The rain comes and the sky is clear.

The calming sea is charming, with waves laughing happily around the big ship, and the warships are like being surrounded by a group of carefree children. The sky and the sea are connected in the distance on the horizon, as if that is the end of the world.

Zhai Zhe and Zhang Huangyan stood at the bow of the ship.

After years of training, Zhai Zhe has not been seasick, but he still has an instinctive fear of the sea. Moreover, he, in Zhejiang and Fujian, whether fishermen go fishing or sea merchants who do business in a long distance, are more familiar with the sea, and the more fear and respect they feel.

The navy warship was not far from the shore, and the vague mountain jungle could be seen.

Zhang Huangyan looked at him quietly. He had heard many rumors about this person, and it was the first time he was so close to him. Zhai Zhe had been in Ningshao for more than four years and lived in seclusion, and most of the time he spent in the barracks.

It is said that he was a student of Lu Xiangsheng, who took Nashi as an example and was loyal to the country, but some people in the court said that he was domineering and controlled all the land taxes of Ningshao and several counties in eastern Zhejiang, and undermined the cabinet of King Lu.

Zhang Huangyan had never contacted Zhai Zhe, but he was very familiar with Zong Mao, who had always been in charge of Ning Shao. Zong Mao acted in a meticulous and domineering manner. Although he had no official position, he relied on the background of Ningbo Military Town to talk about Ningbo and Shaoxing. The silver and grain from various places were delivered one day later. He spoke very rudely, and even made trouble in front of Qian Sule, Xiong Rulin and even a few cabinet ministers. The county magistrates of each county, the lords treated him like mice and cats when they saw him. They had to carefully verify the delivery of supplies and did not dare to make any mistakes.

He originally thought that with such subordinates, Zhai Zhe, the chief official, would have been domineering and harsh. From the Hongguang Dynasty, the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty mostly reflected the military personnel.

These days we have been together on the boat, at least we haven't seen Zhai scolding anything vulgar, even the boatman who was driving the boat was kind.

"Duke of Yue knows how to win people's hearts!" This is Zhang Huangyan's initial evaluation.

While his mind was thinking about it, Zhai Zhe turned around and asked in a joking tone: "Xuanzhu, you can ride and shoot, are you willing to play in the army?"

Zhang Huangyan had no time to think and quickly replied: "I'd like to go into battle to kill the Tartars."

He is ten years younger than Zhai Zhe, and his status is also very different. This difference is not only about official positions, but also about reputation and influence. No matter what his opinion of Zhai Zhe in the court, it is him who supports the sky in eastern Zhejiang.

Looking at Zhai Zhe's back, he had various speculations. When Zhai Zhe spoke to him, he felt a sense of pressure even if he was kind.

Zhai Zhe said slowly: "The south of the Yangtze River is a place of taxes. The Qing dynasty will not give up easily. It only depends on the hard support of Zhejiang. It is not a long-term solution. I set up a camp on Chongming Island to intimidate Songjiang and Changzhou's eastern front and restrain the Qing dynasty's troops. However, the rebels in the southern Anhui mountainous areas on the western front are rising everywhere and are still fighting each other."

He reached out and drew an arc in the air, saying: "If southern Anhui starts, we will form a strategic encirclement of Jiangnan, restraining the Qing army from all sides, and ensuring the safety of the western front of Hangzhou Prefecture."

Perhaps it was because of Lu Xiangsheng's first impression that Zhai Zhe attached great importance to the martial arts scholars he had practiced, so he focused on Zhang Huangyan, who had known each other for a while.

The civil officials in the court were too far away from the barracks. They either knew how to limit the power of military generals or they knew how to please the military towns with heavy troops. Most of the rebels were dog-slaughterers, and only those who could put down their figure and get respect from them. Just like himself, he actually disdained the cabinet in Shaoxing, but he still asked for instructions and submitted memorials whenever he did something.

Zhang Huangyan's eyes flashed with excitement and asked, "Duke of Yue still wants troops to enter southern Anhui?"

