period. Otherwise, the broken Nine Dragon Cup could be refined and repaired again."
Hong Chengchou said with some regret, "Your Majesty is so young, it's a bit difficult for him."
"He has been brainwashed by the Donglin Party since he was a child. The Ming Dynasty he knew was actually completely different from what he thought."
"The founding of the Ming Dynasty by Huang Taiji means that the dignity of the Ming Dynasty has once again been crushed to the ground by the Later Jin Tartars. It is natural for Your Majesty to be angry."
"In a few years, the world will be divided into three parts: the Fuxing Army, the Ming Dynasty, and the Later Jin Tartars. Where should we go?"
With Hong Chengchou's vision, it was not difficult to guess that a chaotic world would soon begin.
"The Fuxing Army in Shandong launched another massive attack on the remaining prefectures in Qi and Lu a few days ago, and it was unstoppable."
Hong Chengchou spoke in a serious tone, "I estimate that within a year, the entire Qilu land will fall into the hands of the Fuxing Army."
"Given the court's slow efficiency, by the time the government troops arrived in Shandong, it was too late and there was nothing they could do."
"When the Fuxing Army arrives, it will cut off the Grand Canal, the lifeline of the Northern Court, and the government will immediately collapse completely!"
"If nothing unexpected happens, the only way out of this situation is for the Northern court to move its capital south to Jinling City by this time next year."
"Oh... forget it, there's no point in saying more."
Hong Chengchou felt himself becoming more and more irritated, but he was powerless and could only watch it all happen.
He is now overwhelmed with his own affairs.
Ten days ago, the six main combat corps of the Fuxing Army in the north launched a full-scale offensive against the southern part of Qin.
In just ten days, the defense line on the west bank of the Luoshui River had been completely lost. The government garrisons in various places basically surrendered, and were unable to stop the sweeping advance of the six legions of the Renaissance Army.
What Hong Chengchou is most worried about now is: Should he lead the Qin Army, headed by the Royal Guards, to fight the Fuxing Army head-on?
He knew that his personal guards were not bad, but at most they could only hold back one of the main combat corps of the Restoration Army.
The Fuxing Army had six such powerful legions, launching a violent attack on the southern part of Qin!
His personal guards have recently expanded to a size of 300,000. However, every main combat corps of the Renaissance Army has recently been reorganized and expanded to 300,000 elite soldiers!
The most terrifying thing is that Hongmei and Cao Yongxiang, the commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief of the six main combat corps of the Renaissance Army, have both broken through to the initial stage of level six!
Even their spirit bird mounts had broken through to the initial sixth level of cultivation!
When did the level five bottleneck, which was like an insurmountable chasm for human warriors, become so easily broken through?
Even if the heavens had changed drastically and the spiritual energy had begun to recover rapidly, it shouldn't have been so outrageous.
Unless Li Dingguo obtained incredible natural treasures, such as extremely rare high-level acquired spiritual fruit trees, he would have the foundation to achieve such a miracle.
"Grand Commander, why don't we just give up the southern part of Qin territory and retreat to the Hanzhong Basin as soon as possible to defend it?"
"Judging from the current situation, even if we try our best, we will not be able to withstand the full-scale offensive launched by the Restoration Army this year."
"Rather than letting our guards suffer heavy losses in vain, it is better to arrange a retreat as soon as possible and preserve our strength for the future."
Eight days ago, Hong Yuanfeng personally led his troops to guard the strategic location of Baishui City, but was defeated in a battle by the Qinglong Legion led by Cao Yongxiang himself. Fortunately, he led his 50,000 soldiers to flee in time as soon as the city was broken, so he escaped.
Even now when I think about it, I still get scared.
He originally thought that he was a big shot, but he couldn't even stop the enemy. This completely changed his worldview and left him with lingering fears.
Hong Yuanfeng knew the ability of his own commander-in-chief, but even the best cook cannot cook without rice!
How could he stop the million elite troops of the Restoration Army with only 300,000 of them?
At this moment when the government troops are losing ground, if we don't make preparations in advance, it will be too late to escape when the enemy is at the gates of the city.
Once targeted by the two level six spirit birds of the Renaissance Army, even if they abandoned the city and fled in time, they would not be able to escape the interception and siege of the enemy army.
"damn it!"
