Xiuyuan originally thought that the Ming army would organize resistance in Cheongju City, so he was ready to recall the Nabeshima father and son to go north again, but who knew that the ninja came to report that Chen Yuzhong had already been frightened by the Japanese army and took the initiative to abandon Cheongju City and retreat to Gongzhou. Xiuyuan couldn't help but be overjoyed, and hurriedly traveled under the stars and nights, and seized Cheongju non-stop.

The reason for this urgency was that it received news that the Central Route Army led by Tokugawa Hidetada had launched the Battle of Toriling two days earlier, killing more than 1,500 Ming troops, and had now broken through the Toriling defense line and advanced to Chungju.

Chungju is located in the north of Cheongju, and the meaning of Suzhong is obvious, that is, to capture Chungju before Suwon conquers Cheongju, and to attack Gyeonggi Province before Suwon in order to seek military success. It was originally discussed that the two armies would first meet in Cheongju, and then go north to attack Chungju and break into Gyeonggi Province, but now Xiuzhong is going to do his own thing, ready to leave behind the leading merit of the Western Route Army, and he will be so angry that he gritted his teeth: "The lieutenant general of the guards deceives people too much, I will not let him succeed!" ”

According to Xiuyuan's assumption, the 3,000 Mao Guoqi troops in Chungju and the 1,500 remnants of Wu Weizhong should be able to delay Xiuzhong for one or two days, and the Western Route Army suffered heavy casualties in the just-concluded Battle of Birdling, and it will never immediately launch an attack on Chungju.

So, the day after arriving in Cheongju, Xiuyuan attacked with his whole army and went straight to Cheonan, the last important town in the northern part of Chungcheong-do. But when he arrived at the city, Xiuyuan found that the gate of the city was wide open, and the Ming army defending the city had long since disappeared. When I asked the captured Korean volunteers, I learned that as early as the loss of Jeonju, Magui ordered the Ming army loyal to Cheongdo to withdraw to Gyeonggi Province and prepare to fight the Japanese army to the death in Seoul.

"So, all the Ming troops in Chungcheong-do have retreated?" Xiuyuan still had a trace of doubt in his heart.

The volunteer nodded in a panic, and said resignedly: "Exactly, just the day before yesterday, a group of Ming troops retreated here from Gongzhou, and the small ones prepared dry food for them at that time." ”

"The Ming army of Gongzhou? It should be Chen Yuzhong and Yang Yuan, it seems that they are really ready to stick to Seoul. Xiuyuan muttered quietly, feeling somewhat relieved.

At this moment, an ominous thought flashed through his mind, and Xiuyuan immediately grabbed the rebel's collar and asked sharply: "According to your meaning, the Ming army in Chungju has also retreated?" ”

The volunteers were already timid, but when Xiuyuan was so frightened, he was even more incontinent, and knelt down unconsciously, crying and replied: "The general spares his life, it was all three days ago, and it has nothing to do with the little one!" ”

"What? Three days ago? Mao Guoqi retreated three days ago? Xiuyuan's eyes were dark, and he suddenly felt that the world was spinning: "I'm still a bad move!" ”

The volunteers didn't know why Xiuyuan was so depressed, but they were afraid that he would anger him, so he had to tell the truth he knew: "Although the little one doesn't know who Mao Guoqi is, he can be sure that the Ming army is definitely from Zhongzhou, but they didn't retreat all at once. ”

"Didn't retreat to the end? How do you see that? Hope was once again ignited in Xiuyuan's heart, as long as there were still people in Chungju, Xiuzhong would never pass easily.

The volunteer shook his pants slightly, and said timidly: "Because just the night before yesterday, there was a Ming army of more than 1,000 people coming from the east, and the leading officer surnamed Wu said that he wanted to replenish some grain and grass here, but when the little one told him that the army of Chungju had withdrawn north, he chased the troops along the northern path overnight. ”

"Damn, it must be Wu Weizhong's Bird Ridge remnant!" Hope was finally dashed, Xiuyuan kicked the volunteers to the ground, turned to the generals and said: "It seems that the Ming army in Chungcheong-do ran out yesterday, according to the lieutenant general's marching speed, it must have occupied Chungju now, in this case, our army will stop going north and camp here." ”

As soon as they heard that they were going to be stationed in Cheonan, the whole army was in an uproar, and most of the generals, including Kato Kiyomasa, expressed their puzzlement, seeing that they were about to attack Gyeonggi Province, how could they say that they would stop, and besides, even if Xiuzhong occupied Chungju, it did not mean that he would be the first to enter Gyeonggi Province, after all, there was still some distance from the border between the two provinces.

