Qian Qianyi, Sun Chengzong and others were awakened from their deep sleep. When they heard that the Datong Party had captured nearly three prefectures in Shandong and that Shandong had lost nearly half of it, they hurried to Wuying Palace one by one.

"Dear elders, I am extremely tired."

Zhu Youjian held his forehead, unable to conceal his fatigue in his words.

"I am incompetent and cannot take care of Your Majesty's worries. I will be punished by death." Wen Tiren quickly knelt down and bowed his head, looking distressed.

Zhu Youjian waved his hand: "That's all, now that Datong thieves invade Shandong, what should we do?"

As the Minister of War, Liu Hongxun was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, I believe that the conditions for conquering Liaodong are no longer necessary."

"If Shandong is not lost, even if people in Gansu and Shaanxi rebel, the imperial court can still rely on Shanxi and Henan to block it. The army can leave Shanhaiguan, and the Shandong Navy can also contain the Liaonan soldiers and horses across the sea to provide assistance for the army to suppress the rebellion."

"Even the imperial court's grain and grass transportation can reach the front line by water."

"But now Liaodong has preemptively captured half of Shandong. If the imperial court sends troops to Liaodong at this time, Shandong and Gansu and Shaanxi will form two pliers, and Zhili will be in danger!"

"At this moment, we can send troops to support Shandong and drive out the Datong bandits in Shandong first!"

Sun Chengzong also said: "Your Majesty, the top priority is Shandong. Shandong has tens of millions of people and millions of young people. In recent years, Shandong has been dissatisfied with the imperial court due to taxation. If the Datong Party stirs up the dissatisfaction of the people, then

They can send hundreds of thousands more troops in an instant, and then the imperial court will be at a disadvantage."

Zhu Youjian was still a little hesitant. After all, he had to raise money even if he was scolded by the people, not for Shandong, but for Liaodong.

Now Zhu Chunchen was already mobilizing troops and generals. If he suddenly moved to Shandong at this time, all his battle plans would have failed.

Shi Fenglai could see Zhu Youjian's confusion, and he silently mentioned: "During the Tianqi Dynasty, I remember that the place where Zhang Haogu and others took the lead in implementing the New Deal and New Laws seems to be Shandong."

One sentence made Zhu Youjian no longer confused: "Pass the decree and let Zhu Chunchen prepare his troops first to clean up Shandong."

"Who in Shandong can lead the army to face the enemy now?"

Wen Tiren said: "Xue Lian, the Marquis of Yangwu, is proficient in military strategy and has quite a reputation. We can let him first integrate the troops of Shandong to fight the enemy."

The ancestor of Xue Lian, Marquis of Yangwu, was the famous general Xue Lu of Jingnan. He made outstanding contributions in the Battle of Jingnan. Later, he followed Emperor Taizong in his northern expedition to Mongolia several times and supervised the construction of Shuntian Prefecture. Later, he followed Emperor Xuanzong to quell the rebellion of Han Dynasty.

, served as General Zhenshuo to inspect the border defense, and could be said to be a direct descendant of the old Zhu family.

After such a loyal and brave man, he was still the son of a general. After thinking about it, Zhu Youjian seemed to have no better candidate in Shandong except Xue Lian, the Marquis of Yangwu.

So Zhu Youjian quickly issued an order to be sent to Shandong overnight, and asked Xue Lian, Marquis of Yangwu, to serve as the commander-in-chief of Shandong. He would oversee the war in Shandong before Zhu Chunchen's army arrived.

When Zhu Youjian's imperial edict was delivered to the Marquis Yangwu's Mansion, Qingzhou had already been captured by Zhou Yuji, and the guardsmen in the three prefectures fled and surrendered. It can be said that they were a ragtag group of people with no fighting ability or will to fight.

Xue Lian urgently summoned soldiers and horses to reunite the deserters from Dengzhou, Laizhou and Qingzhou. Then he ordered the guards from Jinan, Dongchang and Yanzhou to gather with him urgently. He also recruited local warriors and dispatched county soldiers.

When Zhou Yuji's army came to Jinan Prefecture, Xue Lian had already assembled a hundred thousand troops.

This is a real army of 100,000 people. It is mainly composed of soldiers from the nine guards and ten stations in Shandong, plus the local braves and yamen soldiers from the gentry from all over the country. The army of 100,000 people is said to be small.

At this time, Zhou Yuji's number had increased from more than 30,000 to more than 80,000, of which 50,000 were the surrendered guardsmen from Sanfu and those young men who had long wanted to join the Datong Party.

