On the evening of the third day of the first month of November in the first year of Hongxi (the sixth year of Yongle in the area controlled by the Han Dynasty), the Battle of Huguang, which lasted for more than ten days, was truly over.

Located on the west side of the Xiangjiang River in the capital city of Tanzhou, there is a long and narrow island. The river from Xiaozhou to the west bank of the Xiangjiang River is narrow, and at this time a raging fire is burning on the water, and many pontoon bridges have been ignited! The river on the east side of Xiaozhou is wider, and many large ships come and go, transporting the remnants of the officers and soldiers to cross the river.

The islands are crowded with people. The army did not form a queue, and the chaotic war horses and soldiers crowded the land on the island.

Some rebel cavalry on the west bank were wandering along the river; But the bridge had caught fire, and they could only watch the rebels on the island, and there was nothing they could do.

Zhang Fu estimated that there were at most forty or fifty thousand infantry soldiers on the island, and nearly half of them were horsemen. In addition, after the rout and dispersion, those sporadic defeated troops who fled to Changsha Prefecture, Tanzhou Prefecture, and Hengzhou Prefecture along the Xiangjiang River, there were only 60,000 or 70,000 troops left at most!

After the defeat from the battlefield in the south of Shaoyang County, the retreat and escape route of the official army was more than 400 miles away! The withdrawal was too far away, and only a few men remained, which was completely expected; This is also the strength that Zhang Fu and other generals worked hard to keep.

However, there is another important reason why the officers and soldiers lost so many people: after the officers and soldiers were defeated, they were particularly easy to surrender.

In some places, two rebel cavalry can watch hundreds of soldiers; The officers and soldiers did not resist at all. Those officers and soldiers who want to surrender are almost voluntarily surrendering, waiting to be captured! That's why it will be so difficult for Zhang Fu and other generals to deploy and retreat.

Zhang Fu looked at the rebel horse team on the west bank, his face facing the sunset and sunset in the west. The last orange light was simply dull at this moment.

The burning fire of the boat bridge and the afterglow of the setting sun were reflected in Zhang Fu's pupils. At this time, he looked back on the experience of the rout these days, and those extremely chaotic scenes made him suddenly in a trance, and for a while he felt that he was sleepwalking these days......

Zhang Fu and the generals took advantage of the night several times to gather the scattered soldiers; But the barely deployed army was crushed by a single charge of the rebel horse army every time. The rebels have given them no chance to restore their form and morale.

Liu Shengjun, together with the main force of the cavalry of the official army, maneuvered, chased, fought at night, and blocked the rebel armies many times; The officers and generals racked their brains to avoid the blockade of the rebel army...... In the end, it was all lost. Only a small number of infantry troops and horse troops remained, and they escaped by taking advantage of the main force of the rebel cavalry to block Liu Sheng's army.

And the two armies of Xue Lu and Tan Zhong, who were the first to collapse and flee, had nearly 200,000 people, and the escape route was even more chaotic! No one knew how they ran, and no general could control the rebels.

Zhang Fu didn't know what happened to so many people and horses, in short, there were not a few people left who ran back; Perhaps those scattered remnants of the soldiers who ran to the banks of the Xiangjiang River were among the men and horses under the command of Xue Lu and Tan Zhong......

At this moment, Zhang Fu suddenly felt extremely tired. He looked at the sparkling waves on the Xiangjiang River, the huge black shadow of the battleship, and the colorful evening scenery, and suddenly said, "This place seems to be good. ”

He glanced down at the saber at his waist, and stretched out his hand to pull it out! The knife was bright, there was no blood or dust on it, and it was completely unused.

"Dashuai!" Tan Zhong suddenly roared, and immediately pounced, grabbing Zhang Fu's right wrist tightly! Xue Lu, Chen Mao, Liu Sheng and other generals also hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Zhang Fu's saber.

Tan Zhong said: "Handsome, stay in the green mountains, don't worry about running out of firewood!" ”

Zhang Fu glanced at Tan Zhong and said in his heart: What other green mountains are there?

The current situation of the Hongxi Imperial Court is probably even worse than that of the late Jianwen Dynasty!

Before the "Battle of Jingnan", the officials and people of the Ming Dynasty all thought that Emperor Jianwen was orthodox, and most people did not recognize King Yan at the end of the "Battle of Jingnan".

Rao is Jianwen Dynasty has a righteous people's heart, but after several major battles were defeated and the elite was damaged too much, Emperor Jianwen sent the edict of King Qin and sent the ministers of the court to ask for troops, but he still did not get many troops.

Therefore, Zhang Fu judged: After the Battle of Huguang, it was difficult for the imperial court to mobilize many local troops.

Tan Zhong hurriedly persuaded: "If the big handsome man leaves, abandons the saint and the old brothers, what should everyone do?" ”

Zhang Fu was not persuaded by Tan Zhong, but he flashed the thought of dying just now, and was interrupted again, and then he didn't have that impulse.

He sighed and said, "Ben Shuai is alive now, and it is the most difficult thing. ”

When the surrounding soldiers heard this, they were all sad.

Zhang Fu was dragged by the generals, and after a stalemate for a while, he suddenly asked: "Earlier, I sent someone back to Changsha Mansion and asked Jin Butang to order, and the Jingzhou army should immediately withdraw from Sichuan. You ask, did Jin Butang receive the news? ”

After hearing this, the generals let go of Zhang Fu one after another; After all, he was already worrying about things, and he must not want to die.

