The farther north you go, the colder it gets.

The Northern Expeditionary Army had crossed the Shanhai Pass by November and arrived at Liaodong, the last military defense line of the Ming Dynasty in the northeast.

Zhu Yuanzhang once said: "In the east of the sea, Liao is the first frontier, and the middle summer is Ning, and Si must defend it." ”

Liaodong is a well-deserved military town, is the Ming Dynasty nine sides of the military town with the most soldiers, garrison hundreds of thousands, there are no people here, only the army, according to the defense system to establish a variety of military cities.

After the Northern Expeditionary Army left Shanhaiguan, it arrived in Liaodong to borrow a road and temporarily camped in Guangning Province.

Liu Rong, the general soldier of Liaodong in Guangning Mansion, Liaodong, hurriedly went out of the city to greet him, although he said that he would not send troops to follow King Qi to crusade against Jianzhou, but spiritual support could still be had.

The sergeants ate and drank well and recuperated in Guangning Mansion, while Zhu Gaoxian, British Duke Zhang Fu, Duke Cheng Guo Zhu Yong, and Liaodong General Liu Rong took stock of the military situation related to Jianzhou in Zhendong Hall.

Guangning is the highest military and political organ in the northeast region of the Ming Dynasty, and there is a Zhendong Hall in the city, which is the "meeting house" of the governor of Liaodong, the eunuch of Liaodong, and the chief military officer of Liaodong. It's just that now after Zhu Gaoxian arrived, the east hall of this town has become his temporary office location.

……

On the desk is the map of Jianzhou, the distribution of tribes, and the relevant information of the Jurchen tribes collected in Liaodong.

The Ming garrisoned hundreds of thousands of troops in Liaodong, and the enemies they targeted were always Mongols, not Jurchens. Before Li Chengliang stepped down, the Jurchen tribes had been kept as dogs by the Liaodong General Army, and implemented a strategy of continuous differentiation to let the Jurchens fight in the nest.

It's just that the Ming Dynasty didn't expect that later the tiger was raised, and Nurhachi completed the unification of Jianzhou in the short vacancy period after Li Chengliang stepped down, and then sent troops to defeat the Mongols, and the threat in the northeast continued to expand.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court was not angry, internal and external troubles, rebellions continued, and the military defense line of Liaodong became a bottomless pit, and a series of negative buffs were lost to the Ming Dynasty.

Liu Rong made a gesture on the map of Liaodong and said: "Lord Wang, according to the plan, you should lead your troops from Guangning, bypass Liaoze, and then enter Liaoyang, Shenyang, and Kaiyuan in Niuzhuang, and then march from Kaiyuan to Jianzhou......"

"You wait a minute." Zhu Gaoxian suddenly said, "Why can't I directly enter Kaiyuan from Guangning, so I have to go around in such a big circle?" I went directly from Quang Ninh to Kaiyuan, and the journey was only three days. But according to what you said, I had to walk more than 1,000 miles and detour most of the eastern part of Liaodong, which took more than 10 days to say the least. ”

"The prince doesn't know, you have to bypass Liaoze." Liu Rong said with a smile, "The Laoha River, the Xila Murong River, the Wuli Jimuren River and other upper source water systems of the Liaohe River flow to the wilderness of northeastern Liaoning, due to the flat and low-lying terrain, the flow rate slows down, the riverbed is silted, and the river is overflowing, forming a large area of rivers, lakes and swamps in this area, and there is Liaoze. There are many floods underground, from the post fort pier platform, there are very few residents, there is no smoke in all directions, but the reeds are Xiao Xiao'er. There are hundreds of miles of Liaoze, and if you want to rush from Guangning to Kaiyuan, you can only take a detour. ”

Zhu Gaoxian bowed slightly, of course he knew Liaoze, a typical swampy wetland environment.

