The rainy season in Annam comes early, with a dry season from November to April every year, and the climate is dry and foggy. The dry season is also divided into a hot season and a cool season, with the cool season from November to February and the hot season in March and April. In most areas, the rainy season is from May to October.

The rainy season is full of storms and heavy rains, with high temperatures and high temperatures.

People from the north of the other party say that the cool season in Annam is very comfortable, but once it enters the hot season, especially after the rainy season, it is simply not a place for people to stay. It rained all day, even the house was extremely humid, and the weather was even more changeable.

Some were stormy, others were hot and humid, and the whole person seemed to smell musty.

The Jianzhou Legion, which was accustomed to the cold outside the Guan, was now transferred to the command of Liu Jian, the governor of Guangnan, to listen to orders. In the fortress of Da Nang, the ropes of the Jianzhou Jurchen soldiers were embroidered, and the cowhide armor was moldy and swollen.

The sea has now entered a storm-prone period, and every ten days and a half a month a storm will pass through, bringing violent storms and huge waves, and even the fleet of the Royal Navy will have to return to Hong Kong to avoid the storm when the storm comes, and will not dare to go to sea at all.

In May, it rains almost every day in Quang Nam, and the weather is stuffy and damp.

Outside, the woods and fields were verdant, the trees and weeds were growing wildly, and the roads that were not good were getting muddy and completely soaked in mud by the rain.

If you step on it, the mud will go up to your ankles. Especially after the torrential rains, flash floods are raging, rivers are surging, and there is a flooded country everywhere.

Even the Jurchen soldiers, who were extremely active in plundering the southern barbarians, shrank in the castle one by one, and were not willing to step out of the fortress gate at all.

The Jurchen soldiers, who were once known as the strongest army, are no longer the masters of cavalry and archery, and they are now also armed with firearms and equipped artillery, even if they rob in Annam, they are completely according to the role manual of the Han Imperial Army. They may not have learned much about the operational essence of the Han Imperial Army. But they have forgotten a little about the fierce and cold weapon combat methods of iron cavalry and strong bows and heavy armor and hard bows in the past.

Without artillery support, the Jurchen soldiers refused to go out of the range of the fortress artillery. In the bad weather of the rainy season, the power of the musket was greatly reduced, and these Jurchens did not seem to know how to fight.

If it weren't for the Quang Nam Governor Liu Jian's request for the Royal Navy and Jurchen Corps stationed in Da Nang to be dispatched to Hue. No one really wants to come out during the rainy season.

Marines from the Sixth Fleet set up a tent at the mouth of the Hue River.

Liu Jian sat in the tent drinking freshly brewed hot tea, staring at the direction of Hue City, not knowing what he was thinking.

It was not a long time to leave Gyeonggi to take up a post in Gwangnam, which was the south of the sky. The sea breeze and sunshine in Guangnan have tanned Liu Jian's face a lot, and he no longer looks so young, but has a somewhat mature feeling.

When he left Beijing to take office, Liu Jian felt that he wanted to open up, thinking that he would do something in Guangnan and work hard to prove himself. But when he really arrived in Quang Nam, his heart fell straight into an ice cave. The so-called Quang Nam province is just a temporary base on a few small islands off the coast.

Except for a group of hapless Annam captives. He didn't even have a people to really govern.

Looking at the humble camp at that time, Liu Jian almost turned around and left.

Zheng Sen strode over, stood in front of the table and saluted Liu Jian.

Liu Jian put down the teacup in his hand and gestured. "Company Commander Zheng, I'm waiting for you, please take a seat." When he speaks, his voice is soft and approachable. There was an undisguised appreciation for Zheng Sen in his tone.

"Master Xie." Zheng Sen replied, his voice a little stiff, like an ice cube. He pushed away the simple folding chair in front of the table. Sit down. But even as he sat there, he kept himself straight and his hands on his knees.

The name Zheng Sen is not known to many people as the emperor's righteous son, the eldest son of Zheng Zhilong, the governor of Central and South China.

Here, however, Zheng Sen was only a company commander in the Sixth Fleet Marine Corps. He had not been in Quang Nam for a short time, but he had already taken his Marine Company on several missions and captured many prisoners each time. Because of this outstanding performance, Liu Jian transferred Zheng Sen to his side half-ordered and half-requested.

This was an iron-blooded guard officer, and like many of the young officers of the guards, they were not only the best soldiers in the towns, but also became the emperor's bodyguards and disciples, and they regarded the emperor not only as a monarch, but also as a teacher, and even as an idol.

They all worshipped the emperor madly and took the emperor's words as dogma.

He was rushed by the emperor's brother, but this Zheng Sen invited himself out.

