The afterglow of the setting sun falls on the undulating waves of the Yuan River, and the scales are shining. At this time, about 70,000 Qu Neng's army had already camped everywhere. According to the military order two days ago, the generals of various ministries came to the Chinese army one after another to discuss matters.

The military generals of the scout battalion standing on the side of the public case did not understand the changes in the military situation just now. He was telling the generals around him about the terrain ahead.

The military general pointed to the picture on the table and narrated: "From Chenxi County to the east to Lipu County, this section of the road is not difficult; As long as our army marches east along the Yuan River, it will arrive at Lipu County in three days. But if you continue to the east, you will enter the mountainous area at the northern foot of Meishan, and there is no official road to walk, so you can only take the path between the valleys.

The generals of the army are divided into three routes, and the soldiers of the scout battalion have already discovered the way, and they will send people to guide the generals of each road. The army marched roughly along the valley road south of Qushui, and after crossing the mountains at the northern foot of Meishan, it regrouped near Xinhua County......"

Qu Neng didn't say anything, and he was even a little distracted. He didn't pay much attention to what everyone said later.

The movement of the enemy army in Changde belongs to the news found by the North Division of the Han King's Imperial Mansion; The report that was received at dusk today has not yet been made public. He hadn't decided what to do at this moment.

The deliberations were not long, and the generals saw that Qu Neng had nothing to say, so they retired one after another.

After a while, Qu Liangcai personally made tea and respectfully toasted the tea with both hands. Qu Neng looked at his only relative, his expression was rarely so serious, and he said gently: "You don't have to wait here, just go to the army and take a look." ”

Qu Liangcai clenched his fists and said, "Yes, father." ”

Outside the door, it wasn't dark yet. Qu Neng watched his son's sturdy back disappear at the door, and his heart was full of mixed feelings for a while.

The heads of his wife, wife, children, grandsons, and relatives were hung on the tower of Chengdu City, and that situation suddenly appeared in Qu Neng's mind. He suddenly felt a pain in his heart, and endless sadness and guilt suddenly came up.

Then thinking of the culprit Xue Lu, Qu Neng's teeth clenched, his hands clenched into fists, and he punched the table with a "bang". Seeing this, the surrounding civil and military and guards all looked sideways.

Qu Neng's face was pale, and he didn't say a word. Everyone didn't dare to ask, and they all became more and more cautious.

Under the silence, the waves in Qu Neng's chest rolled! In addition to the hatred of the whole family, there is also the shame of the past; Thinking that the five or six hundred thousand officials and troops of the Jianwen Dynasty went on a northern expedition and suffered successive defeats, it was simply a great shame in Qu Nengrong's career, and he still can't be reconciled.

Now Zhang Yu's son and enemy Xue Lu are all in the enemy army in Huguang, and Qu Neng is absolutely unwilling to admit defeat in front of these people......

Qu Neng walked out of the Chinese army and looked at the shadow of the mountain in the distance. The prospect made him gradually calm himself down and begin to think about the situation as best he could.

As a general who has been in charge of the military power of one side for many times, Qu Neng can understand the deployment of the Han King's battle. In addition to many practical considerations, there is also a very important reason for the Han king's division of the main force into three roads and the northern route of deploying Qu Neng: to attract Zhang Fu to the Xiangxi region as much as possible for a decisive battle.

The main difference between the two sides is not military strength, but food; When it came to the Huguang confrontation stage, Zhang Fu still had the advantage of waterway transfer. Therefore, Zhang Fu can choose the strategy of confrontation without fighting and consuming time, and the first person who can't stand it must be the Han Wangjun.

The strategy of the Han Wangjun was to use Qu Neng all the way to threaten the Xiangxi region; Then it attracted the officers and troops to come to the Qing Dynasty to regain it, and the two sides continued to reinforce it, in the hope of turning into a general battle between the two armies......

By the time Qu Neng arrived in Chenxi County, the situation began to change. Qu Neng found that it was more dangerous to continue to march in the direction of Baoqing Mansion.

At this time, of course, he couldn't go to Changde Mansion. The Changde Prefecture area is surrounded by mountains in the west and south, and is surrounded by water in the north, east and south, and is under the control of the enemy's heavy troops and water divisions; Tens of thousands of Qu Neng were divided in the north, with no heavy weapons, no main reinforcements, and no reliable supply of ammunition, food, and grass.

At this time, the safest way for Qu Neng's army was to return to Guizhou, go south to Guangxi, find the main force of the Han army, and then march north with the main force of the Han army.

But this road is no less than 2,000 miles, which will not only make the soldiers and horses of the North Road tired, but also consume a lot of time; As a result, the danger of the Sichuan political envoy will increase, and the maintenance of food and salary in the Han Wangfu will further deteriorate! In this way, Qu Neng was safe all the way, but he transferred the risk to the overall situation of the entire Han Wang Army.

All kinds of images flashed through Qu Neng's mind. That night in Beiping, the face of Zhu Gaoxu, the king of Han, suddenly appeared in the dark night, and he only said one sentence: General Qu believes me?

Qu Neng stood at the gate of the line and refocused his gaze on the mountain shadows to the east.

…… On September 29, near the wharf east of Yongzhou's capital city, gunpowder smoke billowed and artillery roared.

Zhu Gaoxu rode to the riverbank, only to see that more than a dozen enemy warships were near the wharf, more than 100 steps away from the Han Wang's military grain ships docked at the wharf! The guns and cannons of the enemy warships were fired in unison, and all kinds of rockets, divine fire crows and other firearms flew in the air to the north.

