The first article proposed by Hong Jixun, "rest and recuperate", does not need to be said. However, the second "waiting for an opportunity to go south" is inevitably surprising, and Deng She asked: "Waiting for an opportunity to go south?" ”

"What Weichen said about 'waiting for an opportunity to go south' is not to go to the south of the Yangtze River, but to go down to Huaisi."

"Oh! That's what it meant. Deng She stood up, paced a few steps in the hall with his hands, and said in a deep voice, "Don't hide it, sir, in fact, I have been thinking about it for the past few days, thinking about where our army should go after the Shanzhou War. ......, I also thought about 'going south to Huaisi'. ”

"What does the lord think?"

"If we go south to Huaisi, it will certainly be beneficial to our Haidong. Western Zhejiang is the land of fish and rice. In half of the province, a year's harvest can even be compared to our entire Haidong. 'There is heaven above, and there is Suzhou and Hangzhou below', which is really a well-deserved granary. If I can be taken by our army, it will definitely give me wings! ”

"Waiting for the opportunity to go south", saying that it is "not going to the south of the Yangtze River", only "going down to Huaisi", in fact, what is the purpose of going down to Huaisi? Isn't it just for Jiangnan? Huaisi is just a springboard. If you go to Huaisi, the next step will definitely be to attack western Zhejiang.

"Lord Shengming! And western Zhejiang is not only a granary, but also has a benefit, very rich, and the people are very rich. Do you remember that when we were still in Pyongyang, there was a man from Songjiang Province? ”

"Naturally, I remember, the people of the Shen family in Songjiang. We also made a few deals with the Shen family through him. At that time, it helped me a lot. ”

"Yes, exactly! Don't say anything else, let's just talk about this Songjiang Shen family. The minister heard that in this Songjiang Mansion alone, two out of three points of land belong to his family! The field house is crossed by each city, which can be called a rich country! Even Zhang Shicheng came to him to pay for it. Think about it, how rich is this? In addition, there are Wujiang Mo's family, Changshu Cao's family, as well as Dingxi Liu, Zhapu Zhong, Maohu Xie, Shanghai Qian and other wealthy surnames, all of which are wealthy and wealthy. ”

Songjiang Shen family, that is, Shen Wansan. Wujiang Mo, married to the Shen family; Changshu Cao's family, rich in Zhongzhou. Ding Xi Liu, Zhapu Zhong, Mao Hu Xie, Shanghai Qian, etc., are all Jiangsu and Zhejiang giants, in other words, very powerful local gentry.

- "Shanghai Money". This "Shanghai" refers to the Shanghai of later generations, Shanghai Town was placed at the end of the Song Dynasty, and Shanghai County was set up at the beginning of the Mengyuan Dynasty. Although Shanghai was not prosperous at that time, because of its riverside and seaside, convenient trade, and the fishing and salt industry was not bad, although it could not be compared with the big towns, it still produced a few wealthy families.

Hong Jixun continued: "The minister asks the lord to think about it, if we can occupy western Zhejiang, not to mention the ordinary people, only these wealthy families can bring us Haidong!" One Shen Wansan, a few transactions, can help us tide over the difficulties when we were in Pyongyang; If he gets the help of these wealthy families again, how can the lord be like a tiger? It's not impossible for Long Fei to fly for nine days! ”

"The wealth of western Zhejiang is known to the world. Of course, these are good things for me Haidong, but sir, have you ever thought about it? If you go to the west of Zhejiang, there are also many disadvantages to our Haidong. ”

"Of course the minister has thought about it. There are no more than three disadvantages. First, the main prince and Zhang Shicheng are quite friendly, once they go to the west of Zhejiang, they will turn their faces and become enemies, that is to say, we have one more enemy in Haidong. Both, there is a lot of water in western Zhejiang, and most of our army are northerners, or they may not be accustomed to the local terrain, and it will not be easy to fight. Third, western Zhejiang is close to Jinling, this decisive battle in Shanzhou, although Wu Guogong came to help, but what he thinks of the lord, we don't know, only he understands best. Will it cause his doubts? Will he create some resistance for us? No one can say. ”

"yes!"

Ju Sheng interjected and said: "From the point of view of humble duties, I'm afraid there are more than these three. ”

"What else?"

"If our army goes south to fight, will Chakhan Timur take the opportunity to counterattack Yidu?"

Hong Jixun was shocked and said: "Even if Chakhan Timur has this intention, Polo, Zhang Liangbi and others are afraid that they will not be willing." ”

"How?"

"Ju-sama is also considered erudite, haven't you heard of a word?"

"What?"

