"An envoy of the Ming Dynasty?"

In the "Imperial Palace" of Shenglong Mansion, the eastern capital of Annan, Hu Jichen, Hu Hancang, father and son, an emperor of Dayu and an emperor of Dayu looked at each other.

This is about to start a war, why did Daming send an envoy here?

But no matter what the intention is, it is still necessary to meet each other.

"The envoy of the Xuanming Dynasty come in." Hu Jichen said.

A moment later, two men dressed in Ming official uniforms were ushered into the "Imperial Palace".

Seeing that Li Zhigang had stepped down and had no future in the Ministry of Rites, he offered to send an envoy to Annan.

And this kind of pre-war envoy is the price.

As long as the head is not cut off by the Annanes, there will definitely be a promotion in the future.

After seeing these two men, the Hu father and son were slightly stunned.

It's just that the two men in front of them are a little different from the messengers of the Great Ming that they are familiar with.

One is tall and thin, the other is short and fat, the two are completely two extremes, and the expression does not seem to have the feeling of being high and high as the previous Ming envoy, but is a little careless.

"You are the envoys of the Ming Dynasty?" After seeing the other party's official robe, Hu Jichen asked.

Previously, Zhu Quanquan and Zhang discussed the issue of each other's titles, but now Da Ming does not recognize their "throne", and only thinks that they are traitors who seek to usurp the throne, but it is not good to say it in front of others, so they simply avoid talking about it.

"Yes, we are the messengers who came to deliver the decree this time." Zhu persuaded replied.

Although I am confused, I still have to give the face that should be given.

"The two of you have come from afar, you have worked hard, please take a seat."

"Thank you."

After Zhu Quanhe and Zhang sat down, Hu Jichen asked with a smile: "Dare to ask the two of you why you came this time?" Could it be that Da Ming wants to shake hands with my Da Yu and make peace? ”

"Of course not."

Zhang did not hesitate to pout Hu Jichen, although they are afraid of death, but there are some at least things they still understand, that is, there is bullying between people, and there are also between countries, since they represent the Ming Dynasty, they can neither be too arrogant and let people cut off their heads, nor too weak but make people look down on them, and they must let go lightly on small issues, and never back down on key issues.

Today's dialogue is a key issue.

Zhu Quanhe has a red face and a black face, and at this time it is the turn of Zhu Quan, who sings with a red face.

Zhu Quanwei bowed slightly and said, "I came here by order, but there is actually only one thing."

Hearing this, Hu Hancang frowned and glanced at his father, and said, "Since this is the case, then let's listen to it first." ”

The two of them automatically ignored the self-proclaimed "I", and next, Zhang took out the holy decree given to him by Emperor Yongle and read it to the two.

"Fengtian carried the emperor's edict and said: Now the political envoy of Guangxi is coming, and Annan sent people to pay tribute to apologize, the original Hu Jichen father and son are intolerable, and now they have reformed themselves, and only he has 50,000 taels of gold and 100 elephants to atone for his sins."

"If the gold and elephants are insufficient, they will be replaced by pearl and jade treasures, so that the number will be sufficient, and the army will not enter; If the tribute is not as good as the number, the army will march to the heavens, although there is no time to regret it. ”

"The Ministry of Rites will do the paperwork, and send someone to tell him that he knows, and he will know this."

Hu Jichen and his son are very clear about the rules of the Central Plains Dynasty, and the "edict" is for the people of the world; "System said" is given to hundreds of officials, usually with the meaning of grace; "Edict" is used to reward and punish, usually with the meaning of admonition and warning.

And judging from the full text, or the last sentence, this holy decree is obviously transcribed by Zhu Di's dictation, which is full of carelessness, not like an official national letter.

Hu Jichen's father and son exchanged glances, obviously, they all thought that this was the Ming Dynasty's plan to delay the army, and it was a rather clumsy plan to delay the army, not at all, just to buy time for the preparations for launching a full-scale general offensive.

In fact, this is indeed the case, and Zhu Di's holy decree to Li Jinglong is also clear.

"Today, from Er's strategy, send the envoy Zhu Quan, Zhang with the Ministry of Rites, to Annan to ask for gold, elephants, Er's plan is very good, cover to relax his ambition, not the real intention, Zhu Quan, etc., I will tell him, the two of them already know Er's intentions."