On April 20th of the sixth year of Chongzhen, Zhou Yuji led his army to Qingshiguan and faced Xue Lian across the Wen River.

There are passes here, including Jiagu Mountain, Yuan Mountain, and rivers such as Wen River, Xiaofu River, and Wenshui River. There are also plain channels between the mountains and rivers, which can be used for the march of the army. The two sides are stationed here to prepare for the war.

Zhou Yuji looked at the map: "Opposite us is Xue Lian, Marquis of Yangwu."

"I have heard of this man. He knows military strategy well and is a talented person."

"In just a few days, he has integrated a hundred thousand troops. This ability is enough to serve as a general. What a pity."

Yan Fei asked: "What regrets does the general have?"

Zhou Yuji smiled and said: "It's a pity that he is too pedantic and still recognizes Zhu Youjian, regardless of the dire straits that the people of Shandong are living in. It is even more pity that as a military general, he encountered Zhu Youjian before he had experienced several battles.

This time I, a young man, will give this veteran a hard time."

After listening to Zhou Yuji's words, the generals burst out laughing. Xue Lian was indeed capable, but Xue Lian really had not experienced many wars. He had conquered the title in the 30th year of Wanli, and he had not caught up with the three major campaigns of Wanli even once, and the following ones

He was out of reach of the Battle of Ming-Mian, and he did not participate in the Battle of Sarhu.

After arriving in the Tianqi Dynasty, Zhu Youxiao liked to use young people, and Zhang Haogu also used eclectic people. However, both sides suppressed the nobles, which gave Xue Lian no chance to fight.

After a long time, Xue Lian, a veteran, finally commanded an army of 100,000, but the opponent he encountered was Zhou Yuji, who was in his prime and was known as the contemporary champion.

However, Xue Lian did not think that he would be defeated. He first understood the situation of each guard post with the generals and thousands of households, and then arranged it in an orderly manner. He also set up earthen walls, shield carts, etc. in view of the fact that the Datong Party had many firearms.

Taking measures and concentrating artillery in Shandong, he was confident that he could defend this place.

The firearms of the Ming Dynasty have been developed and iterated very quickly since the Tianqi Dynasty attached great importance to the study of objects and technology. Although the Chongzhen Dynasty gave up the science of objects and returned to the old ways of Confucianism, and did not like any fancy techniques, many of the firearms of the Tianqi Dynasty were

It has been preserved intact.

Shandong, as the original base of the Datong Party and an important province in the north, had a large number of firearms. Now these firearms were used by Xue Lian. It can be said that a copper wall was built in Jinan Prefecture.

The two sides combined nearly 200,000 troops. Naturally, it is impossible to huddle on the small Qingshi Pass line. In fact, the battlefields between the two sides are huge.

It's just the most important thing.

During the preparations between the two sides, Zhou Yuji and Xue Lian sent out scouts and small teams of scouts many times to spy on each other. However, in this aspect, Xue Lian was completely defeated by Zhou Yuji.

Shandong's guardsmen are not without elites, but their numbers are too small. Compared with the Datong Army, which has an elite policy, it is far from the Datong Army. What's more, the Tanma Showdown is all about horsemanship. In this aspect, the guardsmen are even less likely to compete with the former imperial court.

The main force is compared.

Xue Lian also soon discovered that the quality of his soldiers and horses was not enough, so he stopped conducting such meaningless tests and began to concentrate on defense.

Xue Lian wanted to defend, but Zhou Yuji wouldn't give him this chance.

"The military order I issued to Yuan Fu is to wipe out Shandong in twenty days. Thirteen days have passed now. Are you anxious?"

Zhou Yuji said, tapping the baton in his hand on the sand table: "The prerequisite for sweeping Shandong is not the landlords and gentry, nor the corrupt officials, but Xue Lian and his 100,000 soldiers in front of us. To annihilate these soldiers and horses

, Shandong is within our grasp!”

"In the past three days, Xue Lian has been mobilizing troops and generals, but we are also constantly preparing, just to have a head-on confrontation with Xue Lian at Qingshi Pass. It doesn't matter whether he wants to fight or not, we will fight ours

.”

"Yan Fei, command the three associations on the left to attack Laiwu."

"Zhang Yi, you command the three associations on the right to attack Zichuan."

"Peng Yan, you command the two associations to capture Xintai."

