In May, everything in Yunnan is full of life, and as long as the weather is clear, it is very warm.

In the palace of the king of Han, Zhu Gaoxu came to the study of the front hall early in the morning. There are also civil officials such as Mr. Li and Hou Hai on the left and right, as well as generals such as Sheng Yong, Ping'an, and Wang Bin.

The eunuch Wang Gui came in with two puppies, a pure white pug with lying ears and big round eyes; The other is a pure yellow earth dog. Seeing this, some people said that the King of Han was very interested, and everyone was talking and laughing, and the atmosphere was very relaxed.

After a while, Guo Wei led the four-year-old Zhan Yan to the door. Everyone looked sideways and saluted Princess Guo Wei.

Someone must have taught Zhan Yan beforehand, and he went into the house, clasped his little hands into fists, and said in a childish voice: "My son pays homage to my father." ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded, pointed to the two puppies and said, "Pick one." ”

Zhan Yan had a flat forehead and big eyes, and when he first entered the house, he found the dog, and he had been watching distractedly; Sure enough, children love furry animals. At this time, Zhan Yan heard Zhu Gaoxu's words, so he happily ran forward and reached out to touch the two dogs. After a while, he looked up at Zhu Gaoxu: "Father, what kind of dogs are they?" ”

"The white one is Jingba, small and long-haired, obedient and clingy." Zhu Gaoxu thought about it and said casually, "Huang is a native dog who cares for the house, and he will be big and loyal to his master in the future." ”

Zhan Yan said without hesitation: "Erchen wants a soil dog!" ”

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu looked back and said, "My son likes loyal animals. ”

"Hahaha......" Everyone laughed, and Guo Wei on the side couldn't help but laugh.

Zhu Gaoxu said to Zhan Gully: "The earth dog has returned to Zhan Gully, and you will feed him in the future." ”

Guo Wei reminded: "What did you forget? ”

Zhan Yan hurriedly bowed and said, "The son is grateful to his father." ”

Zhu Gaoxu looked back and said: "It's time for my son to learn something, I have to find a few people to be his teachers." Mr. Li and Hou Changshi taught Zhan Yan to be literate, and when Qian Xun came back, let him teach him, and whoever had time would go to Wenlou to teach Zhan Yan. Sheng Yong, Ping'an, Qu Neng, Wang Bin, Wei Da, and Liu Ying taught Zhan Yan to ride horses and shoot arrows in the future. ”

After everyone heard this, they saluted one after another: "The lower officials are waiting to thank the prince!" ”

So Zhu Gaoxu asked Zhan Yan to apprentice to the civil and military forces present one by one. Zhan Yan was a child after all, although he looked like he had learned etiquette, but curiosity overcame etiquette, and when he walked up to Mr. Li, he asked directly, "Why are you wearing something on your face?" ”

Mr. Li let out a laugh and said kindly: "When I was young, I was naughty and disobedient, and I accidentally hurt my face and broke my appearance, and I didn't wear a mask for fear of scaring people. ”

There was another burst of laughter in the room, and Zhan Yan's eyes widened but he didn't know what everyone was laughing at.

Children under the age of four can't remember everything, but once they do, they are deeply impressed. Zhu Gaoxu also grew up as a child at a few years old, and of course he has experience; In particular, the feelings of childhood may be clearer than the events themselves. Zhu Gaoxu still clearly remembers the place where he was born, where every grass and tree was, even if it completely changed later, it was still the same as in his heart.

It's just that I don't know what things today can be remembered by Zhan Yan.

…… In the afternoon, the previous laughter quickly disappeared, and Zhu Gaoxu was busy reading a few important reports, so he changed his clothes and rode out.

He came to the school field near the Han Wang's Mansion to inspect the soldiers who were practicing. The earth dam was dusty, and the wind blew puffs of dust and dirt moving on the ground, as if flying sand and rocks. The sound of shouts, footsteps, and horses' hooves came through the misty air, giving him the illusion that he was on battle.

Zhu Gaoxu squinted and rode on the horse, and suddenly heard Sheng Yong's voice: "The enemy cavalry is raiding, forming a circle on the spot!" ”

Following the sound, Zhu Gaoxu patted his horse over, but he didn't see Sheng Yong in the dust.

I saw that on the muddy ground here, there were a large number of soldiers standing in a mess, neither flags nor horses, and even Zhu Gaoxu couldn't tell which were generals and which were sergeants. In the distance, a large group of cavalry shouted and rushed into the chaos!

The chaotic soldiers very magically quickly began to huddle at will, they formed a circle of different sizes, and the soldiers scattered around them came closer one after another and circled outside the circle. Gradually, the rebels gradually formed a three-layer circle.

At this time, I finally saw Sheng Yong riding a horse in the dust. Sheng Yong took the horsewhip, ran between the circles, and shouted: "The cavalry will rush to the place immediately, and each formation will change positions, and those with long weapons will stand in the front two rows, and the bows and crossbows will stand in the innermost!" Quick, fast! ”

A moment later, the cavalry shouted and rushed through the circle, and the smoke and dust were even louder in the sound of the horses' hooves.

The circle is like a big hedgehog, surrounded by spears, shields, and spears.