"Therefore, he was ordered to stay in the Bisheng Long Mansion only for five days, and if the measures were insufficient within five days, he would be allowed to pay as much as he wanted, and then he would send someone to pay enough. After Zhu persuaded and others to enter the country, the army then also entered, and if he met a person who was a cashier of the golden elephant, he would be executed, and he should not be sent to be executed. ”

In the end, Zhu Di also intimately warned Li Jinglong to pay attention to secrecy, "Today, Zhu persuaded you to wait for you, and the opportunity must not be known, for fear that the soldiers will be slack when they hear this, and they must be cautious." The ancients said: If the matter is not secret, it will be harmful, and you should be cautious."

Look, this is not at ease with Li Jinglong, although it is Li Jinglong's strategy, although Zhu Di also feels that Li Jinglong has played a wonderful chess, which is far from being as simple as it seems.

However, Zhu Di still gave the support he should have given, not only escorted Chen Tianping, the king of Annan, but also transported Liu Sheng's artillery troops and the Flying Eagle Guard hot air balloon troops, and finally transferred Xu Yingxu to him as a staff officer.

Back in the present, the reactions of the Hu father and son were very different.

"Huh! It's ridiculous, it's unreasonable! ”

When he heard the end, Hu Hancang couldn't help but stand up and scolded angrily.

Hu Jichen was also very annoyed, but he maintained a calm attitude.

Although there is no way now, the two countries are already tense, and there is no turning back, even if they surrender to the gold and elephants, there is a high probability that the Ming will not stop.

"Wise people don't speak secret words."

Zhang said ruthlessly: "Since you don't accept it, then you must also know that now my Ming army has gathered in Guangxi and Yunnan, and it can break through your peripheral positions in the north of the Fuliang River at any time, and it is about to attack the city." ”

"Therefore, I advise the two of you to accept the conditions as soon as possible! Don't make a mistake! ”

Zhu persuaded and said: "Yes, we have an ancient saying in China, which is called breaking wealth and avoiding disasters, and the problem that can be solved with money is why it has to be caused by fighting and bleeding thousands of miles?" ”

Well, these two guys really have the wrong name.

Here is an additional mention, the siege of the city, the attack is on the city of Duobang.

And the location of the city of Duobang has a relatively well-known name in later generations - Lang Son!

Anyone who knows a little about the history of the two countries knows what an important place this place must be fought for, and it can be said that as long as you take the commanding heights of Lang Son, you will have an unobstructed view along the Phu Liang River, and you can shoot wherever you want with artillery mounts on it.

And just like the significance of Hengshan to the Champa country, Lang Son is also the natural geographical demarcation line of Annam, north of Lang Son, is a mountainous area with undulating mountains and dense jungles; To the south of Lang Son, is a plain with rice fields and a dense water network, between Daming and Annam, the main official road is from here, you can go straight to the eastern capital of Thang Long Mansion, Zhu Quanhe and Zhang are along this road. Lang Son is not only a transportation hub, but also the barrier gateway of Thang Long Province, once the multi-state city on Lang Son is conquered, it means that Annam basically has no chance of turning around.

On the contrary, if Duobang City can be nailed there like the Diaoyu City in the Southern Song Dynasty, then the entire defense line of the Fuliang River will be as stable as Mount Tai!

Of course, the Hu father and son were very aware of the importance of Lang Mountain, so they ordered the army of Annam to build a lot of fortresses here, in addition to transferring all the sailors of Annam to help in the war, they also relied on the Fuliang River and Taojiang and other moats to build large sections of the city wall, and deployed almost all the elite troops of Annam.

In addition, the old man's guns left over from the Yuan Dynasty's conquest of Annan and the Champa era were also activated, and a large number of bed crossbows were also arranged on the defense line, and all the arrows were deliberately smeared with poison.

More than 100,000 troops, more than 200,000 auxiliary soldiers, and people, Annan can be said to have built this Fuliangjiang defense line with the strength of the country, and the Hu father and son have enough confidence to think that the Ming army will definitely kowtow on this defense line and break the bloodshed!

Seeing the expressions of the two, Zhang smiled indifferently: "What, is it really difficult for the two of you to resist stubbornly?" ”

"Although you have more than 100,000 heavy troops in your hands and occupy the favorable terrain of the Fuliang River, with your little military strength, you can't stop the footsteps of my Ming Dynasty's 800,000 heroes."

