Pearl River Estuary.

In the past year and a half, the ships were depressed and dangerous due to war. In addition to the patrol ships, warships of the Qing, Ming and the United States, there were all kinds of smuggling ships and pirate ships. In the past year and a half, thousands of ships and nearly 20,000 people were buried here. However, with Li Chengdong, Guangdong returned to the kingdom, and the Pearl River Estuary returned to its former prosperity again, as if the blood and cruelty of the past year and a half had never happened.

Li Mingxun received news from Li Chengdong anyway when he arrived in Qiongzhou. On the way back, the ship encountered the first typhoon of the year and suffered heavy losses. He had to transfer to a Hong Kong squadron in Qiongzhou and headed to Guangzhou.

The Canadian ship is also more suitable for sailing at the Pearl River Estuary. When it arrived in the Lantau Island area, a local squadron and a patrol fleet leaned forward. After confirming Li Mingxun's identity, he escorted him to Guangzhou. Today, Guangzhou is changing even more and more, with all kinds of people gathering. The United States urgently needs Li Mingxun, the highest consul, to take charge of the overall situation.

Before Li Chengdong, the chief assistant Qu Shisi defeated Kong Youde in Guilin and the local army and horses of Guangxi. The Qing army had to accumulate strength to seek a backward advance, but because Jin Shenghuan, Jiangxi, had no choice but to cut off the Yangtze River. Kong Youde and Luke Dehun, the two Qing commanders, were really able to take it and let it go. They retreated a hundred miles from Guangxi and concentrated all their troops to attack Jin Shenghuan and Wang Deren in Jiangxi.

The Ming Dynasty also knew that Jiangxi and Guangdong were a good opportunity for a large counterattack. Qu Shixi ordered the Governor of Huguang to recover Huguang's territory and expand the depth, while aiding Jin Shenghuan in Jiangxi. However, between Jiangxi and the Ming army, nearly 70,000 soldiers and horses under Kong Youde's command, the Ming army quickly ran into a bloody head. The assistance was not allowed through Huguang, so they could only set out from Guangdong. However, Jiangxi and Guangdong, Ganzhou at the junction of the two provinces did not surrender. Ganzhou's guard was Gao Jinku, Gao Jie's old subordinate, and Li Chengdong had old friends, but he did not surrender. Although Li Chengdong had many soldiers and horses, they were divided into various factions, and there were factions that were threatened by the Qing army in Fujian, so it was difficult to defeat Ganzhou independently. In this way, hope had to be with allies.

When he arrived at the dock, Li Mingxun's ship was stationary. He went down from the springboard to the dock and found that the officials and generals of the two countries were already lined up on both sides according to civil and military positions. Li Mingxun looked at it and found that the civil servants only came to Hong Tianzhuo, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War, but the generals did not see Li Chengdong.

"The short-body man is Du Yonghe. I have fought with him in Guangxi, so I recognize him." Wu Mu said in Li Mingxun's ear.

Li Mingxun smiled and did not answer, but Wu Mu stepped forward and asked, "Now my master is the lord of a country, and he is on an equal footing with the Emperor of Ming Dynasty. Why are you the only ones who greet him? Where is Qu Shizi and Li Chengdong?"

Hong Tianzhuo looked a little embarrassed and said, "The Chief Auxiliary is still in Zhaoqing, and he is here to welcome the emperor. As for Duke Huiguo, he is now in the city to reward the three armies."

"Ange, who is an angel?" Li Mingxun was a little surprised.

"Commander of the Jinyiwei, Marquis Yong'an, Marquis Ma!" said a Qianhu wearing a flying fish suit. He raised his head and looked arrogant.

Li Mingxun smiled and said nothing. The Yong'an Marquis mentioned by Qianhu of Jinyiwei was Ma Jixiang. In the Yongli court in the future, this powerful minister who was flattered to the throne was called Emperor Ma. Although he had not yet had such power, it was a fact that Ma Jixiang was deeply trusted by the emperor, and even Qu Shisi was inferior to that.

"Since that's the case, I won't go into the city. Either wait a few days before the military discussion comes, or I will go to Zhaoqing to pay homage to the emperor." Li Mingxun left without paying attention to the habit of barking dogs.

"You... have arrived in the land of the Ming Dynasty, why don't you go to see the angel? My marquis holds the Shangfang sword, just like the emperor is here!" The thousand households jumped to Li Mingxun and scolded.

Li Mingxun said: "To you, he is the emperor, to me, he is just my brother-in-law."

"Barish people!" Qianhu never thought that Li Mingxun said this and jumped to shout. Before he could say anything in his mouth, he saw a fist as big as a vinegar bowl hitting him directly on his chin, and Qianhu was also smashed out.

