The big bandit in the Red Mansion robbed Lin Daiyu at the beginning

As he spoke, he looked at Commander Zhao and others.

"The fall of Yangzhou, the subsequent seizure of Zhenjiang Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, and Hangzhou Prefecture by the rebels, all indicate that our Daqian army's officers and men are lax in their preparations and have underestimated the people of this world, leading to these successive defeats!"

"I thought you would understand my painstaking efforts in the past few days, alas!"

Hearing Niu Qing's sigh, Commander Zhao and the others all lowered their heads in shame.

Immediately, Niu Qing smiled casually.

"But you're right. If we stop moving forward for too long, morale will dissipate."

All the generals looked up at Niu Qing expectantly, and then heard him speak solemnly,

"Tell my generals, the army will rest for three days, then break camp and march straight to Yangzhou!"

Although everyone was confused, they all saluted in unison following the commander's orders.

"Yes! I will obey your orders!"

Niu Qing seemed to see the confusion among the people, sat back in his chair, and waved his hand.

"Ask any questions you have. I brought you out here because I hope you'll listen, see, and ask more questions! That way you can serve the court in the future!"

The generals saluted again.

"Thank you, Marshal!"

A general stepped out and asked, puzzled,

"General, now that our artillery has arrived, why don't you send your troops immediately? Waiting three days will give those rebels an opportunity to respond."

Although the others didn't speak, it was obvious that most of them meant the same thing, and they all looked at Niu Qing.

Niu Qing smiled calmly.

"The rebels are rampant, repeatedly conquering important towns. Their firearms are sharp and their morale is high. Now that they have been trapped in Yangzhou for a long time by the imperial court, they must be eager to fight and find a way out."

"If I were to send troops at this moment, wouldn't that be playing into the hands of the rebels?"

A general stood up and said disdainfully,

"General, I believe that even though the rebels have slightly more advanced firearms, the local military has been slack for a long time, which gave them an opportunity to take advantage."

"If our elite troops from the Beijing Camp respond, we will surely be able to recapture Yangzhou in one fell swoop!"

Niu Qing laughed,

"It seems that you all have the same idea?"

Seeing that no one spoke, Niu Qing shook his head and sighed,

"Alas! It is precisely because everyone has this kind of thinking that important cities such as Yangzhou and Hangzhou were lost one after another. It is also why the Duke of Shanguo was so eager to fight in the Liuhe area that his 10,000-man vanguard army was completely annihilated by the rebels!"

Upon hearing this, all the generals lowered their heads in shame.

Some things cannot be explained in a few words, Niu Qing waved his hand.

"Alright, you all go your separate ways!"

"Think about it carefully when you get back. How could a mere traitor become such a major threat to the imperial court and cause the loss of hundreds of thousands of soldiers?"

"I will retire at the end!"

After the generals left, Niu Qing sighed softly, lowered his head and picked up an unopened letter from the table.

The three words "Qingfengzhai" signed on the letter made Niu Qing look solemn.

After looking conflicted for a long time, Niu Qing threw it directly into the stove beside him.

He murmured to himself,

"Ben'er, don't blame grandpa!"

Then his expression turned fierce, and he shouted towards the door,

"Come here! Order all the spies in the front barracks of the Scouting Camp to spread out. Within three days, thoroughly inspect the thirty-mile area along the route from Xuzhou Prefecture to Huai'an Prefecture!"

Finally, I added one more sentence.

"Especially the waterways and the unfavorable terrain!"

……

That night, troops from the Eighth Hall and Rishan Hall of Qingfeng Village appeared outside the city of Hangzhou and joined forces with troops from the four halls in the city to encircle the army from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas.

However, when the Eighth Hall Master Ji Chi led his elite troops to the outskirts of Hangzhou, the commander of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang armies had already laid an ambush.

Rishantang had no choice but to launch the battle in advance.

Following Ji Chi's order, the thousands of troops from the Eight Halls opened fire at full force.

As soon as the dense firepower network was opened, the ambushed imperial army was stunned on the spot.

This turned the court's ambush into a joke.

But at the same time, it also made the imperial army that was besieging the city prepared.

After receiving the news that the ambushed army was defeated, the commander immediately ordered the entire army to retreat, leaving behind even food and supplies.

As a result, Qingfengzhai failed to achieve its strategic goal in the Hangzhou area.