Zhu Cixuan decided to discuss with important officials on defense issues.

The only two people involved in this secret discussion were Lu Zhenfei, Minister of War and Wen Anzhi, Minister of Rites.

After entering the palace, the two of them took the carriage specially given by Zhu Cilang to the Ganqing Palace.

There are more than a dozen charcoal stoves burning in the East Warehouse of Ganqing Palace, which is very warm.

After the two of them bowed to you, Zhu Cilang gave Jindun and ordered them to sit down and talk.

This is also a habit of Zhu Cilang. He is used to sitting when communicating with his confidants.

Wen Anzhi and Lu Zhenfei had been used to it, and they didn't say much. However, the two of them had only half of their butts, and their waists were quite suppose to be quite sturdy. Their appearance of being sitting on pins and needles was really funny.

Zhu Cixuan said in a deep voice: "The General Gao Jie of Xuzhou defeated the Eastern Lu and captured Zu Kefa, a pseudo general, and made great contributions. I have approved the list of meritorious soldiers he reported."

"Your Majesty has clear rewards and punishments. The Ming soldiers will definitely die for Your Majesty. The Ming Dynasty's revival is imminent!"

As the Minister of War, the Northern Expedition involved Lu Zhenfei's business work, and Zhu Cilang had to accept what Zhu Cilang said just now.

Zhu Cixuan didn't care much about such a slander. He summoned the two to discuss the overall defense of the Qing Dynasty. The war was about to break out, and everything we could think of must be arranged as much as possible.

He smiled slightly and said, "Where do I think the Donglu will attack first in the next step?"

Lu Zhenfei's expression stagnated, then he stood up and walked towards the Huangming Map hanging on the wall.

This map depicts all the jurisdictions of the Ming Dynasty, the two capitals and thirteen provinces. Lu Zhenfei walked to Dezhou, Shandong and clicked a little road.

"Your Majesty, in my stupid opinion, the Eastern Captains must first take Dezhou."

Zhu Cixuan asked with great interest: "Why did this say in this soldier?"

"Your Majesty, please see, Shandong and Henan are adjacent to North Zhili. No matter from which angle you see, it is a great threat to the Donglu. How can you allow others to sleep soundly on your couch? It is impossible for the Donglu to understand this principle."

Zhu Cilang nodded gently.

"Why do I think the Eastern Captain must take Dezhou first?"

"Your Majesty, if there was no Battle of Dezhou half a year ago, there was no need for the Donglu to take Dezhou first. But in that Battle of Dezhou, the Donglu was defeated too miserably. If the Nine Chiefs did not take Dezhou first and regain their face, they would probably criticize him within the Donglu."

Lu Zhenfei's analysis is not unreasonable.

Although it seems that Dorgon took over the power, there were still many conflicts within the Qing Dynasty. Haoge was enduring and hiding, and as long as he found an opportunity, he would definitely jump out and bombard Dorgon.

The best entry point is naturally the Texas defeat.

For Dorgon, the best way to block the mouths of the crowd is to take down Dezhou.

"I will continue to talk."

Lu Zhenfei was naturally extremely excited to get Zhu Cixuan's recognition. He took a step down along Dezhou and then said: "The other purpose of Donglu's seizing Shandong is to control the canal. The Grand Canal connects north and south, and the Shandong section is particularly important. Controlling the Grand Canal will control the north and south transportation, so Donglu is bound to win."

After a moment of pause, Lu Zhenfei took a deep breath and said, "So I believe that Your Majesty should set up heavy troops in Shandong. This battle is related to the national destiny and cannot afford to make any difference."

Zhu Cilang also stood up and walked towards the map.

"What my soldier said makes sense. In the opinion of my dear minister, how many soldiers should Shandong be stationed?"

Lu Zhenfei said without hesitation: "At least 150,000 people."

Zhu Cilang frowned when he heard this.

150,000 people, this is not a small number.

