Early morning of August 20th, Chengtian Prefecture.

Qin Liangyu got the news from Zhang Rong that Zhang Xianzhong had cut off the food supply route.

"Grandma," Ma Wannian hurried into the yard, "tens of thousands of bandits appeared fifteen miles north of the city. They seem to be the main force of Li Chuang's bandits."

Qin Liangyu walked a few steps in the yard with her hands behind her back, and said leisurely: "Although Li Chuang is late, he has arrived. It seems that they want to bully my Sichuan soldiers who have no support."

Zhang Rong, who was standing next to him, blinked his eyes and said, "General Qin, you are wrong. As far as I know, there are at least three Ming troops nearby."

"Yuan Jixian in the southeast, Lü Daqi and Gao Jie in the northeast all have heavy troops. In addition, Liu Liangzuo, Wang Zhigang, Li Jiyu and others are also chasing the bandits."

"It won't take too long. It will take at most half a month or at least a few days for reinforcements to arrive."

Qin Liangyu smiled bitterly: "Zhang Rong, Zhang Rong, do you really not understand or are you pretending not to understand?"

"What do you mean, Governor Qin?" Zhang Rong asked seriously.

"Among the people you mentioned, only Yuan Jixian can send troops to rescue us. No one else will send a single soldier."

"No way? Not to mention other people, based on Lu Daqi's loyalty and the personal hatred between Gao Jie and Li Chuangzei, the two of them will never stand by and watch someone die." Zhang Rong said solemnly.

"You are wrong!" Qin Liangyu sighed, "Lü Daqi and Gao Jie do have soldiers, but it is not up to them to decide whether to send troops to rescue."

"Then who has the final say? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? Or Shi Kefa?" Zhang Rong asked hurriedly.

If the Crown Prince or Shi Kefa had the final say, he would immediately write a letter to inform Nanjing of the situation here.

Let them send troops to rescue as soon as possible.

"No," Qin Liangyu shook her head slowly, "What they say doesn't count. It's the food and fodder that counts. If nothing unexpected happens, Gao Jie and Lu Daqi's food and fodder will be in trouble."

"Yuan Jixian's food and grass are all obtained from farming, so he will not be affected by the current situation in the court. The only one who can save this governor is Yuan Jixian."

Qin Liangyu was a veteran of four dynasties, and her political sensitivity was no less than anyone else in the court.

"Has Governor Qin received any new information?" Zhang Rong asked with a frown.

"Haha," Qin Liangyu smiled faintly, "No need for new information, just use the information from a few months ago."

"In May, Li Zicheng was defeated in Fengyang and then retreated westward to the Ru'nan County area, right?"

Zhang Rong nodded.

As a guard of the East Factory, he knew something about this kind of news.

"After Li Zicheng retreated to Runan County, Gao Jie and Lu Daqi never used large-scale troops again. I sent someone to investigate and found out that there was a problem with their food and grass. Although the court had been sending them food and grass, each delivery was only enough for ten days."

“It is simply impossible to deploy troops on a large scale.”

hiss--

Zhang Rong took a deep breath and said, "Could it be that...someone in the Nanjing court doesn't want to end the war as soon as possible?"

Qin Liangyu walked back and forth a few steps with her hands behind her back.

She first looked up at the cloudless sky for a while, then stared at the dry land under her feet in silence for a long time.

She knew the answer in her heart, but she didn't answer Zhang Rong's question.

Is there anyone in the Nanjing court who wants to end the war quickly?

Yes, but not many.

At least in her opinion, there are far more people who want to continue the war than those who want to end it.

As long as the bandits are not eliminated, the imperial court will have to continue to use military force.

It costs money to use troops.

Various military supplies such as military pay, food, weapons, armor, war horses, etc. all require a large amount of money.

As long as the court spends money, officials can take the opportunity to make money.

In addition, the crown prince was regent in Nanjing, so matters south of the Yellow River were basically decided by the crown prince.

As a result, officials of the Nanjing court had real power in their hands.

Under the dual temptations of money and power, Nanjing officials would never let the bandits perish.

They would hold the Ming army back when the bandits were in trouble, in order to achieve the goal of nurturing the bandits and maintaining their own strength.

Military generals keep enemies to protect themselves, and so do civil officials.

They have finally got power and money, how could they give it up easily?

Doesn’t Zhang Rong, the guard of the East Factory, know this truth?

Of course he knows.

There was nothing he could do even though he knew it, because it was not something he could solve.

The sad thing is that he can't tell his superiors about it yet, so he can only let the people above him guess for themselves.

Whether you can guess it or not depends entirely on the talent of the person above.

You can't be too smart.

Especially as the emperor's slaves, they were not allowed to have their own ideas and could only simply follow orders.

Once he opens his heart to the Crown Prince and the Emperor, sooner or later the Crown Prince and the Emperor will open their heart to him.

"Governor Qin, is there anything I can help you with? If so, just let me know." Zhang Rong felt a little reluctant as he looked at Qin Liangyu, who had a head full of silver hair.

This 70-year-old woman has a lot of burdens on her shoulders, and he helps her if he can.

"You are an eunuch of His Majesty and the Prince, I dare not use you." Qin Liangyu shook her head slowly.

"I am willing to help. Besides, to subdue Li Dingguo, Governor Qin has to take action personally. You help me, I help you, and we can solve the dilemma ourselves." Zhang Rong smiled apologetically.

Qin Liangyu thought for a moment, then stood up, went back to the room and sat down next to the desk.

He took out two sheets of letter paper and wrote a letter each to Li Xingzhong and Li Dingguo.

After confirming that the contents of the letter were correct, Qin Liangyu put the letter into an envelope and handed it to Zhang Rong.

"Here are two letters. One is for Li Xingzhong, asking him to enter Huguang immediately to help me contain Zhang Xianzhong. The other letter is for Li Dingguo. He will most likely surrender after reading the contents of the letter."

"What did Governor Qin write in the letter?" Zhang Rong asked in surprise and joy.

"Don't ask. Some things are better left unsaid."

After Zhang Rong left, Qin Liangyu picked up her pen and wrote a secret letter to Chongzhen.

After doing these things, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that the internal affairs of the court have been dealt with, the next thing to do is to focus on the war.

This battle is of great importance.

If we win, we will regain the initiative strategically.

If we lose, we will be completely in a passive situation.

On August 22, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong simultaneously arrived at the city of Chengtian Prefecture.

An hour before their main force arrived, Qin Liangyu received news that shocked her.

During the autumn examination in Nanzhili, candidates boycotted the exam en masse, and the entire Nanjing court was in chaos.

It stands to reason that chaos in the imperial court would not affect local military operations.

but...

The candidates were so bold that they directly blocked the gates of the six government offices in Nanjing.

The other government offices were fine and had little impact on the war.

However, the suspension of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War in Nanjing directly affected the payment of military salaries and the transportation of food and fodder.

After reading the contents of the secret letter, Ma Wannian's face turned pale: "Grandma, do we have no reinforcements?"