Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 404 Northern Expedition Plan
Upon hearing this, Li Yi thought for a while, and then nodded approvingly.

"What Zuo Qing said is correct."

Li Yi and Zuo Zongtang thought of the same thing.

There is no need to rush into the Northern Expedition. It will not be too late to wait until the Qing Dynasty is devastated by internal strife before fighting.

Apart from the fact that the Qing Dynasty was weaker and easier to fight after the internal strife.

The Tang army also needed time to prepare for the Northern Expedition.

It is not a wise move to launch a war rashly without preparation or planning.

At this moment, Army Minister Wang An stood up and spoke.

"Your Majesty, I think that the Eastern Qing is preparing to mobilize troops against the Western Qing."

"But Dongqing will only mobilize troops if the Tang Dynasty is unaware of this."

"But now, the envoy sent by Dongqing to contact the Sunite tribe has been captured by our Tang Dynasty, and even the Sunite tribe has been exterminated by our Tang Dynasty."

"The Dongqing side must be horrified!"

"I think that in the face of such an incident, the Eastern Qing's plan to mobilize troops against the Western Qing may change."

Li Yi heard this and said while touching his chin.

"What Wang Qing said makes sense."

"Then what do you think the Tang Dynasty should do?"

What Wang An described is not impossible to happen.

Once Dongqing gave up its plan to fight with Xiqing because of its fear of the Tang Dynasty.

Then, the Tang Dynasty's plan to take advantage of the internal strife in the Qing Dynasty to launch a northern expedition and recover Liaodong would naturally be affected.

If the Tang Dynasty wants to send troops to fight and achieve the ultimate victory, it needs to think carefully and consider these possible changes in advance.

So as to avoid being caught off guard when encountering such a situation!
Shi Dakai, who had been silent, spoke up.

"Your Majesty, I think it would be fine even if Dongqing gave up on using military force against Xiqing."

"Because even if Dongqing doesn't take action, Xiqing might do so."

After Shi Dakai surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, Li Yi, in order to save face, did not give him a nominal position, but simply suspended him.

Well, if Shi Dakai had not resigned from the throne at the beginning, Li Yi would definitely have given him a nominal position and left him alone.

But since Shi Dakai took the initiative to resign the throne, Li Yi would naturally give something in return.

Giving Shi Dakai a position of real power is what should be expected.

Therefore, Shi Dakai was appointed as the Minister of Logistics of the Military Affairs Council and Deputy Foreman of the Grand Council, positions of absolute power and influence.

Although the Logistics Department could not directly intervene in military affairs, Li Yi placed Shi Dakai in the Logistics Department, which indirectly stripped him of his military power.

However, as the department in the Military Affairs Council that manages logistics, the Logistics Department is a really lucrative job.

The fact that Li Yi gave this lucrative job to Shi Dakai showed how much he valued him.

Li Yi nodded slightly, then motioned Shi Dakai to continue.

Shi Dakai continued.

"According to the intelligence reported by the Military Intelligence Department, Xiqing is now fighting fiercely with the Khorchin tribe."

"If the Tang Dynasty tells Xiqing that Dongqing is planning to join forces with the Sunite tribe to attack Xiqing, and shows Xiqing our support for them."

"It is very likely that the Western Qing will take the initiative to attack the Eastern Qing, relying on the support of the Tang Dynasty and the Khorchin tribe!"

"As long as Dongqing and Xiqing start fighting, there will be a lot of room for maneuver."

Li Yi understood what Shi Dakai meant, which was nothing more than to sow discord.

As long as the Qing Dynasty is in internal strife, the Tang Dynasty will be able to find an opportunity to send troops.

Destroy the Qing Dynasty in one fell swoop!
After a moment of hesitation, Li Yi continued to ask.

"Then how should we plan to deploy troops?"

Sending troops to the Northern Expedition is a big deal and it is impossible to just start it.

Before officially mobilizing troops, plans for the direction of deployment, transportation of food and fodder, etc. must be made in advance.

As soon as Li Yi said this, Fang Haiyang, who had recently been transferred back from Vietnam, made a suggestion.

"Your Majesty, I think that the Tang Dynasty can take the sea route to attack southern Liaoning during this northern expedition."

After hearing what Fang Haiyang said, Li Yi suddenly remembered the plan he had made to immigrate from the Shandong Peninsula to southern Liaoning and to develop the areas outside the Great Wall by going to Guandong.

The immigration plan should have been implemented last year, but the Tang Dynasty at that time had to focus its main energy on the decisive battle of the Yellow River and the Northern Expedition.

So the immigration issue was delayed!
Now that Fang Haiyang mentioned it, Li Yi finally remembered it.

After thinking for a while, Li Yi spoke.

"Going by sea is an option!"

"The Operations Department should come up with a battle plan as soon as possible and submit it to me for review."

Li Yi knew that according to the report from the Military Intelligence Department, the Eastern Qing side was now mainly deploying its troops along the Liaoxi Corridor.

On the one hand, we had to guard against the eastward advance of the Western Qing Dynasty, and on the other hand, we had to guard against the northern expedition of the Tang army.

Whether it was the Qing Dynasty's eastward advance or the Tang army's northern expedition, the Liaoxi Corridor was a very critical point.

Although troops were deployed in southern Liaoning, they were only a small detachment with weak combat effectiveness and small numbers.

If the Tang army landed in southern Liaoning by sea, it would be tantamount to avoiding the strong and attacking the weak.