Hong Chengchou was so upset that he couldn't help cursing, "Why is Li Dingguo so focused on the southern part of Qin?"
"The area east of the Sanggan River and Fen River in Jin Province is much richer than our Qin land which is plagued by natural disasters!"
"We only have one Qin Palace in Qin, which can be called a wealthy force, but its level of wealth is far behind that of Jin Province."
"Li Dingguo, this thief, actually ignored the eastern part of Jin Province and wanted to annex the entire Qin area. This is simply outrageous!"
He was right.
If the six main combat corps of the Fuxing Army were divided into two groups and launched attacks on Jin Province and Qin at the same time, Hong Chengchou would be confident that he could hold on to the remaining territory of Qin.
But the six legions of the Fuxing Army all rushed towards the southern part of Qin, which was beyond the limit of Hong Chengchou's ability to cope. The fact that the war situation was not going downhill now was already a testament to his ability.
"The Governor..."
Hong Yuanfeng looked at Hong Chengchou anxiously, his eyes full of pleading.
Faced with the violent offensive launched by the Fuxing Army after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month this year, he really couldn't hold on any longer, and he had to ask the Grand Commander to make plans early.
As for Chang'an City, whoever wants it can take it. Anyway, he doesn't want to continue protecting it. "Hey..."
Hong Chengchou waved his hand dejectedly and said in a low voice, "Yuanfeng, as you said, it is futile for us to continue to try to stop a chariot with a mantis arm."
"Go and inform Uncle Hong to immediately start making all kinds of secret preparations to evacuate Chang'an City."
"Our Royal Guards will stay put for now. Let the families of our Hong family and the Royal Guards leave in batches in the near future and evacuate to Hanzhong to settle down first."
"When everything is ready, it will probably be after March. The Fuxing Army should have attacked near Chang'an City, and we will lead the Royal Guards to evacuate in time."
"You need to be more flexible during this period. You must not allow our 300,000 guards to suffer too many casualties. You must preserve your strength as much as possible."
"As for the various combat missions during this period, try to order the city guards to do them. In particular, we must do our best to coerce the aristocratic families and wealthy merchants in the southern part of Qin to make them desperately contribute money and manpower!"
"We must preserve the strength of our personal guards while taking this opportunity to prepare enough wealth and materials for our steady development in Hanzhong. Only then will we have the spare strength to firmly defend Hanzhong with the help of natural barriers in the future!"
"That place will be the base of our Qin army in the future. We cannot attach too much importance to it."
"Yuanfeng, how to complete these tasks by any means necessary, I don't need to teach you any more, right?"
Hong Chengchou is not a good person. For the sake of his own future interests, he sacrifices others to fulfill his own family's wishes. This kind of operation is not only familiar to him, but Hong Yuanfeng, who is deeply influenced by him, is also extremely skilled at it.
"Grand Commander, I'm in charge of this matter, so you can rest assured."
Seeing that the head of the family finally agreed to his request, Hong Yuanfeng was overjoyed and quickly agreed, "As for the evacuation of our Hong family and the families of the soldiers first, with Uncle Hong's reliability, he will definitely complete it quietly and successfully."
"When we leave Qin, we will have no worries, and the loyalty of the guards can be guaranteed."
This matter is of great importance. There are more than one million people including 300,000 royal guards and the Hong family members, so it is actually quite difficult to operate.
Fortunately, Hong Chengchou now controls a large fleet of more than a hundred treasure ships, so he can complete this secret operation relatively easily.
The cunning Hong Chengchou has obtained a huge amount of money, food and supplies through fraud in the past two years. Of course, he not only has the personal guards, but also a secret guard team composed of 30,000 elite servants, which is enough to help the butler Hong Bo complete this urgent mission.
After the two discussed and decided on a plan, they went their separate ways and started working on their own things.
The offensive of the six main combat corps of the Renaissance Army is in full swing. We do not have much time to complete the retreat plan and must race against time to complete it.
……
"Did Huang Taiji's Later Jin clan succeed in establishing a nation?"
"This wicked and heartless fellow is so mad at me!"
Lu Xiangsheng, who was stationed at the Yanmen Pass fortress, was discussing the joint defense of the two armies with Sun Chuanting, who had just been ordered by the court to serve as the governor of Shanxi Province. Suddenly, he received urgent intelligence from his scouts. He was immediately furious and shouted loudly.
