The water surface of the Tuojiang River is very low, revealing gray and yellow sand and stones, as if only half of a river is left, and it looks like a big snake that is shedding its skin.

On the flat dam, the marching infantry maintained a very coordinated pace. Carts drawn by mules and horses, as well as wheelbarrows, were slowly moving northward; On the hilly road to the west, many cavalry were also walking slowly. There are a large number of people and horses on the riverside, and the scene is very spectacular.

Zhu Gaoxu was hugging in front and back, and he also rode a horse and walked slowly in the team. Only at such a speed can it go with a large number of infantry baggage. He didn't put his hands on the reins of his horse, but he looked down at a picture as if he were walking on a horse.

"It's almost time to get to Zixian (north of Neijiang)?" Zhu Gaoxu looked up at the surrounding scene.

A subordinate general next to him said: "Go back to the prince, you will definitely be able to arrive this afternoon." ”

This is already the fifth day after leaving Luzhou City. Zhu Gaoxu led a main force of 60,000, mostly infantry and a large amount of baggage, but the speed of the march was also much faster than when he was in Guizhou, Yunnan. The roads in Sichuan are really easy to walk, so far I haven't seen any decent plains, but most of the roads are low hills and have wide river dams, and the roads are in excellent condition.

At this moment, several horsemen rushed in the opposite direction. Their helmets were tied with white linen, and at a glance they were the knights of the Han army.

The armies on both sides of the Sichuan Basin wore similar clothes and armor, because everyone was an official army in the south of the Ming Dynasty. However, in addition to Dai Xiao, there is still a difference between the clothing of the Han Wangjun and the official army, which can be seen if you look closely; Because at this time, the imperial court was not responsible for uniformly issuing military uniforms, and the clothes of the soldiers were all sewn by themselves, and there were differences in different regions and cloth styles.

The horsemen went straight to Zhu Gaoxu's side, where several of the largest flags were being erected. There are some words written respectively: Fight for crime and rebellion, avenge for the king, Han.

The knights dismounted next to the brigade and saluted Zhu Gaoxu with fists. A military general beside Zhu Gaoxu walked over and got the letter and returned.

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head and shouted, "Get on the horse and talk to me." ”

The knight said, "Order! ”

Zhu Gaoxu handed the map in his hand to the side, and took the Miaojin that was tightly breaded. Zhu Gaoxu opened the letter to see the contents, and Qu Neng's handwriting read: The last general has already captured Jian County, and the west is Longquan Mountain, and after Longquan Mountain is Longquan Station. The last general will be stationed in Jian County for the time being.

After the knight who delivered the letter was allowed to Zhu Gaoxu's side, Zhu Gaoxu asked, "What is the situation in Jian County?" ”

The knight replied: "There are few soldiers in the county seat, but the county is transferred from the Chengdu government, and many soldiers have been summoned. At that time, the officers and soldiers were short of weapons and the city was short; General Qu pressed the head of the city with a large number of bows and arrows, and all those who appeared on the city died. Then we rushed to the city gate with firewood and gunpowder, dug up the mud on the city gate, and set fire to the city gate. ”

Zhu Gaoxu just nodded when he heard this, he didn't react much, and there was no wave in his heart.

At this moment in Sichuan, except for Chengdu City, the other city territories have no effect on both sides, and the only valuable target is: the main army of the other side! Because it is clear that this battle cannot be turned into a protracted war.

It didn't take long for news of the scouts to reach the Chinese army. Zhu Gaoxu summoned the scouts and asked them what they had seen.

The scout sergeant said: "Lord Wang, after the little one arrived in Jiading Prefecture, he asked his companions to hide the horse in the mountains and forests, and wanted to climb to the Baohong Pavilion on the Big Buddha (Leshan Giant Buddha) to hide. However, the little one found that there were official and military guards in the attic, so he had to bring a water bag and dry food, climbed from the south side of the Big Buddha Mountain to the top of the mountain, and hid in the woods to see.

I can't see it, the official road is full of people! The official road passes behind the Big Buddha Mountain, and then bypasses the mountains and forests to the riverside, and the whole road is crowded with official and military foot horses. On the river, there are sails covering the river, and the whole river is full of boats! ”

Zhu Gaoxu has never traveled to the Leshan Giant Buddha, and he doesn't know much about the terrain in that detail. At that moment, Zhu Gaoxu asked about the general location of the Buddha, the river, the mountains and forests, and the road.

The scout sergeant made it clear at once. The Giant Buddha is built in the mountains by the river, and the river that flows through the west of the Giant Buddha is the Minjiang River; That place is also the confluence of the Dadu River, the Tsing Yi River and the Min River.

Zhu Gaoxu asked a little impatiently: "In which direction are a large number of official ships sailing?" ”

The sergeant did not hesitate to say: "To the north, all in the north." ”

Zhu Gaoxu's somewhat sallow and haggard face immediately showed a sickly red, and he took the trouble to ask again: "Go north along the Min River?" ”

The sergeant nodded and said, "Yes, Lord Wang." ”

Zhu Gaoxu immediately looked back and said, "Xue Lu is ready to go back to Chengdu." ”

Xue Lu must have known that the Han Wangjun was going to directly threaten Chengdu, after all, Qu Neng was already about to arrive at Longquanyi. And the current situation shows that Xue Lu's decision is also to go to Chengdu!

The reason is very simple, the Minjiang River leads to Pengshan County in the south of Chengdu, and it can also directly enter the Chengdu moat through the Fu River; And Tsing Yi Jiang Tongya ...... A large number of officers and soldiers were transported into the Minjiang River, but did they not go back to Chengdu, but where did they go?

In addition, what the scout saw with his own eyes was that "the official road passes behind the Big Buddha Mountain, and the whole road is crowded with officials and soldiers". The Big Buddha Mountain is located on the east bank of the Min River, if the main force of the official army is to go to Yazhou in the northwest direction, why not cross the Min River, but keep marching along the east bank of the Min River?

…… Zhu Gaoxu then received a scout report from the other two squads, and at the same time confirmed the fact that Xue Lu was indeed heading north along the Min River!

How Xue Lu considered the situation at this time, Zhu Gaoxu had no way of knowing, but this kind of key decision that affected the location and method of the battle, Xue Lu must have thought about it repeatedly. It's hard to say how capable this person is, but he must be a qualified general with experience in battle formations, and he won't make too simple mistakes.

Zhu Gaoxu also had no idea why, and the situation had entered a new stage at this time.

He quickly found two cavalrymen and sent a message to Qu Neng on horseback...... Qu Neng was ordered to immediately lead the cavalry forward through the Longquan Mountains, occupy the Longquan Station, and then attack under the city of Chengdu.

At this time, the main force of Xue Lu's army had not yet arrived in Chengdu, and the troops in Chengdu would not be too many. Even if the officers and soldiers saw Qu Neng's eight thousand horsemen, it would be impossible to catch Qu Neng! For Qu Neng's ability, Zhu Gaoxu still believes in it.

The next day, Zhu Gaoxu finally made the first contact with Mu Sheng, and Mu Sheng reported: After several scattered battles, the men and horses under his command had increased to 35,000 cavalry, and all the generals of the officers and guards who surrendered were sent to Dali. Mu Sheng also accepted a few Yi ladies as concubines and formed an alliance with five Tusi leaders; Now he has led the army to Yazhou, and he is ready to make plans after finding out the movements of the official army.

Zhu Gaoxu wrote a reply and praised some words. However, the letter may not be delivered to Mu Sheng, and most of the officials between Zixian and Yazhou are still under the orders of the three divisions of Chengdu.