Xu Lang smiled: "Junzhe, listen carefully." If you have any questions today, you can ask them today, there are no outsiders here, and the purpose of calling you here today is to let you know what real politics is like. People grow up little by little. ”

After Xu Lang finished speaking to Xiao Junzhe, he turned his head and said: "It's useless to make noise, Zheng Jie's conditions have been proposed, we must come up with a way to deal with it." ”

"I'll make a suggestion." Fan Qiuming said, "We agreed to Zheng Jie's request, and we agreed to all of them. We used the waterway to send the army to Puriango first, and then pushed Hue from Purianko, but all the captured young men were sent back to Yulin Bay to replenish the army. ”

"That's 20,000 troops, how many ships are needed, does Vietnam have so many ships?" Xia Yang asked, "Have you calculated, if it is a Daming Fu ship, it will take 40 days to make a round trip from Jinpu to Puliange, and we will have half a year to transport troops alone." ”

"What Tianyang said makes sense." Lin Zhaolong said, "We can't go to Puliango by water, we can only take the land route." ”

"Here's the way it is." Xu Lang opened a map of Vietnam, "The Nguyen clan built a long wall at the junction of the north and the south, cutting the narrow stretch of Vietnamese territory into two sections. Located in the south of the Ling River, the wall stretches for 11 kilometers from the sea to the mountains. The city wall is very tall, with one artillery per zhang and one heavy cannon every three to five zhang, and plenty of ammunition. In the original history, the south relied on this wall to block the attack of the north. If we want to take the Nguyen clan in the south, and we want to attack from the north, we must break through this wall, have you thought about the problem of casualties? ”

"Uncle Xu, can't you bombard it with our cannon?" Xiao Junzhe asked.

Xu Lang smiled: "It's difficult, you can't bombard it with the army's 6-pounder gun." You can only use the Navy's 24-pounder or 32-pounder guns, but the 24-pounder can't be pulled up at all, it's too heavy. ”

Zhang Guodong pondered for a while: "Xu Lang, do you mean that we can only go to Brother Pulian?" ”

"No, let's not go to Brother Prian, Brother Prian is too far away." Xu Lang pointed to a point on the map and said, "Let's go to this place, Da Nang, which is now Hoi An." Hoi An is very close to Hue, about 200 miles. As long as we defeat Hoi An, we can attack Hue directly. ”

"Then how do we get to Hoi An?" Xia Yang asked.

"Take the waterway." Xu Lang said, "Looking for a boat from Vietnam and Yulin Bay, Jinpu is about 300 nautical miles away from Hoi An, and now it is the New Year, and it is still a tailwind." Our warship can arrive at full speed in more than a day, even if it is a Daming Fu ship, it will arrive in six or seven days at most. Transfer all the 30 gunboats we have decommissioned, and let the Pearl come too, and we can transport one division in the first wave. As long as you can gain a firm foothold in Hoi An, you can slowly transport the new army over. ”

"Can a division fight Hoi An be able to fight?" Zhang Guodong had some doubts, "I remember that there were more than 100 big war ships in South Vietnam, and each war ship was equipped with 6 cannons, which was not very easy to fight. ”

"There are many warships in South Vietnam, but first, they may not necessarily assemble in Hoi An, and second, the combat effectiveness of their warships is still incomparable to ours, let alone the Pearl." Xu Lang replied, "But this also requires the cooperation of Nguyen Qi, and he must attack in order to hold back the main force of South Vietnam." ”

Everyone discussed it for a while, and finally felt that Xu Lang's suggestion was the best way at the moment, and decided to ask Ruan Qi what he meant tomorrow.

This plan was decided for the time being, and Fan Qiuming asked again: "I have another question. What should we do after we take Hoi An, whether to attack Hue directly or negotiate with South Vietnam. ”

Xiao Junzhe asked: "Uncle Fan, why should we negotiate with South Vietnam, didn't we promise North Vietnam to defeat South Vietnam?" ”

Everyone laughed together, and Pham Thu Minh said: "Jun Zhe, take Hoi An and attack Hue, this is just a military means. But we can't just have military means, we must also have political means. Didn't your Uncle Xu tell you that the essence of politics is the exchange of interests, there is no principle, and the principle can be abandoned at any time. ”

"Hey, old Fan, I didn't say that." Xu Lang shouted, "Don't teach the child badly. I'm just saying that politics is unprincipled and can be changed at any time for the sake of profit. ”

"Isn't it all the same?" Shi Xianyang said with a smile, "As for whether or not to negotiate with South Vietnam, I think we will talk about it when we defeat Hoi An." ”

This reply was told to Ruan Qi the next day, and Yulinwan agreed to Zheng Jie's request to disband the Daming Chamber of Commerce and the security team, and Jinpu's garrison did not exceed two thousand. The 20,000 Yulin army will take the water route to attack Hoi An, and then use Hoi An as a base to attack Phu Xuan from the south. However, Nguyen Qi was required to attack South Vietnam at the same time, as long as the main force of South Vietnam was delayed.

