When the hot air balloon landed safely, Lu Zhenfei was already shocked beyond measure.

Even if the balloon doesn't land in the exact position, it doesn't affect that.

Mr. Lu had never had a similar experience in decades. What he brought this time was a subversive understanding.

And all this because of His Majesty the Emperor.

The hot air balloon itself is an invention of His Majesty the Emperor, like a flintlock pistol or a shuttle loom.

Sometimes Lu Zhenfei wondered why His Majesty the Emperor had so many novel ideas. It is a bit far-fetched to just use the explanation that the Son of Heaven was ordered by Heaven.

However, none of this is important, the important thing is that the Ming army has a new way of fighting.

Lu Zhenfei didn't know how many hot air balloons Daming could make with his current national strength. But one thing is certain, and that is that it will definitely deal a heavy blow to Dongyu.

Then Lu Zhenfei returned to the palace with Zhu Cihong, and the two of them discussed the specific battle plan and details together.

After that, Zhu Cihong stayed with Lu Zhenfei to dine in the palace and ate an authentic potato banquet.

Lu Zhenfei had also eaten potatoes before, but it was the simplest boiled in plain water. He really couldn't imagine that there were so many ways to eat his unsightly potatoes. I can't imagine that the dignified tomorrow will eat this kind of thing that only poor people eat.

It is really a blessing for the Ming Dynasty to have such a wise and martial, benevolent and loving king.

"Your Majesty, now that King Gui has absconded from Annan, Annan has always had an ambiguous attitude. Your Majesty may wish to send a decree to reprimand him and put some pressure on him. ”

Chatting and chatting, Lu Zhenfei talked about King Gui.

This cousin of today's son really didn't make people worry, and he led people to abscond from Annan when he knew that there was no hope of rebellion.

In this case, there was a problem for the imperial court.

If the plan to send troops to the southern and northern expeditions of Annan had to be pushed back.

But if you don't send troops, it will be strange and uncomfortable to let King Gui make some small moves in Annan.

Now that the problem is in front of Zhu Cihong, it is his turn to decide.

I saw Zhu Cihong ponder for a moment and said, "I have also considered what this soldier just said. But a mere petition was not enough to make Annan realize the seriousness of the problem. ”

He paused for a moment and then continued: "I am going to let Yuan Jixian and Chen Bing Town Nanguan. ”

When Lu Zhenfei heard this, he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, you must not." Now that the Northern Expedition is imminent, it is really not appropriate to disperse human, material, and financial resources. After the Northern Expedition, it will not be too late for Shenjing to recover His Majesty and conquer Annan again. ”

Zhu Cihong shook his head and said, "I didn't say that I want to conquer Annan now. ”

"Then Your Majesty sent Yuan Governor Chen Bingzhen Nanguan?"

"I just asked Yuan Jixian to make a show and scare and scare those Annan people."

"Your Majesty means bluffing?"

Lu Zhenfei's eyes lit up.

"Not bad."

Zhu Cihong bowed his head slightly and said: "The people of Annan are arrogant and domineering, and they have long been untamed by my Ming Dynasty. If it weren't for the great calamity of the Eastern Captives in the north, I would have sent troops to Thang Long immediately. But now I can't, I can only scare them first. If they were timid enough to escort King Gui to Zhennan Pass, it would naturally be the best. ”

Lu Zhenfei now fully understood the intentions of the Holy Son of Heaven.

The reason why the people of Annam are at both ends of the rat is because they feel that the Ming Dynasty is declining and the East is rising.

If the Ming could send a large army to the border area for the Annan people to see, they would definitely have fear and awe in their hearts.

That's enough for now.

As for whether the Annanites will send King Gui back, it is difficult to say. It would be best if it could be sent back, and it would be unacceptable not to send it back to maintain the status quo.

As long as the Ming Dynasty wins the decisive battle with the Dongyu, it will be easy to clean up Annan or King Gui.

The immediate priority now is the Northern Expedition.

"As for the Northern Expedition, I have some ideas that I would like to discuss with my own soldiers."

"Your Majesty, please speak."

Lu Zhenfei arched his hand.

"One is whether to divide the troops."

Zhu Cihong walked to the map and said unhurriedly: "Now Dongyu occupies Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, North Zhili and other places. If I am on the Northern Expedition, there are two directions in which I can march. The first was to attack Hanzhong from Sichuan to the north, and then attack Shangluo through Hanzhong. ”

He paused and gave Lu Zhenfei time to digest.

"The second is to send troops from Shandong to attack Henan and North Zhili. In terms of importance, Beizhili is definitely more important, and the restoration of Shenjing can also have greater symbolic significance. But the Eastern Captives will definitely accumulate heavy troops in Beizhili, and if they only attack one place, I am afraid that they will fall into a fierce battle. ”

When Lu Zhenfei heard this, he knew that His Majesty the Emperor already had the answer in his heart.

The Son of Heaven is going to divide his troops.

"It's even more difficult for Your Majesty to take Hanzhong."

Although Lu Zhenfei had never been to Hanzhong, he knew that with the terrain of Hanzhong, it was not easy to send troops from Sichuan to attack north.

During the Three Kingdoms, Shu Han made several northern expeditions, and the battlefield in Hanzhong was very tragic, and there was a reason why the terrain was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

In comparison, Beizhili is a horse and a flat river, but it needs to face off directly with the main force of Dongyu.

It can only be said that there are pros and cons to both directions of operations.

"Of course, it wasn't easy before. But now I have Li Dingguo. ”

Zhu Cihong looked very confident.

He waved his hand and said, "He will definitely play an important role in the process of attacking Hanzhong." ”

Lu Zhenfei was stunned when he heard this.

Li Dingguo? He seems to have heard the name.

This man is said to be the son of a thief. After the death of the thief, he also reverted to his original surname.

Not long ago, Li Dingguo had just accepted the imperial court's edict and was stationed in Jianchang.

"Your Majesty, the thief did steal Hanzhong, but it didn't last long. However, the thieves occupied Hanzhong for a long time. Can this Li Dingguo really play an important role? ”

Zhu Cihong said with a smile: "This soldier is waiting to see it." ”

The reason why Zhu Cihong is so confident is naturally because of his understanding of Li Dingguo.

This first general in the history of the Southern Ming Dynasty has a very strong ability to command troops. With such a strong man and hiding in the corner to produce ashes, Zhu Cihong can't do this kind of thing.

"Even so, the minister did not dare to say more. But isn't it too risky to divide troops just because of one Li Dingguo? In the battle of Salhu, the Ming Dynasty suffered a loss in the division of troops. ”

Zhu Cihong knew that Lu Zhenfei would mention the Battle of Sarhu. Because the battle of Salhu is a sign of the Ming Dynasty's transformation from prosperity to decline. Since the Battle of Salhu, the offensive and defensive momentum of the Ming and Dongyu has changed.

However, it is therefore not objective to attribute the cause of defeat to the division of troops.

"I have also analyzed the reasons for the failure of the Battle of Sarhu. It is not about dividing the troops, but about lightly advancing the enemy. ”

Zhu Cihong said loudly: "And Da Ming did a very poor job in the matter of coordinated marching, which gave Dongyu a chance to break through." I won't give them that chance this time. ”

What Zhu Cihong said is categorical, with a majesty of the Son of Heaven, which is irrefutable.

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