"It's just a dog, and you dare to bark here. Don't you know that rabies bark the sun?" It was Wu Mu who hit people. The scabbard in his hand beat the thousand households into a bloody and bloody way, and no one around dared to persuade them.

Li Mingxun went to the military camp outside the city. Now outside the city of Guangzhou, there are three field battalions of the United States Army, one artillery battalion and two baggage battalions, with a population of more than 9,000. At the estuary of the Pearl River, Gao Feng and He Wenrui had already sent news that the United States Army was very troubled when entering Guangzhou. Li Chengdong's army could be stationed in the city, but the United States Army had to be outside the city. Fortunately, the western Guangdong army was willing to take care of each other, abandoning the comfortable houses in the city, and establishing camps outside the United States camp. The two sides united the army to communicate with each other, with 20,000 people.

"Damn it, Ma Jixiang is nothing but a bullshit, and he dares to give us a warning!" Wu Mu just beat someone, and was still angry and said angrily.

Li Mingxun didn't care and said, "It's different from the past. Two months ago, my brother-in-law only had one province in Guangxi. He was not as good as a dog who was strayed from a family. Now he has four provinces in charge, and his soldiers and civilians under his command are naturally hard."

As the two were talking, a group of more than ten riders came from the side and from a distance, a young general jumped off his horse, knelt on the ground, and reported: "Last general Li Yuanyin, visit the consul."

Li Yuanyin said politely, dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong dong

Li Mingxun knew that this young general was Li Chengdong's adopted son whom he relied most, and said with a smile: "What does it have to do with your adopted father?"

Li Yuanyin immediately said, "Your Excellency, your adoptive father heard that you were here and gave up your mansion and sent him to welcome him. But he didn't know that Ma Jixiang was really hateful and forced his adoptive father not to come, so he had a misunderstanding today. The adoptive father said several times that the Guangdong lineage was blessed with the kindness of your relatives. This kindness would be repaid for all his life. The adoptive father was also respectful to you and told him that he would treat him with the courtesy of the emperor, but he was blocked by Ma Jixiang and was not allowed to go to the dock."

"If Ma Jixiang doesn't let you go, won't you go?" Wu Mu asked coldly.

Li Yuanyin said: "General forgives his crimes. Ma Jixiang is an angel of the Ming Dynasty. We are ministers of the Ming Dynasty. How dare you disobey his intentions?"

"Forget it, forgot it, don't argue. I know what Li Chengdong meant. Tell him, I won't make things difficult for your family, nor will I take personal revenge. If you want to reunite the officers and soldiers, it depends on your adoptive father's performance." Li Mingxun took the horse whip from Li Yuanyin, left this sentence, and entered his own camp.

A few days later, Qu Shixi finally arranged what Zhaoqing was doing and rushed to Guangzhou. He went to the military camp to invite Li Mingxun, and the United States and others appeared in the Guangdong government office.

"Your Excellency Mingxun is so arrogant. I have invited you again and again and again, but I avoid seeing you. Now that the Prime Minister is here, he is willing to show up. It's really extraordinary!" In the lobby, Ma Jixiang said sarcastically when he saw Li Mingxun.

Li Mingxun smiled coldly and said, "Who are you, how can you sit with me and discuss it?"

"This marquis is the commander of the Jinyiwei appointed by the Emperor Ming Dynasty, the angel of the Ming Dynasty, and the Marquis of Yong'an!" Ma Jixiang said angrily when he saw that Li Mingxun did not take him seriously.

Li Mingxun glanced at him and said, "If you are the Jinyiwei, you will be the private slave of the emperor. I am the son-in-law of the emperor. I am half of your master. How can you have the principle of a slave and a master sitting in the hall? If you are the angel, then the emperor can give you the right to be arbitrary and decide where to go in our country?"

"Marty, the emperor only asked you to come to Guangzhou to take over and comfort you, don't make any mistakes." As the chief assistant, Qu Shili was naturally not afraid of Ma Jixiang, and said coldly, as a reminder.

Ma Jixiang admitted that he was in a disadvantage and dared not say anything anymore. In fact, this guy acted a lot after coming to Guangdong. He first repeatedly provoked the United States Army and political affairs, and then intervened in the maritime trade and had many connections with maritime merchants. He was so arrogant that he only relied on Zhu Ming to pretend to be a tiger's power.

Intimidated by Ma Jixiang, Qu Shizi nodded slightly to Hong Tianzhuo. Hong Tianzhuo opened the map of the southwest half of the Ming Dynasty, explaining the previous situation.