In addition, if the Tang army took the sea route to the north, the transport fleet could depart from Tianjin Port and pass through the Bohai Bay directly to the mouth of the Daliao River.

Then, going upstream along the Daliao River, you can reach Liaoyang and Shenyang, the two heartland areas of Liaodong.

In this way, there is no need to travel by land, and there is no need to conscript civilians to transport food and logistics for the army, and the cost of war can be reduced to a minimum.

And cost is a very important factor in a war.

Of course, it is also possible to attack Liaodong by land through the Liaoxi Corridor.

But if you travel along the Liaoxi Corridor, you will inevitably pass through the large swampland called Liaoze.

It's not just that it's difficult to advance.

The swampy geographical environment will also cause the cost of transporting food and fodder to soar to an uncontrollable level.

If the army wanted to take the Liaoxi Corridor, it would not be possible to rely on its own food transport, and it would have to conscript civilians to follow the army.

Once the people are conscripted, it will inevitably have a huge impact on people's livelihood and farming.

This is not a good thing!
To sum up, it would definitely be much easier to march from southern Liaoning to eastern Liaoning by sea than by the Liaoxi Corridor. Zuo Zongtang agreed immediately after hearing this.

After finalizing this matter, Shi Dakai, Zuo Zongtang and others took their leave and prepared to go and formulate a battle plan.

Li Yi continued to deal with the government affairs at hand.

He has a lot of things on his hands recently!

……

"Ahem! Ahem!"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

After a violent cough, Luo Dagang opened his eyelids with difficulty as if they were glued shut.

Although his mind was still a little groggy and his body was feeling weak, the stuffy feeling in his chest was much relieved.

Luo Dagang took a few deep breaths.

I just felt a smooth feeling!
Seeing this, the doctor who was waiting on the side suddenly lit up his eyes and came forward to ask.

"Master, are you awake? How do you feel now?"

Luo Dagang slowly raised his head and spoke in a still weak voice.

"I feel much better now."

"Before, it felt like there was a huge rock pressing on my chest and I couldn't breathe."

"But now, it feels like the big rock has been removed, and I feel much more comfortable."

As he spoke, Luo Dagang signaled the doctor to help him up.

Seeing this, the doctor reached out and helped Luo Dagang up, letting him lean against the head of the bed.

Then the doctor smiled and spoke again.

"Congratulations, sir. The most dangerous period has passed. I believe it won't be long before your body recovers."

Luo Dagang smiled weakly.

"Then penicillin really has miraculous effects."

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty!"

The doctor continued to flatter.

"That is also a blessing for the Lord."

At this moment, accompanied by a creaking sound, the door of the ward was pushed open from the outside.

Su Sanniang walked in from outside holding a child in her arms.

After seeing Luo Dagang sitting up, Su Sanniang showed a surprised smile on her face.

"Master...Master is awake?"

"How is your health now?"

Luo Dagang forced a smile and spoke.

"Thank you Madam Lao for your concern."

"I'm much better now."

Upon hearing this, Su Sanniang couldn't help but wipe away her tears again.

Su Sanniang was really surprised that Luo Dagang's body was able to recover.

It's not just because there is affection between the two of them.

Moreover, Luo Dagang is like a towering tree that can shelter her and her son from wind and rain.

Although Su Sanniang herself also holds an official position in the court, how can she compare with Luo Dagang, the father-in-law of the emperor and a duke?

You know, when Luo Dagang defected to Li Yi, he brought his army with him.

Moreover, during Li Yi's conquest of the world, Luo Dagang also used his influence in the Tiandihui to help Li Yi persuade the various rebel forces to surrender.

To put it bluntly, what Luo Dagang got in the Tang Dynasty were original shares.

Once Luo Dagang is gone, Su Sanniang and Luo Qingchuan will become orphans and widows.

Despite the kindness left by Luo Dagang, no one dared to bully them openly.

However, it will not be an easy thing for Luo Qingchuan to enter the officialdom in the future, climb to a high position, and continue the wealth of the Luo family.

They don’t bully, but there are only so many official positions and no one will give in on such matters.

"God bless, God bless!"

Su Sanniang said with tears of joy.

Luo Qingchuan also walked with his short legs to his father's bedside and threw himself into Luo Dagang's arms.

Luo Dagang gently held his son in his arms, feeling filled with emotion.

In the face of life and death, power and wealth are really not worth mentioning!
……

Soon, Li Yi received news that Luo Dagang's condition had improved.

Along with this, news about penicillin began to spread in the capital.

Moreover, the efficacy of penicillin has been somewhat deified.

Many people are spreading the rumor that no matter what disease you have, a shot of penicillin will cure it.

It even has the effect of strengthening yang and nourishing the body!
Soon, the matter of penicillin became a hot topic in the capital.

Looking at Wang An and Zhao Ke who appeared in front of him, Li Yi couldn't help but hold his forehead.

"You two, it's not that I won't give you penicillin, but the results of the Institute of Pharmacology are not yet mature..."

"Of course it's true, why would I lie to you?"

"No, really not..."

Li Yi's words were full of helplessness.

After the news about penicillin spread, Wang An and Zhao Ke came to Li Yi one after another and asked Li Yi for medicine with a flattering face.

Moreover, due to their seniority and contributions, Li Yi couldn't scold them directly and could only explain patiently.

That’s why we have this scene before our eyes.

(End of this chapter)