By the end of June, the mobilization of 34,000 soldiers of the 64,000 Beijing battalion of the southern expedition had been completed. Civil officials Xue Yan, Hou Hai, Pei Youzhen and others have already left Beijing on order.

Zhang Fu, Marquis of Xincheng, was officially appointed as the general of Zhengyi in Fengtiandian, and was ordered to command all the military powers of the Jingying Southern Expeditionary Army, the Annan Governor's Office, and the Weisuo Army requisitioned and transferred from Guangxi and Guangdong, and had the right to act expediently. Chen Xuan was the commander in chief of the naval division, and controlled all the fleets participating in the battle, but he had to obey Zhang Fu's military orders. Anyuan Hou Liu was promoted to the left deputy general of Zhengyi, and Heyang Hou Yin was victorious as the right deputy general of Zhengyi.

When the army set out, the sky was clear and windy. People in the north of Jingshi seem to be able to hear the sound of the surging river crashing on the shore.

Zhu Gaoxu led the crowd and sent Zhang Fu and other soldiers to the gate of Jinchuan. Zhu Gaoxu gave a wine to say goodbye, and repeatedly told the generals to take into account the general righteousness and pay attention to public opinion propaganda, so as to reduce the willingness of the local people to resist.

The carriage of Queen Chen and King Chen Zhengyuan of Annam was also in the ranks of the Chinese army. When everyone said goodbye and set off, the curtain of the carriage was opened, and I saw that Chen's face was already full of tears, his expression was extremely sad, and he cried like a tearful man.

But on the one hand, she was heartbroken, and on the other hand, she tried her best to persuade Zhu Gaoxu to let her go back, and people are so contradictory. Zhu Gaoxu could only sit on the back of the horse and waved his hand a few times over there, which for a while made this ambitious scene seem to be covered with a trace of entangled melancholy.

The crowd passing through the Jinchuan Gate Road behind was a group of Chinese infantry escorting the "Tuanlong Sun and Moon Banner". When they lined up and walked out of the corridor, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly had a sense of trance, as if he didn't know what era he was in.

Most of the soldiers of the Beijing camp who went out this time received the new military uniforms issued by the imperial court, but the military uniforms worn in combat mainly took into account the armor and practicality; Therefore, almost all the soldiers wore the wide-brimmed iron helmets of the Ming army and carried various combat tools. Only this queue of flag guards, wearing ceremonial dresses, wearing large-brimmed cloth hats on their heads, wearing brand-new gray clothes and trousers, carrying "spring cold" light guns, but not carrying ammunition, looked very neat.

Regardless of the power of the arquebus, the slender new forged barrel was smooth and glittered in the sun. Because of the large brimmed hat, the neat military appearance is very similar to the modern army. Such a scene made the people watching from afar also look sideways, and they were completely attracted by this strange procession.

The quaint Jinchuan Gate Tower, the pagoda on the Lion Rock, as well as the pavilions and pavilions near and far, the water pavilion arch bridge, all of them are an elegant scene in the style of the Ming Dynasty. And this army made Zhu Gaoxu feel the factors of change.

To the evenly rhythmic sound of drums, the army kept marching in formation, and the footsteps were very neat. The generals on horseback saluted with fists on horseback, and Zhu Gaoxu saw this and also returned the salute with fists; The footsteps of the "...... Titicaca" have made it difficult for the generals to hear clearly.

There are constantly queues of people riding in the corridor, most of them are in hundreds of teams, and each team maintains a proper gap between the front and back. Although there are many people and horses on this main road, there is no congestion, and there is still a gap on one side of the road for the heralds who are running on horseback, and the military discipline of the main army in Beijing is in good order.

The tilt in military spending after Zhu Gaochu came to power seems to have been effective in military strength. However, he hopes that these elites in Beijing can play a real role and bring substantial benefits to the country.

Zhu Gaoxu watched for a while, and did not ride his Luan, but rode straight back to the city.

A group of Han generals of the Jinyi Guard followed Zhu Gaoxu and rode from the main road in the city of Beijing until they entered the Xi'an Gate; When they arrived at Xihua Gate, the Jinyi guards stopped.

Zhu Gaoxu did not dismount, and rode into the palace to go to the Rouyi Palace. Horses were not allowed to be ridden in the palace, but there was no one to stop the emperor when he wanted to; At most, there are civil officials who write to emphasize that etiquette corresponds to God, and this kind of thing Zhu Gaoxu is the wind in his ears.

Everything is as usual in the main hall of the quaint and bright Rouyi Palace, and a while ago he was often with civil and military officials to discuss the affairs of Annan, and the map on the table is still there.

But when Zhu Gaoxu walked in, he suddenly felt that the place seemed to be empty. Only then did he realize that the people who lived in the apse were gone.

The Chan family only lived here temporarily, but for a longer time; As long as the eunuch summons her, he can see her immediately. Now Zhu Gaoxu is still a little unaccustomed to it, and he always feels that something is missing.

He sat down behind the big table, looked at the music and the map, and did nothing. After a while, he unconsciously reached out and put it on his forehead and rubbed it vigorously for a while.

At this moment, the eunuch Wang Gui bent down and walked in, hugged the dust and saluted: "Your lord, the Northern Department of the Imperial Department sent a piece of music into the palace before, but I didn't go through the political department, saying that I wrote something important. The slave maid put the music on the top for the emperor. ”

Zhu Gaoxu responded, reached out and picked up the top piece and opened it to see.

