Seeing that his intention had been achieved, Dao Yan slowly stood up, said with a smile: "The rules are all set by people, and the so-called "do not break or stand, I hope Your Highness will consider it in detail and take precautions as soon as possible." After saying that, he titheed his hands together, turned and floated away.

Slowly the stream passed quietly under the small bridge, Zhu Quan stood in front of the pavilion, saw a yellow leaf fluttering from the treetops falling, swaying left and right on the stream and drifting away, like a small boat, suddenly recalled that it was not far from the Mid-Autumn Festival at this time, and recalled Xu Ying, Feng Xuan and a pair of children who were far away in the Daning Palace, and secretly thought: When leaving Daning, Hanmin was still in infancy, if we met at this time, I am afraid that my son will not be able to remember the existence of me as a father in the world. Thinking of this, a feeling of melancholy mixed with sadness quietly surged up from my heart and lingered.

"Old Seventeen, Sheng Yongdang will not come to the army in the middle of winter like Li Jiujiang's child, why don't you go back to Daning to comfort the hearts of your younger brothers and sisters." Zhu Di said with a chuckle.

Zhu Quan was silent for a long time when he heard this, and slowly shook his head and said: "His Majesty the Emperor is determined to kill us all, although this battle is in the same room, the two of us are not willing to sit still and wait to be killed, so we can only survive in the death and fight to the end." It's better to wait for us to lay down the Jingshi, the fourth brother, you will reign in the world, and the younger brother will pick them up and turn back to Yingtian. He recalled that he had gone through several battles in Beiping, Baigouhe, Jinan, Dongchang, and Jiahe, and he didn't know how many people he had killed when the two armies were fighting. Maybe it's because I've done too many terrible things, or maybe I'm afraid that once I turn back to Daning, I will change my mind, and I don't want to follow Zhu Laosi to rebel. This central sentiment is constantly cut, rational and chaotic, and it is difficult to understand between the disturbances. ”“

Zhu Di heard Zhu Quan's words of "fighting in the same room", and it was obvious that he was tired of fighting in his heart, and he couldn't help but be shocked in his heart, and secretly thought to himself: Imagine that this battle is related to the life and death of me and his family, but the old seventeen words are war-weary, if those Yan soldiers and generals under my command are fighting with the imperial army for many years, I am afraid that the military heart is really as worried about the teacher. Thinking like this in his heart, he couldn't help but change the topic and asked, "Based on what the virtuous brother has seen, what is the plan of Master Dao Yan?" ”

Zhu Quan pondered for a moment and said, "Although there are thousands of risks, it is a quick solution. ”

In the first month of the fourth year of Jianwen, outside the city of Beiping, Zhu Di looked at the flow of soldiers and soldiers winding south under the wilderness, and he couldn't help but be full of pride in his chest, facing the cold wind in his face, he seemed to have a flame burning in his heart, and secretly gritted his teeth and said: There is no return to this battle, either the king of the world, or the halberd sinks into the sand.

When Zhu Quan instigated the "dark clouds to cover the snow" forward, he looked back at the towering Beiping City Tower, and couldn't help but sigh lightly: "The fish is dead and the net is broken, and there is a battle here." Regardless of victory or defeat, it is better to end this battle as soon as possible.

A few days later, in the camp of the southern army of Zhending Prefecture. Licheng waited, Pingyan general Sheng Yong had been continuously reported by the scouts responsible for exploring the movements of the Yan army, Yan rebelled against Zhu Di, and Zhu Quan led an army of more than 100,000 to the south, and had already crossed the boundary of Hejian Province.

Sheng Yong walked out of the tent slowly, only to feel that there was still a biting chill in the north wind blowing in his face, and his mood couldn't help but be very heavy. Thinking that it was unwise to fight with Zhu Di's army in such a season that had not yet warmed up, Sheng Yong muttered for a moment and then issued a deep order to several Chinese army Simas on his side, asking them to rush to Dezhou, Jinan to pass on their military orders, and let the leading generals strictly guard the city, and never rashly go out of the city to fight with the rebels, so as not to fall for Zhu Di's tricks. Since the fiasco of Jiahe last year, the imperial army in the south has more than enough troops to defend the city, but the decisive battle with Zhu Di is quite stretched. Therefore, Sheng Yong was determined to respond to all changes with the same change, and when the reinforcements sent by His Majesty the Emperor went north, the weather would no longer be favorable to the rebels, and he would use superior forces to fight a decisive battle with them.

More than ten days later, the Yan army crossed the Jiahe River and appeared near Texas. Zhu Di, the king of Yan, had already thought through his battle this time, and he had no interest in the city of Texas, which had changed hands several times, and ordered the army to speed up.

