Fengtian carried the emperor, and said: Chen Rixuan, the former king of Annam, took the lead in submitting to my Taizu Emperor, and paid tribute to his duties, and was always sincere. Our country also treats them with good gifts, and the people of Annam are blessed by them...... The sinner has vested, that is, the sage who chooses the descendants of the Chen family, and sets up the envoy to govern one side. Then he also sued Chengzong Temple, and his fame was endless. What I hope for, and what I hope to do.

In a tiled house with poor lighting and dim lighting, Zhu Gaoxu read the text again and put the paper on a square table.

This essay was not written by Zhu Di himself, but should be an official edict from the civil officials of the Hanlin Academy. Zhu Gaoxu knew that his father, Emperor Zhu Di, wrote things, not in such a literary tone. In fact, Zhu Di has read books, but he just doesn't like to write literary language; If it is an edict written by the emperor himself, even if it is an edict to a foreign king, it is spoken and "I" throughout.

The text has long been spread all over the world and can be found everywhere. This kind of article is much the same, anyway, it scolds the opponent for being bad and stupid, and insists that he is the righteous party; And Zhu Gaoxu mainly read the last paragraph carefully.

The emperor's holy will, the disposition of the Annan Kingdom after the war, is also to choose the descendants of the Chen family as kings. The official edict is known to the whole world, and it will not be easy to disadmit it; And Zhu Gaoxu also firmly believes that doing this is the right way.

He tapped the table, turned his head and said, "Come on, ask Ruan Zhi to come and meet." ”

There were a few people standing in the room, and the eunuch Cao Fu responded: "The slave and maid obey the order." ”

At this time, the sun had just set, and the soldiers on duty hung lanterns all over the courtyard. This small courtyard is a relatively good house near Qin Station, and the Ming army has requisitioned it as a line. Zhu Gaoxu lived here, and Wang Bin's 5,000 elite horsemen camped around.

Outside the house, neat footsteps sounded again, and in the course of day and night, the guards were about to change their guards. After a loud sound, a group of people outside followed the generals and said in unison: "We will not escape, we will not be afraid of death, and we will protect the prince with our lives!" ”

Zhu Gaoxu heard such words more than once, but he still looked up and looked outside, and faintly saw that the soldiers were shouting and facing the door of the house, clasping their fists and saluting. The situation is not very clear, there is some grass burning in the yard to repel mosquitoes, and the smoke is heavy; There are still many mosquitoes in the autumn in Annam.

After a while, Ruan Zhi, the military general of the Annan Kingdom who had been captured during the day, followed the eunuch and bowed in, and he bowed his head and clenched his fists behind the shabby square table.

During the day, Zhu Gaoxu had other things to do, so he didn't have time to ask more. At this time, he looked at this person for a while, and then asked with a little curiosity: "How did you become the general of the Annan Army?" ”

Ruan Zhi was calmer than before, and seemed to know who Zhu Gaoxu was, and replied clearly: "Back to Your Highness, the uncle of the guilty general, Nguyen Gong Gui, is a nobleman of Thang Long (Hanoi), and is now the general of Annam. The uncle is not a confidant of the Hu family, the Hu family is powerful, and the uncle is unwilling to oppose it, so he just takes refuge in the situation. However, it is not difficult for the sin to get a military position. ”

Zhu Gaoxu listened to it and said in his heart, and he really guessed correctly. As soon as he saw Ruan Zhi, he knew that this person had some background.

"Then you must know where the former Queen of Annam is?" Zhu Gaoxu immediately asked.

Ruan Zhidao: "The queen's family is a clan and lives in Thang Long City. However, the queen disappeared a few years ago, and it is said that she was killed along with the former king. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "This king got the news that the queen's family took money to redeem it, don't you know about it?" ”

Ruan Zhi immediately shook his head and said, "There is such a thing? A few months ago, the criminal general was dispatched by Hu Yuancheng of Zuo Xiangguo, and after coming to Qin Station, he knew very little about Shenglong, and asked His Highness for forgiveness. ”

Zhu Gaoxu listened and paced around on the dirt floor next to the square table, muttered for a moment, turned around and suddenly asked, "Are you really surrendering to the Ming Dynasty?" ”

Ruan Zhi immediately knelt on the ground: "Hu Shi killed Jun, the sin will fail to repay the favor of the king, and he is helpless to be humble and powerless, and he is powerless. Today, the Ming Emperor and the king of our country have a relationship between the top and bottom, and the sin will always admire the Ming Dynasty, of course, he does not dare to have half a heart! ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded thoughtfully and said, "In that case, this king will give you a chance to atone for your sins." If you can prove your loyalty, this king not only does not care about your sin of resisting the king, but also writes to ask you to be named an official of the kingdom of Annan. ”

Ruan Zhi said: "The only sin will be His Highness's horse, please ask His Highness to command." ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I want to send two people to go to Shenglong with you, and you will do two things." The first is to inquire whether the queen is in her mother's house. The second is to inquire about the deployment of the Annan Army along the road, and report it when he returns. Can it be done? ”

Ruan Zhi thought for a while, then nodded vigorously and said, "It should be fine." The sin general is a Shenglong person, with a name and a surname, please order that the seal of the sin general be given better. The criminal general lied that he was attacked by more than 400,000 troops of the Ming army at Qinzhan, and was outnumbered and returned defeated.

