The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

"Today, I, Yue Le, grandson of Nurhaci, will set things right, establish my own state named Daqing, and from this day forward, I will be at odds with Emperor Kangxi of Nanjing!"

As soon as Yue Le finished speaking, the generals who had agreed beforehand rushed forward and knelt down to kowtow.

"Greetings, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

The loss of Beijing, which led to the massacre of their families by the Han army, was what the Eight Banners soldiers hated most about Kangxi.

However, they were Manchus, trapped in the Central Plains, and unable to leave. In addition, Kangxi arranged marriages for them, so they had no choice but to continue obeying his orders.

Now that Yue Le has publicly challenged them, it has undoubtedly given them an outlet for their anger, and they have all instantly transformed into wild beasts, roaring incessantly.

"Long live the Great Qing! We will fight the Qing Dynasty to the death!"

"Capture Nanjing and kill Emperor Kangxi!"

"Long live the Great Qing! Long live the Emperor!!"

As Yue Le listened to the shouts of the Eight Banners soldiers and the Green Standard Army, he felt a little lightheaded. So this is what it feels like to be an emperor and receive congratulations from others?

It evokes a sense of vibrant life and the flourishing of all things!

The news of Yue Le establishing the nation and celebrating the anniversary naturally reached Wu Sangui, who was closest to the emperor, and he immediately felt humiliated.

After all, he had only been emperor for a few days, and Prince An had already declared himself emperor, which would make the emperor seem cheap.

This directly transformed him from a former leader of the anti-Qing and restorationist rebels, and now one of the three emperors of the Great Zhou Dynasty, into a dispensable landowner in the southwest.

What started as a brief thrill turned into an unsatisfying one, prompting them to immediately issue a proclamation for a northern expedition, which led to a direct confrontation.

When Liu Mu received Wu Sangui and Yue Le's joint declaration of emperorship in Pei County, it was already the third day of the second month.

After joining forces with Zhao Liangdong's 30,000 troops, a total of 90,000 troops had gathered outside Pei County, plus the 100,000 laborers who had been transporting grain along the way.

To the outside world, they claimed to have an army of 300,000.

Just like Cao Cao, who had just pacified the north, he hurriedly marched south, claiming that he had an army of 800,000, but in reality, his total strength was only a little over 100,000. When the Cai brothers surrendered, he only had 150,000 to 160,000 elite troops.

This kind of false propaganda is well known to the leaders of both sides, but it is overwhelming to local forces.

The fact that officials from all the surrounding counties except Xuzhou City have fled or left their city gates wide open is the best proof of this.

After reading the intelligence, Zhao Liangdong frowned and shared his opinion.

"Your Majesty, it seems this is a consequence of the massacre of the families of those Eight Banner soldiers in Beijing. However, this means that it will be difficult for our Great Han to completely pacify Henan and Hubei in this campaign to wipe out the Manchus!"

Zhao Liangdong had been living a very comfortable life for the past year. He was surrounded by nobles every day, unlike in the Qing Dynasty when he was a high-ranking Green Standard Army official who was ordered around by the commanders of the Upper Three Banners.

Such good days should certainly be maintained.

They were also very dedicated to heading south.

Liu Mu picked up a piece of tender and fragrant meat from the casserole, put it in his mouth, and chewed it with a look of enjoyment on his face.

Since Pei County returned to the rule of the Han Dynasty, the original inhabitants of the surrounding area have returned one after another, and the Xiangrou (fragrant meat) shop has sprung up again, with a truly different taste.

Zhou Peigong, who had come with the army, shook his head dismissively upon hearing this and offered his own opinion.

"Yue Le is stubborn and self-willed, completely ignorant of governing the people. Now that he has declared himself emperor, without the support of the Qing court, uprisings will surely break out within six months. He is digging his own grave!"

"However, it's only the people of the Central Plains who suffer!"

Liu Mu, who was halfway through his meal, put down his chopsticks upon hearing this.

"Send an order to Zhao Yingkui to open the passes into Guanzhong to welcome the people. At the same time, the Shaanxi governor should set up soup kitchens along the way and relocate the people to the Hexi Corridor!"

Although the number of migrants in Shanxi is small, it is increasing slowly, and the average person owns a lot of land, so they can live a relatively prosperous life.

The Hexi Corridor, not to mention the upcoming Silk Road, has enough arable land alone to support 200,000 people.

However, there are only forty or fifty thousand people now, which is far too few. If the population cannot be increased, the area along the Silk Road will become deserted, bandits will emerge, and the Silk Road will be disrupted.

This is how the people of the Central Plains were relocated there.

This is a method that achieves two goals at once.

"Your Majesty is benevolent!"

Upon hearing Zhou Peigong's praise, Liu Mu waved his hand, and his expression became serious.

"Pei Gong, now that Kangxi has also led his troops into Xuzhou City, together with the troops in Xuzhou, there are probably 100,000 soldiers. What do you think we should do?"

In open battle, with so many new flintlock muskets, Liu Mu would certainly not be inferior to the Manchus. However, Kangxi had already set up a large camp outside Xuzhou, facing Xuzhou from afar.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Peigong closed his eyes, and after a quarter of an hour, he looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Just say what you want to say!"

"Why are you being so fussy!"

Hearing Liu Mu say this, Zhou Peigong gritted his teeth.

"Your Majesty, besides this army of 100,000, the Qing can continue to conscript able-bodied men into the Green Standard Army. Perhaps in a month, there will be 20,000 or even 50,000 reinforcements!"

"Therefore, I suggest that we send three guards to bypass Xuzhou, then take over the cities along the Grand Canal, and finally capture Yangzhou. In this way, the cities surrounding Xuzhou will surely surrender without resistance."

"At that time, the surrounding people will be dispersed, and Xuzhou will become a dead city due to lack of food. However, the only concern is whether the three armies can withstand the local troops after the matter is exposed, and whether the generals are quick enough!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Mu immediately understood. This was actually called besieging a point to attack reinforcements, or attacking what the enemy must defend.

Of course, all of this is based on having an absolute overwhelming strength, because the Han army was in Xuzhou, and the Manchus dared not divide their troops on a large scale if their main force was not lost.

This transforms the siege into a battle of tens of thousands of people in the open field, where the outcome depends on who is more powerful.

Liu Mu was very qualified to speak on this matter. The generals of these garrison troops were all experienced Han generals of the Green Standard Army, and the cavalry within them were all elite Mongolian troops, which were in no way inferior to the Manchu Eight Banners cavalry.

The only difference might be the number of musketeers, but the advantage in equipment can make up for a lot. The key is that the Manchu musketeers might not even be as good as the Han musketeers. After all, the Han musketeers definitely had a much higher level of training with live ammunition than the Manchus.

Thinking of this, Liu Mu slammed his hand on the table.

"Okay, let's do it that way!"

"I believe the Han garrison army is no less powerful than the Eight Banners!"

"Send word to all officers of the Beijing Garrison to come to the main tent!"

As the Imperial Guards left, Zhou Peigong was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected Liu Mu to be so decisive in taking action, after all, the army was the life and death of the nation.

Shouldn't we discuss this further before making a decision?

If Liu Mu knew what Zhou Peigong was thinking, he would definitely scoff at it. There are too many monarchs in history who failed because of their indecisiveness.

A good strategy only needs one element; the next step is to have people execute it, because ultimately, the outcome of a war depends on the individuals involved.

Liu Mu believed in his army!