Zhai Zhe shook his head and spread his hands, "I have no soldiers in my hands, and the soldiers in southern Anhui are there. Jingxian, Ningguo and other places are all rebels, but they are not the opponents of the Qing army. If they cannot coordinate, they will be defeated by the Qing soldiers."

Without soldiers, Zhang Huangyan was confused about how to advance to southern Anhui.

Zhai Zhe pointed to the sea and said, "You were born in Ningbo. When you knew that the tide came, you could not take a boat and you could not go out to sea in the storm."

"I know below!"

"Under the shaving order, although the people in various places were in a fierce mood, they mostly spontaneously rose up and fought on their own. They were not opponents of the Qing barbarians who had been through the battle formation for a long time. This is true in Jiangnan and Jiangbei. At present, the Qing barbarians are in full swing, just like the Qiantang River Tide in August, and the momentum is at its peak. The Book of Changes says: Flying dragons are in the sky, and Kanglong regrets them. The most urgent task is not to fight the Qing barbarians in the battlefield, but to let the Qing barbarians fall into a big quagmire and cannot extricate themselves everywhere, so survival is the most important thing."

Zhang Huangyan nodded, but there was still confusion in his eyes. He seemed to have understood it a little, but he didn't seem to be very clear.

Zhai Zhe smiled and didn't explain much. When he followed him around Chongming Island, he would understand.

The essence of war lies in dispersion and concentration, from small matches to overall set strategy, this is true.

The warship sailed on the sea for two days and arrived at Chongming Island, which was much faster than marching on the road. This was a reflection of the navy's advantages, and of course it was God's beauty that made it so smooth.

More than 20 miles away from Chongming Island, a navy patrolled and reported to the island first.

People with a little bit of identity on Chongming Island are waiting to greet each other on the shore. No matter how they fight openly and secretly, they don’t like each other, Zhai Zhe comes here in person and can only obey obediently.

The warship docked, Zhai Zhe went first, and Zhang Huangyan followed behind.

Wang Zhiren, Zuo Ruo, Zhang Mingzhen and others were all there, and followed by a group of squires who were taken from Songjiang Prefecture.

The respect of everyone, including Wang Zhiren, is expressed from the bottom of the heart. Unless King Lu comes here in person, no one can suppress Zhai Zhe's limelight now.

The group arrived at the Chongming County Government Office and set up an incense case. Zhang Huang said that he would grant King Zhiren the Hou of Wuning and assume the important task of restoring Songjiang Prefecture. After the ceremony, Zhai Zhe stepped forward to congratulate him and said about Ning Shao's old affairs, and he felt kind. Several scholars from several communities, Xia Yunyi, Xu Fuyuan and others, were old acquaintances with Zhai Zhe. When they heard that Chen Zilong was in charge of the army in Hangzhou, they were excited to scratch their heads and wished they could immediately send troops to Songjiang to recover the lost territory.

Zuo Ruoyou brought more than 20,000 people to the island, plus Wang Zhiren's 20,000 naval troops, and the current population of the four islands of Chongming is more than 100,000. Five or six forces of each faction can assist each other when resisting the Qing army, but their troops and horses are fighting on their own and their power is unclear.

The former county magistrate Jing Benche of Chongming Island was in charge of the 100,000 people and more than 1,000 soldiers here; the general Gu Biao had more than 1,000 pirates under his command, and nearly 1,000 refugees were dependent on him. These two people were originally in a state of competing here, but now there are so many soldiers and horses suddenly flooded in, and they didn't even have a place to speak.

In addition to Wang Zhiren's nearly 20,000 Wusong Navy, there was also Shen Tingyang, the Imperial College Supervisor who was in charge of the water transport, leading more than 100 water transport ships and more than 2,000 troops.

Next is Zhang Mingzhen and Zuo Ruo, who brought more than 30,000 young and strong people from Songjiang and Jiading this time.

Zhai Zhe first asked Zuo Ruo to learn about the situation of the raid on Songjiang Prefecture, and he was both amazed and worried.

