The World Online

The second thing Ouyang Shuo did was contact the Great Shun remnant forces.

Similar to the Great Xi army, after Li Zicheng died, the Great Shun army continued to go against Qing.

The famous 13 families of Kuidong was written around the remnant forces of the Great Shun army.

Toward the four protectors of Jiangbei, Ouyang Shuo treated them coldly and did not force them. As long as Gao Jie and the others had some brains, they would not surrender to the Qing Dynasty before the Battle of Yangzhou ended.

With the 200 thousand player forces as the core, together with the Jiangdong four protectors, the Great Xi army and the Great Shun army, they would form a battle line stretching from east to west to counter the Qing Dynasty. This was Ouyang Shuo’s goal.

In case Zhang Xianzhong and the others were wary of him, Ouyang Shuo even did not want to take command and only wanted them to coordinate the time to send troops and what path to go on, going up north together.

The prerequisite would be that the player army had to prove themselves during the Battle of Yangzhou.

…

3rd day of the Battle Map, Yangzhou City.

As Guo Ziyi’s forces were on the way to Yangzhou City, the Qing army Dodo forces and the 100 thousand Di Chen forces had arrived a step earlier, surrounding the city.

They still did not make it in time in the end.

Not only that, but Di Chen even had the awareness to actually bring hundreds of cannons. The Qing army did not even need to wait, and they started fire right away.

‘Hong! Hong! Hong!’

As they had Di Chen, who was familiar with history and knew that Shi Kefa would not surrender, Dodo did not even need to try to ask him to surrender. He just directly ordered the attack.

Facing the cannon fire, the dirt walls of Yangzhou City were on the verge of collapse.

In just a short morning, Yangzhou City fell.

Liu Zhaoji died in battle, Yangzhou Prefect Ren Mingyu, He Gang, and related people sacrificed their lives, Shi Kefa suicided…

History seemed to be repeating itself.

The only difference was as the siege proceeded unusually smooth, along with Di Chen’s persuasion, the Qing army did not massacre the city. Instead, they started to take over city defenses to face the arriving Guo Ziyi forces.

Di Chen was still very rational about this matter.

First, Guo Ziyi’s forces were on the way, and to massacre the city now was undoubtedly digging their own graves. Secondly, although Di Chen was from an aristocratic family, he was still Chinese, and he was not so stone-hearted.

Di Chen was still young and was not as cold as his grandfather.

…

“This is problematic!”

After learning that Yangzhou was broken, Guo Ziyi ordered the troops to take a rest.

Night, commander tent.

“Advisor, what do you think we should do?” Guo Ziyi asked Jia Xu.

Jia Xu said, “Yangzhou falling, the Jiangdong four protectors might surrender at any moment. The situation is really bad for us, and we must think of a way to turn it around. With our 130 thousand to attack Yangzhou City is really difficult. They hold the city, and it really is difficult for us to suddenly go from the defending side to the attacking side.”

“….”

Guo Ziyi frowned.

“Do you have an idea?” Guo Ziyi asked.

Jia Xu did not panic and said, “Since we cannot take it down, why not just give up?”

“Give up?” Guo Ziyi frowned once more, “Advisor is saying to retreat to advance?”

Jia Xu nodded, “The following Emperor Squadron is a trump card. With it, we can go around Yangzhou City and up the Huai River to take it down.”

Going around the main Qing army force, Guo Ziyi would have the confidence to reclaim the Huai River region. The problem was, “What about grain?”

“The Qing army main force arrived in Yangzhou so quickly, but their logistic supplies will not be so quick. As long as we are swift, we can intercept them and use them for our own.” Jia Xu was really sharp, “As long as we get the first batch of grain, the subsequent ones we can get from the area.”

When Guo Ziyi heard that, he nodded in awe, but he still had his doubts. He continued asking, “Even if we solve the grain problem, 250 thousand Qing troops in Yangzhou still pose a problem. The enemy could go down south and take down Jianye or go up north to attack us.”

Jia Xu smiled, “It is best if they stay in Yangzhou. If they go north or south, it will be an opportunity for us.”

“How so?”

“If they go down south to take down Jianye, there are 40 thousand Great Xia Guards Legion Corps troops and also Liu Liangzuo’s troops. Furthermore, Jianye has well-built defenses and it would not be so easy to take it down.”

Different from Yangzhou, Jianye had many cannons on its city walls. It was impossible for the Qing army to take it down with just a morning of cannon fire.

In history, Jianye surrendered without fighting. However, with Ouyang Shuo there, Qian Qianyi and the others would not be able to take the same route.

Guo Ziyi agreed with Jia Xu’s analysis.

“As long as we defend Jianye for a few days, our army can go down south. Not only taking down Yangzhou, but also pincering the Qing army. The situation is naturally good for us,” Jia Xu explained.

Jia Xu smiled, “If they go up north, it’s much simpler. The north region is wider, especially the Huai region. It has just been taken by the Qing army, and it is not stable with so many anti Qing people there. We can play hide and seek with the Qing army and split up to attack them. Once the king convinces the Great Shun forces, it would be when the enemy is wiped out.”

Hearing that, Guo Ziyi finally felt relieved.

Jia Xu continued, “There’s another benefit to us going around Yangzhou. We can use our strength to suppress and convince the four protectors before they surrender.”

“Advisor is wise!”

Guo Ziyi stood up and bowed; he was utterly convinced and in awe.

As a strategist, since leaving Jianye, Jia Xu had been contemplating all sort of possibilities. The fall of Yangzhou was naturally one of them.

As a result, he could take out such a strategy in such a short amount of time.

This was the difference between top and normal strategists. They often planned for the worst.

Since the plan was set, Guo Ziyi swiftly moved into action.

That night, the army moved up north, going around Yangzhou city before the Qing army reacted.

Of course, Guo Ziyi did not forget to write a letter to give a specific report over to Ouyang Shuo.

…

Just as Guo Ziyi’s forces rushed up north through the night, the news of the fall of Yangzhou spread out.

Seeing the strength of the Qing army, the South Ming people felt unsettled. The Jiangbei four protectors started to sway while Qian Qianyi and similar civil servants stopped proceeding over to the Prince Regent’s residence.

A storm was coming.