Zheng Jie's reply also came back quickly, and he could follow Yulin Bay's idea to attack Hoi An first, and then attack Fuchun.

Zhang Guodong and others returned to Yulin Bay and began to prepare ships to transport the army, and Han Wantao also began to collect various Vietnamese ships in Jinpu. At the end of the first month, led by the Pearl of the East China Sea, Jinpu gathered 12 warships and 60 or 70 civilian ships, large and small, and the 1st Division of the New 1st Army will land in Hoi An as the first landing force.

The date of going south to Hoi An was set for the first day of February, and the Pearl brought a new instruction to Han Wantao, after taking Hoi An, try to stay there as much as possible, and treat Hoi An as the second Jinpu or Pulian brother. Because Hoi An has now become a relatively important port city in Vietnam, and there are merchants from all over the world, Yulin Bay does not want to destroy the prosperity of Hoi An, but wants to occupy this prosperous city.

After Xu Lang knew what his family meant, he thought about it for a whole day and made a suggestion to Han Wantao. Since the family wants to maintain the prosperity of Hoi An, then it cannot be attacked by force. Xu Langxiang once again used the same method that he had taken in Shandong back then, found someone to disguise himself as a merchant of the Ming Dynasty, quietly infiltrated Hoi An City, opened the city gate in the middle of the night, and occupied the city in one fell swoop.

But Han Wantao was a little worried, Hoi An was not a Fushan station, there were many South Vietnamese troops in it, and the precautions were relatively strict, so there would be no danger if only one special team was sent in.

However, Han Wantao finally agreed to Xu Lang's suggestion, because this was the fastest way. Han Wantao was also worried that once Hoi An was stormed, if the South Vietnamese warships gathered, the sixty or seventy civilian ships loaded with army and supplies would be in danger.

This task was handed over to Gao Chen to complete, Gao Chen went deep into the tiger's den when he was in Tianjin and deceived Tao Gong, so it was more appropriate for him to complete this task. In order to ensure safety, Xu Lang emphasized Gao Chen's distant cousin Gao Chen on the navy side, and the two of them led 100 soldiers to disguise themselves as Ming merchants and infiltrate Hoi An City. In the middle of the night, the city gates were opened.

Gao Chen and Gao Qiang were a little hesitant after listening to Xu Lang's order, and Xu Lang saw the worry of the two people: "What, do you two think that you two can't complete this task?" ”

Gao Chen knew Xu Lang's temper and replied directly: "Report to the chief, it's difficult to complete." First, we don't know the situation inside Hoi An City, the deployment of troops on the Annam side, and the defense at the city gate. Second, it is difficult for us to guarantee when we will occupy the city gate, our warships will definitely be waiting at sea, if it comes early and the Annan side is aware of it, then we will not be able to complete the task with a hundred people. If we come late, our 100 men will not be able to guard the city gates, and the time will be very difficult to manage. ”

Gao Qiang also said: "Sir, there is another question, once the fire is raised, it is equivalent to telling the Annan people that the city gate is lost, and their reinforcement speed must be faster than the speed of our landing." ”

Xu Lang looked at the two of them appreciatively and nodded: "Okay, it's very good, you have considered the problem very comprehensively, and you have the quality of a commander." ”

The two of them replied together, "Chief Xie praises." ”

Xu Lang smiled: "I've thought about all these worries of yours. Don't be in a hurry to do anything else after you sneak into Hoi An, and spend two days scouting the entire city. If you think it's feasible, make a detailed plan and send someone back secretly, and we'll make an appointment to take Hoi An. If you don't think it's feasible, you can withdraw from Hoi An. Remember, safety comes first, never take any chances, we will be waiting for you at sea. ”

"My subordinates understand." Gao Chen and Gao Qiang saluted together.

A few days later, a Da Ming Phuc ship slowly approached Hoi An City. The people on the boat carried down the cloth, food and other supplies one by one. Xu Lang checked all the military supplies he brought this time, and found that there were really not many things that could be disguised as civilian goods, so he could only pick out a few.