"And I have been sitting at Qingshi Pass to see if Xue Lian is on fire from three sides and whether he is moving or not."

Zhou Yuji was full of confidence. Although only 30,000 of the 80,000 people in his hands were Datong elites, and the remaining 50,000 were nothing more than a rabble, the rabble could still fight against the odds.

Three elite associations were separated and launched an offensive at three points with the mob. Xue Lian lacked good generals and not many elites. When the third front was in danger, he did not even dare to send reinforcements because Zhou Yuji had already pinned him here.

.

Even if he defended the front line of Qingshi Pass and killed Zhou Yuji's central army, didn't Zhou Yuji take notice of him?

Facing a third-line breakthrough, no matter how calm Xue Lian is, he still has to consider the situation of the three Shandong mansions behind him and the pressure from the big shots behind him.

So Zhou Yuji was very confident. Xue Lian laughed at him for not understanding what iron wall defense was. He laughed at Xue Lian for not understanding what Emperor Chongzhen was. He really thought that Zhu Youjian was some kind of wise and benevolent emperor. He was a resourceful man who was resourceful but never decisive.

, the mean and unkind Lord.

If anything goes wrong, he has to worry about his own life, not to mention the overall strategic and long-term considerations. Zhu Youjian never cares about this. He is eager for success and only cares about money.

Therefore, when Zhou Yuji ordered a three-line attack on Xintai, Laiwu, and Zichuan, the Shandong governor of Jinan Prefecture, Wang Shunyi, and a group of noble officials were so frightened that they kept urging Xue Lian to retreat to the enemy in a decisive battle, and even threatened him

We must cut off Xue Lian's supply of food, grass and baggage, and let Xue Lian fight as quickly as possible without wasting time.

Xue Lian had no choice but to engage in a head-on battle with Zhou Yuji at Qingshi Pass. The main forces of both sides were not large. Zhou Yuji's main force only had three associates with 24,000 people, while Xue Lian's main force was only more than 30,000 people.

However, both Zhou Yuji's and Xue Lian's tribes are equipped with a large number of firearms. The squatting tiger cannons and mother cannons are just toys. General cannons are what real men should use.

Large general cannons were pulled out one after another and placed on the battlefield. Even if Xue Lian was forced to send troops, he remained calm and composed. He held the entire Shandong general cannon in his hand. He had an advantage over Zhou Yuji in the number of rounds. As long as the cannon fired

If he opens it, he will be invincible!

Zhou Yuji looked at the classic Qi Jiajun's military formation displayed by Xue Lian opposite him, and sighed: "How long has it been since we still used the Qi Jiajun's mandarin duck formation? Now is the time for line infantry duel, and is the time for artillery to dominate the battlefield.

Even if there are so many heavy artillery, it is still an old idea, what’s the use?”

"Xue Lian, like the Ming Dynasty to which he was loyal, has become corrupt."

Zhou Yuji sighed with emotion and issued the order to start the war.

As the order was issued, the hot-air balloon rising high began to conduct artillery fire, and the artillery positions below raised their dark muzzles and began to spray flames.

For a moment, the sound of cannons rumbled on the battlefield, and gunpowder smoke began to fill the air.

The Datong Army's artillery was undoubtedly very powerful. The shells that fell down one after another were like fire and meteors, shaking the earth and the mountains. Xue Lian shouted hoarsely to keep the army steady while ordering his own artillery to start counterattack.

After all, the Shandong garrison had been at peace for too long, and its armaments had long been abandoned. In addition, the imperial court did not attach importance to military strategy, and its investment in the army was getting less and less. The garrison soldiers who could fire three shots before the battle were considered worthy of Zhu Youjian.

Facing the indiscriminate bombardment of the Datong Army now, and thinking about the great reputation the Datong Army has gained over the years, these guardsmen were so frightened that their calves were so weak that they couldn't even run away.

At this moment, Xue Lian ordered his own artillery to start counterattack, but as soon as the cannon was fired, it exploded!

With a loud bang, the seven or eight artillery batteries and several surrounding cannons were deemed useless.

This sudden explosion caught Xue Lian off guard: "What's going on? Why did the cannon explode? How did these gunners operate it?!"

"Commander, it's not that there is something wrong with the operation of the brothers. The brothers are operating strictly in accordance with the Tianqi Artillery Manual. There is something wrong with these guns. These guns are definitely not produced by the Imperial Firearms Bureau. The quality of these guns is not up to standard and they cannot withstand the test at all.

Prescribed medication!"
To be continued...