"I don't think the Nguyen family in Hue will surrender the city because of one of our letters of persuasion." Zheng Sen said, his voice was calm and cold, as if he was saying something very ordinary. "In just over ten years, the Ruan clan has carried the Zheng clan three times in a big attack, each time it was a crazy offensive of more than 100,000, but every time the Ruan clan fought to the end, and refused to compromise at all. Even if our army is stronger than the Zheng clan now, the Ruan clan will not give up like this. ”

Zheng Sen took out a notebook from his pocket and flipped it open.

"I have carefully observed Hue City and its defense system, and Hue City's defenses are very strong. Shunfeng was the Nguyen clan's stronghold, which had been in business for decades and with the help of Portuguese mercenaries, and their city was not simply a traditional city, but a new firearms age city defense system, with cross-fire bastions, moats in front of the walls, and inclined ramps. This is exactly the city defense system of the European powers, with a strong defense against the new artillery, and their walls are half stone and half earth, very thick, which can attract the damage of cannonballs."

Zheng Sen said as he handed Liu Jian the records he had made in his notebook and the pictures he had drawn.

"In the entire city of Hue, there are no less than 1,000 large and small artillery, which is a rather staggering number, and they also have a well-trained musket unit, and even a mercenary battalion composed of European mercenaries, with nearly a thousand people."

Liu Jian took the notebook and looked through it, but he didn't look at it seriously.

He had never commanded a battle, nor had he led troops, and he was a complete layman in military affairs. But now he is the governor of Guangnan, and when Fu Shan, the governor of Annam, was still in Haimen Town, he was the highest military and political chief of the Guangnan front.

Especially the troops here. It is still dominated by the Jianzhou Legion, which is not a regular imperial army at all, and the Royal Navy has only sent a detachment fleet, and the military simply does not have a person with enough weight to talk to him.

Liu Jian didn't listen to Zheng Sen's words very much, and the rest of Zheng Sen had persuaded Liu Jian before, whether it was the naval officer of the Sixth Fleet or the Jurchen general of Jianzhou Town.

This is not a good time to use troops, there are frequent storms at sea, and Annam is in the rainy season. It is not conducive to warfare, let alone Hue, which is heavily offensive and defensive.

But Liu Jian had his own ideas, when he first came to Quang Nam, they were only on a small island by the sea. If it weren't for his efforts, they would not have been able to take the two excellent military ports of Da Nang and Cam Ranh Bay, let alone the two port fortresses they have now.

Liu Jian felt that the Nanban were just barbarians, and even if the Nguyen clan in Hue cooperated with Xiyi many years ago, it could not change the fact that they were still only Nanban.

With tens of thousands of horses and thousands of cannons in hand. Liu Jian thought it was time to take Hue.

Taking Hue would destroy the rule of the Nguyen clan in Quang Nam in one fell swoop, and the next thing to do was to sweep Quang Nam, and even fight all the way south. The city of Champa that had been struggling to survive in the south was destroyed, and even the Zhenla territory along the coast was also recovered.

He wants to conquer Quang Nam Province with his own hands, and he wants to establish his own merits here, and he wants to prove it to his second brother of the emperor. Even if he comes to the Annam wilderness alone, he can still make a big difference.

"Company Commander Zheng was too worried, and we took Da Nang first. Captured Cam Ranh Bay again, after several previous operations, the vicinity of Hue has been swept several times, and the army outside Nguyen Thi Hue has been stopped by us, just with the little southern barbarians in Hue, do you think they can compare with our tens of thousands of troops? ”

A Jurchen general walked over.

"Lord Fuxian, the envoy to Hue has returned."

"Let him come." Liu Jian beckoned.

The messenger sent to Hue City to persuade him to surrender returned unscathed, but again, he did nothing. Although Ruan Fulan did not refuse to submit in front of the envoy, he only said that he would have time to consider it, which was simply a delaying tactic and delaying time.

"Ruan Fulan actually wants to play a delaying tactic with us." Liu Jian smiled slightly, but there was no disappointment on his face, from the beginning, he never thought that the southern barbarians would surrender so happily. He even secretly hoped in his heart that the southern barbarian would refuse, so that he could launch a siege battle in the open, and command the army to capture the enemy chieftain's lair with his own hands, which was a good feat.