But Xiuyuan was determined to be stationed in Tian'an, until he was annoyed by the generals, and he reluctantly told the truth.

"Ladies and gentlemen, who knows which city we will face if we continue north?" Xiuyuan's face was calm, and he played with the tassels on the military from time to time, which seemed much calmer than just now.

"Further north is Pyeongtaek, the southern gate of Gyeonggi Province, which is only more than 30 miles away." Qingzheng blurted out.

Xiuyuan nodded: "Yes, it's Pyeongtaek, then do you know where the east gate of Gyeonggi Province is?" ”

"What's so difficult about this, isn't it Zhushan City, it's more than fifty miles away from Chungju." Qingzheng said casually, it seems that he really knows a lot about North Korea.

"Tell me, what's the difference between Pyeongtaek and Takeyama?" Xiuyuan asked kindly.

"The difference is obvious, one is a flat city, easy to attack and difficult to defend, and the other is a mountain city, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and because of this, the last general thinks that you can attack Gyeonggi Province in one step as early as the lieutenant general." Qingzheng replied solemnly, in his opinion, Cheonan is close to Pyeongtaek, Chungju is far away from Zhushan, Pyeongtaek is an easy city to attack, and Zhushan is a mountain city that will be difficult to conquer for a while and a half, these conditions are beneficial to the Western Route Army, if nothing else, it will definitely be able to grab the first credit before Xiuzhong.

"I understand what you mean," Xiuyuan smiled, looked at the generals on both sides of the barracks and asked, "You think so too?" ”

"Ha, we think what Mamoru Higo said is very true." The generals all bowed their heads and replied.

"Alas, it is precisely because of the 'extremely true' that I dare not raise troops to the north." Xiuyuan stood up, pointed to the location of Pyeongtaek Castle on the map, and explained, "You see, if the current situation is followed, our army will definitely break through to Gyeonggi Province before the Lieutenant General of the Guard, but what about after that? Osan and Suwon are both first-class fortified cities, especially Suwon, which is even more difficult to conquer than Jinju back then. ”

After speaking, General Xiuyuan pointed to Zhushan and continued: "Look at Zhushan again, and thus attack Seoul will also pass through Osan and Suwon, if we work hard and lose our troops to capture these two cities, wouldn't we use the blood of our own brothers to pave the way for the lieutenant general?" ”

"As you know, the Ming army has now all returned to defend Seoul, and if we go deep alone and break through the two iron bucket defense lines of Osan and Suwon in succession, we will only bring about our own destruction when we reach Seoul. But the middle route army is different, although it is following our ass, but it has preserved its strength, and when we and the Ming army are inseparable, he just happens to reap the benefits. ”

Hearing this, all the generals were shocked into a cold sweat, they didn't expect Xiuyuan to be able to think about it so carefully at a young age, no wonder he was entrusted with a heavy task by Hideyoshi.

"You were desperately trying to run ahead of the Lieutenant General, but why did you suddenly figure it out?" Kiyomasa asked curiously.

Xiuyuan scratched his head embarrassedly and smiled: "I'm ashamed to say it, if it weren't for the Ming army retreating north, I really wouldn't have thought of this, but it's not too late to make amends, and I finally didn't embark on this road of no return." ”

"Then give this path to the lieutenant generals according to your wishes?" Qingzheng said leisurely, everyone, you look at me, I look at you, and he laughed tacitly.

At this time, the palace of Sacheon Castle, Hideho entertained the generals of the navy who returned after a great victory, as well as Suyuki and his sister-in-law Chungcheong.

"The Ministry of Civil Affairs is from Busan, I wonder if His Royal Highness Kim Wu is in good health?" Hideho greeted each other while toasting.

"Thanks to you, His Royal Highness Jin Wu is in good health, but the wine is a little too stained." The last one replied respectfully in response to Hideho's glass.

"Hehe, they are all young people, it is inevitable to get a little wine, look at me, I have accepted a five-room wife room now, it's not the same, you are the auxiliary minister of the Hou Hou Na Yan Qin, and it is within the scope of caring about Jin Wu's daily life, but as long as he is not addicted to alcohol and lust, he doesn't have to be too harsh, so as not to hurt the harmony."

"Hurt the peace?" Mo You "chuckled" in his heart: "Could it be that His Royal Highness already knows that I am at odds with Jin Wu?" ”