The soldiers guarding the city did not interrogate themselves, because there were too many Chinese merchant ships doing business in Hoi An, and no one paid attention to such a very inconspicuous Da Ming Fu ship, Gao Chen and Gao Qiang easily mixed into the city.

Hoi An is full of Chinese and Japanese architecture, as well as a few French buildings, and the façade is adorned with European Renaissance figures. But Gao Chen didn't have the heart to appreciate these things, and after two days of turning around with Gao Qiang, the two of them figured out the current situation in Hoi An City.

There are not many Nam An garrisons in the entire Hoi An city, only more than 1,000 people, and the city gate is closed in the evening and opened in the early hours of the morning. There weren't many soldiers guarding the city at night, and a team of 100 people should be able to take the gates easily.

Gao Chen drew a detailed map of Hoi An City, marking in detail the points that need to be controlled. And on the note, two days later, in the middle of the night, you can do it, hoping that the combined fleet will be able to arrive.

The map was delivered by the Da Ming Fu ship to Han Wantao and Xu Lang on the Pearl of the East China Sea, 30 nautical miles away. The Combined Fleet had been drifting at sea for three days, and Han Wantao was a little anxious, he was very worried that his huge fleet would be discovered by passing merchant ships. After receiving Gao Chen's news, Han Wantao immediately issued the order.

Departing from the time of day today, except for the battleship Pearl of the East China Sea, the remaining eleven warships will carry the army and must arrive outside Hoi An City before Zi Shi, waiting for Gao Chen's signal to take Hoi An City. The East Sea Pearl will follow the remaining Da Ming Phuc ship to Hoi An City before dawn. All siege operations were commanded by Zeng Guangxian, and Ye Zhan, as the commander of the city, led two regiments to quickly occupy the location marked on the map and control the entire Hoi An City.

As night fell, eleven warships pulled up their sails and disappeared into the vast sea.

In a remote forest at the gate of Hoi An City, many merchants of the Ming Dynasty gathered in twos and threes.

Gao Chen looked up at the sky, took out a white cloth from his clothes and wrapped it around his arm: "It's all ready, have our guns been transported?" ”

"It's been shipped." Gao Qiang pointed to a few bags of things not far away, "It's all there." ”

Gao Chen was surrounded by the captains of several squads, and Gao Chen looked around: "I have clearly explained your respective tasks, remember your own responsibilities, don't care about others, do your own business, and open the city gate is the most important thing." ”

"Yes, sir." The people around replied in a low voice.

"Gao Qiang, send the gun down, let's go."

Gao Chen and Gao Qiang clenched the rifled guns in their hands and lay not far from the city gate. Three men with white cloths wrapped around their heads hurried to the city gates.

"Who and why are you walking around at random at this time?" The guards at the gates of the city shouted loudly.

"Master Jun, the small family has an urgent matter to go out of the city, so it's convenient to bother the military master." One replied loudly in Annan.

Two guards snatched it over: "Who are you, what's the urgency?" ”

"Master Jun, we are Ming people, someone in the family has died, and we want to go out of the city to report the news." The three men slowly approached the two guards.

"Stop." The two guards raised their spears horizontally, "Don't open the city gate in the middle of the night, and talk about it at dawn." ”

"Now there are no ships outside the city, where are you going to report the news?" One of the guards asked.

"Master Jun, there is a ship outside, don't believe it, look at the city gate."

The two guards didn't react for a moment, and both unconsciously turned their heads to look at the city gate. The two agents took advantage of the two guards to turn their heads and had two more daggers in their hands.

"You guys." The two guards had barely shouted a few words when the cold dagger slashed past their necks.

"Up." Gao Chen waved his hand, and the agents behind him picked up rifled guns and rushed over.

Soon gunshots rang out at the city gate and city walls, and Gao Chen and Gao Qiang walked quickly to the city gate. A squad leader came over and reported: "Sir, the city gate has been controlled, and there is a fierce battle on the city wall. ”

"Open the gates at once, and light the fire." Gao Chen ordered, "Gao Qiang, organize defense, and be sure to hold out until reinforcements arrive." ”

"Yes."

Accompanied by the sound of gunfire, a bunch of raging fires were lit on the city wall, in addition to the firewood brought by the special team themselves, Gao Chen demolished everything that could be demolished at the city gate, and it was almost time to demolish the city gate.

Soon, several fireworks bombs rose on the surface of the sea. Gao Chen's heart relaxed, and the reinforcements arrived on time.