The gap between attack and defense was very large, and if he wanted to attack, Zhu Gaoxu had to consider how to transport all the 300,000 troops plus heavy artillery, grain, and grass forward, and when the waterway could not be taken, it would be difficult for his hundreds of artillery pieces and heavy trebuchets to reach the designated position quickly and effectively.

If you defend it, it will save a lot of trouble, but it is difficult to deal a heavy blow to the officers and soldiers in a war.

At this time, Liu Yong, the prefect of Jingzhou and the political envoy of Huguang (the father of the princess of Liao), said: "After the Chibi Mountain on the east side of Jiayu County passed, there was a section that was relatively narrow, and if Zhu Neng sank the ship again, it would take a long time to clean it up. ”

Qian Xun also said, only here now, it is estimated that it will take about a month to clean up.

In this way, it seems that the waterway is impassable, and there is no need to go.

But if the 300,000 army is approaching Wuchang, plus the heavy grain and grass, as well as his artillery and gunpowder, it is a problem, and a large number of people need to be mobilized.

Although Zhu Gaoxu raised troops from Yunnan, the army has always carried tens of thousands of Tusi auxiliaries who followed after the army.

But compared with the 300,000 army and Zhu Gaoxu's baggage, these auxiliaries are obviously not enough.

Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu needed to assess how many people he had to bring, how many horses, mules and carts he needed to get to Wuchang.

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while: "I'll talk about it when Song Meng comes back." ”

The officials and soldiers blocked the waterway before leaving, not necessarily because they didn't want to ask the rebels to go over, but it may also be a trick to lure them to do so on purpose, leading Zhu Gaoxu to hurry to Wuchang.

Why should I fight Wuchang?

Zhu Gaoxu knew that the waterways from Yuezhou to Wuchang were intertwined, and if there were no sailors and ships, it would be quite inconvenient to move, and it would be impossible to bring a large number of artillery, baggage, and grain and grass.

Zhu Di gathered soldiers and horses from all over the country in Wuchang, and judging from his experience in Jingnan, Zhu Di was a person who liked to take the initiative to attack.

I don't have to fight Wuchang.

After thinking about it, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly waved his hand: "Don't clean up the river for the time being." ”

“。。” Zhu Wenwu was dumbfounded.

How can Hanwang never play his cards according to common sense?

Is Zhu Gaoxu in a hurry to take Huguang? Of course it's in a hurry.

But is Zhu Di anxious to win the battle? Of course, it's more urgent.

The official army has been in the army for almost a year, and the official army has not won a single battle, will Zhu Di be in a hurry?

After he gathered a million soldiers and horses, it was Zhu Di who had to consider how to attack Changsha, Yuezhou and Jingzhou and recapture Huguang.

How many people to bring, how many boats to take, how many sailors and foot riders to need, this is Zhu Di's headache.

Why am I in a hurry?

If Zhu Di really gathers a million soldiers and horses, it will be a huge consumption to sit still every day.

So Zhu Gaoxu is not in a hurry now.

He has no food to confiscate the vassal king, will Zhu Di do this? No.

He can collect the field tax of the vassal king and the field tax of the official field next year, will Zhu Di be? No.

So if you really go on, Zhu Gaoxu's food will be more and more, and Zhu Di will be more and more insufficient.

He gathered a million troops to fight, who will go to those military fields? It was too late for the military amateurs and their families.

During the Yongle period, the tax of Juntun accounted for more than 50 percent of the national tax.

Therefore, Zhu Di gathered soldiers and horses from all over the country to fight Zhu Gaoxu, and he must be more anxious than Zhu Gaochu to divide the victory and defeat.

At that moment, Zhu Gaoxu ordered to stick to the spot, first look at the movements of the officers and troops, and then make a decision.

He thought carefully about Zhu Di's style of play in Jingjing, and quickly determined the deployment of troops, with Sheng Jian and Qu Tao responsible for the defense of Changsha.

Jingzhou was guarded by He Ruhu with 30,000 soldiers and horses, and Zhu Gaoxu believed that with the firearms and experience of the rebel army, it would be useless for the 200,000 officers and troops to attack.

Yuezhou Baling was 20,000 soldiers and horses brought by Zhao Gui from Guizhou, and Zhu Gaoxu gave him another 10,000, which was also 30,000 to guard.

Zhao Gui's training was very powerful, and he was the only one who trapped Zhu Gaochu in the Jing Disaster, if it wasn't for Zhao Gui to release the water, Zhu Gaochu would have almost fallen into the Jing Disaster.