Even if we add all the Ming army in Shandong now, we don’t have that many.

Among them, Gao Jie's troops had about 50,000, and Qin Gongming's troops had about 20,000. In addition, there were 50,000 Shen Ce Army. However, 20,000 of the Shen Ce Army had been transferred to Denglai. In other words, the entire eastern and western Shandong northern part of Shandong had only about 100,000 troops to be dispatched.

According to Lu Zhenfei's intention, he had to transfer 50,000 people to Shandong.

"Wenqing, what do you think?"

Wen Anzhi finally remembered himself when he saw the emperor and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Majesty, according to my opinion, the Eastern Barbarians may not bet on all their troops to Shandong, but may be divided into two groups. They will take Shandong and Huguang along the way."

Wen Anzhi's analysis is consistent with Zhu Cixuan's view.

Huguang is the world's grain bag. No matter from which perspective, there was no reason why the Qing Dynasty did not attack Huguang.

Especially when the Qing Dynasty had occupied Shaanxi.

They can send troops from Shaanxi and Henan to Huguang respectively. If they successfully control the Yangtze River waterway, they can go down the river and head straight to Nanjing.

Dividing troops and attacking was a common trick by the Qing Dynasty. Didn’t Dorgon order Ajige and Duoduo to march from Tongguan and Yulin, northern Shaanxi respectively when attacking Shaanxi?

"In the view of Wenqing, where will the Donglu attack Huguang first?"

"It must be Jingxiang!"

Wen Anzhi said firmly: "If you control Jingxiang, you can march everywhere in Huguang. You can threaten Yuezhou in the south, and you can advance to Chengtian in the east, and Wuchang. I think that if you guard Huguang, it is not about defending the Yangtze River, but about pushing the defense line to Xiangyang Prefecture."

One of the two important officials raised a possibility. Wen Anzhi believed that the Qing Dynasty had a high possibility of attacking Huguang, and Lu Zhenfei believed that Shandong was the place where it must attack.

Next, it's time for Zhu Cilang to weigh the trade-offs.

In terms of the absolute number of soldiers, Huguang has more soldiers than Shandong.

Because during the rebellion of the Zuo Army, except for Zuo Liangyu's direct battalions, the remaining battalions were scattered and reorganized, and handed over to Ma Jinzhong, Jin Shenghuan, Du Yinxi and others to command. As for Yuan Jixian, he also served as the admiral Cao Jiang, responsible for defense along the Yangtze River.

It can be said that Huguang does not lack civil and military officials to lead troops.

What Huguang lacks is an elite army.

There were Gao Jie and Qin Gongming in Shandong, and even the Shence Army had experienced the actual baptism of suppressing the rebellion of Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo.

But the other troops in Huguang, except for Jin Shenghuan and Ma Jinzhong's direct troops, were all incompetent. It might be okay to bully ordinary people, and it is unrealistic to expect them to withstand the fierce attack of the Qing army.

However, Zhu Cilang once issued a secret decree to Du Yinxi, ordering him to seize the opportunity to surrender the remaining troops of the Shun Army.

This is a very combat-ready army, and it is definitely useful if it can be successfully surrendered.

In history, the Zhongzhen Camp led by Li Guo was the main force in the anti-Qing Dynasty. He Tengjiao could rely on the remaining troops of the Shun Army to fight with the Qing Dynasty. Of course, Zhu Cixuan did not think he would do worse than He Tengjiao.

The only problem is that there are too many factions in Huguang today. If the remnants of the Shun Army are successfully surrendered, the situation will be even more complicated.

Zhu Cilang now has two choices, one is to transfer Huang Degong's troops to Huguang, and the other is to send 50,000 Shence troops left behind in Nanjing to Jingxiang.

Only if the imperial court has an absolute military advantage in Huguang can it be able to suppress all military leaders, otherwise the situation would not be suppressed by just the civil servants Du Yinxi and Yuan Jixian.

......
Chapter completed!