Zhuang Zhao of the East China Sea was well-known. After the 50,000 army landed in Jiangbei, all over the country fell.

There were obviously more Qing soldiers in Jiangbei than the Ming army, but the Qing army did not take the initiative to fight, but instead contracted in the direction of Yangzhou.

Before sending troops, Zhao Ming had already discussed with Zhu Yihai and sent people to contact Du Yinxi and Longwu courts, and agreed to attack three sides to annihilate the main force of the Qing army in Huainan.

Now that the Qing Dynasty is in turmoil, Zhao Ming believes that it is an excellent opportunity. As the saying goes, you will take advantage of your illness and kill you. Zhao Ming believes that with Du Yinxi's strategic vision, he can seize this opportunity.

Ajige did not take the initiative to fight, and most of them were facing pressure on the Western Front. Perhaps Du Yinxi's army had already entered Anqing and Luzhou from Chu and Gan, and rushed towards Sizhou County, Fengyang Prefecture, threatening to the west of Yangzhou, forcing Ajige to shrink his troops and ensure that the Grand Canal passage was not cut off by the Ming army.

In this way, Donghai Town and Chu Gan Ming Army were like quickly tied up pockets, advancing rapidly from both east and west directions, piercing the pockets to death before the Qing army withdrew from Nanjing.

Therefore, after Zhao Ming collected Taixing, Nantong and Rugao in the southeast of Yangzhou, he left more than 10,000 people, and then led an army of 40,000 quickly interspersed to Yangzhou, preparing to take down Taizhou in the east of Yangzhou, and then detoured to the north of Yangzhou, which was Gaoyou in the rear of Yangzhou, cutting off the canal, and waiting for the imperial army to come from the west to complete the encirclement of Ajige.

Nowadays, the Qing Dynasty lacks mobile forces. As long as the Qing Dynasty surrounds Ajige, there will be no reinforcements to rescue the siege in a short period of time. Zhao Ming is very sure to eliminate the Ajige Corps and determine the situation of the world in one fell swoop.

The plan has been decided, Zhao Ming led a 40,000 army to advance north, leaving behind his confidant Li Zhongming and Ruan Mei to lead 10,000 troops to guard Taixing and monitor Yangzhou, and is ready to reinforce the main force at any time.

After all, Ajige has 200,000 people, and Zhao Ming dares not be careless.

Everything was ready. The 40,000 elite troops in Donghai Town did not attack the Qing army camp in Yangzhou, but bypassed the Qing army's gathering place and followed the Yanhe River to attack Taizhou.

Taizhou is a key water and land ministry that leads to the south and the north, and is the gateway to central Suzhou. Since ancient times, it has been known as "the key water and land ministry, and the throat is occupied by the county."

If Zhao Ming wants to detour the rear of Yangzhou and seize Gaoyou, he must take Taizhou and open a road that penetrates north of Yangzhou.

"Master General, thirty miles ahead, it is Taizhou City!" Wang Deshun rode his horse and introduced along with Zhao Ming.

Previously, Wang Deshun guarded Chongming Island all year round, and he was from Jiangyin and was very familiar with the terrain and city distribution on both sides of the Yangtze River.

Zhao Ming looked up at the head and saw farmland around him, and in the distance were rolling hills and woods.

"How big is Taizhou City? Can it be guarded by heavy troops?" Zhao Ming asked.

"Taizhou is east of Yangzhou. It turns out that the sea salt in Dongtai, Rugao and other places was transported through the salt transport canal and through Taizhou to Yangzhou. Therefore, Taizhou was still quite rich before, and the city was stronger than ordinary county towns. It belongs to the periphery of Yangzhou and was not threatened by us before, so there were not many people stationed. However, we landed in Jiangbei, and the Qing army originally defended in Taixing, Nantong, and Rugao fled without fighting. Perhaps many people fled to Taizhou, so the general should not be careless!" Wang Deshun replied.

Zhao Ming nodded, "If this general landed in Jiangbei, Ajige had a little brainstorming, he should have guessed his intentions, so he gathered troops in Yangzhou to defend the retreat of the Qing army in Jiangnan and buy time for the Qing army in Nanjing. Taizhou is the gateway of Suzhong. This general penetrates the important passage behind Yangzhou. He should send troops to garrison, but he doesn't know who is leading the troops!"

