The old house with earthen walls and tiled roofs is a bit eerie at night. Fortunately, there were a lot of people around, and even at night, you could still hear faint voices and horse barks in the house from time to time.

At this moment, the anxiety in Zhu Gaoxu's heart has nowhere to vent. In this remote place in the mountains, there was no food to whet his appetite, and he could not indulge in the repair of the car immediately, which made him feel even more dull.

He said in his heart: When this battle is won, I will find a hundred young and beautiful ladies to have fun!

Looking at the bean-sized oil lamp, Zhu Gaoxu even began to imagine what it was like to be surrounded by a hundred beauties. The place must not be in such a dilapidated courtyard, it should be in a luxurious and spacious mansion. There is a steaming pool, so that he can bathe and change clothes first, while admiring the fat beauty of Yan Thin and Ring, and pick and choose the person he likes the most. Countless beauties surrounded him, their eyes were full of awe, as well as yearning and desire for wealth and status, and their fiery eyes were both vulgar and piercing.

Miao Jin once said that Gao Xu was a greedy person.

Zhu Gaoxu hadn't thought about this problem before, but now he feels that Miaojin is not wrong at all.

Occasionally, he would have difficulty controlling himself, and his heart would be filled with all kinds of desires. Such thoughts, like the devil hidden in the heart, come to mind uncontrollably in certain moments of anxiety or dullness; It's like a bad idea hidden in people's hearts, and people sometimes fantasize about how to do bad things, and similar to this feeling.

So when Zhu Gaoxu first started the army, he thought that he was trying to protect himself. Later he found himself enthusiastic about the great benefits of war; At this time, he could not deceive himself, and he fought to get more!

Temptation and fear exist in the heart at the same time. This is probably the state of mind when he used to have nothing, and after so many years, his nature is still difficult to change.

Zhu Gaoxu tossed and turned, and finally got up from the wooden bed and put on a robe. There is a large temperature difference between day and night in the mountains, and the coolness hits people after nightfall.

He shifted the position of the oil lamp he had left behind, shone it on the map on the table, and looked at it for a long time. His heart was in a mess, so he closed his eyes slightly and sat there silently, adjusting his breathing.

He could hear the sound of breathing, which gradually became even.

Zhu Gaoxu's mind gradually became clearer, and he imagined mountains, forests, roads, houses, and crops from a crude map with only lines and circles...... Even the tones and appearances of the scout soldiers of various faces flashed through their minds when describing the scenery and terrain.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't like writing before, and he was used to remembering things in his head. It's a lot of effort, but it's also beneficial, and it's quick to analyze and judge things. What is written on paper is, of course, not as flexible and fast as the human mind......

Early the next morning, Zhu Gaoxu got up a little late. He was woken up by the sound of trumpets, drums, and all kinds of noise.

By the time he went to the square table in the living room for breakfast, the civil and military officials were all dressed and ready for the new day.

Zhu Gaoxu quickly finished breakfast, stood up from the square table, changed to a wooden stool, looked back left and right and said straight to the point: "I think Zhang Fu wants to rely on the Xiangjiang River and fight with us in Huguang." Wu Gao, on the other hand, wanted to go to Guilin Mansion first, and then along the Li River and Lingqu to Xing'an County, Guilin Prefecture, and enter the Xiangjiang River valley in order to reach the response range of the enemy's main force in Huguang. ”

His tone was calm, and his expression was calm and calm. In front of people, he has long since lost the wandering and impetuousness of last night.

All the confidants, generals and civil officials Hou Hai all nodded.

Zhu Gaoxu continued: "Wu Gaojun's army has more than 100,000 troops, once he moves closer to Zhang Fu, the balance of forces in the future battle will be even more unfavorable to us!" Our goal now is to prevent Wu Gao from marching to the Xiangjiang River; It's best to catch Wu Gao and annihilate him in Guangxi!

Hou Changshi, I will immediately revise the book later, inform Sheng Yong, the commander of the Southern Route Army, and inform our goal. It is necessary for the Sheng Yong Army to cooperate with the Middle Route Army to complete the battle of intercepting and destroying Wu Gao. ”

Hou Haizuo said: "The lower officials obey the order. ”

Hou Hai thought for a while and said, "The prince has to explain the strategy in detail, or it may be beneficial to General Sheng Yong." ”

Zhao Ping also asked: "Last night, Wang Ye said that Wu Gaojun would arrive at Liuzhou Mansion earlier, how can we catch up with him?" Lord Wang, if we speed up the march from today, can we reach Liuzhou Mansion before Wu Gao? ”

Zhu Gaoxu shook his head and said: "Wu Gao is a little cowardly in leading the troops, but you can't underestimate him." He fought cautiously and cautiously, rarely won big victories, but he was almost never defeated! If we march rapidly for a long time, we are exhausted, and our troops are smaller than Wu Gao, so it's hard to say whether we can defeat him. However, the most likely thing to happen is that after Wu Gao finds out that we have accelerated the march, he may not continue to go north, but will turn around and avoid the battle in the direction of the political envoy in Guangdong. ”

It was not so easy to march long distances, and the soldiers had marched forty or fifty miles a day. Walking with weights for more than 20 kilometers every day, Zhu Gaoxu knows what it feels like.