"'If you are in a hurry, you will hold on to each other, and if you are slow, you will fight for it'. Polo and Zhang Liangbi have been suppressed by Chahan for a long time, and they have long been unconvinced, but they are not as good as others, so they have no choice but to lie dormant for the time being. Now, I have won a big victory in Shanzhou, and tens of thousands of elites in Chahan have been buried in Jining. Let's ask, will Polo and Zhang Liangbi be willing to let go of this opportunity? Especially Polo, he just fought a defeated battle and was beaten to the doorstep by Chahan, will he not fight back? You know, he has always looked down on Chahan. What a humiliation it is to be defeated at the hands of someone whom you despise! Perhaps, if it had been Chahan, he would have been able to endure it; Polo Timur could never bear it. ”

"As Mr. said, Polo's new defeat and great loss of strength, even if he is dissatisfied with Chahan, what can he do?"

"Confused! Although Polo's strength has been greatly damaged, isn't Chahan also a big defeat for Jining? One trades off the other. If it was said that Chahan had the ability to eat Polo completely in the past, now I am afraid that it will take a little more effort. Moreover, Polo's father replied that he lost Badulu, and when he switched to the north and south, his protégés were all over the Mengyuan army. As long as Polo can have a little respite, he will definitely be able to regain his military might. In addition, there is Zhang Liangbi, and Meng Yuanpingzhang in Guanzhong also has a plan for Chahan and Li Siqi? Coupled with these ,......, lords, in the opinion of the ministers, it is enough for Chahan to drink a pot! ”

"Sir, please go on."

"As Chen Shicai said, 'If you are in a hurry, you will hold on to each other, and if you slow it down, you will fight for it'. After the Shanzhou War, if the lord continues to send troops to the west, it will definitely cause Chahan, Polo, Li Siqi, Zhang Liangbi and others to hate the enemy and hold on to me. The minister dares to ask the lord, with my current strength in Haidong, do you think it is enough to fight a decisive battle with Chahan and Guanzhong? ”

"Inadequate."

"Yes! In that case, why bother going west and holding on to it? 'Slow down and then fight for the heart'. As Chen Shicai said, as long as the lord does not go west, and not only does not go west, but goes south, let go of Jin and Hebei, turn the gun, and start a war with Zhang Shicheng. With the enmity of Chahan and Polo, as well as the plots of Zhang Liangbi and Mengyuan Guanzhong Pingzhang, Zechen dared to assert that they 'will fight back'! ”

Deng She stood at the door of the hall, with his hands behind his back, and watched the rain for a while. Listening to the rustling rain, he pondered for a long time, turned around, and said to Hong Jixun, "Sir, please continue." ”

"Ignoring the disadvantages of going south for the time being, let's just say that going south is beneficial to our Haidong. On the one hand, Chahan, Polo and Guanzhong fought endlessly; On the other hand, our Haidong has one more land of fish and rice, occupying the richest place in the world. May I ask my lord, when that time comes, will the Northland ,......, not, not only the Northland, but even the entire world, who else will be your opponent? ”

"What the gentleman said is all good. Three disadvantages, how is it good? ”

"The first disadvantage is that if we go south, we will have to turn against Zhang Shicheng, and I will have one less ally and one more enemy in Haidong. However, in western Zhejiang, the cream of the world, the lord will take it sooner or later. Why not sooner than later? ......, the minister Wu Guogong is also an ambitious person, far from being very comparable, and he has a lot of talents, and he can get the strength of soldiers. Such a person is a masterpiece! It is definitely not a person who is willing to live under others, and it must not be underestimated. Now, he is between Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youliang, and the main enemy is Chen Youliang, so he has no time to clean up Zhang Shicheng for the time being. However, once he freed his hands, he would definitely not look at the land in western Zhejiang, but he would not occupy it. ......, my lord, why do you have to wait until this time? Don't you hear the saying: 'The first strike is the strongest'? ”

Regardless of whether Zhu Yuanzhang is "willing to live under the people", since Hong Jixun has no surrender to the Anfeng court, then, in his opinion, Zhu Yuanzhang will sooner or later become Deng She's opponent in the Central Plains. Therefore, he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of Zhu Yuanzhang's lack of time to clean up in western Zhejiang, and preemptively occupy this piece.

"The second disadvantage. There is a lot of water in the west of Zhejiang, and our army is mostly from the north, so it is rash to go south, and I am afraid that the battle will be unfavorable. This brings us to the question of warfare. Yes, most of the elite and main forces in our Haidong Army are northerners, and they are used to fighting on the broad plains, so they may not adapt to the terrain of western Zhejiang. However, the minister would like to ask the lord again, how did we defeat South Korea? ”

On the Korean Peninsula, there are many mountains in the north and many rivers in the south. There are also many water systems in the south.

