On the evening of the seventh day of the eighth month, Zhu Gaoxu was in the military camp south of Guilin Mansion when he learned the news that Wang Bin had gone to attack Wu Gaobu.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't sleep well all night.

The defeat of the vanguard army led by Wang Bin was doomed, and Zhu Gaoxu did not have any expectations for victory or defeat; While trying his best to face the reality, he also faintly had a hint of luck, hoping that Wang Binbu could escape death and avoid the doom of the annihilation of the whole army!

Wu Gao had an army of 100,000 under his command, and it was impossible to give Wang Bin a chance to win; If Wu Gao was really so incompetent, during the "Battle of Jingjing", Zhu Di would not have to use discord to deal with Wu Gao. Because stupid mediocrity will be good on the enemy.

This kind of waiting is quite painful. Zhu Gaoxu seemed to be waiting for the result of the verdict, his heart hung in the air and could not land; He really didn't let go of that chance of being lucky.

The scenery in the southern area of Guilin is very good, with flat land, green mountains and green waters, which are very clear and clear.

The next morning, when Zhu Gaoxu rode up to the official road, he had no intention of enjoying the beautiful scenery. Maybe the beauty of the scenery is not important, what really moves people is their own state of mind.

In the afternoon, the men and horses of the various tribes began to set up camp and sent men to prepare some food on all sides. Zhu Gaoxu finally got the news of Wang Bin's department again.

Sure enough, Wang Bin's vanguard army was defeated, with nearly 2,000 casualties and most of the baggage and ordnance lost! But fortunately, they avoided destruction...... After Wang Bin and others retreated, they took advantage of a lake terrain to resist until dark; Taking advantage of the enemy's retreat, they retreated to the northwest overnight, and finally broke away from the battlefield.

In a tiled-roof house, the generals circulated the report, and everyone was silent. Some people watched Zhu Gaoxu's demeanor attentively.

Zhu Gaoxu's face was tanned, reddened for a while, white for a while, and suppressed his anger in between. He had mixed feelings.

Maybe it's because he's been mentally prepared, but he's still faintly glad now. Although Wang Bin's troops suffered a lot of losses, and it was difficult to re-enter the battle for a while, at least the vast majority of the soldiers survived; As long as the people are still there, they can still recover their combat strength over time!

But the momentary happiness could not hide Zhu Gaoxu's anger. This was a completely avoidable defeat, but it had a serious impact on the whole situation.

The defeat of the first battle of the Han army's army will inevitably lead to the loss of morale.

Originally, Wu Gao's army fled everywhere, and the soldiers under his command must have been frustrated, but their victory in the first battle will allow Wu Gao to win the trust of the soldiers again...... If the commander is not trusted, it is a very bad situation, the military order will be passed on and it will be more likely to have problems in carrying out the deployment; It's like a winner-takes-all battle, and the advantage of the main generals who have won in a row will only get bigger and bigger!

Moreover, Zhu Gaoxu's Middle Route Army was insufficient, and it was in a contrarian trend before dealing with Wu Gao; Now more than 10,000 people in Wang Bin's department have suffered a great loss of combat strength, and it will be difficult to recover within a few days, and Zhu Gaoxu only has less than 60,000 steps left.

There was a dead silence in the humble hall. Zhu Gaoxu never mentioned Wang Bin, he finally spoke: "Tomorrow the camp will be pulled, and the units of the Central Route Army will continue to go south according to the original arrangement!" Wu Gao did not transfer heavy troops to destroy Wang Bin's troops, but the enemy still wanted to run; Wu Gao's first destination must be He County. Judging from the distance, we can intercept them near Pingle Mansion. ”

Zhao Ping clenched his fists and said: "Wang Dudu's men are still north of Luorong County, and before Wu Gaojun arrives at Pingle Mansion, they may not be able to come." We have less than 60,000 men, if we get close to the enemy, will Wu Gao fight hard? ”

Zhu Gaoxu groaned, he felt that there was a possibility.

Now Wu Gao's army marched eastward, and the Han king's middle route army marched south-east, and the two armies were moving towards the same place, and the distance was getting closer and closer; In the southern part of Guilin, the line of sight is relatively open, and there are many roads. In this way, the scouts have a short time to go back and forth, and it is easier to find out each other's military situation, and it is difficult for Zhu Gaoxu to hide how many men and horses he has.

Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a while, and then said categorically: "Then you have to drag Wu Gao too!" Wait for Sheng Yong's army to reach Wuzhou, and then go north; At that time, if Wu Gaojun hadn't arrived in He County, we would be able to launch a decisive battle against Wu Gaojun with superior forces! ”

The risk is indeed not small, but Zhu Gaoxu is determined to take a risk. Otherwise, if Wu Gao's 100,000 troops were sent to Jiangxi, in the future, the vast battle in Huguang would be, and maybe this enemy army would be able to rush to participate in the battle; At that time, the army of the Han Dynasty would be even weaker.

There is no foresight, there must be near-term worry. Zhu Gaoxu has decided that the adventure at this time is worth it......

From the eighth day of the eighth month of August to the ninth day of the first month of August, there were some intermittent reports from Luorong County, including letters from civilian officials accompanying the army and reports from the military generals of the Northern Division of the Imperial Mansion. Gradually, Zhu Gaoxu learned the specific details of the battle of Luorong County.

He felt that Lu Liangwei commanded Chen Zhen, and he was quite a general. Then he sent people to the forward camp, ordered Chen Zhen to temporarily take over the power of the forward army, and summoned Wang Bin back to the Chinese army to report on his work.