Sheng Yong, the governor of the southern army, did not panic at all after the news that the Yan army continued to move south, and he confidently judged that the reason why Zhu Di let go of Dezhou and did not attack was because the city was difficult to hold, and Yan was unwilling to lose troops here, and their target was obviously Jinan, the capital of Shandong. At present, Jinan is guarded by the political envoy Tie Xuan and 50,000 troops, and there is sufficient food, grass and ordnance, and there is no danger at all. It is better to wait for Zhu Di to meet his head under the city of Jinan again, and when his morale is sluggish, he will march to attack his way back.

Half a month later, the Dongchang defenders sent news that the Yan army had diverted to the south, avoided Jinan far away, and bypassed Dongchang after seizing a grain and grass of the southern army at the Guantao Canal and continued to go south.

With a rapid drum beating wafting through the barracks, the generals of the southern army camp outside Zhending City gathered towards the tent.

Sheng Yong saw the generals standing on both sides, and immediately stood up and said in a deep voice: "Yan Yi led the rebels all the way south, and they have already crossed the boundary of Dongchang, and it seems that they have the intention of invading Xuzhou. ”

When they heard the words of the coach Sheng Yong, they couldn't help but look at each other in shock, and they were silent when they were suspicious. After capturing a city with a critical terrain, stabilize it as a rear, and then make other plans. It is the right way to fight for countless famous generals for thousands of years, Zhu Di bypassed Dezhou, Jinan, Dongchang, turned the road and went directly south, and went deep into the heart of Shandong. All the generals in the army are experienced in battles, and they really can't see through Zhu Di's intention to go south like a suicide.

"This general ordered all the commanders to be safe, and immediately led all the horse troops south to pursue Yan Yi." Sheng Yong turned around and took an arrow from the handsome case and handed it to Ping'an, and passed the military order in a deep voice. After a little hesitation, he solemnly instructed: "Yan Shun completely ignores the back road, its intention is unknown, with this order, you can mobilize the soldiers and horses of the guard, you don't need to fight to the death with Yan Rebellion, just delay its march to attack the city, and wait for the commander to go all the way south and gather the army before the decisive battle." "It turned out that although there were 80,000 troops outside Zhending City at this time, there were only 30,000 cavalry under Ping'an's command, Sheng Yong and Zhu Di had won and lost several times in the past two years, and knew that this Yan Wang's old treacherous and cunning, and he did not want to advance against the enemy in peace, so he fell into Zhu Di's treacherous tricks during the pursuit.

Ping'an took the order arrow with both hands, bowed slightly and clasped his fists and said, "The last general will be ordered." He turned and walked away from the tent at a hurry.

Sheng Yong glanced at the generals with a pair of awe-inspiring eyes, and resolutely ordered: "Pack up today, and the army will go south with Ben Shuai to pursue Yan Yi early tomorrow morning." ”

After receiving the order, the generals turned around and returned to the camp.

Sheng Yong, who was strolling in the barracks, saw that countless soldiers and generals in the continuous barracks were busy, and recalled that Zhu Di led more than 100,000 Yan troops all the way south, and at this time he had already left himself far behind, but he did not panic at all. Because he knows that Zhu Di's army is a mixed cavalry foot, and the speed of the march is far from being comparable with the cavalry under the command of Ping'an, this time the Yan army seems to be rushing all the way, quite a dog jumping over the wall, but in fact it is already in a lonely deep danger, absolutely can no longer rely on the supply of grain and grass in the north, he only needs to gather a few roads of army to pursue all the way down, against the thief Zhu Di, Zhu Quan wants to flee back to the north after the defeat like he did, it is more difficult than ascending to the sky.

Looking up at the rather dim sky, Sheng Yong suddenly felt in his heart that this battle might be the last battle for the imperial court to quell the rebellion and sweep away Huanyu.

Within more than ten days, the southward Yan army was like a bamboo, successively conquering the four small cities of Dong'e, Wenshang, Zou County, and Pei County, and after taking all their grain and grass, they went straight to Xuzhou.

When the Yan army was still dozens of miles away, the Xuzhou garrison had to report that the rebels were attacking, and they were shocked and ordered the fast horses to turn around and report to the imperial court in the sky, while rectifying the tens of thousands of defenders in the city and waiting for them, ready to resist the Yan army's siege at any time.

After more than 100,000 Yan troops came to the city of Xuzhou, Zhu Di saw that the defenders were strictly guarding the city and did not fight, so he immediately ordered Zhu Neng to lead 10,000 soldiers and horses along the canal to search for the ships that transported grain to the north of the imperial court, and seize the grain and grass that had been sent to the imperial army along the canal north.

Zhu Quan sat on his horse, guided the fortified city on the bank of the Beida Canal with his right hand, and chuckled: "This place is surrounded by the Yellow Sea in the east, the Central Plains in the west, the Jianghuai River in the south, and Qilu in the north. Zhu Quan saw the location of Xuzhou, taking advantage of the geographical advantages of water transportation, and deeply realized the important strategic value of one of the nine states in China.