"What's more, even if you can hold it for a while, my Ming Dynasty will send millions of reinforcements to help in the war, do you think you can hold it for a lifetime?"

Of course, the Hu father and son don't know how many troops the Ming army has dispatched, although they are not easy to scare, but they also know that in the Battle of Jingjing, there are often hundreds of thousands of people in the general battle, saying that 800,000 may not be so much, but it is really a lot to make a discount, the Ming army really wants to use human lives to pile up, and the Fuliang River is dyed red, and it is impossible to say that it is really fought.

However, Hu Hancang still took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "This land is the place where my ancestors have grown up, and it is absolutely impossible for me to abandon the enemy. ”

"You go, even if you die here, I won't agree to your terms!"

Hearing this, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing a playful expression.

"It seems that you have a deep affection for this land, and it has become your own home."

"Smack!"

Hu Jichen clapped his palms abruptly.

Zhu Quan and Zhang were still puzzled, and they didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in each other's gourds.

At the moment when they had just taken a step, they saw a group of guards rushing in from outside, surrounding Zhu Quan's and Zhang Tuantuan.

Looking at the scene in front of them, they finally understood Hu Jichen's purpose.

"You dare to detain the messenger of the Ming Dynasty?" The smile on Zhu Quan's face disappeared and he stared at Hu Jichen.

Hu Jichen smiled slightly, and said indifferently: "It's a joke, just invite the two of you to be guests for a while." ”

Zhu Quanhe Zhang's face changed slightly, this was clearly trying to take them as hostages!

"Heavenly soldiers have turned into powder!" Zhang said resentfully.

"Huh."

Hu Jichen is a minimalist version of Sima Yi's general character, who has planned for a lifetime to usurp the throne before he is old, and he is very thick-skinned, and he doesn't mind the other party's curse at all, but smiles: "Actually, you don't have to worry too much, as long as you surrender to me, high-ranking officials are at your fingertips, in addition, it will also let you have the status of a nobleman, let you enjoy the best treatment, and give land and wealth!" ”

"What the Emperor said is right, I am a benevolent and loving monarch, and I will not treat a loyal Hanchen like you badly." Hu Hancang also swore and said.

"Haha...... What a benevolent and loving gentleman. Zhang Yangtian roared, as if he was crazy.

After a long time, he suppressed his smile and stared at the Hu father and son: "You are worthy of being able to do things to plot the usurpation of the throne, and you actually want to use this kind of lie to trick me into surrendering!" But my family has been loyal to the Ming Dynasty for generations, and I would rather die standing than live on my knees! ”

Seeing Zhang's resolute attitude, Hu Jichen sighed helplessly.

Then, he slowly raised his palm, and the guards on both sides immediately drew their knives and aimed them at the necks of the messengers.

Hu Jichen said indifferently: "You are smart people, you should know how to choose." ”

And Zhu Quanhe and Zhang were silent.

In the next moment, the two of them went black and fainted.

——————

Hu Jichen sat in the pavilion of the "Imperial Garden" and rested with tea.

Not long after, three Annan people who looked like civil officials walked in, and it was Sanjiang who pacified Chen Gongsu, sentenced Mei Xiufu, and sentenced Jiang Bin.

"I still have to work hard to go to Guangxi."

Hu Jichen said with a smile, while looking at Chen Gongsu's expression.

Chen Gongsu is a relative of the Chen Dynasty, and has always been close to Hu Jichen in the past, although he slaughtered all the Annan clans, but he did not kill Chen Gongsu, but it does not mean that Hu Jichen is at ease with Chen Gongsu, in fact, he has always been wary of him.

Sometimes, for wars between countries, the messenger can be equivalent to a pretext for war.

And this time, Hu Jichen plans to use Chen Gongsu as a consumable.

This is the same reason as Zhu Di did not send any important officials to be envoys.

"It is within the duty of the ministers to contribute to the country!"

Chen Gongsu bowed slightly and saluted: "It's just that the minister has a request." ”

When Hu Jichen heard Chen Gongsu say this, he chuckled in his heart and said, "But it doesn't hurt to say it." ”

Chen Gongsu said: "The minister wants to take fifty people and go to Guangxi together." ”

Hu Jichen's brows furrowed after hearing this, and he pondered for a moment before agreeing: "It's no problem." ”

He knew that he couldn't refuse this request, after all, now that the two armies were about to fight, Chen Gongsu, as the pacification envoy of Sanjiang, held heavy power, and he wanted to lead troops to protect himself, and no one could say anything.