Liaoze is not only not conducive to travel, but the wetlands are very suitable for breeding mosquitoes in summer, and it is difficult to cultivate, and in the Ming Dynasty, the Han people of Liaodong were reluctant to move here. The Ming Dynasty simply didn't want this area,

However, the Ming Dynasty blocked Liaoze to the north of the border wall, allowing the border wall of Liaodong to form a huge "V" shaped trend, which was a very serious mistake from a military point of view!

"General Liu, Liaoze only appears during the summer flood season every year. And from the late autumn, when the rainy season ends and the swamp dries up, the Liaoze shrinks and disappears. Zhu Gaoxian said slowly, "It's winter now, and Liaoze can be called a smooth road, do you think this king still needs to take a detour?" ”

Liu Rong's brain fell into a short circuit, because he suddenly found that he had no way to defend himself - what King Qi said was so reasonable!

This also made Liu Rong suddenly realize a problem, the reason why the Ming Dynasty abandoned Liaoze was because Liaoze was a natural defensive barrier, and the swamp was used to limit the Mongol cavalry.

Near the southern bottom line of the Liaoze side wall, there is a city called "Niuzhuang", which is not only an important seaport in Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty, but also the main road connecting Liaoyang to Kaiyuan in Liaodong and Guangning to Shanhaiguan in Liaoxi Province, which is the throat lock land.

Because the Ming army abandoned Liaoze, the eastern Liaodong region was almost divided into two. Kaiyuan, Liaoyang and Quang Ninh were unable to form support.

Now as King Qi said, except for the rainy season, Liaoze is actually a very wide plain, not to mention that there are no restrictions on cavalry, even infantry can travel freely......

It took such a big price to abandon Liaoze, and now you tell me that Liaoze actually has no restrictions on the Mongols?

Liu Rong hadn't thought about this problem before, and he also found that Liaoze seemed to have military strategic value, but he never dared to report it to Zhu Di.

Because, the person who made the decision to abandon Liaoze back then was Zhu Yuanzhang.

After Zhu Yuanzhang's death, "giving up the strategic deployment in Liaoze" has become the ancestral system, and no one dares to disobey the ancestral system.

But now a prince named "Zhu Gaoxian" suddenly broke into Liaodong and told the big guy: "Hey! You're all so blind, isn't Liao Ze able to go? ”

It's really embarrassing.

Seeing Liu Rong's demeanor, Zhu Gaoxian said seriously: "General Liu, the Ming Dynasty has been strong in the Northeast these years, so the disadvantages of abandoning Liaoze have not been revealed, but if Liaodong is in a weak position, what will be the consequences, there is no need for this king to say more." ”

Liu Rong wiped the sweat from his forehead: "The last general understands." ”

Because the Ming army was in a strong position, it could keep the Mongols out of breath in the northeast, and there was no need for Liaoze to restrict the Mongols.

But once the Ming army fell into a disadvantage when fighting against the Mongols, the strategic mistake of Liaoze, a critical place, could allow the Mongols to drive straight into and cut off the entire Liaodong, which was equivalent to giving the country to others!

"This king understands that General Liu has a hard time in his heart and is unwilling to disobey Taizu's ancestral system." Zhu Gaoxian suddenly said, "You can use the signature of this king to show Your Majesty the benefits and disadvantages of Liaoze above." ”

Liu Rong's face froze: "How dare the last general, wouldn't this make you feel guilty for my Liaodong?" ”

"In the face of the national interests of the Ming Dynasty, no one can be left alone."

Zhu Gaoxian said calmly with a calm look in his eyes, "If necessary, this person can be anyone, this king is no exception, everyone can dedicate themselves to the Ming Dynasty, this king is just lending a name, why not?" ”

said it very lightly, but Liu Rong knew in his heart how much pressure King Qi needed to bear to lend this name!