Zhao Ping thought for a while, hugged his fists and said: "What the prince said is extremely true, with the temperament of the Marquis of Jiangyin, I am afraid that the prince will really say it." ”

Zhu Gaoxu beckoned a few people to come closer, "So this king decided to give Wu Gao an unexpected surprise!" Only when something unexpected happens, Wu Gao will make a mistake in a panic and give this king the opportunity to break him! ”

Zhu Gaoxu stretched out his hand and pointed to the location of Qingyuan Mansion on the map, "Before the main force of the army arrives at Qingyuan Mansion (Hechi City), everything is on the march as usual. The variable is in Qingyuan Mansion, and after the Chinese army arrived here, it immediately turned around and marched to Rongxian County (Rongshui Miao Autonomous County) in the northeast; Then take the mountain road to the south of Guilin!

Wang Bin's forward first pretended to march to the official road of Liuzhou in the east, and walked along the road with false news; After Wang Bin arrived in Liucheng County, west of Liuzhou, he immediately turned to the north and walked through Rong County, and the forward became the rear army. ”

Zhao Ping hurriedly said: "Lord Wang, the army travels on this road, there is no post road official paving, and the road along the road is rugged and mountainous. I'm afraid it's a bit tough! ”

"That's why it's a surprise!" Zhu Gaoxu said with a straight face, "Raising troops for a thousand days and using them for a while, this king believes that the brothers can not only march on the spacious official road and fight a battle with a great chance of victory; We can also overcome difficulties and do things that no one can do! When the Chinese army arrived at Qingyuan Mansion, they immediately sent an order to all departments to change their route! ”

Everyone no longer dissuaded, and responded with fists.

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head to look at Wang Yu and said, "Wang commanded the envoy to send scouts, bring the local officials, and go to the road of Rongxian to find out the terrain, route, and water source. Make more friends with the natives of the land, and persuade them to be guides. I remember to bring some cloth and silverware from the Chinese army, and the natives like silver jewelry. ”

Wang Yu hugged his fists and said: "The last general will be ordered!" ”

Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand and said: "Some of the Chinese army has already set off from the camp, so let's go and prepare." On the recent march, it's business as usual. ”

The crowd took their leave. Hou Haidao: "The lower official will write a letter immediately, and after writing it, send it to the prince for review." ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded, looked at the map on the table, and said without raising his head, "Hou Changshi stays, this king still has a few words to say to you." ”

Everyone walked out of the door of the tiled house one after another, and only Hou Hai stood in front of the square table.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "In the letter you wrote to Sheng Yong, you said that you can't be sure which way Wu Gao will go at this time, it depends on Wu Gao and when he finds out about our itinerary." This king will pass through the road stronghold established by Ping'an, and report the enemy situation to the southern route army as soon as possible. ”

Hou Hai bowed.

Zhu Gaoxu continued: "From Libo County to Liuzhou Mansion is a major official road, since Wu Gao has learned that our division is going south, there must be scouts near the official road. The local villages in the mountainous areas are easy to ignore by him.

If Wu Gaojun had just left Liuzhou Mansion and discovered the route of our division, he should not have gone north again, and might have diverted his route in the direction of Hexian (Hezhou City) in Pingle Prefecture. On the contrary, if Wu Gao found out too late, he would be trapped between the mountains on both sides of the Li River, unable to advance or retreat; Then it is very likely that he will turn his head and return to the army Liuzhou Mansion first.

In the letter, Sheng Yong was asked to plan a route based on this military situation. And they can adapt to the situation, according to Sheng Yong's Ping'an's considerations, and ask them to make full decisions on the military affairs of the Southern Route Army. ”

Hou Haidao: "The lower official obeys the order!" ”

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head to the guards and said, "Put away the map and things, and let's set off later." ”

The personal soldier guard said, "Yes, Lord Wang." ”

Zhu Gaoxu continued to sit at the square table, looking thoughtful and stunned.

Many nobles of the court criticized him for his lofty and cunning words. But he himself doesn't care, the soldiers are not tired of cheating, if he fights honestly, it is strange to be able to catch Wu Gao!

In the terrained south, the armies of both sides were dominated by infantry. Because the transportation at this time was mainly on the feet, the transmission of information and the efficiency of marching were very low, and if one side was unwilling to fight, a big war would hardly happen.

Even now, Zhu Gaoxu has doubts about whether he can catch Wu Gaojun. There are hundreds of thousands of people on both sides, and all kinds of things that happen are really beyond the control of one person.

However, Zhu Gaoxu hoped that even if Wu Gao could not be annihilated with troops this time, he would be forced to go in the direction of the Guangdong political envoy.

Otherwise, the main force of Zhang Fujun will increase by 100,000 troops again, and Zhu Gaoxu's confidence in the battle of Huguang will be reduced a lot...... Both sides are dominated by the main army of the Ming Dynasty Guard, and the gap is not very big in terms of equipment training to combat capability; If there is too much difference in numbers, such a big battle will not be decided by trickery.

And just as Zhang Fu thought, Zhu Gaoxu also hoped that the Huguang conference battle could happen.

The two people think about the problem from different angles. Zhang Fu wanted to rely on water transportation to gather an army and occupy a favorable location; Zhu Gaoxu wanted to solve the various crises faced by the Han Dynasty once and for all. But they all have the same goal, and they want to solve the problem as soon as possible with a large-scale main battle!

Colleagues who have fought together in the "Battle of Jingjing" and the "Battle for the Expedition of Annan" have similar experiences, and sometimes each other's ideas really affect each other.