The other two didn't have much right to speak, they were just used to make up the numbers for the mission, and when they saw that Chen Gongsu agreed, they didn't say anything more.

Chen Gongsu arched his hand and stepped aside.

Hu Jichen immediately ordered the guards to bring up the prepared gold, silver and jewelry.

These things are all the stocks accumulated by the Annan Chen Dynasty in the past few decades, and all of them have been taken.

"The Ming Emperor asked for gold and silver treasures, and in addition, there are a hundred elephants, you all send them over, I hope to stop the army and make a truce."

"In addition, the envoy of the Ming Dynasty is a little unaccustomed to the soil and water in the Shenglong Mansion, and now it is really difficult to act when he is sick, so you can tell the Ming when the time comes."

Hu Jichen waved his hand and signaled that everyone could leave.

Hu Jichen said: "When you come back, we will set up a banquet for wine, so that you can entertain all the meritorious ministers." ”

"Emperor Xie!"

Chen Gongsu and the others bowed their hands and left.

Looking at the backs of everyone in the distance, Hu Jichen sighed and muttered: "I really hope that these people can die in Daming!" ”

He picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said softly, "Someone." ”

"The subordinates are here." A resounding answer came from outside the door.

"You take five hundred goshawk sharps to escort Chen Gongsu into the Ming Dynasty, remember, once Chen Gongsu and the others make small moves, they will be killed!" Hu Jichen ordered.

"Yes."

These goshawk warriors are the dead soldiers he has cultivated, and many of them are spies who are good at secretly spying on information.

Diplomacy is the last dance before the war.

And the Ming Dynasty used a clumsy delaying tactic to try to paralyze Hu Jichen, but was recognized by Hu Jichen, although he detained the messenger of the Ming Dynasty, but did not kill him, but found a reason for "not adapting to the soil and water", and at the same time meeting the conditions of the Ming Dynasty, he also sent a mission.

If the Ming Dynasty put Hu Jichen's mission back, then the Goshawk Ruishi must have spied on the intelligence of the Ming army along the way; If Da Ming detained the mission or killed the sacrificial flag, Hu Jichen would have no loss, Chen Gongsu would have looked unpleasant to him, and those goshawk sharps were even more complete consumables in his eyes.

Win-win, no matter how you win, Qin Shi Huang touched the wires and won the hemp!

But is that really the case?

"Why do we want to let Chen Gongsu go?" Hu Hancang came in at this time and asked puzzled.

Hu Jichen smiled, glanced at his son, and said: "Chen Gongsu's family, they have been courtiers of the Chen Dynasty for generations, although they have always supported us, but will they really be willing to work for us for the rest of their lives?" ”

"It's just that Chen Gongsu is a tricky person, I'm afraid he will play some tricks."

"So just let the goshawk follow him, so as not to make a mess, but if there is a little mistake, kill it."

Hu Hancang finally couldn't help it: "But knowing that the Ming Dynasty was going to do it, why did he empty the treasury to the Ming Dynasty?" ”

Seeing that his sons are all emperors, he is still so petty and worried about money, Hu Jichen is angry.

"Smack!"

Hu Jichen raised the crutches in his hand and shook him fiercely.

"Idiot! Do you think that your father and I can't see that the Ming Dynasty doesn't plan to withdraw from the army with money at all? The Ming Dynasty needs a delaying tactic to prepare, don't we? Pan Maxiu and their army to conquer the city in the south, doesn't it take time to withdraw? Retouching doesn't take time? Anyway, we are the defender, and it is impossible to rush to attack the Ming Dynasty, the territory of the Ming Dynasty is too vast, and there is no point in leaving the Fuliangjiang defense line to attack, it is better to also buy some time for the return and training of the army of the southern expedition and occupation of the city. ”

Hu Hancang was speechless for a moment, but he quickly said: "However, we will do whatever the Ming Dynasty says, it's really too cowardly!" ”

Hu Jichen shook his head, sighed and said: "This is the general trend, the Ming Dynasty is strong, our power is weak, what else can we do besides this method?" ”

But Hu Jichen immediately cheered up, he pressed his son's shoulder, looked into his eyes and said seriously.