Liu Rong couldn't help but be in awe: "This righteousness is also admired by the general, please accept Liu Mou's worship!" If the prince asks for it in the future, the Liaodong Army will respond to it! ”

Zhu Gaoxian arched his hand and said: "The general is polite, the prince just did what he had to do, and he could ask for what he wanted." ”

British Duke Zhang Fu and Cheng Guo Duke Zhu Yong can't wait to dig out a three-bedroom living room on the ground with their toes at this moment, hide themselves in the cracks of the ground and pretend to be dead!

Is this what the two of them should hear?

The 300,000 Liaodong Army, represented by Liu Rong, the general soldier of Liaodong, has an ambiguous relationship with King Qi, if this matter spreads, Liu Rong can be charged with "colluding with the prince", and he will be dismissed from office at the least, or beheaded to show the public, and King Qi will also be questioned!

It's just a matter for King Qi and Liu Rong to say this in private, why did you let the two of us hear it, how embarrassing it is.

Zhang Fu is just that, he and King Qi's Mansion are people in the same boat, and he may not know how many unsightly transactions there are with King Qi behind his back.

But Zhu Yong felt that it was not appropriate for him to appear on this occasion, it was true that he was the same faction as the Duke of Chengguo and King Qi, but the words of King Qi and Liu Rong should obviously be listened to by the henchmen of King Qi's Mansion, so why did he listen to it!

Zhu Gaoxian glanced at the embarrassed Zhu Yong and said, "Cheng Guogong is unwell, why is his face so embarrassed?" ”

Zhu Yong hesitated and didn't know what to say.

Liu Rong also realized that something was wrong, and bowed down and said: "Lord Wang, the last general has to retire in advance, if there is something to send someone to the general army to say to the last general, I will respond to the request on behalf of the Liaodong Army!" ”

Zhu Gaoxian bowed his head slightly, waved his hand and said, "General Liu, this king will not be far away, go slowly." ”

"Farewell."

After Liu Rong left, Zhu Gaoxian set his eyes on Zhu Yong's body, and his eyes were raised: "Cheng Guogong, but you are not feeling well?" ”

The corners of Zhu Yong's mouth twitched slightly: "No, no, the prince trusts me so much, I am deeply touched in my heart." ”

Zhu Gaoxian patted Zhu Yong's shoulder: "Cheng Guogong, there are some things, if you think about it in your heart, you won't be a problem, but if you don't understand it, your heart will be blocked all the time." ”

Zhu Yong was terrified when he heard this, and arched his hand: "The minister is unwell and wants to resign first, please forgive me!" ”

Zhu Gaoxian smiled and stretched out his hand to signal: "Chengguo Gong, please take care of yourself, go back and think about it, this king doesn't like to embarrass others." ”

Zhu Yong breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and hurriedly said, "Thank you, Lord Wang." ”

Just as he turned around and wanted to leave, Zhu Gaoxian suddenly said unhurriedly: "The previous generation of Chengguo Gong, what a heroic hero, who made immortal achievements in the time of Jingjing, how come in the contemporary era, Chengguo Mansion has more copper smell of businessmen?" ”

When Zhang Fu heard King Qi's words, he pursed the corners of his mouth and held back a smile.

This is obviously a hint that Zhu Yong is also good at doing business, his feet jump sideways repeatedly, and he never puts eggs in a basket. Since they all chose to stand in the Qi Palace, they were unstable, which was quite a meaning of seeing the wind and making the rudder.

almost pointed at the tip of Zhu Yong's nose and scolded!

Of course, Zhu Gaoxian's words are not simply for the connotation of Zhu Yong, but more for the sake of beating.

Zhu Yong was sweating profusely when he heard this, and left in a hurry, his figure was embarrassed, I don't know if he was embarrassed or timid.

Zhu Gaoxian and Zhang Fu glanced at each other, and the old father-in-law and son-in-law laughed at the same time.

……

Zhu Gaoxian did not stay in Quang Ninh for long, and after the troops were reorganized, 30,000 elites crossed Liaoze, and Liaoze in winter had dried up, and the river was flat.