The two people sent by His Highness should have said something other than Chinese. There are many mountain people in the mountains north of Annan, and it is difficult for the tribes to distinguish between them, and if anyone asks, the sin will say that they are mountain people. ”

Zhu Gaoxu listened to him be specific and thoughtful, and he was a little convinced that he would really come back. The strength of the two armies is clear, and whether Ruan Zhi will return or not depends on his trade-off.

"Very good!" Zhu Gaoxu touched his hand on his forehead, and immediately decided, and then ordered, "Call Chen Xingwang." Cao Fu, you go to the courtyard and ask, who is willing to go to the enemy territory, as long as you can come back, the reward is fifty yuan, and the number of households will be promoted to 100 immediately. ”

After the order was passed down, Chen Xingwang went to the house to meet him first.

This guy is useless now, and sending him to death is not a loss. Zhu Gaoxu asked him if he would like to go to Thang Long City to find the queen of Annam. Unexpectedly, Chen Xingwang was very happy and thanked Zhu Gaoxu with great energy.

Chen Xingwang's reaction made Zhu Gaoxu slightly surprised. Zhu Gaoxu finally believed that there really was a woman in this world, and a man could not even want his life for her!

Then Cao Fu came in with a soldier. Zhu Gaoxu saw that he was familiar, so he looked at the soldier's face, opened his mouth, and the name seemed to be on his lips, but he almost remembered it.

"Jin Shi." The soldier said cautiously, "Does the prince remember me?" ”

"Oh!" Zhu Gaoxu said suddenly, "Remember, you are under my command in the 'Battle of Jingjing'." After so many vicious battles, you are still alive, it is not easy! He immediately kindly reminded, "Since it is a heavy reward, it must be an errand with a head." ”

Jin Shi hugged his fists and said: "The little one is not afraid of death!" ”

Zhu Gaoxu thought of this pawn, and memories came to his heart, and the deepest memory was still in the "Battle of Jingjing" and under the city of Jinan. Jin Shishi said that his family has a few acres of land, and the wheat has just been harvested, and the buns made of new noodles are roasted to a golden brown, fragrant and crisp; The family raised sheep, and when he got up in the morning, his little daughter-in-law warmed the goat's milk, brought it to him, looked at him sweetly and smiled, and said that all the good things were wanted to be eaten for him......

Maybe Zhu Gaoxu himself is not a war-loving person, but he is very interested in the things of life, so he just remembered what Jin Shi said about eating and drinking.

At this time, it is getting late, and there is no military business today. Zhu Gaoxu is not used to going to bed early, and now it is a relatively free time, so he can't help but ask more: "You are dead, your little daughter-in-law is going to be widowed." ”

Several military generals and civil officials around him smiled when they heard this. Whenever women are talked about in the army, men are always very interested. Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu said in his heart that war and women are men's eternal interests.

Jin Shishi muttered: "That cheap maid won't be widowed, anyway, there is a concubine!" If it weren't for the sake of the child, I would have ...... a knife."

Zhu Gaoxu was stunned for a moment when he heard this, he didn't continue to ask those details, this soldier can probably make people understand what is going on in one sentence.

From the "Battle of Jingyan" to the Battle of Annam, in fact, it has only been a few years. It has only been a few years since you and me went from "thinking about my husband about all good things" to the cheap maid and the enemy who wanted to be slaughtered with a knife.

Zhu Gaoxu suppressed the smile on his face and said, "The three of you are traveling together, and this king is waiting for news in the Chinese army." When you're ready, you're ready to go today. ”

Ruan Zhi, Chen Xingwang, and Jin Shishi saluted Zhu Gaoxu together and said goodbye.

…… Wang Bin's vanguard army was stationed near Qin Station and rested for a few days. The army behind them caught up one after another, and Zhu Gaoxu ordered Wang Bin to continue to search and advance, while he stayed in the army and led all the troops to follow Wang Bin's army one after another.

Not long after heading south from Qin Station, the terrain became flatter and wider. The jungle is still the main vegetation, but the mountains are getting farther and farther away from the main road, and only when the weather is clear and cloudless, the sky is clear and clear, and Zhu Gaoxu can see the shadows of the mountains on the horizon.

Zhu Gaoxu had never been to Annam, but he still knew something. As long as you continue to advance to the southeast, starting from the vicinity of Thang Long (Hanoi) and ending at the sea, there is the alluvial plain of the Red River, with flat terrain, abundant water sources, abundant sunshine, and rice crops that can be ripened several times a year.

There was no fighting for many days, and Zhu Gaoxu suspected that the Annan army had abandoned this side. It is also reasonable to think that the Annan Army has no guerrilla tactics to deploy, and it is really useless to disperse its forces on the border.

It was not until the advance reached Fuling Pass (near Xuanguang Province) that Wang Bin sent a military report, reporting that Fuling Pass was heavily defended, and asked the Chinese army to reinforce 10,000 foot soldiers to attack Fuling Pass.

Judging from Wang Bin's military report, only 10,000 infantry reinforcements are needed, and it seems that the heavy troops at Fulingguan are not very "heavy"; Compared with the military village of Qin Station, which only has a few hundred people, it is indeed a heavy army.

Zhu Gaoxu immediately ordered the second echelon of 30,000 Sichuan troops to ride on foot, accelerate the march, and move closer to Wang Bin's troops. And under Wang Bin's control, he immediately attacked Fuling Pass.

There were a large number of civilian officials and eunuchs in the army to assist, and there were many military generals who camped in accordance with military law, so Zhu Gaoxu hardly bothered to march every day. For a while, he felt that being the commander of the army was actually not so tired, and the most critical decision was to fight or not to fight.