"My lord, I still have to warn you that with our current military strength, it is not wise to storm Hue. Hue is no ordinary city, this is the base camp of the Nguyen family, which has been in business for decades for generations, and has also received technical support from the Siyi. ”

"Company Commander Zheng, when did the Han soldiers become so timid? Think about His Majesty the Emperor, when he started the army, there were only dozens of township soldiers, but he could turn to the world, fight in the east and fight in the north, and fight in the east and west, whether it was Liukou or Beihu Dongyu or Xiyi, how could he ever retreat? ”

Liu Jian said word by word, "Although I know that I am far inferior to the heroes of the Son of Heaven, I am not a cowardly person. This is Quang Nam, this is the battlefield, and on the battlefield, how can there be any reason to retreat? ”

"Let's stop talking nonsense and get down to business. You are a soldier of the Han Dynasty, and I am the governor of Quang Nam appointed by His Majesty, and now all the supreme commanders of soldiers and horses on the battlefield of Quang Nam, you must obey my dispatch. Now I ask for an attack on Hue, to capture Hue, as warriors, it is not up to you to think about whether it is your turn to fight, all you have to do is how to capture Hue. ”

Zheng Sen didn't say a word, but the look on his face was very dissatisfied with Liu Jian's order. However, as an excellent imperial officer, he clearly knows what the duties of a soldier are, and no matter how many opinions he has, he can only keep them in front of Liu Jian. And now, he can only carry out orders.

"The humble post reminded Lord Fuxian for the last time that commanding operations is not what Lord Fuxian is good at, and it is better to leave professional matters to professional people."

Liu Jian was also a little impatient at this time, "Enough, I've heard enough of your words." I think that before I sent troops to attack Da Nang and Cam Ranh Bay, you also repeatedly opposed it, and what the result was, it still proves that I, a layman, is also right. Isn't the battle in Da Nang and Cam Ranh Bay still imperfect? ”

"Carry out the military order, Company Commander Zheng Sen, I ask the warships of the Royal Navy to go up the Xiang River to the foot of Hue City. The marines covered both sides of the shore and protected the fleet. The Jianzhou Corps, which undertook the siege mission. The Southern Barbarians have artillery, we also have artillery, and our artillery is more and more fierce, Ruan Fulan may still be waiting, maybe as soon as we attack, show a resolute attitude, this Southern Barbarian immediately relented and asked to surrender. ”

"Fight with soldiers, and win before the war. Without adequate preparation and sufficient odds of victory, it is a mistake to launch an attack hastily, hoping that the opponent will admit to being soft, sir. ”

Liu Jian shook his head, "You can keep your opinion, or you can go back and present your opinion to the emperor as it is, but now, I am the governor of Guangnan and the supreme commander here, if you don't carry out the military order, then I will immediately remove you from your post on the spot!" ”

"What adults need is victory." Zheng Sen said, "Why take risks? His Majesty had previously decreed that after the arrival of the rainy season in Annam, both the navy and the army would be transferred to a period of recuperation. Even if you win this battle, so what, aren't you afraid that Your Majesty will be guilty afterwards? ”

"There will be no order from the king. This place is thousands of miles away from Beijing, if everything has to rely on His Majesty's remote command, how can he grasp the rapidly changing situation in Annam? I'm not a person who is afraid of things, it's not my character to be afraid of things, since I came to Guangnan to take up a post, I'm here to do things. If I have to listen to the arrangements of the imperial court for everything, and I am afraid of anything, then why should I come? ”

"I have served in the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division and the Shuntian Mansion in the Jingshi, you should know some rumors about me, I have never been a person who is afraid of things."

Liu Jian said this, and he didn't want to say anything more. He waved his hand, and Zheng Sen could only say goodbye and leave.

Liu Jian's military chef has already prepared lunch, a very beautiful roast chicken, crispy just right. Liu Jian directly unscrewed off a chicken leg and devoured it.

On the other plate was a thick steak, bright red and tender, with some blood soaked in the sauce.

There was never a shortage of cattle in Annam, there were many buffalo cattle, and when the Jurchen soldiers swept the periphery of Hue, they grabbed thousands of cattle, which also made the soldiers who ate fish every day very happy, and finally they were able to improve their food, and they did not have to eat fish every day, or eat canned pickled vegetables.

Liu Jian is now as proficient as a Xiyi, cutting steaks, and his way of holding a knife is very gentlemanly.

"My lord, what Company Commander Zheng said also makes sense, why take the risk?" The young man standing next to him was Liu Jian's brother-in-law, the son of the current governor of North Korea, Zhang Guowei. Now he is Liu Jian's guard captain, and he is actually Liu Jian's staff advisor.

Liu Jian hesitated for a moment, he put down his knife and fork, picked up a napkin and wiped his lips, then crossed his fingers together and smiled, "I admit that I am a little presumptuous, but I don't think it's a bad thing." The sooner Hue is taken, the sooner Quang Nam province can be established, and my ambition and talent will be useful! (To be continued.) )

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