Originally, after crossing Liaoze, it took only three days for the Northern Expeditionary Army to reach the Kaiyuan border from Guangning Province and reach the Tumen River in the east, like a tiger out of a cage and rushing to the Suifen River.

The area of Suifen River is inhabited by the largest Jurchen force in the Jianzhou region, Jianzhou Wei.

The commander of the Jianzhou Guard, called Shi Jianu, with the Chinese name Li Xianzhong, inherited the identity of his father Aha as the commander of the Jianzhou Guard.

……

In a birch bark house by the river, Saganu sat on a kang and drank soju to warm up.

"Do you know, King Qi of the Ming Dynasty is coming to Jianzhou." The man sitting across from Saganu spoke slowly.

Saganu took a sip of wine and said with a smile: "Brother Meng, Timur, what are you afraid of?" ”

Meng's brother Timur, formerly known as Aixin Jueluo Mengtemu, was the leader of the Duoli tribe and the commander of the left guard of Jianzhou.

"Don't you know that the King of Qi of the Ming Dynasty is coming for our Jurchens?" Brother Meng, Timur, frowned slightly.

"So what?" Shi Jianu said indifferently, "He still dares to do something to me, don't you know who my brother-in-law is?" ”

Shi Jianu's sister, Emperor San, married Zhu Di, who was still the king of Yan.

"Then King Qi is here, and he has to call me uncle." Saganu smiled, "Brother Meng, Timur, relax your heart." ”

Brother Meng Timur frowned slightly, and said: "I advise you to be cautious, I have a feeling that King Qi is not good at coming this time." ”

However, Saganu didn't take it to heart, seeing this, Brother Meng's Timur said helplessly: "I'll go first, there are still a lot of things to deal with in the tribe, so you can do it yourself." ”

"Slow down and don't send it." Saganu said.

After the fierce brother Timur left, the son of Shaganu, Li Manzhu (Han name), walked in and saluted respectfully: "Father." ”

"Under the moon (Li Manzhu's real name), you're here." Saganu bowed slightly.

He loves his son very much, is ambitious, and has courage.

"Father, what is this guy Timur doing?" Tsukishita asked.

It doesn't sound right, but it makes sense.

Although the Saganu family and the fierce brother Timur are in-laws, under the deliberate guidance of the Ming Dynasty, there is constant friction between the Jurchen tribes, and they are all thinking of annexing each other's tribes.

"Hmph, timid brother Timur, as soon as I heard that King Qi of the Ming Dynasty was coming with an army, I was so scared that I was about to pee my pants."

Saganu snorted coldly and said, "The people of Huduoli have always been timid, and whenever there is any trouble, they feel that the grass and trees are soldiers, and I have become accustomed to this. ”

Li Manzhu said with a smile: "Father is right, what can Da Ming be afraid of." Our relationship with the Ming Dynasty has always been very good, speaking of which, we followed the Ming Emperor to crusade against Arutai, and also made military achievements! When King Qi of the Ming Dynasty saw us, maybe he would have to come and give us a reward of silver! ”

"Hahahaha."

Just as the father and son were talking and laughing, suddenly there was a tribal commotion outside.

Saganu walked out with a little dissatisfaction: "What's the noise! ”

However, as soon as he walked out of the door, Saganu found that there was a bloodied man wriggling in front of the door, his face was like gold paper, as if he would lose his breath at any moment.

This person is the clan of Shijianu, the leader of Mao Lianwei, the son of the son, and the giant of the Jianzhou Jurchen.

"Damn it, Erson, what are you?!"

Saganu's face changed greatly, and he wanted to help him up, but he was stained with blood on his hand.

The leader of Mao Lianwei, Erxun's breath was weak: "Qi ...... King Qi! ”

"What?" Saganu didn't react for a while.

King Qi?!

(End of chapter)