Changde was garrisoned by Zhou Hu with 30,000 soldiers and horses, so that Jingzhou and Baling were each other's horns, with a total of 100,000 troops in the three places.

Then he asked Zhou Tai to bring 10,000 soldiers and horses to garrison Yiling, and Yang Lei to bring 10,000 soldiers and horses to garrison Guizhou, to ensure the safety of the water post road from Sichuan to this side, and Sichuan can also come over to support at any time in the future. He also ordered Wang Xingguo (Gu Cheng's son Gu Xingguo) to lead an army of 20,000 troops to garrison Hengzhou, and even recruited young people from all over the country to help.

So far, Zhu Gaoxu has 140,000 soldiers and horses in his hands, and there are more than 160,000 in Changsha.

Zhu Gaoxu brought out more than 100 artillery pieces from Yunnan that could still be used, and recently he worked overtime to build artillery factories in Changsha and Changde, concentrating craftsmen and materials from several provinces to build artillery, with a monthly output of 20 or 30 guns.

Now he has a total of more than 300 self-made cannons, as well as more than 20 Hongwu cannons built by the Ming court.

It can be said that as long as it drags on, every month that passes, Zhu Gaoxu will have at least more than 20 more cannons.

Judging from the map, from Guizhou--Yiling-Jingzhou-Yuezhou-Changsha-Hengzhou, a line divides the entire lake into two halves, and Zhu Gaoxu's half is still relatively large, and his 300,000 soldiers and horses are all within this range, and the distance is not far.

The rest of the places like Yongzhou, Wugang and other places have sergeants stationed in Tuntian, where the original guard station is stationed, to ensure the orderly operation of Huguang Zhu Gaoxu's side.

On the front line of Huguang, Zhu Gaoxu is solid and everything is ready, first look at Zhu Di's movements and then make a decision on the offensive and defensive strategy.

——

Zhu Di is not out of Beijing yet.

The imperial court was successively concentrating troops and horses in Huguang, and until the fall of Jingzhou, the imperial court had 500,000 soldiers and horses near Huguang, and some were in Henan and Jiangxi, as a barrier to Wuchang.

Many soldiers and horses from the north and eastern Liaodong came, and Shanxi and Shandong were also big households.

The soldiers and horses of these provinces have been almost ninety percent drawn.

In early April, Zhu Di received a war report on the fall of Jingzhou.

In the past, every time the official army lost, Zhu Di was like thunder.

But he seemed to be used to it now, and was not as surprisingly angry as he used to be.

Because Yao Guangxiao often reminded him that he would not send troops when he was angry.

"Anger does not send troops." Zhu Di stood on the Fengtian Hall and said secretly.

At this time, there was a minister Xie Jin who was talking about the war report, Jingzhou City was broken, and Yan Neng was commanded to kill Zhu Zhi, and then he was executed, and the King of Han was heartbroken and fainted on the spot.

"Bastard, bastard - Xie Jin, you bastard, come on, take Xie Jin." Zhu Di, who had just said that he would not send troops, was furious and immediately ordered.

Outside, soldiers rushed up and directly dragged Xie Jin down.

Xie Jin is inexplicably wonderful, he just said according to the rumors outside.

The surrounding civil and military looked at Xie Jin like an idiot.

He did not speak, but let the soldiers drag him out of the main hall, and then he was thrown into prison.

Zhu Di immediately said: "The rebel son broke through Jingzhou and killed the clan uncle, the evidence is conclusive, the blood and bones are heavy, the rebel son is rebellious, and he has committed a great crime, and the people of the whole country can't bear it." ”

"I have decided, I will conquer the rebels in person."

"Long live Your Majesty, Your Majesty is wise." I don't know who immediately cheered, and then knelt down.

Then the temple of Fengtian was full of kneeling, and everyone shouted long live.

Zhu Di is finally leaving Beijing and letting the crown prince take charge of the country.

The civilians and warriors kneeling on the ground around were quietly looking at each other, and many of them seemed to have strange expressions and seemed to be more excited.

At the beginning of April of the fifth year of Yongle (1407), Zhu Di decided to leave Beijing, because the soldiers and horses accumulated on the Huguang line were almost in place.

There were more soldiers and horses gathered in Huguang this time than any time Jianwen was built during the Jingjing disaster.

Only ten guards remained in the Beijing division, and more than 50,000 Beijing camps.

The people who stayed in Beijing thought about it, and the civil officials used several Shangshu such as Lu Zhen, Xia Yuanji, and Song Li, plus Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong and other cabinet members to assist, and Yuan Hui and Yao Guangxiao continued to stay to assist the prince.