"Remember, this is not a shame, those emperors of the Chen Dynasty used to be more arrogant than these envoys to our father and son? But who is sitting on the throne now? ”

"The one who has the last laugh is the real winner."

When Hu Hancang heard this, he quickly nodded yes.

——————

More than ten days later, Longzhou Mansion.

The mission of Annan has arrived, but Li Jinglong has no time to meet them at this time, he is planning his "small military operation" with Xu Yingxu and Liu Sheng.

"Why do you want to ask for gold and elephants from the Hu family? Do you really think that Da Ming lacks his gold and silver treasures? Wrong, this is what I suggested to Your Majesty, the important thing is not gold, but elephants! ”

"What does Cao Guogong mean?" Liu Sheng asked with a star.

Li Jinglong said with a smile: "Annan is known as a war elephant army as a trump card, just like the iron harrier is to the Western Xia, and the iron floating map is to the Jin country, and now our army's multi-fire artillery may have a miraculous effect on it, but there are too few elephants in Guangxi to verify, instead of transporting from Yunnan and Guizhou, it is better to let Annan send it to us, this is one of them." ”

"The second is to say, have you ever heard the story of 'Cao Chong called the elephant'?"

"Of course I've heard of it."

"When an elephant crosses the Fuliang River, it must not take the pontoon bridge, and if it goes, it will collapse, so it can only be transported by heavy ships, and our army has a hot air balloon and a telescope, so we only need to let the Flying Eagle Guard observe it once on the hot air balloon, and the number, distribution, and reaction speed of the enemy's sailors hiding in the water village are all known to our army."

In this way, Liu Shengfang was stunned.

In fact, Liu Sheng really only thought of the same layer as the Hu father and son, thinking that Da Ming was performing a "clumsy delaying strategy", but he didn't know that the gold and silver treasures they were distressed about were just an addition!

What Daming really needs is these 100 elephants!

And in addition, the action of sending a messenger has a third meaning.

"Then what exactly is Cao Guogong's plan?" Xu Yingxu pointed to Kanyutu.

Li Jinglong raised the letter in Yang's hand, which Zheng He sent back to Guangxi by sea by ship a while ago.

After Xu Yingxu and Liu Sheng circulated it, Xu Yingxu asked: "Do you want to land from the port of the Champa State as the eunuch of the Three Treasures said, and then attack Hengshan Pass, and attack the Annan Kingdom from the north and south?" ”

"Nope."

Li Jinglong shook his head, and the baton was directly on one point.

"This?"

Xu Yingxu and Liu Sheng were both a little surprised.

"Isn't that a little too bold?"

There is a reason for the surprise of the two, because the location that Li Jinglong pointed to is not somewhere else, it is the western capital of Annan, Thanh Hoa Mansion!

There are two capitals in Annam, the eastern capital of Thang Long Province is located in the core area of the Red River Plain, while the western capital of Thanh Hoa Province is located in the coastal zone and is also the largest city in Annam Province, with a large population and an extremely developed economy.

Of course, this also means that the local defenses are very strong, and it is difficult to force a landing from here.

But once successful, the results are immediate.

Not only is the capture of the enemy's western capital of great political significance, but also of great military significance, which is equivalent to directly cutting off the Annan country!

"Do you understand why we have to send an emissary to delay the time when we can attack now? It is because Zheng He's letter and Pan Maxiu's withdrawal time are synchronized, and we have to wait for Pan Maxiu, and wait for their troops, which may eventually become variables, to be transferred to the Fuliangjiang defense line in the north, so that the entire south is completely empty, and our army can be killed with one blow! ”

Next, Li Jinglong gave the two of them a detailed explanation of the amphibious landing tactics taught to him by Jiang Xinghuo.

"Our army is in the north, confronting the enemy on the front line of the Fuliang River, after the landing in Qinghua, the enemy will inevitably panic when the enemy is on the back, no matter whether the Hu father and son transfer the army back, they can thunder and concentrate heavy artillery fire to cover the crossing of the river, so as to completely break through this moat, and the two combined, Annam will be defeated, and our army will win!"

At this moment, suddenly a family general Cao Adai came to report.

"Grandpa Guo, a servant of the Annan delegation secretly came to ask for a meeting, saying that his master entrusted him to have an important military report."

Li Jinglong, Xu Yingxu, and Liu Sheng were all stunned.

What does that mean?

Jiang Gan steals books or Xu Yu runs at night?

(End of chapter)