Zhu Di sat on the sweat and blood of the horse, and sighed: "Liu Bang's hometown, Xiang Yu's hometown, and the Xuzhou origin of the emperor of the Nine Dynasties, it is no wonder that the soldiers must fight for it." ”

At dusk, in the tent of the Yan army's battalion, although Zhu Di's face was as usual, his mood was extremely heavy. He knew that at this time, although he and his Yan army had not encountered a large number of enemy troops along the way, they were already thousands of miles away from the north, and there was no turning back when they opened their bows, and they had lost all their way back. Is Sheng Yong an easy person? It is estimated that at this time, he has led the army to pursue, even though the main force of the southern army is all foot soldiers, and it is difficult to arrive in a short time under the long distance, and the cavalry under the command of Pifu Ping'an is estimated to follow within a few days.

Zhu Quan knew that the current situation was sinister and abnormal, and his eyes swept over the generals in the tent who were all Zhu Di's confidants, and immediately turned his head to Zhu Di and said: "Fourth brother, you can't stay here for a long time, we will wait for the golden cicada to come out of its shell and go south quickly." ”

Zhu Di's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he asked in a deep voice, "What is the wisdom of the virtuous brother?" After listening to Zhu Quan's whispering, he couldn't help frowning and asked, "Who should be the general, so it's better to set up suspicious soldiers?" It turned out that Zhu Quan's strategy was to leave behind the more than 10,000 soldiers captured after capturing the four small cities of Dong'e, Wenshang, Zou County, and Pei County, together with the old and weak in the army, and build siege equipment such as ladders with great fanfare, so as to make a posture that he was about to storm Xuzhou. The main force of the army hurriedly moved south, so as not to be surrounded by the pursuing soldiers under Sheng Yong and the imperial court soldiers and horses from all directions, and become a situation of being attacked on all sides. Although Zhu Quan's plan is wonderful, although there are many generals and colonels in the army, there are more than ten people in the account who are relied on by Zhu Di as henchmen, if they do not leave trustworthy people to set up doubts, they are afraid that as soon as they lead the main force of the army to leave, the people who lead the army will rush into the city to submit to the imperial court, will not make themselves self-defeating and lose their troops?

Zhu Quan stood up and said awe-inspiringly: "The little brother is not talented, and he is willing to lead the troops and horses to break off." ”

Zhu Di frowned and muttered for a while, and immediately passed down the military order, asking the generals to return to the camp to reorganize their troops and horses, and act according to the plan.

Before dawn on the second day, before the mist had cleared, groups of Yan soldiers rushed out of the camp and lit piles of firewood and grass in the wilderness. The smoke drifted away, permeating a radius of more than ten miles, and a group of Yan sergeants in the barracks rushed out, and under the cover of the smoke, they went all the way south towards Suzhou.

Zhu Quan asked Jing Jun and Sima Chao to divide the 2,000 cavalry left by Zhu Di into dozens of teams and scattered them outside the city gates of Xuzhou to prevent enemy scouts from going out of the city to investigate. He and Zheng He led more than 20,000 soldiers and the old and weak to clean up the ruts and horseshoe prints left by the army when they left in the wilderness.

On the tower of the Xuzhou city gate, the imperial court general in charge of guarding the town saw that there was a smoke outside the city, and there was a faint noise of people and horses, thinking that the rebels were strong and did not want to go out of the city to make a danger so as to give the enemy an opportunity to attack the city, and immediately ordered the city defenders to strictly guard the city gates and city walls everywhere, so as to respond to all changes unchanged.

Within a day, the two armies inside and outside the city were safe. In the afternoon of the second day, Zhu Quan had to scout to report that after the cavalry of the Southern Army appeared dozens of miles away in the north, he immediately put on armor and bundled up, and summoned a group of Yan cavalry thousands and hundreds of households to the tent and ordered: "Although the enemy army is numerous, it is rushing all the way, and the soldiers are tired and old and difficult to defeat the army that I am waiting for work.

A group of thousands of households, more than 100 households followed King Yan in the past, and King Ning defeated Li Jinglong's hundreds of thousands of troops under Beiping City.

Thousands of troops and horses roared forward, and the first one was tall, with tiger eyes and beard, and a spear in his hand, and he was the commander of the southern army.

Zhu Quan immediately outside the camp, seeing the surging Southern Army pursuers, his scalp couldn't help but tingle slightly. Thinking of peace, although he is brave and good at fighting, he is not a reckless and incompetent person, if he does not pretend to be fierce and inward-looking, he is afraid that it will be difficult to deceive the opponent, so he immediately gritted his teeth and rode forward.

The "dark clouds covered the snow" was galloping, and a group of Yan cavalry saw that King Ning was so fierce and fearless of death, and immediately clamored to gallop on their horses, following Zhu Quan's military banner towards the southern army a few miles away.