Among the military generals, Chen Qi, the Marquis of Taining, was the main general, and Zhao Yi, the Bo of Xincheng, and Tan Zhong, the Bo of Xinning, were the deputy generals.

Chen Qi also made a lot of contributions in the Jingjing, participated in many battles, and was listed as the fourth meritorious hero in the Jingjing after the success of the Jingnan.

He is not very famous in history, probably because he was covered up by Qiu Fu, Zhang Yu, and Zhu Neng, three of Zhu Di's henchmen.

After the success of Jingnan, Chen Qi stayed in Beiping, and was responsible for the construction of Beiping City and the construction of the imperial palace in the fourth year of Yongle.

At this time, Zhu Di transferred him back to be in charge of the guards of the Beijing Division, which shows the importance he attaches to him.

Xincheng Bo Zhao Yi and Xinning Bo Tan Zhong don't say much, they are all the old brothers of the Yanshan guards, and they are the heroes and heroes of Jingnan.

In addition, He Shou, Zhu Rong, Mao Cheng and other generals who were originally Daning were also the generals of the Jingnan Northern Army.

In order to prevent the opening of the Jinchuan Gate in the Jing Disaster, Zhu Di made sufficient preparations before leaving.

The city is sixty-one miles long, with a total of thirteen gates.

Except for the Ande Gate and the Jiangdong Gate, after he left Beijing, all the other gates were not allowed to pass through, and they were filled with large stones and blue bricks, because I heard that the rebel artillery was very powerful.

The inner city is all blocked except for Qingliang Gate and Zhengyang Gate, including Jinchuan Gate.

Never give the rebel a chance to enter through the Jinchuan Gate again.

At the same time, recruit young men around the Beijing division and mobilize the rest of the Beijing Guards.

On the day Zhu Di left Beijing, the ships at Longjiang Wharf covered the sky, the flags were like clouds, and the civil and military officials and the prince all went to the wharf to say goodbye.

Zhu Di put on his armor again, and he was full of spirit, and after many years, he once again felt the breath of the martyrdom.

I, Zhu Di, who is martyred, is back again?

After Zhu Di's boat left the dock, the prince and his party returned to the prince's mansion in the city.

Zhu Gaochi first called the three main generals, Chen Qi, Zhao Yi, Tan Zhong, as well as Yuan Hui and Yao Guangxiao, and laid out the map.

"How is the vicinity of Jingshi protected?" Zhu Gaochi is definitely far inferior to Zhu Gaochu in battle, but he is also a person who participated in the defensive battle of Beiping, and he can be regarded as a little bit of military affairs.

Chen Qi coordinated the defense of the vicinity of Zhili, and he was also quite serious and responsible.

He pointed to the map and explained them to the prince.

The imperial court planned to fight a decisive battle with the rebels in Huguang, and according to the routine of Jingnan, the two sides should have a tacit understanding to fight in Huguang.

Theoretically speaking, it was impossible for the imperial court soldiers and horses to enter Huguang, and Zhu Gaoxu led people around Jiangxi.

Neither the Central and Southern armies nor the Northern Army had done so.

Everyone has to destroy the main force of the other party, so the battle of Huguang is inevitable.

However, Zhu Gaoxu is not playing cards according to common sense, he is extremely treacherous, and the troops in his hands are far more than those in the hands of King Yan during the Jing Dynasty, and the territory he occupies is larger.

Therefore, on the front line of Zhejiang, Liu Rong still has nearly 100,000 soldiers and horses on the defense, and at present, he is still fighting against Li Yuan on the front line of Chuzhou and Wenzhou, and the soldiers and horses of Zhejiang are mainly to prevent Li Yuan and Xu An's Fujian soldiers and horses from entering Zhejiang by land.

In addition, in order to prevent the rebels from coming in by sea, in addition to Tongzhou (Tongzhou on the edge of the sea gate, not Tongzhou near Beiping), the imperial court has a small number of sailors to patrol every day, Zhenjiang side, has been from the Han soldiers to the present, more than a year, a large number of new forts have been built in a row, if the rebel sailors want to come in from Zhenjiang, they will inevitably suffer a heavy blow, and they will not be able to pass through at all.

Chen Qi said that in the past year or so, the imperial court has built more than 400 Hongwu cannons, and only on both sides of the Zhenjiang River, 200 have been arranged.

If necessary, the river can also be blocked with iron chains.

But now the Cao Yun in the south of the Yangtze River still has to pass through Zhenjiang, so it cannot be closed for the time being.

The possibility that the rebels wanted to enter Beijing by sea by sailor was almost none.

(End of chapter)