Zhu Neng died of illness in the army, and Zhang Fu, the Marquis of Xincheng and the right deputy general of Zhengyi, immediately temporarily took command of more than 100,000 horses of the Eastern Route Army in accordance with military law, and led the army to continue to march into the territory of Annan. In mid-September, Zhang Fu captured the city of Beijiang and advanced to the north bank of the Dajiang River (Red River).

Soon after, the imperial court sent a swift horse to the front line and ordered Zhang Fu to officially command all the Ming troops of the Eastern Route Army.

At this time, the Ming army had two large armies, with a total of 300,000 soldiers and civilians, had completely advanced to the north bank of the river; The army was stationed in the east and west, facing the thousand-mile defense line of the Annan army.

When Zhang Fu arrived at Zhu Gaoxu's army with a cavalry escort, Zhu Gaoxu was preparing to besiege the city of Mumaruzhou.

…… Located on the north bank of the Great River, at the confluence of the Hakutsuru River, the city is sturdy and heavily defended, making it a tough nut to crack.

Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu did not plan to storm this city at first, but later several officials of the Annan State who took the initiative to surrender brought a piece of news: the name of the chief general of Mumaru Prefecture was Ruan Gonggui.

That's when he changed his mind.

Zhu Gaoxu immediately thought of Ruan Zhi, who was sent to Hanoi to be a traitor. Nguyen Chi once said that he had a distant uncle named Nguyen Gong Thi, who was a nobleman in Hanoi. Ruan Zhizhi is a military general, which is the way to take this relationship.

Ruan Zhi was very greedy for life and afraid of death, and his uncle Ruan Gonggui was also reused because he was born in a noble family and voluntarily surrendered to the Hu family. Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but wonder, Ruan Gonggui is really talented?

Zhu Gaoxu feels that the level of human ability is related to innate talent and acquired experience. There is a distinction between high and low status, but there is no talent, whether it is a nobleman or a commoner, there is a certain probability of giving birth to a person with good talent. Therefore, the proportion of mediocre qualifications among the aristocracy is about the same as that of the common people; But the aristocracy has a much better chance of being in a position of office.

So Zhu Gaoxu judged that Ruan Gonggui was very likely to be a mediocre talent.

He then felt that there was an opportunity, regardless of thirty-seven twenty-one, and ordered the whole army to prepare to attack Mumaru Prefecture.

Outside the castle of Komarushu, a siege such as a ditch and a fence has been built, and soldiers and craftsmen are cutting wood and building ladders, and it is a busy scene. The Ming army could not besiege this city, because the city had a water gate, and the Annam army had a water division. Before attacking the city, he repaired fortifications, and Zhu Gaoxu was in case the people in the city suddenly rushed out to counterattack and destroy his siege equipment.

At that time, Zhu Gaoxu defended Yongping and was attacked by the Liaodong Army of Wu Gao, Marquis of Jiangyin. Zhu Gaoxu has all these methods in mind.

…… Zhang Fu came to the dusty camp and dismounted to salute Zhu Gaoxu. Zhu Gaoxu also turned over and dismounted first, and bowed back politely, he respected this new city marquis very much.

After all, Zhang Yu, the father of Xinchenghou, sacrificed his life for the great cause of Yan Wangfu and the imperial power of Zhu Di's family. Zhang Yu fought to the death in the siege, and was shot like a hedgehog without any good skin on his body; He was worse than Zhu Neng, he didn't even have a good day, and he was posthumously honored only after he died.

Zhang Fu greeted each other while carefully observing the scene on the camp. It was a very noisy place, with the noise of saws sawing wood, the clanging of wood, and the shouting and singing of men in unison, as if they were on a construction site or a mine.

"When I heard the bad news of Cheng Guogong, I was very sad and didn't sleep well for a few nights." Zhu Gaoxu said.

Zhang Fu said: "The misfortune of Chengguo Gong is really regrettable, and the soldiers are all sad. However, I have reassured the soldiers so as not to damage the morale of the army. I told everyone an old thing, when King Kaiping (Chang Yuchun) conquered the Yuan and unfortunately died in the army, Cao Guogong (Li Wenzhong) replaced him, and finally broke the Yuan army. ”

When Zhu Gaoxu heard this, he couldn't help but look at Zhang Fu twice, this young general in his early thirties. Zhang Fu's demeanor is calm and serious, his demeanor is calm and calm, and he has a bit of bearing.

Those who have received the merits of their fathers are also promising, and Zhang Fu may be such a person. If it weren't for his father Zhang Yu's meritorious service to Zhu Di, Zhang Fu would not have been able to make a marquis at a young age and lead an army of more than 100,000 people.

Zhu Gaoxu said kindly: "Fortunately, Chengguo has a son, and my father and emperor will definitely not treat the heroes badly." ”

Zhang Fu sighed: "Chengguo is just in the prime of life, if there is no such calamity, why would Brother Zhu Yong be helpless?" Zhu Yongfang is a teenager, so he has to take on the responsibility of the whole clan, alas! ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded quietly. He said in his heart: Zhang Fu has indeed completely gotten rid of his dependence on Zhang Yu, and only those who can be in charge of one side can say this. Zhu Gaoxu has seen some young people before, and they are very happy when their parents are gone, because they can squander at will without control.

The two of them thought about Zhu Neng for a while, and Zhang Fu immediately asked about the matter, he pointed to the large fortifications in front of him, and said: "The Annan army is building a defense line along the river, and His Royal Highness the King of Han is besieging Mumaru Prefecture in a big way, do you want to open the gap from the west?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said casually: "I'm thinking about it." ”

Zhang Fu was stunned for a moment.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu hurriedly said: "I attack Mumaru Prefecture, it has nothing to do with the overall situation, I just think that this city can be pulled out." ”

Zhang Fu: "......" He was stunned for a while, and then gently reminded: "Before going down to meet the King of Han, I took a look at this city, the city is very strong, and there are many defenders on it. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "No matter what the city is, it is guarded by people, and it still depends on people." ”

Zhang Fu didn't argue much, and then he nodded, noncommittal.