Two grain ships have already started a fire, the shouts on board are shaking the sky, and the soldiers are carrying water in water trucks to put out the fire. The infantry battalion of the Han King Army on the shore was also attacking with various artillery, and in the roar of the cannonballs, the river was splashed with white water by the falling shells. From time to time a shell hit the enemy ship, but did not repel it.

At this moment, several heavy boats appeared on the west side of the river, which seemed to be loaded with gunpowder and firewood, and rowed down the river towards the enemy ships! The small boats between the enemy ships raised their sails and approached the boats in the north wind. A burst of firearms and bows and arrows were fired at Jiangxin, and flaming canisters of fire oil were thrown at each other by approaching ships. It didn't take long for the fireboat in the river to ignite a raging fire and float towards the south bank amid a huge explosion.

More than a dozen large ships of the Han army in the west finally arrived, forming a fleet into three columns and approaching the enemy ships. In the white waves rolled up by the water ships, they turned around and left the dock and sailed towards the center of the river, slowly forming a battle formation that coordinated with each other.

After a long time, more than 30 large ships of the two armies fought fiercely on the Xiang River. The two sides fired at each other with firearms, and those rockets such as the Divine Fire Crow did not have much accuracy, and flew in the air, and from time to time they could hit a Han Dynasty warship, and the gunpowder contained in the Crow caught fire on the ship. The two armies quickly took overboard, and the soldiers fought on the boats on wooden planks, and the sound of killing on the Xiangjiang River shook the sky.

At this moment, there was a sudden "boom" and a loud explosion sounded, and a fire broke out on the side of an enemy ship, and black smoke billowed into the sky. However, several large ships of the Han army had been captured, and many soldiers were driven into the water, and the heads of people on the water were straight on the water, and the soldiers wearing armor sank to the bottom of the water in a short time.

The remaining large ships of the Han army set fire to the arrows and retreated westward. The enemy warship did not pursue, and then gradually sailed away eastward while rescuing people.

Zhu Gaoxu watched the case for nearly an hour and found that there was still a certain gap between the naval forces temporarily formed by the Han Wangjun Army and the combat effectiveness of the naval divisions of the official army. He said to the generals beside him: "It seems that we will not be able to obtain the right to control the water of the Xiangjiang River for a while. They could only rely on land strongholds and small fireboats as much as possible to attack enemy ships deep in the vicinity of Yongzhou Mansion at night; Military grain to protect the waterways was transported northward. ”

The generals clasped their fists and said, "The last general will obey the order." ”

Zhu Gaoxu opened the map and looked at it for a while, then turned his head and beckoned Zhao Ping to approach, pointing to a stronghold marked with cinnabar on the map, "In the southwest of Yongzhou Mansion, this 'Dayang Chuanshui' warehouse (Zishui River), send people to build more warehouses." Military quarters by water were transported here and stored in warehouses; It was then transported by land to reduce losses from enemy ships. ”

Zhao Ping hugged his fists and said: "Order!" ”

After Zhu Gaoxu finished speaking, he patted the horse and went back to Fucheng.

On the main road south of the city, a large number of soldiers are marching towards the city. Flags are like clouds on the earth, and drums can be seen everywhere. The main force of the Han Dynasty army is arriving in Yongzhou one after another, with a total strength of more than 200,000 people!

There are a total of 140,000 infantry cavalry of the two armies of the middle and south routes, and more than 80,000 troops. After Wu Gao's army was defeated and surrendered, the Han Wangfu selected most of the sergeants in Guilin, conducted reorganization training, and distributed military salaries. Some of the soldiers of the Beijing camp and many generals were not able to join the Han army because they were not reliable for the time being.

When the Chinese army marched, Sheng Yong, Ping'an, Hou Hai and others also greeted them. Sheng Yong saluted and said directly: "The last general and others have just received the news that the officials and troops of Changde Mansion have gone south; A large number of enemy troops marched from Changsha Mansion, Tanzhou Mansion and other places to Baoqing Mansion. The movements of the Northern Route Army are afraid that they will be discovered by the enemy. ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded quietly, turned his head and asked Hou Hai: "There is no report from Qu Neng yet?" ”

Hou Hai arched his hand and said: "Back to the prince, I haven't received it yet." ”

Zhu Gaoxu walked into the lobby, walked straight to the side of the public case, pressed his hands on the board, and looked down at the big picture spread on it. There are always some habits in the army, because Zhu Gaoxu often spreads the map on the table, and the guards will gradually arrange the Chinese army lobby in this way.

Sheng Yong's voice said calmly: "If the Northern Route Army continues to march in the direction of Baoqing Mansion, it is likely to be surrounded by the enemy's superior forces and fall into danger. However, if Qu Neng does not come from the north, we will be at a great disadvantage in the face of the enemy army in Huguang for at least two months, and the army of the Han King will be less than half of the enemy's army and will not be able to control the Xiangjiang River. ”

Zhu Gaoxu was silent for a long time, then turned his head and asked Sheng Yong: "If Sheng Dudu is in Qu Neng's position, what will you do?" ”

Sheng Yong said without hesitation: "We will still come from the north to meet, but the last general will not go to Baoqing Mansion again, but will be close to the mountains and hills east of Meishan, trying to get rid of the enemy's encirclement; Although this method is critical, it is worth taking the risk for the three armies at this time. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said with a straight face: "Qu Neng will do the same!" I still believe in his insight. ”

He turned his head to look at Ping'an and said, "Pingdu Governor gathers cavalry and prepares to go north to reinforce Qu Neng. ”

Ping An hugged his fists and said: "The last general will obey the order!" ”