"Jiandou, please calm down."
Sun Chuanting's eyes flashed, and he persuaded Lu Xiangsheng, "Given Huang Taiji's ambition, it's only a matter of time before he establishes a country."
His strategic vision even surpassed that of Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng. It can be said that he combined the advantages of both of them into one, making him the number one man in both civil and military strategy in the Ming Dynasty.
"The reality is very difficult nowadays. We can only accept this fact and find ways to deal with it. There is no need to hurt ourselves for it."
Even though he is full of strategies and unrivaled in the world, he still has a headache about the internal and external troubles of the Ming Dynasty.
However, Sun Chuanting was much more ruthless and decisive than Lu Xiangsheng. Seeing Lu Xiangsheng sitting down again, he continued, "Whether it is the Later Jin clan or Li Dingguo's Fuxing Army, their current strength is far superior to ours. We can only take it slow and not rush."
"Our top priority is to raise a large amount of money, food and supplies, expand our military as quickly as possible, and firmly hold our current territory, so as not to lose cities or land again."
"Otherwise, given His Majesty's impatient temper, he will most likely send eunuchs to supervise the battle and urge us to counterattack the Fuxing Army as soon as possible and recapture the lost half of Jin Province."
Although Sun Chuanting was given the task in a time of crisis, he did not have any elite troops at his disposal at that time. Faced with the current severe situation, he felt extremely difficult.
"Boya, if you want to defeat the Tartars or the Fuxing Army, you can't do it without a strong elite cavalry and a strong navy."
After repeated considerations during this period, Lu Xiangsheng has come to a conclusion, "It's just that with the withdrawal of the Later Jin Tartars from the interior, the money and food supplies provided to us by the aristocratic families and wealthy merchants who used to respond to our requests are becoming less and less."
"Without their full support, how easy would it be to achieve these two prerequisites?"
"Let's put aside Huang Taiji for now. Our most urgent task is how to quickly obtain enough money, food, and a large number of treasure ships."
"Otherwise, nothing can be discussed."
After fighting against the Fuxing Army for the past few months, Lu Xiangsheng suffered repeated defeats, which made him fully understand the strength of the enemy, which was far beyond his current ability to match.
"Jiandou, according to the plan we just agreed upon, you will be responsible for leading the Tianxiong Army to go out of the pass to deal with the Tatar tribes outside the pass, and plunder as many spiritual beasts and war horses as possible to equip the soldiers of our two armies!"
"As for raising money, food and supplies, let me do it!"
"I want the treasure ship, as well as money, food and supplies!"
"I want to see, at this critical moment of the country's rise and fall, who dares not contribute money, food and manpower? I'll use them as an example to scare the monkeys!"
Sun Chuanting's tone was cold and murderous.
He is much more ruthless and decisive than Lu Xiangsheng. He has long seen through those wealthy families and tycoons who are rich but unkind, and he will not show mercy to them.
This time, in order to repay His Majesty's trust and reuse, he was ready to take up the butcher's knife and forcibly collect money and food to complete the army building plan.
The imperial court has no money, His Majesty has no money, but those aristocratic families, wealthy merchants and tycoons are very rich!
If asking for it doesn't work, Sun Chuanting will show no mercy.
"This... is okay too."
"At this critical moment, the two of us have no choice but to resort to this last resort and resolve the urgent issue as soon as possible."
Lu Xiangsheng nodded helplessly and agreed to Sun Chuanting's suggestion. The two discussed for a while, and then Sun Chuanting said goodbye and left.
Taking advantage of the rare breathing opportunity when the main force of the Fuxing Army is fully engaged in the conquest of Qin, it is an excellent opportunity for the two to quickly expand their military and prepare for war.
With the strategic vision of Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou, they naturally knew that this was their only chance.
In order to complete the imperial edict to destroy the Fuxing Army, they could only first make trouble for the Tatar tribes outside the Great Wall, as well as the noble families and wealthy merchants in Jin Province and Xuanda.
If they missed this opportunity and let the Restoration Army sweep across the world, these loyal ministers and generals would have no choice but to sacrifice their lives for the country.
Since you're going to die anyway, you might as well give it a try and risk your life.
(End of this chapter)