Wang Deshundao: "There was only one Qing army chief in Taizhou before, and I really don't know who is leading the army now."

Zhao Ming frowned slightly, then sent cavalry to investigate and ordered the army to accelerate its advance. He rushed to Taizhou before noon, broke through Taizhou as soon as possible, rushed to Gaoyou, and cut off Ajige's retreat to prevent the main force of the Qing army from running away.

The army continued to advance. Soon after, Luo Wenyao, who had gone to investigate, led the cavalry back. Seeing this, Zhao Ming stood on the side of the road.

"The general has found out clearly!" Luo Wenyao immediately clasped his fists.

Zhao Ming saw that behind him, there were several people, both old and young, all wearing gray coats, some wearing torn hats, and some with blue scalp.

During the first month of the year, the weather in Jiangbei was very cold. The people's jackets were full of holes, trembling with cold, with miserable expressions and dull eyes. Typical people under the Qing Dynasty ruled had no energy at all.

Zhao Ming asked: "What's the situation?"

Luo Wenyao waved his hand and said, "Tell me what you said to the Grand Marshal. We are the Ming Dynasty's official army. Now we have recovered the lost territory and removed the people from the people. What the Grand Marshal asked you, and you will answer truthfully."

After hearing Luo Wenyao's words, a group of people immediately knelt on the ground, trembling, and none of them dared to look up.

Zhao Ming smiled: "The fellow villagers all stood up and talked!"

But the people didn't dare to move, and they wanted to bury their heads in their crotch.

Luo Wenyao, who was standing beside him, shouted in a bad mood: "The commander said, but he can't get up and reply!" After that, he said to Zhao Ming: "They shaved their hair and became the Tartars people. They thought we would kill those who had braids when we saw them!"

Zhao Ming Wenyu sneered: "It seems that Fan Wencheng's publicity is very good!" After saying that, he looked at the people and said in a gentle voice: "Get up, fellow villagers! The official army does not kill the people, only kills the Tartars!"

The Qing Dynasty strictly controlled the people under its rule, one was to restrict movement. The people in the village might not have left the village or entered the county town for several years. The other was to vilify the Ming army and intimidate the people. Those places close to the Ming army were not good, but the people in the hinterland had no news, so they misunderstood many of the Qing lies.

It shows that the army killed the person who shaves his head when he sees it. It is Fan Wencheng's lie. The purpose is to make the people afraid of the Ming army, so as to support the Qing Dynasty and kidnap the people on their broken ships.

After hearing what Zhao Ming said, a group of people slowly stood up, but they still lowered their heads.

This made Zhao Ming feel sad. After several years of rule by the Qing Dynasty, he destroyed all the energy and spirit of the Han people.

"Do you know the situation in Taizhou City?" Zhao Ming tried to ask in a gentle tone to avoid scaring these people.

After a while, after a while of silence, one of the men was brave enough to reply: "If you go back to the general, the city of Taizhou fifteen miles ahead!"

Zhao Ming asked: "Have you been there recently?"

"I have just been there recently. The villain carried a load of firewood and went to the city to exchange for some rice. However, there were too many soldiers in the city. I took the villain's firewood and didn't pay it~~~"

Zhao Ming asked: "Do you know how many riots are in the city and who is the one who commands the troops?"

The man shook his head, "There are Qing soldiers everywhere in the city, and the young men who commanded the troops are not clear, they only know that their surname is Wu."

"Submitted to Wu?" Zhao Ming was puzzled, and Wang Deshun next to him said: "It may be Wu Liuqi. This guy was originally stationed in Taixing. He ran away as soon as he got ashore. Unexpectedly, he didn't go to Yangzhou and actually ran to Taizhou."

Zhao Ming winked Luo Wenyao when he heard the word "Wangyao". Luo Wenyao turned over and dismounted, escaped from his chest two silver dollars and more than ten bronze dollars, and was still on the ground, "This is what the Grand Marshal rewards you!"

The man was shocked and did not dare to pick it up or recognize this kind of money. However, looking at the exquisite appearance of silver and copper coins, he knew that it must be of great value.

"Hold it, let's go!" Zhao Ming waved.

The man then hurriedly picked up the silver and copper coins on the ground, then bowed to Zhao Ming, plucked up the courage to look at Zhao Ming, and the group ran away in a hurry.
Chapter completed!