Liu Sheng hugged his fists and said, "The last general will send someone to ask." ”

Zhang Fu said again: "Write a military order and bring it to me with a seal." Chen Xuan, the commander of the naval division, was ordered to transfer warships to Hengzhou and other places, and brought the riverside and the defenders of Hengzhou to the east bank of the Xiangjiang River. ”

Tan Zhong asked, "Don't you want Hengzhou?" ”

Zhang Fu said without hesitation: "Hengzhou City is on the west bank of the Xiangjiang River, and now that the rebels are more and more numerous, how can they hold it?" ”

The generals listened and were silent.

At this time, several more warships came to the eastern shore of the island. Zhang Fu saw that the rebels could not cross the water, so he crossed the Xiangjiang River by boat with the generals.

That night, the sailor warships successively transported tens of thousands of horses on Xiaozhou to the vicinity of Tanzhou City. Inside and outside the city wall of Tanzhou City, the fire was bright all night, and many soldiers were hungry because of the lack of food on the road, so they first used the grain transported from the government treasury to make rice.

Zhang Fu has completely lost hope for the future, but he is not dead and is still the general of Pinghan in the entire Huguang battlefield, so he can only continue to do what he should do.

The battle that lasted for more than ten days has ended, and Zhang Fu has gradually accepted the cruel reality these days. In accordance with the current situation facing the officers and troops, he quickly formulated a new operational strategy.

Xiangjiang guards Changsha City, Ganjiang guards Nanchang City!

Zhang Fu didn't want to give up Tanzhou Mansion, otherwise it would become a big camp for the rebels to attack Changsha Mansion; However, he weighed the current comparison of the forces of the two sides, and decided to concentrate the remaining troops, as well as the troops and horses that could be mobilized, on the most important cities of Changsha and Nanchang.

Around the campfire in the barracks, a general questioned.

Zhang Fu's face reflected the firelight, and in an undoubted tone, he said bluntly: "Now that the offensive and defensive situation is changing, we can defend these two cities now, which is not bad!" The Xiangjiang River and the naval warships of the water division can't stop the offensive of the rebels!

The rebels will definitely capture Hengzhou first and control the longer riverside; Then the army crossed east from the upper reaches of the Xiangjiang River or the Li River, and detoured to the vicinity of Changsha City, the city of Tanzhou. At that time, what are we going to do to stop the rebels? ”

He stretched out his hand to smooth the map in his hand, pointed to the firelight, pointed to the map and said: "The rebels of the Han King have a large territory in the southwestern provinces. The official army occupied Changsha and Nanchang Mansions, and could flank and threaten the rebels' retreat and grain routes from the north. Let them have worries when they continue to move eastward! ”

Liu Sheng suddenly said: "It seems that ...... Sheng Yong also thought so back then. ”

Zhang Fu was stunned for a moment, and then came back to his senses. Liu Sheng refers to the late period of the "Battle of Jingyan", Sheng Yong, Tie Xuan and others guarded the old affairs of Jinan City, Shandong. Zhang Fu thought about it for a while and found that the world is really a kind of reincarnation! The situation and strategy he is facing now are similar to those of Sheng Yong at the beginning, and they are also helpless.

Zhang Fu sighed: "Back then, Sheng Yong only had a group of unbearable men and horses left in his hands, and it was his only choice to hold Shandong. So after he surrendered, the first emperor had not punished him for his crimes, and somehow quietly defected to the traitorous king, knowing that he would be cleared...... He stubbornly defended Shandong, which really gave the first emperor a headache. ”

Liu Sheng listened and nodded thoughtfully.

Zhang Fu frowned and pondered for a moment, and said in a low voice: "Changsha City and Nanchang City have hidden dangers. ”

Several generals heard Zhang Fu say mysteriously, and they turned their heads one after another, looking like they were listening.

Zhang Fu said in a deep voice: "King Gu and King Ning! Ben Shuai was informed by the secret decree that the king of the valley was anti-willing. There is also King Naning, who has been friends with the traitorous king (King Han) for many years, and is good at scheming and discernment; Now that King Ning sees that the situation is wrong, he is very likely to want to open the door and surrender, so as to sacrifice the practice of Nanchang City to befriend the traitorous king! ”

He pondered for a moment, and then said, "Three days later, let's lead the army into Changsha City and take down the Gu King first!" ”

Chen Mao's face was fierce, but at this time he looked cringe: "That's the prince, we don't have the permission of the saint, can we do this?" ”

"I have a secret purpose." Zhang Fu emphasized. However, after a while, he also realized that the secret decree was not the evidence that could take the prince, and immediately gritted his teeth and said, "What am I afraid to do now?" It's all about the big picture! ”

No one agreed, but no one objected.

Tan Zhong listened and said: "He Fu is still in Changsha City, or ......" He pulled his palm on his neck and made a movement.

No one speaks to He Fu, because the generals here are all heroes of the Jingjing, so they don't care whether people like He Fu live or die!

Zhang Fu also hesitated for a while, and finally shook his head and said, "After all, He Fu is the deputy general of Pinghan Zuo, the marquis and the saint's own order...... Everything I do, such as taking down the king of the valley, is to be loyal to the saint. But now He Fu is in a cage, without military power and threat; If I kill He Fu, everyone can see that it is a personal grudge from the communiqué. Let's send him and the king of the valley back to the capital by water! Let the Holy God decide. ”

The generals clasped their fists and said: "Handsome and wise!" ”

Zhang Fu stood up and said, "Order all departments to repair one day tomorrow." The day after tomorrow, we will set off and walk another hundred miles, and after arriving at Changsha Fucheng, we will rest again. ”

"The last general will wait for the order!"