Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 743 Northward Strategy

Li Fu revealed that the monthly revenue of the Lingao Customs was equivalent to the annual revenue of the Canal Customs, which truly shocked Fang Zhenghua. If he had known that there was also a Tainan Customs, the revenue would be double that, he probably would have fainted on the spot.

Even so, Fang Zhenghua was still shocked by Lingao's wealth. He tentatively asked, "Qionghai Town is so generous, the monthly allowances for you managers must be quite high, right?"

Li Fu, understanding the implied meaning behind the song, didn't answer about his income. Instead, he smiled and took out a small package, handing it to Fang Zhenghua: "Qionghai Town has brought in quite a bit of revenue. To ensure this continues, we'll need your and the Grand Secretary's continued support. The General isn't stingy either; he said we should all share the wealth..."

Fang Zhenghua calmly took it, and gently pinched it in his sleeve. It wasn't a silver ingot, but a long, thin strip, probably a gold bar. He immediately beamed, "What kind of relationship do you have with me, Lord Marquis? Why are you being so formal?"

"You're too modest, sir. In the future, you'll be one of the most important figures in the Directorate of Ceremonial, and your every word will make the palace tremble. A few kind words from you to the Emperor are worth more than a thousand words from us. We'll need your help in everything we do in the future."

In reality, the Qionghai Army's power base was already established, and the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs could offer limited assistance, at most only adding icing on the cake. However, Liu Ye had a long-term vision, befriending Wen Tiren, the future second-in-command of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs—a small investment with significant returns. These two men would play a crucial role in ensuring a smooth transition and preventing excessive political turmoil if Liu Ye were to eventually enter the Forbidden City.

Fang Zhenghua scolded, "Look at what you're saying! How could I dare not care about the Marquis's affairs?"

"Your Excellency is kind and righteous; our general has certainly made the right choice in you."

The two, each with their own thoughts, burst into laughter.

While Li Fu was hosting Fang Zhenghua, Liu Ye and the military staff were discussing their northward plans. Senior army and navy officers such as Shi Ying, Xu Yifan, Su Hongtu, Gao Jie, and Li Fei were also invited to attend.

A young staff officer explained the strategy devised by the Military Advisory Office: "The initial plan is for the army to land in Shandong, and the navy to advance directly to Tianjin. The army and navy will advance simultaneously, following Li Zicheng into Beijing under the pretext of defending the emperor, maintaining a distance of fifty to one hundred li. When Beijing falls, they will quickly approach, drive out Li Zicheng's forces, and take control of the situation in Beijing..."

Liu Ye remained noncommittal, then turned to Shi Ying and the others, asking, "What are your thoughts on the Military Affairs Staff's opinion?"

Shi Ying replied, "This plan is feasible. Li Zicheng has already reached Daming Prefecture in Beizhili. The army can only land in Shandong. If we land directly at Tianjin, we will get ahead of Li Zicheng. There will be no reason not to intercept him. Then the charade will become real, and we will have to fight Li Zicheng. The plan to drive him to attack the capital will fall through..."

Gao Jie said, "The navy can occupy Tianjin Port, but its support for the inland areas is limited and it can't play a significant role unless the siblings' marines land. However, in such a large-scale battle, two thousand marines are negligible and unlikely to play a surprise attack role. It seems we can only cheer from the rear..."

“From a tactical point of view, what you both said is correct, but you have overlooked a very important point.” Liu Ye shook his head: “War is always in service of politics, not for the sake of fighting.”

After pondering Liu Ye's intentions, Li Fei said, "The timing for turning against Li Zicheng is wrong. We should wait until he kills Emperor Chongzhen before taking action, so that we have a legitimate reason to act..."

Xu Yifan realized what was going on and chimed in, "That's right, otherwise it would just be a waste of time and effort, like doing something that benefits someone else. What good would it do to save the emperor, besides a title and rewards? With your current strength, do you really think you're after his meager rewards?"

Liu Ye laughed. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to say such things himself; it would be too unseemly. It was better to let his subordinates break the ice. He said, "What you two say makes sense. We'll do it your way. The staff office's plan needs to be revised."

He turned to the young staff officer and gestured for him to continue.

The staff officer continued, "After turning against Li Zicheng, we must make sure to settle things in one decisive battle. We cannot afford to get entangled with him and risk a war of attrition or a protracted conflict, which would give the Tartars outside the Great Wall an opportunity. After all, the bandits number in the hundreds of thousands, and even if their elite old battalion numbers only ten thousand, they are still a formidable opponent. Our suggestion is to first lull Li Zicheng into a false sense of security, then have our troops enter the city and occupy key locations, dividing the bandits' forces into several isolated groups. Then, we should concentrate our elite special forces and guard battalions, equipped with modern firearms, to deliver a thunderous blow to Li Zicheng's trusted direct troops, ideally killing Li Zicheng on the spot, leaving the bandits leaderless, and then defeating them one by one."

Liu Ye nodded repeatedly: "This arrangement is good. As long as we can persuade Li Zicheng to let us into the city, the casualties will be minimal. However, we also need to develop a second plan in case Li Zicheng becomes arrogant after capturing the capital and starts to be wary of us. If that happens, we will have to launch a direct attack. Of course, the casualties will be greater, and the capital will fall into turmoil, which will affect the situation in the entire Beizhili region and give the Tartars an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. This can only be considered as a backup plan."

Yan Guang said, "This is only the strategy for Beizhili and the capital, but we cannot ignore Liaonan. The intelligence department has already informed the military staff of the latest news: the barbarian chieftains Dorgon and Hauge have decided to march south, striving to sweep through Liaonan in the shortest possible time, recapture Lushun, Jinzhou and other places, eliminate their worries about the rear, and then concentrate their forces to invade, splitting into left and right routes, with almost all of the Eight Banners troops coming out. In this way, the sooner the turmoil in the capital ends, the better. If it turns into a three-way war, the situation will become very complicated."

"We absolutely cannot allow this situation to occur. A three-way conflict would be the worst possible outcome for the Qionghai Army, as the situation would spiral out of our control." Liu Ye waved his hands repeatedly. "We must keep Dorgon and his nephew Hauge in Liaonan for as long as possible... Li Fei!"

Li Fei stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your subordinate is here."

"You will lead the 'Shandong' and half of the Wuyi-class warships, along with the marines, to Liaonan once again. No matter what you do, you must keep Dorgon and his nephew tied down in Liaonan, preventing Huang Taiji from making the decision to enter the pass. Remember, this is a death order; you must complete the mission, no matter what method you use!"

Li Fei confirmed: "Is the only ground force the Marine Corps? Can the Army allocate troops to provide support?"

Liu Ye shook his head and said, "The army must use all its strength to defeat the bandits and stabilize the situation in the capital in the shortest possible time. Therefore, I can't even allocate a battalion to you. You have to rely on yourself for everything."