Zhang Fu was a little disappointed when he heard that they were unlikely to be a fraud. He just thought that they might have surrendered, and he was still thinking about it.

However, he immediately came back to his senses and continued to discuss with Mu Sheng how to conquer Duobang City. But they didn't have any good ideas, and they talked for a long time to no avail.

Zhang Fu then changed the topic and said, "Master Mu, the last general just remembered something. A few bold merchants followed the vanguard army led by the last general to this place, and if the soldiers of Mu Hou Ye had anything that was not too big, he could sell it to them. ”

Hearing Zhang Fu change the topic, Mu Sheng also said: "I thought that there would not be a few businessmen who responded to the army merchants set up by Li Jian, even if the response was also in places that had settled down, such as Polei Pass and Fuling Pass, there were really businessmen who dared to follow the army?" Not afraid of being eliminated as a spy for the Annanes? Moreover, who will pay attention to protect them when they march and fight? I'm afraid it's not a life-threatening concern. ”

Although Mu Sheng's fighting skills are average (of course, he doesn't realize it now), he is still very good to his soldiers, and no military generals are allowed to deduct military salaries, and at the same time turn a blind eye to the generals who do business in private, and he is deeply loved by the soldiers; He was also supportive of the merchant system, which would benefit the soldiers.

But he was skeptical that the system would work, so he asked.

"Wealth and wealth are in danger, and there are always those who are bold enough to make this money. It's much safer when the place is stable, but there are more people who come to earn money, and the money is not so easy to earn. Zhang Fu said: "What's more......" He said here, and suddenly stopped talking.

Mu Sheng was puzzled, but he didn't ask immediately, but said a few words to everyone, Zhu Yang saw that it was getting late and left Zhang Fu when they went back to rest, and asked: "You said 'what's more' just now, why didn't you stop talking?" ”

"This," Zhang Fu was actually speechless just now, but at this time, Mu Sheng asked Zhu Yang to watch from the side, and he couldn't help but answer, so he could only say: "The three businessmen who came with the last general have their own honor guards, not ordinary businessmen. ”

"One of them is a relative of the subordinates who have to be used in the Lan Shuai Mansion, and the other is the same clan of Cao Guogong; The last person has the most powerful relationship, and it is said that he is the family of a female official in the palace. Although they were just merchants, they had no eyes when they were fighting, and it was troublesome to die for no reason on weekdays, and I had to find someone to protect them. ”

"Can it still be like this?" Mu Sheng, who had never thought of such a high-level combination of government and business, was very surprised.

"It's obviously unfair to ordinary businessmen and it's not good for the country." Zhu Yang said. As a prince and a fief, he naturally considers the problem from the perspective of the state.

Zhang Fu sighed and said, "His Royal Highness King Min, Lord Mu, although these businessmen have a relationship with Lan Shuai and Cao Guogong, they are already in a crooked relationship, even if Your Majesty knows about it, what can I do?" What's more, this is not at the behest of Lan Shuai or Cao Guogong, but they are doing business on their own, and they take the initiative to pull relations for the sake of safety, so it's no wonder that Lan Shuai or Cao Guogong are instigated. ”

Zhu Yang and Mu Sheng thought about it for a while, and they were all people who had been in the local area for a long time, and they knew that except for small businessmen who sold needles and threads, who ordinary businessmen did not bribe officials? Even if Emperor Taizu was so strict with corruption when he was still alive, it could not stop the merchants from bribing officials to collect money, but it was more secretive.

Zhu Yang sighed and let Zhang Fu retreat.

Early the next morning, Zhang Fu got up, let the soldiers have breakfast, and began to build the rest of the camp tents, and he himself took the guards to the middle of the river in a small boat, first glanced at the Daming Naval Division, which was fighting with the Annan Naval Division, and then raised his clairvoyance to look at the city of Duobang opposite.

The city of Duobang has a relatively small history, only to appear around the Chen Dynasty, but at that time it was only a small city used to collect taxes from passing merchants.

After Hu Jichen took power, he was always worried that the Ming Dynasty would uphold justice for the Chen Dynasty, especially after he abolished a monarch and set up another person, causing Zhu Yuanzhang to cut off his tribute, so he expanded the city on a large scale, increasing the area of the city tenfold, and the city wall increased from more than one zhang high to five or six zhang high, from a few feet thick to more than two zhang thick, and also deliberately built a city wall stretching out on the north side of the river.

At the same time, the soldiers were well guarded. Zhang Fu held up his clairvoyance and looked over, only to see that each section of the city wall was guarded by several people, and the guards were changed from time to time, which showed that there were enough soldiers in the city.

'Crossing the river with wooden stakes cannot carry artillery, chariots or even crossbows, and it is impossible to deal with the artillery of the Annamite when they are arrayed on the beach, and it is impossible to line up on the beach unless it is an elite like the Yulin Left Guard. ’

Even if a few elite guards completed the formation, they would be able to deal with the muskets of the Annamite people, but when the people arrived near the city to attack the city, it would not be difficult to take down the city without enough siege equipment. ’

If only the Annamite people didn't have guns. Although the wooden raft can't carry much weight, it can still be done on a few ladders. If there were no cannons, crossing the river in the middle of the night and lining up on the beach, and the honor guards attacking several walls at the same time, would definitely allow the Annamites to break through the city in one fell swoop. Zhang Fu sighed.