The situation was very clear. The Qing court chose the strategy of resolutely resolute the country before fighting foreign countries. It was a decision made by the Qing court central government, which came from Dorgon. For this reason, Dorgon ordered Kong Youde's Han army troops to retreat in great strides and retreat directly to the Wuchang area. Only a few battalions of green camp soldiers with weak combat power were left in Changsha area, mostly Zuo Liangyu's subordinates back then.

The Ming army then counterattacked under the command of He Tengjiao, the governor of Huguang. The Gui army and the Yunnan army invaded southern Huguang. The Ming army, which originally fled to western Hunan, began to counterattack. Then, a large-scale part of Hunan has been recovered. However, the Xiangjiang River, which concerns the fate of Hunan, is still under the control of the Qing army. The recovered areas are not considered fertile land, and even became a white land in the four-year tug-of-war. For the Ming Dynasty, it is not a supplement, but the Yongli court's desire for restoration has surpassed rationality. At least for now, the main strategy of the Yongli court is to let Guangdong aid the war in Hunan and strive for greater victory.

Of course, there is also a sense of distrust in Li Chengdong. Because of this, a new plan was born within the Yongli court, introducing the power of the United States, checking and balancing with Li Chengdong, attacking Ganzhou, entering Jiangxi, forming a huge pliers with the Ming army in Hunan, and annihilated nearly 100,000 Qing troops in Huguang.

"This is the best opportunity since the Jiashen National Crisis. There will be no better opportunity than this. We only need to conquer Ganzhou, Jiangxi and Guangdong are connected together, and then surround Huguang, connect directly to the Yangtze River, and go downstream firmly. It is not difficult to seize Jiangnan..." Hong Tianzhuo was vigorously promoting this seemingly reasonable plan. He introduced to everyone with great enthusiasm and answered one tricky question after another. It can be seen that he was well prepared. Then, Hong Tianzhuo also found that something was wrong, that is, the United States never asked questions, and Li Mingxun was even silent.

"Your Excellency, this is a plan formulated by the Cabinet and the Ministry of War. I wonder what you think?" Hong Tianzhuo had no choice but to ask.

Lee Mingxun raised his head, with a cold expression on his face, and asked, "How many soldiers and horses do the United States need to be used to achieve your established goals. I mean, you think you are."

Hong Tianzhuo took a deep breath and said, "Of course, the more, the better. With the combat power of your army, if you get 20,000 elite troops, a big thing can be accomplished!"

Hong Tianzhuo was not aimless. The goal of this plan was to annihilate the Qing army in Huguang, which included the Han army. The nearly 100,000 soldiers in Manchuria were not general. It is a fact that the United States camp had a combat power that exceeded the Qing army. In Jiangnan, the United States had 15,000 soldiers and 50,000 soldiers but could not be controlled. If we talk about a dignified formation, the combat power of 20,000 soldiers would be twice as powerful as the Qing army.

"Twenty thousand..." Li Mingxun thought about the number and said for a moment: "Not too much, we can take it out."

"Since that's the case, then..." Hong Tianzhuo was particularly happy and immediately wanted to decide the strategy, but was stopped by Qu Shisi. Qu Shisi said: "Your Excellency, if you have any doubts, you can tell me clearly now."

"Not to mention whether your strategy is successful or not, there is one thing that needs to be decided first. If the United States helps the Ming Dynasty recover Huguang, how can the Ming Dynasty repay you?" Li Mingxun asked with a smile.

"What kind of reward do you want?" Hong Tianzhuo asked.

Li Mingxun said: "The mainland troops in my country have 20,000 yuan, and the monthly salary is more than 80,000 yuan. In addition, the food and consumption is consumed, 100,000 taels per month is not much. I wonder if your country can provide food and salary?"

The faces of all the officials and generals of the Ming Dynasty changed drastically. According to Hong Tianzhuo's plan, this battle would have to be fought for one and a half years, which would be nearly two million military expenses. This was just the maintenance cost of this army. When the cannon fired, tens of thousands of taels of gold were consumed. As soon as the war started, the armor, medicine, and the consumption would be huge. Although the United States Army did not drive out silver and gave up strange silver rewards such as silver, there would be compensation for injuries and deaths. This was another huge consumption. If it was fought for one and a half years, it would not be able to get five million, and if it was sold for the Ming Dynasty, it would not be able to get so much military expenses.

"Your Excellency, can you..." Hong Tianzhuo asked tentatively.

Li Mingxun did not answer, and Gao Feng directly retorted: "No! I know what Lord Hong is going to say. We will not lose our lives and money to help you fight. The arrears are not enough..."

"Then does your country have a constitution?" Qu Shixi knew Li Mingxun as though he had guessed the purpose of today's military discussion. Since he was willing to come, he was naturally calculating. Instead of guessing by himself, it would be better to ask directly.
Chapter completed!