The first secret letter was about the war in Huguang.

Qin Liangyu left Sichuan and entered Chu, defeated Liu Wenxiu in the Yiling area, and killed tens of thousands of enemies.

Zhang Xianzhong was first defeated by Yuan Jixian, and then crossed the river three times in succession to avoid Yuan Jixian's main force. He launched a surprise attack on Changsha and defeated He Tengjiao, and entered the area south of Huguang.

The second secret letter came from Beijing.

The imperial court wanted to abolish the household registration system and was arranging Yan Yingyuan to pilot it in Xuanfu.

After putting down the secret letter in his hand, Zheng Zhilong muttered to himself: "Qin Liangyu's victory was strange! Yiling is easy to defend but difficult to attack, how did Qin Liangyu win?"

After thinking for a while and still unable to figure it out, Zheng Zhilong then began to think about another question: "Why does Your Majesty want to abolish the household registration system? What does he want to do?"

After thinking for a long time, I still have no clue.

Zheng Zhilong began to feel tired and anxious.

Preserving strength in troubled times is important, but making the right choice is more important!

"Someone come here," Zheng Zhilong shouted to the outside of the door, "Any news about Li Chuang the thief?"

The servant outside the door said through the door: "To answer your question, Master, before the New Year, the bandit Li Chuang stationed his troops in Suzhou, and it seems that he is going to attack Fengyang."

"Hmm..." Zheng Zhilong nodded and had an idea in his mind.

It will take a while to wipe out all the bandits, so it's better to take advantage of the chaos to make some more money.

After thinking these things through, Zheng Zhilong stood up with a smile and walked out the door.

At the same time, Chongzhen, who was far away in Beijing, also received the news.

He put down the newspaper in his hand and looked at the two postmen kneeling in the hall.

One was sent by Qin Liangyu and the other was sent by Yuan Jixian.

"As far as I know, Yiling is the only pass leading out of Sichuan and into Chu. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Liu Wenxiu deployed 40,000 troops here. How did Governor Qin defeat him?"

The postman kneeling on the ground said tremblingly: "Your Majesty, Governor Qin will divide his troops into two groups. One group will contain the main force of the bandits in the upper reaches of Yiling. The other group of 15,000 Xidong soldiers will cross the mountains and go around behind Liu Wenxiu's army and use fire to attack at night."

"When Governor Qin saw the fire in Liu Wenxiu's camp, he immediately organized his troops to attack by land and sea, and attacked from both sides, resulting in Liu Wenxiu's defeat."

Chongzhen secretly clenched his fists and went around again!

Simple, crude and effective!

etc!

Chongzhen was about to praise him when he suddenly realized a problem: "How long did it take to go around?"

"Hmm..." The postman calculated in his mind: "Twenty-two days."

“How was the food and fodder problem solved?”

The most important thing when marching and fighting is food and fodder.

Producing food and fodder is not difficult, but transporting it is difficult.

Especially for long-distance marches, the longer the distance and the longer the march time, the more food and fodder are needed.

Generally speaking, soldiers can carry five days of marching rations.

The remaining food had to be carried on people’s backs or on horses.

It is impossible to use mules or horses to cross mountains and hills, so we can only rely on people's backs.

A laborer could carry at most six dou of rice.

The total food they had was only enough to last for eighteen days.

This is not fiction, because Shen Kuo of the Song Dynasty recorded in "Mengxi Bitan": Each person carries six dou of rice, and the soldier carries five days of dry food. Each person provides food for one soldier, and one journey can take eighteen days.

This is just a one-way trip...

Considering the return journey, the journey can only take nine days.

Qin Liangyu's army of more than 10,000 marched over mountains and across rivers for 22 days, and the biggest problem was food and fodder.

How did she solve it?

Under Chongzhen's puzzled gaze, the postman said, "Governor Qin's Xidong soldiers are strong and good at mountain marching. Each of them carries eight days of food."

"In addition, there are many Tujia tribes living in the mountains near Yiling. Governor Qin contacted them and asked them to help transport food and grass. This solved the logistical supply problem for the Xidong soldiers."

Chongzhen suddenly realized...

Qin Liangyu went deep into the masses and then relied on the power of the masses to win a victory!

Consciousness is several eras ahead!

I admire you! I really admire you!

"Go down and claim your reward."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The postman knelt down and kowtowed, then stood up and left.

Chongzhen looked at the second postman and asked: "How did Zhang Xianzhong enter the southern part of Huguang?"

The postman tensed up, swallowed his saliva and said, "The bandit Xian retreated to Jianli County after being defeated by Governor Yuan."

"Then they left the city at night and crossed the river to the south bank of the Yangtze River. Then they headed south, crossing several rivers, including the Yuan River and the Zishui River, and finally reached the city of Changsha."

"The Changsha defenders had never expected the bandits to be so swift. The government troops stationed outside the city collapsed at the first blow, and the government troops in the city also closed the city gates and dared not go out to fight. Seeing this, the bandits immediately led their troops south."

Chongzhen gnashed his teeth and asked, "Where is He Tengjiao?"

"Your Majesty, He Tengjiao is currently defending Changsha."

"What's the point of holding on when everyone has fled?" Chongzhen cursed.

Don't blame him for being angry.

If He Tengjiao blocked Zhang Xianzhong north of Changsha, it would be a devastating disaster for Zhang Xianzhong.

Because the Ming army had formed a huge encirclement here.

To the north is the Shun army, and Zhang Xianzhong has a grudge against them, so he certainly wouldn't dare to run over there.

To the west was the aggressive Qin Liangyu, to the east were Ma Jinzhong and Hui Dengxiang, to the southeast was Yuan Jixian, and to the south was He Tengjiao.

Surrounded by siege from all sides, it was only a matter of time before Zhang Xianzhong was destroyed.

Now look what’s going on, he’s run away!

"He Tengjiao commanded a large army, but he collapsed at the first blow. He is really incapable of accomplishing anything, but more of a failure than success. I hereby issue an imperial decree to dismiss him from his post as governor of Huguang and summon him to Nanjing to await his fate."

"As for the position of Governor of Huguang..." Chongzhen began to hesitate.

At first he wanted Yuan Jixian to manage Huguang affairs, but after thinking about it he felt it was inappropriate.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!