He lowered his clairvoyance and rubbed his eyes, and then asked the boatman to row along the river. I saw ripples on the surface of the river near the south of the Yangtze River from time to time. Zhang Fu, who had made up for his knowledge of boating, knew that it was because there were objects under the river that blocked the flow of water, and the blocked water flowed to both sides, making ripples.

At the same time, there are many green trees on the shore, and although from time to time there are small roads opened up by ordinary people, but it is obvious that the army cannot enter or leave.

"Old man, how many miles of stakes did the rebel on the other side let people dig down? How far does the forest stretch along the coast? Zhang Fu asked the boatman.

The boatman, who is in his 40s, is a native of Annam, and his family has been crossing rivers in this neighborhood for generations. After the Ming army's military discipline was not bad, although there were a few things like robbing the people's daughters and robbing the people's property, but their poor son's daughter-in-law was not good-looking, and there was neither the wealth that could be robbed nor the color that could be robbed, so there was no resentment towards the Ming army, and after the generals under Mu Sheng rewarded him with ten taels of silver, he was very active in serving the Ming army all day long.

At this moment, after listening to the interpreter's words, the boatman muttered, and the interpreter said to Zhang Fu: "General, this man said that the wooden stakes set by the Annan people on the south bank are seventy or eighty miles, and they can extend nearly forty miles from the white crane to the northwest and northeast. ”

"The woods on the south bank are even longer, and there are dense forests along the river for three or four hundred miles, although there are some small ferries that can cross the river, but they are all small roads, and it is impossible for so many people in our army to cross the river from such a small road."

Zhang Fu listened to the translator's words and frowned silently. According to the words of this boatman, it was impossible to cross the river in other places, and if he wanted to attack Jiangnan, he could only attack from the beach in front of the city of Dobang. However, if you can't cross the river with siege equipment, it is almost impossible to capture the city of Duobang, and tens of thousands of troops will be blocked on the beach.

Zhang Fu was eager to find a way to attack Jiangnan and let the army successfully move south. Although he doesn't care about other people's eyes on him, His Majesty is equivalent to knowing him, and he can't let others question His Majesty's vision, so he wants to prove to everyone that he is worthy of the position of a general by performing well in this battle, and the emperor's vision is right.

However, he let the old boatman steer the boat to go back and forth on the river for more than an hour, and he did not find a good way for several miles of waterway, so he had to take another look at the Daming Naval Division, which was fighting with the Annan Naval Division on the south bank, and returned to the camp.

Another day later, on the afternoon of November 13, Lan Zhen led tens of thousands of troops to Baihe. When Lan Zhen came here, it was daylight, and after all, the identity was different, and the person guarding the camp opened the gate of the camp to let him in after checking the tokens.

Lan Zhen personally arranged for the soldiers to live in the camp tents, and instructed several generals to arrange for the soldiers to eat and come to find Mu Sheng by himself.

After the two of them saw the end of the prelude, Lan Zhen asked impatiently: "Your Highness, Mu Sheng, Zhang Fu has already written to me about the general situation, let me ask, is this multi-state city really so difficult to fight?" ”

"Lan Zhen, just look at it yourself, the terrain here is already very dangerous, and the Annan people laid wooden stakes on the south bank to block the ships, and arranged cannons at the head of the city, which is definitely not something that can be captured in a few days." Mu Sheng said.

"Can't you fight at night? Night............" Lan Zhen asked.

"I did this the other night, and sent out a guard, and less than two thousand people came back." Mu Sheng said.

"Lan Zhen, this place is indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack, and I have repeatedly investigated, and it is definitely not something that can be captured in a short time." Zhu Yang also said. Zhang Fu's status is low, and he does not have the right to speak at this time, but it can be seen from his expression that he agrees with Mu Sheng and Zhu Yang's opinions.

Seeing that Zhang Fu was also like this, Lan Zhen had to sigh and stop asking. Zhang Fu's desire to fight is still above him, and after these days of understanding, he also feels that Zhang Fu definitely has the talent of a general, and even Zhang Fu agrees with Mu Sheng's opinion, which shows that it is indeed difficult to conquer it for a while.

"How long will it take to remove the stakes on the south bank?" He began to think of a safe approach.

"It's hard to say." Mu Sheng's face was not very good-looking: "Every day, the sailors of the Annam people will patrol the river in a small boat that happens to pass through the stakes, if our people don't get close to the stakes, they won't come, as long as our sailors get close to the stakes, they will come to stop them." ”

"The sailors I brought here were not used to manipulating such a small boat, and they could not clean the stakes quickly because they could not clean the stakes quickly, so they could only pull out the stakes from the northernmost part little by little with the support of the big boats. According to the current situation, I am afraid that it will take three to five months to clear a waterway that can be passed by large ships. ”