The two inspected the siege fortifications together for a while, and Zhu Gaoxu invited Zhang Fu to the Chinese army. Several lonely tiled houses, and the surrounding houses were demolished by the Ming army. The mud-rammed walls, a lot of furniture made of bamboo, and the rudimentary Chinese army marching house were filled with maps, files, and pen and paper.

Zhang Fu looked at a few pictures hanging on the wall for a while, and said with his fists clenched: "The Annan army defended along the river, and in order to delay the progress of the official army, it wanted to make the official army retreat without a fight in the plague and rain. If our army wants to break through to this place, it must first cross the river, and secondly, capture Thang Long (western capital Thanh Hoa), the eastern capital of Annam. I wonder if what I said is justified? ”

"What Xinchenghou said is very true." Zhu Gaoxu agreed.

After hearing this, Zhang Fu continued: "Duobang and Shenglong have the most enemy soldiers. If we want to capture Thang Long, there are two ways to go. If you go to the west, you must pull out the city of Mumaru, the city of Duobang, and the city of Thang Long, and attack the important towns all the way; The advantage is that if the Han King can capture Mumaru Prefecture and open up the confluence of the Baihe River and the Great River, the Great River will be narrower and better to cross the river.

If you go to the east, the downstream river is wide, and the main force of the naval division of the Annam Army is here, and the battle to cross the river requires a hard battle. However, as long as the river can be crossed from this place, it can bypass the fortifications of Mumaru Prefecture and Duobang City, and approach the city of Shenglong; Besiege the city and lure the enemy soldiers of the city of Duobang to come to the rescue, so there is no need to storm the city of Duobang.

I heard the news that the Hu father and son of the Annam Kingdom sent people to build the city of Duobang many times, and the fortifications of this city were built so impregnable that it was very difficult to attack. ”

Zhu Gaoxu asked, "Which road does Xinchenghou think is better?" ”

Zhang Fudao: "The art of war is cloudy, the upper army is strategic, the second is the enemy, the second is the army, and the next is to attack the city." It seems that it would be easier for the army to build warships on the Yuanjiang River, and after the water battle, it will go straight to the bottom of Shenglong City, and it seems that it can avoid the two fortified cities of Mumaru Prefecture and Duobang. ”

"The officers and soldiers temporarily built warships, can they seize the surface of the river?" Zhu Gaoxu asked.

Zhang Fu hesitated a little and said, "I should try my best to win the water war." ”

Zhu Gaoxu paced two steps, "Since there is no guarantee of success, we should cast a wide net to create more opportunities for success." Xinchenghou built a ship on the Yuanjiang River and prepared for a water battle; Our department first took Komaru Prefecture and tried to build a pontoon bridge to cross the river. When the army can cross the river, the two armies will join forces again and concentrate their forces to attack the town! ”

Zhang Fu was silent for a moment, then clenched his fists and said categorically: "The last general will obey the order!" ”

At this moment, there was a sudden loud "boom" in the air, which made people mistakenly think that it was thunder. But soon the noise became more and more frequent, and it was the cannon sound of the Ming army.

Zhu Gaoxu glanced up at the sky outside the door and said, "Early tomorrow morning, our department will be able to officially start attacking the city." Let's both do our own thing and try our best to succeed. ”

Zhang Fu hugged his fists and said: "In this case, the last general will not stay long, and immediately return to the army and build a warship in accordance with the order of the King of Han." Leave! ”

Zhu Gaoxu personally sent Zhang Fu to the door of the tile house, and then asked Zhao Ping to send Zhang Fu out of the camp.

In the fortifications of the Ming army, there was gunpowder smoke everywhere, artillery was ringing one after another, and the fire flickered like lightning in the clouds; The infantry of the Ming army were watching from behind the fortifications, and they were not on it at this time. In the open space behind the fortifications, countless craftsmen and soldiers are still rushing to work on ladders, rushing carts and other equipment.

In front of the fence, 500 steps away is the castle wall of Komaru Prefecture. Only the artillery of the Ming army sounded, and the Annan army did not return fire...... Because it was useless to return fire, the artillery of the Annan army could not hit so far.

The heavy artillery of the Ming army is called the Hongwu cannon, which looks big, stupid and coarse, loaded with dozens of pounds of stone or iron bullets, without crosshairs and other accessories, and looks very rough. But it was still the most advanced cast iron cannon at this time, and without that casting technology, the cast iron cannon would be prone to cracking.

At a long distance, the Hongwu cannon acts similarly to a catapult, throwing heavy bullets, flying into the air, and then smashing a pit on the ground, or falling on the city wall to smash into the earth, cracking and debris splashing. At close range, it can also be stuffed with wooden horses rammed fine soil to carry loose bullets, and small iron pellets of gravel can be killed in the area, and the effect is better when it is closer.

Zhu Gaoxu rode a horse and patrolled along the fortifications of the fence, watching the soldiers fire their cannons there. The ground shook and the mountains shook, and the battle was very large, but the accuracy and lethality of the cannonballs were indeed limited, and at a distance of 500 paces, most of the cannonballs could not hit such a big target as the city wall, and the killing range was not large.

This is what the most powerful weapon of this era looks like. Zhu Gaoxu knew very well in his heart that the final decision on the outcome was for the men and horses to rush to him, relying on swords, guns, bows, crossbows, and guns to distinguish the superiority.