The Northern Department of the Imperial Department sent people to the north to buy some Mongolian ancients, and got the news: The Great Khan of Mongolia and Benyali Khan are dead!

Zhu Gaoxu realized that the situation in Mongolia will undergo great changes. His attention was immediately detached from the subtle emotion just now, and he carefully studied the contents of the recital.

From the end of last year to the beginning of this year, the Ming army carried out a retributive northern expedition, and the target of the campaign was the Tatars. Zhu Gaoxu felt that the battle was very unpleasant, and the whole army of more than 200,000 people suffered a lot. However, the Tatars also seemed to be very uncomfortable and suffered heavy losses, and after the royal tent of the Benyali Khan was destroyed by the E-kingdom Fair and An, they led their troops to retreat westward.

As a result, Benjari Khan's army had to borrow grain from the west of the Watts because of the lack of food and pasture. Unexpectedly, the Tile Thorns took advantage of the fire to raid and besiege Benjari Khan, slaughtering Benjaris himself and most of his men. This Great Khan was nominally the "Great Khan of All Mongolia", and as soon as he died, the Vaspurs soon installed a new Great Khan: Tabari Khan.

A: Bari Khan claims to be a descendant of the Golden Family, but who, at least the Ming Dynasty, is unknown.

And the Tatar tribes that suffered heavy losses, the actual ruler was Arutai, who was known as the Mongol Taishi. Arutai was attacked by the Ming army because of his strength, and he was very panicked and angry about the situation of the tile spur sitting on the big support for the Mongol Khan and taking the opportunity to expand eastward.

This Arutai, who did not hesitate to fight with the Ming army's 200,000 or 300,000 troops, and was unwilling to sue for peace, decided to change his strategy in the internal struggle of Mongolia.

The bought Mongols reported to the Ming officials that Arutai was collecting good horses from various tribes, preparing to send envoys and pay tribute to the Ming court to show friendship. They seem to want to take the initiative to change their relationship with the Ming Dynasty, so that they can use the military strength of the Ming army to attack the tile spurs in the west.

After Zhu Gaoxu finished reading the recital, he raised his head and said to Wang Gui, who was standing in front: "Take it to the Wuying Palace, and let the ministers of the cabinet and the treasure department take a look." ”

"Yes." Wang Gui bowed forward and picked up the piece with both hands.

Zhu Gaoxu decided to listen to the opinions of the ministers first, but he didn't have to think too much about it, and immediately lost interest in continuing the northern expedition.

Zhu Gaoxu was not very reluctant to go north last year, but because the Tatars took the initiative to harass the border and did all kinds of evil, he didn't want to be too weak when he first ascended the throne; Then he went deep into the grassland to fight, and he realized that the northern expedition was simply a huge and thankless task.

But the Mongols seem to have some misunderstanding of the Ming Dynasty. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols sat on the throne, and the rebel armies in the world rose and fell, and the strategy of the Yuan court was to attack whoever claimed the title of emperor would attack whom, because it was really impossible to attack multiple roads at the same time; This is the strategy of Ming Taizu Group.

Now the Mongols, as if they think that the Ming Dynasty will do the same, will strike at the "Great Khan of All Mongolia". The ancients really attached too much importance to fame and flags.

And the fact is that now from Emperor Zhu Gaoxu to the ministers of the imperial court, there is a bit of resistance to unprofitable wars. The reason why Zhu Gaoxu ignored the exhortations of his ministers and insisted on planning military operations against the South China Sea and Northeast Asia was simply because he felt that he had long-term interests. But for the northern grasslands, even Zhu Gaoxu himself can't see the benefits.

Wanting to solve the northern problem through large-scale battles and relying only on offensive pressure, Zhu Gaoxu tried it and thought that the cost was too high and lacked feasibility.

As for the banner of the Golden Family, don't worry too much. The glory of the past has long since come to an end, and the wheels of decay cannot escape the torrent of history, and sooner or later will be abandoned by the Mongols. Just like the "Han" and "Tang" banners in the Central Plains back then, they once had great appeal, but they were eventually eliminated.

Zhu Gaoxu was no longer willing to continue the northern expedition.

The problem is that the "Battle of Jingjing" has drawn too many troops from the northern guards, and in recent years, they have not managed the north much, resulting in the weakening of the northern defense; But fortunately, the Mongol tribes are also fighting among themselves, and they cannot really threaten the northern border for the time being...... Therefore, in the north, Zhu Gaoxu felt that it was necessary to re-improve the national defense system and occupy advantageous and important places. Defend aggressively first, consider building a fortress, and then slowly plan it.

Fortunately, guarding against the northern nomadic tribes has always been the key point of national defense in the Central Plains, and it is easy to get the support of the government and the opposition, after all, everyone needs a sense of security.

Several maps were laid out on the table, including a map of the country, a map of the situation in Annam, a map of the power of the Tatar Watts, and a map of the Hami Kingdom on the Western Mongolian side. Zhu Gaoxu's fingers moved slowly on it.

After a long time, he finally put down the drawings, leaned back in his chair, and fell into deep thought without saying a word.

the number of millions, as well as the ragged conscripts and slender men seen near Chongqing Mansion back then; There have been cases of people dying of starvation in Shandong's political envoys, and there are rumors of various cults and frequent activities that have been banned by the imperial court; Qi Tai talked about the fact that opening up the territory is a thousand years of work, it is difficult to have an immediate return, and it is harmful to the current situation...... Trivial fragments kept flashing through his mind.

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