Hong Jixun This is a question, and without waiting for Deng She to answer, he said with a self-question: "The minister believes that 'things are done by people'!" With the experience of conquering South Korea, and there are also many South Koreans in our army, such as Qing Qianxing and others, and there are more men who know how to water among the sailors, can a little bit of rivers and lakes in western Zhejiang block our way south? ”

"The third disadvantage is Wu Guogong. We don't understand his mind, and we don't know if he will put obstacles in our way. Even, after we defeat Zhexi, will he be the enemy of our Haidong? We have no way of judging any of this. However, from the perspective of Yichen, it is not important. ”

"Not important?"

"Wu Guogong is now stationed in Henan and sent the main force to Henan. At least on the surface, he does seem to have an interest in Henan. If his interest is true, then next, he will have to face two strong enemies, Chen Youliang and Chakhan Timur. A Chen Youliang can still be a soldier under the city of Jinling, forcing him to almost escape from the city, plus a Chakhan Timur who is especially three points better than Chen Youliang? Not to mention that our army will go to the west of Zhejiang, even if our army really goes to the south of the Yangtze River, I'm afraid he can't do anything, only in vain! ”

"Not bad. However, what if Wu Guogong didn't have much interest in Henan? ”

"If Wu Guogong takes Henan, he will dig his own grave; And if he doesn't take Henan, it doesn't matter. With Chen Youliang's threat, he will definitely not dare to turn his face with the lord! At most, give him some territory. If you can't monopolize it, you will share it equally. Isn't that great? ”

The gentleman continued.

"Besides, we don't know Wu Guogong's thoughts. Perhaps, out of temporary helplessness, he agreed to divide Zhejiang and West with our Haidong equally, but sooner or later, our army will have a decisive battle with Chahan, and when that time comes, will he stab us in the back? In Yichen's view, this question is even more absurd and not worth discussing. ”

Deng She and Ju Sheng both nodded yes.

Just like Hong Jixun's analysis, Zhu Yuanzhang will take western Zhejiang sooner or later. If Haidong doesn't go south, then Zhexi is even more in his bag.

Hong Jixun got up, saluted, and said, "That's how the minister's policy is. It is up to the Lord to decide what to do. ”

Deng She thought for a long time, didn't answer first, and said: "Mr. just said that one of you considered the Shanzhou War, and the other considered Liaoxi and Dizhou. Recuperation and recuperation in Huaisi and western Zhejiang, these are all things that can only be done after the war in Shanzhou. As for Liaoxi and Dizhou, what is the gentleman's concern? ”

"Just like what the minister analyzed before the meal, on the side of Liaoxi and Dizhou, most of the attacks are categorically undesirable. Therefore, the minister thought that after the end of the Shanzhou war, the two groups of men and horses could supplement the strength of the south, and secondly, they only needed to be stationed on the spot, and they should definitely not advance half a step to Dadu, so as not to stimulate the Yuan court, but would mess up the plan of our army to go south. ”

"You mean to say that going south is the main thing, supplemented by Liaoxi and Dizhou, right?"

"That's exactly what it means."

Going south to Huaisi and western Zhejiang, this is a big event. One wrong step, Haidong will surely fall into a catastrophe from which it will never recover. Dunshe walked around the hall several times, unable to decide. Hong Jixun and Ju Sheng both looked at him dumbfounded, Hong Jixun couldn't help it, and urged: "That's all the minister's words." What does the lord mean? ”

"This is not a trivial matter, and let me think twice."

Deng She raised his head, looked outside the hall, and saw that unconsciously, the sky was already bright, and he thought about it again, and said: "......, let's do it, it's almost time for the court meeting, and this matter will be placed at the court meeting this morning, and let the ministers discuss it." One person counts short, two people count long. What are the advantages and disadvantages, we can discuss it again. ”

"My lord! There are many people in the world who 'make things happen because of people'! The real military affairs have always been discussed by two or three people, and they can be decided with a single word, so why do you need more people? Hong Jixun thinks very highly of himself and can't change it.

"Haha. Anyway, the war in Shanzhou is not over yet, so there is no need to worry. Moreover, even if you go south, it is impossible to go down to western Zhejiang all at once, and there is a Huaisi in the middle. Right? Sir, don't be impatient. "Deng She's attitude is actually good, and it involves major matters related to Haidong's future, and it should be taken seriously.

"Well, what the lord said is very reasonable. It is up to the lord. ”

Hong Jixun is in a hurry, and Deng She is old-fashioned. There was still half an hour before the convening of the court meeting, but they didn't know that Zhu Yuanzhang had already made the decision to take Xuzhou in the north, and Chang Yuchun was ready to go.

The drizzle was hazy and the breeze was cool. In the courtyard outside the hall, the flowers are red and the leaves are green.