On the evening of the ninth day of the first lunar month, the army chose a place to camp. Zhu Gaoxu summoned the army to Chinese and summoned Wang Bin to the Chinese army.

Zhu Gaoxu sat on a square table and stool on a dilapidated hall, surrounded by generals and civil officials. After waiting for a while, I saw Wang Bin enter the room with poor lighting from the bright light at the door.

Wang Bin knelt straight to the ground, kowtowed, and said: "The last general did not listen to the military orders of the prince and was defeated in front of Wu Gao's army. There will be no complaints in the end. ”

When Zhu Gaoxu heard this, a trace of imperceptible change suddenly flashed in his eyes. But he was immediately even more furious, slammed his palm on the wooden table, pointed at Wang Bin and scolded: "He|mother|! Do you think that if you have blocked the gun pill for this king, and your life is picked up, you can be pampered and arrogant without military law in your eyes?! ”

The people around listened to it and immediately looked sideways.

Zhu Gaoxu was extremely angry and shouted, "Come on, pull this king out......"

"I can't help it!" Zhao Ping immediately interrupted Zhu Gaoxu's words, hugged his fists and said, "Please think twice!" Although the governor of the royal capital has been defeated, he has merit, and the merits are offset by the merits, and he also asks the prince's subordinates to show mercy. ”

Hou Hai also hurriedly said: "If there is no Wang Dudu to confuse the enemy army properly, Wu Gao is afraid that he will not be able to take Luoqingjiang." The lower officials also asked the prince to look at the merits of the royal governor and give him a light sentence. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said angrily: "Military law is not merciful, how can it be counted like this? ”

The generals then pleaded one after another, and everyone had the same attitude, and no one fell into the ground. This Wang Bin is not very easy to get along with, and he has a bad relationship with many people, but at this time, there are many people who suddenly ask for mercy.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu's anger did not subside, and he said loudly: "Wang Bin! For the sake of your brethren in interceding with you, the death penalty may be spared, but the living sin will not be escaped. Come on, pull me out and beat me to death! Immediately remove Wang Bin from his position as governor! ”

Wang Bin went out with a few sergeants without saying a word, neither thanking nor shouting injustice. After a while, there was a "crackling" whip sound outside, but Wang Bin's screams were not heard.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "He|?|, this Wang Bin is a stubborn donkey." If you make this kind of mistake again next time, it will be useless to persuade this king! ”

Everyone said: "The prince is benevolent. ”

Zhu Gaoxu stood up indignantly and walked away.

The room was a little dark, but at least it was facing the main door. The mud-walled house inside is even darker; The windows were very small, and before it was dark, the room had to be lit with oil lamps.

At this time, Miao Jin walked in and said, "I'll bring in the food for King Han." ”

Zhu Gaoxu beckoned: "Miaojin will do another thing first, I have the medicine brought by Yunnan in my baggage, and the bottle for treating external injuries, you go and get it for Wang Bin." ”

The light was not very good, and she couldn't see Miaojin's face clearly, she seemed to want to stop talking, and finally said in a low voice: "I used to think that Gao Xu was a man of temperament, but it is true that others say that you are cunning." ”

Zhu Gaoxu said in a deep voice: "There is no way. If I blatantly bend the law for personal gain, military law will be useless; But I can't make an example of Wang Bin!

At first glance, this king has hundreds of thousands of followers, but there are people who have all kinds of thoughts; And Wang Bin is different, no matter how much ability he has, at least even if I am defeated, he will not betray me if he wants to die. ”

Miao Jin said: "I'll go find medicine." ”

Zhu Gaoxu then sighed, "As the old saying goes, once you succeed, you will have ten thousand bones." How can the talent of a general be so easy to cast? They are all generals trained with the blood of the corpse mountain and the sea. So back then, this king took a huge risk to protect Sheng Yong and others. In the battle of Luorong, if Sheng Yong Ping'an Qu could lead the troops alone, he would definitely not make such a mistake.

Wang Bin is very brave in the 'Battle of Jingjing', but I think that he is currently doing a good job as a guard commander at most, and no matter how big the military power is, it is not reliable. ”

Miaojin found a medicine bottle from the cloth baggage, opened it, smelled it, stuffed the wood, and then turned around and walked out.

Zhu Gaoxu sat alone, his elbows resting on the dark table next to him, the whole person was motionless and silent, and he fell into deep thought, as if he was in a state of flux. The light from the oil lamp is very weak, and if someone comes in at this time, they may not be able to find people sitting in the room.

…… When night fell, Wang Bin lay on the edge of the campfire in front of the tent without saying a word, his teeth clenched. The fire shone on his face, and the green tendons on his forehead bulged obviously, and he looked distracted.

At this time, Miaojin walked to the fire, and her face was not clear behind the scarf. But Wang Bin recognized her at a glance, and she was the only woman in the army.

Miaojin took out a bottle of medicine and squatted down in front of Wang Bin. She put the medicine bottle in front of him and said softly: "King Han personally asked me to send medicine, Yunnan medicine is very effective in treating external injuries." ”

Wang Bin didn't say anything, as if he hadn't heard it.

Miaojin stood up, couldn't help but turn his head and wanted to say something, but suddenly saw Wang Bin's fierce round eyes flashing with water, and his face was full of regret and pain, but he didn't say anything.

She swallowed back the words that came to her lips, and without saying anything, she turned and left silently.

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