Under the order of the generals in the formation, a row of soldiers in front squatted sideways on the ground, stepped on the tail of the long soldier with one foot, and held the gun with both hands; The soldiers in the second row crouched on the ground with their weapons armed, their spears pointed out from the gap. The last row held a bow, a crossbow fire, and the strings sounded "bang bang bang...... sounding straight, of course, there were no arrows, just a look. Another order was given, and the soldiers in the second row stood up. People rise and fall, and the formation is uncertain.

Sheng Yong also saw Zhu Gaoxu on the edge of the school field, so he said to several generals around him, and patted his horse to come over here.

"The last general will meet the prince!" Sheng Yong dismounted and hugged his fists.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "General Sheng only needs to train the soldiers, and there is no need to be polite. ”

After Sheng Yong thanked him, he got back on the horse and respectfully accompanied Zhu Gaoxu around the tour. Sheng Yong's voice was loud on the school field just now, but now he is riding a horse and following Zhu Gaoxu, but he doesn't have much to say, and his performance is very calm.

There were also some cavalry on the school grounds, but most of them were infantry. Zhu Gaoxu knew that Sheng Yong was good at using infantry, as early as the Battle of Zhending, Zhu Gaoxu's entire cavalry was almost surrounded and killed by Geng Bingwen and Sheng Yong's infantry, and he saw Sheng Yong's ability at that time.

The group walked along the edge of the school yard to the other side. Zhu Gaoxu saw that the men and horses trained there were also infantry phalanxes. In the shouts of the soldiers, the shouts and shouts of the generals were mixed in.

Zhu Gaoxu looked back and said: "If you want to be a general, you must have a good voice." ”

The solemn-looking generals smiled and echoed.

Zhu Gaoxu reined in his horse and watched the scene not far away. He quickly understood that those horizontal formations were training a formation over and over again, repeating it all the time, as if it were a single loop.

The soldiers stood there in a staggered manner, and a large cloud of dust was trampled into the sky. The soldier holding the opener raised the gun from time to time, and when the mechanism was pulled, there was a "clatter" reed sound. The archers also pull the bowstring, making a "bang-bang" vibrating sound.

Zhu Gaoxu looked thoughtful, and stopped to the side to watch for a long time.

Sheng Yong opened his mouth and said: "On top of the battle array, there may be less than a few hundred people fighting alone, and the leading generals can use this array. If it is a large array of more than a few thousand people, the enemy army is also thousands of troops, more people are needed to shoot bows and arrows, and the spear and shield phalanx must be thicker, so this array is not suitable. ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded, turned around and said, "I see that the morale of our brothers is very high. ”

Sheng Yong said calmly: "The regular soldiers have a full meal every day and receive a military salary every month, so it is very simple for them to practice hard. ”

Zhu Gaoxu smiled bitterly: "The army has not moved, the grain and grass go first, and there must be enough money and food." ”

"The prince said this very much." Sheng Yong hugged his fists and bowed.

Zhu Gaoxu groaned, and said as if talking to himself: "Our men and horses, are you ready to fight......

Sheng Yong said: "The prince is invincible in Guizhou, Sichuan, and the brothers have rested for several months, all looking forward to going to the battlefield to make contributions!" ”

Ping An hugged his fists and said: "The last general, please be the striker!" ”

Wang Bin, the governor next to him, also looked anxious, and hurriedly said: "The prince is going on this expedition, and the last general is invited to accompany him, and he is willing to be the forerunner." ”

"Hmm......" Zhu Gaoxu said in an unclear voice, and then added, "Let's go and take a look somewhere else." ”

At this time, a group of infantry walked in a column not far away, with neat and uniform footsteps, and the posture was very majestic. The military commander on horseback shouted: "Salute! All the troops raised their spears and other weapons together, and saluted Zhu Gaoxu with fists.

Zhu Gaoxu and the others also bowed to them on their horses, and then rode on horseback and continued to walk forward.

He rode slowly on his horse, his right hand clenched into a fist, and from time to time he punched in the palm of his left hand, making some meaningless trivial movements. Zhu Gaoxu sometimes turned his head to look at the smoke in the distance, and sometimes looked at the road and pondered, and said little along the way.

Zhu Gaoxu was pondering in his heart, from the beginning of the army to the present, more than half a year has passed, almost a year; The imperial court had plenty of time to deploy its forces. The Huguang political envoy in the east and the Jiangxi political envoy were both anointed places of the Ming Dynasty, densely populated and rich, and they were also frontal territory to resist the three southwestern provinces, and the imperial court must have gathered heavy troops. Zhu Gaoxu is now unable to know the specific news or how many people have gathered in Huguang.

400,000, 500,000? Or Gao Chi transferred all the Beijing camps, plus the garrison troops from all over the country to reach more than 600,000 troops?!

If Zhu Gaoxu wants to take a big gamble, it will be Huguang from the east! As long as he wins this battle, all the difficulties he is facing now can be solved, and the situation will be completely different from what he is now.

If you lose, of course, it's all over! If the Han army loses its main force, it will be difficult to regain its combat effectiveness by relying on the southwestern borderlands. The mood of defeat will spread like a plague throughout the army and everywhere. Zhu Gaoxu can completely imagine that there must be many people who are depressed and disappointed in the soldiers and officials and the people: Jingshi is the Ming court!

This battle can almost directly lay the overall situation of victory or defeat!

Zhu Gaoxu has been in Yunnan for many days, and he has not yet made a final decision, and this is precisely the reason. The consequences of this battle are too serious to be pondered.