Zuo Ruo was a little regretful and said, "According to the instructions of the Lord, the righteous men in Jiading and Kunshan were evacuated. Now only Jiangyin County is surrounded. The generals lacked enough troops and dared not take risks. Li Chengdong is not so easy to deal with. The Qing army in Hangzhou is too close to Songjiang. Boluo's troops arrived in Songjiang yesterday, and the people of Songjiang would inevitably suffer some trouble."

Zhai Zhe's face was covered with clouds and he said, "If you don't have your hair or your head, the deadline has passed, Dorgon will not be merciful." He had dealt with the regent of the Qing Dynasty.

"But the battle situation in Songjiang is alive!"

This is his original plan, and now it has been carried out in advance, which has both advantages and disadvantages. After weighing the pros and cons, the disadvantages are even greater. The strategic intentions are exposed in advance, causing the Qing court to overestimate the strength of Zhejiang East and would only push itself to the forefront.

Zuo Ruo said excitedly: "With the 30,000 Songjiang people I brought back, the military and horses of Songjiang Mansion cannot escape our control. I see that the water in the Huangpu River is surging, and warships can flow into the hinterland of Songjiang Mansion. If they can join forces with the Taihu Rebel Army, they can threaten Suzhou, Wuxi and other places."

This is Zhang Mingzhen's battlefield. Judging from the meaning of Zuo Ruo's words, I really want to stay here.

Zhai Zhe was thinking about it.

Zuo Ruo always wants to take dangerous moves when fighting, and when encountering danger, he also has the courage to cut off his arm. This kind of raid is most suitable, but the bigger he is in Songjiang, the more dangerous he is strategically. Moreover, if he transfers Zhang Mingzhen away, it will inevitably leave a gap in the hearts of the two, making others think that he is only close to his own family. Moreover, Zhang Mingzhen and Wang Zhiren have old friendships, which is convenient for cooperation.

"Zuo Ruo!"

"The last one will be here!"

Zuo Ruo raised his head and looked at Zhai Zhe with wild light flashing in his eyes. He was looking forward to Zhai Zhe's order. He wanted to defeat Li Chengdong, and he was in Songjiang.

When Zhai Zhe saw his expression, he ordered it to his mouth, swallowed it back, and explained in detail:

"The war in Songjiang is coming, do you know the result will happen?"

"Dodo will inevitably mobilize large army support from Hangzhou, which can alleviate the threat from Hangzhou."

"These are useless!" Zhai Zhe shook his head, "I'm not worried that the Qing barbarians will capture Hangzhou, but if they can't defeat the Qing barbarians in a field, everything you and I will do will be futile. If they capture Songjiang City, they will be besieged, and even capture Nanjing City. If Ajige leads his army south, we will retreat."

"What should I do?" Zuo Ruo was puzzled.

"The area in the eastern corner of Zhejiang cannot confront the Qing emperors who gathered the strength of the whole country! I just want to let the Qing emperors fall into the quagmire of Jiangnan, and the decisive battle is still far away."

Zhai Zhe sighed. Seeing that Zuo Ruo, who was six years older than him, was still full of spirit and energy, he suddenly felt that his heart was old. When did he ever allow the people who refused to shave their hair to be massacred by the Qing captives. If it were ten years ago, he would have turned the Songjiang Prefecture upside down according to Zuo Ruo's words.

But what happened? The result was that he attracted all the attention of the Qing court, and the troops from all over the country continued to enter the south of the Yangtze River. Moreover, as long as the Qing emperor captured southern Jiangxi, the flanks of eastern Zhejiang would face threats, which would be more direct than at sea.

If Zhejiang East puts all its troops on the eastern front, that would be the stupidest strategy.

Zuo Ruo lowered his head.

"Chongming Island is just a side division, not the main battlefield. The strategic significance of Chongming Island lies in letting Li Chengdong be restrained, and the most important thing is..."

Zhai Zhe coughed dryly, "The most important thing is that I want to cut off the canal transportation in Jiangnan!"

The excitement of regaining Hangzhou has passed, and people cannot be blinded by excitement.
Chapter completed!