Although the city of Nanjing has not yet been captured, Haihan has already begun to figure out how to deal with a large number of prisoners of war after the war.
This is not because Shi Diwen and others were overly optimistic and opened the champagne at halftime. It was because the Ming army's performance since the war began was mediocre. Although it was not so bad that it was vulnerable, its strength was far from enough to stop the Haihan army. Advance.
One month after the war started, the front was advanced from Huzhou to Nanjing. During this period, there were almost no close and tough battles like the attack on Shanhaiguan in the northern battlefield. It can be seen that the resistance encountered by the Haihan Army was not great.
At present, the water and land channels in and out of Nanjing are basically under the control of the Haihan Army. If nothing unexpected happens, it will be difficult for these Ming Army troops currently retreating to Nanjing to have a chance to escape safely.
Now that Nanjing is in the bag, Shi Diwen believes that there is no need to rush to attack the city. Perhaps after the situation on the northern battlefield becomes clear, the Ming Dynasty will choose to surrender again, and then there will be a chance to capture Nanjing without any blood.
However, Yan Chujie seemed to still have unfinished intentions: "Lao Shi, do you plan to stop here and not push forward?"
Shi Diwen said: "It is not impossible to continue to advance, but the troops have been fighting for more than a month, and there are still large areas of newly occupied areas that need to be digested by the troops stationed there. After all, they still have to stop and rest. Even if we continue to fight, I think we have to wait until the second half of the year.”
Yan Chujie smiled and said: "Before the war started, I mentioned that we could transfer a few troops from Fujian and Taiwan to attack the troops in the East China Sea Region, but you didn't agree at the time."
Shi Diwen said: "It's not easy to get a chance to go to the battlefield. The soldiers under my command are all holding their breath. They want to take advantage of this war to gain more military exploits. If friendly troops from other places come over to share a piece of the pie, I'm afraid it will be a disaster. It affects the morale of my men.”
Shi Diwen said this very directly, with unabashed selfishness, but it was indeed the actual situation in the military.
The start of this war was originally planned by the Donghai Region, and as we all know, the strength of the Ming army in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Jianghuai was limited. For the Donghai Region, it was simply a victory handed to them.
Shi Diwen invested a lot of manpower and material resources for this and prepared for a long time, so how could he be willing to give the credit to friendly forces in other places. Besides, even if Shi Diwen was willing to let go, his generals would probably be dissatisfied with it.
Yan Chujie said: "After taking Nanjing, if you continue to fight inland, don't be alone in the East China Sea Region!"
Shi Diwen said: "With this small number of troops in the East China Sea, we can only occupy so much land. Even if I want to eat alone, I won't be able to occupy it."
Since Yan Chujie stated that he would not delve into the matter, Shi Diwen certainly had to give him some face. The Donghai Region has taken over several state capitals on the south bank of the Yangtze River this time, plus Nanjing, which is about to be acquired. It would have taken some time to digest it, and there really is no spare energy to occupy more places.
Wang Chengen, who had been left hanging in Hangzhou for more than ten days, finally received a notice from the government that the executive committee was preparing to take time to receive him.
Wang Chengen has made various efforts in these days, hoping to make the armistice negotiations between the two countries a little more popular in Hangzhou, so as to gain an opportunity to meet with the Executive Committee.
The Haihan Army's front continues to advance every day, and the Ming Dynasty is in danger. Wang Chengen can no longer care about keeping his mission secret. But no matter how hard he tried, the attention he received during this period was far less than the performance art performed in Victory Square a few days ago.
But the excitement in the square that day made Wang Chengen still frightened and he did not dare to try again. Wang Chengen was afraid that things might change. After receiving the notice, he immediately packed up and went out to the Victory Palace.
When he got off the bus at the entrance of Victory Palace to undergo interrogation and registration, he subconsciously looked at the situation in the square and felt relieved when he saw that no crowds gathered.
What he is worried about now is not that the Haihan Executive Committee is unwilling to negotiate for peace. Since they have ordered to summon him, it means that there is still room for negotiation.
What made him most uneasy was the public sentiment. Judging from the situation he encountered last time he came to Victory Square, Haihan's country did not welcome the peace talks. There were even many radical opinions that there should not be any form of peace talks with the Ming Dynasty at all. He must complete his achievements in one battle and directly replace the Ming Dynasty in ruling the world.
Judging from what we have learned in the past, the Haihan Executive Committee has always attached great importance to public opinion. If a large number of people gather to oppose the peace talks, it will more or less affect the decision of the Executive Committee. Wang Chengen does not want such a situation to occur. .
Wang Chengen was taken into a conference room in the Victory Palace, while his entourage could only wait outside. Only Wang Chengen is qualified to arrange a meeting with the executive committee.
Wang Chengen sat and waited for a long time. The hot tea on the table was replaced with herbal tea, but the executive committee still had not appeared. Just when he was uneasy and wondering if he was going to be let go again, someone finally came.
More than a dozen people rushed into the conference room, but Wang Chengen could clearly see that there were three main people gathered in the middle. All of them had gray hair, and they looked very young.
Upon seeing this, Wang Chengen knew that these three people should be senior officials of the Executive Committee, and he quickly stood up and saluted.
He remembered that Zhu Zian once told him not to kneel in front of important figures in the executive committee, so as not to affect the impression. However, on this occasion, he represented the Ming Dynasty after all, so it seemed inappropriate to kneel down and bow down. He only bowed deeply, which was regarded as a salute.
"Master Wang, you have been waiting for a long time. Let's sit down and talk!"
After taking their seats, the three people representing Haihan introduced themselves.
Although this is the first time to meet these three people, their names are no stranger to Wang Chengen, because they have appeared in public as leaders since Haihan landed in Yulin Port thirty years ago. .
Tao Donglai is recognized as the first person in Haihan. Although he did not ascend the throne and proclaimed himself emperor after the founding of the People's Republic of China, his prestige in Haihan was not far from that. His attendance at today's meeting is enough to show how much Haihan attaches importance to this, which makes Wang Chengen feel a little more relieved.
Ning Qi was in charge of Haihan culture, education, and some foreign affairs, which was roughly equivalent to being in charge of the Hanlin Academy, Imperial College, and Honglu Temple in the Ming Dynasty. As long as Daming and Haihan dealt with each other through official channels over the years, they could not get around him.
Schneider is in charge of Haihan's treasury and business affairs. He is known as the "God of Wealth of Haihan" among the people. He manages an incalculable amount of wealth. Haihan is able to have today's national strength, and this person is naturally indispensable.
Although only three of the nine members of the Haihan Executive Committee came, to Wang Chengen, this was already quite a grand event. He originally expected that meeting one or two of the nine people would be the limit, but he didn't expect that the meeting would drag on for so many days, but three people would show up at once.